Digital BW, The Print

I want to see more acid free glossy papers.  Most of them appear to have
acidic paper on the inside, and this will cause them to self destruct way
too fast.  I do not want to use acidic paper even for snapshots.  If Costco
can sell excellent acid free glossy paper for $0.15/letter size sheet, why
would I ever want to use acidic paper?

(One exception is where I positively wanted the image to self destruct.
That is how I use EEM to separate cheap display prints from a limited
edition of collectible, archival prints.  That is, it is a tool for market
separation.)

For even snapshots, however, since I never know which ones will have meaning
to someone in future years, I use acid free paper.

I rely on two tests: Has Wilhelm (or someone else) published a good dark
storage (accelerated aging) test, or does the paper at least test out OK
with the Abbey Publications acid test pen?

With the Abbey test pen I rip the papers open and see if the interior paper
fibers are acidic or buffered.  Abbey Publications is at (512) 929-3992.
(That is the number on my pen.)  The pens are only about $5. All interested
people should get one of these.  

My understanding is that it is the paper interior, and not the surface that
matters.  An acidic coating on a barrier paper does not appear to be a
problem.

So far, Epson Premium Semimatte is the only paper with a surface texture
like this that has been highly rated by Wilhelm or I've found to be acid
free inside.  Premium Semigloss would be my other top choice in this style.
Then again, between Costco and PSM, my glossy needs are well served.

Of course, many matte papers are either tested or acid free.  In this
respect, I have made a 1280 UT2 curve for the Innova paper that Jim Doyle
carries.  It appears to be a very good line of papers.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com