Digital BW, The Print

Hi All,

In a former life I was co-chair of the ANSI IT9-5 standards committee that
took a look at the life expectancy of optical discs. The committee was
initiated in response to concerns that manufacturer's claims that these disc
and their content, CD's among them, would last at least a 100 years. That
clearly turned out to be a great stretch once objective scientific tests
were conducted.

Based on some of the findings the committee identified it would be fair to
believe any laminated or multi-layered media is likely to have issues over
time. I can't say with certainty but my assumption is that this principal
will likely apply to those types of photo papers as well.

Having said that I must commend this group for the incredible job you have
done influencing manufacturers to strive to provide long-lasting inks and
papers. The CD folks are still at ground zero. You might seriously consider
a regular program of recopying your important images and other data.

Keep up the good work.

Bill

On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 2:30 PM, Roger <rsmith02@...> wrote:

>   Thanks. Another poster replied off-list:
>
> "The paper base deteriorates before the OEM inks change. The RC paper
> bases are not archival. The plastic coatings will peel from the paper
> base with the ink on the coating.
>
> Ben"
>
> So it sounds like the acidity of the surface may be less an issue than
> the fundamental construction of the paper.
>
> That leads me to wonder if Harman FB Al or Innova Fibaprint White
> Gloss are any more archival than the Epson papers? They both seem to
> have layers that may come apart.
>
> I've seen some cracking with both after immersion in water (I use them
> to make contact print cyanotypes- not their intended use but they
> perform better than matte papers for tonal range) and the Harman is
> curling pretty badly under heat from sitting in my south-facing window
> as part of a fade test (it's not really fading).
>
> Any thoughts?
> Roger
>
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com<DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint%40yahoogroups.com>,
> "pr_roark"
> <pr_roark@...> wrote:
> >
> > >... I recently acquired a pH testing pen
> > > and have been using it on various papers I have...
> > > the Epson papers I use both look to be quite acidic.
> >
> > Wilhelm rates the Epson Premium Glossy papers as having a long life.
> > While the surfaces are acidic, tear one open and test the paper
> > inside. I think you'll find it is buffered, unlike most of the older
> > glossy inkjet papers. Whether this is enough for long term storage is
> > may be another question.
> >
> > I wonder also if the plastic in all these papers may be more of a long
> > term problem than the acidity.
> >
> > Paul
> > www.PaulRoark.com
> >
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]