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Archiver > TMG > 2001-07 > 0994906890


From: Ted Meikle <>
Subject: Re: [TMG] OT: - Standards for Archive of Photographs.
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 22:01:30 -0500
References: <000701c10a09$02381da0$8612383e@beebmartinfjackson>




Martin Jackson wrote:

> ***
> My questions are as follows:
> 1. In what format should I scan and save for
> archival purposes, and what format for day to day
> use? [I realise that if I store a picture as a
> *.bmp file on CD I can retrieve it for processing
> subsequently. ]

I do not use .jpg because it is a "lossy compression" which means that
when you save the file you lose data. I use a non-compressed .tif. It is
an almost universal format, and perhaps the format most likely to still
be universally readable 20 years from now. (Somewhat akin to ASCII for
text.) I would not use the native format of the photo editing package
unless you need for for fancy tricks. Save an "archive" copy in .tif,
and then if you want, convert to .jpg to publish on web or send in an
e-mail to someone who is not worried about archival issues.

> 3. There will be some pictures with more than
> one person on them, are then any suggestions as to
> a filing system for these new and all of my other
> family photgraphs which will be 'saved' subsequent
> to this excercise, that will be meaningful from
> the filename rather than a lookup list in a
> database?

You can get simple databases, often marketed as "albums," to keep track
of pictures. With long file names, you can fit all the names right into
the file name if there are not too many people in the picture. For group
pictures with too many people, you can save an identically named .txt
file with the names of all the people.

I use different directories for different lines in my pedigree.

Ted Meikle

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