Prints Fade

"Previous to the mid-1980s, color photos faded dramatically in a few years when displayed even in moderate light, or even after 10 to 20 years when stored in boxes and albums." - The National Archives

Top: Light Fading; Bottom: Dark Fading

Photo Fading and Color Shifting

The color integrity of your print photos, particularly your prints from earlier decades, depends on storage conditions and the inherent dye stability and resistance to stain built into the paper or film by its manufacturer. And temperature - even moderate temperatures common inside a home -- play a part in the fading of color photos.

Color fading results from storage in light and dark environments. And older black and white (silver images) are particularly susceptible to air pollutants and environmental contaminants inherent in containers not intended for photo storage.

Photos impacted by "light fading"

Light fading is caused by light and UV radiation. Dark fading, however, is not caused by darkness. Light fading often results in the darker parts of your image staying intact, while the lighter areas appear washed out. This is because the ongoing exposure to light - as well as heat and sometimes humidity - cause a disproportionate loss of density in the lower densities and highlights of the photo.

Photos impacted by "dark fading"

Dark fading simply refers to the staining and fading that takes place during storage with an absence of light. The result of dark fading versus light fading is an overall color shift, rather than loss in highlight detail. The color shift is caused by the dyes - cyan, magenta, yellow - fading at different rates, made worse by an increasing level of yellowish stain.

This photo shows a magenta dye color shift.

So how do I save my photo collection?

Unless you have museum quality photo storage vaults and know that your photos were all produced on the highest quality paper and processed with stable chemicals, you should seriously consider scanning your photos now.

The math is simple: Your old photos continue to degrade every day that passes -- particularly those older photos taken years ago when we didn't snap the lens so quickly. To ensure that your photos and history live on far beyond your lifetime, photo scanning is a simple and relatively inexpensive step to preserve your personal story for generations to come.

Another tip from The National Archives: "Avoid copy prints made on computer printer paper, as these fade even faster than old color photos and are unusually sensitive to water!"

Sources: The National Archives (archives.gov) and The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs by Henry Wilhelm.