What does acid-free mean, and why should I care?


Acid-free is a catchall term these days, basically referring to scrapbook 
supplies that will not destroy your precious photos.  The old photo albums with
"magnetic" pages are acidic...if you have one that's maybe 10 years old, take 
a look at it.  Maybe your photos still look ok, but I'm willing to bet that 
the pages themselves are even starting to yellow.  Acidic photo storage, even 
if it's a shoebox *G*, will eventually erode and destroy your photos.

Almost every supply specifically made for scrapbooking these days is classified 
as "acid-free", so if those words are on the label or packaging, you can be 
confident that those products themselves won't damage your photos.  If it doesn't
specify, you can still find out for yourself with the use of a ph-testing pen,
available at some craft stores, but also through mailorder sources (I know that 
Heartstrings Network, on the Links page, carries this pen).  The good news is, alot
of supplies that don't say they're acid-free actually ARE, such as grocery-store 
cheap-o stickers.

Your glue also needs to be safe, or all the acid-free paper in the world won't make
a difference.  But that's a whole other question...check that link next *wink*!