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Print Stability - think what you are buying, selling or making! - part 3 of 1 2 3

by Mike McNamee Published 10/04/2015

Manifesto for Long Life
Assuming you wish to preserve prints for the longest possible time here are some of the things you might do. We have steered clear of humidity-controlled cold storage and assumed you have only resource for 'domestic arrangements'. This does not mean the garage is a good place to store prints.

• Use inkjet printing and only mature technology (ie don't be seduced into using the latest printer with new whizzy ink technology!).
• Canon have the longest lives but greater metamerism than say Epson due to their pure pigment make-up.
• Use papers which are free of Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs).
• Avoid Resin Coated (RC) papers, this eliminates most gloss and lustre offerings.
• Choose cotton rag over alpha cellulose.
• Do not mount the print by sticking it to a board using nonarchival adhesives.
• Ensure that the papers are made and buffered to museum grade, archival standards.
• Use only OEM inks from a known source.
• During printing and afterwards handle the prints only with clean cotton gloves on.
• Minimise light exposure.
• Store prints in archival boxes and do not put anything into the box that is not archivally sound, such as paper spacers and matts.
• If you use third party re-branded paper make sure you know its source and that the supply is reputable. If the vendor cannot tell you, choose another paper.
• Add dates and notes in soft pencil on the back of the print.
• Consult Wilhelm on your final selection before you start printing.
• Explain all this to your client! Sell the client the correct boxes.

"The stability of color papers has been a weak area for Kodak, and at the time this book went to press in late 1992, Kodak's papers fell short in almost every respect when compared with the image stability of all of its competitors' papers.

On display, Fujicolor SFA3 papers for printing color negatives are more than four times more stable than Ektacolor Portra II Paper and the other Ektacolor papers that were available at the time this book went to press in late 1992."

(source http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_761_Pages_HiRes_v1c.pdf )

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1st Published 10/04/2015
last update 09/12/2022 14:58:16

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