Is it necessary to use acid free adhesive on photos?

I'm making my first photo album and I've been using 3M magic double side tape to stick them to my pattern paper, but my friend told me the photos will turn yellow becoz of the acid in the tape. Is it true?! I'm freaking out now!!! If so, what affordable adhesives do I have? ATG seems really expensive so I don't want to start on that. What about glue stick?

Yes, adhesive with acid in it will affect photos over time. The chemicals in the photos and the acid in the adhesive are not a good combination. Check the packet of your 3M magic tape to see if it says it is acid free? I wouldn't use glue stick either unless it is an acid free one. There are lots of alternatives to choose from in the store on this site.

I would never recommend glue stick - even the acid free ones will warp and wrinkle the page and over time they quit sticking.

But like Susan said, your photos will turn yellow if the tape is not acid free.

There are lots of acid free options for adhesive. You can check the store here or you local store. Just check that it says "acid free" on the label.
Honestly, I don't worry about it too much. I've seen ancient books that used old adhesive tape. The tape has dried out and turned brown but the photos were still intact. I figure if the adhesive (or other items I choose to add to my pages) are going to wreck anything, it won't be for decades, if at all, and I'm not really worried about it!

I started scrapbooking 8 years ago. Several years ago when my books were 4 or 5 years old and some were only 2 or 3 years old I decided to take everything out of the protectors and scan and stitch each page so it would be on my computer.

Almost every page had something that had fallen off! Some pages were completely ruined because I used bad glue or adhesive that wasn't good quality.

I spent hours and hours and hours gluing letters back on, re-adhering photos and literally rebuilding my scrapbook pages.

I'm in Florida where it is hot and I'm sure that was some of the problem but I've learned - some products do not hold up. I was heartsick every time I pulled a ruined layout out of a protector, especially one I couldn't fix.

And, like I said, they had been in the protectors for 2-5 years each.

I made a scrapbook when my husband and I were dating, (about 45 years ago). I hesitate to call it a scrapbook because we only had the scrapbooks, tape and scissors then - nothing like scrapbooking today. The old scrapbook surfaced a few years ago and I was only able to salvage 2 or 3 photos. The rest were destroyed by the tape I used. That really made me sick.

The few I could save were really faded but Walgreens fixed that up for me. But the ones ruined by the tape - they could not be repaired. They are permanently ruined.

Wish I had used good quality acid-free tape 45 years ago but we didn't have it then.

Since my oldest son (he's 40 years old) wants all my scrapbooks and wants to pass them down to his daughter, I really take care to make sure I'm using materials that will last.

Thank you all for your input! Oh my!!! I don't want my mini album to fall apart or the photos ruined!!! Does the acid only affect the photos? Will it also affect the pattern paper as well? If so, I may consider buying acid-free products from now on. But I think even if the photos turn yellow after a few years, I can reprint them and fix it maybe....

Sometimes if you go through old boxes with old papers and things you will find something that has been taped to something and that will give you an idea of what eventually happens.

Just safer to use acid free.

When I go to crops I see people going crazy with tape runners. They cover the entire back perimeter of the photo before gluing it down and with a good quality tape or tape runner, that isn't necessary. A little bit goes a long way when you use it properly.

I use an ATG but I finally learned - it doesn't take much and that picture isn't going anywhere! I've never had a problem with anything taped with ATG or good scrapbook tape runner turning colors or falling off. I also find that products like pop dots and glue dots held up very well - those all held tight.

With my old book from the late 60's everything was ruined but the paper was not acid free and the tape wasn't either so it was a sinking ship all the way around.

Now I scan in all photos so if they do fade, I can reprint.

The ones I did 4 or 5 years back just quit holding. I used a lot of the scrapbook square adhesive things to stick them with which are acid free along with some scrapbooking acid-free glue pens and they all just didn't hold up - so much held with them had fallen apart. We get a lot of heat and humidity in central Floridian and the products didn't hold up.

The problem may not be so bad in a climate without the heat and humidity. Plus we travel a lot and my husband turns the thermostat to 80 degrees and I'm sure that causes the square photo tapes and glue pens to fail - but I don't expect my expensive products to fail at all!

I used glue pens on my letters and I couldn't believe that most of my letters were just loose in the protector sleeves.

As it was mentioned before, check the label of the tape you were using. A lot of adhesives are now labeled photo safe. When I started out with scrapbooking, I used double sided scotch tape but it said photo safe on the label. I have not had any problem with those pages coming apart. There's a lot of good information here. I'm sure you'll find the one that is reasonably priced and right for you!

• amydancery Said:

In regards to paper, its lignin that affects it, think newspapers yellowing etc.
You want to look for acid free and lignin free. The papers here are by scrapbook manufacturers whose paper is acid free and lignin free.

Since I am already on the Debbie downer track........If you are printing at home, is your printer ink and photo paper acid free or "Ph balanced or PH 7" (neutral) ? Many everyday print cartridges are not. While you may not be worried about it lasting generations, it might be a matter of a decade or less that you will start to see changes in those photos.
Epson just made a big announcement about making acid free paper and ink. HP has pigment ink but its expensive and still not sure if it means acid free.

Its just information...food for thought...You can check your printers information about the cartridges it takes.

Thanks Jill. I never thought about the printer ink but I will now. I'll have to investigate what I'm using - its HP brand. I don't buy any other cartridges but I'll check the box to see if it is acid free!

I don't print my own photos, but I do print a lot of journaling.

YES, you HAVE to use acid free adhesive. Most tape, especially cellophane tape (aka scotch tape) will kill your photos. A cheap and effective acid free adhesive is Ross Glue Sticks. They are found on the school and office supply isles of most stores and go on sale for practically pennies at back to school time. I discovered that the sticks were "acid free and archive safe" when a nephew ate one of my boys glue sticks for school. I was pretty sure that the glue sticks were "non-toxic" but I quickly grabbed the one he ate a chunk of and read the label on the side of the stick and discovered they were not only non-toxic, but also acid free and archive safe. Thus, I've been using them in my scrapbooking since probably 2005.

So, I'm making the album using acid free/lignin free paper my adhesive is not touching the photos do I still need an acid free adhesive?

As long as your paper is -- I think lignin free is the right word - it should be fine. Those papers prevent the acid in the glue from leaching...

Patient: Dr. do I have to floss all my teeth?
Dentist: No only the ones you want to keep.

I would , just to be sure. I can't imagine using adhesive that isn't archival safe.

You said your tape is not touching the photos. I'm missing something here, obviously, but how are you putting down the pictures without the adhesive touching the back of them?

• TheCraftBunny Said:

Invest!!! best thing i did ever was get the atg many years ago and still using it!!!!!

yest. I try to use only acid free stuff for my albums. I do have "cheaper" non acid free cardstock - but only for cards.

I do agree - even if my original post seemed to imply that I didn't - that you should REALLY invest in acid free adhesive. But it sounded like you wanted it done and didn't want to get something special for a project.

If you're going to be using original photos, then you should absolutely use acid free. If you're scrapping up copies of originals that are in safe keeping, then it's not QUITE so critical.