Digital BW, The Print

Jules,

>Good and appreciated  discussion about spraying the image side of the 
>print but . . is it wise to seal the back also? 

>Not with the dmax enhancing techniques of course but to stop 
>absorption of other nasties like moisture, lignin and whatnot?

The answer to this is likely to depend on the paper and probably other
factors.  

For papers like Epson Enhanced Matte that have acids in them, the more they
can breathe the better.  Much of the acid will escape into the air.  I've
read library conservation information that indicates old books with acidic
materials in them can deteriorate up to 10 times as fast if they are sealed
in a container or encapsulated so that the acids cannot escape.  (For
framing EEM it's probably best to use highly buffered matte boards.)

For cotton papers protecting the image and paper from airborne oxidizers and
pollution seems like it could be beneficial.  However, I've wondered about
the slow evaporation of the non-water components in the inkjet fluids.  This
is what causes the fogging of glossy prints.  With cellulose papers, most of
those other substances seem to latch onto the cellulose and just stay there.
At any rate, I can imagine that there may be arguments that the paper should
be allowed to breathe. 

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com