In the digital age, for the first time in human history, most images and textual information are no longer being preserved as physical objects. Instead, digital images and other records are stored as coded electronic files using the ever-changing technology of hard drives, servers, solid-state flash memory, CD's and DVD's, and cloud storage. Archivists refer to such text records and images as “machine-readable records,” which require very specific software and electronic hardware preserved with the digital records to enable future retrieval, viewing, printing, and other uses utilizing both current and as yet unknown future technologies. In contrast, photographic prints and photobooks are physical objects that require neither special hardware nor software to be viewed. Archivists call these “human-readable records.” We are living in a very exciting age where most people have a rich mix of both analog and digital records in their personal and family archives. This paper proposes a simplified, comprehensive approach to preserving analog photographs, movies, letters, and other documents in their original form, digitizing these records for posting on personal and family websites, Facebook, Frickr, and other online modes of sharing, and using these digital files for assembling photobooks, making prints of significant images, and for other purposes. At the same time, it is equally important to preserve these digital files of original analog materials together with more recent digitally-captured still photographs, videos, MP3 and other audio files – all in a simple but coordinated manner. One of the great benefits of digital technology is that for the first time in human history, it is now possible to produce “perfect” bit-replicated duplicates of images and videos and, at very low cost, to disperse them in multiple locations to greatly increase the likelihood of their long-term survival. Archivists refer to this as “redundant geographic separation.” Throughout the history of traditional analog photography – going back to the 1839 introduction of the Daguerreotype – the single “unique copy” nature of negatives, transparencies, and prints has always rendered them extremely vulnerable to damage or loss because of poor storage conditions (hot attics and damp basements), fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, theft, war, cultural cleansing, and other calamities. Also discussed is a philosophical approach to collecting, managing, and preserving personal and family records – and organizing and making them accessible in a way that can be passed on to future generations.

Consumers today love the immediacy, ease of storage and ease of sharing of digital images. Storage of images “in the cloud” allows for anywhere/anytime access. Storage of images on their smartphone has similar benefits. Although slightly different in degree, both of these storage modalities also have risk of image loss due to long-term technology changes. In general, consumers are totally unaware of this risk, which could potentially leave a whole generation of picture takers, including Moms who are typically the “chief family photo officer”, without a long-term record of their lifetime events. This paper will provide a brief overview of the history and concerns of technology obsolescence as it relates to the long-term preservation of consumers' digital image files and show how promotion of hard copy printing provides a simple and cost effective means to the consumer for secure, technology-proof preservation of their precious memories.

As the number of prints being made declines, photo retailers seek new business models to make up the lost revenues. This paper provides some insights into the wide range of personalized photo products that can be produced to achieve this goal.

Utopia Digital Technologies, a New Berlin, Wis.-based division of S-One Holdings Corporation, has developed a transportable image receptive coating which incorporates both ink receptor and adhesive properties on one side and an inherent print protective layer on the other side. This patent-pending technology is called Avatrex™. A significant functional solution of this technology is the ability to print on bonded leather and produce custom hard covers for photo books and photo albums using equipment that exists in most print shops.

There are a wide range of digital print technologies available today, including Silver halide, Inkjet, Electrophotographic, and Dye Sublimation. However, only one, silver halide paper, specifically KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper, incorporates imaging technology that provides an optimal balance of lab-preferred and consumer-preferred characteristics regarding image quality, high productivity, low cost and long-term permanence. This paper will discuss those technologies and how they enable KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper to meet the needs of the critical portrait/social market. In addition, there is a general lack of awareness of the long-term storage and accessibility issues associated with digital files for which printing can fill a significant need. The optimal performance of KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper provides the easiest, most economical solution for multi-generation preservation through hard copy printing of digital files. A print made on KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper is a human-readable technology-independent record that will provide long-term access for multiple generations and provides a solution to the needs of long-term preservation of digital files by the consumer.

The future of digital clutter - trigger happy consumers today are capturing thousands of photos a year and inadvertently creating digital clutter on their hard drives or cloud storage services. This digital clutter has become a barrier in print fulfillment and/or enjoyment of photos. We will propose a solution which is a combination of technology and the trained human eye that can take a "heap" of digital photos and transform them into a beautifully laid out "photo story" that can be printed or enjoyed on a digital display/mobile device with zero work from the user. Conversion rates of this solution for photo stories (from photo upload to print) are north of 75% in comparison to the best photo book tools that are in the range of 30%. We will discuss sharing of these photo stories across platforms - mobile, web and TV.

This paper describes in addition to the paper presented last year how videos can be implemented into printed photo books and presents first results about the users' implementation. We will show that –surprisingly or not- pictures from videos are similarly used such as classical images to tell compelling stories. Videos taken with a traditional camcorder are not good candidates for implementation into photo books, as they are usually made with the intention of generating a movie. Videos taken by DSCs and smart phones are taken on the fly and are on average less than one minute in length and are the basis for the following evaluations.

We will discuss the myriads of challenges faced by a consumer in digitization, restoration and long term archival of their personal visual assets - photos, negatives, albums, video tapes and movie film. Special emphasis on preservation of B&W negatives and movie film which see the most abrasion damage. We will present a workflow and solution for duplication of degrading old photo albums in order to enable distribution and sharing of family legacy photos.