The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs, Henry Wilhelm, 2013

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The Permanence and Care
of Color Photographs:
Traditional and Digital Color Prints,
Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures
Kennedy Family
74%
Henry Wilhelm
with contributing author
Carol Brower
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Fujicolor SFA3 color print after the
equivalent of 50 years of display.
Kodak Ektacolor print after the
ISBN Bar Code
100%
Unfaded print made with Fujicolor SFA3
paper available at the end of 1992.
Unfaded print made with Kodak Ektacolor
Fujicolor SFA3 print after 240 days in
an accelerated dark fading/staining test.
Kodak Ektacolor print after 240 days in
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irsrv:1ioN iiniisniNc coxi:Nx
719 State Street P.O. Box 567
Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0567 U. S. A.
Telephone: 641-236-5575 (Fax: 641-236-7052)
Some color photographs last far longer
than others. Some fade when exposed
to light on display but are very stable
when stored in the dark. Several new
color print processes, which employ high-
stability pigments instead of organic dyes
to form the color image, will probably
last for hundreds of years, both when
displayed under normal conditions in a
home, office, or museum and when kept
in dark storage.
But most color films and papers on
the market today gradually fade and de-
velop overall yellowish stain when they
are exposed to light or when they are
stored in the dark. In most cases there
are no differences in image stability be-
tween the color prints sold by profes-
sional portrait and wedding photogra-
phers most of whose prints are made
with Kodak Ektacolor professional pa-
per and may sell for many hundreds of
dollars and the 35 Ektacolor prints
available through the local drugstore.
Worse still, because most professional
portraits have been retouched and lac-
quered, they may deteriorate even faster
than amateur color snapshots.
The result of more than 20 years of
research, this is the first major book to
evaluate the light fading and dark fad-
ing/yellowing characteristics of color
transparency films, color negative films,
and color papers. Recommendations are
given for the longest-lasting products.
High-resolution ink jet, dye-sublimation,
color electrophotographic, and other digi-
tal imaging technologies are discussed.
The humidity-controlled cold storage
facilities for the long-term preservation
of color photographs and motion pictures
at the John F. Kennedy Library, NASA,
the Art Institute of Chicago, Paramount
Pictures, Turner Entertainment, and
Warner Bros. are described. Also dis-
cussed are conservation matting, mount
boards, framing, slide pages, negative
and print enclosures, storage boxes,
densitometric monitoring of black-and-
white and color prints in museum and
archive collections, the discoloration and
cracking of black-and-white RC prints,
the care of color slide collections, the
permanent preservation of color motion
pictures, the historic Technicolor print
process, the preservation of cellulose
nitrate films, and many other topics.
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Wilhelm
and
Brower
ISBN 0-911515-00-3
United States Library of Congress: TR465.W55 1993 770.28 3 84-6921
2013 Henry Wilhelm
www.wilhelm-research.com
www.thecenterfortheimage.org
A non-profit organization located in Grinnell, Iowa U.S.A.
This document is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
See http://creativecommons.org for further information.
A publication of The Center for the Image.org in association with Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc.
About the Offset-Printed, PDF, and PDF/A Digital Editions of this Book
This publication was originally published as a high-quality offset-printed Smyth sown hardbound book on June 16, 1993.
Printed at Arcata Graphics in Kingsport, Tennessee, the press run was 13,000 copies and the book has long been out of print.

