Preservation of photo books extends beyond simply preserving the physical object Preservation requires understanding the photo book production process, which begins with taking digital photos, includes digital file creation, and extends to manufacturing the book in its final form. Unfortunately, the intermediate steps are often lost, with manufacturers generally unwilling to supply intermediate files in some false belief that doing so threatens future profitability. Overall, this business practice is short-sighted and is in fact counterproductive when it comes to photo book preservation.