Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "djon43"
<djon43@...> wrote:
>

> > Wilhelm's testing and excellent reputation has done a
> > tremendous amount to move the industry to more stable materials
...

> That's wonderful, but it doesn't mean Wilhelm's statements about
> "archival" are, or ever have been, anywhere near accurate.

I don't think Wilhelm uses the term "archival" much.   In general, while
all accelerated fade and age testing is just an estimate, the fade
testing has much fewer variables than does the age testing.  Where
Wilhelm is most of often quoted is with respect to display permanence,
which looks just at the fade.  (With his dark storage information he's
getting into age testing, where things really get uncertain.)

I think most people understand that there are tremendous variations in
viewing circumstances, which, of course, includes not only illumination
differences but also environmental differences.   Perhaps Wilhelm (or
those who reference his numbers) should preface the predictions with a
disclaimer regarding the variable.  One of the threads here has gotten
into such variables as kitchen gases that are really hard for someone to
predict.  We're always going to be facing a lot of uncertainty here, but
the more information the market has, the better off we'll be.   I,
personally, find the relative numbers more significant than the "years
of display" predictions.


> In particular, if we're still using INKS as opposed to PIGMENTS

I think of the term "ink" as including both dye-based and pigment-base
products.  In general, one of the first things we learned is that, in
general, dyes fade much faster than pigments.

>  (carbon inks may logically be more
> permanent than non-carbon, but Wilhelm's not even hinted anything
> about them (right?wrong?),

Wrong.

Wilhelm has noted in his Epson UltraChrome "K3" testing that the
B&W prints made with the "Advanced" B&W ("ABW") mode of
printing show significant increases in stability due to the
"highly-stable carbon pigment based black ink" replacing the
color inks more than when the printer is in RGB mode.  (See for example,
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/R2400.html
<http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/R2400.html>   at page 3,
top-right box note.)

And Wilhelm is not the only source of information.  There are many tests
out there that contribute to our understanting of these inks.  Even the
informal window testing done by group members contributes to our
understanding, and these tests are, in general, quite consistent.

Paul

www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.PaulRoark.com>









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