A high-resolution Acrobat PDF of the complete book and each of its twenty chapters was posted on the Wilhelm Imaging
Research, Inc. website <www.wilhelm-research.com> on June 6, 2003. Available without charge, more than one-half million
copies of the PDF edition of the book have been downloaded worldwide since it was posted in 2003.
Henry Wilhelm and Carol Brower wrote, edited, and designed the page layout for the entire book using Aldus PageMaker
software running on Apple Macintosh computers (Aldus Corporation merged with Adobe Systems, Inc. in 1994). PageMaker
allowed for the export of a PostScript version of the page layout and, with all of the photographs rescanned, sized, and placed
in the layout, it later became possible to produce a compact, authentic PDF fle of the entire book, complete with searchable,
vector-mapped type, and with high-resolution color and black-and-white photographs.
In order to produce the frst PDF edition a complex task that was undertaken fully ten years after the book was originally
published in 1993 it was necessary to preserve and maintain in operational condition the original Macintosh computers, Mac OS
7.1, the original Aldus PageMaker 4.2 software and associated fles, all of the original Bitstream and Monotype digital type fonts
used for the book (none of which are now commercially available), as well as the original PageMaker 4.2 text and page layout
fles, monochrome and color PPD and preference fles, and sets of kerning and hyphenation tables for each of the twenty chapters,
the books cover and introduction materials. All of the original color and black-and-white photographs reproduced in the book
have also been carefully preserved in humidity-controlled freezer storage at minus 20C (4 below zero degrees F).
Migrating the original PDF fles prepared in 2003 to the PDF/A-1b format |ISO 19005-1 Level B Conformance| was also
diffcult, and it proved necessary to reconstruct PostScript fles for the entire book and to make changes in the color manage-
ment scheme in order to comply with the fle structure requirements of PDF/A-1b while at the same time preserving the original
color and density of the color and black-and-white photographs in the book. PDF/A is standardized within the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland < http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html>. Adobe
states: 'PDF/A stands for PDF for Archiving. It is a set of ISO Standards (ISO 19005) using a subset of the PDF format that
leave out PDF features not suited for long-term preservation. PDF/A is designed for long-term digital preservation and ac-
cess in archives, libraries, museums, universities, colleges, and other collections <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF/A> and
<http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/standards/pdfa/> and < http://www.adobe.com/enterprise/pdfs/pdfaforAcrobat.pdf>.
Posted on <www.wilhelm-research.com> on March 18, 2013, the new PDF/A edition of the complete book and sep-
arately, each of the books twenty chapters replaces the original security-protected 2003 PDF edition and it continues to
be available worldwide without charge. Historically, it is of interest to note that Adobe released the frst version of Acrobat
software and Acrobat PDF on June 15, 1993, just one day before this book was originally published on paper on June 16, 1993.
Only six weeks earlier, on April 30, 1993, the underlying technology of the network that posted the worlds frst Web page was
put into the public domain and made free and open to all. Designed by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee and a team
of physicists and engineers working at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland, Bern-
ers-Lee named the new network the 'World Wide Web (www). The frst sentence of the frst web page read: 'The World Wide
Web |aims| to give universal access to a large universe of documents.
Rev. May 18, 2013
Reviewers Write About the Worlds First and Only Book On
The Preservation of Color Photographs and Motion Pictures
Since its publication in 1993, The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and
Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures, by Henry Wilhelm and contributing
author Carol Brower, has received critical acclaim in more than 100 reviews and articles in newspapers,
photography magazines, and museum publications. In September 1994, the book was awarded a special
commendation by the Society of American Archivists for . . .writing of superior excellence and usefulness,
which advances the theory and practice of preservation in archival institutions. Although this fully-illustrated
744-page hardbound book focuses on color photography, it also gives the most comprehensive set of
recommendations ever published on the storage and display of black-and-white photographs, and is the first
book published in the world on the stability and preservation of color photographs and motion pictures. A
free high-resolution PDF digital edition of the complete book was posted on the Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc.
website <www.wilhelm-research.com> in June 2003, and since that time more than one-half million copies of the
PDF book have been downloaded. A newly-prepared PDF/A edition of the book was posted on March 18, 2013.
The phrases instant classic, definitive work and standard reference work may be somewhat
abused these days but if they were ever appropriate it would be to describe the 740 plus pages
of The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs . . . .
Joseph Meehan (Photo District News, July 1994)
Finally, sighs National Geographic Societys Robin Siegel, conservator of some 12 million
photographs. Weve been waiting for documentation like this from a reputable source. Adds
Peter Galassi, director of photography for New Yorks Museum of Modern Art: Henrys work has
been enormously valuable to us for protecting our collection.
Wendy Bounds (The Wall Street Journal, August 9, 1994)
The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs is the most significant photography book to
be published in recent years. The book ties together the history of color photography, as well as
the latest developments in digital imaging, providing a fascinating overview of where photography
has been and its projected future. As a resource book it is unsurpassed.
Scot t Teaford (Communication Arts 1994 Photography Annual, August 1994)
This book is a must for anyone concerned about archiving color images, and should be required
reading for all stock agencies, picture libraries, and corporate archivists . . . .
George Schaub (Outdoor & Travel Photography, November 1993)
. . . a front-line report on the fierce battle between the consumers of photographic materials filmmakers,
photographers, archivists, even the public and the manufacturers, especially Eastman Kodak.
A. D. Coleman (Photography in New York, January/February 1994)
This is the most important book on the craft of photography to have been published in ages.
I rank the significance of this book up there with Ansel Adams books on basic photography.
Ctein (Photo-Electronic Imaging, September 1993)
I cannot imagine anyone responsible for a collection of color photographic images who will not
be richly rewarded by having a copy of this book, for background information and ready reference.
I know of no other such comprehensive survey of this whole field, all its information scrupulously
researched, clearly and attractively presented.
Daniel W. Jones, Jr. (Peabody Museum, Harvard University, September 1993)
Mr. Wilhelms work is a valuable guide for everyone who uses a camera seriously. It is packed with tips
on what color film to use, how to find the right processing [labs] and how to mount and store pictures.
John Durniak (The New York Times, July 18, 1993)
With 20 years of intensive research behind it . . . The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs reads
more like an encyclopedia than a general textbook on the care of color photographs. It is not just about
color photography. This book is really the definitive reference book on the preservation of 20th-century
photographic materials, and it tells an intriguing story. It does not flinch from identifying the aging
characteristics of specific brand names, and in doing so, Wilhelm has helped the photographic community
set higher standards for image permanence. This book is also important because it will greatly serve future
historians as they examine the transitional years from the dominance of photography based on silver halide
chemistry to the emergence and eventual succession of digital electronic imaging.
Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart (Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Spring, 1996)
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., P. O. Box 775, Grinnell, Iowa 50112 Website: www.wilhelm-research.com
Volume 17, Number 6
Nov 1993
Reviews
Henry Wilhelm with Carol Brower, contributing author, The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures.
Grinnell, Iowa: Preservation Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN: 0-911515-00-3. (744 pp) $69.95.
Reviewed by M. Susan Barger
Dr. Barger is at the University of New Mexico's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, in Albuquerque, NM 87131. She is perhaps best known for her research on
daguerreotypes.
Nineteen years ago, when I was a graduate student in photographic science, a small group of us put in our order for a dozen copies of Henry Wilhelm's upcoming book on the stability of color
photographs. At the prepublication price of around $2.00, how could we go wrong?
There is no question that Henry Wilhelm is largely responsible for initiating the rising consciousness of the importance of photographic image stability that we have seen over the last twenty-
five years. Many of us still have yellowing copies of his first book, Procedures for Processing and Storing Black and White Photographs for Maximum Possible Permanence, which was first
published in 1969. It was printed on newsprint and sold for the grand sum of 50. That small book is, as far as I have been able to tell, the first publication for a lay audience that directly
addressed photographic processing for maximum permanence. There are older publications on good processing practice, but none of them ties processing to image permanence in such a
direct way.
Anyone who has been paying attention to photography during the last twenty-five years knows that, in many ways, Henry Wilhelm has been the David to the photo industry's Goliath. Tweaks
from Wilhelm's direction have pushed the photo industry to address the problem of image stability, particularly color image stability, in a much more public and active way than they had done
previously.
Indeed, the Image Permanence Institute at Rochester Institute of Technology was established by the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers and members of the photo industry
partly because of concerns raised by Wilhelm about industrial bias and secrecy. Thus, the Institute, as a nonindustrial center, would address issues of photographic image stability. Further,
because Wilhelm was working away in Grinnell, Iowa on color stability, those working in other areas of photographic conservation were able to say with some authority that although color
was an almost insurmountable problem, the information that curators, collectors, and archivists needed in order to care for these ephemeral objects would finally be available when Wilhelm's
book was published. The book was coming any minute.
Long ago, we gave up waiting for the book, but I was very pleased to see that this past fall Wilhelm's great work was finally published. The question that needs to be asked here is, "Was it
worth the wait?"
The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs is full of information, much of which has never been available or has never been gathered together in one place. The research described in
the book is ongoing and the results are current to the end of 1992, the time the book went to press. For those that find the book overwhelming, it is possible to get the "take-home message" by
reading just the Recommendations found in most of the chapters. The items that have grabbed the most press attention in the wake of the book's appearance are from the list in Chapter 1 of
recommended products for obtaining the most stable photographic images. Wilhelm names names and spares no company in his critical evaluations of the stability of various color
photographic products. While he may seem heavy-handed towards Kodak, this probably has more to do with the dominant market position that Kodak has enjoyed, especially in the United
States. There is also a measure of glee that we take when the veil of industrial secrecy is pierced and we see that an industrial giant did not always operate in the most honest way. For
instance, in his history of modern color imaging materials (i.e., Kodachrome and subsequent products), Wilhelm points out that Kodak has issued products knowing that they were not stable
and has deliberately replaced more stable products with less stable products. The situation was amplified by advertising rhetoric that calls us to preserve our precious moments on film.
Several chapters, especially the one on wedding and portrait photographers, point out the often poignant and tragic loss that occurs when photographic images have faded away. This loss is
emphasized in many of the illustrations throughout the book.
If the reader is interested in how Wilhelm arrived at his product recommendations, the first third of the book provides detailed descriptions of his tests and testing procedures. I found the
delineation of his approach to testing imaging stability absorbing and quite pertinent to both the common use of photographs and to how we see. The section on accelerated aging procedures
for color materials is very detailed and brings up issues that should be considered by anyone who uses accelerated aging testing for any type of materials. Wilhelm provides a good history of
image stability testing and carefully describes the contributions made by the entire photo industry, especially Kodak, in this area.
There are two chapters devoted to the color films used in the motion picture industry. This includes recommendations for preserving what is now in archives and describes the best available
current products for the production of new films. One entire chapter is devoted to Technicolor, its history and properties.
Finally, the last ten chapters of the book are devoted to the care, storage, and display not only of color photographic materials of all types, but also of black and white materials. There are
lengthy discussions of adhesives and mounting, marking methods, conservation matting, mat boards, storage envelopes, sleeves, boxes, and the like. This portion of the book brings together
much of the work on the care and conservation of photographic materials which has evolved over the last twenty-five years and puts it in one place for the reader.
This book, in spite of its mostly positive qualities, should have been edited for continuity. The book was obviously written at different times, because much of the same information is
repeated over and over again in the various sections. As persistent readers approach the back of the book, they may become confused and think they are reading some previous section. A
good editor could have made the book more compact and easier to read and would have enhanced access to the valuable information and message that this book carries. I was also struck by a
comment made by a photo curator when I said I was writing a review of this book. He said that the book looked so much like a chemistry text that although it is a "must-have" addition to any
photo library, it was probably too difficult for him to attempt to read. This is not a chemistry book, for there is little or no information that could be called chemistry. Despite its appearance
and technical content, this book can be profitably read by anyone with an interest in photographic preservation.
This book will not be widely available through your local bookstore, so those interested in purchasing it should contact the publisher directly. The address is: Preservation Publishing Co., 719
State St., Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0567. The cost is $69.95 per copy plus $4.95 shipping.
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The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachu-
setts. The Library is administered by the National Archives.
About the Cover
The photograph of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy,
his wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and their children Caroline
B. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr., on the cover of this
book was taken on August 14, 1963 at the Kennedys summer
home on Squaw Island, near Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
The photographer, Cecil W. Stoughton, was an officer in the
U.S. Army Signal Corps and served as a White House photog-
rapher. The photograph was made with Ektacolor color negative
film in a Hasselblad camera.
Allan B. Goodrich, audiovisual archivist at the John Fitz-
gerald Kennedy Library in Boston, related the following about
the picture: John Jr. was approaching 3 years of age in 1963;
Caroline would turn 6 years old in November. The dogs all be-
longed to the Kennedy family JFK always liked dogs. The
pups were the offspring of Charlie (the dog with Caroline) and
Pushinka, which was the dog that Chairman Nikita Khrushchev
of the Soviet Union gave to President Kennedy in 1961. John
Jr. has his arm draped around Shannon. The shepherds
name was Clipper; the Irish Wolfhound was called Wolf.
On November 22, 1963 exactly 100 days after this picture
was taken President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas,
Texas while campaigning for re-election.
It was during the 1960s that the historic shift from black-
and-white to color photography began in earnest. Kennedy,
who was inaugurated in 1961, was the first president to be
photographed primarily in color. The Kennedy Library pre-
serves these color photographs in 0F (18C) and 55F (12.8C)
cold storage vaults that are maintained at 30% relative
humidity. When the Kennedy Library opened in 1979, it was
the first collecting institution in the world to provide such a
facility (see Chapter 20).
The Kodak Ektacolor and Kodacolor-X color negative films
in the White House collection at the Kennedy Library have
very poor image stability. According to unpublished Kodak
data, these films are expected to suffer a 10% loss of density
of the least stable image dye in less than 6 years when stored
at normal room temperature (see Table 5.14 on page 204).
After President Kennedys death, the White House color nega-
tives were stored for more than 15 years under non-refriger-
ated conditions until the Library building was completed in
1979 and the negatives were placed in cold storage.
The photograph on the cover was reproduced from a Ko-
dak Dye Transfer print that was made in 1975 from the origi-
nal color negative (using an Ektacolor Print Film interposi-
tive). In the course of making the Dye Transfer print, adjust-
ments were made to correct for curve imbalances and loss of
contrast in the original negative.
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President John F. Kennedy and his family at their summer
home on Squaw Island, near Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
Allan B. Goodrich, audiovisual archivist at the Kennedy
Library, in one of the Librarys cold storage vaults examin-
ing the original color negative from the Kennedy family
photograph. Since 1980, this negative and many of the
other 18,000 color negatives in the collection have been
stored at 55F (12.8C) and 30% RH. The Library plans to
move the negatives to the 0F (18C), 30% RH vault as
soon as an improved image-reference system is implemented.
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by
Henry Wilhelm
with contributing author
Carol Brower
All of the photographs in this book were
taken by Henry Wilhelm, except where noted.
ciNNrii, iov:
i.s.:
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Copyright 1993, irsrv:1ioN iiniisniNc coxi:Nx
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review.
First Edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Wilhelm, Henry Gilmer, 1943
The permanence and care of color photographs:
traditional and digital color prints, color negatives,
slides, and motion pictures.
Includes index.
1. PhotographsConservation.
2. Moving-picture filmPreservation and storage.
I. Brower, Carol, 1951 . II. Title.
TR465.W55 1993 770 '. 28' 3 84- 6921
ISBN 0-911515-00-3 (hardbound)
ISBN 0-911515-01-1 (paperback)
719 State Street
P.O. Box 567
Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0567
U. S. A.
Telephone: 515-236-5575
Fax: 515-236-7052
This book was manufactured with alkaline-buffered papers and binders board.
Printed in the United States of America
Sarah
7
1
2 years old
Charles
9
1
2 months old
David
5 years old
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This book is dedicated to
Sarah, David, and Charles Wilhelm,
and all the children of the world,
past, present, and future . . .
This book was written and designed with Aldus PageMaker soft-
ware on Apple Macintosh computers. Jim Powers, publications
art director at Grinnell College, educated the authors about the
nuances of PageMaker. Imagesetter output was produced by
Waddells Computer Graphic Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Color
separations, black-and-white halftones, printing, and binding were
provided by Arcata Graphics Company in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Black-and-white lab work was done by the authors and by The
Fine Print and North-Light custom labs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The index was prepared by Rus Caughron for Carlisle Publishers
Services in Dubuque, Iowa.
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The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs About the Authors v
About the Authors
Henry Wilhelm is one of the founding members of the Ameri-
can National Standards Institute subcommittee established in
1978 to write the now-completed ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard on
test methods for measuring the stability of color photographs.
For the past 6 years he has served as secretary of that group.
Wilhelm is also a member of the ANSI subcommittees on test
methods for evaluating the stability of black-and-white films
and prints, and is a founding member of the Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation.
In 1980, Wilhelm served as a volunteer technical advisor to
film director Martin Scorsese and his staff (Scorsese is the
director of Taxi Driver [1976], Cape Fear [1991], The Age of
Innocence [1993], and other films) in their successful effort to
persuade Eastman Kodak and Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. to
increase the stability of their color motion picture films.
In 1981, Wilhelm received a one-year fellowship from the
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation of New York
City for a long-term study of color print fading and staining
under low-level tungsten illumination that simulates museum
display conditions. In 1982, Grinnell, Iowa businessman and
entrepreneur Sharp Lannom IV and Wilhelm established Pres-
ervation Publishing Company, which published this book.
Wilhelm has been involved with photography since child-
hood. In 196162, while attending high school in Arlington,
Virginia, he was a part-time photographer for the Washington
Daily News and also had a summer job at Hunter Associates
Laboratory, Inc. assembling electronic instruments for mea-
suring color and whiteness. Wilhelm became interested in the
preservation of photographs in 1963 while working in the hot
and humid jungles of Bolivia as a member of the Peace Corps.
In the mid-1960s, as a student interested in fine art and
documentary photography, he and several of his friends at
Grinnell College spent much of their time photographing news
events for the college newspaper and other publications. They
traveled to Selma, Alabama; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and
other cities to photograph the civil rights struggle and the
emerging protests against the Vietnam war.
Wilhelm and fellow student John Phillips photographed,
designed, and wrote Grinnell College 1966, which was seized
and banned by the college after it had been delivered to the
printer. Twenty years later, under a new president, the col-
lege finally published this controversial yearbook.
In 1966, Wilhelm served as an assistant to Ansel Adams
during one of Adamss photography workshops in Yosemite
Henry Wilhelm and Carol Brower give presentations on the preservation of black-and-white and color photographs at the Visual Studies
Workshop in Rochester, New York. The week-long workshop, which took place in August 1978, also featured as speakers Klaus B. Hendriks
of the National Archives of Canada, Frank McLaughlin of Eastman Kodak, and Guenther Cartwright of the Rochester Institute of Technology.
National Park in California. Discussions with Adams further
increased Wilhelms interest in the preservation of photographs.
In 1967, Wilhelm established the East Street Gallery in Grinnell
to exhibit the work of Midwestern fine art photographers.
In 1972, Wilhelm received the first of two U.S. patents for
the design of archival print washers for black-and-white fiber-
base prints; he produced the print washers for a number of
years under the East Street Gallery name. In 1969, Wilhelm
published a 26-page booklet entitled Procedures for Processing
and Storing Black and White Photographs for Maximum Pos-
sible Permanence. Research which began with that publica-
tion led to the writing of this book.
Carol Brower, an artist, became actively interested in the
subject of preservation as an undergraduate student in the
School of Art and Design, Department of Fine Arts, at Pratt
Institute in New York City (19691974). Her concerns regard-
ing the longevity of drawing papers, pencils, inks, and paints
used in her own work led to her working for galleries where a
high priority was placed on conservation.
In 1972, Brower began to investigate and promote the proper
handling and conservation matting of photographs; she is best
known for her matting of photographic prints for many of the
major museums and galleries in New York City, including Castelli
Graphics, Laurence Miller Gallery, Life Picture Gallery, Light
Gallery, Pace/MacGill Gallery, and others. During the past 20
years, Brower has worked with many photographers, cura-
tors, and private collectors, and has matted a wide variety of
photographs made by a broad spectrum of photographers, rang-
ing from the little-known to the historically prominent. She
has been a member of the Photographic Materials Group of
the American Institute for Conservation since 1982, and a member
of the Professional Picture Framers Association since 1985.
As contributing author to this book, Brower wrote Chapter
12, which discusses the handling, presentation, and conserva-
tion matting of fine photographic prints. With Wilhelm, she
co-authored Chapter 13 on the composition and stability of
mount boards. Brower assists Wilhelm in various aspects of
his research and writing, and she took many of the photo-
graphs in this book. In addition to her work at Preservation
Publishing Company, Brower continues to do conservation mat-
ting for clients in New York City and elsewhere.
Brower and Wilhelm became acquainted in 1978 when
Browers concern about possible adverse effects of alkaline-
buffered boards and papers on color photographs led her to
contact Wilhelm. Brower moved to Grinnell from New York in
1990. Wilhelm and Brower were married in 1991.
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vi The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs Introduction
Introduction: Looking Toward the Future
examples of the merging of old and new imaging technologies.
(At the time of this writing, Charles Berger, the inventor of
the UltraStable process, was preparing UltraStable prints of
photographer William Coupons portraits of the six living United
States presidents: Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, and
Nixon. Produced under contract for Time Inc. in New York
City, a set of these six prints is to be given to the National
Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The UltraStable prints
will last far longer than the very faded Kodak Ektacolor and
Dye Transfer portraits of five presidents in the collection of
the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin,
Texas, which are reproduced on page 36.)
Multimedia systems, which in various ways combine still
images, moving images, and sound, are finally bringing to-
gether the previously separate fields of still photography and
motion picture and television moving-picture imaging.
More than 20 years ago, when this author began the image
stability research reported in this book, there were fewer color
films and papers to contend with. Electronic systems for still
photography which had achieved considerable sophistica-
tion in space exploration, military intelligence-gathering, and
certain scientific fields had not yet appeared in the general
marketplace. In recent years, however, with increased inter-
national competition among the worlds four principal manu-
facturers of color films and papers Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, and
Konica the pace of new product introduction has acceler-
ated greatly. Most color negative films are now on the market
for only 2 or 3 years before they are replaced by new products.
Improved color papers are being introduced almost as fre-
quently. New photo-realistic digital color printing (color
hardcopy) systems are announced almost monthly.
While it appears that traditional color films will continue to
be the primary means of taking still photographs until well
into the next century, alternative methods of making color
prints will become increasingly important in many segments
of the photography market.
When exposed to light during display, or when stored in the
dark, some color materials last far longer than others. Evalu-
ating the image stability characteristics of a color film or pa-
per takes time. Once samples of a new product are obtained,
1
9
8
3
Since the modern era of color photography began with the
introduction of Kodachrome and Agfacolor transparency films
in 193536, there has never been a more exciting time in the
fields of still and motion picture photography. Or, taking into
account the rapid emergence of photo-realistic digital imag-
ing, recording, and high-resolution color printing technolo-
gies, it would be more appropriate to say that there has never
been a more exciting time in the history of color imaging!
Many more ways are now available to make color still pho-
tographs and moving images than at any time in the past, and
there are more ways to make color prints than ever before.
Photographs can be originated on traditional color film and
scanned to produce a digital image file for input to a personal
computer or workstation running Adobe Photoshop or other
image-processing software. The computer-corrected/enhanced/
manipulated color image can be written back to color negative
or transparency film with a high-resolution film recorder, cre-
ating what is called a second-generation original, which in
turn can be used to make prints in a darkroom with traditional
color papers from Kodak, Fuji, Konica, Agfa, or Ilford.
Or the digital file can be output directly on plain paper with
an Iris high-resolution ink jet printer; or to a Kodak XL7700-
series printer to produce an Ektatherm thermal dye-transfer
(dye-sublimation) print; or to an imagesetter to generate sepa-
ration negatives for making an UltraStable pigment color print;
or to a Canon Color Laser Copier or other color copier with a
digital signal interface to produce a low-cost, plain-paper print;
or to a large-format Xerox Versatec liquid-toner electrostatic
color printer; or to an imagesetter to make separation nega-
tives for high-quality 4-color (or 7-color, or 10-color) printing
by offset lithography or other process; or printed with . . . ?
Or the digital image file can be output with a Metrum Foto-
Printer to directly expose a Fujicolor, Ektacolor, Konica Color,
or Agfacolor print; or output to an Ilford Digital Imager to cre-
ate an Ilfochrome silver dye-bleach print; or output to a . . . ?
The digital image file may be stored on a magnetic hard
disc, a rewritable magneto-optical disc, a writable CD (e.g., a
Kodak Photo CD), magnetic tape; or stored on . . . ?
The digital image file may be transmitted to the other side
of the world and be recorded and/or immediately output using
any of the above color imaging systems. (Some daunting
hardware and software problems must be solved, however,
before it is certain that these digital image files will still be
usable 15, or 25, or 100 years from now and beyond.)
The merging of traditional photography with computer im-
age processing, viewing, data recording, and image data-base
technology; graphic arts electronic prepress systems; televi-
sion (which will accelerate with the adoption of digital HDTV
systems during the remainder of the decade); and telecom-
munications networks including direct satellite broadcast
and high-capacity wire and fiber-optic cable TV systems
has greatly expanded the options available in color imaging,
storage, printing, and transmission. Indeed, among the most
promising technologies for producing highly stable color prints
at reasonable cost are the high-resolution liquid-toner elec-
trophotographic systems (e.g., 3M Digital Matchprint) and
ink-jet printing systems (e.g., Iris Graphics printers) that have
been developed for the graphic arts proofing field.
The potentially extremely long-lasting UltraStable, EverColor,
and Polaroid Permanent-Color pigment color prints, which
are printed with separation negatives produced from digital
files generated on high-resolution graphic arts scanners, are
Henry Wilhelm ex-
amining color print
samples in a low-
level, 1.35 klux in-
candescent tung-
sten light fading test
that had been in
progress for more
than 10 years at the
time this book went
to press in 1992.
Similar 1.35 klux
tests are conducted
with fluorescent il-
lumination. Data ob-
tained from these
long-term tests al-
low predictions to be
made for permis-
sible display periods
for various types of
color prints when
displayed in muse-
ums and archives.
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The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs Introduction and Acknowledgments vii
up to a year or more is required to conduct meaningful tests.
The recommendations for the longest-lasting color films and
papers given in Chapter 1 on pages 3 to 6 were based on this
authors tests together with the often incomplete but nonethe-
less very valuable accelerated dark fading data supplied by
the manufacturers. Most of this information has not previ-
ously been available.
It was this authors goal that these recommendations be
current at the time this book went to press at the end of 1992,
and all of those involved with this book can take satisfaction in
the fact that this goal was, for the most part, achieved.
In making a recommendation for a particular type of color
film or paper the longest-lasting color slide film, for ex-
ample it is of course necessary to test all the different
products on the market. In recommending Fujichrome films
as, overall, the longest-lasting transparency films available,
this was done. At the Photokina trade show in Germany in
September 1992, however, Kodak announced that new Ekta-
chrome films would be introduced in 1993. Samples of these
films Ektachrome Lumiere professional films and Ekta-
chrome Elite amateur films were not available in time to
include test data on these products in this book. Is the projec-
tor-fading and dark storage stability (including rates of yel-
lowish stain formation) of these new films better than that of
previous Ektachrome films? Are they more stable than the
Fujichrome films listed in the recommendations on page 3?
At the time this book went to press, Kodak had declined to
disclose the results of its stability tests with these new films.
(In recent years, Kodak has been very reluctant to make
stability data available; for example, Kodak has not released
image stability data for any of its Process RA-4 Ektacolor
papers, the first of which, Ektacolor 2001 paper, was intro-
duced in 1986. Likewise, no stability data have been disclosed
for Ektachrome Radiance paper for printing color transparen-
cies, or for the Ektatherm electronic print paper used in Kodaks
XL7700-series digital thermal dye-transfer printers.)
As with other new products, tests with the new Ektachrome
Lumiere and Elite films will be started by this author as soon
as production samples of the films can be obtained in 1993.
Meaningful stability data should become available in the months
that follow. This research which will incorporate new digi-
tal imaging materials as soon as they appear on the market
is an ongoing effort, and it is hoped that a way will be found to
publish stability test results and product recommendations on
a regular basis.
To assure continued independence in this research, it is
this authors firm policy not to accept paid consulting work
from any manufacturer of traditional photographic films and
papers or from any manufacturer of electronic imaging sys-
tems. Although this author has frequently voiced his opinions
about the merits or lack thereof of various products with
their respective manufacturers, this has been done without
financial compensation.
The coming years look highly promising for image preser-
vation. Color materials are, overall, much more stable than
they were at the beginning of the 1980s. The Fujicolor SFA3
color papers introduced in 1992, for example, last far longer
when exposed to light on display, and when stored in the dark,
than any previous color paper for printing color negatives.
Increasing numbers of museums and motion picture studios
are providing cold storage facilities to preserve their collec-
tions. Digital image data-base systems are providing greatly
increased access to collections while avoiding handling and
physical damage to irreplaceable photographic originals.
Acknowledgments
Throughout the past 20 years during which this book was
created, many individuals, collecting institutions, and com-
panies in the United States, Japan, Germany, Switzerland,
Canada, and other countries have contributed information,
image-stability data, samples of color films, papers, electroni-
cally produced color prints, and other materials that were
vital to the completion of this book and to the research upon
which it is based. For all of these contributions, both large
and small, I am extremely grateful.
This book would not exist were it not for the long-standing
support and encouragement of Sharp Lannom IV, a Grinnell
businessman and a friend. Endowed with a keen intellect,
Sharp has wide-ranging interests and an acute appreciation
of the importance of history. Many years of research were
required to develop the accelerated light fading tests de-
scribed in Chapter 2, and to establish their validity as mean-
ingful image-life predictors for various types of color prints
when they are displayed in homes, offices, museums, and
archives. Sharp became involved in this work in 1981, and his
patience and comprehension of the problems inherent in long-
term image-stability testing will forever be appreciated. With-
out his firm but understanding guidance, the writing of this
book would not have been completed. Sharp has made an
immeasurable contribution to the preservation of the worlds
photographic and motion picture heritage.
I also express my appreciation to William, Thomas, and
Charles Lannom for their contributions to this effort. In
addition, I thank Mark Bjorndal, who has handled the busi-
ness affairs of this project since it began.
No one is more familiar with my work than John Wolf, a
science writer, editor, and long-time friend from Madison,
Wisconsin. John read and edited the countless revisions of
my manuscript during the past 15 years, and he deserves
particular thanks for his dedication to this book. John is the
most intelligent editor I have ever worked with.
June Clearman, a mathematician and computer program-
mer working at the Robert Noyce computer center at Grin-
nell College, volunteered countless hours over a period of
more than 5 years to write the computer programs used to
record, stain-correct, and analyze the well over one million
individual densitometric readings generated during the course
of the stability tests reported in this book. Without Junes
computer programs, the image-life predictions for displayed
prints listed in Chapter 3 would not have been possible.
I also give special thanks to Klaus B. Hendriks, the direc-
tor of conservation research at the National Archives of Canada,
for his contributions and friendship over the years; to Bob
Schwalberg, whose support and humor helped Carol Brower
and me get through both happy and difficult times, and who
will always be a trusted friend and colleague; to Jane Gilmer
Wilhelm, my exceptional mother, who contributed to this book
in many important ways; to Sarah Wilhelm, my 14-year old
daughter, whose gentle skepticism (I will believe it when I
see it) encouraged me to work a little harder; to David Wil-
helm, my 11-year old son, who has always somehow under-
stood the difficulties of my tasks; to Carol Brower Wilhelm,
my best friend and wife, whose strength, determination, and
sensitivity brought this long project to completion; and to
Charles Wilhelm, our infant son, who waited so patiently, day
after day, night after night, throughout his first year of life,
while his mother and father completed this book.
Henry Wilhelm
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viii The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs Table of Contents
Contents
About the Cover ii
About the Authors v
Introduction: Looking Toward the Future vivii
Acknowledgments vii
Chapter 1. Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, and Color Slides: 1
Which Products Last Longest?
The Hidden Problem: Simply Looking at a Beautiful Color Photograph
Provides Absolutely No Indication of How Long It Will Retain Its Original
Brilliance Whether Exposed to Light on Display or Stored in the Dark
Chapter 1 Recommendations: 3
Chapter 2. Accelerated Tests for Measuring Light Fading, Dark Fading, 61
and Yellowish Stain Formation in Color Prints and Films
Chapter 3. Light Fading Stability of Displayed Color Prints 101
Light-Induced Cracking of RC Papers: Is It Still a Problem with Color Prints?
Chapter 4. The Effects of Print Lacquers, Plastic Laminates, 3M Photogard, 145
and UV-Absorbing Plastic Filters
The Myth of UV Protection for Ektacolor, Fujicolor, and Similar Color Prints
Chapter 5. Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Color Prints, Transparencies, 163
and Negatives
Chapter 6. Projector-Caused Fading of 35mm Color Slides 211
Fujichrome Films Have the Longest Life When Projected
Chapter 7. Monitoring the Long-Term Fading and Staining of Color Photographs 239
in Museum and Archive Collections
Similar Procedures Can Be Employed with Black-and-White Prints
Chapter 8. Color Print Fading and the Professional Portrait and Wedding 267
Photographer What to Do About a Troubling Situation
Fujicolor SFA3 Papers Are by Far the Longest-Lasting Color Negative Papers Available
Chapter 9. The Permanent Preservation of Color Motion Pictures 299
Low-Temperature, Humidity-Controlled Storage of Original Camera
Negatives, Color Reversal Originals, Laboratory Intermediates, and
Release Prints Is the Only Viable Way to Keep Color Motion Pictures
Unchanged for Many Hundreds or Even Thousands of Years
Chapter 10. The Extraordinarily Stable Technicolor Dye-Imbibition 345
Motion Picture Color Print Process (19321978)
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The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs Table of Contents ix
Contents
Chapter 11. Print Mounting Adhesives and Techniques, Tapes, Rubber Stamps, 367
Pencils, Inks, and Spotting Methods for Color and B&W Prints
Chapter 12. The Handling, Presentation, and Conservation Matting of Photographs 393
By Carol Brower
Chapter 13. Composition, pH, Testing, and Light Fading Stability of Mount Boards 451
and Other Paper Products Used with Photographs
By Carol Brower and Henry Wilhelm
Chapter 14. Envelopes and Sleeves for Films and Prints 485
Chapter 15. Framing Materials, Storage Boxes, Portfolio Cases, Albums, 509
Cabinets, and Shelves
Chapter 16. The Storage Environment for Photographs: Relative Humidity, 539
Temperature, Air Pollution, Dust, and the Prevention of Fungus
Chapter 17. Display and Illumination of Color and Black-and-White Prints 575
The Alarming Light-Induced Image Discoloration and Base Cracking
of B&W RC Prints on Long-Term Display
Chapter 18. Handling and Preservation of Color Slide Collections 625
Selection of Films, Slide Mounts, Slide Pages, and Individual Slide Sleeves
Chapter 19. Frost-Free Refrigerators for Storing Color and Black-and-White 655
Films and Prints
Appendix 19.1: Freezer Storage for Permanent Preservation of 675
Cellulose Nitrate Still-Camera Negatives and Motion Pictures
Chapter 20. Large-Scale, Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage Facilities for 687
the Permanent Preservation of B&W and Color Films, Prints,
and Motion Pictures
INDEX 727
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1 The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs Chapter 1
From its earliest period of conception in the 19th century, photography depended on two
inextricably interwoven processes: making the image appear and keeping the image from
disappearing, so the history of photography is strewn with the skeletons of inventors who did
not take seriously, from the first concept, the ecology of permanence.
1
Edwin H. Land (19091991)
Founder of the Polaroid Corporation
A Gregory Heisler photo of New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch may wind up as Kochs
official portrait in City Hall. Unlike the Mayors predecessors, whose portraits are both
painted and formal, Koch is looking rather relaxed and candid in this color photo. The photo,
taken for the June 11, 1989, New York Times Sunday Magazine, was Heislers first assignment
to shoot Koch. The Art Commission, which decides on all art works in city buildings, still must
approve the photo. Im excited, says Heisler, who thinks the concern of the Art Commission
is that of archival quality whether a photograph will last as long as a painting.
2
PDNews by Susan Roman
Photo District News
New York City 1989
. . . part of the reason the Cabinet project was done with photographs instead of the
traditional oil paintings was that Smith was able to convince White House officials that the
photographic papers such as Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper offer improved image sta-
bility. In addition, photography offers quick results at a fraction of the cost of oil painting. So
a 30" x 40" photograph taken by Smith and printed on Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper now
hangs at the entry of every Cabinet members office on Capitol Hill.
3
From a 1986 interview with
photographer Merrett T. Smith
in Kodak Studio Light magazine
When I came into Fehrenbach Studios I was angry. My sons graduation portrait had
faded so badly that I brought it in to see what they would do about it. The picture was only
seven years old! They said it was printed on Kodak paper and they thought it would last but it
didnt. They said it wasnt their fault that it faded and they could replace it for half price. I
wasnt satisfied with that so I left and wrote to Kodak and told them that I thought Kodak
should replace the print. Kodak said it wasnt their fault and it wasnt the studios fault.
I had a picture that wasnt any good and I knew it wasnt my fault! We never had a
problem before we have all our own baby pictures and they lasted forever. If these were
taken in black-and-white, would they have faded? All the ads Ive seen in the newspapers say
that photographs live forever . . . . It sort of takes you by surprise when youve never seen it
happen before. Its such a gradual thing you dont notice it at first.
4
Mrs. Lloyd Karstetter
Reedsburg, Wisconsin 1980
1. Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives,
and Color Slides: Which Products Last Longest?
The Hidden Problem: Simply Looking at a Beautiful Color Photograph
Provides Absolutely No Indication of How Long It Will Retain Its Original
Brilliance Whether Exposed to Light on Display or Stored in the Dark
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Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, and Color Slides: Which Products Last Longest? Chapter 1 2
(text continued on page 7 . . .)
The Organic Dye Images of Color Films
and Prints versus the Metallic Silver Images
of Black-and-White Photographs
Black-and-white photographs have images made of me-
tallic silver the images appear black because the fila-
mentary structure of the tiny grains of silver absorb, rather
than reflect, light. These silver images are unaffected by
prolonged exposure to light and are also essentially per-
manent when stored in the dark (at least this is true with
correctly processed fiber-base prints; as discussed in Chapter
17, black-and-white RC prints, with their sometimes self-
destructing images, are another matter altogether). Many
people have black-and-white photographs of their ances-
tors that have remained in good condition for 50 to 100
years or even longer. Museum collections have signifi-
cant numbers of black-and-white photographs from the late
1800s and early 1900s that are still in excellent condition.
Unlike the usually very long-lasting silver images of
black-and-white photographs, most color photographs have
images formed of cyan, magenta, and yellow organic dyes
that fade when exposed to light on display. The brighter
the light, the faster they fade. Kodak Ektacolor prints and
most other types of color photographs also gradually fade
and form yellowish stain when stored in the dark; the slow
but inexorable image deterioration begins the moment pro-
cessing is completed. High temperatures and/or high hu-
midity in storage accelerate the deterioration process.
The Longest-Lasting Color Films
and Color Print Materials
Recommendations for the most stable, longest-lasting
color materials are given in the next four pages. These
recommendations, which cover color materials that were
available at the time this book went to press in late 1992,
are based on extensive accelerated light fading tests and
accelerated dark fading/staining tests conducted by this
author over a period of more than 15 years and reported in
Chapters 2 through 6 together with often incomplete but
nonetheless vitally important accelerated dark fading data
made available by Agfa, Fuji, Ilford, Kodak, Konica, and 3M
(reported in Chapters 5 and 9).
As existing products are improved and new products
are introduced and as procedures for predicting color
image fading and staining become more sophisticated it
is certain that the product recommendations given in this
book will change. Further improvements in image stability
The worldwide shift from black-and-white
photography to color photography which
got under way rather slowly with the intro-
ductions of Kodachrome and Agfachrome
transparency films in 1935 and 1936, Koda-
color color negative film in 1942, and East-
man Color motion picture films in 1950
began to proceed in earnest in the 1960s
and is now essentially complete in all but a
few segments of the still photography and
motion picture fields. Unfortunately, as gradu-
ally became apparent, the change to color
resulted in the loss of the essentially per-
manent images provided by black-and-white
photography that had long been taken for
granted by photographers and the general
public alike. Shown here in 1981 are Ber-
nice and Robert Fehrenbach of Fehrenbach
Studios in Reedsburg, Wisconsin with some
of the faded and cracked Kodak Ektacolor
prints made between 1969 and 1976 that
were brought back to the studio by angry
customers asking for replacements. The
highly unstable Ektacolor RC paper of this
period was one of the most memorable low
points in the often-troubled history of per-
manence in the color photography field.
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Longest-Lasting
Color Transparency Films:
Longest-Lasting Overall:
Fujichrome Professional Films
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film (ISO 50)
Fujichrome Amateur Films
Fujichrome CDU Duplicating Films
Longest-Lasting if Projection Can Be Avoided:
Kodachrome Professional Films
Kodachrome Amateur Films
For a photographer who prefers Process E-6 films, Fuji-
chrome films are clearly the best choice. Fujichromes resis-
tance to fading during projection is the best of all slide films
for a given amount of fading, Fujichrome slides can be pro-
jected twice as long as Ektachrome slides. However, when
yellowish stain that occurs over time in storage is considered,
Fujichromes stability in dark storage is roughly equal to that of
Ektachrome films. Fujichrome Velvia Professional film, a very
sharp, extremely fine-grain 50-speed film introduced by Fuji in
1990, is not quite as stable as the other Fujichrome films when
projected, but Velvia nevertheless has better projector-fading
stability than Ektachrome. Velvia lasts far longer under projec-
tion than Kodachrome film, Velvias principal competitor.
Kodachrome has the best dark storage dye stability of any
color film, and Kodachrome, as a result of its unique, external-
coupler processing method, is the only color transparency film
that remains completely free from yellowish stain formation
during prolonged storage in the dark. Unfortunately, however,
Kodachrome has the worst projector-fading stability of any color
slide film on the market. Kodachrome film is a very good
choice if projection can be avoided, but if originals sometimes
must be projected, and time or money prevents routine duplica-
tion of originals, Fujichrome is the better choice. There are no
stability differences between the amateur and professional
transparency films of a given type (e.g., Fujichrome, Ektachrome,
Kodachrome, and Agfachrome).
Longest-Lasting
Color Negative Films:
Very Low Speed (ISO 2550):
Kodak Ektar 25 Film
Kodak Ektar 25 Professional Film
Konica Color Impresa 50 Professional Film
Low Speed (ISO 100):
Kodak Ektar 100 Film
3M ScotchColor 100 Film
Fujicolor Super G 100 Film
Fujicolor Reala Film (ISO 100)
Recommendations
Medium Speed (ISO 160200):
Kodak Vericolor III Professional Film Type S
(called Ektacolor Gold 160 Professional Film
in Europe and Asia)
Fujicolor 160 Professional Film Type L
Konica Color Super SR 200 Film
Konica Color Super SR 200 Professional Film
Polaroid OneFilm Color Print Film (ISO 200)
(made for Polaroid by the 3M Company in Italy)
High Speed (ISO 400):
Kodak Vericolor 400 Professional Film
(called Ektacolor Gold 400 Professional Film
in Europe and Asia)
Kodak Ektapress Gold 400 Film
Kodak Gold Plus 400 Film
Fujicolor HG 400 Professional Film
Very High Speed (ISO 10003200):
Kodak Ektar 1000 Film
Kodak Ektapress Gold 1600 Film
Kodak Gold 1600 Film
Fujicolor Super HG 1600 Film
Among the color negative films included in the five ISO
speed-range groups are films intended for a variety of applica-
tions, and the films judged to be the most stable products of
each type have been listed. While a photographer may, of
course, decide to select a film with lower stability to gain some
other advantage, it is best to stay away from the very worst
products, such as Kodak Vericolor II Professional Film Type L
and Agfacolor XRS 1000 Professional Film.
In the Medium Speed group (ISO 160200), for example,
Kodak Vericolor III Professional Film Type S is a daylight/elec-
tronic-flash film of moderate contrast and color saturation in-
tended primarily for professional portrait and wedding photog-
raphy. Fujicolor 160 Professional Film Type L is a tungsten-
balanced color negative film generally used for product and
commercial photography; this film is considerably more stable
than Kodaks equivalent tungsten-balanced color-negative film,
Vericolor II Professional Film Type L. Fujicolor Super G 200
Film, 3M ScotchColor 200 Film, Polaroid OneFilm (ISO 200),
and the pleasingly lower-contrast Konica Super SR 200 Film
are daylight color negative films intended for the general ama-
teur market.
The 3M ScotchColor 200 and Polaroid OneFilm recom-
mended here are the improved stability types introduced in
late 1990 (Polaroid OneFilm is made in Italy by the 3M Com-
pany for Polaroid and is essentially identical to 3M ScotchColor
200 film). Pre-1990 versions of these 3M and Polaroid films had
very poor dark fading stability.
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The recommendations for color negative films given here
are based on Arrhenius accelerated test data supplied by the
various manufacturers and on single-temperature accelerated
dark fading tests conducted by this author. These recommen-
dations were based on the best information available at the
time this book went to press in 1992. Because of differences in
test conditions and methods of evaluation, however, the avail-
able data did not in every case permit a precise comparison of
the stability of one film with another.
Longest-Lasting
Color Internegative Film:
Fujicolor Internegative Film IT-N
Color internegative films are used by labs for making color
internegatives from transparencies. Fujicolor Internegative Film
IT-N has considerably better dark fading stability than Kodak
Vericolor Internegative 6011 and 4114 films (stability data for
Vericolor Commercial Internegative Film, to be introduced in
1993, were not available at the time this book went to press).
Longest-Lasting Papers
for Printing Color Negatives:
Longest-Lasting Overall (RA-4 Compatible Papers):
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3
Fujicolor Supreme Paper SFA3
Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Portrait Paper
Fujicolor Professional Paper SFA3 Type C
Fujiflex SFA3 Super-Gloss Printing Material
Second Longest-Lasting (RA-4 Compatible Papers):
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3
Konica Color QA Paper Professional Type X2
Konica Color QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A3
Introduced in 1992, Fujicolor SFA3 papers are by far the
best of the fast-processing RA-4 compatible color negative
papers. In fact, considering the Fujicolor papers greatly supe-
rior light fading and dark fading stability, combined with their
very low rate of yellowish stain formation in dark storage, these
are without question the finest chromogenic color papers ever
made. On display, the Fujicolor SFA3 papers will last more
than four times longer than Ektacolor papers. The color, tone
reproduction, and image sharpness of the Fujicolor papers are
also outstanding. Fujicolor Professional Paper SFA3 Type C
and its lower-contrast counterpart, Fujicolor SFA3 Professional
Portrait Paper (tentative name), are particularly recommended
for portrait, wedding, commercial display, and fine art photog-
raphy markets where long-lasting color prints are a must.
Longest-Lasting Process EP-2 Compatible Papers:
Konica Color Paper Type SR
Konica Color Paper Professional Type EX
Konica Color Paper Type SR (SG)
By the beginning of 1990, Process RA-4 compatible papers
had largely replaced the older EP-2 papers in minilabs, and by
the end of 1991 RA-4 papers had become standard in most
large photofinishing and commercial labs. Among the Process
EP-2 compatible papers, Konica Color Paper Type SR and its
lower-contrast counterpart, Konica Color Professional Paper
Type EX, are recommended. These papers have better long-
term light fading and dark fading stability than Kodak Ektacolor
Plus or Ektacolor Professional papers.
In a given manufacturers line of color papers, there are no
significant stability differences between papers intended for
professional markets and those sold to photofinishers catering
to amateurs. For example, all current Kodak Ektacolor RA-4
papers have essentially the same image stability characteris-
tics there are no significant light fading stability differences
between Ektacolor Portra II Paper, a professional paper used
in the upscale portrait and wedding field where a single large
print may sell for $1,000 or more, and Ektacolor Edge paper, an
amateur paper used by minilabs and large-volume, low-cost
photofinishers for their 35-cent prints.
Longest-Lasting Papers for
Printing Color Transparencies:
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic print materials
Ilford Ilfochrome Rapid print materials
(for best stability, high-gloss, polyester-base versions of
Ilfochrome [formerly called Cibachrome] are recommended)
Longest-Lasting Process R-3 Compatible Papers:
Fujichrome Paper Type 35
Fujichrome Paper Type 35-H
Fujichrome Super-Gloss Printing Material
Although subject to light fading, Ilford Ilfochrome prints
can be considered absolutely permanent (with essentially zero
stain levels) in normal, room-temperature dark storage; this
property makes Ilfochrome unique among conventional, easy-
to-process color print materials. When kept in the dark in
normal storage conditions, Ilfochrome polyester-base prints
should last much longer than most black-and-white photographs.
Here we see the great advantage of the Ilfochrome preformed
dye (silver dye-bleach) system compared with the less stable
and generally yellowish-stain-prone chromogenic processes.
It would be a major advance for photography if Ilford would
offer a negative-printing version of Ilfochrome (with improved
light fading stability) for color negative users. Ilford has long
had the technology to produce such a material in 1963 a
color negative version of Cibachrome (now called Ilfochrome)
named Cibacolor was actually shown at the Photokina trade
show in Germany, but, unfortunately, it was never marketed.
Such a new Ilfocolor print material would be a fabulously
successful product in the portrait, wedding, and fine art fields.
Among Process R-3 compatible print materials, Fujichrome
Paper Type 35 is by far the best choice; Type 35 paper has
much better light fading and dark storage stability (with much
lower rates of yellowish stain formation) than Kodak Ektachrome
Radiance Paper and polyester-base Ektachrome Radiance Se-
lect Paper. It should be noted, however, that when exposed to
light on display, neither Fujichrome Type 35 nor Ilfochrome is
as stable as Fujicolor SFA3 color negative paper.
(Recommendations continued on next page . . .)
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Recommendations (continued from previous page)
Longest-Lasting Translucent and
Transparent Color Display Materials:
Ilford Ilfochrome Display Film (translucent base)
Ilford Ilfochrome Display Film (transparent base)
Longest-Lasting RA-4 Compatible Materials:
Fujitrans SFA3 Display Material (translucent base)
Fujiclear SFA3 Display Material (transparent base)
Although this author did not conduct comparative tests
with display materials (they will be tested in the future), the fact
that these products have the same dye sets as their corre-
sponding reflection-print materials (e.g., Kodak Duratrans RA
and Ektatrans RA display materials have the same dye set as
Ektacolor Supra and other Ektacolor RA-4 papers) allows a
meaningful comparison to be made. In tests, Ilford Ilfochrome
materials had reduced rates of light fading under the moder-
ately heated, low-humidity conditions associated with backlit
displays, and this gives Ilfochrome an added advantage over
chromogenic materials such as Duratrans RA.
Fujitrans and Fujiclear SFA3 Display materials, expected to
be introduced in 1993, will employ the same emulsion technol-
ogy used in Fujicolor SFA3 papers, and in demanding backlit
display applications, Fujitrans and Fujiclear will probably last
on the order of four times as long as Kodak Duratrans RA,
Duraclear RA, and Ektatrans RA. Only long-term tests will show
whether or not Fujitrans and Fujiclear SFA3 materials will out-
last Ilfochrome display materials in backlit display applications.
Longest-Lasting, Most Stable
Color Photographs of Any Type:
UltraStable Permanent Color Prints (tentative)
Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints (tentative)
EverColor Pigment Color Prints (tentative)
Fuji-Inax Photocera Ceramic Color Photographs
On long-term display perhaps going on even for centu-
ries UltraStable Permanent Color Prints (made with the im-
proved-stability yellow pigment to be introduced in early 1993)
and Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints are in a class by them-
selves. Accelerated test data from prototype materials indicate
that in normal display situations the prints should last 500 years
or more without significant fading or staining. The prints should
last as long as (or quite possibly even longer than) the best
archivally processed and toned fiber-base black-and-white
prints. These are the Rolls Royces of the color photography
field materials against which all others must be compared.
Unlike conventional color prints in which the image is formed
with organic dyes, the prints use color pigments that have truly
extraordinary light fading stability.
EverColor Pigment Color Prints, to be introduced in early
1993 by the California-based EverColor Corporation, are pro-
duced with a high-stability version of the AgfaProof process.
Samples were not available for testing at the time this book
went to press in 1992, but it is expected that EverColor prints
will have very good light fading and dark storage stability.
The recommendations given here for UltraStable, Polaroid
Permanent Color, and EverColor prints are listed as tentative,
pending the results of stability tests with production materials.
All three of these processes employ digitally produced
separation negatives and may be used to make prints from
color transparencies, color negatives, existing color prints, com-
puter-generated images, Photo CDs, and other digital sources.
Fuji-Inax Photocera Ceramic color photographs, which are
available only in Japan, use inorganic pigments to form images
on ceramic plates which are fired at high temperatures. The
resulting photographic ceramic tiles are claimed by Fuji to be
unaffected by light, rain, seawater, and fire.
Systems for Printing Digital Color Images
from Computers, CD-ROMs, Photo CDs,
Electronic Still Cameras, and Video Sources:
An ever-increasing number of methods are available for
producing color prints (hardcopy) from digital image sources.
Included are photorealistic thermal dye transfer printers (also
called dye-sublimation printers, the Kodak XL7700-series print-
ers and the Tektronix Phaser IISD are examples); photorealis-
tic ink jet printers (i.e., Iris Graphics ink jet color printers); and
digital printers using traditional color photographic materials
(e.g., Metrum FotoPrint Digital Printers, Agfa Digital Printing
Systems, and Kodak LVT Digital Image Recorders, all of which
can print high-quality digital images on standard process RA-4
compatible color negative papers). The 3M Color Laser Imager
is a digital printer using a special EP-2 color paper made by 3M
(stability data not available). Fuji (Fujix) Pictrography Digital
Printers use a unique photographic-thermal-transfer process.
Producing lower-quality color images which are never-
theless adequate for many business applications, proofs, and
publication layouts are digital electrophotographic color copier/
printers (e.g., the Canon Color Laser Copier 500 and other
color electrophotographic plain-paper copier/printers equipped
with digital interfaces). Liquid-toner electrostatic color printers
such as the Xerox/Versatec 8900-series digital plotter/printers
(making prints up to 54 inches wide by 15 feet or more in
length, the printers are used in the Cactus Digital Color Printing
System) provide a method for making pleasing if not quite
photorealistic color prints in large sizes and at low cost.
This author has not had an opportunity to test the image
stability of all of the many digital color printing materials in the
important and rapidly expanding color hardcopy and graphic
arts proofing field; however, among those printing devices whose
output was evaluated, the following deserve particular note:
Metrum FotoPrint Digital Printers (RA-4 color prints)
Agfa Digital Printing Systems (RA-4 color prints)
Bremson Laser Color Recorders (RA-4 color prints)
Kodak LVT Digital Image Recorders (RA-4 color prints)
Ilford Digital Imagers (Ilfochrome color prints)
Kodak XL 7700-series Digital Printers (Ektatherm prints)
Fuji Pictrography Digital Printers (Pictrography prints)
Cactus Digital Color Printers (electrostatic color prints)
Canon Color Laser copier/printers (plain-paper prints)
Kodak ColorEdge copier/printers (plain-paper prints)
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Of the available methods for making high-quality, photo-
realistic color prints from digital sources, printers using RA-4
compatible Fujicolor SFA3 color papers or Ilfochrome materials
produce the longest-lasting prints; color prints made with these
devices are inexpensive and their overall image quality can be
as good or better than prints exposed with an optical enlarger.
The overall image quality of Kodak Ektatherm prints and
other types of thermal dye transfer color prints can approach
that of prints made with conventional color negative papers. In
the United States, Kodak Ektatherm prints were initially the only
type of print available from Kodak Photo CD images when the
Photo CD system was introduced in the summer of 1992.
The recommendations for Fuji Pictrography prints and Cactus
digital prints are tentative, pending completion of stability tests.
Iris ink jet printers are capable of producing high-quality,
large-format color images from digital sources. At the time this
book went to press in 1992, the light fading stability of Iris prints
was very poor. However, Iris Graphics, Inc. (a Scitex com-
pany), the maker of the printers, has said that inks of greatly
increased stability would be introduced before the end of 1993.
Longest-Lasting Polaroid
Instant Color Prints:
Polaroid Polacolor ER, 64T, 100, and Pro 100 Prints
Polaroid peel-apart instant prints have inferior light fad-
ing stability compared with chromogenic color papers such as
Fujicolor and Ektacolor; because Polacolor prints are unique
images with no usable negatives from which additional prints
can be made, the prints should be displayed with caution.
Because of excessive yellowish stain that occurs over time
in normal, room-temperature dark storage, and because of poor
light fading stability, Polaroid Vision 95 prints, Spectra HD
(Image in Europe), Polaroid 600 Plus, and Polaroid SX-70
prints available at the time this book went to press in 1992 were
not recommended for other than short-term applications.
Photo CDs, CD-ROMs, and Other Optical Disk
and Magnetic-Media-Based Systems Are Not
Recommended for the Long-Term Preservation
of Photographically Originated Images:
The suitability of Kodak Photo CDs and other types of
digital optical disk and magnetic systems for the long-term
storage of photographically originated color images involves
three distinct considerations. To use the Kodak Photo CD as
an example of a laser-read optical disk image storage medium,
the first consideration is the long-term stability (readability) of
the Photo CD itself. The second consideration is what assur-
ance there is that compatible hardware for reading Photo CDs
will still be available in 25, 50, or 100 years (or more) from now.
The third consideration is what assurance there is that soft-
ware for decompressing and reading Photo CD images will be
available for the vastly different computer and electronic imag-
ing systems that will be in use in 25, 50 or 100 years (or more)
from now. To rely on the Photo CD as a long-term image
storage medium, all three of these considerations must be
satisfied. At the time this book went to press in 1992, none of
them was. The continuing rapid technological change and the
consequent obsolescence of hardware, software, and data storage
media in the computer and video industries make it question-
able that todays Photo CDs will be usable even 25 years from
now (recall the Sony Betamax camcorders and VCRs of the
1980s?). Although Photo CDs and other CD-ROMs and
other optical disk and magnetic digital image storage systems
have tremendous utility for the rapid access and distribution
of color images, color photographic originals must be carefully
preserved for long-term image preservation.
Longest-Lasting Color Microfilm
and Microfiche Products:
Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic Films
Because they are essentially permanent in dark storage at
normal room temperature, polyester-base Ilford Ilfochrome Mi-
crographic films are the only color microfilm/microfiche materi-
als suitable for long-term museum and archive applications.
Kodachrome film and motion picture print films such as East-
man Color and Fujicolor do not even approach the outstanding
dark storage stability of Ilfochrome Micrographic films. The
image stability of Ilfochrome Micrographic films is so good, in
fact, that this author believes that under normal storage condi-
tions, these films likely will outlast conventionally processed
silver-image black-and-white microfilms on polyester base.
Longest-Lasting Motion Picture Color
Negative and Color Print Films:
Longest-Lasting Color Negative Films:
Fujicolor Negative Film F-64, 8510 and 8610
Fujicolor Negative Film F-64D, 8520 and 8620
Eastman Color Negative Film 7291
Eastman EXR 500T Color Negative Film 5296 and 7296
Longest-Lasting Color Intermediate Film:
Fujicolor Intermediate Film, 8213 and 8223
Longest-Lasting Color Print Films:
Fujicolor Positive Film LP, 8816 and 8826
These recommendations for color motion picture negative
and print films are based on Arrhenius accelerated dark fading
data supplied by the manufacturers: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.,
Eastman Kodak Company, and Agfa-Gevaert AG (refer to Chap-
ter 9 for further information). Fujis accelerated aging data
indicate that the Fujicolor motion picture print films are not
greatly affected by high humidities, and this can be particularly
advantageous when films must be stored in less than ideal
conditions. Agfa CP1 and CP2 color motion picture print films
have poor image stability, and their use should be avoided.
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will be made, and with Fuji, Kodak, Konica, and Agfa all
trying hard to outdo each other, a color film or paper that
was rated longest-lasting in its category at the time this
book went to press will inevitably be eclipsed by an even
better product in the future.
While the relative performance of films and papers pro-
cessed, stored, and displayed in the wide variety of condi-
tions that one might encounter in the real world may differ
from that reported in this book, the image-life predictions
and product recommendations presented here represent a
concerted effort over a period of many years by this author
to make sense out of a complex and constantly changing
body of information. The assessments of the light fading
stability of color print materials and the projector-caused
fading of color slides deserve particular note, and the data
presented in this book help fill major gaps in the informa-
tion that has been published previously.
The Inherent Dye Stability and Yellowish
Staining Characteristics of a Color Material
The most important factors that will, ultimately, deter-
mine the useful life of a color film or color print are the
inherent dye stability and resistance to yellowish stain for-
mation that have been built into the product by its manu-
facturer. These are fundamental properties of each and
every color film or color print material. The inherent light
fading and dark storage stability properties differ greatly
among current products for any given storage or display
situation, some materials will last far longer than others.
At present, when a photographer buys a roll of color
film, no information is provided about how long the pro-
cessed color images will last before noticeable changes
take place. The photographer has no idea whether another
film made by the same or a different manufacturer
might last longer.
The sharpness, graininess, color, and tone-scale repro-
duction characteristics of a film can be examined immedi-
ately after processing, and if the photographer is not pleased
with the results, he or she can try a different product.
Indeed, Kodak, Fuji, and the other major manufacturers
routinely publish image-quality data for their films, includ-
ing RMS granularity values, resolving power values, modu-
lation transfer functions (MTF), characteristic curves, spec-
tral sensitivity curves, and spectral dye density curves.
Missing, in most cases, has been even the most basic infor-
mation about the image stability characteristics of the film.
Looking at a processed color film or print will tell you
nothing about how long it will last.
Since the introduction of Kodachrome in 1935 and Agfa-
color-Neu transparency film in 1936 the first modern
color films the major manufacturers have conducted
extensive image stability tests with their color films and
papers. In years past, however, the results of these tests
were for the most part kept secret. For photographers and
the general public alike, image stability has remained a
hidden characteristic one that manifests itself only years
after a product is purchased. And by then, of course, it is
too late.
Most manufacturers of color materials have long in-
cluded a fading warranty disclaimer on every package of
color film and paper to help protect themselves from upset
customers once the inevitable has occurred and color prints
and films have faded to the point that they are no longer
acceptable.
The wording of Kodaks disclaimer is typical:
Since color dyes may change over time,
this product will not be replaced for, or other-
wise warranted against, any change in color.
Similarly, Fuji states on its packages:
Since color dyes may change in time, no
warranty against or liability for any color
change is expressed or implied.
Agfa includes the following on its color film boxes:
As all color dyes may in time change, there
is no warranty against, or any liability for,
any change in color.
For the most part, the above disclaimers have been the
only information supplied to the general public concerning
the longevity of color films and color print materials they
use. It is hoped, however, that in the future basic image
stability information will be routinely included in the tech-
nical data sheets that Kodak, Fuji, and the other manufac-
turers publish for each of their color films and papers.
Image Permanence Is an Important
Consideration When Selecting
a Color Film or Color Paper
Although a photographer must consider many factors
when selecting a color film or print material for a particu-
lar purpose, it is only prudent to choose the most stable
products available from those that otherwise meet the
photographers requirements (e.g., color negative or color
transparency; high-speed film or slow-speed film with sharp,
fine-grain images; color negative or color reversal paper;
and so forth).
Other factors being equal and if there is a choice
almost every photographer will choose a longer-lasting film
or paper over a less stable one. The same is true of the
general public. If a portrait studio offers a customer a
print on a color paper that when displayed would last four
times longer than a print made on the leading brand
color paper and both prints cost the same and were
essentially identical in appearance which print would
the customer prefer?
With the Photography Industry Undergoing a
Fundamental Restructuring, Eastman Kodak
is No Longer the Unchallenged Leader
Although the Eastman Kodak Company, with 1992 rev-
enues in excess of $20 billion, is still the worlds largest
photographic manufacturer, the company no longer domi-
nates the photographic industry as it once did. Competi-
tion among the worlds seven principal manufacturers of
color films and papers Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, Konica, 3M,
Ilford, and Polaroid has greatly intensified since the
mid-1980s.
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Figure 1.1 Beginning in
1980, successive genera-
tions of Fujicolor EP-2 and
RA-4 compatible papers
have exhibited steadily in-
creasing light fading sta-
bility, with current Fujicol-
or SFA3 papers having an
estimated display life of
more than 50 years accord-
ing to this authors tests.
Kodaks Ektacolor papers,
on the other hand, have
shown negligible improve-
ments in light fading sta-
bility since the introduction
of Ektacolor 37 RC Paper
more than 20 years ago in
1971. When exposed to
light on display, Fujicolor
SFA3 papers last more than
four times longer than cur-
rent Ektacolor papers (e.g.,
Ektacolor Portra II Paper).
The increased worldwide competition, together with the
threats to the traditional photography companies posed by
the rapid advances in television, computer imaging sys-
tems, desktop publishing, electronic biomedical imaging,
electronic document management systems, and other elec-
tronic imaging systems that increasingly are displacing
silver-halide-based photography, have all contributed to
confusion and uncertainty in the photography industry.
A prime example of the changes taking place in the
photography industry is the complete destruction of the
once huge television newsfilm and home movie markets in
the span of only a few years by the introduction of portable
ENG (electronic news gathering) video cameras and the
now-ubiquitous amateur camcorder.
New technologies for making high-quality color prints
from digital sources including ink jet printing, dry- and
liquid-toner electrophotographic printing, and thermal dye
transfer printing offer the hope that in the future highly
stable color prints will become available at reasonable cost.
In the entire history of photography, there have never been
as many ways to make color prints as there are now. The
color imaging field has finally opened up to competitors
from outside the traditional photography industry.
These forces have put the entire photography industry
into a state of unprecedented upheaval. Kodak, Fuji, and
the other photographic manufacturers are now not only
fighting each other for market share, but are also trying to
respond to the often unclear needs of a rapidly changing
marketplace. Because of these pressures, the manufac-
turers have sharply increased their research and develop-
ment efforts, and the rate of new product introductions has
accelerated dramatically during the past few years.
Image permanence and the long-overdue recognition
that it is a key aspect of overall product quality has in
the past decade been receiving increased attention by al-
most every manufacturer. With the Japanese manufactur-
ers Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and Konica Corporation mak-
ing ever-improving image permanence a primary corpo-
rate objective, color stability has finally become a major
competitive issue in the marketplace.
In recent years, Fuji has achieved substantial improve-
ments in the stability of its color negative papers, and Fuji-
color papers now have far better light fading and dark
fading stability than Kodaks corresponding Ektacolor pa-
pers (see Chapter 3 and Chapter 5). In dark storage, the
Fujicolor papers also have better dye stability and much
lower rates of objectionable yellowish stain formation than
the Kodak papers. The stability of color papers has been a
weak area for Kodak, and at the time this book went to
press in late 1992, Kodaks papers fell short in almost every
respect when compared with the image stability of all of its
competitors papers.
On display, Fujicolor SFA3 papers for printing color nega-
tives are more than four times more stable than Ektacolor
Portra II Paper and the other Ektacolor papers that were
available at the time this book went to press in late 1992.
In fact, as shown above in Figure 1.1, this authors tests
have revealed that the light fading stability of Ektacolor
papers has seen almost no improvement since Ektacolor
37 RC Paper was introduced in 1971 (see Chapter 3). In
that period of more than 20 years, the only significant ad-
vance made by Kodak in the image stability of Ektacolor
paper was the introduction of a more dark-stable cyan dye
in August 1984.
(Konica had introduced an improved-stability cyan dye
in its Konica Color Type SR color negative paper several
months earlier in April 1984, and at the time this book went
to press, Konica continued to maintain superiority over
Kodak in the overall image stability of its Konica Color
process RA-4 and EP-2 compatible papers.)
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Unfaded print made with Fujicolor
SFA3 paper available at end of 1992.
Unfaded print made with Kodak Ekta-
color paper available at end of 1992.
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC print after
the equivalent of 10 years of display.
Unfaded print made with Kodak
Ektacolor 74 RC paper (19771986).
Comparative Light Fading of
Fujicolor SFA3 Papers and
Kodak Ektacolor Papers
The dramatic improvements made
in the light fading stability of Fujicolor
SFA3 papers, introduced in 1992, are
clearly evident in these illustrations.
The prints were subjected to accel-
erated fluorescent light fading tests
conducted at 21.5 klux for accumulated
light exposures equivalent to those
which the prints would receive during
the listed years of display (at 450 lux
for 12 hours a day). The prints were
covered with glass during the tests.
As reported in Chapter 3, this authors
predicted display life for Fujicolor SFA3
prints is 54 years, based on this authors
home and commercial display condi-
tions. Current Ektacolor prints, on the
other hand, have a predicted display
life of only a little over 12 years.
Current Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Koni-
ca Color, and Agfacolor color negative
and color reversal papers all incorpo-
rate UV absorbing emulsion overcoats,
and in most indoor display situations it
makes little difference in fading rates
whether or not the illumination source
contains UV-radiation. Most of the fad-
ing that occurs with these papers is
caused by visible light and not by
UV radiation. Framing with Plexiglas
UF-3 or other UV filters is of little if
any benefit. Ilford Ilfochrome prints,
Kodak Dye Transfer prints, and Kodak
Ektatherm digital prints do not have
UV-absorbing overcoats, however, and
the stability of these prints can be greatly
impaired when UV radiation from bare-
bulb fluorescent lamps is present.
The Fujicolor test prints were made
on Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Paper
Type C, and the Ektacolor prints were
made on Kodak Ektacolor Supra Pa-
per. Supra paper, which is one of
Kodaks Ektacolor professional pa-
pers, was chosen as the best contrast
match for Fujicolor Type C paper.
All of the Ektacolor papers available
at the time this book went to press in
late 1992 had essentially identical light
fading characteristics (these papers in-
cluded Ektacolor Edge Paper, Ektacolor
Royal II Paper, Ektacolor Supra Pa-
per, Ektacolor Portra II Paper, Ekta-
color Ultra Paper, and Duraflex RA Print
Material). The light fading stability of
Ektacolor 74 RC paper, in use from 1977
until 1986, is similar to that of current
Ektacolor papers.
9 b
60%
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Unfaded print made with Fujicolor
SFA3 paper available at end of 1992.
accelerated dark fading/staining test.
Kodak Ektacolor print after 60 days
in accelerated dark fading/staining test.
Unfaded print made with Kodak Ekta-
color paper available at end of 1992.
60 days in accelerated dark fading/
dark staining test.
Unfaded print made with Kodak
Ektacolor 74 RC paper (available
from 1977 until 1986).
Comparative Dark Fading and
Yellowish Staining Behavior
of Fujicolor SFA3 Papers
and Kodak Ektacolor Papers
The superior dark storage stability
of Fujicolor SFA3 papers, introduced
in 1992, is clearly evident in these illus-
trations. In addition to having better
dye stability in dark storage, the Fuji-
color papers also have far lower rates
of yellowish stain formation than the
Ektacolor papers that were available
at the time this book went to press in
late 1992. With Ektacolor and most other
current chromogenic papers, brilliance-
robbing yellowish stain that occurs over
time in dark storage is a more serious
problem than is dye fading itself.
The prints were subjected to an ac-
celerated dark fading/staining test con-
ducted at 144F (62C) and 45% RH for
the number of days listed. Results from
this authors single-temperature com-
parative dark storage tests for color
papers and 20% dye fading predic-
tions based on multi-temperature Arrhe-
nius tests conducted by the major manu-
facturers are listed in Chapter 5.
The Fujicolor test prints were made
with Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Pa-
per Type C, and the Ektacolor prints
were made with Kodak Ektacolor Su-
pra Paper. Supra paper, which is one
of Kodaks Ektacolor professional pa-
pers, was chosen as the best contrast
match for the Fujicolor Type C paper.
With the exception of Ektacolor Por-
tra II Paper, all of the Ektacolor pa-
pers available at the time this book went
to press in 1992 had essentially identi-
cal dark fading/staining stability (these
included Ektacolor Edge Paper, Ekta-
color Royal II Paper, Ektacolor Supra
Paper, Ektacolor Ultra Paper, and Dur-
aflex RA Print Material). Ektacolor
Portra II Paper, introduced in 1992, has
somewhat better dye stability in dark
storage, but the poor yellowish stain
behavior of the paper remains the same
as that of the previous Portra paper
(198992) and other Ektacolor papers.
Ektacolor 74 RC paper, in use from
1977 until 1986, employed a cyan dye
with very poor dark fading stability; in
addition, over time the papers devel-
oped high levels of yellowish stain in
dark storage. (Konica PC Color Paper
Type SR, introduced in 1984, was the
first chromogenic paper to use a high-
stability cyan dye, and this greatly im-
proved the papers overall stability.)
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dark staining test.
180 days in accelerated test sample
print not available.
dark staining test.
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Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish
Staining Behavior of Color Papers Used
to Print Color Transparencies
Among easily processed color print materials, Ilford
Ilfochrome silver dye-bleach prints are the only type of
color prints that are essentially permanent in normal, room-
temperature dark storage. Polyester-base Ilfochrome prints,
which can be made only from color transparencies, are
expected to last 500 years or more without noticeable fad-
ing or staining when kept in the dark; no other type of
conventional color print can even approach this level of
stability. Kodak Dye Transfer prints, which are far more
expensive than Ilfochrome prints, also have excellent dark
storage stability. (Both Ilfochrome and Dye Transfer prints
are subject to light fading, however.)
Among process R-3 compatible reversal papers, Fuji-
chrome Paper Type 35 is by far the most stable material,
both in dark storage and when exposed to light on display.
Unfaded Ilford Cibachrome II print (now called Ilfochrome
Classic). Prints shown below made with other processes
were similar in appearance prior to accelerated aging.
Kodak Dye Transfer fiber-base print after one year in the
accelerated dark fading/staining test. The print showed
almost no fading and suffered only slight staining. The
one-year test period was twice as long as that used with
the now-obsolete Ektachrome and Fujichrome papers below.
Fujichrome Paper Type 34 RC print (198692) after 6 months
in the accelerated dark fading/staining test. Fujichrome
Paper Type 35 (1992) has similar stability. Note the low
yellowish stain level and the much better cyan dye stabil-
ity compared with Ektachrome 22 paper.
Kodak Ektachrome 22 RC print (initial type: 198490)
after 6 months in the accelerated dark fading/staining
test. Ektachrome Radiance paper (1991) has greatly
improved dye stability in dark storage, but over time the
paper still develops high levels of yellowish stain.
Ilford Cibachrome II (now called Ilfochrome Classic) print,
made on a glossy polyester-base, after one year in the
accelerated dark fading/staining test. The print showed
no detectable fading or staining at the completion of the
test (the prints are subject to light fading, however).

