A photographic negative is a very delicate thing. It can be permanently damaged by the slightest fingerprint or piece of dust. Scratches cannot be removed from a negative, yet they do show up on a print made from the damaged negative. If you have negatives in your home, you need to make sure that you store them properly to preserve them. You just might need a reprint from it when you least expect it.

Negative Preservers

One option you have to preserve your negatives is to place them in archival quality negative preservers. These are 8 ? by 11 sheets divided into sleeves that are the right size for a strip of negatives. If your photo lab cuts your negatives, you simply slide the negatives into the sleeve and stick the sheet into a binder. Use lint-free gloves when handling negatives so that you do not accidentally put a fingerprint on them. Be sure that the sheets are made from acid-free materials so that your negatives will last for many years.

Glassine Envelopes

Glassine envelopes are traditional negative storage devices used by professionals. The envelopes are translucent and are made from non-plasticized paper that is acid-free and pH negative. Both negatives and photographs can be safely stored in these envelopes and can be used as long-term storage options. One benefit of glassine envelopes is the fact that they come in a wide range of sizes, making them ideal for the professional who shoots on a variety of formats.

Uncut Sleeving

Some photographers prefer to leave their negatives uncut. This can create a difficulty when storing negatives, but it does lower the risk of damage on the developing end. Roll sleeving is the best storage option for uncut negatvies. This is a continuous roll of plastic sleeving that the photographic negative roll can be fed into. The sleeve can then be cut and rolled for storage. Again, these storage sleeves should be acid-free.

Digital Storage

Another option for storing negatives is storing them digitally. Professional negative scanning services can scan negatives and make high-resolution positive images from them. The resulting images are burned onto a CD, which can then be stored. Future reprints can be made directly from the CD.

Digital storage eliminates the need to hang on to negatives for years and years. Photographers who have many years of shooting under their belts know how much of a challenge it can be to keep all of the negatives in order from various photo shoots through the years. With digital negative storage, many images can be stored on one compact CD.

Regardless of the storage option you choose, never leave your negatives in the sleeving from the developer. Unless you are using a professional lab, the sleeving will not be acid free. This means that the acid in the plastic or paper can damage your negatives. Some labs will not sleeve negatives at all, leaving them open to fingerprints, scratches, and dust. Choose the storage option you prefer, and store your negatives in a safe way in order to properly preserve the images they contain.