Should You Print Your Digital Photos For Storage?
Introduction
Almost everyone in the UK and US has now made the move to digital cameras. Memory cards have replaced the traditional 35mm film – and your personal computer has replaced the need of the trips to the developing study. The benefits of digital cameras are well known -the instant previews, long battery life and being able to capture an almost unlimited number of photos on a single memory card, mean people are taking more photos than ever. However, less people are choosing to print and share their photos, does this mean a lifetime of photos could be lost the next time your computer crashes?
Families and friends are more connected nowadays, the ability to send photos online to a family members half way around the world, means printing and posting a photo seems pointless. The high capacity of memory cards means most people take a lot more photos at events than they used to. Is it really necessary to print 500 pictures of dad opening his new socks on Christmas day.
With the ability to share photos online, store them on your computer, what is the real reason of printing them? The question is what happens when something goes wrong? Do you really want to lose all your photos when your hard drive becomes corrupt? A physical copy means you are not depending on technology. Good quality photo paper lasts for up to 50 years. If Laminate and store your photos well, they could easily outlive you. This is something no hard drive will ever do.
If you really value your photos – print them. If you have now collected more pictures than would be physically possible to print – go through them, find the best ones. If you really don’t want to print – make backups.
*** CDs last on average 10 years.
*** Flash Memory Drives can only be accessed a set number of times before they are useless.
*** Hard drives are susceptible to corruption over the years.
If you want to digitally store them, remember ever few years to transfer them to a new device. For example, copy them from one pen drive to another every 2 years.
One of the best ways of permanently protecting your photos is to store them online – large online photo companies have backup capabilities that would be impossible to the typical home user. This will insure your photos remain safe. This does however; open your personal information up to the complex data protection and privacy issues. If you would show your pictures to a crowded room of strangers – online is fine, if the pictures are personal, it’s better to print.
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