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Kodak Ektacolor Plus print after one
year in an accelerated dark fading/
staining test. Note the severe, overall
yellowish staining of the image. (The
accelerated test was conducted at
144F [62C] and 45% RH.)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus print after light
exposure in an accelerated test
equivalent to 250 years of display.
(The print was exposed to 21.5 klux
glass-filtered fluorescent illumination
for 2.7 years [75F and 60% RH].)
Unfaded print made on Kodak Ek-
tacolor Plus Paper in 1985. Ekta-
color Professional Paper and the
Process RA-4 Ektacolor papers avail-
able at the time this book went press
in 1992 have similar image stability.
Polaroid Permanent-Color print after
6 years in an accelerated dark fad-
ing/staining test. No fading or stain-
ing of the image or polyester base
material could be observed. (The
accelerated test was conducted at
144F [62C] and 45% RH.)
Polaroid Permanent-Color print after
light exposure in an accelerated test
equivalent to 575 years of display.
Some magenta fading occurred, but
the print remains in good condition.
(The print was exposed to 21.5 klux
fluorescent illumination for 6 years.)
Unfaded pigment print made with
Polaroid Permanent-Color materials.
The color of the pink dress in this
early prototype print is exaggerated
because the digital laser scanner used
to make the separations had not been
properly adjusted for the process.
UltraStable and Other Pigment Color Prints
May Have a Display Life of More Than 500 Years
The only way to make truly long-lasting color photo-
graphs that can safely be displayed for hundreds of years
is to form the color images with high-stability color pig-
ments instead of the far less light-stable organic dyes used
with Fujicolor, Ektacolor, and most other color processes.
Currently available high-stability pigment color prints
include UltraStable Permanent Color prints (see descrip-
tion on page 49) and prints made with Polaroid Permanent-
Color materials, both invented by California photographer
Charles Berger, and EverColor Pigment Color Prints made
with a high-stability modification of the AgfaProof graphic
arts proofing system and planned for introduction in 1993
by the EverColor Corporation (see description on page 122
and the suppliers list on page 293).
At the time this book went to press in late 1992, produc-
tion samples of prints made with these three processes
were not yet available, and it was not known which of the
three produced the most stable prints nor which was
capable of the best color and tone reproduction. This au-
thor will start long-term stability tests with these processes
as soon as verified production samples are obtained.
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Color Photographic Images Are Composed of Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow, and Sometimes Black Layers
Most color films and prints have images composed of
organic cyan, magenta, and yellow (the subtractive primary
colors) dyes residing in very thin gelatin layers that are
coated on transparent film base, polyethylene-coated RC
paper base, or white polyester base. At any given point in
an image, the color is determined by the relative concentra-
tion of the three dyes. No dye is present in white areas, and
black areas have a maximum concentration of all three dyes.
Some types of color prints, including the UltraStable Per-
manent Color print reproduced at the right, employ high-
stability pigments instead of generally much less light-stable
organic dyes to form the image.
UltraStable prints, EverColor pigment prints, Iris and
Stork ink jet prints, some types of thermal dye transfer
prints, and offset-printed color illustrations such as those in
this book utilize a black printer in addition to cyan, ma-
genta, and yellow image layers used with traditional color
photographs in order to obtain the required densities in
dark areas and to increase apparent sharpness. Color copier-
printers such as the Canon Color Laser Copier, Xerox 5775
Digital Copier, and Kodak Color Edge Copier also employ a
black image in addition to cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Unlike Ektacolor prints and most other current types of
color photographs, the color image layers of UltraStable
prints are prepared individually. Examples of these layers
(and various combinations of layers) are reproduced below.
Magenta and yellow with-
out cyan or black images.
Cyan, magenta, and yel-
low without black image.
Cyan and yellow without
magenta or black images.
Cyan and magenta with-
out yellow or black images.
Cyan image. Magenta image. Yellow image. Black image.
UltraStable Permanent Color print with an image composed
of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black pigment layers. The
print was made from a 6x7-cm transparency supplied by
Fuji as an aid for setting up graphic arts color scanners.
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1973 Ektacolor RC print
after 8 years of display.
How Color Photographs Can Look After They Fade
and Stain in Normal Display and Dark Storage
When color prints and films fade, the three image dyes
(and black image, if present) rarely fade at the same rate,
and the result is a progressive shift in color balance. Light
fading characteristically results in a partial or total loss of
highlight and low-density detail as well as a color-balance
change that is visually most apparent in low- and medium-
density portions of an image. Fading that occurs in dark
storage with Ektacolor and other chromogenic color prints
is usually characterized by an overall change in color bal-
ance and ever more objectionable yellowish stain. Fujicolor
SFA3 and Fujichrome Type 35 papers, introduced in 1992,
have greatly reduced rates of yellowish stain formation.
Displayed 1968 Ektacolor print with severe magenta dye
fading and loss of detail in skin tones and in the brides
dress while the grooms black tuxedo appears unaffected.

1
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1980 Agfacolor print kept
in the dark (note cyan fade).
1950 Kodacolor print kept
in the dark (note stain).
This 1971 Kodak Ektacolor RC print was framed behind an
oval mat. After 7 years of home display, the image suffered
severe magenta dye fading and developed yellowish stain.

1
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1

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A magnified cross-section
of an Ektacolor 74 RC print,
with the cyan, magenta,
and yellow dyes that were
formed during processing.
Beneath the print emulsion
is a polyethylene plastic
(RC) layer containing a
white titanium dioxide pig-
ment, followed by a core
of fiber-base photographic
paper. At the bottom is a
layer of clear polyethylene.
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Color Photography Has Now Largely
Replaced Black-and-White Photography
Long before Louis Daguerre publicly revealed his da-
guerreotype process in France in 1839, he and another
Frenchman, Joseph Nicephore Niepce, had been experi-
menting with various materials which they hoped could be
used to produce color images. In 1816, Niepce wrote to his
brother Claude:
The experiments I have thus far made lead
me to believe that my process will succeed as far
as the principal effect is concerned, but I must
succeed in fixing the colors; this is what occupies
me at the moment, and it is the most difficult.
While neither Daguerre nor Niepce succeeded in pro-
ducing a workable color process, the desire to make photo-
graphs in color persisted, and it was not long before many
photographers began to hand-color their daguerreotypes.
Often the coloring consisted of nothing more than adding a
little rosy color to the cheeks of people in the portraits;
sometimes rather elaborate work was done in an attempt
to simulate the full range of colors in the original scene.
It is interesting to speculate about what place black-
and-white pictures would have had in the history of pho-
tography if practical color processes had been invented
before black-and-white systems had become widespread.
Assuming equal costs and ease of use of both black-and-
white and color, it is not unlikely that black-and-white pho-
tography would have been considered something of a curi-
osity, perhaps desirable only for certain scientific or artis-
tic applications. The principal achievement of photogra-
phy has always been to record events, people, and scenes;
color is almost always an important part of this reality.
When portrait and wedding photographers made the
virtually total shift from black-and-white to color photogra-
phy during the 10 years from 1965 to 1975, there was very
little realization on their part that in abandoning black-
and-white photography, they were also giving up the long-
term stability of the metallic silver images that they had
come to take almost for granted.
The ability to make a portrait to Take A Moment Out
Of Time . . . And Make It Last Forever, as a 1980 Kodak
color portrait advertising slogan
5
put it and know that
the photograph could be displayed without worry for many
generations to come was a very important part of the ap-
peal of portrait photography ever since highly stable sil-
ver-gelatin materials (the ordinary black-and-white print)
came into general use around 1900.
Despite their great stability advantages, black-and-white
photographs are missing one crucial element, and that is
color. We see in color; and the general public has shown
an overwhelming preference for color images, whether they
be color photographs, color television, color motion pic-
tures, or color illustrations in newspapers, magazines, books,
and advertisements. At their best, color photographs are
stunningly beautiful in a way that is very different from the
monochromatic images of carefully made black-and-white
photographs. Color photographs offer a much more com-
plete depiction of reality and provide much more visual
information than do black-and-white photographs.
Joel Meyerowitz, a New York City fine art and commer-
cial photographer who started his career in 1962 with black-
and-white films and became an accomplished black-and-
white printmaker, said this about color photography in an
interview with Bruce K. MacDonald in Cape Light, his
celebrated book of color photographs taken on Cape Cod
which also served as the catalogue for a 1978 exhibition of
the same name at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston:
. . . Color film appears to be responsive to the
full spectrum of visible light while black and white
reduces the spectrum to a very narrow wave-
length. This stimulates in the user of each mate-
rial a different set of responses.
. . . Color is always a part of experience. Grass
is green, not gray; flesh is color, not gray. Black
and white is a very cultivated response.
. . . [Color] makes everything more interest-
ing. Color suggests more things to look at, new
subjects for me. Color suggests that light itself
is a subject. . . . Black and white taught me about
a lot of interesting things: life in the streets, crazy
behavior in America, shooting out of a car. Black
and white shows how things look when theyre
stripped of their color. Weve accepted that thats
the way things are in a photograph for a long
time because thats all we could get. Thats changed
now. We have color and it tells us more. Theres
more content! The form for the content is more
complex, more interesting to work with.
6
Figure 1.2 Beginning in the mid-1960s, amateur pho-
tography in the United States embarked on a major shift
toward color negative films and color prints and away
from the previously popular black-and-white films and
color slide films. By 1990, approximately 90% of all
amateur photographs were made with color negative films
and printed on color negative papers.
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A 1963 Kodak ad that appeared on the back cover of the companys Studio Light magazine encouraged photographers to
give up black-and-white photography and switch to color. The ad suggested that the Ektacolor prints of the time would last
a lifetime, which proved not to be true. When portrait and wedding photographers switched to color during the 1960s and
early 1970s, most had no realization that in giving up black-and-white photography, they were also giving up a highly stable
medium that could indeed last a lifetime. Properly processed black-and-white fiber-base prints can potentially be displayed
for hundreds of years under normal conditions without significant change.
T
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The Desire for Color Led to the Colorization
of B&W Movies and Television Productions
The desire for color on the part of the general public is
so strong that in the mid-1980s over the heated objec-
tions of many movie directors and film curators Turner
Broadcasting System, through its Turner Entertainment
Company subsidiary, and others began releasing color-
ized video versions of old black-and-white movies such as
Its a Wonderful Life and Yankee Doodle Dandy. The
colorized films are being broadcast over television and, in
many cases, released on videocassette.
The colorization process is done with computers with
human operators making determinations about appropri-
ate colors for each scene and is output on videotape.
7
The movies themselves are not harmed and remain in their
original black-and-white form. The computer-aided colori-
zation of movies has become a flourishing industry, and
many hundreds of films and early black-and-white televi-
sion programs have been colorized for sale and rental in
the global broadcast, cable, and videocassette markets.
Colorizing a film costs $2,500 to $3,000 a minute, with
the costs for a feature-length film sometimes amounting to
more than $350,000. Turner, which holds some 3,300 theat-
rical motion pictures in its library along with about 2,000
shorts and cartoons and more than 2,000 hours of televi-
sion programs,
8
is by far the biggest customer of the color-
izing business. At the time this book went to press in 1992,
Turner had colorized several hundred films and had spent
many millions of dollars on the effort.
Figure 1.3 In terms of the total number of still camera
exposures made in the United States, amateur photogra-
phers have by far the largest share of the market. In
1990, professionals made only about 20% of the total
exposures, while amateurs mostly using color nega-
tive films contributed about 80%. Color negative films
and papers designed for the amateur market have be-
come the core of the worldwide photographic industry.
Figure 1.4 Professional portrait and wedding photogra-
phers have converted almost entirely to color negative
films and papers (the Ektacolor papers used by many
professional labs have the same image stability as their
amateur 35-cent drugstore print Ektacolor counterparts).
In 1992, it was estimated that portraits and wedding pho-
tographs made with color transparency films and B&W
films amounted to less than one percent of the total.
Said Wilson Markle, president of Colorization Inc., a
Toronto-based company that pioneered the colorization of
black-and-white films: People dont like black and white.
They do like color, and when we color it, they buy it.
9
According to Earl Glick, chairman of Hal Roach Studios,
a Hollywood studio with many classic black-and-white movies
in its archives:
People who buy the movies for distribution
and sale television stations, networks, cable
television and so on always classify the black-
and-white movie as a lesser picture, and there-
fore dont pay as much as they would pay for a
color picture. Every time we went to sell some-
thing to them theyd say, Well, this is only worth
so much, because its black and white. So we
thought, well, if these pictures were in color,
theyd command a much bigger price.
10
An audience survey commissioned by the studio showed
that 85 percent of people would watch something only if it
were in color. In the age group under 20, nobody wants to
watch anything in black and white. Glick went on to say:
Weve sold more color cassettes of Way Out West in six
months than the black and white has sold in 10 years
and at a higher price.
Ironically, perhaps, at the present time the entertain-
ment film industry is spending more money adding color to
black-and-white films than it is spending to prevent color
from fading away in existing color movies.
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Figure 1.5 It is among photographers working in photo-
journalism, stock photography, fine art photography, and
in commercial, industrial, educational, and scientific fields
that color transparency films, black-and-white films, and
Polaroid instant photographs are still widely used. But
even these branches of photography are increasingly
employing color negative films for their work.
The Modern Era of Color Photography Began in
193536 with the Introduction of Kodachrome
and Agfacolor Neu Color Transparency Films
Although a number of color processes were available in
the early 1900s, such as the additive screen Autochrome
plates introduced by the Lumiere brothers in France in
1907, and dye-transfer and tricolor carbro prints made from
glass-plate separation negatives photographed sequentially
through red, green, and blue filters or in complex one-
shot cameras that exposed all three separation negatives
with a single exposure all of these early color processes
saw only limited use. They were either so cumbersome
and time-consuming that only the most dedicated photog-
raphers would consider using them, or, in the case of Auto-
chrome plates and the other additive screen processes of
the time, they lacked the resolution necessary to produce
satisfactory results in any but large-format cameras, and
making good-quality prints from the additive screen im-
ages was difficult and time-consuming.
With the introduction of Kodak Kodachrome transpar-
ency film in 1935 and Agfa Agfacolor Neu transparency film
in 1936, high-quality color photography suddenly became
accessible to everyone. These films, which formed images
by a process known as chromogenic development, were the
first successful integral tripack color films.
Kodachrome film was first marketed in 1935 as a 16mm
amateur movie film. Kodachrome for 35mm color slides
was introduced in 1936; the film had an ASA speed of 10.
Kodachrome sheet films in sizes up to 8x10 inches were
supplied for the professional market from 1938 until 1951.
Beginning in 1941, Kodak supplied the amateur market
with prints made with the Kodachrome process under the
Minicolor name; the prints, which had rounded corners,
were made with a white pigmented acetate base. From
1946 until 1955, the acetate-base prints were sold under the
Kodachrome Print name. The Kodachrome Print name
continued to be used for many years after 1955 to signify
any print made from a Kodachrome or Ektachrome trans-
parency by Kodak Processing Laboratories. Most of these
prints were printed on Kodak fiber-base or RC-base color
negative papers with an internegative made from the trans-
parency. In later years, many Kodachrome Prints were
made with Ektachrome RC reversal papers.
Kodachrome process acetate-base prints supplied to the
professional market were called Kotavachrome Prints from
1941 until 1946; from 1946 until 1956, the prints were sold
under the Kodachrome Professional Print name. All Koda-
chrome process prints have very good dark storage stabil-
ity their dark stability is much better, in fact, than that
of any current Kodak color negative or reversal paper.
Kodachrome grew out of the research of Leopold D.
Mannes and Leo Godowsky, Jr., who were professional mu-
sicians and avid amateur photographers. Interested in the
work of the two inventors, Kodak coated a number of ex-
perimental plates for Mannes and Godowsky beginning about
1922, and in 1930 Mannes and Godowsky accepted an invi-
tation to join the staff of the Kodak Research Laboratories
and work with other Kodak personnel in perfecting their
new process. From 1935 to 1938 Kodachrome was designed
to be processed using what was known as the controlled-
diffusion bleach method; this was a very complex 28-step,
3
1
2-hour process requiring three separate processing ma-
chines. The dark-storage stability of this first version of
Kodachrome was relatively poor, and most examples have
by now suffered nearly total loss of yellow dye.
In 1938 the processing of Kodachrome as well as
some aspects of the film itself was changed to the selec-
tive re-exposure method, and the use of controlled-diffu-
sion bleach baths was abandoned.
The Kodachrome processing machine at The Color Place
in Dallas, Texas (the line was closed at the end of 1992).
Kodachrome has suffered a considerable loss of market
share in recent years in favor of the much easier to pro-
cess E-6 Fujichrome and Ektachrome films. At the time
this book went to press in 1992, only two independent
professional labs in the U.S. still processed Kodachrome.
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Beginning with the improved film and processing pro-
cedure introduced in 1938, Kodachrome has had very good
dark fading stability. Kodachrome film is still the only
transparency film that remains totally free of yellowish
stain formation during long-term storage.
Kodachrome processing continues to be a very complex
procedure and can be done only with large, continuous
processors. The three separate color developers and the
two precisely controlled colored light re-exposure steps
make it impractical for the user to process the film.
Agfacolor Neu Transparency Film Was the
First Incorporated-Coupler Color Film
Agfacolor Neu film, introduced by Agfa in Germany in
1936, one year after Kodachrome film became available,
was probably more significant than Kodachrome in that
the basic incorporated-coupler design of Agfacolor Neu is
now used in all chromogenic materials except Kodachrome.
Because the color couplers were incorporated into the emul-
sion layers during manufacture, only one color developer
was required and processing was greatly simplified com-
pared with that required with Kodachrome film.
Although the technique Agfa devised to prevent color
couplers in Agfacolor Neu film from migrating from one
emulsion layer to another when the emulsion was wet and
swollen during manufacturing and processing has been
replaced by other methods (e.g., the protected or oil-
encapsulated couplers invented by Kodak in the early 1940s
and the latex L-couplers employed by Fuji in recent years),
the incorporated-coupler concept pioneered by Agfa is now
used with all color negative films, color negative papers,
and with all Process E-6 compatible transparency films.
Formation of Color Image Dyes in Film and Print
Emulsion Layers with Chromogenic Development
Chromogenic development (coupling color development)
was first disclosed by the German chemist Rudolf Fischer
in patents, and in articles written with his co-worker, Hans
Siegrist, that were published between 1912 and 1914. In
simple terms, the process of chromogenic development
can be described as follows:
When a silver halide emulsion is developed with certain
types of developers, oxidation products that are produced
in the course of development of the silver image can be
used to react with, or couple with, special types of chemi-
cal compounds known as color couplers to form colored dye
images.
11
Thus, during processing, the dyes are chemi-
cally synthesized in the thin emulsion layers where they
remain in place after they are formed.
With the exceptions of the special color-correcting mask-
ing couplers used with modern color negative films, the
couplers themselves are colorless; it is the chemical reac-
tion between the couplers and the developer oxidation prod-
ucts that forms the colored dyes. It can be seen that where
there has been no light exposure and no development takes
place, developer oxidation products are not produced and
even though color couplers are present, no dye will be
formed. Thus, the density of the dye image corresponds to
the density of the silver image which in turn is deter-
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In 1938 Kodachrome film was modified and the processing
procedure changed to the selective re-exposure reversal
method that is still in use today. The excellent dark fading
stability and freedom from yellowish stain of the improved
Kodachrome process are evident in this 1940 photograph
of a depression-era New Mexico family eating dinner.
The initial controlled-diffusion bleach Kodachrome film
and processing procedure was in use from 1935 until
around 1940. As can be seen in this 35mm Kodachrome
photograph taken in Oklahoma in 1939 by Russell Lee for
the Farm Security Administration, the dark fading stability
of Kodachrome film from this early period was poor.
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small number of couplers have actually been used in com-
mercially available film and print materials. Among the
properties of a coupler that determine its suitability for
use in a particular emulsion layer are the following:
1. The color (and color purity) of the dye formed by the
coupler. Couplers can be formulated to form dyes of
almost any color, but in color photography, cyan, ma-
genta, and yellow dyes are of primary interest. (A per-
fect magenta dye, for example, would absorb only green
light and would be fully transparent to both red and
blue light. In color photography, perfect dyes do not
yet exist, and this degrades color reproduction.)
2. The color of the unreacted coupler. (Except with color
negative films, couplers must be colorless.)
3. The couplers reaction characteristics with the oxida-
tion products that result from development of the par-
ticular silver halide used in an emulsion with the color
developer at the time and temperature specified by the
process (e.g., E-6, C-41, RA-4, R-3, and EP-2).
4. The light fading stability of the dye formed by the cou-
pler. (Various chemical stabilizers may be incorpo-
rated in an emulsion during manufacture to reduce the
harmful effects of light exposure. In addition, Ekta-
color, Fujicolor, and all other current chromogenic print
materials employ UV-absorbing emulsion overcoats that
essentially eliminate UV radiation as a cause of fading
in prints displayed under normal indoor conditions.)
5. The dark fading stability of the dye formed by the cou-
pler. (Unreacted couplers that remain in the emulsion
may have a significant deleterious effect on the dark
fading stability of a dye.)
6. The tendency of unreacted couplers, which remain in
the emulsion after processing, to produce stain over
time. Such stain, which is almost always yellowish or
brownish in color, is particularly noticeable in whites
and other low-density areas of color prints. Yellowish
stain can occur in dark storage, or it can be caused by
exposure to light and ultraviolet radiation. With the
Kodak Ektacolor papers available at the time this book
went to press in 1992, yellowish stain formation in dark
storage caused primarily by the gradual discolora-
tion of the initially colorless magenta couplers that re-
main in the print following processing was a more
serious problem than the dark fading of the image dyes
themselves. Fujicolor SFA3 color negative paper and
Fujichrome Type 35 reversal paper employ new types
of low-stain magenta couplers that have greatly re-
duced rates of yellowish stain formation.
7. Whether or not the coupler is protected by a patent
held by a competitor and, if it is, whether or not it can
be licensed on acceptable terms.
Selection of a particular dye-forming coupler always in-
volves a compromise of these and many other properties.
Unless accelerated light fading and dark fading tests are
performed, the stability characteristics of the dye formed
by a particular coupler generally are not apparent until
many months or years after processing.
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As illustrated by this 1938 Agfacolor transparency, the
dark storage stability of early Agfacolor films was poor.
The photograph is of Klaus B. Hendriks, the director of
the Conservation Research Division of the National
Archives of Canada, at the age of 10 months in Germany.
mined by the amount of light exposure received by the
emulsion at each point in the image. After chromogenic
development is completed, both a silver image and a col-
ored dye image are present at the same locations in the
emulsion; the silver image is later removed by converting
it back into a silver halide (chemical bleaching) and then
removing the silver halide with a fixer.
The great virtue of the chromogenic process is that it
permits the same extremely light-sensitive silver halides
employed in black-and-white films to be used to form high-
resolution color images. Modern color photography is of-
ten referred to as silver-based photography or silver
halide photography even though unlike black-and-white
photography there is no silver left in color films or prints
at the completion of processing.
In 1913, the year after he first described color couplers
and suitable developers for producing color images, Fischer
obtained a patent for the design of an integral tripack color
film containing incorporated couplers that would form yel-
low, magenta, and cyan dyes in the three emulsion layers.
Fischer was unable to make a usable color material based
on his ideas, however. His main difficulty was in finding a
way to prevent the couplers from wandering from their
assigned layer into another layer of the emulsion while it
was wet during manufacture or processing. If, for example,
a magenta coupler diffuses out of the green sensitive emul-
sion layer into the red sensitive layer, magenta dye will be
formed where there should be only a cyan dye image
thus preventing proper color reproduction.
Application of the original Fischer process was finally
achieved by Agfa in the Agfacolor Neu transparency film
introduced in 1936. In early 1939, Agfa introduced the worlds
first incorporated-coupler motion picture color negative
film and a companion color print film. These products
were the forerunners of all current still camera and motion
picture color negative films, as well as motion picture print
films and papers for printing color negatives.
Many thousands of different couplers have been formu-
lated to date; new couplers are constantly being produced
in the course of research and development by the manu-
facturers of color materials. Of course, only a relatively
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A 1944 Kodacolor print of John Wolf, the editor of this
book, and his mother, Virginia Wolf. The severely stained
print has been kept in an album and has not been dis-
played. All Kodacolor prints made from 1942 until 1953
now exhibit similar staining. Kodacolor prints from this
period also have extremely poor light fading stability.
mogenic color negative film designed for use in fixed-expo-
sure box cameras; both the film and prints were relatively
simple to process. Kodacolor prints were made with a low-
cost fiber-base paper support (it was many years later, in
1968, before a low-cost polyethylene resin-coated RC sup-
port was introduced as a substitute for the more expen-
sive, non-absorbent acetate-base support of the type that
was required with the Kodachrome print process).
The Totally Lost Kodacolor Era of 194253
The fact that both Kodacolor films and prints were far
less stable than Kodachrome films and prints and of
black-and-white films and prints did not dissuade Kodak
from marketing the products to an unsuspecting public.
Consumers who made the unfortunate decision to use Ko-
dacolor now have nothing left but unprintable negatives
and faded, severely stained prints. In fact, this author
does not know of a single Kodacolor print taken from 1942
until 1953 (the year that Kodak managed to significantly
reduce the print staining problem) that survives today in
reasonable condition; all have faded and developed an ugly,
overall orange or yellow stain regardless of whether they
From a manufacturers point of view, the single most
important characteristic of a color coupler is the color pu-
rity of the cyan, magenta, or yellow dye that it produces.
The color purity of these dyes has a direct bearing on the
color reproduction, color saturation, and other aspects of
image quality that are apparent immediately after processing
is completed. It is not surprising, then, that in the market-
place coupler characteristics relating to the visual quality
of the dyes that make up the color image have tended to
have priority over the long-term stability characteristics of
a particular color dye.
Among Available Dyes and Pigments,
Chromogenic Dyes Are Virtually Unique in
Terms of Their Instability in Dark Storage
Among the available color processes, chromogenic films
and prints as a group have the distinct limitation of being
relatively unstable in dark storage. While most classes of
dyes are subject to light fading, chromogenic dyes are al-
most unique among commercially available dyes in that
many of them also have poor stability when stored in the
dark unless kept at refrigerated temperatures.
While many of the dyes and pigments intended for use
with fabrics, printing, watercolors, and other purposes have
less than adequate light fading stability, nearly all of these
colorants have very good stability when kept in the dark.
For example, although the 4-color process inks used in
offset printing typically have poor light fading stability (the
magenta and yellow inks are generally much less stable
than the cyan and black inks when exposed to light), the
dark storage stability of these inks appears generally to be
excellent. When a book of color photographs is printed on
good-quality, long-lasting paper and is protected from un-
due exposure to light, the printed reproductions will prob-
ably far outlast the original color prints.
In the Years Following the Introduction of
Kodachrome Film, There Have Been Tremendous
Differences in the Permanence of the Many Types
of Color Films and Prints That Have Been Marketed
While Kodachrome films and prints were successful prod-
ucts for Kodak, the company, which from its very begin-
nings has always been oriented toward the mass market,
believed that the Kodachrome system had several serious
shortcomings. First, in common with all color transpar-
ency films designed to be viewed by projection, Kodachrome
films had a very narrow exposure latitude, which meant
that the film was unusable in the simple, fixed-exposure
box cameras of the day. This limitation alone effectively
closed Kodak out of the bulk of the potentially huge market
for amateur color snapshots. Kodak was well aware of the
fact that although advanced amateur photographers were
for the most part satisfied with putting on family slide shows
to view their color photographs, most people preferred to
have color prints which could be displayed, sent to friends
and relatives, kept in wallets and purses, and arranged in
carefully inscribed and dated albums.
With the Kodacolor process, introduced in 1942, Kodak
believed that it had solved most of the marketing limita-
tions of Kodachrome. Kodacolor was a wide-latitude chro-
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Printed reproductions such as this ad, which appeared on
the back cover of the July 1950 issue of Popular Photog-
raphy magazine, are the only record of what pre-1953
Kodacolor prints once looked like.
were exposed to light on display or kept in the dark in
albums. The discoloration is caused by unstable magenta
dye-forming color couplers that remain in the print after
processing. These hundreds of millions perhaps billions
of Kodacolor prints and negatives represent the first
great era of color photography to be totally lost.
For Years the Permanence of Color Films
and Prints Has Been Shrouded in Secrecy
It was during the early days of color photography that
Kodak adopted a policy of strict secrecy on matters of color
stability; the company concluded that it would not be in its
best interests to let the public become aware of the ex-
treme stability advantages of Kodachrome over Kodacolor.
(Looking back on the history of color photography, it is
difficult to find another pair of products offered by a manu-
facturer at the same time that had such an extreme differ-
ence in image stability.)
Kodak apparently feared that if the general public knew
just how poor the stability of Kodacolor prints was even
if the prints were kept in an album in the dark the
market for Kodacolor would be seriously restricted. Most
amateur photographers would simply continue to use black-
and-white films. Color photography was much more profit-
able to Kodak than was black-and-white photography.
The decision not to disclose color stability information
to the public meant that there was little incentive to intro-
duce more stable color print processes. With stability data
kept secret, Kodak could not advertise improvements in
image stability, and over the years this has effectively doomed
Kodaks interest in silver dye-bleach materials and other
potentially long-lasting (and probably more expensive) color
print processes for the general market.
As a result, during the early 1940s Kodak made a policy
decision that was to have far-reaching consequences in
terms of color permanence: the company decided that it
should try to satisfy the requirements of nearly every branch
of photography with one basic chromogenic color print ma-
terial. This allowed considerable economies of production
and a concentration of research and development activi-
ties. The design, processing speed, and cost requirements
of this color print material were unfortunately dictated by
its principal market: drugstore photofinishing. This is a
hotly competitive market in which every fraction of a cent
spent in producing a print is considered important.
Thus we have arrived at the present, with professional
portrait and wedding photographers, fine art photographers,
and photographers producing prints for historical docu-
mentation, all using a color print material whose every
design aspect was dictated by the drugstore photofinishing
and minilab business.
Very few people know that the most expensive color
portrait or wedding photograph purchased from their local
studio is printed on the same type of color paper that is
used for the 35-cent prints they pick up at their local drug-
store. In fact, as discussed in Chapter 8, because of the
stability problems associated with the lacquering and re-
touching commonly done in the professional portrait field,
there is a good possibility that the drugstore print, made
on Ektacolor Edge Paper, is more stable than portrait and
wedding photographs costing hundreds of dollars.
Kodak Continues to Keep Stability Data for
Its Ektacolor and Ektachrome Papers Secret
Although Fuji, Konica, and Agfa have been routinely
releasing basic image stability data for their color papers
in recent years, Kodak has not disclosed stability data for
any of its Process RA-4 Ektacolor papers, which date back
to the introduction of Ektacolor 2001 Paper in 1986. At the
time this book went to press in 1992, these papers included
Ektacolor Edge, Royal II, Portra II, Supra, Ultra, and Dur-
aflex. Likewise, Kodak had not released any stability data
for Ektachrome Radiance or Radiance Select papers for
printing color transparencies. Kodak also had not released
stability data for Ektatherm thermal dye transfer paper,
which is used in the Kodak XL 7700-series digital printers
for making prints from Kodak Photo CDs and other digital
sources. The index print (contact print) accompanying
every Kodak Photo CD is an Ektatherm print.
For a few years, beginning in the early 1980s, Kodak did
publish dark fading and light fading data for its Ektacolor
and Ektachrome papers. At that time the company also
published stability data for its color negative, color trans-
parency, and color motion picture films. A summation of
Kodaks dark fading predictions is included in Chapter 5;
data for motion picture films are included in Chapter 9.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, the most
recent image stability data published by Kodak for its color
papers dated back to February 1985 and were for Ektacolor
Plus Paper,
12
a Process EP-2 paper that was introduced in
1984 as a replacement for Ektacolor 78 Paper.
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This 1941 Kodak Azochrome silver dye-bleach print is in the collection of the International Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. The print is believed to have been made from a 4x5-inch or 8x10-inch
Kodachrome transparency. After more than 50 years of storage in the dark, the extremely sharp color image remains in
excellent condition, with no apparent fading or staining. In dark storage, Azochrome was probably the most stable color
print material ever developed by Kodak. In abandoning the high-stability silver dye-bleach process, Kodak embarked on a
policy of focusing its color photography efforts on the high-volume, low-cost amateur snapshot market. Beginning with the
introduction of Kodak Color Print Material Type C in 1955 (renamed Ektacolor Paper in 1958), there has been no significant
difference in stability between Kodaks amateur and professional color papers a situation that continues to exist today.
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1940s and disclosed its superior stability characteris-
tics it is certain that the evolution of Kodaks color print
materials would have proceeded much differently and that
today the company would be producing far more stable
color print materials for the professional market.
A high-stability, negative-printing version of Azochrome
would have been extremely successful in the professional
portrait and wedding market and in the fine art field.
Color microfilms and motion picture print films made with
Azochrome technology would last far longer than Kodaks
current chromogenic products for these applications.
Early Ektachrome Films Were Far Less Stable
Than the Kodachrome Films They Replaced
When Kodak replaced large-format Kodachrome sheet
films with Ektachrome films at the beginning of the 1950s,
no one outside of the company was aware that these new
films faded in the dark at least 20 times faster than the
discontinued Kodachrome films. The large differences in
image stability between these films was a closely held se-
cret within Kodak. The unfortunate results of this product
downgrading can be seen in the now severely faded Ekta-
Kodak Almost Introduces Azochrome, a Highly
Stable Silver Dye-Bleach Material, in 1941
In 1941, Eastman Kodak announced the Azochrome color
print process, a high-stability silver dye-bleach direct posi-
tive process that Kodak had started work on in 1934.
13
(In
the silver dye-bleach process Ilfochrome is the only modern
example the image is made up of highly stable, fully
formed dyes that are incorporated in the emulsion layers
during manufacture. The dye layers are selectively bleached
during processing to form the color image.)
The outbreak of World War II caused Kodak to postpone
the marketing of Azochrome, and by the end of the war,
Kodak had decided to abandon the Azochrome process and
to concentrate its efforts on far less stable chromogenic
materials such as Kodacolor for the general market and let
the already existing Dye Transfer process satisfy the needs
of the specialized, and small, advertising market.
A number of examples of early Azochrome prints exam-
ined by this author suggest that the process has excellent
dark storage stability certainly much better than any
current Kodak chromogenic print material. If Kodak had
actually gone ahead and introduced Azochrome in the early
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An Ektachrome 120 transparency shot in 1959 by Norman
Rothschild and stored in the dark in New York City under
normal room-temperature conditions since it was taken.
The severe cyan and yellow dye loss is characteristic of
the Kodak Process E-1, E-2, and E-3 Ektachrome films in
use from 1946 until 1976.
Above is a Kodachrome duplicate made in 1961 of the
original Ektachrome transparency on the left. During the
more than 30 years that have passed since the Koda-
chrome was made, it is estimated to have faded less than
10%. It not only shows what the original Ektachrome
looked like but also illustrates the dramatic difference
between the dark-storage stability of the two films.
The July 9, 1980 edition of Variety, the entertainment
industry publication, featured a front-page story on the
color film fading crisis. The article described film director
Martin Scorseses efforts to focus attention on the very
poor image stability of the motion picture color negative
and print films supplied by Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa.
However, even the improved products require humidity-
controlled cold storage for long-term preservation. Most
motion picture color negatives and prints made after the
introduction of the Eastman Color process in 1950 until
about 1985 have by now suffered significant fading.
14
Nearly
all Eastman Color prints made between 1950 and around
1970 have now lost most of the cyan dye component of their
images (and usually much of the yellow dye as well), and
all that remains is a ghastly reddish-magenta reminder of
what once were brilliant, full-color images.
When the Technicolor Corporation abandoned its dye-
imbibition motion picture print process in the mid-1970s,
few people in the Hollywood movie industry realized that
chromes from the period in the collections of Life maga-
zine (at Time Warner Inc.), Vogue magazine, the National
Geographic Society, the Library of Congress, the Interna-
tional Museum of Photography at George Eastman House,
and other institutions all over the world.
For example, the original 8x10-inch Process E-1 Ekta-
chromes of the famous Marilyn Monroe calendar photo-
graphs taken by Los Angeles photographer Tom Kelly in
1947 have suffered severe fading. The images survive only
because Dye Transfer and tricolor carbro (pigment) prints
were made from the Ektachromes and because many pho-
tomechanical reproductions have been published in the
years since the photographs were made.
During the period from 1959 to 1976, most professional
commercial, advertising, and fashion photographers in the
United States used Kodak Process E-3 Ektachrome films
in sheet-film and roll-film formats. These films, and the
E-3 duplicating films, had very poor dark fading stability
and were far inferior to the then-available amateur 35mm
Process E-4 Ektachrome films (19661977). Kodak has never
explained why for a 10-year period professional pho-
tographers using Ektachrome were supplied with a far less
stable product than were amateurs, a fact that was kept
secret from professionals and amateurs alike. It was not
until 1977, when all Ektachrome films were replaced by
improved E-6 Ektachrome films, that the stability of the
professional films finally equalled that of the amateur films.
The Eastman Color Motion Picture Process:
A Major Problem for Film Studios and Archives
Color motion pictures, most of which are now made with
a negative/positive color process that is in most respects
similar to that used with still-camera color negatives and
prints, have (with some exceptions) been significantly im-
proved in terms of image stability since the mid-1980s.

