I'm in the process of taking my old photo prints and scanning them on to discs.

When I have gone through my old prints, I find the odd ones stuck together, as if with glue. I am now putting a sheet of paper between these prints, as I go through them. Any good tips on separating and storing prints?

When I scan my prints, I wipe them with a cotton cloth and clean the glass scanner plate. Still, In my scanned copies I sometimes get lint showing, especially on dark backgrounds. Any tips on cleaning prints, before scanning?

PR

Photo album?

I don't have room for albums and need to store my prints more compactly. I'm looking more so for advice on storing photos in a pack, without them sticking together.

I'm also looking for tips on scanning prints, for the best quality digital image.

PR

The lint on the scanned image might be coming from the cotton cloth you're using to wipe the glass so try using a lint free one of some kind. Or a camera lens blower?

The best way to scan a print is to find the original negative and scan it instead. There is far more tonal information and resolution in a negative. The dark areas of a negative or slide hold much more information than a print. Dark areas can be brightened with a photo editor to bring out details that would not be visible in a print.

Beau Photos (near MEC) sells polyethylene sheet protectors that are designed for long term storage of prints and negatives. They fit into standard three ring binders and are useful for organizing too. But if you still have the negatives I would store them instead, and toss the prints. I have about 10,000 negatives on about two meters of shelf space. I don't keep prints.

Colour prints, slides, and negatives will deteriorate with time. The red layer is particularly sensitive toward UV and blue light. That is why old colour photos have an unrealistic hue.

Negatives and slides are made from gelatin which encourages mold especially in the presence of water vapour. Mold shows up as black spots that cannot be removed. If you are serious about long term storage, seal them in plastic and store in a freezer.

The most compact and convenient way to store photos is to scan them and store them in Adobe Lightroom.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

The best way to eliminate dust and lint is to use a scanner equipped with digital-Ice. Scanners like that cost a bit more but use a IR beam to detect lint on the image and remove it automatically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_ICE

The scanner software can make a huge difference. I use VueScan ($39) instead of the generic software that comes with a scanner. I think they still have a 30-day free trial so you try before you buy.
http://www.hamrick.com/vsm.html