Digital Storage
In the same way that you have to take special care in storing your physical artwork once it is completed, you must also take pains to archive your digital images once they have been printed. You will be amassing several hundreds of megabytes of data in a very short time, so taking them off the hard drive and storing them on reliable media is very important. The best method of archiving old data is on CDs. Most new computers come equipped with a CD burner. If your unit is older, you can buy one separately.
Blank CDs are very inexpensive (about a dollar each, if you buy in large quantities), and each CD holds upward of 700 megabytes. That's a lot of storage for a dollar. That's also a lot of data lost if something goes wrong. Follow these important safety tips and your CD will outlive you.
Never write on a CD with a pencil or a ballpoint pen — or a marker with a solvent-based ink. Instead, use a CD labeling pen (found at most office supply stores) with water-soluble ink to write on the CD surface — and then only on the area of the CD where the manufacturer indicates it is safe to write.
Avoid sticking labels or other adhesives on the surface of a CD.
Handle a CD with your fingertips and only around the outer edge.
Never place a CD on any surface. It should go from the case to the CD-ROM and back to the case.
Store CDs in a cool, dark place. Direct sunlight and high temperatures can damage and warp a CD.
Use a clean, soft lint-free cloth and only approved CD-cleaning solvent to clean a dirty CD. Wipe in a straight line from the inner hole to the outer edge.
Even the most careful handling will never be able to prevent disasters such as fires or storms, so burn two CDs at a time. One CD is for normal use and the other is a master CD to replace the first in an emergency. If possible, store the master CD in a different location — even a different house. In the event of a fire, it may not make a difference that one set of CDs were on the first floor and the other set was in the basement — they would both be ruined.
Some cartoonists burn samples onto CDs and send them to prospective editors, but this isn't a good idea. Print editors want to know what your work looks like in print. The low-resolution image they would see on the screen is a poor substitute. And if you forget to make the CDs readable on both Mac and PC, an editor may not be able to view your work at all.