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Reproduced above is an actual frame from the 1935
Technicolor film Becky Sharp, which starred Miriam
Hopkins and Alan Mowbray. Becky Sharp was the
first feature-length movie filmed with Technicolor
3-strip cameras. The Technicolor dye-imbibition
printing process produced color images that are
essentially permanent in dark storage. Except for
surface scratches, the cellulose nitrate film base of
this 57-year old film clip, which has been kept in
normal room-temperature storage in Hollywood, also
remains in very good condition. A modern adapta-
tion of the Technicolor imbibition printing process
is currrently in use in China, but in the United States
and Europe, the Technicolor imbibition process was
replaced by the far less stable Eastman Color print
process in the mid-1970s (see Chapter 10).
As is vividly shown in this frame from the 1961 film West Side
Story, starring Natalie Wood, Eastman Color Print Film from the
period had extremely poor dark fading stability (the 70mm film
clip containing this image was 30 years old at the time this book
went to press). All Eastman Color Print Films dating from the
introduction of the process in 1950 until 1982 have similarly
poor image stability. Fortunately, in the case of West Side
Story, black-and-white separation negatives were made from
the camera color negative, and a new intermediate negative
and release prints can be made from these separations.
The 3M Electrocolor liquid-toner electrophotographic pro-
cess, introduced in 1965 and abandoned by 3M shortly
thereafter, had the potential of producing color prints
with outstanding image stability. This portrait is from a
2-inch-wide section of an 8x10-inch Electrocolor test print.
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27 c
131%
they were giving up permanent color motion pictures. Current
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 is far less stable than prints
made by the Technicolor dye-imbibition process.
The 3M Company Announces, and Then Withdraws,
Its Pioneering Electrocolor Process for Making
Highly Stable Electrophotographic Color Prints
The 3M Electrocolor process, which was introduced in
1965, produced color prints from both color negatives and
color transparencies using a liquid-toner electrophotographic
process developed by Vsevolod Tulagin and his co-workers
at the 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. In this authors
accelerated aging tests, the prints appeared to be essen-
tially permanent in the dark and had much better light
fading stability than the Kodak Ektacolor paper and other
chromogenic color negative papers available at the time.
Although 3M used organic dyes to form the images of
Electrocolor prints, patents for the process state that pig-
ments could also be employed.
15
With the proper selection
of pigments, the process would have been capable of pro-
ducing prints that were essentially permanent both when
exposed to light on display and when kept in the dark.
Had the stability advantages of Electrocolor prints been
properly promoted, the process would have been very suc-
cessful in the upper tier of the portrait and wedding pho-
tography business. In a classic example of limited vision
and missed opportunity, 3M failed to exploit the potential
of the process and withdrew it from the market only 2
years after it was introduced. The basic technology em-
ployed in the Electrocolor process reappeared in 1990 in
the 3M Digital Matchprint graphic arts direct-digital proof-
ing system. As discussed later in this chapter, the Digital
Matchprint system has the potential to produce inexpen-
sive, highly stable color prints of excellent quality.
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An Agfachrome CU-410 silver dye-bleach print made in
1970. Essentially permanent in dark storage, the light
fading stability of the prints is far better than in any other
print material ever made by Agfa. In light fading tests
conducted by this author, CU-410 lasted approximately
three times longer than current Ilfochrome silver dye-
bleach materials. Like Kodak, Agfa failed to recognize
the importance of the silver dye-bleach system and aban-
doned the technology in favor of the far less stable chro-
mogenic negative and reversal print systems.
A very faded 1977 childhood portrait of 13-month-old
Donald Wilhelm IV and his 7-year-old sister Donna Jo
that was made with Agfacolor Type 4 paper sits on the
center of Donalds coffin. In 1987, at age 11, Donald died
of cancer. The portrait was taken by a discount store
photographer and the original negative no longer exists.
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In 1970 Agfa of Germany Introduces, but
Soon Abandons, the Worlds Most Stable
Conventionally Processed Color Print Material
One of the saddest legacies from the era of secrecy
regarding color stability is that on a number of occasions,
when a promising process was being actively researched,
or, in a few cases, actually put on the market, the veil of
secrecy prevented the manufacturer from exploiting the
stability advantages of the process resulting in the
products demise. For example, in 1970 Agfa started pro-
duction of Agfachrome CU-410, a reversal silver dye-bleach
material used for printing transparencies in Agfas photo-
finishing plants. According to the noted German color pho-
tography historian Gert Koshofer, the silver dye-bleach
process had been investigated by Agfa since 1927, with
intensive work beginning in 1962 culminating with the in-
troduction of Agfachrome CU-410.
16
Samples of CU-410
tested by this author proved to be essentially permanent in
dark storage and to have very good light fading stability; in
fact, the prints have much better light fading stability than
current Ilford Ilfochrome and Kodak Dye Transfer prints.
To this authors knowledge, Agfa never advertised the
stability advantages of these prints. Because the material
was somewhat more costly and also more difficult to manu-
facture and process than chromogenic reversal materials,
Agfa stopped producing the material in 1976, just as quietly
as it had begun 6 years earlier. Koshofer reports that few
Agfa customers who received these prints even realized
that they were made by the silver dye-bleach process or
were otherwise different from other prints. The chromogenic
Agfachrome reversal paper with which Agfa replaced the
CU-410 process was vastly inferior in both light fading and
dark-storage stability. If Agfachrome CU-410 were on the
market today, it would in an overall sense be the worlds
most stable color print product (excluding the complex
and considerably more expensive pigment color print pro-
cesses). As it was well within Agfas capability to perfect a
negative-printing version of CU-410, the company could
also have achieved tremendous sales in the professional
portrait and wedding markets (which use color negative
materials almost exclusively), and in the fine art field.
Agfachrome CU-410, and improved versions that would
have followed if work on the process had continued, would
have without a doubt been commercially successful if Agfa
had had the wisdom to depart from its policy at the time of
maintaining strict secrecy on matters concerning color sta-
bility. Image stability the principal advantage of CU-410
over the companys chromogenic materials was never
promoted and the product was considered a failure. Agfa
apparently was reluctant to publicize the excellent stabil-
ity of Agfachrome CU-410 because this would inevitably
have led to requests for information on Agfas chromoge-
nic Agfachrome and Agfacolor papers, which, by compari-
son, had very poor stability.
The Worst Color Paper in Modern Times:
Agfacolor Paper Type 4 (19741982)
In 1974, as a replacement for its then popular Agfacolor
fiber-base paper, Agfa-Gevaert introduced Agfacolor PE
Paper Type 4, the firms first RC color paper. As the low-
est-cost color paper available, Type 4 paper enjoyed wide
use, especially in the mass portrait business, from the mid-
1970s until the paper was discontinued in 1982. The paper
was also used by a significant number of photofinishing
labs in Europe and the U.S. The cyan dye in Agfacolor
Type 4 paper had unbelievably poor dark fading stability,
with the prints in most cases suffering from near-total cyan
dye fading in less than 6 years. Untold millions of portraits
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of children, adults, and families made with Type 4 paper by
PCA International, Inc. of Matthews, North Carolina and
other mass-market portrait labs are now worthless. Busi-
ness losses resulting from the exceedingly poor stability of
the paper led to the filing of a nationwide class-action suit
in 1985 against Agfa-Gevaert on behalf of labs and photog-
raphers across the United States who had used Type 4
paper; the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed
sum in 1987. It is almost certain that, had the extremely
poor stability of the paper been known, not a single lab
would have used the product.
The fiasco did have one beneficial outcome, however
Agfa began to make a serious effort to improve the stability
of its color papers, and the Agfacolor Type 8 and Type 9
papers that were available at the time this book went to
press in 1992 represent a vast improvement over Agfas ill-
fated Type 4 paper.
Some color photographs last much longer than others.
Like many people, Betty J. Gerber of Walnut Creek, Cali-
fornia, shown here with her mostly very faded collection
of family photographs, did not learn this fact until it was
too late. In the 1970s and early 1980s, she had the
misfortune of sending her color negative film to a photo-
finisher that used Agfacolor Type 4 paper. Whether kept
in the dark or exposed to light on display, every single
one of the countless millions of prints made with this
paper worldwide has now faded to an ugly reddish ghost
of the original color image.
This Cibacolor print, made directly from a color negative,
was one of the prints exhibited by the Swiss firm Ciba-
Geigy at the Photokina trade show in Germany in 1963.
In 1963 Ciba-Geigy Announces the Cibacolor
Silver Dye-Bleach Process for Printing Color
Negatives But Cibacolor Is Never Marketed
Cibachrome (renamed Ilfochrome in 1991) and other
silver dye-bleach products are inherently direct positive
materials and therefore have always been used for making
prints from color transparencies. It is possible, however,
to make silver dye-bleach prints from color negatives by
means of a special reversal processing procedure, and Ciba-
Geigy announced such a product under the Cibacolor name
at the same time the firm introduced Cibachrome in 1963.
For reasons that have never been understood by this au-
thor, Ciba-Geigy decided not to market Cibacolor.
Essentially permanent in dark storage, Cibacolor prints
also had light fading stability that was far superior to that
of Ektacolor and other chromogenic materials available at
the time. This author believes that the demand for Ciba-
color would have been far greater than the currently lim-
ited market for Ilfochrome materials and that Ciba-Geigys
failure to exploit the potential of Cibacolor was a major
blunder. Cibacolor would have been extremely successful
in the portrait and wedding fields, which, because they use
color negative films almost exclusively, have never been
able to benefit from the superior permanence of Cibachrome.
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The upper print, made in 1971 with Ektacolor RC paper,
faded much more than the lower print, made in 1968 with
fiber-base Ektacolor Professional Paper, even though the
fiber-base print had been displayed for 3 years longer
than the RC print when this picture of the two choir
photographs was taken in 1980. Both prints were framed
under glass and had been on display next to each other
in a church under similar lighting conditions.
Max Brown, an Iowa portrait and wedding photographer,
is shown here in 1981 with a group of severely faded
prints that were made from 1969 to 1974 with the then-
new Ektacolor RC papers. The prints had been returned
to Browns studio by irate customers asking for free re-
placements (see Chapter 8 for an account of Browns
lawsuit against Kodak which was brought about by the
very poor stability of the early Ektacolor RC papers).

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30 a
355%
30 b
355%
Displayed under similar lighting conditions in a home,
the Ektacolor RC print on the left faded much more than
the fiber-base Ektacolor Professional print on the right,
even though the RC print had been displayed for a shorter
period when this photograph was taken in 1981.

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S
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Displayed Ektacolor RC Prints Made in the Late
1960s and Early 1970s Have Suffered from
Very Rapid Fading and Severe Color Shifts
Most Kodak Ektacolor RC prints made between 1968
and 1977 now exhibit severe image fading and shifts in
color balance if they have been displayed; framing of these
prints under glass usually a recommended practice
appears to have actually contributed to their rapid deterio-
ration. The prints were made with the first RC color pa-
pers marketed by Kodak, and this author believes that the
RC base used with these products was itself a major factor
in the rapid light fading that occurred (see discussion of
RC base-associated fading and staining on page 72).
The rapid deterioration of these RC papers, which were
introduced by Kodak during the period when many photog-
raphy studios made the switch from black-and-white to
color, caused considerable difficulties for professional por-
trait and wedding photographers after disgruntled customers
returned faded prints to their studios (see Chapter 8).
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This Polaroid SX-70 print, made in 1972 only a few months
after the SX-70 system was introduced, has developed an
overall yellowish stain which is plainly evident in the
once-white background of this photograph. Cracks can
be seen over the whole area of the image; the cracks are
located in the image-receiving layer, beneath the trans-
parent polyester print cover sheet. The print has been
kept in the dark under normal storage conditions.
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Consumer Reports Publishes Article
Saying Kodaks PR-10 Instant Color Prints
Have Very Poor Light Fading Stability
In November 1976, Consumer Reports magazine pub-
lished an article that compared the light fading stability of
the newly introduced Kodak Instant Print Film PR-10 and
Polaroid SX-70 prints.
19
The magazine used high-intensity
light fading tests and concluded that the light fading stabil-
ity of the Kodak product was far inferior to Polaroid SX-70
prints. This apparently caught Kodak quite by surprise
because a test report like this had never before appeared
in a general-circulation publication.
In spite of the fact that Kodaks own secret light-
fading tests agreed in general with the conclusions reached
by Consumer Reports, Kodaks public relations people de-
nounced the article and said that the high-intensity light
fading tests used by the magazine were not valid and that
the entire tone of the article was misleading and blown
out of proportion.

