Re: [Digital BW] Permanence
2003-01-15 by Paul Roark
Ken, >... I see you are leaning toward the Epson inks. More precisely, a quad made from the Epson Archival black. > Do you have any feel for relative permanence >of the VM-S inks on HPR or EEM, vs. the Epson inks on (?) paper? The Epson Archival pigs are the best there are from what I can tell. They may have twice (or more) the life of the vm inks. >I am using the VM-S inks with your curves and very satisfied.... Then there is probably no reason to change. They are good inks. If you are trying to archive old photos and want the ultimate in longevity, however, the Epson Archival pigs appear to be the best we can currently buy. > If the Epson inks are much better "archivally", how do you handle >the problems of getting an accurate b&w print with color inks? I don't use the color inks. The Epson Archival black ink is very neutral. The quad I'll start with is a simple dilution. >BTW, I tend to think a lot of the problem with silver prints >is inadequate fixing and washing. I think that is true. Now, however, they are also saying that too much washing is bad. It may be that trace amounts of fixer are helpful. > The AA technique, which I used for a long time, was to >use two fixing baths, ... >... >The Ilford 60-second fix, with a good print washer, is better. I used 2 60 second fixes. > Also, a lot of those prints were not adequately washed ... There are so many places the old wet process could deviate from the ideal, that I wonder in the real world how archival the average print is. My fiber-based prints all still look perfect. The RC prints mostly self-destructed. Indoor air pollution wiped out one in less than a year. I also wonder if the inkjet RC prints are any better. Obviously some of the silver print RC problems -- like developer in the emulsion -- are not applicable. Some of the RC cracking was apparently caused by the deterioration of the titanium dioxide whitener in the internal paper. This problem also appears to have been solved. The polyethylene is considered rather inert by many. So, it may be that the RC prints are or could be rather good. However, with the reputation the RC prints earned in the silver print field, I'd guess it'll take a lot of testing and real world experience before any one will trust them. Paul http://www.PaulRoark.com