Pre-Copy Treatment of Original Photographs

The process of digitizing photographs has many considerations.  Many photographs received by an archive may not have the best physical quality; there may be cracks, tears, dirt or other problems with the quality of the photograph.  However, before you consider copying or digitizing any photograph collections you may want to consider repair or treatment of the original photographs in order to provide restoration and quality image access.  The following stages were compiled from Restoration and Photographic Coping: The Techniques of Copying and Restoring Old and Damaged Photographs by Alexander Shafran.  In his book, Shafran, considers key elements of photograph restoration with simple techniques.

·        Chemical Damage: Check for dirt and grime

1.      Clean by soft eraser with light pressure.

2.      Clean by washing or swabbing with moistened cotton in a diluted solution of ammonia or of liquid soap.

3.      Stains should never be treated with chemicals or bleach because this may eliminate the emulsion and the photograph all together.  Certain stains are treatable, such as lipstick with water, food or paint.

4.      Exudation or speckled metallic pieces on the surface of the photograph can also be erased or swabbed.

5.      Cracks or tears can be rejoined with celluloid tape on the back of the picture.

6.      Curled or rolled originals can be mounted on a flat cardboard with rubber cement or by dry mounting.  Other photos may be put into a printing frame for copying.

7.      Holes can be restored for copying by putting paper or cardboard of the same color on the back of the original.

8.      Grain variations of the photographs may be blended or dulled by use of matte spray that is clear; petroleum jelly covering the photo lightly to fill the valleys and cover the print; clear white shellac poured over the print and allow to spread, however this technique is difficult to reverse.