[kevs]

<snip>

My main post is that anyone that has shot film has an instant archive in the envelope when their photos arrive. When my grandparents died all of their photos and negative were there and viewable by eye. They were all saved. With digital even when you know what you are doing and take care, spend dollars and hours of effort you can still lose a lot or even everything.

<snip>

It only takes one match / hard drive crash / electrical fault/ flood / lightning strike / earthquake to wipe out any archive, physical or digital. The only invulnerable data is that of which multiple copies are stored off-site away from the originals. And don't forget the role of the vinegar syndrome, or just plain carelessness. Hmmm, better get scanning then...

Cheers,
kevs