This week we learned that Costco Photo Centers are closing at over 800 locations across the country on February 14th. Customers will still be able to print photos and other items on Costco’s website.
CNN reported this information and mentioned, that this marks an ending a number of Costco services that have a decidedly retro vibe. Ha! It is now considered retro to print your photos at a local store. In addition to ending the in-store printing, Costco is also ending their photo restoration and home video transfer services.
Does Printing Photos Matter Anymore?
Photo services sure have changed drastically over the last three decades. My biggest question now – “Is Walgreens Photo next?”
As soon as I thought that, then I wondered does it even matter? When was the last time I needed to print a photo in an hour? Well, I did print two photos out that were taken in 2005. I included these prints in a graduation card for one of our neighbors daughters back in May 2020. (Like a lifetime ago!)
In the past, printing photos was essential to preserving a family’s story. Many people printed out thousands of photos over the decades and some of those photos even made into photo albums. Today, it’s not necessary to print photos any longer when there are so many digital options to preserve photos and tell your story. Unfortunately, it seems like we’ve taken this change and neglected the organization of our digital photos and we aren’t very good at getting digital photo books made. How can we when our digital photos can be found across numerous devices, photo storage sites and social media apps?
Watch a video on this topic and share your thoughts on this news:
Printing is Not As Important as Photo Preservation
Here at Pixologie, we teach that people should bring all of their photos, video, important family documents and memorabilia together organized and curated in a printed and digital photo archive – something we call a photo estate.
So Costco Photo Centers closing, to me, is not a big of loss as one might think. Our biggest risk is to lose track of our digital photos. And, the Costco online photo services may be a contributor to the problem. I consider Costco’s online photo storage similar to Walgreens, Snapfish and other photo printing sites that offer prints and photobooks. Some people use these online sites to store photos and a potential place to find a lost photo in desperation.
Three Things to Consider About Photo Preservation
- Backup in Two Places – You should have your photo collection backed up in two places – one in your home and one outside of your home. Costco’s Photo Centers
- Your Photos Should be Organized in Albums/Folders – Depending upon what program or website you use, your photos should be organized so you can find what you are looking for when you need it
- How Will You Share Your Photos – Being able to share your photos today through messaging and email, with a photo book and more. What about ten years from now? And generations to come? Will your photo collection stand the test of time?
The Solution We Use
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