The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) is a university-based, nonprofit research laboratory devoted to scientific research in the preservation of visual and other forms of recorded information. It is the world's largest independent laboratory with this specific scope. IPI was founded in 1985 through the combined efforts and sponsorship of the Rochester Insitute of Technology and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. Funding for IPI's preservation research and outreach efforts has come mainly from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. IPI is a provider of information, consulting services, practical tools, and preservation technology for libraries, archives, and museum collections worldwide.

IPI's staff of fifteen works in six principal areas:

• research on the stability of information media
• collection management and environmental standards
• ISO standards development for imaging media preservation
• testing of archival and imaging materials
• training of photograph conservators (in collaboration with George Eastman House)
• outreach through publications and consultation.