[quote="snooner"]You guys are amazing!!! It's so wonderful that you guys took the time to help me out!

I have gotten some autos that are already very special to me and my daughter, and I figure a little overkill may not be a bad thing to protect them.

I love the suggestion to store them "sideways." Wonderful idea.
And I contacted print file. They said autographs were safe to store in their pages.

You guys are the best! {up}

One more silly question if I could.. :wink: What do you think is the best way to protect a small signed drum head?

Thanks a million!!!![/quote]
If I were you I would actually send two seperate envolopes, because you can never be sure if both of them will get the letter. Then I would put the sase'sin both envolopes. Now if you just want to send one envolope I would recommend putting in two sase's.
-Allyson

You guys are amazing!!! It's so wonderful that you guys took the time to help me out!

I have gotten some autos that are already very special to me and my daughter, and I figure a little overkill may not be a bad thing to protect them.

I love the suggestion to store them "sideways." Wonderful idea.
And I contacted print file. They said autographs were safe to store in their pages.

You guys are the best! {up}

One more silly question if I could.. :wink: What do you think is the best way to protect a small signed drum head?

Thanks a million!!!!

Yes, the biggest issue was with the metallic-based markers, but I have had zero issues since I switched to proper materials. Also, if you can get the photo(s) stored into archival sleeves quickly enough (I usually do it within one day of receiving the success in the mail), then virtually all of those problems can be averted. Personally, I now use acid-free sleeves, as well as acid-free cardstock, and I have yet to experience any fading, yellowing, or aging at all. Proper archival materials will even protect the photo from UV rays and dust, which is more than half the battle. In fact, scientists claim that a properly stored photo can last upwards of 200 years, which is enough time for your collection to be handed down to multiple generations of family :)

[quote="Münchausen"]
No problem, I hope I was able to help! Unfortunately, several of my signatures ended up sticking to the plastic sleeve and peeling off. It was horrible...[/quote]

Sharpie or metallic/paint pen? I have sleeves from all manufacturers and I've never had a problem with Sharpies sticking to sleeves.

As for overkill, Sharpies will fade over time - doesn't matter if they say they're permanent. Older Sharpies leave a yellow "halo" either around the signature or on back of the photo.

Permanence, too, depends on the photo being signed. Black and white photos generally are more stable. Color photos will eventually fade as well, unless you want to get them printed on archival paper as well (which I've never done, so I can't speak for how well or not they hold up.)

Yes, I protect my autographed photos. But they're not going to last forever. So I just sleeve them, place them in a binder and call it a day.

[quote="snooner"]Thank you for the tip! Curious, what went wrong when you said you made that mistake a few years ago?

Thanks for the help![/quote]
No problem, I hope I was able to help! Unfortunately, several of my signatures ended up sticking to the plastic sleeve and peeling off. It was horrible...

Thank you for the tip! Curious, what went wrong when you said you made that mistake a few years ago?

Thanks for the help!

Absolutely, 100% do NOT get anything from Staples. I made that mistake a couple years back. They may be marked “archival” but that actually means nothing, since they are not actually acid free. I got my storage supplies from: http://www.printfile.com and I highly recommend them, as they fully stand by their product. After that, all you need to do is grab a 3 to 4 inch, 3-ring binder from any local store and you are set! :)

Thanks again for getting back to me.

I just figured that we're working so hard to get these, any little bit of extra "defense" helps. Overboard? Probably, LOL. But a couple extra bucks could make the difference years down the road... or not. :D

I was looking at these:

https://www.amazon.com/We-Memory-Keepers-Classic-Leather/dp/B003W0TJDY/ref=sr_1_376?s=furniture&ie=UTF8&qid=1519750024&sr=1-376&keywords=archival+album

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/667389-REG/Archival_Methods_18_5316_18_5316_1_5_D_Ring_Matching.html

The navy one could easily be stored on the side as to let the autos hang from the 3 holed side.

It's a lot of cash, but sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In your opinion, is this total overkill?

Thanks again so much!!!

I've never heard of archival binders. Really, if you want to go overboard, get a system where your sleeves will hang down (e.g., suspended from the hole side) rather than place them as a book to lessen the stress of one photo in a sleeve being pressed against another and to lessen the stress being placed on the bottom.

But I use regular D-ring binders. D-rings, because you can fit more in and when you open up the binder the sleeves lay that much more flatter rather than get bunched up.

You guys are the best! It really is kind of you guys to take the time to help out. :D

Is it worth it to pop in the extra to buy an acid free archival binder too, even if the autos are in sleeves? Better safe than sorry?

Thanks a million again!