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The collection contains positive images produced using a number of photographic processes. The most common of these are black and white silver gelatin prints. Color prints are also present. These materials are stored in folders titled "Prints." Some of these prints were improperly fixed and are extremely discolored; in these cases they were separated from stable prints for preservation purposes and stored in separate folders titled, "Poorly Processed Prints."

In addition, the collection contains Unifax prints, which were produced by United Press International's first generation of Unifax machines. Characterized by an extremely thin fiber support and loss of highlight detail due to a continuing developing out process, these images are highly chemically unstable. These materials are stored in folders titled "Unifax Prints."

There are also pre-press proofs, which are camera-ready halftone images printed on resin coated paper, adhered to a backing. These are the images as they were cropped and captioned to appear in the Daily Worker or Daily World. Captions are usually attached with pressure sensitive tape or heat activated adhesives. These materials are stored in folders titled "Pre-Press Prints."

Two kinds of prints, both produced using thermal processes, are also present in the collection. The first set of these are images produced through United Press International's second generation of Unifax machines, printed on glossy white paper via a non-silver gelatin electrostatic process. Although not as unstable as other thermal prints, the images have faded slightly and have lost detail in the highlights. The second set comes from the Associated Press' LaserPhoto and LeafDesk service, and were reproduced with a silver thermal gelatin thermal process. These prints are highly light-sensitive, and are very discolored. They, also, have been separated from prints, and both types are stored in folders titled "Thermal Prints."

The collection also contains a small number of photographic images clipped from newspapers, magazines and journals, stored in folders titled "Clippings."

Finally, a small number of non-photographic material is present in the collection, including clippings of cartoons, logos and other graphical material, as well as photocopies of original artwork; these are stored in folders titled "Graphics."