Looking After Paper Wallets

[K128kevin2]

Hi all, can anybody with paper wallets tell me how they look after their wallets and how long they expect them to last?

bitcoinpaperwallet.com sells a tamper resistant sticker so that you can fold up the paper and know if anybody has had a cheeky peek at your private key, but I was thinking of something more on the lines of laminating the paper to prevent it from getting water damaged.

Another possibility is the ink getting damaged by the sun and becoming unreadable, not sure what you can do about that so I was just going to leave them in a safe.

Lastly, can anybody see anything wrong with coating the paper with resin, or sealing it in a resin block? I think doing that would last longer than laminating it.

Thanks

[OmegaStarScream]

A paper wallet should last forever as long as It's kept somewhere safe, laminating the paper could work but I don't see why would you do that If your worries are the water only, and If you are worried about someone reading your private key then you could encrypt it using BIP-38 so even If they read it or they manage to get it, It's impossible to get the actual private key without the passphrase.

[talkbitcoin]

i was considering laminating my paper wallet but that would require me to go out to a "laminating shop" (i don't know what it is called in English) and ask them to do it and that already compromises me even though i can be 99% sure the person doing it won't have slightest idea what it is i have written on paper

you can encrypt it with a password and then do it though, but i didn't.
i just settled for simple writing down my seed (or it can be private key) on a paper! simple! and it has been 2 years and the paper is still fine.
i should add that is not my only back up, but it is my only physical backup.

ink getting damaged by the sun

don't leave your paper in the garden.

[HarringtonStark]

A paper wallet should last forever as long as It's kept somewhere safe, laminating the paper could work but I don't see why would you do that If your worries are the water only, and If you are worried about someone reading your private key then you could encrypt it using BIP-38 so even If they read it or they manage to get it, It's impossible to get the actual private key without the passphrase.

I'm considering storing some of my bitcoins in paper wallets as I think it's the safest, hack proof way. I'll be storing them on my safe!

[K128kevin2]

Thanks for the suggestions, and yes I am quite paranoid

laminating the paper could work but I don't see why would you do that If your worries are the water only

I thought that the plastic layer around it would prevent water damage.

i was considering laminating my paper wallet but that would require me to go out to a "laminating shop" (i don't know what it is called in English) and ask them to do it and that already compromises me even though i can be 99% sure the person doing it won't have slightest idea what it is i have written on paper

Yeah I wouldn't trust a laminating shop, I'm still not sure if I trust my printer 
You can get small machines that you can use to laminate yourself for quite cheap which would remove the need to go to a laminating shop.

you can encrypt it with a password and then do it though, but i didn't.
i just settled for simple writing down my seed (or it can be private key) on a paper! simple! and it has been 2 years and the paper is still fine.
i should add that is not my only back up, but it is my only physical backup.

I didn't really want to encrypt it just in case I died. And yeah currently I just have an Electrum seed written down and stuck to my fridge with a magnet, not the most secure thing in the world.

ink getting damaged by the sun

don't leave your paper in the garden.

That's probably the best thing to do haha

I'm considering storing some of my bitcoins in paper wallets as I think it's the safest, hack proof way. I'll be storing them on my safe!

Yeah, luckily paper can't be hacked.
What kind of safe is it? Fireproof, bolted to the concrete, ...?

[vnvizow]

Well paper wallets really add a lot of inconvenience, used to have one printed onto a foldable card but just didn't bother with it. Transferred all the funds from it and threw it

[K128kevin2]

Well paper wallets really add a lot of inconvenience, used to have one printed onto a foldable card but just didn't bother with it. Transferred all the funds from it and threw it

They're supposed to be inconvenient.

[vnvizow]

Well paper wallets really add a lot of inconvenience, used to have one printed onto a foldable card but just didn't bother with it. Transferred all the funds from it and threw it

They're supposed to be inconvenient.

Yes but even for mass storage security the trade off doesn't balance it off unless you have >100coins. On that topic, how much are you hoarding?

[talkbitcoin]

Yeah I wouldn't trust a laminating shop, I'm still not sure if I trust my printer 
You can get small machines that you can use to laminate yourself for quite cheap which would remove the need to go to a laminating shop.

maybe its just me but the cost is not worth it to buy a laminating equipment just to do a one time lamination and throw the equipment in storage!

...stuck to my fridge with a magnet, not the most secure thing in the world.

someone once said he stored his private keys (on paper) among his medical documents and he said he labeled them as "urine test results". there is no way in hell a thief is going to get into that specially when it is among other medical documents

[Xester]

Hi all, can anybody with paper wallets tell me how they look after their wallets and how long they expect them to last?

bitcoinpaperwallet.com sells a tamper resistant sticker so that you can fold up the paper and know if anybody has had a cheeky peek at your private key, but I was thinking of something more on the lines of laminating the paper to prevent it from getting water damaged.

