Things You Wouldn’t Think To Put In a Safe: Family Photo Albums and Home Videos/Movies

Anyone who has lost an irreplaceable photograph or accidentally deleted a precious video of their children knows the anguish that comes with that loss. You can never recover that physical (or digital) record of that memory. For this reason, cloud-based automatic backups of smartphones, as well as online storage backup archives have become very popular.
However, digital and cloud-based backup systems can and do fail, and even large, seemingly invincible tech companies have gone out of business and their customers have been left in the lurch. Now, we’re not saying you shouldn’t back up your digital images, videos, and data to the cloud or to local external hard-drive backup devices; quite the contrary. It’s a good idea to have multiple sources to back up your precious memories. However, keeping a hard copy and digital backups in your secure, fire-resistant safe is step one for peace of mind.
Let’s discuss some options for storing the original physical copies properly in your safe.
Options for backing up / converting hard copies of photographs, albums, and movies to digital versions
1, use a professional photo scanning service such as ScanCafe or 2, do it yourself using home scanners and software. Of course, you’ll need a place to store those digital files.
Which external HD hard drive backup should I use to back up digital copies of photo albums and home movies?
External HD (Hard Drive) backup devices have gotten much more reliable, less expensive, and larger in memory capacity over the past few years, and the trend will naturally continue as technology improves.
Since high-resolution photographs and particularly video files take up a lot of memory space, we recommend purchasing external HD backup devices with more memory than you think you’ll need… at least 1TB is a good place to start, and if you can afford 2-5TB options, even better.
However, HD backup devices can and do fail, even the latest and greatest. So in this case as in lots of aspects in life, remember the adage, “two is one and one is none.” Keep at least 2 back-ups HDs in your safe, and check their function regularly.
Use acid-free paper and UV-protecting plastic covers for photo albums, and keep temperature and humidity stable
Now that we’ve covered digital backups of your family photo albums and home movies/videos, let’s talk about some key points for properly storing the physical copies of these precious memories.
High humidity and high heat are murder on photographs (and pretty much anything else you want to last a long time). It’s important to keep your precious albums and photographs stored in a dry, temperature-controlled environment. For many people, particularly those living in areas with high humidity, their safe (equipped properly with a dehumidifier) is the one place that provides these ideal storage conditions.
The paper on which older photographs were printed is hygroscopic, meaning that it readily absorbs moisture from the air. This can lead to cracking, curling, flaking, bleeding of toner/ink, and if humidity is high enough, to mildew and mold damage.
You probably realize that exposing photographs and paper to light, particularly sunlight, will damage them eventually (we’ve all seen “faded” photographs). This goes for everything made of paper and most other materials as well. So for truly valuable, irreplaceable photographs you’ll want to minimize exposure to any source of UV light/radiation.
Wear soft cotton or nitrile gloves when handling your most valuable/sensitive photographs directly
For your truly irreplaceable or valuable photographs, it’s a good idea to wear clean, soft, cotton gloves or nitrile gloves when handling them. This prevents the natural oils and acids present in your skin from being absorbed by the photographic paper, causing damage and color staining over time.
A Liberty Safe is a great choice for storing your albums, photos, and digital backup devices
Keeping photo albums and home movies where they can be accessed and seen is the whole reason they exist. There’s something satisfying about having the original, tangible photographs and albums available to touch, look at, and share with family members. Just remember to put these treasures back in your Liberty safe after each use!
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