Digital BW, The Print

I'm not going to prolong the agony of this conversation any longer
beyond this because the fact is, it is only a major concern for a very
tiny minority of inkjet users like me, and it is obvious that for most
photographers these days, ultimate print longevity is way down the
list of priorities. I don't plan to be a martyr about it, if every now
and then I become really preoccupied with it.

Though to answer you, the arguement that as long as one has a digital
back up file all is cool in the world and let the prints shift as they
may over time if they need do and, that we as consumers of the product
have no control over that side of things, is not a philosophy that I
could afford to ascribe to. People pay me to be concerned about these
things so they don't have to.

The files are always twice backed up, for sure. But, when a gallery or
art buyer for say a corporation buys a series of prints or someone
purchases a limited editon portfolio, there is no telling where it
will end up. For instance I've done prints for people that are now in
China,France,Spain,Egypt,and Mexico. If one print shifts color or
fades within a group not only does the entire body of work come into
question, but the reputation of the gallery or art buyer as well as
the company where it was produced comes into question in a big way.
This is especially true if one of the sellng points of ones work is
its relative permanece over other, cheaper processes that these days
are ubiquitous in the market place. Photograhic work changes color
differently than other artwork in that it doesn't usually fade
gradually or subtlely most of the time. Usually the change is ugly,
obvious, and fairly quick and changes the whole character of the work.

I'll stop. I promise. Will revisit in another 6 months. Its boring
everyone now, including me. 

John