Proper Care Of Your High Quality Photographic Prints

Care should be taken, as with any piece of fine art, not to expose the image to high levels of direct sunlight and moisture. Choosing a location having minimum levels of nature's destructive elements will provide many years of pleasurable viewing. Therefore treat your photographic fine art, just as you would any other fine art... watercolor or original oil painting.

What is Photo Degradation?

Inks, pigments and underlying media are all degraded by exposure to heat, oxygen, water, gas vapors and especially light. UltraViolet (UV) light causes damage by breaking down the chemical bonds in the ink and substrate. This photo degradation is caused by artificial light, sunlight and nature's other harmful elements.

Really short physics/chemistry lesson: When substances absorb UV light, molecular bonds are broken to form "free radicals" to bond with oxygen and other pollutants. The new molecules thus formed no longer reflect their original color.

Since photographs are like most fine art and can be easily damaged...taking precautionary measures is the best course of action in protecting their values.

Several everyday situations can potentially cause damage to photographs. Avoiding these situations and potential problems, is much easier than trying to correct damage once it has occurred. Major areas of concern are broken down into the following categories:

Handling of the Image

Step one is always the proper handling of your artwork. It is one of the easiest and most effective ways to prevent photo damage. Always wash your hands before touching a photograph and if possible wear clean white cotton gloves that are designed for handling art. When picking up a photograph always use both hands and make sure the back of the print is supported so it does not bend. Never touch the surface of a photograph with you finger.

Avoid trying to blow (with your mouth) something off the surface of your print. Spit on the print is very toxic to photographic inks and dyes. .The surface of photographs can also be damaged by sliding prints against each other and by placing objects on top of them. Once damaged this way photographs are very difficult if not impossible to repair.

The Role of Light.

It is a bit of irony that light, one of them most important components in photographic art, is also one of its most damaging enemies. Never hang or exhibit photographs in direct sunlight. Next, try to avoid strong indirect daylight. It's a good idea to change prints frequently if they hang in strong light situations. Most importantly, ultraviolet light is what you want to avoid. Many fluorescent tube lamps give off ultraviolet light, and filters are available and should be used. However, normal household light bulbs usually do not present a problem for photography unless you are using "grow bulbs" or UV bulbs.

Humidity and Heat

Extremes in heat and humidity can also cause problems and should be avoided.. Keep photographs away from fireplaces, radiators or other heating devices. When storing photographs keep them out of damp basements and hot attics. It is best to keep them at a constant temperature and humidity, museums try to keep a temperature around 65 degrees Fahrenheit and a relative humidity of 40%. That is much lower than is common in the Austin, Texas area and the use of A/C is your best best to reduce the risks.

Pollutants in the Air

Where you hang and store your photographs can make a big difference. If you choose the wrong place, they may become damaged. Here's my list of what you should try to avoid: Fumes from fresh paint, solvents, burning real or fake wood, smoke of any kind, rubber-based products, moist air from the oceans, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.

Also, try to avoid displaying photographs where food is being prepared (like a kitchen or a restaurant). The best way to protect your photographs is to remove them from conditions when it becomes necessary. Also, high quality air cleaners are often used in museums. It is becoming more common for homes to have high quality air filtration systems, and these may be useful in protecting your artwork. Proper print coatings and framing is also an easy way to protect artwork from air pollutants. However, you should NEVER use cheap frames that allow any type of glass to actually touch the print. If there is humidity, you can count on the emulsion sticking to the glass and potentially ruining your artwork.

Insects

And then of course, in Texas we have insects ...sometimes lots of them. Insects have been known to eat the emulsion on prints, and are attracted to certain types of glue such as wheat-flour paste. Insect secretion can stain a print. A properly framed photograph is your best protection.  If you see an insect in a framed photograph, remove it immediately and check for others. If you store your photographs, occasionally check the storage area for nests of various kinds.

Framing

Your best bet is to take your photographs to a framer that is experienced in handling photographs and understands good archival framing. If they are not experienced, make sure that you stress to them the the value of your artwork so they will take extra care in framing it.

Summary

Properly cared for, today's modern photographic papers, inks, and dyes should last 75 to 100 years. With exceptional care, they may last a lot longer. All artwork is subject to damage. Today in Europe, most museums will not even allow you to use a photographic flash because of the fear of damage to the old prints.

Elton Reynolds,

Studio Owner and Chief Photographer

Unicorn Photographics

Special thanks to the many sources of advice from which this article was prepared.