According to Kodak, the stability of
Kodak instant prints is entirely satisfactory when such prints
are handled, displayed, or stored in the usual variety of home
and office situations . . .
20
As shown on page 138 (see the last entry in Table 3.3),
this authors low-level, long-term light fading tests revealed
that displayed Kodak PR-10 Instant color prints had ex-
tremely poor light fading stability by far the worst, in
fact, of any color print material ever tested by this author.
If anything, the Consumer Reports article understated just
how poor the light fading stability of Kodak PR-10 instant
prints actually was.
Kodak was forced to withdraw its ill-fated instant print
films and cameras from the market in 1986 after losing a
historic patent infringement suit brought against the com-
pany by Polaroid. In the end, Kodak was ordered to pay
Polaroid a total of $924,526,554 nearly $1 billion! in
damages and interest; Kodaks total losses from its foray
into instant photography probably exceeded $2 billion.
The Museum World and the General Public
Become More Aware of And Alarmed by the
Poor Permanence of Color Prints and Films
In what can be viewed as a landmark event that helped
alert the museum world to the magnitude of the color sta-
bility problem and the need to better care for their collec-
tions, the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House, in Rochester, New York, presented a
Colloquium on the Collection and Preservation of Color
Photographs in 1975. This was the first event of its type in
the United States (earlier, in 1973, a conference on color
preservation sponsored by the Royal Photographic Society
was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London).
21
In a letter of invitation to those attending the meeting,
which was not open to the public, William Jenkins, a George
Eastman House staff member and the organizer of the
conference, wrote:
As you may know, the International Museum
of Photography has been concerned for some
time with the difficulty of collecting color pho-
tographs. We have collected dye transfer and
Polaroid SX-70 Instant Color Prints Made In the
1970s Quickly Developed Objectionable Levels
of Yellowish Stain Many Prints from the Period
Also Suffer from Internal Image-Layer Cracking
The Polaroid SX-70 camera and instant color prints were
quite a sensation when they were introduced in 1972, but it
soon became apparent that both the image stability and
physical stability of the one-of-a-kind prints was very poor.
Objectionable levels of yellowish stain were often reached
after only a few months in dark storage (see page 174). In
addition, with SX-70 prints from the 1970s, the image re-
ceiving layer, located beneath the transparent print cover
sheet, is subject to catastrophic cracking (see page 125).
During the 1970s and 1980s, Polaroid ran many adver-
tisements for the companys SX-70 and Polacolor peel-apart
instant color films which claimed that the prints had out-
standing stability. An ad entitled This Polaroid SX-70
Photograph Is Part of the Collection of the Museum of
Modern Art appeared in The New Yorker and other maga-
zines in 1977; it stated that SX-70 prints have . . . remark-
able clarity and definition of detail whose color is among
the most stable and fade resistant in existence.
17
Using a large-format version of its Polacolor ER peel-
apart film, Polaroid has for some years offered for sale life-
size replicas of paintings in the collection of the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston.
18
Prices for the replicas, which are
framed and intended for display, range from $120 to more
than $1,000. This authors tests show that the light fading
stability of the prints is very poor (see Chapter 3).
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New York City photographer Arnold Newman complain-
ing about his severely faded Process E-1 Ektachrome
transparencies at the Colloquium on the Collection and
Preservation of Color Photographs sponsored by George
Eastman House in Rochester, New York in October 1975.
Listening to Newmans complaints is Charleton Bard (right),
a Kodak research scientist who worked on color image
stability problems for the company.
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Neither Ilford, the manufacturer of Ilfochrome (then
called Cibachrome and, at the time of the Eastman House
Conference, the worlds most stable color print material),
nor Polaroid or Fuji was invited to attend the 1975 East-
man House conference.
Other Important Preservation
Conferences Soon Followed
Concern about the instability of color materials and the
desire to learn more about how to better care for collec-
tions of color photographs and motion pictures in muse-
ums and archives led to many other preservation confer-
ences and symposia. Many of the articles on color stability
and preservation published during the past 20 years were
based on presentations given at these meetings.
The 1976 American Association for State and
Local History Seminar in Madison, Wisconsin
In May 1976 the American Association for State and
Local History (AASLH) sponsored a seminar on the Use
of Historical Photographs. Organized by George Talbot,
carbro prints believing these to be relatively
permanent, but our policy has been to refrain
from acquiring the less stable materials such
as Type C prints.
22
[Note: In current usage,
Type C print is a generic term used to refer
to a Kodak Ektacolor print or other chromoge-
nic print made from a color negative.]
George Larson, a key figure in stability research at East-
man Kodak, and Charleton Bard, who, during the 1980s,
became Kodaks regular speaker on the subject of color
stability, represented Kodak at the conference. Larson
and Bard, for the first time, gave some basic room-tem-
perature dark-keeping stability data for the current Koda-
chrome and Ektachrome films. The meeting was marked
by some strong denunciations of Kodak for its secrecy poli-
cies and for the very poor image stability of many of its
color products. The renowned portrait photographer, Arnold
Newman, said at the conference:
23
Millions and millions of people have taken
color wedding pictures, vacation pictures, and
family snapshots. Whats going to happen to
these pictures in 25 years? Theyre going to
disappear.
Newman, who showed the group a selection of severely
faded Ektachrome transparencies he had taken some years
earlier of President John F. Kennedy, also expressed alarm
about the fate of color portraits:
These things are carefully hung on walls and
they are expected to last. The great American
public doesnt know it, but it is buying junk.
They [Kodak and the other manufacturers]
are going to find that the public is going to start
getting angry in about 8 to 10 years from now
when all these personal pictures begin to fade.
Eastman House later changed its policy of not collect-
ing Kodak Ektacolor prints (a potentially embarrassing situ-
ation in light of the fact that this is by far the largest selling
print material produced by Kodak, the museums most im-
portant benefactor); the collection now includes a sizable
number of recently acquired Ektacolor prints.
Refrigerated storage was one of the major recommen-
dations to emerge from the 1975 conference. With the
acquisition of the 3M-Sipley Collection in 1976, Eastman
House possessed the most valuable collection of historical
color processes in the United States. Many of these early
color photographs have already seriously deteriorated be-
cause of improper storage in the past, and the damage is
becoming worse with each passing year.
In spite of the immense value of these photographs,
many of which were made by color processes of which
examples exist in no other collection in the United States,
Eastman House did not include a refrigerated vault in its
new $7.4-million archive building completed in 1988. At the
time this book went to press in 1992, Eastman House con-
tinued to store its priceless collection of color photographs
and motion pictures under improper conditions, without
refrigeration.
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The original Ektachrome EF and MS films used by the
astronauts for photography on the historic Apollo mis-
sion to the moon on July 1624, 1969, together with
original color still photographs and motion pictures from
other space missions, are permanently preserved at 0F
(18C) and 20% RH at NASA headquarters in Houston,
Texas. As part of the most sophisticated color film
preservation effort in the world, a complete set of color
duplicates is stored in a second 0F (20% RH) facility in
Houston, and a third set is kept in a 0F (20% RH) vault
at White Sands, New Mexico.
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In this Ektachrome photograph by NASA astronaut Neil
Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. deploys a seismic experi-
ment package on the surface of the moon during the his-
toric July 1969 Apollo 11 mission. In the background is the
lunar module in which the two astronauts descended from
lunar orbit to a landing on the moon. The mission was the
first time that human beings had set foot on the moon.
the meeting took place at the State Historical Society of
Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. This author and Klaus
B. Hendriks of the National Archives of Canada were among
the speakers; the processing and care of both black-and-
white and color photographs in an institutional setting were
discussed. The great increase in life afforded color photo-
graphs and motion pictures by humidity-controlled cold
storage was emphasized.
Allan B. Goodrich, audiovisual archivist at the John Fitz-
gerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, was one
of those attending the seminar; at that time, the Kennedy
Library had not yet been completed and Goodrich had been
thinking about how best to preserve the librarys extensive
collection of color materials from the Kennedy era. Goodrich
had read a little-noticed 1970 article on color motion pic-
ture film storage by Peter Z. Adelstein and co-workers at
Eastman Kodak entitled Preservation of Motion Picture
Color Films Having Permanent Value,
24
which included a
small graph that, for the first time, gave predictions for the
number of years it would take for a 10% dye loss to occur
with representative Kodak color motion picture films stored
at temperatures down to 20F (6.7C).
This article and the discussions about cold storage that
took place at the AASLH seminar in Madison convinced
Goodrich that it was indeed possible to preserve the Ken-
nedy color negatives, color prints, and motion pictures in-
definitely. At the time, the prevailing view among most
museum curators and archivists was that all color fades
and nothing could be done to stop it. Because of the image-
stability problem, many curators and museum people had
simply written off color photography altogether.
In October 1979 the Kennedy Library began operation of
a humidity-controlled cold storage vault maintained at 0F
(18C) and 30% RH to permanently preserve the Kennedy
collection. This was the first humidity-controlled, 0F
photographic storage facility in the world, and it has helped
encourage many other collecting institutions and motion
picture studios to construct cold storage vaults to preserve
their holdings (see Chapter 20).
The Stability and Preservation of Photographic
Materials Session at the 1978 SPSE Annual
Conference in Washington, D.C.
In an event that could be considered the beginning of
the modern era of the photographic preservation field in
which scientific investigation of the complex deterioration
processes affecting photographic materials over time came
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for Conservation.
30
Usually meeting twice a year (the group
sponsors a program at each annual conference of the Ameri-
can Institute for Conservation and also meets separately
once a year at different locations around North America),
the diverse membership of the Photographic Materials Group
consists of practicing conservators, researchers in the con-
servation field, curators, and others responsible for the
care of photographic collections.
The Photographic Materials Group (PMG) meetings have
become a major venue for the exchange of conservation-
related information, and each year the organization pub-
lishes a bound volume of collected papers that have been
presented at the groups gatherings. A number of these
papers are cited elsewhere in this book.
The 1980 American Film Institute and Library
of Congress Cold Storage Conference
In 1980 the American Film Institute and the Library of
Congress sponsored a conference in Washington, D.C. on
Cold Storage of Motion Picture Films that helped in-
crease awareness of the importance of low-temperature
storage in the motion picture industry and in film archives.
31
Attending the conference on behalf of noted film director
Martin Scorsese was Mark del Costello, who made an ap-
peal for support of Scorseses campaign to make improved
color stability a high-priority goal for Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa-
Gevaert.
32
Following the conference, this author began
serving as a volunteer technical advisor on color stability-
related issues to Scorsese and his staff.
At a meeting in Martin Scorseses New York City apart-
ment suite on July 14, 1980, Scorsese and his assistants
Donna Gigliotti and Mark del Costello met with Ken Mason
and Tony Bruno of Kodaks Motion Picture Division to dis-
cuss Scorseses demands that Kodak (a) disclose the sta-
bility characteristics of its existing color motion picture
to the forefront a special session on the Stability and
Preservation of Photographic Materials was included in
the program of the annual conference of the Society of
Photographic Scientists and Engineers (now known as the
Society for Imaging Science and Technology, or IS&T) in
Washington, D.C. in May 1978.
25
This special session on
preservation, which was the first of its kind at an SPSE
meeting, was chaired by Klaus B. Hendriks of the National
Archives of Canada.
The meeting included a presentation by Robert J. Tuite
of Eastman Kodak on color image stability that contained
significant new information about the stability of Kodak
color materials and the accelerated test methods employed
by Kodak.
26
This authors presentation at the SPSE meeting included
data which, for the first time, showed that there could be
significant reciprocity failures with color print materials in
accelerated light fading tests; in the talk, this author also
proposed limits for dye loss, color imbalance, and stain
formation in color print materials.
27
The meeting was an
important first step by the photography industry toward
becoming more open about the stability problems of color
film and print materials.
Although most of Klaus Hendriks research at the Na-
tional Archives of Canada since he began his work there in
1975 has centered on the conservation of historical and
modern black-and-white materials, his work in organizing
numerous conferences and symposia for the Society of Im-
aging Science and Technology and other organizations has
been an valuable contribution to the field of color preserva-
tion. Through internships in the conservation laboratories
at the National Archives of Canada, Hendriks has helped
train numerous individuals now working in the photographic
conservation field.
28
Over a period of many years, Hen-
driks and his staff assembled Phocus, a bibliographic data
base for photography conservation that is now the largest
such on-line resource in the world. Hendriks is the author
of the chapter on preservation in the 1989 book Imaging
Processes and Materials Neblettes Eighth Edition.
29
The 1978 Conference on Color Permanence
at the International Center of Photography
in New York City
In May 1978, the International Center of Photography
(ICP) in New York City sponsored a 2-day conference
entitled The Permanence of Color Technologys Chal-
lenge, the Photographers and Collectors Dilemma. The
conference focused on color stability problems in fine art
photography and in photojournalism; this author served as
chairperson of the event. A number of experts in the field,
including representatives of Polaroid and Ilford, gave pre-
sentations at the conference. Eastman Kodak was invited
to take part but declined to attend.
Establishment of the Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute
for Conservation in 1979
Since its founding in 1979, one of the most active organi-
zations in the photographic conservation field has been the
Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute
Martin Scorsese, the director of Cape Fear (1991), The
Age of Innocence (1993), and other noted films. Scorseses
film preservaton campaign helped to persuade Kodak
and Fuji to develop the longer-lasting motion picture color
negative and color print films that were introduced by
both companies beginning in 1982. Scorsese has also
encouraged the major Hollywood film studios to devote
more time and money to film preservation and to
improve the storage conditions they provide for their film
libraries (see discussion in Chapter 9 and Chapter 20).
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(
2
)
A roll of the original camera nega-
tive from Francis Ford Coppolas 1974
classic, The Godfather, Part II. The
film, which won six Academy Awards,
starred Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall,
Diane Keaton, and Al Pacino.
The color film storage vault in the Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive,
located on the Paramount studio lot on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California.
The color film vault, one of nine vaults in the high-security building, is kept at 40F
(4.4C) and 25% RH. The multi-million-dollar facility went into operation in 1990.
Shown here in the color film vault, which is equipped with movable shelving to
conserve space, is Robert McCracken, a supervisor in Archive Operations.
films and (b) replace current films with longer-lasting prod-
ucts. With the weight of the entire entertainment motion
picture industry behind him, Scorsese was able to con-
vince Kodak that these issues had to be addressed.
In August 1980, only a month after the meeting, Kodak
announced that color film and print stability data would be
made public. The information became available in May
1981. In October 1981 Kodak announced that it was aban-
doning all of its existing motion picture print films and
replacing them with Eastman Color Print Film 5384 (35mm)
and 7384 (16mm); in dark storage these new films were
about ten times more stable than the films they replaced.
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. soon followed with substantially
more stable motion picture color negative and print films.
The 1982 Fugitive Color Exhibition and
Symposium at the University of Michigan
In January 1982 the University of Michigan in Ann Ar-
bor, Michigan sponsored a national invitational exhibition
of contemporary color photography to focus attention on
the shift from black-and-white to color photography in the
fine art world and the resulting problem of fugitive color.
(As applied to works of art, the term fugitive means that
a paint, watercolor, fabric dye, or other medium has poor
stability, especially when exposed to light on display.) Most
of the photographs in the exhibition were printed on Kodak
Ektacolor 74 RC Paper.
This author contributed an essay to the Fugitive Color
exhibition catalogue
33
entitled The Problems of the Ekta-
color Print System. The essay began with the statement:
The problem with Kodak Ektacolor prints is
simple: they fade. The prints not only fade when
they are on display and exposed to light (one might
even be tempted to forgive the product if this were
its only fault); much worse, Ektacolor prints also
fade in the dark. How fast they fade depends on
the storage temperature and relative humidity.
. . . In 25 to 30 years [of storage in the dark] the
prints will have suffered a visible loss of contrast
and a serious color shift toward red-yellow because
of cyan dye fading; the whites in the prints will
have significantly yellowed. And that is when the
prints are kept in the dark except for occasional
viewing; if the prints have the misfortune of being
displayed for 25 to 30 years, the condition of the
images could be far worse.
. . . To be sure, there will still be recognizable
images there, but they will not be the same images
the artist had created. In the tradition of the art
world, where one can find Rembrandts in pristine
condition after hundreds of years of constant dis-
play, 25 to 30 years is not a very long time. In
diverse medium collections such as that of the Mu-
seum of Modern Art, one would be unlikely to find
any type of artistic media with worse dark keeping
properties than Kodak Ektacolor RC prints. Even
18th-century watercolors, some of which fade quite
rapidly on exposure to light, generally have very
good dark keeping stability.
Accompanying the exhibition was a symposium on the
stability problems of color prints and films. This author
spoke on behalf of the exhibition organizers, and Charleton
Bard, a color stability research scientist at Eastman Ko-
dak, gave a presentation on the problem from Kodaks per-
spective. Sitting in the symposium audience was reporter
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Examination of the very faded portrait of Herbert
Hoover at the upper left indicates that the print
was made with fiber-base Ektacolor paper. The
center portrait of Eisenhower is a Kodak Dye
Transfer print; the image has suffered from
considerable yellow dye fading. The portrait
of Kennedy, at the upper right, is another Ek-
tacolor print. At the lower left is a hand-tinted
black-and-white print of Roosevelt. The por-
trait of Truman at the lower right appears to
have been made with an Ektachrome paper,
although this identification is not certain.
Treasured Ektacolor portraits of U.S. presidents fade too. Shown
above as they appeared in 1979 in an exhibit at the Lyndon Baines
Johnson Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, these very faded, per-
sonally inscribed portraits had been given to President Johnson by five
former presidents: Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F.
Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. The framed
group of photographs had been displayed in a small conference room
next to the Oval Office in the White House from 1963 until 1969, during
Johnsons term in office. The five portraits are said to have been
among Johnsons most treasured possessions. The Johnson Library
installed the exhibit in 1974; it was removed in 1981, and the faded
portraits are now in room-temperature storage. Johnson died in 1973.
Marty Killeen, who was working on a feature on color fad-
ing for the CBS-TV show Walter Cronkites Universe. The
show was broadcast nationwide on August 31, 1982. Charleton
Bard, this author, and Iowa portrait and wedding photog-
rapher Max Brown, who was plagued by irate customers
bringing faded Ektacolor RC prints back to his studio de-
manding free reprints (see Chapter 8), appeared on the
program to present their disparate views on the color fad-
ing problem.
Seminars on the Preservation of Photographs
at the Rochester Institute of Technology
In September 1977 the Rochester Institute of Technol-
ogy (RIT) in Rochester, New York sponsored the first of its
semi-annual seminars on the Restoration and Preserva-
tion of Photographic Images. Not only were these semi-
nars popular among people in museums, archives, and in-
dustry who were responsible for the care and management
of photographic collections, but they also served as an ad
hoc twice-a-year gathering for many of the speakers, in-
cluding this author, who were active in the newly emerging
field of photographic preservation. The early RIT semi-
nars were much-anticipated events and featured a free
and enthusiastic exchange of information and viewpoints
between the seminar speakers themselves and the always-
interesting attendees.
The seminars were cancelled amid controversy in 1981
after it was revealed that Kodak had secretly pressured
RIT to cancel this authors invitation to speak on the sta-
bility and preservation of color photographs at a seminar
scheduled to take place in August 1980.
34
Kodak was dis-
pleased with this authors critical comments concerning
the image stability of its color films and print materials,
especially Kodaks extremely unstable PR-10 instant print
film. (Kodaks instant print films and cameras were with-
drawn from the market in 1986 after a federal court ruled
that Kodak had infringed on Polaroid patents; Kodak was
ordered to pay Polaroid $925 million in damages.)
The last of the seminars took place in March 1981. Sev-
eral years later the seminars resumed with the discus-
sions at first restricted to black-and-white photography.
This author has not been invited back to speak at RIT.
The Image Permanence Institute Is Established
at the Rochester Institute of Technology
One positive outgrowth of the RIT preservation semi-
nars was the establishment in 1986 of the Image Perma-
nence Institute (IPI) at the Rochester Institute of Technol-
ogy.
35
Directed by James M. Reilly, the Institute is jointly
sponsored by RIT and the Society for Imaging Science and
Technology (IS&T). Reilly had been a regular speaker at
the RIT preservation seminars and, initially working on his
own, had become the worlds leading authority on the tech-
nological history and preservation of albumen prints and
other 19th-century processes. Reillys book, Care and Iden-
tification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, published
by Eastman Kodak in 1986, is the definitive reference on
the subject.
36
IPIs research on protective polysulfide treatments for
the silver images in microfilms and other types of black-
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and-white materials and its investigations of the stability
of polyester, cellulose triacetate, cellulose nitrate, and other
cellulose ester film-base materials when stored at various
temperatures and relative humidities have been of major
importance in the preservation field. IPI has built upon
earlier research to better understand the relationship be-
tween relative humidity in storage and the deterioration of
silver images and film base materials. IPIs findings have
placed renewed emphasis on the substantial increases in
longevity of these materials afforded by low-temperature
and low-humidity storage. IPI also has an ongoing re-
search program to investigate the effects of air pollutants
on the stability of black-and-white and color materials.
James Reilly, Peter Adelstein, Douglas Nishimura, and
others on the staff of IPI have been active participants in
the work of a number of American National Standards In-
stitute (ANSI) subcommittees concerned with stability testing
and preservation. Adelstein, who retired from Eastman
Kodak in 1987, presently serves as chairman of ANSI Sub-
committee IT9, which has jurisdiction over all of the ANSI
standards related to the permanence of imaging materials
and systems, including magnetic tape, magnetic disk, and
optical disk image-storage systems.
Most of IPIs initial funding was provided by Eastman
Kodak and other companies in the photographic industry,
although at the present time, grants from institutional and
government sources constitute the primary support for IPIs
activities. IPI also conducts materials testing for private
companies under contract.
Policy for the Image Permanence Institute is set by the
Board of Advisors, which is made up of representatives
from the funding companies in the photographic industry,
RIT, a number of collecting institutions, IS&T, and several
private firms that supply storage and display materials. As
a matter of policy, IPI does not publish comparative evalu-
ations of the stability of commercial products (e.g., color
films and papers), nor does it permit companies that con-
tract its services to use IPI test data for such comparisons.
Fine Art Museums Begin to Respond to
the Problems Posed by Color Photographs
Almost immediately after the fine art photography world
had finally embraced color photography as an art form in
its own right in the late 1970s, museum curators, private
collectors, and a new generation of photographers working
in color began asking questions about how long color prints
could safely be displayed.
Some wondered if Kodak Ektacolor color prints actually
faded in the dark. Others would collect nothing but Kodak
Dye Transfer prints, hearing that they would last forever.
Some museum curators and collectors, fearing that their
investments would depreciate as the prints faded, would
not collect color photographs at all. (The tenor of the time
was nicely captured in Nancy Stevens essay The Perils
and Pleasures of Collecting Color, which appeared in the
May 12, 1979 issue of the Saturday Review magazine.)
Among fine art museums, a three-part strategy to deal
with the color print fading problem gradually emerged.
The first step is to obtain from the photographer two iden-
tical copies of each color photograph chosen for acquisi-
tion. This approach provides an expendable copy for
display purposes, for use as a study print, and for loan to
other institutions for exhibition. The second preservation
copy is kept in the dark under the best storage conditions
available. A major benefit of the two-print approach is that
the condition of the expendable print can easily be as-
sessed at any point in time by a simple side-by-side visual
comparison with the preservation print.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the
Art Institute of Chicago are among the museums that have
instituted a two-print acquisition program. Both museums
have found that photographers working in color are almost
always supportive of the museums efforts to preserve their
work for posterity and are happy to provide the second
copy at a sharply reduced lab price (the actual cost of
making the print). The Museum of Modern Art, which is
Color as Form: A History of
Color Photography exhibition
at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
in Washington, D.C. in 1982.
Organized by the International
Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House, this
was the first major exhibition
of color photography to be
densitometrically monitored to
quantify fading or staining that
might have occurred during
the course of the exhibition.
Copy transparencies were
used for Autochrome plates
and certain other fragile items
in the exhibition.
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The Art Institute of Chicago, which owns an extensive
collection of color photographs, was the first fine art mu-
seum to implement an ongoing densitometric monitoring
program for the color and black-and-white prints in its
collection (see Chapter 7 for print monitoring procedures).
The Art Institute was also the first fine art museum to
provide cold storage for its collection of color photo-
graphs. Shown here examining color prints in the vault,
which was constructed in 1982, are David Travis, curator
of photography, and Douglas G. Severson, conservator.
When stored at normal room temperature, Ektacolor prints
from the 1970s and early 1980s have poor dye stability
and high rates of yellowish stain formation. With few fine
art museums having cold storage facilities, many of the
Ektacolor prints preserved in the Art Institutes vault are
believed to be the only examples of these images exist-
ing anywhere in the world that look essentially the same
today as they did when they were made.
The second preservation step being taken by enlight-
ened fine art museums is to provide humidity-controlled
cold storage for their color prints and other materials with
problematic dark storage stability. In the case of the Mu-
seum of Modern Art, a low-humidity refrigerator is now
employed (see Chapter 19). The Art Institute of Chicago
constructed a large, two-part, humidity-controlled cold stor-
age vault in 1982 for housing its entire photography collec-
tion; color materials are kept in the colder of the two vault
sections. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa began
operation of a cold storage vault for its extensive fine art
collection in 1988 (see Chapter 20).
The third preservation step now being employed by fine
art museums is the electronic monitoring of the fading and
staining that may occur over time with the color and black-
and-white prints in their collections (see Chapter 7). Peri-
odically, an electronic densitometer is used to measure the
red, green, and blue densities at selected locations on each
print. A measurement location map is prepared for each
print, and records are kept of all density readings.
These procedures allow detection of any significant fad-
ing or staining that occurs over time, and if the changes
exceed certain predetermined limits, the print in question
is taken off display and is retired to the cold storage vault.
Both the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery
of Canada have instituted monitoring programs for their
collections. Monitoring is particularly important for prints
that have no second preservation copy in cold storage.
This three-part preservation strategy allows fine art
museums to collect color photographs made with virtually
any color material no matter how unstable it may be
and preserve the prints in essentially unchanged condition
for the far distant future.
generally credited with launching the modern era of fine
art color photography with the 1976 exhibition of William
Eggelstons color photographs curated by John Szarkowski,
director of the Department of Photography, issued the state-
ment reproduced below in 1984:
The Museum of Modern Art
New York
Statement to Photographers
Who Work in Color
It is now well known that with a few exceptions
color print materials show a noticeable fading or
color shift within as little as ten to twenty years
when stored under normal room temperature and
humidity conditions, even in the dark. Most such
works in the Museums Collection, prints up to
20 x 24 inches, are now stored at about 30F [1.1C]
and 35% relative humidity. These conditions will
substantially increase the life of the prints.
However, these same photographs also fade or
change color when, on exhibition, they are exposed
to light. Since it is our purpose not only to preserve
but also to show the pictures we collect, we pro-
pose the following:
When we decide to purchase a color print in
unstable materials, we will ask to buy two prints,
one at the artists price, the other at the presum-
ably much lower lab price, or what it costs to
make the print. The Museum will agree to regard
the two prints as equivalent versions of a single
work of art, and will so record them. Neither print
ever will be sold. Both prints will be placed in cold
low-humidity storage. One will be available for ex-
hibition and loan; the other will be kept in effect as
a back-up, until such time as the first is judged to
have faded significantly. This solution is not per-
fect, but it will help to resolve the conflict between
our goals of preserving the Collection and making
it known through exhibition here and elsewhere.
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Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower speaking at a
press conference at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa in
May 1965. As with other U.S. news events of the time,
television crews filmed the press conference with East-
man Ektachrome Video News Film, a 16mm reversal film.
Eisenhower, who served as president of the United States
from 1953 until 1961, died in 1969.
Scenes such as the above were soon to end. By the close
of the 1970s, the motion picture camera had all but dis-
appeared in the television news field, replaced by com-
pact ENG (electronic news gathering) television cameras
made by Sony and other manufacturers. This was the
first major market in which electronic systems totally re-
placed traditional color photography.
Amateur home movies, most of which were made with
8mm reversal color film, became the second major market
in which traditional silver-halide-based photography was
totally displaced by electronic systems. Exploding in popu-
larity during the 1980s, the now-ubiquitous camcorder
offers instant moving images with sound (and with no
chemical processing) at far less cost and trouble than the
earlier movie cameras and projectors. Shown here taping
with their 8mm camcorder is the Clark and Teresa Winter
family, at home in their New York City apartment.
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With the Invention of Television in the 1920s,
Image Making Has Been Gradually Shifting from
Traditional Photography to Electronic Systems
Beginning in 1956, with the introduction by the Ampex
Corporation of the 2-inch quadruplex video tape recorder,
the first practical video tape recorder for television,
37
tra-
ditional silver-halide-based black-and-white and color pho-
tography began a steady transition toward electronic sys-
tems for recording and preserving moving images.
For the advent of electronic origination of images, one
must go back another 50 years to the early 1900s
when a number of farsighted inventors in Europe and the
United States involved themselves in trying to solve the
vexing problems of photographing and transmitting im-
ages electrically an exciting new concept that was called
television (a word that has been credited to a French-
man named Perskyi, who used the French word tlvision
in documents prepared for the 1900 Congres Internationale
dElectricit).
38
By the mid-1920s, the time had come for the introduc-
tion of television to the general public. The following is
excerpted from an account of the history of television by
Richard S. OBrian and Robert B. Monroe that was pub-
lished in the SMPTE Journal in July 1976:
39
Stimulated by the ready public acceptance of radio
broadcasting, it was inevitable that work would be un-
dertaken to develop a working television system. Two
inventive individuals, independently, but more or less
simultaneously, undertook this mission: John Logie
Baird, a Scottish engineer, in England, and C. Francis
Jenkins, an independent inventor, in the U.S.A. Jenkins
had achieved success in designing the first practical
projector for motion-picture film in the 1890s and had
made numerous contributions to motion-picture equip-
ment design and to later development of still-picture
transmission (wire or radio photos) technology. His
approach to television was as a means of extending
the motion picture into the home or conversely of en-
abling wired or wireless transmission to theaters from
a central production location.
. . . Both Baird and Jenkins appear to have suc-
ceeded in transmitting small, silhouette images con-
temporaneously, in 1925, [with] Jenkins actually mak-
ing the worlds first radio transmission of moving
shadow graphs across the Anacostia River near Wash-
ington, D.C. on 13 June 1925. Baird had achieved sil-
houette picture transmission just a few weeks earlier,
giving public demonstrations in a London department
store during April 1925. The January 1926 demonstra-
tion by Baird is, however, generally recognized as the
first in which gradations of tone scale in the moving
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Most network television coverage of the Vietnam war was
done with 16mm motion picture cameras and Ektachrome
color reversal film. In this scene, photographed in 1967
about 15 miles north of Saigon, television crews film the
last words of a dying North Vietnamese soldier. The
Ektachrome motion picture films of the time have poor
image stability (which was often made worse by hurried
processing and washing) and, with few exceptions, are
steadily deteriorating in non-refrigerated storage in tele-
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images made it possible to recognize facial features
and expressions, despite the very coarse scanning struc-
ture used at the time. Line counts of 16, 24, 30, 48, 60,
and in a few years, as high as 240, were subsequently
used as refinement of mechanical and optical compo-
nents was achieved.
. . . Experimental television broadcasting, using
mechanical scanning, soon began in the U.S. The first,
and now barely remembered introduction of television
broadcasting to the public was under way. The first
license, W3XK, went to Jenkins in 1927 for a visual
transmitter located near Washington, D.C.; other sta-
tions followed. In 1927, Dr. Ernst Alexanderson at
General Electric began experimental television trans-
mission over W2XAD, Schenectady. [By the next year,
the pioneering Schenectady, New York TV station was
broadcasting rather ambitious television productions
that included televisions first drama, The Queens
Messenger, a three-camera production, the sound por-
tion of which was broadcast over sister-station WGY.]
In 1928, RCA started operating an experimental
250-watt television station W2XBS, from 411 Fifth Av-
enue in New York City. By 1929, twenty-two experi-
mental television licenses had been issued in the U.S.
and portions of the radio spectrum between 2.0 and
2.95 MHz had been set aside for experimental trans-
missions.
In Germany and in England, experimental televi-
sion broadcasting was also under way. In 1929, ar-
rangements were made between the BBC and the Baird
Television Company for regular experimental trans-
mission of television pictures from the London sta-
tion. These early BBC television transmissions took
place for one-half hour periods, five days a week, and
had a definition of 30 lines and a frame repetition fre-
quency of 12
1
2 frames per second.
In addition to this broadcasting schedule, Baird
seemed intent on anticipating and exploring every pos-
sible television application. In May 1927 he demon-
strated the transmission of television signals by tele-
phone line between London and Glasgow. In Febru-
ary 1928, he transmitted the narrow-band television
signals between London and New York, and to the S.S.
Berengaria in mid-Atlantic, by shortwave radio. By
1930 Baird had demonstrated color television, 3-dimen-
sional television, theater projection (of 30-line images!),
infrared television pickup (called Noctovision), and
had made television recordings on phonograph records.
In June 1932 he transmitted the Derby from Epsom
Downs on closed-circuit television to a capacity pay-
ing audience at the Metropole Cinema, Victoria, Lon-
don, thus inaugurating theater pay-television!
It was the 1923 patent application for an all-electronic
television system developed by Dr. Vladimir K. Zworykin, a
Russian immigrant working for Westinghouse in the United
States, that launched the modern era of television. Zworykins
system, which was demonstrated in 1924, employed an elec-
tronically scanned camera imaging tube (the Iconoscope)
and a cathode-ray tube (CRT) for viewing in a TV receiver.
The Zworykin patent also covered the use of electronic
flying-spot scanning for converting still-camera slides and
motion pictures to television images. In 1929, Zworykin
joined RCA to continue his work on advanced television
systems and camera imaging tubes.
By 1940 television had advanced to the point where na-
tionwide commercial broadcasting was ready to begin. In
May 1941 the Federal Communications Commission, act-
ing on the recommendations of the National Television
Systems Committee (NTSC), a group of 168 specialists from
the radio and television industry, established a set of 22
standards that covered all technical aspects of monochrome
television broadcasting, based on 525 picture-scanning lines.
Color Television Finally Gains
Widespread Acceptance in the 1960s
In 1953 the FCC, acting on the recommendations of a
second National Television Systems Committee, set stan-
dards for black-and-white compatible color television broad-
casting; using 525 picture-scanning lines, this is the sys-
tem that is still with us today. (PAL and SECAM, which
are the primary German and French broadcast standards
in Europe, are adaptations of the NTSC scheme but em-
ploy 625 picture-scanning lines.)
RCA began manufacturing color television receivers in
1954, and by the end of 1955 the company offered an exten-
sive line of color television sets. The high cost of color
television receivers, the limited amount of color program-
ming available, and the notion held by many people that
black-and-white television images were adequate served
to discourage the public from buying the new color receiv-
ers. At the end of 1956, less than 1% of households in the
United States had purchased color television sets.
It took another 10 years for color television to really
catch on with the public. By 1967 CBS and ABC had joined
NBC in converting all operations to color, and by 1970 the
entire U.S. broadcasting industry had fully embraced color.
Today, the vast majority of televisions sold are color units.
The Sony Betamax home video cassette recorder (VCR),
introduced in 1974 (and obsolete by 1990, having lost out in
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An advertisement for Julia and Julia that appeared in the
New York Times in 1988. Produced by RAI (Radiotelevisione
Italiana), the film joins the 1935 Technicolor 3-strip film
Becky Sharp and the 1951 Canadian Eastman Color film
Royal Journey as the first feature-length theatrical pro-
ductions to adopt a new technology marking an epochal
change in the way color moving images are recorded.
Julia and Julia, a historic 1987 Italian production starring
Kathleen Turner and Sting, was the first full-length feature
to be shot entirely with high-definition television cameras
instead of with motion picture film. After editing, the video
image was transferred to motion picture color negative film
(via three electronically printed B&W intermediate films)
and released on standard color motion picture print film for
projection in theaters (shown above is the Varsity Theatre
in Des Moines, Iowa). Sony HDTV cameras and video
recorders were used for the production, which was filmed
by cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno.
40
At the time this
book went to press in 1992, Julia and Julia remained the
only major theatrical feature to have been originated in
HDTV; a variety of practical problems, including lack of
easily portable HDTV cameras and image resolution that is
inferior to that of film, have discouraged more widespread
use of HDTV in the theatrical entertainment industry.
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eras and televisions, digital signal compression technol-
ogy, HDTV videotape and laser-disk players and record-
ers, CD-ROM-based video game units, and the interactive,
high-capacity wire and fiber-optic cable systems that will
become available during the remainder of the decade are
certain to accelerate adoption of electronic imaging and
transmission systems in many areas of still photography.
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Sony HDTV analog television receivers drew large crowds
at the Photokina trade show in Germany in 1992.
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the market to the competing VHS system) enabled con-
sumers to record their favorite programs for later viewing
and in a little-anticipated development launched the
huge worldwide pre-recorded videocassette business.
High-Definition, All-Digital Television Broadcast
Standards for the United States Are Expected
to Be Issued by the FCC by the End of 1994
With a modest screen size and viewed at normal
distances most people have come to accept the 525-line
television picture, established more than 50 years ago in
1941, as having adequate image quality. With increas-
ingly popular large-screen and projection television, how-
ever, the shortcomings of the 525-line picture (or the 625-
line system used in Europe) are readily apparent.
A visually and aurally more sophisticated public, which
quickly embraced the laser-read, non-contact optical audio
CD because of its scratch-free, pristine sound and its claims
of lasting forever without wearing out regardless of how
many times it is played, has begun to expect better image
quality in television as well. Magazines, books, and even
newspapers are offering ever-better color reproduction.
Color computer monitors now typically have far better im-
age resolution than current 525-line television systems.
By the end of 1994, it is expected that the Federal Com-
munications Commission will issue new regulations set-
ting standards for an all-digital, high-definition television
(HDTV) color broadcasting system for the United States.
These new broadcast standards and the digital HDTV cam-
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Vast quantities of videotape from television productions
are in storage around the world. Shown above is a section
of the videotape library stored in the Paramount Pictures
Film and Tape Archive in Hollywood, California. Para-
mount Pictures, which inspects all of its videotapes about
every 4 years, has copied all of its analog videotapes onto
digital videotape. Because of frequent videotape format
changes and consequent equipment obsolescence, the
long-term preservation of video materials presents far more
difficult problems than is the case with the preservation of
color motion picture films in cold storage.
The Kodak Professional DCS 200 Digital Camera is built
around a Nikon 35mm autofocus camera body. Instead of
film, the camera uses a CCD (charge-coupled device) image
sensor; the images are recorded on a small hard disk drive in
the base of the camera. Introduced in 1992, the $10,000
camera is shown here being demonstrated at the Photokina
trade show in Germany.
The Sony Mavica, the first still video camera, was announced
in Japan in late 1981. Shown here holding a Mavica during
a demonstration at the SPSE Photofinishing Symposium in
Las Vegas, Nevada in February 1982 is Klaus B. Hendriks,
director of conservation research at the National Archives
of Canada. The Mavica camera produces color images in
the standard 525-line analog television format.
The Merging of Still Photography
with Digital Imaging Systems
For a variety of reasons, electronic imaging systems have
been much slower to become accepted in still photography
than has been the case in the moving-image field where film
is now all but dead in most parts of the business.
When the Sony Mavica still video camera was introduced
with great fanfare in 1981, there was considerable specula-
tion that traditional silver-halide-based photography would
soon be a thing of the past. But consumers were quick to
realize that the pictorial quality of the 525-line images pro-
duced with the expensive camera was far inferior to that of
traditional photography, and market acceptance of the Mavica
was much less than Sony had expected. Most people have
little interest in viewing silent still-camera images on a tele-
vision set a fact that Kodak faces in its effort to sell the
Photo CD system in the amateur snapshot market.
Although the Mavica camera could produce small prints
that were suitable for some applications, the poor resolution
of the images meant that it was impossible to make satisfac-
tory enlargements for display purposes. Cameras such as
the $10,000 Kodak DCS 200 Digital Camera produce images
that may be adequate for applications such as newspaper
photography, but they still fall short of the image quality ob-
tained with traditional cameras and films. (A single 35mm
ISO 100 color negative frame may contain 18 megabytes or
more of digital data which is more data than the fully
formatted text of this entire book and to equal this level of
image quality with an all-electronic camera at reasonable
cost is well beyond the capability of current technology.)
The availability of high-resolution film scanners, increas-
ingly powerful and affordable desktop computers, high capac-
ity data storage systems (the Kodak Photo CD being a promi-
nent example see page 56), and software such as Adobe
Photoshop has served to bring the many benefits of digital
image processing and transmission to photographs originated
with traditional color films. To many people, in fact, this
combination of traditional photography and digital image pro-
cessing has become the definition of digital imaging.
During the remainder of the 1990s, the merging of tradi-
tional photography with digital image processing, storage,
and transmission systems will rapidly expand, especially in
publishing-related businesses (see page 46) and photo labs
where digital imaging offers the greatest practical and eco-
nomic benefits. At the same time, the use of digital still
cameras will continue to increase in applications where they
offer a compelling advantage. It is expected that when im-
proved digital cameras become available in the mid-1990s,
newspaper photography will be the first major branch of the
field to abandon traditional silver-halide-based photography.
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Lois and Bob Schlowsky in their digital studio.
This high-resolution, all-electronic photograph was made by Bob and Lois Schlowsky
with a Hasselblad 553ELX camera equipped with a Leaf Digital Studio Camera
back. Made by Leaf Systems, Inc. (a subsidiary of Scitex Corporation, Ltd.), the
digital back costs about $36,000. The image is captured with a 1.2 x 1.2-inch
CCD (charge-coupled device) area array with 2048 x 2048 pixels producing a
12.6 megabyte color file. The camera is connected by cable to a Macintosh
computer with 64 MB of RAM; the image files are down-loaded to the computer
after each exposure. The separations used to print the image on this page were
made directly from a copy of the original digital file supplied on a SyQuest
removable hard disk. To achieve maximum resolution, a monochrome CCD is
used in the Leaf Digital Camera back; color photographs are produced with
sequential exposures through red, green, and blue filters. Because of this, the
system can be used only for still-life color photographs. Bob and Lois Schlowsky,
who operate a commercial studio in Weston, Massachusetts, use the digital
camera and computer system for nearly 90 percent of their studio work.
41
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In an Age of Digital Imaging and Electronic
Printmaking, What Constitutes a Photograph?
While there has never been a truly precise definition of
what is and what is not a photograph, it has traditionally
been accepted that a photograph: a) has an image that is
formed on a material as a direct consequence of exposure to
light and b) has a continuous-tone image structure. By this
definition, images that are printed by offset lithography, such
as the 175-line screen illustrations in this book, for example,
do not qualify as photographs. Rather, they are considered to
be reproductions of photographs. Notions of limited quantity
also enter into peoples thinking about the subject: a 35mm
color slide, a black-and-white negative, or a color negative is
usually a one-of-a-kind object, and only a small number of prints
are generally made from a specific negative or transparency.
The introduction in recent years of thermal dye-transfer
prints (e.g., Kodak Ektatherm prints) and other high-quality,
photorealistic digital color printing methods has challenged
the traditional concepts of what a photograph is. High-reso-
lution electronic still cameras, such as the Leaf Digital cam-
era discussed on the previous page, further cloud the issue.
Upon close examination, the traditional definitions of what
constitutes a photograph were actually never very adequate.
Kodak Dye Transfer prints, for example, are not made as a
consequence of direct exposure to light (Dye Transfer paper
is not light-sensitive, and the prints are made under bright
room illumination). Yet Dye Transfer prints have long been
accepted as being among the highest-quality color photographs.
Traditional silver-halide-based photographic images are
not truly continuous tone. Instead, they have a random,
irregular grain structure. (In fact, an ordered screen pattern
is often much less noticeable than an irregular grain struc-
ture.) To cite an extreme example, if one compares the unsharp
and grainy color prints from a 1980s Kodak Disc camera with
the high resolution images from a Leaf Digital camera and
printed by the extremely sharp UltraStable and Iris ink jet
processes (see pages 4954), it becomes very difficult indeed
to maintain that blurry Disc camera 8x10-inch Ektacolor prints
are legitimate photographs while the exquisitely sharp and
beautiful 20x20-inch UltraStable and Iris color prints are not.
It is time to set the whole issue aside and instead think in
terms of visual image quality and image permanence. How an
image was made should be a secondary consideration.
Metrum FotoPrint digital color printers produce 300 dpi
continuous-tone prints with traditional RA-4 color papers.
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Kodak Ektatherm XL 7700-series digital printers, one of which
is shown here at the Photokina trade show in Germany in
1992, produce continuous-tone 200 dpi photorealistic thermal
dye-transfer color prints from digital image files. Thermal
dye-transfer (dye-sublimation) printers supplied by Kodak
and other manufacturers cost between $10,000 and $25,000.
The images of Fuji-Inax Photocera photographs have a screen
pattern that can be observed under magnification. Made
with a ceramic support, Photocera photographs are fired at
high temperatures to fuse the pigment image to the base.
Fuji claims the photographs are permanent, even when dis-
played for many years outdoors in sunlight and rain.
D
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Kodak Dye Transfer prints are made by successively rolling
three matrix films (which have been soaked in acidified
cyan, magenta, and yellow dye solutions) into contact with
the print surface. The matrix films have a gelatin layer that
varies in thickness according to image density the thicker
the gelatin, the more dye it carries and transfers to the print.
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The self-contained minilabs now com-
mon in shopping malls and other
locations are used in this wholesale
lab for remakes and reprint orders.
The Linn Photo wholesale lab near Cedar Rapids, Iowa
receiving its first batch of film of the night. With overnight
processing and delivery for all of Iowa, the labs operations
begin in the afternoon and continue until early the next
morning. Linn Photo was acquired by Qualex Inc. in 1992.
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Of the thousands of rolls of film received by the lab each
night, about 95 percent are Kodak, Fuji, and other C-41 com-
patible color negative films in the 35mm and, to a much lesser
extent, 110 and 126 formats (Kodak Disc film has almost
disappeared from the market). The film is spliced together in
long rolls for processing in the machines shown above.
After processing, the spliced rolls of film are printed with
Agfa MSP printers. Density and color-balance settings are
determined by the computerized printers, each of which
can expose between 15,000 and 20,000 prints per hour.
Rolls of exposed paper are processed
in a six-strand Agfa RA-4 processor.
After cutting, the prints and their nega-
tives are put in customers envelopes.
With many millions of color prints pro-
duced each year, a tremendous amount
of paper is used. These pallets contain
hundreds of rolls of Agfacolor paper.
At Least Until the Year 2010, Amateur Photography
Will Probably Change Very Little, and Traditional
Color Films and Papers Will Continue To Be Used
There is no technology on the horizon even the distant
horizon that can provide the image quality of color prints
made with 35mm autofocus cameras and color negative films
which could even approach the low cost of this system. For
as long as people want to have prints to look at, to send to
friends and relatives, and to display in homes and offices,
traditional photography will continue to be popular.
In recent years, Kodak, Fuji, and Konica have all been
acquiring independent labs to protect their color paper mar-
kets. Qualex Inc., a joint venture of Kodak and Fuqua In-
dustries Inc., is now the worlds largest photofinisher. When
Qualex acquired Linn Photo in 1992, Agfacolor paper was
promptly replaced with Ektacolor paper. The only other
change most customers noticed was that Qualex stopped
returning negatives in the protective, high-density polyeth-
ylene sleeves that Linn had supplied for a number of years.
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Staff photographer Kim Komenich (left) and reporter Greg Lewis edit film from a
week-long assignment in Los Angeles for a follow-up story on the riot that erupted
in April 1992 following the acquittal of four white Los Angeles police officers who
had been charged with beating black motorist Rodney G. King. As with most
other metropolitan newspapers, color negative film is used almost exclusively.
Photo editor Chris Gulker processes color negative
film with the Examiners washless Fuji minilab. The
total dry-to-dry processing time is about 12 minutes.
The October 19, 1992 issue of the
San Francisco Examiner. The news-
paper usually runs 10 to 20 color
pictures and 40 to 50 B&W photo-
graphs in its five daily editions.
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With Its 100-Year-Old Darkrooms Replaced by a
Fuji Minilab, a Nikon Film Scanner, and Six Macintosh
Computers Running Adobe Photoshop Software,
the San Francisco Examiner Entered the Digital Age
In October 1989, using Apple Macintosh computers and an
early version of Adobe Photoshop color image-editing software
that had been written by the now-legendary programmers, brothers
Tom and John Knoll, the San Francisco Examiner became the
first large metropolitan newspaper in the United States where
the photographers not only took pictures but also learned to
scan color negatives to create digital image files for loading
into the networked Macintosh computers; to perform sophisti-
cated corrections of the color balance, contrast, and color satu-
ration of their images; and to output color separation files which
are used in preparing the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
printing plates for the papers presses.
Pictures and caption information are reviewed on computer
screens by the newspapers editors, and selected photographs
are electronically sized, cropped, and placed in position together
with text and graphic elements in pages composed electroni-
cally on the newspapers more than 20 networked computers
with Quark XPress software. Color prints are no longer needed.
According to photo editor Chris Gulker, a technology-ori-
ented individual who was responsible for the early implementa-
tion of film scanners and image-processing computers at the
Examiner, it is now possible to get on press with color pictures
of late-breaking news events in as little as 40 minutes after
exposed film arrives in the Examiners photo department.
The changes at the Examiner since 1989 in the way images
from color negatives get to the printed page dramatically illus-
trate the rapidly expanding role of digital systems throughout
the worldwide publishing industry.
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Photo editor Chris Gulker scans color negatives into the
Examiners Macintosh computer network with a Kodak
Film Scanner. The Examiner also uses Nikon scanners.
Once a negative has been scanned, it is put into storage.
Gulker discusses a story with photographer Fran Ortiz
while Ortiz adjusts color balance, density, saturation, and
contrast and eliminates dust spots on an image with Adobe
Photoshop software. The Examiners photographers are
responsible for handling their own photographs on the
computers to prepare them for publication.
Fully composed digital pages with photographs in place
are output to separation film on Linotronic and Autologic
imagesetters. The films are used to make flexographic
printing plates for the newspapers high-speed presses.
Like most other major newspapers, the Examiner receives
photographs from all over the world via satellite; the pho-
tographs are downloaded into the Associated Press Leafdesk
Digital Darkroom image-processing computer system, shown
here. The Leafdesk is manufactured by Leaf Systems, Inc.
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)
With film scanners and digital image-processing sys-
tems in place, it becomes possible to transmit publication-
resolution color images anywhere in the world via satellite
links, fiber-optic networks, computer data links, and even
with cellular telephones. Photographers working in the
field can process film locally and transmit scanned color
images and caption information to their newspapers. (Many
of the photographs published in newspapers and maga-
zines during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain
were processed in on-site minilabs and transmitted to pub-
lications around the world by photographers equipped with
portable film scanners and Apple PowerBook computers.)
At the Examiner and at most other newspapers, the last
step remaining before an all-electronic system is achieved
is the origination of the picture itself. With computer sys-
tems already in use, electronic still cameras such as the
Kodak DCS 200 digital camera, which has a CCD sensor in
place of film and is built around a conventional Nikon cam-
era body, provide direct digital input of color images that
can be of surprisingly good quality. Use of electronic cam-
eras eliminates the processing and scanning steps required
for color film; in addition, pictures taken with electronic
cameras can be transmitted directly to the newspaper from
remote locations over phone lines or with cellular phones.
At the time this book went to press in late 1992, how-
ever, Examiner photographers were not making regular
use of electronic cameras. Using the Kodak DCS 200 as an
example of a state-of-the-art digital camera, photo editor
Gulker cited a number of reasons why photographers were
reluctant to give up traditional cameras and film.
42
Among the drawbacks of the DCS 200 are: a) it is unable
to take pictures faster than once every 2
1
2 seconds, which
is much too slow for most newspaper photography; b)its
CCD array is smaller than a 35mm frame, and this in-
creases the effective focal length of the cameras standard
Nikon lenses by a factor of 2.5X, which can make wide-
angle photography difficult; c) with a maximum capacity of
50 images on its internal hard disk, the camera must fre-
quently be downloaded to a computer, which requires much
more time and trouble than changing rolls of film with a
conventional camera; d) the resolution and overall picture
T
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A photograph taken during the Los Angeles riots in April 1992 by Kim Komenich. The violence began immediately after the
acquittal in a California state court of four white Los Angeles police officers who had been accused of using excessive force in
the March 3, 1991 arrest of Rodney G. King, a black motorist who had been stopped for speeding. The brutal beating was
captured on videotape with a Sony 8mm camcorder by an amateur who witnessed the event; the tape has been repeatedly
broadcast around the world. For this book, the photograph above was reproduced from 4-color separations generated from a
digital file supplied by the Examiner. From the moment the original 35mm color negative was scanned in the Examiners
photo department, the entire reproduction chain to the point of exposing the printing plates for this book at the printer in
Kingsport, Tennessee was entirely digital; a traditional color print was never made.
Komenich prepares to make an Ektatherm print of a photo-
graph from his personal stock file of former Philippines
president Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda. Fully dust-
spotted and corrected with Photoshop, the images, along
with caption information, are stored on a rewritable 600 MB
optical disk and can easily be printed when requested.
Komenich won a Pulitzer prize in 1987 for his coverage of
the Philippines revolution that forced Marcos from office.
O
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)
quality of the images do not match traditional 35mm color
negative film; e) long-term archiving of the digital images
is a problem; and f) at a cost of about $10,000, the DCS 200
digital camera is a major budget item.
Most newspaper photographers value the image resolu-
tion of 35mm film, knowing that they can make high-quality
enlargements of their most important photographs even if
the reproduction quality of newspaper printing could in
most cases be satisfied with lower-resolution images.
Digital cameras are certain to become better, faster,
and less expensive, however, and Gulker predicts that by
1995 or 1996, film may well be dead at the Examiner and
other major newspapers.
In 1989, when photographers became familiar with how
easy it was to manipulate images with Photoshop, some
expressed ethical concerns about the new technology. Like
most other newspapers, however, the Examiner has imple-
mented a policy that strictly forbids doing anything to an
image that alters its content and accuracy. Only routine
dust-spotting; correction of color balance, contrast, and
saturation; and minor dodging and burning are permitted.
Distracting elements in a picture, such as intruding power
lines or birds in the background, may not be removed.
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An UltraStable Permanent Color print of a family group portrait by the noted photographer David B. LaClaire of LaClaire
Portraiture in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lasting far longer than conventional color prints, UltraStable Permanent Color prints
are expected to become widely used in the upper end of the portrait, wedding, and fine art markets. The prints not only have
appeal as family heirloom portraits but will also be used for portraits of presidents, prime ministers, and other government
officials, as well as for photographs of writers, artists, movie stars, and other culturally and historically important individuals.

1
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This 1877 photograph of Agen, France by the prolific French
inventor and photographer Louis Ducos du Hauron is one of
the first photographic color prints ever made. Using sepa-
rate pigmented-gelatin layers to form the image, the process
is the historical predecessor of the UltraStable process.
The UltraStable Permanent Color Process for
Making Extremely Long-Lasting Pigment Prints
To a greater or lesser extent, all of the organic dyes used
to form the images in conventional color films and prints
gradually fade when exposed to light. Even Ilford Ilfochrome
and Kodak Dye Transfer prints, which are exceedingly stable
when stored in the dark, will fade to an objectionable degree
after relatively few years of display. In long-term display, no
current color material with a dye image can even approach
the stability of the silver image of a carefully processed
black-and-white photograph made on fiber-base paper (only
fiber-base prints can be included in this comparison be-
cause, for the reasons discussed in Chapter 17, the life of
displayed black-and-white RC prints may fall considerably
short of that of fiber-base prints).
So how can a truly permanent color print be made? The
answer is to do what Louis Ducos du Hauron, the French
pioneer of color photography, did when he made the first
real color prints in the 1870s, and that is to form the color
image with pigments instead of dyes. Ducos du Hauron used
a three-color adaptation of the then well-known carbon pro-
cess to make his color prints. In those days, long before the
C
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After exposure with separation nega-
tives, the cyan, magenta, yellow, and
black pigment layers are applied one at
a time to a polyester or paper support.
50c
45%
J
a
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(
5
)
An UltraStable print of poppies and azaleas photographed
by Charles Berger in 1976. An accomplished artist and
inventor who wanted long-lasting color prints for his own
work, Berger made this print in 1992.

