Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul,
I was using archival foam core for a long time, because it's an easy  
way to "float" prints in the frame
as opposed to cutting mattes. The archival paper on both surfaces is  
attractive, although one has to
be satisfied with an off-white - I've yet to find one with white- 
white.  However, as you've brought up,
I'm wondering about outgassing from the foam, which can't be made any  
other way.

This, by no means, is scientific, but I have three large prints (40 X  
30) on Photo Rag framed as I
described above, and printed with Piezo Inks, which have been hanging  
on a wall with daylight,
but no direct sunlight, for about 5 or 6 years, and there has been  
zero change in tones in the
print or the backing foam core.

  So while that's encouraging, I'd love to see some solid evidence
one way or the other, and in the meantime have been using Gatorboard  
for backing on some
work I do for galleries who need exact size reproductions of old  
master paintings. The lab
who puts these together for me insists that Gatorboard is archival (I  
have to check that out for
myself), but in any event, they cold mount prints to the board and  
then frame them. That's
something I would never do with my personal work, so, as with so many  
other items in the
"new digital age", much in not resolved and most will change as we  
move along!

Best to all of you in the new year.

Clay Price



paul roak wrote:
...
 > give some thought into foam core as a backer.

I've wondered about whether there might be outgassing of the foam and
differential expansion between the foam core and matte print.

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