OSTA Recommends Protecting Digital Images
natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina roaring up the Gulf or the
fires cascading through the city, the call to evacuate results in a rapid
sorting of priorities. Often it comes down to how much you can fit in your
car. Space is at a premium, and children and pets typically get top priority.
After that, most people consider what things hold special memories that would
be hard to replace … High on this list is the family photo collection. You
would assume that people have prepared for this possibility by storing their
photos in a way that they are not only protected but also easy to transport,
but this is often not the case.
When a disaster is imminent people often grab their computer, desktop or
notebook, and load it in their car. What people don’t realize is that there is
a much simpler alternative: carrying copies of their important files and
digital images on CD or DVD discs.
“When you consider that you can copy nearly 3000 photo images on a DVD
that costs less than a dollar, it would seem to be a logical solution,” says
Optical discs are not only a great way to protect your photos and archive
them, but they are also simpler to carry than boxes of photos or large albums.
But what about these albums and boxes of photos? They represent important
memories but are often too bulky to easily transport. There is a solution for
this: scanning photos and saving the resulting images on DVD discs. Often
people put this off because of the time involved in converting large
quantities of photos to digital images. A
ScanMyPhotos.com, recognized that people would not necessarily do this
themselves but might consider a service if the price was right.
Goldstone
family photo collection preserved for less
decision.” The company simplified the process, providing a box for customers
to put up to 1800 4×6 photos inside to be mailed to its processing center.
People often have insurance to protect against disasters, but limited
documentation to support their claims delays the process. Having a home
inventory of personal belongings preserved as digital photos is of critical
importance. “Photos are an excellent way to keep account of the entire
inventory in your home, especially if you become a victim of a disaster,”
noted
wildfires in
following the 2008 fires, I was very impressed with homeowners who brought
their digital photos of the contents of their homes to their claims adjuster
meetings. Taking digital photos and placing them on DVDs and storing them in a
safe place is very important.”
Making a second or third set of discs is further insurance against
disasters. “Carrying your photo collection in an emergency is important, but
also having a set of these discs in a bank box or sent to a relative outside
of the area is an important way to assure your critical files or digital
images are not lost forever,” says
About OSTA:
OSTA was incorporated as an international trade association in 1992 to
promote the use of recordable optical technologies and products. For more
information see http://www.osta.org or http://www.archivemyphotos.org.
SOURCE OSTA