1
9
7
6

b
y

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,

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Charles Berger mixing a pigmented-gelatin emulsion for a
test coating at Kilborn Photo Products Inc. in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. Working with Berger is John DaSilva, an emulsion
chemist who is director of research at Kilborn.
Unhardened pigmented gelatin is
removed in a warm-water bath.
With all four image layers applied, the
finished print is rinsed with water.
Soaking the laminated pigment sheet. Peeling off the plastic carrier sheet.
development of the modern, easy-to-process chromogenic
print (e.g., Ektacolor) with its lovely but all-too-fleeting or-
ganic dye image, making a print with separate pigmented-
gelatin color layers was the only method available.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the tricolor carbro process (a
variation of tricolor carbon) was frequently used for glamor-
ous portraits of Hollywood stars, and lush tricolor carbro
advertising photographs from this era can be found in the
collections of George Eastman House, the Smithsonian, and
other institutions. By the late 1950s, however, the color
pigment processes had died out, first being replaced with
the easier-to-manage Kodak Dye Transfer process, and later
with Ektacolor, Cibachrome (now called Ilfochrome), and
other inexpensive and conveniently processed materials.
But none of the modern color print materials were stable
enough to satisfy Charles Berger. A fine art photographer
who had published several books of photographs and whose
work was in the permanent collection of the Museum of
Modern Art in New York City, Berger was frustrated with
the lack of anything available on the market with which he
could make permanent color prints. By 1980, after several
years of experimentation, Berger had developed a modern,
pin-registered, high-resolution version of the classic tricolor
carbon process. Berger not only made the process simpler
to use although the printmaking procedure remains a
relatively complex task but, more importantly, he came
M
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1
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A photograph of novelist Eudora Welty by William Eggleston.
The UltraStable print was made by Robert Liles. An exhibi-
tion of 50 of Egglestons UltraStable prints is to be shown at
the Robert Miller Gallery in New York City in October 1993.
M
a
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c
h

1
9
9
1

(
3
)

W
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E
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Emulsion technician Steve Hynek and
Charles Berger mixing gelatin, magenta
pigment, a chromium-free sensitizer,
and other emulsion components.
Coating the magenta emulsion on a
transparent polyester carrier sheet.
The thick gelatin emulsion coatings
are slowly dried in the dust-free, hu-
midity- and temperature-controlled dry-
ing alley at Kilborn. Because the
UltraStable emulsions are sensitive only
to UV radiation, mixing, coating, and
drying operations can be conducted
under yellow safelights. The prints
can also be made under UV-filtered
illumination. Kilborn Photo Products,
a little-known company that has been
producing photographic products in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa since 1895, is one
of the oldest photographic manufac-
turers in the world.
up with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black pigments that had
extremely good light fading stability. The pigments are similar
to those used in automobile paints, which must be able to
tolerate years of outdoor sun exposure under the harshest
conditions. These materials were produced by the Polaroid
Corporation under the Polaroid Permanent-Color name.
43
As shown by the accelerated test examples reproduced on
page 14, the stability of these prints is extremely good.
When Polaroid declined to actively market the materials,
Berger, living in Santa Cruz, California, joined forces with
Richard N. Kauffman, a long-time environmentalist, photog-
rapher, and skilled tricolor carbro printer (Kauffman is the
chairman of the California-based H. S. Crocker printing com-
pany), to work on easier-to-use, pre-sensitized materials
employing non-toxic sensitizers and pigments. UltraStable
Permanent Color materials, which can produce prints with
outstanding color reproduction and extraordinary sharpness,
are the result of this collaboration.
44
The image stability of UltraStable prints is discussed in
Chapter 3, beginning on page 121. The initial UltraStable
materials, introduced in 1991, used a non-toxic organic yel-
low pigment that proved to be significantly less stable in
light fading tests than expected, based on data supplied by
the pigments manufacturer. New materials made with a
more stable, lead-free, metal-type yellow pigment were in-
troduced in late 1992, but test results for the new pigment
were not available at the time this book went to press.
Making UltraStable prints requires full-size, high-resolu-
tion, screened separation negatives, and the cost of the sepa-
rations is the principal expense in making a print. Exclusive
of separations, the costs of materials are quite low: materi-
als for a 16x20-inch print total less than $25. Having prints
(and the required separations) made by a lab can be expen-
sive, however, with a 16 x20-inch UltraStable print costing
$500 or more (duplicate prints cost much less). Labs that
offer UltraStable prints are listed on page 293.
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A pioneer in the use of high-resolution color ink jet printers in the fine art field is Nash Editions. Located near Los Angeles
in Manhattan Beach, California, Nash Editions was founded by British-born Graham Nash of the legendary 1960s rock group
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. An accomplished photographer and collector, Nash was drawn to the ink jet process as a
means of printing images that he had worked on with Adobe Photoshop software on his Apple Macintosh computer. Shown
here are Nash Editions staff members (left to right) Jack Duganne, R. Mac Holbert, and Graham Nash.
F
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9
2
High-Resolution Ink Jet Color Prints Produced
from Scanned Photographic Originals, Computer-
Generated Images, and Other Digital Sources
One of the most promising of the rapidly advancing
direct digital color printing technologies is high-resolution
color ink jet printing. The best of the current generation of
ink jet printers are the Iris printers manufactured by Iris
Graphics, Inc. of Bedford, Massachusetts (Iris Graphics is
a subsidiary of the Scitex Corporation Ltd., which is head-
quartered in Herzlia, Israel).
Capable of printing photorealistic color images on pa-
per, polyester, cloth, and most other materials that will
accept water-base inks, Iris printers have a resolution of
300 dpi (dots per inch). However, unlike most laser print-
ers and low-cost desktop ink jet printers, the overlapping
cyan, magenta, yellow, and black image dots laid down by
an Iris printer are built up with from 0 to 31 microscopic
droplets for each of the four colors. This unique 4-color
variable-size dot structure (which does not have the ro-
sette pattern usually found in 4-color printing) produces
images that are far sharper and have much smoother tonal
gradation than the images obtained from fixed-dot-size 300
dpi printers. Iris claims its printers have an effective
visual resolution of approximately 1,500 dpi.
When viewed without magnification, Iris ink jet images
can have the appearance of traditional photographic color
prints. In fact, because of the controls offered by Adobe
Photoshop or other digital image processing software that
is routinely used prior to printing, Iris ink jet prints are
often qualitatively better than traditional color prints. Digital
images scanned from photographic originals can easily be
adjusted for contrast, color saturation, and color balance.
Curve imbalances are simple to correct. (In a practical
sense, alteration of contrast, color saturation, and curve
balance is not possible with traditional color printing. Digital
images can also be dodged, burned-in, dust-spotted, and
have scratches filled in with a finesse that is absolutely
impossible with traditional darkroom color printing.)
Although the Iris printers are expensive the Model
4012, which makes prints in sizes up to 10 x17 inches, costs
$39,000 and the Model 3047, which makes prints in sizes up
to 34 x46 inches, sells for $123,000 the materials costs for
a print are less than for any other high-resolution color
imaging process. The cost of the ink and paper for a 34 x46-
inch print can be as little as $12 (printing time of about 45
minutes). The cost of the ink and paper for an 8.5 x11-inch
print can be less than $1 (printing time of about 4 minutes).
Unfortunately, at the time this book went to press in
late 1992, the ink sets available from Iris had very poor
light fading stability. Even when protected with a sharp-
cutting ultraviolet filter, the prints had a predicted display
life of less than 3 years when evaluated with this authors
standard test procedures (see Table 3.3 on page 138 in
Chapter 3). The Iris prints proved to be far less stable than
Ilfochrome, Ektacolor, and other traditional color prints.
Iris Graphics has not made any claims for the light fad-
ing stability of prints made with the standard ink sets that
were available at the time this book went to press in 1992,
saying that the company would commit only to a display
T
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Graham Nash and Jack Duganne detach a completed mono-
chrome print from one of the Iris 3047 ink jet printers at
Nash Editions. This particular image is a black-and-white
self-portrait of Nash which was made during the period
when he performed with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Iris ink jet printers lay down the cyan, magenta, yellow,
and black images in a single pass with the print material
attached to a rapidly rotating drum. The leading band of
the image printed by the cyan ink jet, which slowly moves
across the image from left to right, is clearly visible.
Duganne and Holbert work on an image with Photoshop
running on a Macintosh computer with visiting New York
City fashion photographer George Holz. Prints can be
made from scanned transparencies and negatives or
directly from a variety of Macintosh and IBM file formats.
Nash Editions is located in this picturesque building
not far from the Los Angeles International Airport.
F
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(
6
)
Bottles of the water-base inks employed in the Iris ink jet
printers. Initially designed for graphic arts proofing, the
standard Iris inks have very poor light fading stability.
High-stability inks for fine art and other display applica-
tions are expected to become available by the end of 1993.
A high-resolution flatbed CCD scanner custom-built by
Photometrics, Ltd. is used by Nash Editions to input im-
ages from color prints, paintings, and other art work. The
scanner can accommodate originals of up to 4x4 feet.
T
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Graphics realized that there was a potentially large mar-
ket for their printers outside of the traditional graphic arts
proofing area, and the company set about developing a
much longer-lasting ink set for fine art and other long-
term display applications. Iris plans to introduce the new
high-stability inks by the end of 1993.
Having Iris prints made is not inexpensive, although
the cost of the prints can vary greatly depending on the
supplier,
46
the size of the print, the type of paper desired,
whether a protective coating is applied to the print, and the
amount of computer time required for making alterations
and corrections of the digital image. At the time this book
went to press, Nash Editions charged $0.70 per square inch
with a minimum cost of $400 (up to 24 x24-inches) and a
maximum of $700 for a 34 x46-inch print (additional prints
are about 50% less). Some firms offer straight prints from
customer-supplied digital files at moderate cost: Image
Transform Ltd. of Ankeny, Iowa produces 34 x46-inch Iris
prints on various papers, including Arches or Rives 100%
cotton fiber watercolor papers, for $175 for the first print.
life of one to two years, with incidental, interior light-
ing.
45
When stored in the dark, however, the color images
are essentially permanent; this authors tests indicate that
the prints, when made on 100% cotton fiber paper or other
stable material, have very little tendency to form yellowish
stain over time. Because the inks used in Iris printers are
water-soluble, a number of coatings are available for pro-
tecting the images from water damage.
Since their introduction in the late 1980s, the Iris print-
ers have been employed primarily for graphic arts proof-
ing, where image stability is generally not an important
consideration. With the selection of suitable ink colorants,
however, the ink jet process has the potential of producing
highly stable color prints. In theory, any colorant that has
the dielectric properties required by the Iris imaging sys-
tem and that can pass through the extremely narrow,
10-micron diameter ink jet nozzles employed in the Iris
printers could be used in an ink formulation.
After the highly publicized 1991 introduction of Iris prints
in the fine art photography field by Nash Editions, Iris

T
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(
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/
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B
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C
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a
)
An Iris ink jet print of
movie actress Marilyn
Monroe. Photographed
by silent screen star
Harold Lloyd, this pre-
viously unpublished
picture was taken in
1952 while Monroe was
visiting Lloyds lavish
Green Acres estate for
a screen test. Monroe
died from an overdose
of sleeping pills in 1962
at the age of 36. Printed
by Nash Editions, the
Iris ink jet print was
made from one side of
a Kodachrome transpar-
ency stereo-pair that
was scanned with a
high-resolution scanner
to produce a digital file
for the Iris printer. Con-
trast adjustments and
elimination of dust spots
were done with Adobe
Photoshop software on
a Macintosh computer
system. As would be
expected, based on
data obtained in accel-
erated dark fading tests
with Kodachrome film,
the transparency was
still in excellent condi-
tion after 40 years
of storage at the time
this print was made.
The image, which was
free of yellowish stain,
had brilliant highlights
and minimal fading.
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A large-format print emerging from a Xerox/Versatec liquid-toner
electrostatic color printer. Used in the Cactus and Onyx Graphics
digital printing systems, the Versatec units produce low-cost color
prints in sizes up to 54 inches wide and 15 feet or more in length.
1
9
9
2

C
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3
M

C
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y
If high-stability colorants were to become available for
the 3M Digital Matchprint graphic arts color proofing
system, this process would be suitable for producing
long-lasting color prints of excellent quality at low cost.
Xerox/Versatec color printer in a system supplied by
Onyx Graphics (note containers of liquid toners in base).
S
e
p
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m
b
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r

