Brian Swale wrote:
<snip> I have been working on the presumption that black and white
prints would be
> the best form of photographic record, when it comes to making a good
> archival record. I based this assumption on the age of prints I have been
> working with when making images for use on the web-site; some of these
> images were well over 100 years old.
I'd place my trust in b&w as well, it has a proven record. Sure, modern
pigments 'may' be as good or even better but I'm cynical about marketing
hype.
> This morning, and it is still morning here, my assumption took a huge knock.
>
> I had a conversation with a well-respected photographer in Christchurch city,
> and he told me that the B&W papers available here now, mainly from Kodak,
> have a guaranteed life of no more than 5 years. He said they have built-in
> obsolescence. He added that to import archival papers would cost a fortune.
5 years! Wow, Kod*k must have REALLY dropped their standards, I find
this very hard to believe. Or maybe Kod*k is just covering their butt
to allow for dodgy processors who scrimp on fixer.
Archival paper - I'm assuming he is referring to fibre-based paper.
Until 25 years ago all photo paper was fibre-based. It is generally
assumed that resin-coated papers do not last as long because of the
plastic laminate cracking, discoloring or delaminating from the paper base.
But in saying that, I've got many prints on RC paper that are 20 years
old and show no ill effects. But I'd still use FB paper if longevity is
an issue.
> He also added that the oldest prints I have would be sulphide prints where
> the silver-halide had been substituted with some form of sulphide.
Not necessarily. I have silver-halide prints over 100 years old that
are still very healthy. Yes, sulphide toning will increase a print's
longevity but I'd suggest that this treatment was not common (or
economic) for family snapshots a century ago.
> Further, there is no commercial B&W lab available in Christchurch; I was
> beginning to suspect this; what he told me may confirm it. He closed down
> his B&W work about 4 years ago. The last B&W film I had developed, a
> month ago, was processed in Wellington city.
>
> I can see from the web-sites of major photo labs that medium format film
> processing is also just a minor activity in this city now.
>
> I obviously have a lot more to do and urgently. :-((
>
> Brian
Brian, I've sent you an email off-list about getting processing done,
maybe we can work something out.
Andrew McPhee
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|