Don’t Neglect Digital Photos in Your Backup Routine

You do have a backup routine, don’t you?

Some people will save film negatives for generations, but when they make the switch to digital, they may never even consider the idea of making a second backup copy of their images.

Believe me, any kind of digital storage is susceptible to failure. It can’t be predicted, but you can certainly plan for it. Please get in the habit of making at least monthly backups of your digital pictures–and by backup, I mean a second copy. Archiving your photos to a single CD and then deleting them from hard disk is not a second copy.

Currently, the most convenient backup solution is a second, removable hard drive (typically what is known as a thumb-drive or a stand alone external hard drive). The most affordable solution is recordable CD and DVDs (your choice will depend on the size of your photo folder).

For the best protection, consider making duplicates of all your archive CDs and pass one copy along to a family member or put it in a safety deposit box or fire-proof safe. Then, even in the event of a fire or theft, your precious photographic records and memories will not be lost.