Digital BW, The Print

Paul-

This is REALLY off the cuff.  What about Epson double sided matte?  It
encapsulates the paper (okay, not the edges) with the coating.  But,
wouldn't it be inherently more stable.

Heck, it seems there are recycled papers out there that may be less acidic
for a base layer.

My initial reaction, though, would be back to the Epson "mount it" routine.
Then, I'd use an acid-free (NOT pH neutral) backing board. Not really
osmosis, but they should have a reasonable neutralizing effect on each
other.

I, too, am not fond of the mount-it-or-lose-it technology.

Seth

=-----Original Message-----
=From: Paul Roark [mailto:paul.roark@...] 
=Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:49 AM
=To: DigitalB&WPrint
=Subject: RE: [Digital BW] EEM/EAM Deacidification -- Wei To spray #12
=
=
=Seth,
=
=>One thing troubles me about the soak-in spray.  I guess the 
=analogy is 
=>paint peeling off the side of a house. It is caused from moisture or 
=>oily stuff getting behind the paint. With water it just blisters off
=>from the vapors; with other substrates, it just refuses to stick.
=
=>Do you see this as a problem?  Is there any way to test for it?
=
=I'll do what I can to test the product before actually using 
=it on a print that matters. It's too early for me to know.
=
=The solvents are denatured ethyl alcohol, tetrafluoroethan, 
=and 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane.  Not being a chemist, I have 
=no idea what all the characteristics and risks of these 
=solvents are.  It seems to evaporate very quickly.  I think 
=the idea is to leave no residue except the buffer -- basic 
=magnesium carbonate.
=
=The product is made to be used on papers with ink and 
=colorants, but I'm sure there is some risk that the solvent 
=could affect something.
=
=>...archival and de-acidified storage usually also mean 
=encapsulation in 
=>Mylar and dark storage in a controlled atmosphere.
=
=I'm just trying to deal with the major defect that has been 
=identified with EAM/EEM.  I think very highly of the paper, 
=but acidity of the paper base has been identified as the 
=factor that will yellow it relatively quickly (30 - 60 years), 
=no matter how carefully it is stored.
=
=In my actual dealings with old photos and digitally restoring 
=those images, the physical damage to the image from careless 
=handling, insects, water, and other environmental factors is 
=far more of a problem than the fading of the images or acidity 
=of the old paper.  (We're not talking about low quality 
=newsprint paper that does seriously yellow and  deteriorate in 
=rather short
=order.)  So, I would agree that even if totally acid-free, 
=protection from environmental damage is critical.  At some 
=point I'll have time to get back to the coating issue, which I 
=think holds some promise of helping to protect the fragile 
=inkjet images from physical damage.
=
=I'm sure people who are primarily concerned with long-term, 
=archival storage will also insist on cotton.  I have some 
=reservations about cotton substrates due to the flaking of the 
=coatings.  I think the soft cotton substrate makes the flaking 
=more of a problem.  (A thin coat of clay on a pillow comes to 
=mind.)  Epson's Ultra Smooth Fine Art is their latest effort 
=to make a cotton paper that does not flake.  So far, I see 
=none with it, and may use it for the museum reproductions.  
=But for my display images where image quality and my 
=out-of-pocket cost for large size paper are significant 
=factors, the post-printing deacidification spray could be a 
=good compromise.
=
=Paul
=http://www.PaulRoark.com
=_________________________________
=
==-----Original Message-----
==From: Paul Roark [mailto:paul.roark@...]
=
==Subject: [Digital BW] EEM/EAM Deacidification -- Wei To spray 
=#12 = =show yellow with my Abbey test pen. = =I just tried the 
=Wei To spray -- #12.  It appears to soak into =the paper. One 
=slow sweep of the spray across the back is =enough so that the 
=interior fibers are testing non-acidic =throughout the paper.
=
=
=
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