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​There Is Nothing Magnetic About Magnetic Photo Albums

2/2/2016

9 Comments

 
They ... (the royal “they”) ...  aren’t kidding – you really need to get your photos out of magnetic photo albums ... and here's why ..... !!


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Recently, I was working with a client’s photo collection; and as part of the job, there were 4 albums of photos.  Two were slide-in type albums and two were….(insert dramatic music here) magnetic albums! 

It seems simple enough to remove the photos, right?  ...since the process to get them IN the album was pretty simple.  Pull back the plastic, stick down the photo, put the plastic back.  ... and repeat......

For removal: Same concept in reverse, right?  However, you will find that the removal is not nearly as easy as the initial placement – heat, humidity, time, and GLUE have all had their way with the photos. 

There is nothing magnetic about these albums. 


The photos stick because of glue.  GLUE.  Yikes!  Over time, it starts to act up and decides that the pictures are going to be stuck permanently.   There are lots of chemical reasons why the glue degrades and basically eats away at the back of the photos and the ink and then the pictures start to discolor, fade and all sorts of nastiness - trust me on this, or google it - but it is a fact - glue damages photos.

When one starts a project like this, one says a quick prayer to the photo gods for kindness and generosity – and then if that tactic that doesn’t work  as well as expected - one gets busy with dental floss! ​
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Dental floss slid behind the pictures can slice through the glue – it takes patience – but it is possible to release the pictures from their gluey hold.

During this particular project, I also used blank photo paper (from when I had this really great idea that printing all my photos would help me save money – except that paper and ink has its own aging issues – more on that in a future post) ----- back to the blank photo paper ---- I successfully used it to slide between photo and offending adhesive and that helped release many of the photos.  The thicker paper made a nice edge for sliding along the barrier.  DON’T think that a “dull” butter knife will do the trick – it won’t.  You need something that slides between the photo and the glue and you need a whole lot of patience.  

A good TV show to binge-watch during the process helps too.  I was catching up on Downton Abbey.  WIN WIN!!
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A quick Google search and/or Pinterest search (two of my favorite go-to information sources) will tell you that a blow dryer may help release the glue by warming it up.  Searching further, folks have said that putting the album (or single page) in the freezer may also help the process.  Clearly, a real-life experiment of each of these processes will need to be done.  Stay tuned, gentle readers!!  

Don't quote me on these theories.....yet (wait for the real-life experiment) --- instead know that I did just fine with gentle (and determined) sliding/slicing of dental floss and my friends at Downton Abbey. 
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9 Comments
Meaghan Kahlo link
2/11/2016 07:54:07 am

I hate these albums too! Thank you for the tips. I am going to try the hair dryer truck next. I've also had success with Un-du adhesive remover. Ugh. Patience is key!

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Kate
2/11/2016 09:11:25 am

Yes, patience is key! Thanks for visiting!

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Andi Willis link
2/11/2016 04:59:12 pm

Those albums are the bane of my existence! I have several family albums that I need to tackle. I find that the pictures in these albums either are securely glues, like you said, or they fall right out because the glue has degraded. I'd be interested to see if the hair dryer would do any damage to the picture and how sticky the glue would be. Worth a try on an unimportant picture, I guess.

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Kate
2/14/2016 06:14:22 pm

They are tough to deal with for sure! I have a feeling we will see more album issues as time goes on.

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Darla DeMorrow link
2/11/2016 05:19:13 pm

I've seen just as mch of the other problem, where none of the pictures stuck and they fall out of the book and out of order. But either way, it's time to get photos out of those icky sticky albums.

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Kate
2/14/2016 06:15:21 pm

I had some come right out - It would be tough if they all came tumbling out - one more pile of photos to sort! Thanks for visiting my blog.

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Hazel Thornton link
2/15/2016 07:23:26 am

I haven't had to deal with these yet, but I know it's just a matter of time!

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Kate
2/15/2016 10:44:04 am

The albums seem to be on everyone's shelves......patience is definitely the key. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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Maya Wardle link
11/23/2020 04:58:50 pm

Hi nice readding your blog

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