Care and Handling of Photo CDs and DVDs

As a safeguard against losing the wonderful memories and photos stored on your computer, you’ve hopefully backed them all up by saving them to a CD or DVD. But how should you care for those CDs and DVDs?

Just as your printed photos need some TLC to keep them around as long as possible, these CDs and DVDs also need some special care. Here are some tips on proper care for these discs by Fred R. Byers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

• Don’t touch the surface of the disc, handle it only by the outer edges or center hole. If dirt, dust or fingerprints do get on the disc, clean it by wiping with a clean cotton fabric in a straight line from the center of the disc toward the outer edge.
• Don’t use a pen, pencil, fine-tip marker or marker that contains solvents to write on the disc. Instead, use a non-solvent based felt-tip permanent marker (such as a Sharpie) to mark the label side of the disc. Don’t write or mark in the data area of the disc (the bottom area that the laser reads).
• Don’t expose discs to extremely high heat or humidity, extremely rapid temperature or humidity changes or prolonged sunlight or other sources of ultraviolet light (i.e. don’t leave them in a car or by a window that gets sun). Instead, store them in a cool, dry, dark environment in which the air is clean. For long-term storage, it is generally recommended to store discs at temperatures greater than 39 degrees and less than 68 degrees.
• Don’t open a recordable disc package until you’re ready to record it. Instead, leave discs in their packaging (or cases) to minimize the effects of environmental changes. Check the disc surface before recording.

It’s also a good idea to make more than one copy of an archive CD or DVD. That way, if anything happens to the first, there is an additional back up. In addition, as technology is ever-changing, be sure that you keep the equipment you’ll need to view what is on the CD or DVD, even as you may upgrade. Otherwise, those cherished and carefully archived memories will be lost forever.