PhotoArk began as an experiment in digital preservation in 1992. Sherm Howe, as photographic curator at the Woodstock Historical Society, brought a 19th century photograph to Macy Lawrence to see if Macy could use his new scanner to blow up the image in order to closely examine the details.

Although the equipment was relatively rudimentary at the time, Macy and Sherm were astonished at the results they could get with some careful scanning and enhancement.

What was lacking at the time was the ability to make a good print from the digital file. They had to bring the file to a graphic artist with a Compugraphic Linotronic image-setting machine. This was before the days of high resolution inkjet printers.

As Sherm continued to bring more materials and investigations over to Macy's scanner, the potential for photographic preservation by digital means, although still in its infancy, became evident. Macy started building a business centered around the possibility of digitally archiving rapidly deteriorating photographic collections and making this technology affordable and available where it was needed most: collections stored at the local level, in small museums and historical societies.

Eventually, by forming partnerships with several institutions throughout New England, PhotoArk was able to develop this enterprise to the advantage of nonprofit collections.

Once low cost, high capacity storage (cd-rom) became available, the digital archive became a reality. And once the digital archive was in the hands of small institutions and organizations, a whole new world of possibilities opened up in terms of the many uses for these digital files, from web sites to large scale interpretive displays.

In response to these new possibilities, PhotoArk added web site and graphic design, large format inkjet printing and a complete laminating/mounting and fabrication facility to the shop.