Fortunately, computer software, DVD burners, online servers, and printers make it very simple to import, view, organize, and save your digital images—all you need to do is incorporate them into your digital image routine. By using these tools you can easily assemble, control, and share your image collection.

Software Programs

Many computer software programs enable you to import, view, organize, enhance, and save your images. Quite a few of these programs are available for free online or come already installed on your computer. In the spirit of keeping things simple, I ’m going to cover three options: Picasa, iPhoto, and Microsoft Vista.

iPhoto
For Mac users, every Apple computer comes bundled with iPhoto, a photo-organizing and viewing software program. iPhoto allows you to import, organize, edit, and perform basic retouching with a user-friendly, intuitive interface. Some additions to this program include slideshows set to music, Web galleries, easy image emailing features, and photocasting. Photocasting is the Mac version of an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication).

Microsoft Vista
Windows Vista comes bundled with PC/Windows based computers. It’s easy to transfer your images to your computer and then view, organize, and share them with your friends and family. When you add the free services in Windows Live, you can do even more cool things with your pictures and share your memories in creative ways. You just plug your camera into your computer, and Windows Photo Gallery guides you through the steps.

Metadata

These software programs can help you organize and search for images by the general metadata (data that describes the images) stored in every image captured by a digital camera. Metadata is saved in a format called Exchangeable Image File (EXIF). This is why you may hear some people refer to this information as EXIF files. Accessing this metadata and adding your own customized keywords (words that describe the image) to your images allows you to search for specific photographs by date, name, camera type, and shutter speed, just to name a few criteria. The possibilities are endless when you add your own descriptions and keywords to create a custom digital-filing system. You may never waste another minute looking for those hard-to-find images, because the software program does it for you. Following is an example of the information (metadata) automatically captured in every digital image you take.

Tags

The term "tagging" in the context of digital photography means applying descriptive keywords to your images in the form of tags. In most organizational software programs they are represented by little icons you drag and drop and attach to your images. Tagging your photos is essentially an exercise in library science. The whole idea is that when all of your photos are assigned to meaningful categories, you can easily find them a year from now.

Preserving Your Images

Don’t make the mistake of transferring your images to your computer hard drive and then walking away. Computers can crash, hard drives can freeze up, and your precious images could disappear in a resounding POOF if you don’t take the time to save them properly. I recommend saving and backing up your images at least two ways, two times, in two places. Make it a habit to back up your images every time you transfer them to your computer. Burn DVDs, copy your images to an external hard drive, upload them to an online image-sharing website or server, and most importantly - print them out.

The bad news is, digital images may not last forever. DVD technology has degradation characteristics with a life expectancy of no more than 15 years. Hardware and storage media, CD, DVD, and hard drives are much less enduring than good old film. If not operated occasionally, a hard drive will freeze up in as little as two years.

Depending on where you store your images, they might be difficult to retrieve in the future due to the constant change in technology. As one generation of digital magic replaces the next, archived materials must be repeatedly migrated to the new format, or risk becoming unreadable. So, it’s a good idea to update your digital images every few years. In addition, you can preserve your images by printing them out; however, to achieve the archival longevity print manufacturers’ claim, you’ll need to use their recommended combination of printer, paper, and ink.

The new Canon ChromaLife 100+ system is a combination of the latest Canon ink, Canon Photo Papers and print technology. If you use these together you can count on beautiful lab-quality prints with enhanced fade resistance for up to 300 year

Printing
I like to use the Canon Multifunction printers because I can print documents, photos, scan, and copy with just one device. It saves a lot of room on my desk and I can hang out at home in my fuzzy slippers while I print out my images. Here are a few easy ways to print your images:

From your computer: Connect your computer to the printer with a USB cable, install the Easy Photo Print software included with your printer and follow the directions. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

From your camera : Most digital cameras and printers are now Pictbridge enabled. Pictbridge is a new standard created for direct printing from your digital camera to your printer, regardless of the make of the camera or the printer. This technology allows you to connect your digital camera directly to your printer without a computer—just plug your camera into the printer using a USB cable and you’re ready to print.

From a memory card : Insert a memory card directly into the printer, view your images in the LCD screen, select, and print. The printer accepts SD Secure Digital, SDHC, MultiMediaCard, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, and Memory Stick Pro.

You can also print a Photo Index Sheet from your memory card. Just insert your memory card into the printer, make your selections with the Easy Scroll Wheel, and print out an index sheet. This index sheet contains all the images from your memory card in thumbnail size with scantron bubbles beneath each image. Just fill in the bubbles with your desired print size and quantity, place it on the Canon Multifunction scanner bed, press print, and the printer takes your order.

Prevent becoming overwhelmed with the preservation process by printing as you go. Print only your favorites and put them aside. If you wait months to tackle the task of sorting through all your photos, it becomes very tedious and a chore. Be organized upfront, print often, and you’ll be ready to create beautiful scrapbooks at a moments notice. Practice makes perfect, so make it a habit to back up your images this year. You’ll be glad you did.

- Erin Manning