Best Long-term Archive? > Photography & Photoshopping

Posted: 1/12/2006 5:45:22 PM EDT

Photo gurus:

What is the current consensus on archiving digital family photos? Which is the "best" long-term storage solution? I've been burning multiple CD's and keeping them in the gun safe, but I recently read an article that stated "burned" CD's might only last 4-5 years.

Which should it be? CD's, multiple portable USB hard drives, hard copy prints, tape backup?

Thanks!

Doc H.

Posted: 1/12/2006 6:23:40 PM EDT

[#1]

Get archival CDs with gold in the reflective layer. I got some Kodak ones before they stopped making them. I highly suggest as much redundancy as possible. This week, I lost a RAID stripe that contained some old photos. Went to get my backup HDD, controller fried!! What were the chances!?

Well they were Maxtor drives, chances were probably pretty good

Luckily I had most of the files on CDs also. Hard drives are cheap and easy to transfer to, it wouldn't hurt to have a 2nd backup on one.

Posted: 1/12/2006 6:24:22 PM EDT

[#2]

oops

Posted: 1/12/2006 6:27:44 PM EDT

[#3]

What's the most Archival CD-R Blank Media for Storing Image Files?
I recently wrote an article for Black & White Photography magazine about the best CD-R blank media for photographers. The article was based entirely on research and collating anecdotal reports, not on original experimentation or testing.

In the article I included a number of general recommendations as to how to evaluate available options, what to buy, and where to find it.

Most important, though, is that it really does matter. There have been numerous reports in the news media recently about CD media not being as archival as we once imagined. It's like anything else: some of the cheapest options are really bad, and you have to choose wisely if you want to find something that's reliably good.

There's not really one "best" type of disc. There are several good ones. The problem is, how do you know what you're buying? Most CD-R blanks that are available in most stores are only marked with the brand name (which is irrelevant — I'll get to that in a minute) and the country of origin (this can be marginally helpful, as most "Made in Japan" discs are Taiyo Yuden, a dependably good factory. But it's not much to go on).

The CD-R blanks I ended up recommending most highly in the article are MAM-A Gold Archival manufactured in Colorado Springs, Colorado. These are the same blanks that were formerly developed and manufactured by MITSUI. In June, 2003, Mitsui Tokyo divested majority share of its media business to Computer Support Italcard s.r.l. (CSI) of Italy, which now runs the plant in Colorado (now known as MAM-A, which originally stood for "Mitsui Advanced Media America," http://www.mam-a.com,) and in Alsace, France (MAM-E, formerly "Mitsui Advanced Media Europe," http://www.mam-e.com). Technically speaking, "Mitsui" disks are no longer available, but MAM-A discs are the same product made in the same factory.

Gold Archival are simply the highest-spec batches of Gold, which. This is the best product in a range that is specifically designed and manufactured for archival storage purposes.

MAM-A Gold Archival discs may not be the absolute best for you or for your burner; and they may not have the 300-year archival life span that is claimed for them. The advantage of buying this brand is that it's positively identifiable, and you can depend on what you're getting.

Americans can buy directly at this link:

http://store.mam-a-store.com/standard---archive-gold.html

Posted: 1/16/2006 7:30:23 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Photo gurus:

What is the current consensus on archiving digital family photos? Which is the "best" long-term storage solution? I've been burning multiple CD's and keeping them in the gun safe, but I recently read an article that stated "burned" CD's might only last 4-5 years.

Which should it be? CD's, multiple portable USB hard drives, hard copy prints, tape backup?

Thanks!

Doc H.

I can’t say enough about tape drives…
Tape is still king, and that is because of it’s shelf life.

There are now federal requirments, such as SEC rule 4.7(a), that require fund managers back up to non-over writable, arcivable media. DVD-R/CDRW (optical media) has a shelf-life of only a few years. Magnetic tape, can be as much as 30 years.
Here is an article on the topic:
computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html

If you want a VERY good tape solution, that not only works BETTER than the competition… and is way underpriced, take a look at the Sony AIT line. They have both internal ATAPI and USB/I-link options in the sub $1K range, they are what I use, after extensive consideration as I am a systems engineer by trade.

b2b.sony.com/Solutions/subcategory/storage/branded-tape/AIT_Drives/AIT-1

Posted: 1/16/2006 12:07:51 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Photo gurus:

What is the current consensus on archiving digital family photos? Which is the "best" long-term storage solution? I've been burning multiple CD's and keeping them in the gun safe, but I recently read an article that stated "burned" CD's might only last 4-5 years.

Which should it be? CD's, multiple portable USB hard drives, hard copy prints, tape backup?

Thanks!

Doc H.

I can’t say enough about tape drives…
Tape is still king, and that is because of it’s shelf life.

There are now federal requirments, such as SEC rule 4.7(a), that require fund managers back up to non-over writable, arcivable media. DVD-R/CDRW (optical media) has a shelf-life of only a few years. Magnetic tape, can be as much as 30 years.
Here is an article on the topic:
computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html

If you want a VERY good tape solution, that not only works BETTER than the competition… and is way underpriced, take a look at the Sony AIT line. They have both internal ATAPI and USB/I-link options in the sub $1K range, they are what I use, after extensive consideration as I am a systems engineer by trade.

b2b.sony.com/Solutions/subcategory/storage/branded-tape/AIT_Drives/AIT-1

If it's tape you are going for, check Ebay. I have a DLT 35/70GB drive that cost a couple hundred bucks. It works like a champ though. My server data is all backed up to tape and I have 3 months of history in the rotation. It's saved my bacon on several occasions.

Posted: 1/16/2006 1:19:40 PM EDT

[#6]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I've got a Benchmark SDLT VS80 drive and 39160 card if you want it?
It is the same as this, but internal, all you need is a SCSI card... however I have an adaptec 39160 if you want it.
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8751525682
I'll trade for AR, glock, 1911, parts, eccesories, whatever...

I was a Server Hardware Escalations engineer for Dell for 3 years... so you can take my word for it that this drive works, I've been using it for 2.5 years.

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