Yes. Prints, albums, negatives, slides and home movies can all be stored, and they keep well in good archival boxes, off the floor. The two things to sort first are very old film, which can be dangerously flammable, and any photo you couldn’t replace, which is worth scanning before anything else.
Scan the ones that matter most
A scan or a professional copy means the picture lives on, whatever happens to the print. For the only photo of a grandparent, or a wedding album with no other copy, scan it first and keep the original with you. If you’d like to store an original like that with us, give us a call first and we’ll talk it through.
How to pack photos for storage
Our units are clean, dry and secure, but they aren’t heated or climate-controlled, so the packing does the protecting:
- Use acid-free archival boxes, ideally ones that have passed the Photographic Activity Test, and folders or envelopes free of acids and sulphur.
- Keep negatives in a separate box from prints, because older film can give off acidic gases as it ages.
- Leave out PVC sleeves, plastic bags, rubber bands, paper clips and sticky tape, and label in soft pencil, never ink.
- Store old albums flat and intact; don’t try to peel stuck prints out of self-adhesive albums.
- Pad glass slides and glass plate negatives one by one, and stand framed photos upright.
- Raise the boxes off the floor, on a pallet or a layer of sturdy boxes, with a gap at the walls so air can move.
Take the batteries out of any cameras before they go in.
Old film: check before you pack
Film made up to the early 1950s may be cellulose nitrate, which catches fire very easily, so it can’t come into storage. If you’re not sure, treat it as nitrate and contact a film archive, such as the BFI National Archive, for advice. Home movies on 8mm, Super 8, 9.5mm and 16mm were made on safety film, but check the ends of each reel and any joins, because nitrate leaders were sometimes spliced on. A reel that smells of vinegar is breaking down and giving off fumes, so call us before storing it.
Keeping them protected
Our sites are watched around the clock by a professional CCTV monitoring company, and every unit has its own alarm. Everything you store is covered by our contents protection or your own insurance. Our cover is for events such as fire, a burst pipe or a break-in, rather than gradual damp, which is another reason good boxes matter.
Photographers and local history groups
Albums, finished prints and framed samples store well, packed as above, and our business storage page explains how units work for a working studio’s kit. For a working archive of original negatives, or a society’s collection, call us first: specialist archive storage may suit it better, and we’ll tell you honestly.
To find a unit, get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585.
Related questions
- Can I store cash, jewellery or other valuables?
- Do storage units get cold in winter?
- Does contents protection cover damp and mould?
Further reading