Card files are windup toys in this age of electronic games. Most use envelopes or folders to collect the stuff from which stories come. When the moment of truth arrives and the story has to be written, the contents get dumped and sorted. Nothing gets in a writer's way like not having the fact at the fingertips. Most writers just shut down when they are not sure about spelling or date.
Pros save everything but they only write a little of what they know.
Most publications think that short is better than long. ALL readers know this to be true. Imagine LIFE or TIME without pictures. Your readers deserve to see a good picture with excellent detail. The smudged, muddy look of photocopy pictures says rag tag, low budget, clubhouse in a tree organization.