Digital BW, The Print

Howard,

I agree that your strategy as described seems very robust, particularly 
as you test and replace and store in separate locations.  All very sound 
components of a secure strategy.

If I'd said that long term storage to hard drive was my solution then 
I'd have to agree with you - it's unwise.  But my post (referred to 
below - did you read my post number 71205?) talks about always using 
current technology and refreshing the backed up data periodically - 
every week in my case.  Whilst I didn't explicitly state it in my 
earlier post, I certainly intended it to be meant that by keeping up to 
date with hard disk technology (or whatever new storage technology 
replaces it in time) you would of course replace your external backup 
drives periodically too.  You test your CDs periodically (3 from each 
batch each year), I test my external hard disk backup with a full 
read/verify every week before taking it off site and replacing it with 
another external drive.

Ultimately there is no such thing as a 100% guaranteed secure long term 
storage solution so each of us needs to find the solution that provides 
that balance of risk, security, effort and cost which is commensurate 
with the value (financial or personal) of what we want to secure.

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


how786 wrote:

> Considering how often hard drives fail, I do not think this is a wise
> choice.
> We've been doing an archiving project for a religious organization
> for many years---scannng and storing all of their negatives. We have
> used Mitsui Gold CDs since the onset of the project. All images are
> placed onto the CDs in TIFF format. We actually make a total of 4 for
> each roll of film. They are stored in 4 different locations. We use a
> high-quality CD copier unit to quickly accomplish this step burning at 8x.
> The project has been ongoing for close to 8 years.
> We test 3 Gold CDs annually from each batch and compare them with the
> original data. Thus far our degradation has been zero.
> Truly---ZERO. Our plan all along has been to make new generational
> copies on new Gold media when we begin to see signs of significant
> degradation.
> I don't advise using HDs for long-term storage. We have suffered a
> myriad of HD losses during the same time period. We have always used
> the highest quality Seagate SCSI HDs. Seagate HDs are currently
> guaranteed for 5 years. They have rarely made it that long. (Thank God
> for Ghost backups!)
> The CDs are stored in jeweled cases within a beautifully made, lined,
> oak storage unit kept at a reasonable temperature and humidity. The
> units are extremely well made and nice to look at, as well.
> http://www.musicstorage.com/cd-storage-4-drawer.htm
> Yes, DVDs have a lot more space than CDs but Gold DVDs have only very
> recently become available. We are currently testing Mitsui Archival
> Gold DVDs. Even if we DO switch to the Gold DVDs sometime soon, we
> will continue to have storage on CDs as well since our experience with
> them has been stellar.
> BTW, all Gold CDs are not equal! A few years ago when we tested Kodak
> Golds and they contained many errors. No point having a Gold CD last
> 200 years if there are many errors already present on day one.
> Taiyo Yuden CDs have always tested well but I am not aware of them
> producing a Gold product yet.
> I hope this information is of some use to you.
> Best Regards
> Howard
>   
>
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Steve Gledhill
> <stephengledhill@...> wrote:
> >
> > Wise approach Clayton.  I commented on external hard disk backup to
> > external drives a few months ago (post 71205) suggesting it's the only
> > way to be sure of keeping your data secure.  The moment you narrow your
> > secured copy of your files to a single instance which is never
> > 'refreshed' - then you're vulnerable.  If you always use current
> storage
> > technology with multiple copies (stored separately) that's about as
> > secure as you can get.  Data storage is very cheap and easy to do to
> > external hard disks - and fast.  But securing your data means you do
> > have to have the discipline to make sure you do the deed and swap disks
> > regularly / frequently - every week for me with daily incremental
> > backups too.
> > Steve Gledhill ----- http://www.virtuallygrey.co.uk/
> >
> > Clayton Jones wrote:
> >
> > > Hello Rob,
> > >
> > > >http://www.best-dvd-burning-software-reviews.com/best-blank-dvd-
> > > >media.asp
> > > > or (shortened)
> > > > http://tinyurl.com/7lssl
> > >
> > > What a great site, thanks very much.  I haven't used DVD, so was
> > > unaware of the problem in this kind of detail.  I've been using
> > > outboard USB hard drives for my backups - I think I'll continue
> > > expanding in that avenue.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Clayton
> > >
> > > Info on black and white digital printing at  
> > > http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm


		
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