How to Seal a Photograph

Assuring the safekeeping of your treasured memories requires more than just tossing the photos in a box and relegating them to storage. Sealing your photos in plastic paged albums will protect against scratches and tears, but album sheets often contain acids that may do more harm than good to your photographs in the long run. Additionally, if color photographs are improperly stored or subjected to too much sunlight, the dyes that created those once brilliant colors will fade. Particularly with older pictures, fading is pretty much unavoidable. However, with today's development processes, labs can "seal" photos and assure that those colors last for decades. Section One focuses on easy-to-do photographic sealing with an electric laminating machine for already developed photos. Section Two explains the process of chemically sealing photos during the development process.

Things You'll Need

• Laminating machine Acid-free seal pouch Darkroom Acid-free photographic paper Developing chemicals Berg Bath Hypo Eliminator Solution

Instructions

Sealing Photos

1. 

   Use a laminating machine to seal your already developed photographs. Choose a high quality machine that has heated rollers to assure the photos remain protected during the process.

2. Choose an acid-free laminate page. It is important that the adhesive be non-corrosive or it will damage your pictures. Appropriate lamination materials are available at office supply stores, art and photography stores and online. Explain that your are using the lamination for photos.

3. Allow the laminator to fully heat before beginning. Place the photo into a laminate pouch and guide it through the machine. Allow photo to cool before trimming.

Archiving Photographs

1. Seal your photos during development. This process, also known as "archiving," sets the photo in a way that protects colors for up to 100 years.

2. 

   Choose acid-free papers and chemicals during your development process.

3. Develop your pictures, then use an acid stop bath. Fix the prints in a fixer without hardener while agitating. Repeat with fresh fixer.

4. Use a selenium toner and then soak prints in a washing aid, such as Berg Bath, for five minutes while agitating. The photo is sealed during this phase. Finish development by washing prints for thirty minutes.

5. Allow prints to dry completely before displaying or storing in an appropriate album.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not have your own darkroom, many high school and college photography departments may let you use theirs. You can inquire regarding their policy for outside users. Additionally, if you do not develop your own prints, photographic labs can archive pictures for you. These services are, however, more expensive and time consuming than one-hour photo labs.

• Whether you are literally "sealing" the photos in plastic or "sealing" them chemically, it is important to choose acid-free products. Opt for a pH reading of at least six.

References

• Developing Photos
• Photo Care

Resources

• Berg Bath