Archiving Photos – Best Format?

K
Posted By
kpwft
Jun 14, 2007
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907
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When archiving images to disks, what’s the best format to save them in… .tif? Is there a preferred resolution?

Thanks.
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Jim_Oblak
Jun 14, 2007
The ‘best’ format depends on a lot that you have to decide for yourself.

You make your choice based on preferred resolution/detail, color bit depth, and level of compression (if any).

TIF and RAW are good formats.
K
kpwft
Jun 14, 2007
Thank you.

I began saving them in .psd but I’ll be sending duplicate disks to relatives for safekeeping and if they ever wanted to look through them, I realized they couldn’t without Photoshop. So tif would probably be the best way to go. I saved them 16-bits, at a resolution of 300. I think 600 might be better, but then the file size is so large.
K
kpwft
Jun 14, 2007
Oh, I’m putting them on CD’s but considered DVD’s since they’ll hold so much more. I’d read somewhere a long time ago that CD’s are better for archiving, but that might be old information. Is DVD-R good to archive photos to, or are CD’s more reliable?
PA
Peter Aitken
Jun 14, 2007
In article ,
says…
Thank you.

I began saving them in .psd but I’ll be sending duplicate disks to relatives for safekeeping and if they ever wanted to look through them, I realized they couldn’t without Photoshop. So tif would probably be the best way to go. I saved them 16-bits, at a resolution of 300. I think 600 might be better, but then the file size is so large.

You should not confuse archiving with distributing. Archiving should always be the original images in whatever format they are in. If you have manipulated some images, you will have saved them with a different name, archive them just as they are.

If you want people to be able to view the images on-screen, 300 dpi is way too much – 96 is just fine.

—
Peter Aitken
CH
clifford_hager
Jun 14, 2007
Saving in 300, 600, 1200 or any resolution higher than the original image will not benifit you in any way. The highest quality you can achieve is the original pixel dimensions of the image. If it is 2000 x 3000 pixels, at 150, 300, 600 or any other resolution it will still be 2000 x 3000 pixels. A file of those dimensions at 72 pixels is the same size as the same file at 1200 pisels. If you change the size of the image to say 4000 x 6000, you are letting your computer generate new pixels that don’t exist in the original image based upon it’s best guess at what is around the original pixel.

Both CDs and DVDs work just fine. If you get all of the digital information on either disk, they will archive pretty much forever. Laser disks don’t fade like prints do and since they aren’t magnetic, they don’t get corrupted from putside sources. They can scratch however, so I would always make at least 2 copies if your images are important, put them in protective sleeves and keep them in differant locations (like at relatives.) IF they are REALLY important I would rent a safe deposit box somewhere.

Now all you have to worry about is the pace of technology. Since CD’s and DVDs are already becoming outdated in favor of iPods, Blue Ray, memory sticks, etc. You may have to start considering what is the next generation of reliable storage.

Like your old 3-1/4" floppy disks. Does anyone still have a floppy disk drive on their computer?

wrote in message
Oh, I’m putting them on CD’s but considered DVD’s since they’ll hold so much more. I’d read somewhere a long time ago that CD’s are better for archiving, but that might be old information. Is DVD-R good to archive photos to, or are CD’s more reliable?
K
kpwft
Jun 14, 2007
Thank you for your reply. I scanned the slides at a higher resolution, then lowered it. I’m just debating on whether or not I should keep the higher resolution – which I’ll probably do if I save them to dvd’s. Office Max has a good sale on DVD-R now, so I might take advantage of that based on your reply.

Changing technology always worries me (I know nothing about Blue Ray, etc., and have no experience with the other things you mentioned). Good advice on the backups; I’ll be sending the duplicate disks to the other side of the country since they are important to me.

Thank you,
kp
MH
Mark_Hawks
Jun 15, 2007
DVD-R will not last as long as CD-R because DVD-R has an organic dye used in the record layer. The organic dye will deteriorate and oxidize faster than the cyanine dye used in CD-R. The degradation of CD-R and DVD-R comes naturally from time itself, but can be accelerated if the edge of the CD or DVD is not sealed properly, (common with b-grade manufacturers) this can prematurely deteriorate the dye on the disc thus making your data prone to failure. MAM-A and Verbatim make a Gold CD-R and DVD-R that has a 24 karat gold reflective layer that protects the recording layer from oxidation since gold does not oxidize when exposed to the elements. Stay with quality manufacturers like MAM-A formerly Mitsui, Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden. These manufacturers age test their CD-R media to last for 100 years and Gold is age tested to last for 300+ years. DVD-R form these manufacturers is age tested at 75 years and 100 years for Gold DVD-R. If I were backing up data that I wanted to be around for a long time, I would use Gold CD-R and store them in Jewel Cases in an area that is not prone to temperature spikes. I hope this helps.
K
kpwft
Jun 16, 2007
Thank you so much, Mark Hawks, for that great information! I’ve been using Kyphermedia disks, but recently purchased Verbatim lightscribe disks, and I will make sure to use quality manufacturers from now on and look for the Gold CD-R. I just purchased more jewel cases too, and decided on the standard ones rather than the slim cases. Thanks again!

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