Digital BW, The Print

Jerry,

Very interesting observations.  

Previously I was a huge advocate of  inkjet quadtone printing. Unfortunately 
as time went on, I could not personally support a system of print making that  
has proved NOT to be archival. I had discussions with gallery owners who 
told me that collectors as a group did not want to spend money on art that 
might not prove to be a good investment from a longevity point of view.

Many of us brought these issues up and we were chastised and accused of 
waging a personal war agenda against the manufacturers.  Over the past 4-6 
months I have continued to print and test. I have perfected the process of 
making digital negatives for platinum/palladium printing. many said that it 
could not be done. using Dan Burkholders book as a begining reference I 
have succeded in making palladium prints from digital inkjet negatives that 
are every bit as good if not better than prints made from traditional negatives.

It is my belief that eventually as ink technology progresses and printers get 
better, photgraphers will be able to make prints that  are permament and rival 
traditional photographic processes.  It is my opinion that the state of the art is 
not there yet.

Claims are made each and every day  by the resellers and manufacturers that 
their product is tne best, that their product will do this, or that their product will 
do that. The truth is that these companies bring their products to market in an 
effort to make a living. This is the way that business operates and grows. I 
believe that it is incumbant on the photographic community in general and the 
artist in particular to sort fact from fiction.

I have prints that I received in the very first print exchange that I participated in 
two or three years ago. A good number of the prints have appear to my eye to 
have faded and shifted color. This is something that I can not accept in my 
personal work that is offered for sale. It is quite another for personal work that 
is not destined for market.

I remember a number of years that Everglades Photographer Clyde Butcher 
was very uset because he had sold many lovely landscapes made on   
variable contrast resin coated papers were bronzing and deteriorating. he has 
to go back and re-print numerous prints for many of hsi customers, all at his 
expense.

A lesson to be learned, and be aware of.

Regards and good printing.

Mike



 
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., Jerry Olson <jerryolson@r...> wrote:
> 
> Yes, I don't really think true archival inkjet printing is ready for
> prime time yet. :(
> 
> I think I've heard stories like this about all the current archival inks
> in use today.
> 
> Somebody has reported fading and/or color change using all of the inks
> we discuss all the time. The original Piezos had clogs, greenies.
> fading, software bugs, etc. The Color piezo inks had severe yellow
> clogging. The yellow ink has always been problematic. The 2000P inks
> faded in 6 months in a west window.  And what is bad in one part of the
> countryis good in another.  So far, it would appear that the Generations
> 4 inkset seems to have the least amount of problems. 
> 
> Thoughts?  
> 
> Jerry
> 
> > - If the above is a paper-wide symptom, InkjetMall needs to recall the 
black PT
> > ink (which is common to all sets) and refund or replace with a known 
stable
> > ink such as MIS.
> > 
> > - Since InkjetMall no longer supports their inks with profiles and software, 
we
> > need to alert Colorbyte and R9 to the need for strange new combinations 
of
> > inks such as PT grays with MIS FS black or MIS DD. I realize this is 
already
> > an old idea on this list, but I thought it applied to cases that need "extreme"
> > archival stability. I didn't think the Piezotones wouldn't even last 2 months!!
> > And to think they were originally hyped up as pure pigment!
> > 
> > Any thoughts?
> > 
> > Antonis
> >