“We don’t need prints or anything, just the files.”
It’s a commonly made statement.
But no one ever ever displays files, and MANY of them
are eventually lost – never printed.
* Have you ever had a USB drive become unreadable?
* Have you ever had your phone completely stop working?
* Have you ever had a hard drive ‘not show up’? become ‘a brick’?
“Yes … Yes … and YES.”
It’s a HORRIBLE experience.
Having come only 25 years with digital
we really have no idea how long a file lasts.
We DO know they can be lost, and we take chances based on where it is.
A file is only as safe as the method used to store it,
only available if you have what’s needed to read it.
A digital file is not archival.
On the other hand, cared-for archival prints will last 100 years or more!
Real value is in print given a place of importance.
One day, future generations will go through our things,
hold up a disc or USB drive, and say “What do you think this is?”
That’s what happens with passing generations.
Technology changes.
Unless you’re some kind of vintage collector,
reel-to-reel is gone, 8 tracks are gone, floppies are gone.
CDs and DVDs are ‘going away’ and everything goes into ‘the cloud’.
We hold – and physically own – nothing.
Take your pictures out!.
One of the best ways to preserve a favorite is to print 2 copies.
Display one out of direct sunlight and store the other flat,
between acid free tissue in a cool safe place (NOT the attic).
You can ALWAYS take another picture of a picture,
and even if water damaged or torn it can very often be restored.
But a corrupted file … one you can no longer open – is GONE.
Back them up and print them!
* One copy on a hard drive
* One copy in print
* One copy OFF site, online or in ‘the cloud’ – in case of ‘natural disaster’
Your photographer should do the same with your pictures
… and I do!
