Have you ever wondered why your pictures turn yellow, green or brown? Most early black and white photographs were printed on a substrate (the paper) of cellulose. The cellulose was made from trees and the individual cells reacted with acid in the air. When they were printed your picture could be considered a living thing. The only way to prevent changes to the paper was to seal it away from the air that caused the change. A frame with a buffered matte neutralizes the acids. For new prints, archival paper should be used made from cotton instead of trees.
Color prints that use dye to create the shades of a particular color fade over time. The chemical composition of yellow is the strongest, so it will be the last to fade. Inks that use pigment instead of dye are a better alternative. Sunlight accelerates the fading of your pictures. Nothing can be done to prevent fading of an unprotected print. You can slow the fading by framing your prints with UV glass.
Your images do not have to stay this way. Call us to reverse the clock on the aging process and see your image the way it was captured. Think of us as time travelers, able to take a new picture of your precious memory.
Quad Cities Photo Restoration And Archiving 