Digital BW, The Print

My point is that for some collectors the prospect of having their 
inkjet (or RC) prints fade noticeably within 40 to 50 _may_ deter 
them from collecting such prints. True, there may be others for whom 
this is not an issue. Further, there is no reason to believe that if 
an inkjet print is properly exhibited and stored that it may not last 
much longer. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised if a fair number 
of collectors (in particular those buy in part to invest) who buy 
silver shy away from inkjets because of supposed "issues" regarding 
their (relative) permanence. Since I myself print inkjets I have no 
interest in promoting silver as the premium way to go; instead, I'd 
be interested in hearing from others what kind of feedback they've 
received from the buying public when they exhibit their prints. I'd 
also be interested in hearing about what's going on in the galleries. 
Also, although it seems clear enough that more galleries are 
exhibiting digital prints of one kind or other, there is still the 
question of whether exhibits/sales would be noticeably greater if 
inkjets were perceived as being as archival as (fiber) silver. 

(Of course, there's also another issue, namely the claim that silver 
prints are "handmade", each being unique (and somehow more special), 
as opposed to machine-made, exactly-alike digital prints. This gets 
into the whole argument about craftsmanship -- not just in the 
template print but for each print -- being added value.) 

Chris Hargens


 --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Tim Atherton" <tim@k...> 
wrote:
> > Although they go through a digital stage I'm pretty sure that 
Gursky's
> > prints are C-prints. Not sure if they are digital C-prints are 
made
> > through digitally generated negative.
> 
> Peering closely at some (nose to the glass!), I'm pretty sure it 
was a
> digital C-Print - some form of lightjet
> 
> 
> > Of course there is also the
> > question of how long the C-prints will last.
> 
> Which was my point exactly, in response to
> 
> > The "collector issue" is paramount if your are selling your 
prints.
> > The fact of the matter is that many people buy prints not only for
> > enjoyment but also as an investment or they seek to assemble a
> > collection that they can pass on to their families or some
> > organization, etc. In this case, 40-50 years may not cut it.
> 
> 
> tim
> 
> 
> PS - the Gursky's also blew me away