Archival Storage Boxes Protect Your Work

Protecting your photos require a number of things, not the least of which are good quality archival storage boxes. Use of the proper photo storage box will insure that your photos are protected from moisture, sunlight, acidity – all of the elements that can cause photographs to become brittle, discolored and even destroyed completely. Archival storage boxes are the heart of an effective archival system.

Of course, there is much more to archival photo storage; simply using the correct photo storage box is only part of the equation. You cannot simply dump your photos into archival storage boxes and expect them to be properly preserved. You’ll need crystal clear acid free plastic bags for each one. Such clear bags are manufactured from a special type of plastic that is called biaxially oriented polypropylene that is at least 1.6 mil in thickness. Each one of these clear bags will seal your photo and protect it from any moisture that may work its way into your archival storage boxes.

In addition, you’ll want to use framing and matting supplies and at have your images at least partially mounted before slipping them into crystal clear acid free plastic bags. This way, the photographs will be kept flat as they lay in the photo storage box.

The boxes themselves need to be made from a special kind of paper-based material that is impregnated with what is known as a buffering agent. This is a special kind of alkaline chemical, the purpose of which is to neutralize any acidic molecules in the environment that may otherwise come in contact with the surface of the photo where they could cause discoloration due to chemical reactions with the photographic dyes.

Another reason for using photo storage boxes is to keep the photographs away from the light. As ironic as it seems, the fact is that the same light which allows photography at all is also responsible for the destruction of photographs. Pictures that are exposed to direct sunlight are prone to fading.

As with anything, purchase the best quality archival storage boxes you can afford; cheaply-made photo storage boxes with inferior materials can actually cause more harm than good, and are worse than not using any kind of storage box at all. Such archival storage solutions are an excellent investment in the preservation of your precious photographs; high quality archival storage boxes will protect your artistic images from the “ravages of time” – which are really nothing more than the environmental toxins and ultraviolet rays to which unmounted, unarchived photos can be exposed.