If you are wondering how important scrapbooking paper is, think about these things. Have you ever taken a look at old photos that have been stuck in photo albums for years and noticed that those once beautiful pictures are now turning yellow or brown? The edges might have even begun to disintegrate and the album pages are also turning brown. Then take a look at the photos on your wall that were mounted by a professional. Those pictures are crisp, clear and look just as good as the day they were taken. What happened to those pictures that were so lovingly placed in the photo album? It all comes down to the paper on which the photos were mounted.

Why does paper do this to my photos?

Regular paper is made with a chemical compound called lignin. Lignin is make from a certain part of plants what causes the paper to become yellow or brown over time. This means that any photos that are attached to this paper will also turn yellow or brown.

Why don’t the professionally mounted photos turn colors?

The photos that are professionally mounted are more than likely mounted on a paper that does not contain any of the lignin that regular paper contains. This means that the mounted paper is acid free and ph neutral. Scrapbooking paper is made of the same kind of paper that is used in these professionally mounted photos.

So will scrapbooking paper preserve my photos?

The scrapbooking paper which is acid free will help to preserve your photos but when you are mounting them you must make sure to choose a scrapbook that is also acid free. If you choose a scrapbook that is not acid free the scrapbooking paper will not be enough to preserve your photos because of the acid in the scrapbook pages.

Are there other things I should know in addition to acid free scrapbooking paper?

Remember that everything that touches the scrapbooking paper should also be acid free because if it is not the scrapbooking paper will soak up the acid in these items overtime and your photos will show the yellow or browning signs we talked about earlier. Read the labels of all of your items from the markers to the embellishments and also the adhesive that you use. Acid free items, including scrapbooking paper, will be a bit more costly but it is well worth the cost to have a higher great of scrapbooking paper and items that will keep your photos looking wonderful over the years.