Digital BW, The Print

More observations.....
First of all, one problem with Kodak's claim of 100 years for their new paper is 
that their testing criteria measures light fading and estimated print life at 120 
Lux at 12 hours a day.  In their white paper on this product, they state that 
twice the level of light results in a 50% reduction in the estimated print life.  
The American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology states:  "A 
level of illumination between 200 and 1000 lux is generally considered to be 
adequate for homes and offices.  

Secondly, in the premiere issue of "Great Output" a publication of the 
professional digital imaging association, an article by Dr. Ray Work entitled 
"Will My Inkjet Prints Last As Long As Traditional Photos:", the author 
interviews  Mr.Henry Wilhelm who explains that the light-stability test standard 
exposure is 450 lux for 12 hours a day which Wilhelm states would be the 
equivilent of a fairly brightly lit room.  Wilhelm states that almost every major 
manufacturer in the world uses almost exactly the same criteria.  If you factor 
in the Kodak's criteria, Wilhelm says, you would need to multiply all other 
manufacturers ratings by a factor of about 3.75 which would mean, to illustrate 
his point, that if Wilhelm rates a paper at 73 years, using Kodak's criteria you 
would get 273 years on that paper.  

So, if we take Kodak's paper rated at 100 years at 120 lux and double the light 
intensity to 240, we shorten Kodak's paper to 50 years.  Then, if we double the 
light intensity to 480 lux to match the usual manufacturer's standard, we 
shorten Kodak's paper's life to just 25 years.  Not so spectacular given the 
Wilhelm life estimates of a lot of other papers which exceed a mere 25 years.  

However, in all fairness to Kodak, we need to remember that Kodak's 
estimates are for prints unprotected by glass or plastic.  Protected, Kodak's 
paper may well last far longer than their estimates.  

Again, in fairness to Kodak, we need to also consider that they are talking 
about dye inks.  If we use the dye inks we save costs of ink, and we get a 
wider color spectrum.  Very desirable indeed!  

This is just one photographer's observation and I urge that some of the very 
knowlegeable photographers on this forum contribute their own observations.  

Joe D.