Digital BW, The Print

In regards to paper bases, I would like to point out that  contrary to
what Jon may have lead you to believe, most modern paper bases are
"acid free". Only the cheapest wood paper products such as newsprint
are not sufficiently buffered to prevent yellowing.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid-free_paper

Yellowing can still occur, mostly due to UV whitening agents fading,
or from atmospheric pollution. Pigmented ink jet papers are especially
prone to atmospheric conditions, since most use a micro porous ink
receptor layer that is quite susceptible. This is one reason why you
should seal any pigmented ink jet paper with proper archival spray or
have it sealed under glass in a frame. Remember the orange fade of the
first Epson 1280 dye prints? This was traced to ozone attacking the
dye in the microporous Epson paper.

RC papers, are another story though! This has been a source of
controversy since they were introduced back in the 70's. The early RC
papers were susceptible to "crazing" or cracking condition of the
polyethylene layers, especially when exposed to UV. The products today
should be much more stable. Estimates of life are in the 50 year
range. This is one reason why the baryta papers are coming into
vogue--a more stable paper base. But I have not seen any data on the
life of these papers. 

John Nollendorfs
 
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Jon Cone"
<jon@...> wrote:
>
> Roger,
> 
> You may be misunderstanding.
> 
> Wilhelm only is making predictions of light stability - not paper
> archival qualities. This particular paper should never be used for
> anything which you wish to be archival or last a very long time. The
> presence of Acid is the most defeating issue in regards to this
> subject (Archival). These are commercial grade papers, not fine art
grade.
> 
> Paul was just pointing out the prediction of ink fade on them to you.
> 
> Unfortunately, Wilhelm is not equipped to nor does he make predictions
> on how long the actual media might last. Fortunately, there is
> centuries of data available and there is no doubt that papers with
> acidic content will yellow and deteriorate in time - sometimes as soon
> as 3 years.
> 
> Also there is a very sobering read for those using color inks or color
> inks which also include multi-level blacks to print black&white - that
> read is about the failure of the current Wilhelm ratings to pick up
> fade in near neutrals etc... The article is actually by Wilhelm himself:
> 
> www.wilhelm-research.com/istar/WIR_IST_2007_09_HW_DS.pdf 
> 
> Fortunately he has proposed a new standard which is now open to the
> public. New fade prediction facilities which can handle the larger
> targets (more than 300 patches should be tested rather than less than
> 12) are beginning to surface! I bought an Atlas and am now testing
> these materials with the new i*metric to see how close or how far they
> are from the original Wilhelm predictions. I am also using a more
> realistic light source (sunlight filtered through glass instead of
> fluorescent.)
> 
> But try not to confuse "Archival" and "Light Stability" as they are
> two different subjects all together. Think of a sheet cake. You can
> print on one actually with Epson K3 inks. (don't ask, but you actually
> can...)  You could test to see how long before that ink might fade...
>  But certainly you know the cake will eventually rot - and these two
> life ratings are mutually exclusive of each other. The cake is
> obvious, but unfortunately acid paper is not when respected
> institutions make ink light stability predictions on them. Its like
> turning back all the archival education done in the 1970s...
> 
> Paper with an acidic content should never be used for fine art or for
> photography which is intended to have a long life. While it is
> possible to limit the exposure of light to a work of art made with
> fugitive inks and preserve it well into the future, you can not
> prevent a paper that is self-destructing from self-destructing. Sheets
> with acidic surfaces or bases will eventually yellow and then  their
> structures will begin to decay. 
> 
> There is no use printing with pigment inks on such an inferior support
> base! Spend your money on acid-free papers, and use these commercial
> grades for just proofing.
> 
> regards,
> 
> Jon Cone
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Roger"
> <rsmith02@> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks.  It's odd that luster does so much better than Epson
> semi-matte.  
> > 
> > It's too bad, too- I don't really like the luster surface- to me it
> > looks "wet" with the K3 inks.  I much prefer Epson premium semi-matte,
> > Harman FB Al, Innova white semi-matte 300, etc.
> > 
> > Roger
> >  
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "pr_roark"
> > <pr_roark@> wrote:
> > >
> > > >...
> > > > Epson Premium Luster: acidic surface, basic base
> > > ...
> > > 
> > > Take a look at the B&W ratings Wilhelm gives Epson Premium
Luster in 
> > > his latest tests, for example 
> > > http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/11880.html 
> > > 
> > > The B&W display for Premium Luster -- bare bulb (no glass) -- is
>315 
> > > years.  Nothing else is close for that bare bulb category. 
(Color is 
> > > 45 years for that paper bare bulb.)
> > > 
> > > Paul
> > > www.PaulRoark.com
> > >
> >
>