You Tube and Electronic Data

[Tarrel]

The usual response to this issue is to suggest printing stuff out and archiving it, which makes a lot of sense. However, I wonder whether anyone has done a serious study of how long a typical consumer-printed written document will last?

I am a keen amateur photographer, and do a lot of printing to exhibition and competition standard. I know there is a world of difference between professional inks and papers, that can last up to 200 years, and the normal run-of-the-mill consumer products that will fade within a decade or so. Acid content of the paper has a lot to do with it, plus the type and formulation of the inks. Storage of the finished document is also a factor.

If you're looking to build an archive for your family's future, I'd seriously think about buying professionally printed books covering the key topics (food-growing, mechanics, medicine, plant-identification, etc.). These are likely to last much longer than home-printed documents.