Digital BW, The Print

John,

Expanding a bit on the topic you introduced here ...

For me the answer to digital data storage and longevity is to always
use whatever is current hard disk storage technology.  CDs & DVDs will
be superceded - eventually.  If you commit long-term storage to media
such as these then - eventually - they'll be unusable.  If you stick
with storage of all your image files on your computer's hard drive(s)
AND back up REGULARLY to external hard drives (i.e. the same
technology as the hard drive (stored off site)) then you are
effectively always backing up on current technology.  And
price/performance of external/removable drives puts external hard
drive storage way ahead of CD & DVD.  As technology moves on then as
long as you also keep your PC storage AND backup storage technologies
in step and don't rely on being able to read those old CDs or DVDs
then, at least during your lifetime, your digital data will be safe. 
What happens after we're gone is down to someone else, should they
think it worth keeping ... !  But at least it will be on up-to-date
technology at the point where it's no longer in our hands.  For me the
two questions of long term storage AND daily security are addressed in
the same way - frequent backups to current technology - and keep up to
date.

This doesn't address the question of file formats.  But presumably
(hopefully?) in newer editions of software we'll be able to open files
in older formats and then save them in new formats - we can do that
now with Photoshop.  So, it is possible to keep digital data from
going stale!

I acknowledge that it does take some work and the willingness to keep
in step with current storage technology.  But, it's not difficult.

I use 5x4 film which I scan.  My current backup regime is as follows:
 I always have 4 copies of my data.  1) - the film.  2) - the file on
my PC hard drives.  3) - the current backup on the currently attached
external hard disk (daily incremental backup).  4) - the last backup
(never more that a week old) stored off site on my second external
hard drive.  I swap these two external hard drives every week.  It
could be said that I should actually have a cycle of 3 external
backups rather than two - so that if the house burns down and I lose
my film, my PC and my current backup (but not my life) then can I be
sure that the off site backup is actually useable?  We'll, I do check
that it's readable before taking it off site, but nothing is 100%
certain is it!

I've just realised that I do also have a 5th copy of my data.  I have
a print of (almost) every file although it isn't the full data file as
it's A4 size compared with a 16-bit greyscale file of about 185MB.

I have recently improved my own backup regime after suffering from a
hard disk crash in which I lost a whole weeks work.  I recovered using
my external hard disk backup but I hadn't been doing daily incremental
backups.  But I do now.

Steve
http://www.virtuallygrey.co.uk/


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mr_Misty_44"
<jharvey@i...> wrote:
>
> I think the one overriding concern I have which has kept me from 
> getting into digital still work is the storage problem. I look at 
> those B&W Negatives and think that 100 years from now there will still 
> be someway to make a print from them. I know that folks in the 
> business of archiving are calling this the unstable time because of 
> the advancement of technology and the rate at which a once seemingly 
> standardized system becomes obsolete or is found not to be reliable. I 
> keep all my scans on hard drives and CD's but if anything should 
> happen to them I still have the old analog negative to fall back on.
> 
> If none of this bothers you then who cares. I agree that digital iis 
> tust another tool. 
> 
> John H.
>