*UPDATE* final outcome PIC/post #14: photos from 1920s, what about *laminating* them? Photographers.

[UTUSN]

Last edited Sun Jun 26, 2016, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

(original O.P. title: What Would Lounge Do (WWLD):

They are in bad condition in every way - faint, print surface crumbled away in places, some pulled off from being stuck to each other and to the acid paper in the album, etc. The glue used was crude.

These are 90 total, in various sizes (small to tiny) and some with cut-outs. About 20 of my mother and another 20 of her friends in Flapper gear and the guys in the flat round straw hats, then family.

My elder sister has been the family hoarder, has been saying for years she wants to divest herself of stuff and has taken the tiniest steps imaginable so far, but now this has been the biggest.

I have a thermal laminator that I've used for important things like Voter Registration, Social Security card, veterans items - always calling first to ensure it was permitted.

My question is focused on physical preservation or damage being done here. Will they be physically ruined?

Here's the deal, they sometimes have a name or something on the back. I aim to seal them in this clear thing with both sides visible, about 8 to a page. I've seen scads of paper albums like this in "antiques" stores, all nameless people in a strange store, what a pity.

Lounge always has the answers.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I recently got a large haul of old photos from my parents' estate.

I did not laminate them. I would be very hesitant to do that. It is forever.

What I did was Scan them. My program has a feature that allows you to type in the info from the reverse side.

Good luck!

[UTUSN]

2. I've Googled in the interim & some results are encouraging

A couple of items cautioned that *cold* laminating or the *pressing* type was the safest way to go.

But I'm going to test one pageful from the Not-Identified friends' group. As for this being too permanent, well, these pictures have meaning only to the sister, me, and one surviving old cousin. I guess that if somebody turns up (how would they know?), *they* could always do the scanning right through the lamination? Thanks.

To anybody: Stop me before I turn on the heat if physical damage is imminent!!!1

[Lars39]

3. Hi CP!

Could you share the name of that scanning program?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Hi, Lars39!

I have a Brother machine. The model # for that is MFC-5890CN. The machine prints and scans.

And the scanner is part of my Brother machine. The model # for the scanning program is MFC-5890LAN.

It also has the logo ControlCenter C written on it.

Hope that helps!

[Lars39]

6. Thanks for the info!

Right now I'm looking into anything that'll help me scan.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. You're very welcome!

It's a great machine. I've been very happy with it.

[Xipe Totec]

10. My boss was always going on about delamination

Of course, she was an aerospace engineer, talking about high angles of attack causing airstream flow delamination and turbulence.

[UTUSN]

4. Progress report: The first two laminated sheets are done

My concern was whether the heat would do something to the pics. Apparently a.O.K. I printed out a scan of my sister's handwriting of the title/category with a page # for each sheet. There will be a colored paper divider between the clear sheets for the background. Hey!1 Well, at least it's something!1

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. I would scan them first

That way you have the image. It may be difficult to scan them after laminating because the film could reflect the light from the scanner. But I can understand why you want to do something to protect them. I have some pictures from the 20s and 30s that are precious.

[UTUSN]

9. Well, we're halfway *gone* haha!1 If I had posted with enough lead time, I probably would have

taken your suggestion, thanks. My Flapper mother and her tons of friends look like they had a blast -- at the seaside, in cars, in those wardrobes!1 Bobbed hair. Pull-down hats. *SHORT* skirts (knee high). They were quite hoity toity.

[UTUSN]

11. Well, for better/worse, it's a done deal. Am generally O.K. with the results.

Besides the heat question, the real anxiety was whether there would be a jam in the machine with these irreplaceable things.

It's not a professional job, but then the condition of what there was to work with fits. They are in a better state than what they were in. Besides them, I preserved my sister's grouping and her handwriting, hence the hint of her scores of years of caretaking them, so all good!1

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. I'm really glad to hear it worked!

Good for you, taking the plunge, and preserving your sister's work over all those years.

[UTUSN]

13. tyvm

[UTUSN]

14. *Final UPDATE* - sample pages of the end result

Yes, it's in a ruff-n-ready binder put together in duct tape mode by a sailor, but it can always be fancied-up according to what the sister and her clique might have to say. The two blocked blocks bottom right of each page are where her handwriting and identifying info and page numbers are.