M aintaining the original integrity and quality of your silver negatives and prints should be you number one priority. Without proper processing and storage many of your most valued images begin to deteriorate the moment they are produced. Exactly how long it takes for a specific piece of paper to self-destruct depends on the exact nature of the chemicals used to make the product and the way in which paper is stored.
Newsprint is usually the cheapest paper available and tends to be the first to decay.
Newspaper clippings can often show a significant amount of aging in ten to twenty-five years. Other paper will decay more slowly, but any paper over fifty years of age may have developed significant problems. Heat speeds chemical reactions and causes phot paper to decay more quickly. Humidity can also destroy paper. Humidity does its harm in two ways.