1
9
9
2

(
2
)
Color Electrophotography Is One of the Most
Promising Technologies for Making Long-Lasting,
High-Quality Color Prints at Moderate Cost
Liquid-toner and dry-toner electrophotographic color print-
ers can utilize a wide variety of colorants to form images and,
with respect to color stability, this gives these systems a consid-
erable if not yet fully realized advantage over the tradi-
tional chromogenic and silver dye-bleach color print processes.
Color prints made with Canon Color Laser copier/printers,
for example, are approximately twice as stable as Kodak Ekta-
color prints according to this authors accelerated light fading
tests with glass-filtered fluorescent illumination (see Table 3.3
on page 137). A Canon color print typically costs only $3 to $5.
Although the image quality of prints made with Canon Color
Laser copiers does not equal that of traditional color prints, the
Canon prints are often satisfactory for proofing and are also
suitable for many business and commercial applications.
Xerox/Versatec color printer/plotters, which serve as the output
devices for the Cactus (Fairfield, New Jersey) and Onyx Graph-
ics (Salt Lake City, Utah) digital printing systems, have become
popular for producing large-format color prints for commercial
display and advertising purposes. Although the image quality of
these prints also does not equal that of traditional color photo-
graphs, the prints nevertheless are suitable for many purposes.
Preliminary tests with standard Cactus prints indicate that
the prints have fairly good light fading stability; prints made
with the special toner set supplied by Cactus for outdoor display
are probably much longer lasting.
The 3M Digital Matchprint liquid-toner electrophotographic
graphic arts proofing system provides a prototype for a high-
quality, high-stability digital color printmaking system. The
$300,000 device can produce an 18x27-inch color print at 2,540
dpi on most types of paper in 30 minutes or less from a digital
image file (the cost of materials for a print is low). Small prints
can be output much more quickly. Although currently available
toners were formulated to match graphic arts printing inks, and
permanence was not an important consideration, high-stability
toners could easily be developed for the system (see the discus-
sion of the mid-1960s 3M Electrocolor process on page 27).
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James H. Wallace, Jr., director and curator of Photographic
Services at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.,
describes the departments computer and digital imaging equip-
ment to visitors from the ANSI subcommittee on the stability
of color images. The Photographic Services department dis-
tributes hundreds of images on CompuServe, America Online,
GEnie, and Internet on-line computer information services. At
the time this book went to press in 1992, more than 30,000
downloads had occurred since the department began offer-
ing the no-cost service in November 1990. The digital images
are scanned from color transparencies and color negatives;
the originals are preserved in a cold storage vault maintained
at 40F (4.4C) and 27% RH (see photograph on page 633).
N
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1
9
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1
ware and, after color and density corrections and image
retouching are completed, separation files can be output to
an imagesetter to produce fully corrected separations at a
previously unheard-of low cost. The images can also be
output to a film recorder to create photographic second
originals, employed in multimedia applications, transmit-
ted to remote locations, or used to make high-quality color
prints with thermal dye transfer, high-resolution ink jet, elec-
trophotographic, or traditional color photographic papers.
Photo CDs and other types of optical disc and magnetic
image storage systems can enable commercial and museum
collections to reduce or eliminate handling and shipping of
precious photographic originals.
47
A copy of the digital im-
age file can be stored in a separate location to provide a
backup should the originals be destroyed by fire or other
catastrophe. Creating an electronic visual data base makes
it possible for an institution to place photographic originals
in cold storage while at the same time maintaining visual
access to the images. The Photographic Services depart-
ment at the Smithsonian Institution has implemented a com-
prehensive image access and preservation program for its
collection that can serve as a model for others.
48
Although using Photo CDs or other optical or magnetic
media for the long-term preservation of photographically
originated images may seem appealing, there are at present
serious, unresolved problems related to the continued reli-
ability of such systems in the future (see page 6). These
concerns include the stability of the actual media (at the
time this book went to press, Kodak had released only lim-
ited data about the long-term readability of its Photo CDs
49
)
and, more importantly, the complete lack of assurance of
future availability of hardware and software necessary to
read, decompress, and access images on Photo CDs, CD-
ROMs, and other types of optical and magnetic media.
5052
Despite Their Great Practical Utility, Photo CDs,
CD-ROMs, and Magnetic Digital Image Storage
Systems Are Not Recommended for the Long-Term
Preservation of Photographically Originated Images
The September 1990 announcement of the Kodak Photo
CD system, which was placed on the market in the summer
of 1992, marked a historic turning point in the evolution of
photography and, for the first time in the general market,
raised questions about the long-term usability of photographic
images stored in digital form. The Photo CD system, in
which digitized images are stored on low-cost, write-once
optical discs of the same physical format as the popular
audio compact disc (CD), includes several components: a)
high-speed CCD scanners which digitize images on color
negative films, transparencies, and prints; b) computer work-
stations which convert the digitized data to Kodaks Photo
YCC color space, make adjustments in color balance and
density, and create an image file using a hierarchical file
format and data-compression scheme developed by Kodak;
and c) a laser disc writer developed by the Netherlands-
based electronics giant Philips which writes the image file
to a CD (a complete Kodak system costs $100,000 or more).
Kodak Photo CD Portfolio authoring software to be re-
leased in 1993 will allow individuals using a variety of scan-
ners and computers to write image files in the Kodak Photo
CD format using a Kodak CD disc writer (about $6,000).
The number of images that can be recorded on a Photo
CD depends on the maximum image resolution selected;
typically, each image requires about 4.5 Mbytes of disc space
so approximately 100 images can be stored on a single disc
(at present, the optical CD is the only viable, low-cost stor-
age medium available that can accommodate the huge size
of high-resolution color image data files). The ingenious
hierarchical file structure allows images to be accessed in a
number of different resolutions (e.g., low resolution for viewing
on an ordinary color television and high resolution for print-
ing in magazines and books) without the need to store re-
dundant data for each of the available image resolutions.
The discs can be read by a CD-ROM XA multi-session drive
and can be viewed on a television with a Kodak or other
Photo CD-compatible disc player. The Photo CD system is
not the only way to record images on CDs (or other media),
but it is the first system to bring together all of the compo-
nents in a unified manner. The proprietary Kodak Photo CD
file format and associated software are the heart of the sys-
tem. Kodak has licensed the Photo CD system to other
manufacturers including Fuji, Konica, and Agfa.
The Photo CD system is initially being directed at both
the amateur snapshot market and a wide variety of profes-
sional applications in desktop and high-end publishing, stock
photography, and medical imaging. Although there is con-
siderable doubt that the Photo CD will be successful in the
amateur field (having negatives routinely transferred to Photo
CDs at a cost of more than $20 a roll is prohibitively expen-
sive for most people, and for looking at family images on
television, it is generally much more satisfying and certainly
far less expensive to use a video camcorder and enjoy mov-
ing images complete with sound), the availability of high-
resolution scans of color negative and transparency images
for between $2 and $5 each is a revolution in the publishing
field. Photo CD images can be imported into a computer
running Adobe Photoshop or other image-processing soft-
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Notes and References
1. Edwin H. Land, Selected Letters to Shareholders, a chapter in
Selected Papers on Industry, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, 1983, p. 27. The quotation is part of a letter from
Land to Polaroid shareholders that originally appeared in the 1976
Polaroid Corporation Annual Report. Land, who died in 1991,
was the founder and chairman of the board of Polaroid.
2. Susan Roman, PDNews, Photo District News, Vol. IX, Issue XIV,
December 1989, p. 18.
3. Eastman Kodak Company, Merrett T. Smith, Kodak Studio Light,
Issue No. 1, 1986, p. 7. Published by Eastman Kodak Company, 343
State Street, Rochester, New York 14650.
4. Mrs. Lloyd Karstetter, interview with this author, Reedsburg, Wiscon-
sin, February 19, 1980. Karstetter came to this authors attention
after she had returned a number of very faded Ektacolor prints to
Fehrenbach Studios in Reedsburg and asked the studio to replace
the prints at no cost. Fehrenbach Studios believed that because of
misleading advertising and poor product quality, Eastman Kodak
bore the responsibility for the cost of replacing the faded prints.
Citing the disclaimer concerning color dye fading that appears on
every box of Kodak color film and paper, Kodak refused to cover the
replacement costs. In 1982, after complaints to the Wisconsin Attor-
ney Generals office and the Federal Trade Commission in Washing-
ton, D.C. brought no results, Fehrenbach Studios and another Wis-
consin professional photographer filed a $3.7-million lawsuit against
Kodak. The lawsuit never reached trial (see Chapter 8).
5. Eastman Kodak Company, Gift Certificate Program Radio Spots,
Kodak Publication PP10-8H. In 1982, responding to a request from
the Wisconsin Attorney Generals office, which had informed Kodak
that advertisements and publications such as this were in probable
violation of Wisconsins consumer fraud laws, Kodak changed the
wording in this ad from Take A Moment Out Of Time . . . And Make
It Last Forever, to Take A Moment Out Of Time . . . And Make It Last
For Years To Come. The Kodak publication number for the ad copy
remained the same; neither the original nor revised version is dated.
6. Joel Meyerowitz, Cape Light, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and
Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1978. See
also: Joel Meyerowitz, A Summers Day, Times Books in Associa-
tion with Floyd A. Yearout, New York, New York, 1985.
7. Mark A. Fischetti, The Silver Screen Blossoms Into Color (Special
Report on Video Processing), IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 24, No. 8, Au-
gust 1987, pp. 5055 (published by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers, Inc., 345 East 47th Street, New York, New York
10017; telephone: 212-705-7555).
8. Peter Hay, MGM: When the Lion Roars, Turner Publishing, Inc.,
One CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30348, 1991, p. 327. By the end
of 1990, Turner Broadcasting System had spent more than $1 billion
for the black-and-white and color motion pictures that make up its
film library. According to Hay, Ted Turner . . .ended up with what he
always wanted the richest film library in the world, including its
crown jewel, Gone With the Wind. Told repeatedly that he had paid
far too much for old movies, the owner of Turner Broadcasting
System once explained his decision to a reporter: How can you go
broke, buying the Rembrandts of the programming business when
you are a programmer?
9. Leslie Bennetts, Colorizing Film Classics: A Boon or a Bane?,
The New York Times, August 5, 1986, pp. 1 and 21.
10. Leslie Bennetts, see Note No. 9.
11. For a concise description of the chromogenic process and other
traditional photographic methods of color image formation, see:
Peter Krause, Color Photography, Chapter 4 in Imaging Pro-
cesses and Materials Neblettes Eighth Edition (edited by
John M. Sturge, Vivian Walworth, and Allan Shepp), Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York, New York, 1989.
12. Eastman Kodak Company, Evaluating Dye Stability of Kodak Color
Prints Prints on Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper, Kodak Publica-
tion CIS No. 504, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
February 1985.
13. Gert Koshofer, Farb Fotografie Book 1, Verlag Laterna magica,
Munich, Germany, 1981, p. 171. Koshofer reports that Kodak de-
scribed the Azochrome silver dye-bleach color print process and
showed sample Azochrome prints made from Kodachrome transpar-
encies in Chicago in August 1941.
The 1941 Azochrome print by Albert Wittmer from the collection
of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman
House that is reproduced in this book on page 25 was included in
the exhibition Color As Form A History of Color Photography
that opened at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. on
April 10, 1982 (see page 17 of the exhibition catalogue published by
George Eastman House in 1982). Later shown at Eastman House in
Rochester, the exhibition was organized by George Eastman House,
with John Upton serving as guest curator.
14. Paul C. Spehr, Fading, Fading, Faded The Color Film Crisis,
American Film, Vol. V, No. 2, November 1979, pp. 5661. See also:
Bill OConnell, Fade Out Remember the Glorious Color of Films
Gone By? It May Soon Be Only a Memory For the Prints Are Fading
Fast, Film Comment, Vol. 15, No. 5, SeptemberOctober 1979, pp.
1118. See also: Harlan Jacobson, Old Pix Dont Die, They Fade
Away Scorsese Helms Industry Plea to Kodak, Variety, Vol. 299,
No. 10, July 9, 1980, pp. 1, 2829. See also: Richard Patterson, The
Preservation of Color Films Part I, American Cinematographer,
Vol. 62, No. 7, July 1981, pp. 694ff; and Richard Patterson, The
Preservation of Color Films Part II, American Cinematographer,
Vol. 62, No. 8, August 1981, pp. 792ff.
15. Vsevolod Tulagin, Robert F. Coles, and Richard Miller, Permanent
Reproductions, United States Patent No. 3,172,827, granted March
9, 1965 (filed April 18, 1960), and Photoconductography Employ-
ing Organic Onium Cation, United States Patent No. 3,172,826,
granted March 9, 1965 (filed April 18, 1960).
16. Gert Koshofer, Farb Fotografie Book 1, Verlag Laterna magica,
Munich, Germany, 1981, p. 173.
17. Polaroid Corporation, This Polaroid SX-70 Photograph Is Part of the
Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, 2-page advertisement in
The New Yorker, May 1977. The ad was illustrated with an SX-70
photograph by Lucas Samaras; the donation of the print to the
Museum by an obscure arts foundation was facilitated by the New
York advertising agency that prepared the Polaroid ad. At the time
the ad featuring the Samaras SX-70 print appeared, it is believed that
the Museum had only one or two other SX-70 prints in its collection.
18. Anon., Fine Art, Via Polaroid, The New York Times, February 15,
1990, p. C3.
19. Consumer Reports staff, Instant-Picture Cameras, Consumer
Reports, pp. 622625, November 1976.
20. William S. Allen, general manager, Consumer Markets Division, Eastman
Kodak Company, letter to Dealers in Kodak Products, November 9,
1976. The letter stated in part:
There have been published reports critical of the stability of
prints made with Kodak instant cameras and film. Kodak considers
these reports to be misleading. The company has stated repeatedly
that the stability of Kodak instant prints is entirely satisfactory when
such prints are handled, displayed, or stored in the usual variety of
home and office situations. . . .
It should be noted that the performance of a color print exposed
to direct sunlight or to high-intensity fluorescent light is not indica-
tive of its performance when the print is displayed or stored in the
usual way by amateur picture-takers.
When Allen wrote the letter, Kodak had extensive light fading
data on PR-10 and was well aware that the prints were far less stable
than any other color print material on the market; the company also
knew that, under typical display conditions in the home or office, the
prints would fade significantly in less than a years time and that in
most cases, the prints would become severely deteriorated after
only 4 or 5 years of display. See: John Stewart, Kodak Finds Its
Instant Prints Fade More, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester,
New York, June 3, 1977. See also: John Stewart, Experts Tests
Show Light Fades Color Photos Dont Hang Them on the Wall,
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, March 22, 1979.
21. The Colour Group of the Royal Photographic Society sponsored a
symposium on The Conservation of Colour Photographic Records
at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, September 20,
1973. Among the presentations were: The Keeping Properties of
Some Colour Photographs, by C. H. Giles and R. Haslam [Univer-
sity of Strathclyde]; On the Resistance to Fading of Silver-Dye-
Bleach Transparencies, by R. Bermane [Ciba-Geigy Photochemie
Ltd.]; and The Light Stability of New Polaroid Colour Prints, by H.
G. Rogers, M. Idelson, R. F. W. Cieciuch, and S. M. Bloom [Polaroid
Corporation]. Eastman Kodak did not take part in this important
early conference. Proceedings of the symposium were published in
1974 by the Royal Photographic Society, and a number of the pre-
sentations later appeared as articles in the Societys journals.
22. William Jenkins, assistant curator for 20th Century Photography,
International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House,
letter dated September 9, 1975 to attendees of the October 17, 1975
Colloquium on the Collection and Preservation of Color Photo-
graphs. Participation at the meeting by Kodak apparently con-
vinced the company to include, for the first time, at least some
information on the stability of color transparency and color negative
films in Storage and Care of Kodak Color Films, Kodak Publica-
tion No. E-30, January 1976. Little of the often-heated discussion
that took place at the conference ever became public because Arthur
Goldsmith and Ed Meyers from Popular Photography, Ed Scully of
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Modern Photography, and other members of the press who at-
tended the event were asked to withhold publication of stories about
the meeting until the official Proceedings of the conference were
released by George Eastman House. The promised Proceedings
were never published and, as a result, this early and important
conference was never covered in the press. Since its founding in
1947, Eastman House has received a substantial portion of its fund-
ing from the Eastman Kodak Company, either directly or through the
Eastman Charitable Trust. The yearly contribution from the Trust
alone has often amounted to more than $1 million.
23. Dan Meinwald, Color Photographs: Must They Always Fade?, Af-
terimage, November 1975 (published by the Visual Studies Work-
shop in Rochester, New York).
24. Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West [Eastman
Kodak Company], Preservation of Motion-Picture Color Films Hav-
ing Permanent Value, Journal of the SMPTE, Vol. 79, No. 11,
November 1970, pp. 10111018. This article contained a graph
showing predicted times for a 10% density loss of the cyan dyes of
two unidentified Kodak motion picture color negative and print films
stored at a wide range of temperatures. This small graph was the
first public acknowledgment by Kodak that it had developed the now
well-established Arrhenius multiple-temperature accelerated test method
with which predictions for dark fading and dark staining rates of
color films and prints can be obtained for normal room tempera-
tures, cold storage temperatures, or any other desired temperature.
This was a major breakthrough in the evaluation and preservation of
color films and prints (see Chapter 2). The Arrhenius dark storage
test method is also specified in American National Standards Insti-
tute, Inc., ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Im-
aging Media Stability of Color Photographic Images Meth-
ods for Measuring, American National Standards Institute, Inc.,
New York, New York, 1991. Copies of the Standard may be pur-
chased from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11
West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-
4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
25. Klaus B. Hendriks, chairperson, session on the Stability and Pres-
ervation of Photographic Materials, at the annual conference of
the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, Washington,
D.C., May 1, 1978. Presentations were given by Klaus B. Hendriks
[Public Archives of Canada], The Challenge of Preserving Photo-
graphic Records; Timothy F. Parsons [Eastman Kodak], To RC or
Not To RC; Robert J. Tuite [Eastman Kodak], Image Stability in
Color Photography; Martin Idelson [Polaroid], Polacolor, Polacolor
2, and SX-70 Prints; Henry Wilhelm [East Street Gallery], Light
Fading Characteristics of Reflection Color Print Materials; and Stanton
Clay [Ilford], Light Fading Stability of Cibachrome.
Hendriks also served as chairperson of the International Sym-
posium: The Stability and Preservation of Photographic Im-
ages, Public Archives of Canada (renamed the National Archives of
Canada in 1987), Ottawa, Ontario, August 29 September 1, 1982,
sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers.
Among the presentations were: Robert F. W. Cieciuch, Stability of
Polaroid Integral Color Film Images and Light Stability of Polacolor
2 and Polacolor ER Images and Its Maximization; Henry Wilhelm,
Tungsten Light Fading of Reflection Color Prints; and Charleton C.
Bard and Paul M. Ness, The Effects of Post Processing Handling on
the Image Stability of Kodak Ektacolor Prints.
In addition, Hendriks served as chairperson of the Second In-
ternational Symposium: The Stability and Preservation of Pho-
tographic Images, Public Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario,
August 2528, 1985, sponsored by the Society of Photographic
Scientists and Engineers. Among the papers presented at the con-
ference was: Kotaro Nakamura, Makoto Umemoto, Nobuo Sakai,
and Yoshio Seoka [Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.], Dark Stability of
Photographic Color Print from the Viewpoint of Stain Formation.
This important paper described the low-stain magenta couplers
invented by Fuji and first used in Fujicolor Paper Type 12 (Process
EP-2) introduced in 1985.
26. Robert J. Tuite [Eastman Kodak Company], Image Stability in Color
Photography, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 1979, pp. 200207.
27. Henry Wilhelm, Light Fading Characteristics of Reflection Color
Print Materials, abstract in the 31st SPSE Annual Conference Pro-
gram [abstracts], Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 1978, p. 54A.
28. Klaus B. Hendriks, together with Brian Thurgood, Joe Iraci, Brian
Lesser, and Greg Hill of the National Archives of Canada staff, is the
author of Fundamentals of Photographic Conservation: A Study
Guide, published by Lugus Publications in cooperation with the
National Archives of Canada and the Canada Communication Group,
1991. Available from Lugus Productions Ltd., 48 Falcon Street,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2P5; telephone: 416-322-5113; Fax:
416-484-9512.
29. Klaus B. Hendriks, The Stability and Preservation of Recorded Im-
ages, Chapter 20 in Imaging Processes and Materials Neblettes
Eighth Edition (edited by John M. Sturge, Vivian Walworth, and
Allan Shepp), Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, New
York, 1989.
30. The Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Con-
servation (AIC) was founded in 1979. The first meeting, organized
by Jose Orraca, was held at the University of Delaware in Newark,
Delaware, August 20, 1979; the charter members of the group were
Gary E. Albright, David E. Kolody, Jose Orraca, Mary Kay Porter,
Siegfried Rempel, James Reilly, Henry Wilhelm, and Chris Young.
For further information contact: American Institute for Conservation,
Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; tele-
phone: 202-232-6636.
31. Lawrence F. Karr, ed., Proceedings Conference on the Cold
Storage of Motion Picture Films, American Film Institute and
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 2123, 1980.
32. See: Harlan Jacobson, Old Pix Dont Die, They Fade Away Scor-
sese Helms Industry Plea to Kodak, Variety, Vol. 299, No. 10, July
9, 1980, pp. 1, 2829. This was a major article on the poor image
stability of Kodak motion picture color negative and print films; the
writer described film director Martin Scorseses campaign to pres-
sure Kodak into producing improved film stocks. See also: Signers
of No Fade Petition to Kodak Span All Industry Ranks, Variety, Vol.
299, No. 10, July 9, 1980, p. 29. See also: Robert Lindsey, Martin
Scorseses Campaign to Save a Film Heritage, The New York
Times, October 5, 1980, pp. 19ff. See also: Patricia OBrian [Knight
News Service], Movies (and Snapshots) Are Losing Their Color,
San Francisco Chronicle, May 11, 1980. This article also appeared
under various titles in many other newspapers. See also: Jack
Garner, Films Fade Director Protests; Kodaks Working on It,
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, May 13, 1980, pp.
1C, 2C. See also: Richard Harrington, Old Movies Never Die
Theyre Just Fading Away, The Washington Post, July 20, 1980.
33. David Litschel, editor, Fugitive Color (exhibition catalogue with
essays by Diane Kirkpatrick and Henry Wilhelm, with an introduction
by David Litschel), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
1982. This authors essay was entitled The Problems of the Kodak
Ektacolor Print System. Published by the School of Art, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.
34. On July 22, 1980 Herbert Phillips, director of the Graphic Arts Re-
search Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology, telephoned
this author to retract a previously extended invitation to speak at the
Preservation and Restoration of Photographic Images seminar sched-
uled to take place August 2527, 1980. This author had been a
speaker on color photography at six previous RIT seminars on pres-
ervation and was listed as a speaker in the RIT brochure for the
August 1980 seminar. Phillips informed this author that RIT wanted
some new material for the program and had asked Kodak to give a
presentation similar to the talk Kodak planned to present on August
12, 1980 at the Professional Photographers of America convention in
Atlanta, Georgia.
The actual reason for the cancellation of this authors invitation
to speak was Kodaks displeasure with his presentations on color
image stability at the previous six RIT seminars in which Kodaks
policy of keeping image stability data secret was criticized; criti-
cisms were leveled at Kodaks extremely unstable PR-10 instant
print film; and advertisements by Kodak and Polaroid in which mis-
leading claims were made about color image stability were also
discussed. This author had obtained, from an anonymous source in
Rochester, an internal Kodak memorandum dated May 13, 1980
which described a secret meeting between Allie C. Peed, Jr., direc-
tor of Publications and Photo Information in Kodaks Consumer/
Professional and Finishing Markets Division (at the time, on behalf of
the Eastman Kodak Company, Peed was also serving as president of
the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers), and Lothar K.
Englemann, dean of Graphic Arts and Photography at RIT. The
memorandum stated in part:
. . . Mr. Wilhelm will not be invited to be a program participant in
future seminars. Mr. Hendrix [Dr. Klaus B. Hendriks of the Public
Archives of Canada] will be invited, but, if he chooses not to come
without Mr. Wilhelm, he will be dropped.
Peed concluded his memorandum by saying . . . if this one [the
seminar] doesnt come off better than the previous one I think we
have no alternative but to withdraw any Kodak support on the basis
that we dont want our name associated with a poorly run seminar.
In the August seminar, Kodak supplied seven out of the 19 speakers,
at no cost to RIT. A front-page story by Richard Whitmire which
appeared in the July 29, 1980 edition of Rochesters Times-Union
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newspaper, entitled Did Kodak Silence Critic? RIT Denies Pressure
Led to Cancellation of Seminar Speaker, included this account of
the situation:
Asked if he knew who sent the letter to Wilhelm, Peed said, No,
and Id be glad to pay you if you could tell me. We have a bit of an
internal investigation going on here to find out. Were trying very
hard to put a finger in the dike.
Peed did not hesitate to describe his unhappiness with Wilhelm.
Our difficulty with him is that he has assigned to himself a role of
critic of Eastman Kodak products, for reasons unknown to us, he
said.
The question was whether we could continue to give support to
an activity being used by someone to attack us.
But Peed denied Kodak was pressuring RIT to drop Wilhelm.
When questioned about the last paragraph of his letter, Peed said,
Well, I guess it depends on your definition of pressure. I think we
were just being pragmatic in describing a condition we find unac-
ceptable.
Contacted yesterday, Englemann refused to discuss his conver-
sation with Peed. That is nobodys business, he said.
The matter received considerable press and television coverage
in Rochester in the following weeks. An editorial entitled Kodak,
RIT and Academic Freedom that was published in the July 31, 1980
issue of the Times-Union said, in part:
In the matter of the disinvited seminar speaker, Eastman Kodak
Co. seems to have challenged the concept of academic freedom and
Rochester Institute of Technology seems to have submitted cra-
venly.
. . . Its good of Kodak to interest itself in RITs seminars, and
wise of RIT to seek Kodaks advice. But the interests of Kodak are
not the same as the interests of photo specialists who are drawn to
an academic seminar.
Kodak ought to answer its critics, not try to silence them. RIT
ought to serve students as best it can, and jealously guard its
academic independence. Both ought to understand and respect the
role of the other.
On August 15, after this author traveled to Rochester and re-
tained an attorney with the intention of suing both RIT and Kodak in
addition to seeking an injunction which would force RIT to reinstate
the speaking invitation, RIT agreed out of court to permit this
author to speak at the seminar. The agreement was reached 3 days
after Kodak announced in Atlanta, Georgia that the company would
be making color stability information public for its current and future
products.
For an account of the RIT incident, see: Richard Whitmire, Did
Kodak Silence Critic? RIT Denies Pressure Led to Cancellation of
Seminar Speaker, Times-Union, Rochester, New York, July 29,
1980, p. A1; Anne Tanner and Dick Mitchell, Kodak Critic Ponders
Legal Action After Canceled Talk, Democrat and Chronicle, Roch-
ester, New York, July 30, 1980, p. D8; Kodak, RIT and Academic
Freedom, editorial, Times-Union, Rochester, New York, July 31,
1980, p. A6; Richard Whitmire, Kodak Fight Wont Fade Wilhelm
Demands Reinstatement as RIT Speaker, Times-Union, Rochester,
New York, August 8, 1980, p. B1. Richard Whitmire, RIT Re-Invites
Kodak Critic, Times-Union, Rochester, New York, August 18, 1980;
Wilhelm to Speak, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New
York, August 19, 1980; RIT Makes Amends, editorial, Democrat
and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, August 20, 1980, p. A18;
Fade Out, Fade In, part of The Year That Was: 1980, Times-
Union, Rochester, New York, January 3, 1981, p. 5.
See also a series of articles by Anthony Bannon: Part I: Price-
less Prints Deteriorating Living Color Dying Out in Old Photos,
The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York, August 16, 1980; Anthony
Bannon, Part II: Photography Nader Fighting Film Industry, The
Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York, August 17, 1980; Anthony Bannon,
Part III: Kodak Defends Stability of Its Film, The Buffalo News,
Buffalo, New York, August 18, 1980; Anthony Bannon, Part IV: Cold,
Darkness Are Necessary to Preserve Photos, The Buffalo News,
Buffalo, New York, August 19, 1980; Anthony Bannon, Kodak Pro-
gram on Color Fading Is Announced, The Buffalo News, Buffalo,
New York, August 31, 1980, p. A9. See also: John Bremer, Wilhelm
Feuds with Kodak over Seminar, Grinnell Herald-Register, Grin-
nell, Iowa, August 28, 1980, p. 1.
See also: Cindy Furlong and Adam Weinberg, The Imperfect
Miracle Wilhelm Reinstated at RIT Seminar, Kodak Shifts on Color,
Afterimage (published by the Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester,
New York), October 1980, p. 3.
See also: John Thompson, interview with Henry Wilhelm con-
cerning Kodaks involvement in the controversy surrounding Wilhelms
cancellation and later reinstatement as a speaker at the Rochester
Institute of Technology Seminar on the preservation of photographs.
Segment aired on the evening news of WHEC television (CBS
Channel 10), Rochester, New York, August 26, 1980. See also:
Marty Bucksbaum, interview with Henry Wilhelm concerning the
problems of fading color prints and the controversy surrounding
Wilhelms being dropped and later reinstated as a speaker at the
Rochester Institute of Technology seminar on the preservation of
photographs. The segment aired on WXXI television (PBS Chan-
nel 21), Rochester, New York, August 28, 1980.
See also: Thom OConnor, Why Henry Wilhelm Took On Ko-
dak, New York Photo District News, Vol. III, Issue I, Sec. II,
November 1982, pp. 1ff; and Thom OConnor, Print Permanence
How Long Is Forever?, New York Photo District News, Vol. III,
Issue I, Sec. II, November 1982, p. 66.
RIT has long cultivated ties between the school and the photo-
graphic and graphic arts industries and governmental agencies with
a zeal that would embarrass most colleges and universities. The
driving force behind these intertwining relationships has been the
schools often-stated desire to obtain lucrative contracts for research
projects and other revenue-producing services.
In 1980, at the time of the cancellation incident, M. Richard Rose
was serving as president of RIT. Rose took early retirement in 1992
. . . in the wake of controversy last year over his, and the schools,
links with the Central Intelligence Agency. (from an article by Jenni-
fer Hyman, RIT Picks Its Next President, Democrat and Chronicle,
Rochester, New York, May 19, 1992, page 1). RITs new president is
Albert J. Simone, formerly president of the University of Hawaii.
For an account of the RIT-CIA controversy, see the long series of
articles by Jennifer Hyman that appeared in Rochesters Democrat
and Chronicle newspaper beginning on April 27, 1991, with a story
entitled RIT Students Protest Presidents CIA Work, (p. 1B2B) and
that ran through the remainder of 1991 and continued into 1992.
Among the Democrat and Chronicle articles were: RIT Advises
CIA to Plan for Future Report Espouses Economic Espionage
(May 19, 1991); Secret RIT Study Bashes the Japanese (May 24,
1991); CIA Vein Runs Deep Inside RIT 85 Memo Spelled Out
Formal Ties (June 2, 1991); CIA Had a Free Hand: RIT Official
Agency Ran Its Own Shadow Management (June 11, 1991); Many
Feel CIA Ties Taint RITs International Efforts Foreign Educators
Grow Wary of School (June 30, 1991); The RIT-CIA Connection
(June 30, 1991). See also: CIA Report on Japan Economy Creates
Furor at Institute, The New York Times, June 5, 1991, p. B10. See
also: William Glaberson, Soul-Searching at a University Over C.I.A.
Links, The New York Times, June 20, 1991, p. A1 and A11. See
also: M. Kathleen Wagner, Wariness of the CIA Lingers at RIT
Forum, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, Septem-
ber 23, 1992, pp. 1B2B.
35. Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Frank
E. Gannett Memorial Building, Post Office Box 9887, Rochester, New
York 14623-0887; telephone: 716-475-5199 (Fax: 716-475-7230).
36. James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photo-
graphic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, 1986. See also: James M. Reilly, The
Albumen & Salted Paper Book The History and Practice of
Photographic Printing 18401895, Light Impressions Corporation,
439 Monroe Avenue, P.O. Box 940, Rochester, New York 14603-
0940, 1980.
37. Hiroshi Sugaya, The Past Quarter-Century and the Next Decade of
Videotape Recording, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 1, January
1992, pp. 1013.
38. Richard S. OBrien and Robert B. Monroe, with contributions by
Charles E. Anderson and Steven C. Runyon, 101 Years of Televi-
sion Technology, SMPTE Journal, July 1976 (reprinted in the SMPTE
Journal, Vol. 100, No. 8, August 1991, pp. 606629).
39. Richard S. OBrien and Robert B. Monroe, with contributions by
Charles E. Anderson and Steven C. Runyon, see Note No. 38, pp.
610611.
40. Nora Lee, HDTV: The Artists Speak (Electronic Imagery), Ameri-
can Cinematographer, Vol. 68, No. 9, September 1987, pp. 8590.
41. Lois Schlowsky, Digital Vision: Birth of a Filmless Photography
Studio, Photo-Electronic Imaging, Vol. 35, No. 11, November
1992, pp. 3133. (Schlowsky Photography and Computer Imagery,
73 Old Road, Weston, Massachusetts 02193; telephone: 617-899-
5110; Fax: 617-647-1608.)
42. Chris Gulker, photo editor of the San Francisco Examiner, inter-
views with this author during AugustNovember 1992. For a detailed
description of how the Examiner uses Adobe Photoshop to prepare
scanned color negative images for publication, see: Jane Hundertmark,
Picture Success, Publish, Vol. 7, No. 7, July 1992, pp. 5258.
43. The Polaroid Corporation began working with Charles Berger in
early 1985, and pigment films were successfully coated in March of
that year (see: Polaroid Corporation, Color for Centuries, Instants,
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Vol. 4, No. 2, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1986,
p. 4). At the time, Bergers printmaking materials were known as the
ArchivalColor materials. Development work continued and in Febru-
ary 1987, Polaroid announced that it would market the materials
worldwide. In June 1987, however, Polaroid abruptly announced
that development work had ceased and that the company had de-
cided not to market the ArchivalColor materials. Later, Polaroid
announced it would make the existing materials available on a con-
tract basis, under the Polaroid Permanent-Color name, but that fur-
ther development would not be undertaken. Ataraxia Studio, Inc.,
3448 Progress Drive Suite E, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 (tele-
phone: 215-343-3214) was established to make prints using the
Polaroid-manufactured materials (see: Linda Tien, Lasting Impres-
sions At Ataraxia Studio, Images Are Made to Stand the Test of
Time, Specialty Lab Update, published by the Photo Marketing
Association International, March 1992, pp. 1 and 4). At the time this
book went to press in 1992, however, commercial production of
prints at Ataraxia Studio had not begun, and production print samples
were not available for image stability and physical stability testing.
44. A number of articles have been written about the UltraStable pro-
cess. See, for example: John Durniak, Color Almost Too Good To
Be True, The New York Times, December 6, 1992, p. Y27; and:
Mark Wilson, A Color Process That Wont Fade Away, The Boston
Sunday Globe, May 17, 1992. See also: Spencer Grant and Eliza-
beth Forst, Carbro Printing: Back to the Future, Photo District
News, Vol. XII, Issue II, February 1992, pp. 98100; and: William
Nordstrom, In Search of Permanence: 500-Year-Life UltraStable
Color Photographs, Professional Photographer, Vol. 119, No.
2159, April 1992, pp. 3436; and: David B. LaClaire, Marketing
UltraStable Portrait Prints, Professional Photographer, Vol. 119,
No. 2159, April 1992, p. 36.
45. Joe Matazzoni, Outputting Fine Color From the Desktop In the
Tradition of Fine Arts Printers, A Handful of Color Houses Are Pro-
ducing Limited Edition Iris Prints From Digital Files, Step-By-Step
Graphics, Vol. 8, No. 5, SeptemberOctober 1992. Donald R. Allred,
Ink and Media manager at Iris Graphics, Inc., was quoted in the
article concerning the light fading stability of Iris prints.
46. Firms offering high-resolution Iris ink jet prints produced from digital
image files (and from photographic originals) for the fine art and
commercial display markets include: Nash Editions, P.O. Box 637,
1201 Oak Avenue, Manhattan Beach, California 90266 (telephone:
310-545-4352; Fax: 310-545-8565); Image Transform Ltd., 2309
West First Street, Ankeny, Iowa 50021 (telephone: 515-964-0436;
Fax: 515-964-3914); Harvest Productions, 911 Champlain Circle,
Anaheim Hills, California 92807 (telephone: 714-281-0844; Fax: 714-
281-2920); and DiGiColor, 1300 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, Wash-
ington 98109 (telephone: 206-284-2198; Fax: 206-285-9664).
47. Christine Heap, Photo Negative Database at the U.K.s National
Railway Museum, Advanced Imaging, Vol. 8, No. 2, February 1993,
pp. 3639.
48. Jim Wallace, Considerations Regarding the Long-Term Storage of
Electronic Images, Journal of Electronic Imaging, Vol. 2, No. 1,
January 1993, pp. 3537.
49. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Photo CD Permanence Ques-
tions and Answers, Eastman Kodak Company, Communications
and Public Affairs, December 18, 1991.
50. National Archives and Records Service, Strategic Technology Con-
siderations Relative to the Preservation and Storage of Human
and Machine Readable Records (White Paper prepared for the
National Archives and Records Service by Subcommittee C of the
Committee on Preservation), July 1984.
51. John C. Mallinson, Archiving Human and Machine Readable Records
for the Millenia, Second International Symposium: The Stability
and Preservation of Photographic Images (Printing of Transcript
Summaries), the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers,
Springfield, Virginia, pp. 388403, 1985. (The symposium was held
August 2528, 1985 in Ottawa at the National Archives of Canada.)
See also: John C. Mallinson, Preserving Machine-Readable Archi-
val Records for the Millenia, Archivaria, No. 22, Summer 1986, pp.
147152. See also: John C. Mallinson, On the Preservation of
Human- and Machine-Readable Records, Information Technol-
ogy and Libraries, Vol. 7, No. 1, March 1988, pp. 1923.
52. John C. Mallinson, Magnetic Tape Recording: History, Evolution
and Archival Considerations, chapter in Proceedings of the Inter-
national Symposium: Conservation in Archives, pp. 181190.
The symposium was held May 1012, 1988 in Ottawa and was spon-
sored by the National Archives of Canada and the International
Council on Archives. The proceedings were published by the Na-
tional Archives of Canada, 1989. Copies of the proceedings are
available from the International Council on Archives, 60 rue des
Francs-Bourgeois, 75003 Paris, France.
General References
American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI IT9.9-1990, Ameri-
can National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of Color
Photographic Images Methods for Measuring, American Na-
tional Standards Institute, Inc., New York, New York, 1991.
Brian Coe, Colour Photography The First Hundred Years, 1840
1940, Ash & Grant Ltd, London, England, 1978.
Jacob Deschin, Color Print Permanence: 20 Experts Testify on Where
Its At Today, 35-mm Photography (Ziff-Davis Publishing Com-
pany, New York, New York), Summer 1975, pp. 410 and 114120.
Eastman Kodak Company, Conservation of Photographs (George T.
Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-40, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650, March 1985.
Ralph M. Evans, Eye, Film, and Camera in Color Photography, John
Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, 1959.
Harvey V. Fondiller, Will Your Color Live Longer Than You Do? Color
Photography 1973, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, New York, New
York, 1973, pp. 8287, 128.
Joseph S. Friedman, History of Color Photography (originally pub-
lished in 1944), Focal Press, Ltd., London, England, 1968.
Grant Haist, Modern Photographic Processing Volume 2, John
Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, 1979.
Robert Hirsch, Exploring Color Photography, Second Edition, Brown
& Benchmark Publishers, Madison, Wisconsin, 1993.
R. W. G. Hunt, The Reproduction of Colour in Photography, Printing
and Television, Third edition, Fountain Press, London, 1975.
David Kach, Photographic Dilemma: Stability and Storage of Color
Materials, Industrial Photography, Vol. 27, No. 8, August 1978,
pp. 28ff.
Judith Kahn, Fleeting Images, The Museum of California, The Oak-
land Museum, Vol. 6, No. 6, MayJune 1983, pp. 1618.
Gert Koshofer, Farb Fotografie, (Books 1, 2, and 3), Verlag Laterna
Magica, Munich, Germany, 1981.
Gert Koshofer, Color Die Farben Des Films, Wissenschaftverlag
Volker Spiess GmbH, Berlin, Germany, 1988.
C. E. Kenneth Mees, From Dry Plates to Ektachrome Film A Story
of Photographic Research, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, New
York, New York, 1961.
Stephen R. Milanowski, Notes on the Stability of Color Materials, Posi-
tive, 198081 (published by the Creative Photography Laboratory,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts);
reprinted in 1982: Stephen R. Milanowski, Notes on the Stability of
Color Materials, Exposure, Vol. 20, No. 3, Fall 1982, pp. 3851.
Edwin Mutter, Farbphotographie Theorie und Praxis, Springer-Verlag,
Vienna, Austria and New York, New York, 1967.
Luis Nadeau, Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic, and Photome-
chanical Processes (Volumes 1 and 2), 1989. Published by Atelier
Luis Nadeau, P.O. Box 1570, Station A, Fredericton, New Brunswick,
Canada E3B 5G2.
Paul Outerbridge, Photographing in Color, Random House, New York,
New York, 1940.
Bob Schwalberg, Color Preservation Update, Popular Photography,
Vol. 89, No. 1, January 1982, pp. 8185, 131.
Bob Schwalberg, with Henry Wilhelm and Carol Brower, Going! Going!!
Gone!!! Which Color Films and Papers Last Longest? How Do the
Ones You Use Stack Up?, Popular Photography, Vol. 97, No. 6,
June 1990, pp. 3749, 60. (Publishing director Herbert Keppler and
editorial director Jason Schneider assisted with the article.)
Ellen Ruppel Shell, Memories That Lose Their Color, Science 84, Vol.
5, No. 7, September 1984, pp. 4047 (published by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.).
Louis Walton Sipley, A Half Century of Color, The Macmillan Company,
New York, New York, 1951.
John M. Sturge, Vivian Walworth, and Allan Shepp, editors, Imaging
Processes and Materials Neblettes Eighth Edition, Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company, New York, New York, 1989.
Gail Fisher-Taylor, Colour A Fading Memory? Canadian Photogra-
phy, January 1979, pp. 1011.
Gail Fisher-Taylor, Interview: Henry Wilhelm, Photo Communique,
Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 1981, pp. 221.
Edward J. Wall, The History of Three-Color Photography (originally
published in 1925), Focal Press, Ltd., London, England, 1970 .
Henry Wilhelm, Color Print Instability, Modern Photography, Vol. 43,
No. 1, February 1979, pp. 92ff. (Peter Moore, the senior editor of the
magazine, assisted with preparation of the article.)
Henry Wilhelm, Color Photographs and Color Motion Pictures in the
Library: For Preservation or Destruction?, chapter in Conserving
and Preserving Materials in Nonbook Formats (Kathryn Luther
Henderson and William T. Henderson, editors), University of Illinois
Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Urbana-Champaign,
Illinois, pp. 105111, 1991.
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Accelerated light fading and dark fading tests played an
essential role in the research and development effort that
led to Konica Type SR paper, the outstanding Fujicolor
SFA3 color negative papers introduced in 1992, and all other
color papers and films on the market today. Konica relied
heavily on accelerated image stability tests in its research
on washless stabilizers for prints and films. How such
tests are performed is the subject of this chapter.
Color Image Fading and Staining
The deterioration over time of color photographic im-
ages is characterized by overall loss of dye density; shifts
in color balance caused by unequal fading of the cyan,
magenta, and yellow dyes that make up the image (in any
given color material, the three dyes virtually never fade at
the same rate); changes in contrast; loss of detail; and
overall staining (almost always yellowish in color).
In addition, color photographs may crack, delaminate,
be attacked by fungi and other microorganisms, or suffer
from scratches, abrasions, fingerprints, and other physical
deterioration. Cracking of RC paper generally is initiated
by exposure to light on display and occurs most commonly
when an RC print is physically stressed by fluctuating rela-
tive humidity. Light-induced cracking frequently is found
in RC prints from the late 1960s and the 1970s. Especially
in mounted prints, RC paper cracking can be caused by
widely fluctuating relative humidity alone (even when the
prints are stored in the dark).
Color image deterioration, which stems from the inher-
ent instability of the organic dyes (and unreacted dye-forming
couplers) employed in most color photographs, can be sepa-
rated into seven principal categories:
1. Light fading caused by exposure to light and ultra-
violet radiation during display or projection. Ab-
sorption of visible light and UV radiation by the image
dye molecules causes them to break down into color-
less compounds and/or stain products (usually yellow-
ish). Although it may be possible to chemically restore
the silver image in a faded black-and-white photograph,
there is no known way to chemically restore the dye
image of a color photograph once it has deteriorated.
The rate of light fading is specific to each type of
color print or color film and is a function of the intensity
of the illumination and the duration of exposure. With
most modern color print materials, the wavelength dis-
tribution of the illumination is not nearly as important
as the intensity of the illumination. With some materi-
als, high ambient relative humidities can increase the
rate of light fading. Light fading is not something that
suddenly happens to a print; it is a gradual process that
Prints made on paper currently available will
fade, and badly, over a relatively few years. Not
so with color prints made on Konica SR Paper.
The rich color and details in these pictures will
show virtually no signs of fading in 100 years.
Our advanced emulsion technology enhances
dye stability. In fact, accelerated aging tests
show that dye images will retain more than 70%
of their original density for 100 years or longer
under normal album storage conditions.
1
Konica Corporation advertisement
in Professional Photographer,
October 1984
The introduction of Konica Color PC Paper Type SR in
April 1984 was a landmark in the history of color photogra-
phy for a number of reasons. Konica Type SR paper, which
Konica also calls Century Print Paper and Long Life 100
Paper, was the first of a new generation of color negative
papers to have a long-lasting cyan dye (cyan dyes with poor
dark fading stability were the weak link in Kodak Ektacolor
papers and all of the other chromogenic papers on the
market at the time). In addition, the new Konica paper and
a companion stabilizer used without a final water wash
made possible the now-ubiquitous washless minilab, which
can be easily installed in any location because no water
supply or waste-water drain is required. (Surprisingly,
Type SR prints processed with the Konica washless sta-
bilizer are even more stable than the same prints given the
previously mandatory wash in running water.)
In another important first for the photography industry,
Konicas advertisements and technical literature for the
new paper included data from predictive accelerated dark
fading tests and touted the papers superior image stability
as its principal advantage over color papers made by Ko-
dak, Fuji, Agfa, and 3M. With the introduction of Type SR
paper and washless processing, Konica focused atten-
tion on the permanence issue in a way that had not been
done before, and forced the entire photographic industry to
accept image stability as a legitimate component of overall
product quality.
Recommendations
See Chapter 1 for a comprehensive list of
the longest-lasting color films and print
materials, based on overall light fading,
dark fading, and dark staining performance.
2. Accelerated Tests for Measuring Light Fading,
Dark Fading, and Yellowish Stain Formation
in Color Prints and Films
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Accelerated light fading tests provide data for predicting the image life of color print materials displayed under a variety of
conditions in homes, offices, and public buildings. Henry Wilhelm is shown here checking the illumination level in a low-
level, long-term, 1.35 klux (125 fc) incandescent tungsten test that simulates display conditions in museums and archives.
Conducted in a special temperature- and humidity-controlled room in the Preservation Publishing Company research
facility, the tests employ forced-air cooling to maintain 75F (24C) and 60% RH at the sample plane. These tests, which are
believed to constitute the first long-term investigation into the effects of low-level tungsten illumination on color photo-
graphs, were started in 1982 and had been in progress for more than 10 years at the time this book went to press in 1992.
Accelerated Tests for Fading and Yellowish Stain Formation in Color Prints and Films Chapter 2 62
#2019
(109%)
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begins the moment a print is exposed to light on dis-
play. Short of total darkness, there is no minimum light
level below which light fading does not occur.
The light fading stability of current materials varies
over a wide range, with some materials being far more
stable than others. For any given product, the cyan,
magenta, and yellow image-forming dyes each have dif-
ferent fading characteristics, and this results in pro-
gressive changes in color balance as fading proceeds
over time.
Most current color print materials, including all cur-
rent color negative papers made by Fuji, Kodak, Konica,
and Agfa, have a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat and,
largely for this reason, UV radiation is not a major fac-
tor in the fading of these prints when displayed under
normal indoor conditions. Instead, it is visible light
that is the principal cause of image deterioration. Some
products, however, including Kodak Ektatherm ther-
mal dye transfer color print paper used with Kodaks
XL 7700-series digital printers, do not have a UV-ab-
sorbing overcoat and fade much more rapidly when sig-
nificant UV radiation is present.
2. Light-induced yellowish stain formation. In most
kinds of color prints and transparencies, dye fading is
accompanied by formation of low-level yellowish stain,
which is most readily apparent in the highlight areas of
the image. For most current products, light-induced
staining is a relatively minor problem compared with
the fading of the cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes
themselves.
3. Dye fading that occurs in dark storage. Dark fading
stability also is specific to each type of color film and
print material; some products are much more stable
than others. The cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes in a
given material usually have significantly different rates
of dark fading and, as fading progresses over time, this
results in an ever-increasing change in color balance.
For a given material, the rate of dark fading is a func-
tion of temperature and, usually to a lesser extent, rela-
tive humidity. (Unlike the case with black-and-white
materials, pollution is generally not a major factor in
color film and print fading.) Dark fading is a slow but
inexorable process that begins the moment a color film
or print material emerges from the processor.
Dark fading and light fading are entirely separate
phenomena. In Kodak Ektacolor paper, for example,
magenta is the most stable of the three image dyes in
dark storage, but it is generally the least stable when
exposed to light. Dark fading proceeds in combination
with light fading when prints are displayed.
4. Dark-storage yellowish stain formation. With Ekta-
color paper and most other modern chromogenic print
materials, yellowish stain that forms over time during
dark storage is likely to be a more serious problem than
is the fading of image dyes in the dark. Progress is
being made, however, and current Fuji color papers,
including Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3, Fujicolor
Professional Paper SFA3 Type C and Type P, and Fuji-
chrome Paper Type 35, employ recently developed low-
stain magenta couplers that have sharply reduced the
rate of yellowish stain formation in dark storage for
these products. Konica Color QA Paper Type A5, intro-
duced on a limited scale in Japan in 1990, also employs
a new type of low-stain magenta coupler.
Some non-chromogenic materials that employ pre-
formed image dyes, including Ilford Ilfochrome (called
Ilford Cibachrome, 196391), Kodak Dye Transfer, and
Fuji Dyecolor, are, for most practical purposes, perma-
nent in the dark and exhibit no significant fading or
staining even after prolonged storage under adverse
conditions. Although almost all types of color photo-
graphs suffer from light fading, it is generally true that
only chromogenic materials are subject to inadequate
dye stability and excessive yellowish stain formation in
dark storage.
When color prints made on current materials are
displayed under typical conditions in a home or of-
fice, light is almost always the most significant fac-
tor in the fading and staining that occur over time,
with dark fading and staining making a much smaller
contribution to overall image deterioration.
5. Choice of processing method. Whether a material is
processed in the washless mode with a stabilizer as
the final bath, or is processed with a water wash, can
make a significant difference in the rate of yellowish
stain formation in dark storage and also, usually to a
lesser extent, in the rate of dye fading. To give one
example, Konica Color Paper Type SR has a much lower
rate of stain formation along with somewhat better dark
storage dye stability when processed in the washless
mode with EP-2 chemicals and Konica Super Stabilizer
(most minilabs now employ washless processing) than
it does when the same paper is processed with EP-2
chemicals and a water wash (a water wash is standard
practice in commercial labs and in large-scale photo-
finishing labs).
Both types of processing are considered normal,
and both are common throughout the world. But be-
cause the differences in the rates of stain formation are
so great with Konica Type SR paper, separate stability
data must be reported for each type of processing. In-
creased rates of fading may also result from the use of
non-standard processing chemicals (e.g., the substi-
tution of color developing agent CD-4 for the recom-
mended CD-3 in the KIS Ultra-X-Press minilab color
print process to shorten processing time of Ektacolor
paper greatly reduces the papers light fading and dark
fading stability).
6. Processing shortcomings. Regardless of the process-
ing method selected, decreased dye stability and/or higher
stain levels may be expected with improperly replen-
ished or contaminated processing chemicals, omission
of the recommended stabilizer bath from the C-41 and
E-6 processes, inadequate washing, etc. Such process-
ing faults can adversely affect image stability some-
times catastrophically when materials are kept in
the dark and/or are exposed to light.
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7. Image fading, staining, and physical deterioration
