How To Get The Most From Acid-Free Photo Storage Boxes

Professional photographers, enthusiasts as well as other types of artists need to have an organized way to store their artwork.  When it comes to fine art photographs, the storage solution is particularly important.  The surface of photographs can be easily damaged, and if they are stuck away in storage, you might not realize that you had a problem until it is too late.  This is why all professional photographers and artists insist on using archival photo boxes for storing fine prints and other types of delicate artwork.

Size of the Archival Photo Boxes

The first step you will want to take in finding appropriate acid free photo storage solutions is to measure your artwork.  Once you know how big the art is, then you can find archival photo storage boxes that are an appropriate size.  You will want to ensure that the archival photo boxes are a bit larger than the artwork, but not excessively so.  Photos will not lay flat if the photo archive boxes are too small, and that can damage the surface of the prints.  If they are too large, the photographs will slide around, and the edges of the prints can become damaged as well as the surface from being rubbed against the other prints in the acid free photo storage box.

What Makes Photo Archive Boxes Conservation Quality?

Take a look at the corners of archival photo storage boxes.  The best boxes come with metal reinforced corners.  Those corners allow you to stack the boxes, saving storage room.  It also keeps the archival photo storage boxes from being crushed under the weight of the other boxes, so that damage to the artwork inside is much reduced.  

Another feature that helps to preserve artwork in storage is the use of acid free photo storage boxes.  Acids are found in wood products, such as paper.  The surface of the artwork can thus can be damaged over the course of time if they are exposed to acids, because they can cause yellowing and other discoloration.  It makes sense, therefore, to keeps acids far away from stored artwork, and thus acid free photo storage boxes make a great solution for long-term photograph storage.

In addition to boxes, you might also want to use acid free photo storage accessories, such as acid-free tissue.  This goes in between the prints to protect the surface of the artwork.  Another option is to use clear film storage bags.  These keep fingerprints at bay if you have artwork for sale that the public can touch.  

Acid free photo storage can keep your prints looking great for years to come.