Digital BW, The Print

>>> Could you give more information on what is bad in today's inkjet RC
papers? Any reference to recent tests? I have been looking for that
kind of information over the last 5 years.

These papers appeared in the early 1970's as an attempt to shorten
processing times for analog photographic papers.
The early ones lasted only weeks before yellowing and cracking. The latest
may last a few years if you are lucky. Some test prints made for me a few
years ago on an Epson printer were yellowed and cracked within two years.
(The store was demonstrating image quality, not paper quality.)

A plastic coated paper has no possible benefit if you are not printing a wet
process image on it and only the faster processing if you do. In addition,
they look awful compared to "real" papers.

I guarantee you that you can find all the people you want to tell you they
are "OK" and all the problems have been solved. If there is any "proof" that
the latest plastic paper released last Tuesday is bad too, I don't know
about it and wouldn't look at it if I did. From the very beginning the
manufacturers have always said the papers are just fineŠ BUT, they are
working on fixing the problems.

Here's the way to approach this: Assume all the problems with RC papers have
been fixed. Bottom line; there are gorgeous cotton and fiber papers out
there that will last for centuries and run circles around RC papers
visually. So the only reason to use RC papers is because they are cheaper.

I call them trash papers and keep some around for making throw away prints.
I would never even consider selling someone a fine art print on RC paper.


David Kachel

___________________

Artist-Photographer
Fine B&W Photographs

www.davidkachel.com
david@...

Gallery:
www.reddoorfinephotographs.com
director@reddoorfinephotographs.com

PO Box  1893
Alpine, TX 79831
(432) 386-5787





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