Digital BW, The Print

Mark, I posted a message a few minutes ago saying I would sign up Monday. Well, I just did it via PayPal, didn't need to wait till then!

I want to underline how valuable I think your work is. As I said above I had contacted the National Register of Historic Places and they accepted my Eboni 3MK on PremierArt paper as meeting their standards. As far back as the 70's I was doing photos for Register applications and these were darkroom black and white prints on fiber paper, carefully washed and fixed. Previously this was the only kind of print they would accept.

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this but I now believe these Eboni carbon prints are more archival than the darkroom prints. Your work will strengthen my case as I work with architects and preservation groups. Thanks for your good work!

Paul

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark" <mark@...> wrote:
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> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "tboleyyh" <tyler@> wrote:
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> > Didn't mean to step on your question to Paul, but had some thoughts.. I hope he jumps in.
> > Tyler
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> Oh boy, Tyler, you issued an invitation of sorts? Here's my story in a nutshell. I have been doing image permanence research for over 20 years. I love doing this kind of research because I love the history, science, and art of photography. I'm recognized in the museums and archives community as one of the "experts" in the field though I don't much like the term because I will never run out of new things to learn. My expertise in print permanence testing came through the conservation science and museum & archives community, only partly from my involvement directly with the imaging industry. I'm also an avid amateur photographer and printmaker for over 40 years. And yes, I know Henry Wilhelm very well.  I count him as a good friend, and we have collaborated on many research projects over the years including the development of the I* metric.  
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> All that said, I concluded in 2005 that in the long run, the only way to test the many interesting inkjet combinations that we as printmakers want to try, is to take control of the testing process ourselves.  Remove the manufacturers' direct underwriting of the testing and just do it ourselves.  I have establishied AaI&A to this purpose and also to conduct new real-world studies of modern digital prints as well. I have also adopted the latest and best test methods since I have no legacy issues, political or otherwise to contend with. Companies and institutions are also welcome to participate by sponsoring group memberships rather than actual tests, but they can't control what the total membership elects to test, so the testing will always remain truly independent.  
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> Essentially, the AaI&A business model relies on end-users to fund the research. It's a "consumer reports" type of model rather than a "laboratory testing services" type of business model. I've seeded the AaI&A program with my knowledge, labor, and personal capital for over three years now, but very soon some solid end-user support is going to have to kick in or I will have to finally conclude that printmakers, for whatever reasons, really aren't that interested in image permanence testing anymore.  Perhaps the vast majority don't care or perhaps they simply feel that the issues have already been resolved to their satisfaction, or perhaps they feel it's still the vendor's responsibility to provide this information for free (well, you can see the limitations on how that works already). However, careful examination of the AaI&A light fade test results to date reveals that there is still much to understand about these new technologies, hence I press on.
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> So, there you have it. This group in particular has good reason to support testing of unique product combinations.  At the present time less than 1/10th of 1 percent of you are members, and if I can't ultimately win this group's support at much higher levels than that, then it's pretty unlikely that others would feel any more strongly about my research.
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> kind regards,
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> Mark
> http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
>