Photo Albums and Boxes
Both photo albums and boxes allow people to store their pictures in a place away from light or dust. Albums can also be used to mount your photography and display it on decorative pages. They come in many sizes and shapes, ranging from a small portfolio that hold a few prints to a massive box that holds hundreds of photos.
What is an archival quality album or box?Some manufacturers also call an archival quality album or box "photo safe." They are essentially picture storage items that can hold photos for long periods of time without damaging the pictures. Archival quality items will be free of acid, lignin, PVC, and other materials that may degrade picture quality over time.
What styles do photo albums come in?The exact color and dimensions of albums do vary, but they all tend to fall into a few main design categories.
- Faux book: These are covered to look like antique books. They tend to have thick spines, leather or cloth covers, and gilt details. Some may allow you to adjust the amount of pages within the scrapbook.
- Wedding scrapbooks: Wedding albums are traditionally shades of white or ivory, and they have gold and silver designs occasionally.
- Baby scrapbooks: These designs are typically in bright or pastel colors, and the pages and covers include baby designs.
- Portfolios: Portfolios have a flatter silhouette, and they tend to not have any detailing or designs.
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The method for placing a picture in a photo album will vary depending on what type of album you select.
- Dry mount: This style of album has small pockets that you can slip each corner of a picture into. They are normally sized for standard 4 by 6 photos.
- Self-adhesive: These have small sticky spots where you can stick a photo to the page.
- Slip-in: Plastic pockets or mats in these photo albums let you slide your pictures into the pockets.
- Stick-on: Some photo albums may not have any mounting or storage option included. Instead, they simply have plain pages of paper, and you can use your preferred adhesive to mount the pictures on the pages yourself.
A box may have predefined storage spaces that will only fit certain sizes of pictures. Photo albums with photo mounts or pockets already inside are typically sized to fit standard photos. You can find photo albums or a box designed to hold these sizes of pictures:
- 2 inches by 3 inches
- 4 inches by 6 inches
- 5 inches by 7 inches
- 8 inches by 10 inches