Since its birth, many processes and materials have been used in photography to share, display and save life’s precious memories. With the chemical makeup and development process through the years, deterioration of photos is expected and there is almost nothing that can be done to save these memories for the average consumer, until now. The Scan Man service allows you to back up your old photos, slides and negatives to a CD or DVD and save those valuable moments for years to come.

Forms of Deterioration

There are many causes for deterioration of photographs including environmental factors, chemical processing, improper storage and more.

Environmental factors include humidity, temperature, air and light. Did you know that storing your photos in a warm environment speeds up the rate of deterioration? How about the fact that coupling high temperatures with humidity will fade the photograph’s color and make the paper brittle and even curl? The most harmful of this combination is the breakdown of the chemicals used to process these photos and the mechanical changes that occur. Air pollution is also damaging to photographs which are sensitive to pollutants. Remember, it’s not only about your photographs, but also your color slides, both of which are susceptible to fading when exposed to visible and UV light.

Damage from chemicals occurs over time and can go unnoticed for years. Your photographs may not have been correctly processed and washed, leaving “fixer” on the photograph which can cause the image to yellow or brown and fade. Photographs that were not “fixed” correctly may also be light sensitive and darken when exposed to light.

We’ve all seen the magnetic albums from the 60s and many of us have multiple of those from family members stashed away in our home. Did you know that the acid in those pages coupled with the glue, causes discoloration and deterioration of the image? Even many of the albums labeled “acid-free” can harm your photos with dyes, coatings or other additives. Photos placed in frames are susceptible to light so aren’t as protected as you think. With the Scan Man service, you can convert those old photos, slides and negatives to high resolution digital files for safekeeping on a CD or DVD.