Another possibility is the ink getting damaged by the sun and becoming unreadable, not sure what you can do about that so I was just going to leave them in a safe.

Lastly, can anybody see anything wrong with coating the paper with resin, or sealing it in a resin block? I think doing that would last longer than laminating it.

Thanks

You do not need to worry about paper wallet, what you need to do is just store in in a dry cool place like a vault which is free from moist and air. In that manner you can secure that your documents will not be damaged by old age since it was protected from the agents of aging such as moisture and wind. Another thing would be is to really keep it in a place that is secured and that you can remember it, forgetting where you hid it is much worst than it being unreadable.

[OmegaStarScream]

I thought that the plastic layer around it would prevent water damage.

It would but you said you are going to keep it on a safe, so how the water is going to go there in the first place? Btw, If the paper wallets are for long term storage) then you should use them otherwise (If you are planning to use BTC on a regular basis) then a Ledger Nano S should do the job instead.

[Velkro]

Hi all, can anybody with paper wallets tell me how they look after their wallets and how long they expect them to last?

Im using free paper wallet from website in my sig. Im using wallet software that allows watch-only addresses so i can safely look at the balance without risking compromising private key from actual paper wallet.
So there is no problem at all here , i don't like to pay for stuff that is free.

[Taki]

I think laminating is a good idea and that will lead as loong as people will not create something better. And I think the next step is going to be some chip in our body that we will hold forever with ourselves.

[BitcoinHodler]

this reminds me that i need to make a paper backup of my seed

so far i have multiple back ups from my seed all digital, have it written down (after encrypting it with a super strong password of course) in a .txt file and stored it in multiple places. on my computer, on 2 USB disks that i have and also the wallet itself is on an offline system. and i think it is enough for me, and it has been so far without any problem.

doesn't hurt printing the same thing on paper though. and for laminating just go out, print and laminate the whole thing while only showing the encrypted thing to them.

[Pattberry]

Hi all, can anybody with paper wallets tell me how they look after their wallets and how long they expect them to last?
bitcoinpaperwallet.com sells a tamper resistant sticker so that you can fold up the paper and know if anybody has had a cheeky peek at your private key, but I was thinking of something more on the lines of laminating the paper to prevent it from getting water damaged.
Another possibility is the ink getting damaged by the sun and becoming unreadable, not sure what you can do about that so I was just going to leave them in a safe.
Lastly, can anybody see anything wrong with coating the paper with resin, or sealing it in a resin block? I think doing that would last longer than laminating it.

Looks like you have not stored anything in life,what would you do with you cheque book and insurance papers,it is as simple as that,just store them somewhere safe rather than boiling your brain over it and normally everyone has a locker at home where you store all your important documents and do not bust your brain over a small paper wallet.

[taxmanmt5]

A paper wallet should last forever as long as It's kept somewhere safe, laminating the paper could work but I don't see why would you do that If your worries are the water only, and If you are worried about someone reading your private key then you could encrypt it using BIP-38 so even If they read it or they manage to get it, It's impossible to get the actual private key without the passphrase.

The only thing to be care about paper wallets is that it has to be placed save somewhere so that you do not lose the paper wallet itself. Expect this, the paper wallet is considered to be the best option of bitcoin to be stored safely as it cant be hacked as it offline always.

[Kprawn]

I have a bunch of paper wallets and all are laminated and stored in a cool and dry place in separate locations. One thing I did, was to store some

in a safe deposit box, just in case something happens to my primary location. {For example: Fire / Flood and other natural disasters} ... Just do

regular visits to these locations and check on those paper wallets.. if they do get faded... just re-print them from the originals and laminate them

again. 

[matt11235]

Don't forget that you can have multiple copies of the same paper wallet.
Could keep a copy in a safe deposit box, and a copy buried out in your garden.

[BTCLovingDude]

something i don't see anyone talking about is your amount of bitcoin!
for example what "Kprawn" does with his paper wallets with "safety deposit box" costs and in some places it costs a considerable amount each month. and you should only do it in case you have a large amount or already own a safety deposit box and put the paper alongside other things in there.

if you have small amounts of bitcoin then i say don't worry too much about it. just print a simple paper and each year you can renew it. printed paper even without lamination can last for many years if not exposed to fire, water,...

[vnvizow]

something i don't see anyone talking about is your amount of bitcoin!
for example what "Kprawn" does with his paper wallets with "safety deposit box" costs and in some places it costs a considerable amount each month. and you should only do it in case you have a large amount or already own a safety deposit box and put the paper alongside other things in there.

if you have small amounts of bitcoin then i say don't worry too much about it. just print a simple paper and each year you can renew it. printed paper even without lamination can last for many years if not exposed to fire, water,...

Then read everything before you come to conclusions, I mentioned it. Plus safe location doesn't have to be a bank vault or anything of the like that bills regularly, a time capsule in the fields of Montana is probably safer