Queries and Answers: Magnetic Nightmare

A lot of people write to me in response to articles I've written. Shirley sent me an email reminding me to talk about magnetic albums. She's right. They are one of the most common causes of fading and discoloration of whatever images are placed in them. Magnetic albums feature adhesives that hold your image in place. Unfortunately over time it's difficult to remove your pictures from those albums. It requires either a microspatula or some uncoated dental floss to gently remove the pictures from the page. If you try this technique be careful not to tear the image. The glue on these pages also discolor pictures. You'll begin to see stripes of discoloration on the front of your pictures. The combination of poor quality plastic, acidic paper and glue equals a "magnetic" nightmare for family photos.