We all have them somewhere…boxes and boxes full of old photos and home movies…simply sitting in a dark closet or attic, gathering dust, cluttering the room and, perhaps worst of all, not being enjoyed by everyone.  The beauty of the digital age is that old memories no longer need to be relegated to some messy box.  Converting the materials to digital is not only a space saver, but also ensures that those precious moments will be preserved for future generations!

Here are five reasons why you need help preserving those memories:

1. Goodbye Color, Hello Faded Memories – The longer photographic materials and home movies are sitting, the more the color is fading.  Unfortunately, the materials in their original state do not last forever, it is simply a natural part of the aging process- the color is bound to fade and shift with time.  Storing the materials in a dark place at a moderate temperature may slow this process, but won’t stop it.  Add some sunlight in the mix and the fading can occur even more dramatically. Your photos and home movies are deteriorating for a number of reasons and there’s only one thing you can do about it.  To guarantee your family’s archived memories are preserved, they need to be converted to a digital format.

2. Mother Nature Takes No Pity on Precious Memories – Your archive of photos and home movies may be seemingly safe in the shoeboxes in a closet or basement, but chances are they won’t be for long.  Accidents and unforeseeable things, such as floods, fires and other uncontrollable forces of Mother Nature, pose a threat to photos and home movies.  The originals of can never be replaced.  Once the original captured memory is lost, it’s gone forever.  I also encourage a duplicate backup of all digital photos and home movies. Unlike the physical material, digital copies do last forever.

3. Who Said Memories Need to Be So Bulky? – Digital photos and video take up no extra space or require any extra room. Their analog counterparts on the other hand create quite a cluttered mess.  All those old camcorder tapes occupy valuable closet space.  Stacks of photo albums can occupy entire shelves.  Old slides, negatives and film reels can be messy.  Compare that to digital images and movies which easily fit on discs or on compact hard drives – an instant space saver!

4. VCR? Slide Projector? – Unfortunately terms that were once part of our everyday language have gone to the technology graveyard.  Even if your materials are in pristine condition, there is a good chance that the machine used to view them is either already obsolete or will be in the next five years.  Digital conversion unlocks these memories and brings them into a format where they can easily be viewed.

5. Send, Share, Create! – Digital technologies have opened up so many new possibilities for our prized memories.  Digital photos can be turned into a canvas print or a photobook in a snap.  We can edit and upload our videos to YouTube in minutes.  Relatives from all over the world can access and share their favorite photos with friends.  Gone are the days of those photo albums with sticky plastic pages or the evening slideshow in the living room.  In this new digital age things are far more accessible.  There is no reason those old memories shouldn’t be enjoyed the same way!