How to prepare photographs for a storage unit

We all like to keep our photos and albums safe and sound, and when storing these sorts of items in a storage unit, there are a range of things you can do to make sure they look their best years down the line.
Here’s everything you need to know about keeping them pristine when they’re put away.

Digitise them

An extremely effective idea is to scan your photos to preserve them in digital form – either yourself or through a professional agent. There’s nothing worse than losing track of your favourite memories, right?
Once you’ve received your photos on a pen drive, DVD or hard drive, you should copy these over to your computer and another storage medium so you have backups. Put these somewhere safe as you wouldn’t want backups stores alongside originals, would you?

Preparing your photos

Before you store photographs, you need to ensure they’ll stay in good condition. Either place them in albums, slotted individually into the sleeves or facing away from one another, or choose a folder or frame that holds them securely. If the photos are loose, store them between individual pieces of acid-free card.
All these means of storage should pass the Photographic Activity Test (PAT), which means the container won’t have anything in it that negatively affects the materials used in photographs. This should be advertised on the packaging.
If you’ve got a lot of photos, put these in a PAT-approved box, stacking the photo containers so the photos are upright to successfully guard against them curling or deforming over time. This box should be sealable and water-resistant, just in case the worst happens.
Putting them in storage
Once you’ve packaged your pictures, it’s time to place them in storage. Photographs need to be kept in a cool, dry place, and thankfully all of Space Station’s storage units come with climate control as standard.
Be sure to place the boxes of photographs above the ground on a rack, shelf or pallet, away from vents and other draught sources. Lastly, make sure to turn the lights off if you’re unable to enclose the photographs entirely, otherwise they’ll fade.
If you have any questions about storing your photographs with Space Station, simply click here to get in contact.