caused or exacerbated by postprocessing treat-
ments. Light fading stability and/or dark storage sta-
bility may be adversely affected by application of print
lacquers (see Chapter 4), retouching colors, print
texturizing treatments, high-pressure canvas mount-
ing, and other postprocessing treatments. In most
cases, the stability of a color print is at its best if no
postprocessing treatments are applied.
The Need for Accelerated Tests
In most applications (projected color slides and photo-
graphs displayed outdoors in direct sunlight are notable
exceptions), modern color materials fade and stain too slowly
to evaluate their stability characteristics within a reason-
able time under the non-accelerated conditions of normal
display and storage. With most current materials, many
years or decades of natural aging would be required be-
fore meaningful data could be obtained, and by that time
the information would be of little value to most people.
Photographers, photofinishers, color labs, and other con-
sumers need to know the stability characteristics of a color
material before they buy it in order to select the most
stable material available that otherwise meets their needs.
Indeed, the primary concern of most photographers is the
film or paper they are using at the moment or are contem-
plating using in the near future. Nothing can be done to
improve the inherent stability characteristics of color pho-
tographs already taken (although knowledge about the sta-
bility characteristics of older materials is valuable in at-
tempting to provide proper storage conditions).
As a fundamental part of research and development,
manufacturers of color materials have a constant need to
evaluate quickly the stability of new dyes and emulsion
additives that may be included in future film and print
materials. Any change or improvement in processing pro-
cedures must be evaluated in terms of its effect on image
stability before being introduced into the marketplace.
In the years before 1980, Kodak and the other manufac-
turers of color materials generally conducted image stabil-
ity tests only for internal product development and were
careful to keep the information secret from the public. More
recently, stability-related claims have become common-
place in advertising new products and in technical litera-
ture (especially for color papers). Obviously, if such claims
are to be made, reliable stability data must already be in
hand before new products are introduced.
Types of Accelerated Stability Tests
Various accelerated tests have been devised that at-
tempt to simulate in only weeks or months the fading and
staining that will occur during many years of normal dis-
play and storage. High-intensity light fading tests expose
a print to light that is many times brighter than normal
indoor illumination levels, and high-temperature dark fad-
ing tests, usually with controlled relative humidity, speed
up the fading and staining that would gradually take place
during many years of storage in the dark at normal tem-
peratures.
Current accelerated fading tests treat light fading and
dark fading separately. Although data from both types of
tests can be correlated to try to predict their combined
effects during very long-term display under low-level light-
ing conditions, such correlation can be difficult. This was
especially true with older chromogenic materials, such as
Ektacolor 74 RC paper (197785), that had relatively poor
dark fading stability. With these products, dark fading
could make a significant contribution to the total fading
occurring in displayed prints.
With current print materials that have better dark fad-
ing stability, most of the fading that takes place during
long-term display will be caused by light, thereby simplify-
ing stability predictions. With Ilford Ilfochrome (called
Ilford Cibachrome, 196391), Kodak Dye Transfer, and Fuji
Dyecolor, all of which have preformed dyes that are ex-
ceedingly stable in dark storage, essentially all the image
deterioration observed during long-term display can be at-
tributed to the effects of light.
UltraStable Permanent Color prints and Polaroid Per-
manent-Color prints, both of which employ extremely stable
color pigments in place of the organic dyes found in other
color materials, are a special case. The pigment images
are so stable that in a practical sense they do not fade or
stain during prolonged display or when kept in the dark.
The white polyester base of UltraStable and Polaroid Per-
manent-Color prints is also extremely long-lasting. Thus,
the stability of the gelatin carrying the pigments rather
than the pigments themselves will probably determine
the eventual life of these prints. With such extraordinarily
stable color photographs, even highly accelerated light fading
tests must continue for many years before meaningful im-
age-life predictions can be obtained.
Comparative Tests and Predictive Tests
Accelerated light fading and dark fading tests fall into
two broad categories:
Comparative tests compare the stability of one product
with another under accelerated conditions but do not at-
tempt to indicate how long it will take (e.g., in years) for a
certain degree of fading or staining to occur during display
or dark storage under normal conditions.
Predictive tests attempt to predict the number of months
or years of display or dark storage under normal condi-
tions (or other specified temperatures and relative humidi-
ties) that a product will last before a specified amount of
fading or staining occurs. The predictions obtained from
such tests can of course also be used to compare one prod-
uct with another.
Because of reciprocity failures in high-intensity accel-
erated light fading tests, and because the temperature de-
pendence of the fading may vary with different dyes, pre-
dictive tests may not be reliable when based on a single
accelerated test condition. For this reason, predictive tests
necessarily are more complex than comparative tests, and
if predictive tests are to have validity, predictions made
with representative products must be verified with data
obtained under normal display and storage conditions. To
accumulate such natural aging data, however, generally
takes many years.
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#2206
(77%)
American National Standards Institute Subcommittee IT9-3 worked for nearly 12 years to complete ANSI IT9.9-1990,
American National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of Color Photographic Images Methods for Measuring. The
subcommittee is shown here meeting in Grinnell, Iowa, in November 1985 in a room provided by Grinnell College.
storage stability and five comparative tests for light fading
stability.
For the predictive dark storage test, the new Standard
specifies a complex, multi-temperature, controlled-humid-
ity Arrhenius test that provides a much more complete
assessment of dark storage changes and can yield a pre-
diction, in years, of how long it will take for a specified
density loss, color balance shift, or stain level to occur at
any selected temperature, including, of course, normal
room temperature. As with the single-temperature tests
in ANSI PH1.42-1969, data from Arrhenius tests can be
used to rank the stability of various products.
Neither the old nor the new Standard specifies limits of
acceptability for dye fading, color balance shift, or stain
formation. Although the new Standard makes use of a set
of limits (called image-life end points in the Standard)
for illustrative purposes, the values given are not part of
the Standard, and this is clearly stated in the document.
Determining a set of limits for a particular application (e.g.,
professional portrait and wedding photography, amateur
snapshot photography, fine art photography in museum
collections, or commercial display in stores, airports, and
other public areas) is left entirely to the user.
For several reasons, this is not a very satisfactory situa-
tion. With no agreement as to how much fading, color
balance change, and staining can be tolerated in common
applications, different people using the Standard likely will
come up with highly divergent image-life predictions for a
particular product stored or displayed in exactly the same
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
1969 Standard for Color Stability Tests
The first ANSI standard for color stability test methods,
ANSI PH1.42-1969, American National Standard Method
for Comparing the Color Stabilities of Photographs,
2
was
published in 1969. It was based on work done at Kodak
during the 1950s and 1960s and described a single-temper-
ature comparative dark fading test and several compara-
tive light fading tests for color film and print materials.
ANSI PH1.42-1969 never achieved wide application and
during the 1980s it was more or less abandoned by Kodak,
other manufacturers, independent labs, and this author,
all of whom developed improved image stability tests to
meet their own requirements. Over time the methods of
reporting data also evolved along different lines at each of
the manufacturers and the few independent labs conduct-
ing stability tests, with the result that it has often been
difficult if not impossible to compare data from one manu-
facturer or independent lab with another.
The New ANSI IT9.9-1990 Color Stability
Accelerated Test Methods Standard
In 1991, ANSI PH1.42-1969 was replaced by ANSI IT9.9-
1990, American National Standard for Imaging Media
Stability of Color Photographic Images Methods for Measur-
ing.
3
This new Standard, which received final approval by
ANSI in 1990, specifies a predictive Arrhenius test for dark
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Subcommittee IT9-3 has gathered every 6 months since the first meeting, which took place at the National Geographic
Society in Washington, D.C. in December 1978. With the new IT9.9-1990 Standard approved by ANSI, the group continues
to meet to work on the next revision of the Standard. Shown here is Howell Hammond of Eastman Kodak, the first
chairperson of the subcommittee, leading a meeting at the National Geographic Society. Meeting at various locations in the
U.S. and Canada, the group has often had opportunities to visit museum and archive collections.
way. This will make it difficult to compare product stability
data from different testing labs, and could result in confu-
sion for everyone.
Furthermore, because of marketing considerations,
manufacturers will tend to select liberal limits for their
published image-life predictions to make it appear that
their products have a very long display and storage life.
For competitive reasons, a manufacturer of a color paper
that develops high levels of yellowish stain over time, for
example, likely will select a much higher limit for d-min
stain than will a manufacturer with a more stable product
that does not have a serious staining problem.
Despite the lack of specific fading and staining limits,
the Standard does specify a common format for reporting
data and requires that the values chosen by the user for all
fading, color balance change, and staining limits be listed.
This is a significant advance and should result in a great
deal more image stability data being disclosed for color
films and papers than has been the case.
The new Standard is the result of almost 12 years of
work by a task group with the following members:
Peter Z. Adelstein Image Permanence Institute
John H. Auer Agfa Corporation
Charleton C. Bard Eastman Kodak Company
Ronald Cieciuch Polaroid Corporation
Milton Ford National Geographic Society
Remon Hagen Ilford AG [Switzerland]
Howell Hammond (Chairperson) Eastman
Kodak Company
Klaus B. Hendriks National Archives of Canada
Donald R. Hotchkiss 3M Company
Thomas J. Huttemann Eastman Kodak Company
Martin Idelson Polaroid Corporation
Haruhiko Iwano Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. [Japan]
Junichi Kohno Konica Corporation [Japan]
David F. Kopperl Eastman Kodak Company
Peter Krause Ilford Photo Corporation
Shinichi Nakamura Konica Corporation [Japan]
Eugene Ostroff Smithsonian Institution
A. Tulsi Ram Eastman Kodak Company
James M. Reilly Image Permanence Institute
Rudolf Tromnau Agfa-Gevaert AG [Germany]
James H. Trott National Geographic Society
Henry G. Wilhelm (Secretary) Preservation
Publishing Company
Richard Youso National Archives and
Records Administration
With Howell Hammond of Eastman Kodak serving as
chairperson, the first meeting of the task group took place
at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. in
December 1978, and the group has met twice a year ever
since. This author joined the task group at its inception in
1978 and has served as its secretary since 1985.
The final draft of the new Standard was approved by the
#982
(77%)
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a light level 20 times more intense. In other words, accord-
ing to the reciprocity law on which accelerated light fad-
ing tests are based, the total amount of radiant energy
(intensity x time) to which a print is exposed should deter-
mine the amount of fading. This concept is similar to dou-
bling a camera shutter speed (from
1
250 to
1
500 second, for
example) and opening up the lens aperture one f-stop (from
f 8 to f 5.6): the exposure of the film is the same.
Comparative accelerated light fading tests have been
used extensively by Fuji, Kodak, Konica, Agfa, and Pola-
roid, and five such tests are described in ANSI IT9.9-1990.
Reciprocity Failures in Light Fading
and Light-Induced Stain Formation
Since the mid-1970s, one of this authors principal in-
terests has been the relationship of fading and light-in-
duced stain formation in high-intensity accelerated tests
with the fading and staining that occurs in color prints
exposed to much lower light intensities for correspond-
ingly longer periods of time that is, the validity of the
light-fading reciprocity law.
4
An understanding of the rela-
tionship between high- and low-intensity fading and stain-
ing behavior is crucial if the data obtained in high-intensity
tests are to be relevant for predicting the fading and stain-
ing rates of prints on long-term display in homes, offices,
and museums.
This authors investigations have shown that most color
materials exhibit at least some reciprocity failure in light
fading or light-induced stain formation in high-intensity,
short-term tests. That is, a color print or transparency
material may fade or stain a different amount when ex-
posed to high-intensity illumination for a short period than
it does when exposed to lower-intensity illumination for a
longer period even though the total lux-hour light expo-
sure (intensity x time) and the temperature and relative
humidity are the same in both cases. Color slides also are
subject to reciprocity failures in accelerated projection tests.
As discussed in Chapter 6, intermittent projection can pro-
duce much more fading than continuous projection for the
same total illumination time. The duration of each projec-
tion and the interval between projections are important
variables; some color slide films exhibit much larger reci-
procity failures than others.
ANSI IT9.9-1990 specifies a predictive Arrhenius test
for dark storage stability, discussed later, but offers only
single-intensity comparative tests for light fading stability.
Because of the uncertainties posed by reciprocity failures
in high-intensity, short-term tests, the Standard does not
permit extrapolation of accelerated test data for making
years of display predictions under normal home or office
display conditions.
Predictive years of display estimates of light fading
stability have in the past been published only infrequently,
although Fuji has been publishing years of display esti-
mates for Fujichrome Type 34 and Type 35 reversal papers
since 1987 and, more recently, for Fujicolor Super FA pa-
pers.
5
These predictions are based on single-intensity ac-
celerated tests. In 1988, Ilford
6
and, to a much more lim-
ited extent, Kodak
7
also started publishing single-intensity
light fading data in the form of predictive years of display
estimates.
ANSI Board of Standards Review in August 1990, and the
Standard was published in November 1991.
Even after completion and publication of IT9.9-1990,
the ANSI task group (now called ANSI Subcommittee IT9-
3) continues to meet every 6 months and is working on the
next revision of the Standard. Some of the original sub-
committee members have since retired or have been trans-
ferred by their employers to other responsibilities; at the
time this book went to press in late 1992, ANSI Subcommit-
tee IT9-3 consisted of the following individuals:
Peter Z. Adelstein Image Permanence Institute
Donald R. Allred Iris Graphics, Inc. (Scitex Corp.)
John H. Auer Agfa Corporation
Thomas Craig National Geographic Society
Ronald Cieciuch Polaroid Corporation
Edgar Draber Agfa-Gevaert AG [Germany]
Walter Fontani 3M Company
David J. Giacherio Eastman Kodak Company
Remon Hagen Ilford AG [Switzerland]
Klaus B. Hendriks National Archives of Canada
Haruhiko Iwano Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. [Japan]
Junichi Kohno Konica Corporation [Japan]
Masato Koike Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. [Japan]
David F. Kopperl Eastman Kodak Company
Peter Krause Ilford Photo Corporation
Robert E. McComb Library of Congress
Mark McCormick-Goodhart Smithsonian Institution
Mark Ormsby National Archives and
Eugene Ostroff Smithsonian Institution
Steven Puglia National Archives and
A. Tulsi Ram Eastman Kodak Company
James M. Reilly Image Permanence Institute
Charles H. Schallhorn (Chairperson) Eastman
Kodak Company
Idalee Tierney Eastman Kodak Company
Sarah Wagner National Archives and
James H. Wallace, Jr. Smithsonian Institution
Henry G. Wilhelm (Secretary) Preservation
Publishing Company
With members from the U.S., Japan, Germany, Canada,
and Switzerland, this was the first ANSI photographic task
group to have a truly international representation.
In 1993 the new ANSI Standard will, with some modifica-
tion, be issued as an ISO International Standard (published
by the International Organization for Standardization, a
worldwide federation of national standards institutes head-
quartered in Geneva, Switzerland).
Accelerated Light Fading Tests
By using light levels that are much more intense than
those encountered in normal display conditions, acceler-
ated light fading tests attempt to simulate in a short time
the effects of light on prints during long-term display. For
example, for a given amount of fading, a print displayed in
normal indoor lighting conditions should last 20 times
longer than a print subjected to an accelerated test under
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#22117
(89%)
The low-level, long-term, 1.35 klux fluorescent illumination test facility at Preservation Publishing Company. Tests here
began in 1977 and had continued for more than 15 years at the time this book went to press in 1992. Data from these tests
are compared with data from short-term, high-intensity fluorescent tests to investigate light fading and light-induced
staining reciprocity failures in color print materials. Identical samples of each print material are exposed to bare-bulb
illumination uncovered, covered with glass sheets, and covered with Plexiglas UF-3, a sharp-cutting UV filter. Maintained at
75F (24C) and 60% RH, and with the same illumination intensity as is used in the 1.35 klux tungsten test, the samples allow
a direct comparison to be made between the long-term effects on color prints of the two types of illumination.
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Figure 2.1
(52%)
Figure 2.1 Humidity effects, spectral dependence, and
reciprocity failures in the fading of Polacolor ER instant
color prints. The prints received the same total klux-hour
light exposure under the three test conditions. When the
moisture content of the prints was very low because of
heating by the nearby fluorescent lamps in the high-
intensity 21.5 klux test, the fading was markedly reduced
compared with the 21.5 klux temperature- and humidity-
controlled test where the relative humidity at the sample
plane was maintained at 60%. In low-intensity 1.35 klux
tests, the fading of all three dyes increased somewhat
further because of reciprocity failures.
This book marks the first comprehensive effort even
if not always conclusive to treat accelerated light fading
data in a predictive manner when dealing with color print
and color slide materials. That such image-life predictions
could even be attempted was made possible by the avail-
ability of a sizable amount of data from long-term, low-
intensity 1.35 klux tests that could be compared with high-
intensity 21.5 klux data for representative products.
Early Evidence of Reciprocity Failures
in Accelerated Tests with Color Prints
In 197677, when this authors initial light fading tests
on prints were in progress, several apparent discrepancies
were noted between outdoor tests in direct sunlight and
much lower intensity indoor tests with fluorescent lamps.
These early tests were conducted on Kodak Ektacolor 37
RC, Polaroid Polacolor 2, Kodak Instant Print Film PR-10
and Polaroid SX-70 prints. The Polacolor 2 prints appeared
to be relatively more stable than Ektacolor 37 RC prints in
direct sunlight tests than they were when framed and hung
on this authors office wall (the Polacolor 2 prints were
overmatted and, when the overmat was lifted, visual evi-
dence of image fading was apparent much sooner than
with the Ektacolor prints).
Since the most obvious differences between these two
test conditions were spectral energy distribution and light
intensity, the influence of both of these variables was in-
vestigated. In the initial phase of the work, a densitometer
was not available and this author was forced to rely on
visual analysis by comparing faded prints with identical
unfaded prints.
After the discovery that placing a sheet of ordinary glass
over an Ektacolor 37 RC print exposed to sunlight or (more
significantly) fluorescent light substantially improved the
prints cyan dye stability, the work was expanded to in-
clude print samples covered with both glass and Plexiglas
UF-3 ultraviolet-absorbing acrylic sheet. At that time, this
author did not have temperature- and humidity-controlled
high-intensity test equipment; consequently, the crucial
importance of moisture in the light fading of Polacolor 2
was not fully appreciated (emulsion moisture content proved
to be relatively unimportant with Ektacolor and most other
chromogenic papers insofar as light fading is concerned).
Much of what this author initially attributed to light fad-
ing reciprocity failure was in fact caused by the low mois-
ture content of the Polacolor 2 prints that resulted from
heating by the intense infrared and visible light of direct,
outdoor sunlight.
Nonetheless, these early findings, even if misleading,
did prompt this author to begin a systematic investigation
of the separate roles of light intensity, wavelength distri-
bution, time, emulsion moisture content, and sample tem-
perature. The results of these investigations for one print
material, Polacolor ER, are shown in Figure 2.1 (Polacolor
ER is an updated, lower-contrast version of Polacolor 2
and gives somewhat improved color and tone-scale repro-
duction. With respect to Figure 2.1, the older Polacolor 2
product has generally similar light fading behavior).
Comparisons of light fading data from a variety of color
print materials covered with glass and Plexiglas UF-3 ul-
traviolet-absorbing acrylic sheet clearly showed that with
Ektacolor and most other types of color print materials
displayed in normal indoor conditions, visible light was a
much more important factor in light fading than was UV
radiation, contrary to what had been suggested in some of
the literature.
Reciprocity Failures in Accelerated
Light Fading Tests Can Lead to
Faulty Assessments of Image Stability
This authors research indicates that with nearly every
type of color print, high-intensity light fading tests (e.g., at
21.5 klux) can be expected to produce less overall fading,
and less yellowish stain, than the equivalent light exposure
spread out over the months and years of normal display
(Table 2.1). And because each of the cyan, magenta, and
yellow image dyes in a given type of print has a specific
response to high-intensity light, not only is the overall amount
of fading usually greater in long-term display, but the rela-
tive amount of fading of each dye is also unequal; with
most color papers, this results in a different degree of
image color balance change (Figures 2.2 and 2.3). In
extreme cases, even the direction of color balance change
can be altered.
Some types of prints exhibit much greater reciprocity
failure differences in fading and staining in tests with
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Figure 2.3
(50%)
Figure 2.4
(53%)
Figure 2.5
(51%)
Figure 2.2
(50%)
Figure 2.5 Some chromogenic papers have large reci-
procity failures. The yellow dye in Agfacolor Type 589
paper (198183) faded far more in long-term, low-level
1.35 klux tests than it did in high-intensity 21.5 klux tests.
Interestingly, the print shielded from UV radiation with a
Plexiglas UF-3 filter exhibited more yellow dye fading
than the print exposed to bare-bulb illumination.
Figure 2.3 Light fading of Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper in
a high-intensity 21.5 klux test. Although the test time was
much shorter, the total klux-hour light exposure was the
same as in adjacent Figure 2.2. The yellow dye suffered
a significant reciprocity failure in the 21.5 klux test, pro-
ducing a markedly different color balance change than in
the long-term 1.35 klux test.
Figure 2.2 Light fading of Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper
over a 6-year period in a 1.35 klux fluorescent test (print
covered with glass). In this moderately accelerated test,
the yellow dye faded much more rapidly than it did in a
high-intensity 21.5 klux test with the same total light ex-
posure, resulting in a different and visually more severe
color balance shift toward cyan (also see Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.4 Ilford Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) prints exhibit
large reciprocity failures in light fading; the effect is most
pronounced with the yellow dye, which faded far more in
the long-term, low-level 1.35 klux test than it did in a
much shorter high-intensity 21.5 klux test. The Ciba-
chrome cyan dye was greatly affected by the strong 313
nm UV emission of the fluorescent lamps while the fading
of the yellow dye showed little spectral dependence in
the 1.35 klux test.
high-intensity light than others. Ilford Ilfochrome (Ciba-
chrome) prints fade significantly faster when exposed to
the same amount of light in long-term, low-intensity tests
than in shorter, high-intensity tests. The Ilfochrome yel-
low dye in particular exhibits markedly different behavior
in the two test conditions, with far greater fading taking
place in the long-term, low-intensity test (Figure 2.4).
Although there are exceptions (e.g., the now-obsolete
Agfacolor Type 589 color paper, as shown in Figure 2.5),
the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes in chromogenic prints
such as Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, and Agfacolor
typically exhibit much less of a reciprocity failure, and Ko-
dak Dye Transfer prints show this effect hardly at all (al-
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Figure 2.6
(52%)
Figure 2.7
(49%)
Figure 2.7 In every chromogenic paper studied by this
author, higher levels of d-min yellowish stain occurred in
1.35 klux illumination than in short-term 21.5 klux illumi-
nation (with the same total light exposure in both cases).
As shown in this graph, Agfacolor Type 7i paper (1984
85) suffered a dramatic increase in yellowish stain level
in the low-level test.
Figure 2.6 The yellowish stain level of Kodak Ektacolor
74 RC paper (initial type, 197782) was significantly higher
in the 1.35 klux test, although with this product, as well as
with most other color negative papers, the magenta dye
fading that occurred during the test was visually much
more objectionable than the yellowish stain.
Figure 2.9
(49%)
Figure 2.9 Although Konica Color Paper Type SR (1984)
exhibited significant yellowish stain formation reciprocity
failure, the magnitude of the failure was less than that of any
other color negative papers tested. These samples were
given normal EP-2 processing with a water wash.
Figure 2.8
(49%)
Figure 2.8 Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper (1984) suffered
a significant yellowish stain reciprocity failure in this authors
high-intensity 21.5 klux test. To a greater or lesser de-
gree, every chromogenic paper studied exhibited similar
behavior, leading to the conclusion that high-intensity tests
are meaningless for evaluating the tendency for a color
paper to form light-induced yellowish stain.
though the ambient relative humidity can have a signifi-
cant effect on the light fading rate of Dye Transfer prints).
As shown in Figures 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8, light-induced yel-
lowish stain formation can also be subject to pronounced
reciprocity failures. Konica Color Paper Type SR is note-
worthy in its low staining reciprocity failure compared with
most other chromogenic papers (Figure 2.9).
A generally accepted explanation for at least some of
the reciprocity failures that occur in accelerated light fad-
ing of color prints is that atmospheric oxygen is involved in
the dye fading mechanisms, and during high-intensity light
fading, oxygen may be depleted, to a greater or lesser ex-
tent, at the sites of the image dye molecules, resulting in a
slowing of photochemical reactions. Oxygen availability
may be further hindered by low humidity, which sharply
reduces the permeability of gelatin to atmospheric oxygen.
The dependence of the light fading of chromogenic yellow
and magenta dyes on oxygen availability was suggested by
Robert Tuite of Eastman Kodak in 1979
8
and was further
investigated by Yoshio Seoka et al.
9
and Toshiaki Aono et
al. of Fuji in 1982.
10
The slow diffusion of deterioration by-products out of
the gelatin emulsion may also be a factor in light fading
and light-induced staining reciprocity failures.
As there is a need to know at least in an approximate
way the stability characteristics of color materials in
order to select the most stable product otherwise suitable
for the intended application, the use of short-term acceler-
ated light fading tests is unavoidable. As long as the poten-
tial shortcomings of the tests are known and the behavior
of different types of materials in long-term tests with low-
level illumination is understood, high-intensity tests can
provide a great deal of information. The tests also offer
guidance concerning permissible display times, the pos-
sible benefit to be gained by UV filters, and the potential
influence of relative humidity on light fading stability.
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(continued on page 75)
Correlation of Accelerated Test Results
with Fading and Staining That Occur
in Normal, Long-Term Display Conditions
It is critically important for persons involved in image
stability testing to periodically study the fading and stain-
ing behavior of both framed and unframed prints in long-
term display under normal conditions (Figures 2.10, 2.11,
and 2.12) and to attempt to relate this information with
results from accelerated fading tests. If fading and/or staining
patterns (e.g., the direction and degree of color balance
change, level of stain formation, etc.) are significantly dif-
ferent, the accelerated test procedures must be called into
question and efforts must be made to improve the tests.
For those working in the image stability field, acceler-
ated tests can take on a life of their own, and a conscious
effort is required to keep informed about what is actually
happening to color photographs in storage and on display
in homes, offices, and institutions around the world.
RC Base-Associated Image Fading
and Yellowish Staining
This authors investigations indicate that in addition to
fading caused by the effects of light on the image dyes
themselves, displayed color prints made on RC (polyethyl-
ene-resin-coated) papers may suffer from direct or indi-
rect chemical attack of the image dyes, the results of which
Figure 2.10 The fading that occurred in four types of
color prints after 8 years of display in this authors kitchen
(prints exposed to indirect daylight and bare-bulb fluo-
rescent illumination) was similar to that which occurred
in 1.35 klux tests.
Figure 2.11 After 8 years of display in a bedroom (indi-
rect daylight and low-level tungsten illumination) in this
authors home, the four types of color prints showed a
fading pattern similar to that which occurred in the kitchen.
Figure 2.10
(67%)
Figure 2.11
(68%)
Figure 2.12
(49%)
can render them more susceptible to light fading and/or
cause greatly increased rates of dark fading and staining.
Research on this phenomenon is continuing, but the evi-
dence obtained to date suggests that this degradation of
dye stability and the increased rates of yellowish stain for-
Figure 2.12 During 8 years of home display, Ektacolor
74 RC prints (initial type, 197782) exhibited significantly
greater d-min yellowish stain levels than they did in equiva-
lent 21.5 klux tests. The higher stain level in the print
displayed in the kitchen can probably be attributed to two
factors: exposure to airborne contamination from food
cooking on the kitchen stove and the bare-bulb fluores-
cent illumination in the room.
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Table 2.1 Reciprocity Failures in Accelerated Light Fading
and Light-Induced Staining of Color Prints
Accelerated light fading tests at 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) and 1.35 klux (125 fc) with prints given the same
total light exposure (intensity x time) in both conditions. Glass-filtered Cool White fluorescent
illumination at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Initial densities of 1.0 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Test duration of up to 8 years (2,920 days)
Light Fading Reciprocity Failure Factor (RF Factor) is a numerical representation of the difference in fading rate between
21.5 klux high-intensity and 1.35 klux low-intensity test conditions; the RF Factor is computed by dividing the density loss
at 1.35 klux by the density loss at 21.5 klux. An RF Factor of 1.0 indicates that the particular dye suffered no measurable
reciprocity failure; that is, the dye faded the same amount in both the high-intensity and low-intensity test conditions.
Illumination at 21.5 klux is 16 times more intense than at 1.35 klux. To equalize the amount of light to which the prints
were exposed in both conditions, test times at 1.35 klux were 16 times longer than for the 21.5 klux test. The densitometric
data given here were fully corrected for any minimum-density increases (stain) that occurred in the course of these tests.
Extrapolations made from high-intensity test data to predict print fading and staining rates at the low illumination levels
found in normal indoor display conditions will probably be reasonably accurate for print materials that have low RF Factors
(e.g., 1.5 or lower for the image dye that is the least stable in the 21.5 klux tests). Color print materials with RF Factors
greater than approximately 1.5 likely will have a significantly shorter useful life when displayed for long periods under
normal indoor illumination conditions than is predicted by short-term, high-intensity accelerated light fading tests.
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went to
press in 1992; the other products listed had either been discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Chromogenic Prints:
21.5 klux 1.35 klux Reciprocity
(2,000 fc) (125 fc) Failure
Density Density Factor
Losses Losses (RF Factor) Chromogenic Prints:
Losses Losses (RF Factor)
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Konica Color PC Paper
Professional Type EX
(EP-2 process with water wash)
Cyan Loss from 1.0 Neutral: 0.09 0.13 1.4
Magenta Loss from 1.0 Neutral: 0.23 0.23 1.0
Yellow Loss from 1.0 Neutral: 0.11 0.19 1.7
Cyan Loss from Cyan Patch: 0.12 0.21 1.8
Magenta Loss from Magenta Patch: 0.38 0.40 1.1
Yellow Loss from Yellow Patch: 0.15 0.22 1.5
Minimum-Density Yellowish Stain: +0.03 +0.09 [Stain: +0.06]
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Konica Color PC Paper
Professional Type EX
(processed with Konica Super Stabilizer
in a washless Konica minilab)
Ektacolor Plus Paper 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Ektacolor Professional Paper
Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Type 2524 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Ektacolor 78 Paper
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Ektacolor 37 RC Paper Type 2261 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
(EP-2 process with EP-3 Stabilizer)
Kodak Ektachrome 2203 Paper 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Fujicolor Paper Type 8901 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Fujicolor Paper Type 8901 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
(EP-2 process with EP-3 Stabilizer)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7i 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
Minimum-Density Yellowish Stain: NA NA
3M High Speed 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
Color Paper Type 19
Minimum-Density Yellowish Stain: NA NA
Silver Dye-Bleach and Dye-Imbibition Prints:
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints 183-Day Test 2,920-Day Test RF Factor
(called Cibachrome II Prints, 198091)
(P-3 process glossy polyester base)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
(standard Kodak Film and Paper Dyes)
Minimum-Density Yellowish Stain: 0.04 0.02 [Stain: +0.00]
Fuji Dyecolor Prints 90-Day Test 1,440-Day Test RF Factor
(dye transfer type)
(continued)
Chromogenic Prints:
Losses Losses (RF Factor) Chromogenic Prints:
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Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
Polaroid Type 990 Prints
Polaroid Autofilm Type 330 Prints
Polaroid Spectra Prints
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra in Europe)
Polaroid Autofilm Type 339 Prints 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints
Polaroid 600 High Speed Prints
Kodak Ektaflex Prints 60-Day Test 960-Day Test RF Factor
(19811988)
Dye Diffusion-
Transfer Prints:
mation are probably caused by oxidants or other degrada-
tion products generated, after long-term exposure to light
and UV radiation, by the titanium dioxide-pigmented poly-
ethylene layer coated between the emulsion and paper core
of RC prints. (As discussed in Chapter 17, a similar mecha-
nism involving light and titanium dioxide-pigmented poly-
ethylene may be responsible for the light-induced silver
image discoloration that has occurred in many black-and-
white RC prints.)
Because this type of light-induced dark fading and
light-induced dark staining has to date been observed
only in color prints made on RC papers, it is tentatively
called RC base-associated fading and staining. It is char-
acterized by relatively large density losses in both high-
density and low-density areas of the image. The density
loss as a function of original density more closely resembles
the approximately equal percentage losses throughout the
density range characteristic of dark fading than it does the
usual type of light fading in which visual changes are con-
centrated in lower-density portions of the scale. As shown
in Figures 2.13 and 2.14, Ektacolor 74 RC prints made in
1978 and tested by this author showed drastic changes
when kept in the dark for 10 years after being subjected to
accelerated light fading tests. Identical prints that had not
been exposed to light exhibited comparatively little fading
and staining during this period of storage in the dark.
RC base-associated fading and staining are usually not
apparent in short-term, high-intensity accelerated light fading
tests. However, in long-term display under more moder-
ate lighting conditions particularly when prints are framed
under glass or plastic sheets that restrict the exchange of
air next to the emulsion surface this kind of deteriora-
tion can substantially shorten the life of a print. This au-
thor believes that RC base-associated fading was a major
factor in the rapid and severe fading observed in many
displayed Kodak Ektacolor 20 RC, 47 RC, 30 RC, 37 RC, and
74 RC prints made between 1968 and 1977.
Examples of apparent RC base-associated fading and
staining observed by this author showed quite different
effects among the various RC color papers manufactured
since 1969, and even the same brand and type of paper may
exhibit different kinds of fading effects depending on the
year it was made (Table 2.2). Use of Kodak Ektaprint 3
Stabilizer (and apparently some other low-pH stabilizers)
instead of a final water wash can increase the tendency for
prints to exhibit RC base-associated fading. To date this
author has observed apparent RC base-associated fading
effects in chromogenic color papers made by Kodak, Agfa,
Fuji, and 3M.
It is possible that long-term exposure of the RC color
prints to light results in a further lowering of the emulsion
pH, which in turn could increase the rate of dark fading,
especially of the pH-sensitive yellow dyes used in most
chromogenic color papers.
Lending support to the notion that the RC base itself is
the principal cause of RC base-associated fading is a com-
parison of the long-term light fading behavior of Konica
Color Paper Type SR, coated on an RC base, and Konica
Color Paper Type SR (SG), which is coated on a solid poly-
ester base. After 8 years of exposure to low-level, glass-
filtered 1.35 klux fluorescent illumination, the yellow dye in
the RC-base print had faded significantly more than was
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the case with the yellow dye in the polyester-base print
(Figure 2.15). This gave the RC-base print a decidedly
bluish appearance, which was especially noticeable in high-
density areas of the image. The emulsions of both Konica
products are identical, and they received identical EP-2
processing with washless Konica Super Stabilizer. The
prints were covered with glass for the duration of the tests.
In short-term, high-intensity 21.5 klux glass-filtered fluo-
rescent tests, no difference whatever was observed in the
fading behavior of the two types of Konica prints.
In a further example, as shown in Figure 2.16, serious
yellow staining occurred in Ilford Cibachrome II RC prints
during the course of several years of dark storage after an
accelerated light fading test, but not in Cibachrome II poly-
ester-base prints under identical conditions.
In terms of accelerated light fading tests, RC base-asso-
ciated fading and staining is a very troubling phenomenon.
It injects potentially large uncertainties into predictions of
color print life based on short-term accelerated tests.
Framing Effects in Light Fading with
Prints Framed under Glass or Plastic Sheets
Studies with a variety of chromogenic color negative
papers have shown that framing or enclosing these prints
with glass or plastic sheets can have a significant effect on
fading and stain formation when certain of these materials
are displayed for long periods under typical indoor illumi-
nation levels. This phenomenon is probably related to the
light-induced RC base-associated fading and staining dis-
cussed above.
The manner of processing (e.g., a water wash, use of a
low-pH stabilizer, etc.) may have a pronounced influence
on the rate of dye fading of these framed and displayed
Figure 2.15 In a comparison of the long-term light fad-
ing behavior of Konica Type SR paper on RC base and
polyester base, the yellow dye in the RC-base print faded
significantly more than did the yellow dye in the polyes-
ter-base print. The RC base itself is believed to be the
principal cause of the increased rate of dye fading ob-
served in this example. The prints had received identical
EP-2 processing with Konica washless stabilizer. The
prints were covered with glass during the 8
1
2 years of
exposure to low-level 1.35 klux fluorescent illumination.
Figure 2.16
(49%)
Figure 2.13 Light-induced dark fading of Ektacolor 74
RC paper (initial type: 197782), processed with Kodak
EP-3 chemicals including EP-3 Stabilizer, a low-pH stabi-
lizer which is used as a final rinse prior to drying. After
exposure to light for 960 days, the print was placed in the
dark. Dramatic fading of the yellow dye occurred during
the next 10 years in the dark and was still continuing in
1992. An identical print that was never exposed to light
suffered negligible yellow dye fading during 10 years of
storage in the same environment (75F and 60% RH).
Figure 2.13
(49%)
Figure 2.14
(49%)
Figure 2.14 Light-induced dark staining of Ektacolor
74 RC Paper (initial type: 197782). Yellowish staining
occurred at a much more rapid rate after a print was
exposed to light for 960 days and then placed in the dark
than it did in an identical print that was never exposed to
light. Both prints were stored in the same environment.
Figure 2.16 Ilford Cibachrome II RC paper suffered a
large increase in yellowish stain during dark storage after
a period of light exposure. Only negligible staining oc-
curred with the glossy, polyester-base version of Ilford
Cibachrome II (Ilford Cibachrome was renamed Ilford
Ilfochrome in 1991).
Figure 2.15
(49%)
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Figure 2.17
(53%)
Figure 2.17 Use of Kodak Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer (a low-
pH stabilizer) has a deleterious effect on the light fading
stability of the yellow dye in Kodak Ektacolor Plus and
Ektacolor Professional papers. Konica Color Paper Type
SR was much less affected by EP-3 Stabilizer. This effect
is subject to significant reciprocity failures and did not
occur in this authors high-intensity 21.5 klux test.
Figure 2.18 The framing effect (also called the enclo-
sure effect) in a chromogenic paper. The yellow dye in
Fujicolor Type 8901 paper (198486), processed with Ko-
dak Ektaprint EP-3 chemicals which include a low-pH
stabilizer as the final rinse, faded more rapidly when
covered with a glass or plastic sheet than it did when the
print was not covered and was freely exposed to circulat-
ing air. This framing effect is subject to large reciprocity
failures and generally does not occur in short-term, high-
intensity tests.
Figure 2.18
(49%)
effect has been studied principally in chromogenic prints,
other types of materials possibly are affected similarly.
A test frame devised by this author that can be used to
evaluate the framing effect in color papers is described in
ANSI IT9.9-1990 in Annex D, pages 2627 (the Standard
uses the term enclosure effects to describe what this
author calls the framing effect).
Percentage Dye Density Losses in Light Fading
as a Function of Original Density
An important difference between dark fading and light
fading is that dark fading usually involves an approximately
equal percentage loss of density throughout the density
range of the print (Table 2.3). That is, if a dark, high-
density area of a print loses 30% of its density, a low-den-
sity highlight area of the print will usually lose about the
same percentage of density. This means that while the
contrast of the dye image becomes lower and the image
becomes lighter overall both shadow and highlight de-
tail are retained in approximately equal percentages as
dark fading progresses.
With light fading, the situation is very different, and
with many kinds of prints it can be characterized by more
or less equal loss in density units throughout the density
range (Table 2.4). Because highlight areas of a print have
a low dye density to begin with, relatively little exposure to
light on display can significantly reduce apparent detail in
these low-density areas of the image.
For example, in a typical wedding photograph, the de-
tailed areas of a white wedding dress typically have a den-
sity of about 0.20 to 0.35, of which about 0.10 can be attrib-
uted to the RC paper base itself. This means that the white
cloth of the wedding dress is depicted by a dye density of
only 0.10 to 0.25, and it takes relatively little exposure to
light on display to cause this small amount of image dye to
print materials (Figure 2.17). Most commonly the fram-
ing effect in chromogenic prints is manifested by an in-
crease in yellow dye fading in particular and, unlike what is
generally observed with light fading, is most noticeable in
high- and maximum-density areas of a color image. The
disproportionate loss of yellow dye eventually causes the
image to suffer a pronounced blue shift in color balance.
An example of the framing effect with Fujicolor Paper
Type 8901 (processed with EP-3 Stabilizer) is shown in
Figure 2.18. To a greater or lesser degree, Ektacolor and
most other chromogenic papers are also affected in this
manner.
The framing effect has been observed in prints framed
directly against glass and in prints that are separated from
the framing glass by a cardboard overmat. In a 3-year test
conducted by this author with prints in a 1.35 klux fluores-
cent test, the fading rates of a number of color negative
papers were compared when: a) prints were resting on an
aluminum-foil-covered board and covered with a glass sheet
but not sealed with tape along the edges; b) placed be-
tween a glass sheet and a piece of 4-ply, 100% cotton-fiber
mat board and sealed along the edges with tape; and c)
placed between two sheets of glass and sealed along the
edges with tape. For the papers tested, the fading rates for
all conditions were quite similar.
Experience has shown that the framing effect generally
is subject to large reciprocity failures in high-intensity light
stability tests; therefore, long-term tests with illumination
intensities of 1.0 klux or lower should be employed to mean-
ingfully evaluate this phenomenon. Although the framing
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fade completely. The result is still
a photograph of a white dress, but
the sense of richness, detail, tex-
ture, and weave in the cloth is gone,
while higher-density portions of
the image remain relatively un-
changed. These density-loss char-
acteristics of light fading and dark
fading are also described in An-
nex A of ANSI IT9.9-1990.
Most chromogenic print mate-
rials, both color negative papers
and reversal papers for printing
transparencies, have light fading
patterns similar to that of Kodak
Ektacolor 74 RC. Ilford Ilfochrome
prints (called Cibachrome prints,
19631991) also follow this general
behavior in light fading, although
in accelerated tests, the rate of
yellow dye fading increases after
prolonged exposure to light, caus-
ing the relative percentage losses
of dye to shift over time. In early
stages of the tests, the yellow dye
is more stable than either cyan or
magenta, but after extended ex-
posure the yellow becomes the
least stable of the three.
Some other types of prints, no-
tably dye diffusion-transfer prints
such as Kodak Ektaflex (198188)
and Polaroid Polacolor ER, have
light fading characteristics as a
function of image density that more
closely resemble the kind of uni-
form percentage losses associated
with dark fading. Particularly when
light fading reaches an advanced
stage, this results in washed-out
shadows and gives these prints a
very different and usually infe-
rior appearance from prints
made on Ektacolor and similar
papers that have faded the same
amount in middle-density areas.
The Importance of
Starting Density in
Light Fading Tests
Study of many faded color prints
of pictorial scenes indicates that
the density range of about 0.45 to
0.6 generally shows the most no-
ticeable fading after exposure to
moderate amounts of light. For
this reason, this author has em-
ployed a starting density of 0.6 (ap-
proximately 0.5 above d-min with
current color negative papers) for
Table 2.2 Light Fading Patterns of 1,384 Kodak Ektacolor RC Portraits
Iowa high school class composites made with individual prints; Ektacolor RC
paper processed between 1970 and 1974. Prints examined in January 1980.
Number of Faded Prints and
Direction of Changes in Color Balance
School Name Class Year RC Cracks Cyan Yellow Magenta
Adel Community High School 1971 yes 78
Central Decatur Community School 1971 70
Maxwell Community School 1971 yes 27
North Polk 1971 51
Waukee Community School 1971 yes 46
Woodward Granger Community High 1971 47
Adel Community High School 1972 63 14
Central Decatur Community School 1972 yes 75 6
Clark Community School 1972 yes 55 30
New Monroe 1972 48 6
Madrid Community High School 1972 yes 38 4
Southwest Warren Community School 1972 yes 41 6
Van Meter Community School 1972 yes 19 4
Waukee Community School 1972 yes 30
Central Decatur Community School 1973 65
Dallas Community School 1973 1 26
Deerfield Community School 1973 46
Madrid Community High School 1973 61
North Polk 1973 49
Southwest Warren Community School 1973 60
Van Meter Community School 1973 32
Waukee Community School 1973 24
Woodward Granger Community High 1973 51
Central Dallas Community School 1974 25
Deerfield Community School 1974 37
Maxwell Community School 1974 29
Stuart-Menlo Community School 1974 63
Waukee Community School 1974 2 57
Totals: 350 339 695
Note: RC cracking was common on prints processed through 1972 (types which faded toward
cyan or yellow); however, it can be assumed that prints processed during years after 1972
(generally types which faded in the magenta direction) would also develop RC cracks at some
point in the future if placed on permanent display.
In general, the prints were actually processed late in the calendar year preceding the Class
Year. For example, prints listed under the 1972 Class Year were for the most part processed
in late 1971. Some, however, were taken and processed later, and this probably accounts for
the mixed fading pattern observed in many of the 1972 Class Year composites.
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Table 2.4 Percentage Losses of Magenta Dye in Kodak
Ektacolor Plus and Professional Papers
Resulting from Light Fading
60 days under 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) illumination
(Data from neutral patches)
Starting Density
Density Loss Percent
above at End Density
d-min of Test Loss
0.20 0.13 65%
0.30 0.14 47%
0.40 0.15 38%
0.50 0.15 30%
0.60 0.15 25%
1.00 0.15 15%
1.50 0.14 9%
Table 2.3 Percentage Losses of Cyan Dye in Kodak
Ektacolor 78 and 74 RC Papers
Resulting from Dark Fading
90 days in the dark at 144F (62C) and 45% RH
(Data from neutral patches)
Starting Density
Density Loss Percent
above at End Density
d-min of Test Loss
0.20 0.11 45%
0.30 0.14 47%
0.40 0.19 48%
0.50 0.24 48%
0.60 0.28 47%
1.00 0.46 46%
1.50 0.72 48%
determining the image life of displayed prints for Home
and Commercial applications, and a starting density of
0.45 for Museum and Archive applications.
The ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard specifies that a density
of 1.0 above d-min be used for both light fading and dark
fading tests; this value was selected for reasons of industry
tradition, convenience (using the same value for both light
fading and dark fading tests), and simplicity (for reflection
prints, a simple
1
2 d-min correction is adequate at a den-
sity of 1.0).
This author strongly believes, however, that because of
the disproportionate loss of density in low-density areas of
color prints and slides that have been subjected to light
fading, a starting density of 0.6 (0.5 above d-min) gives a
much better correlation with the visual assessment of light
fading in portraits, wedding photographs, and most other
types of pictorial scenes. For a given set of fading and
color-balance change criteria, using 0.6 for light fading also
correlates better with the visual assessments of image deg-
radation in dark-faded prints that have changed to approxi-
mately the same degree, as determined from a starting
density of 1.0. (The previous ANSI PH1.42-1969 Standard
specified that two densities, 1.0 and 0.5, be used with color
prints and color slides.)
If a starting density of 1.0 is used for both light fading
and dark fading, and the same set of change limits is used
for both, the result is likely to be an unrealistically optimis-
tic assessment of the light fading stability of a color print
material. To give an example, if one were to select a 30%
dye loss limit from a starting density of 1.0 (which Konica
and some others have adopted for published dark fading
predictions) and apply this acceptability limit to light-
faded prints, there would be severe fading and loss of de-
tail in low-density portions of the color images. Portraits
and wedding photographs that have light-faded to this de-
gree would be unacceptable to most people.
Particularly in dark fading, where density losses are
often accompanied by significant levels of yellowish stain,
the starting density that is chosen can have a major influ-
ence on the assessment of color balance changes. An ex-
ample of this for a color negative paper is shown in Figure
2.19.
Light Fading of Neutral Gray Areas versus
Pure Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow Areas
Another characteristic of light fading with most papers
is that parts of an image containing relatively pure cyan,
magenta, or yellow colors fade more rapidly than the col-
ors do when they are combined in a gray scale. In fact,
with some print materials, a pure color patch can fade two
or three times more rapidly than when the other two colors
are present in equal amounts to form a neutral gray; the
increased fading rates of pure magenta image areas in
Ektacolor and similar chromogenic papers are often strik-
ing (Figure 2.20). In these papers, the magenta dye layer
is below the cyan dye, which apparently absorbs a consid-
erable amount of the wavelengths that contribute to ma-
genta fading. The presence of the yellow dye layer below
the magenta layer also offers some protection to the ma-
genta dye because the yellow absorbs some wavelengths
that would otherwise be reflected back from the base and
cause magenta fading.
Prints that have a more or less homogeneous mixture of
the three dyes in a single layer, such as the dye-diffusion-
transfer processes like Polacolor ER and the now-obsolete
Kodak Ektaflex print materials, and Kodak Dye Transfer
prints, generally exhibit this effect less than materials such
as Ektacolor and Ilfochrome, which have the image dyes
isolated in distinct layers.
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Figure 2.19
(53%)
Figure 2.20
(48%)
Figure 2.20 In light fading, with most color papers, pure
cyan, magenta, and yellow dye patches fade much more
rapidly than when all three dyes are present in approxi-
mately equal amounts in a neutral patch. The effect was
especially pronounced with the magenta dye in the now-
obsolete 3M High Speed Color Paper shown here. In
dark fading, most products exhibit little if any difference
in the rates of fading of pure colors and colors in neutral
patches.
Figure 2.19 As shown here in Agfacolor Type 8 Paper
(AP95 washless process), yellowish stain that occurs in
dark storage can have a pronounced effect on perceived
color balance. The degree and direction of color balance
change generally vary as a function of density.
Light Fading of Skin Colors
It is apparent that the mostly magenta and yellow dye
mixture reproducing the light and dark colors of human
skin behaves differently than gray patches or separate cyan,
magenta, and yellow colors in response to light. Compari-
sons of the light fading stability of light and dark skin col-
ors in both EP-2 and RA-4 compatible color negative pa-
pers are given in Chapter 3. Because of the importance of
skin-tone reproduction in portraits, this author plans to
further study the visual responses to fading and staining of
representative flesh-tone colors with the aim of devising a
set of criteria limits specifically for these colors.
Types of Accelerated Light Fading Tests
A good light fading test simulates actual conditions of
display as closely as possible. The temperature and rela-
tive humidity conditions and the wavelength distribution of
the light source should all match the display condition one
would like to simulate. Ideally, the intensity of the test
illumination should also be the same as the actual display
condition, and the alternate light/dark (day/night) periods
encountered in most display situations should be dupli-
cated. However, the stability of most current color materi-
als requires test periods of many years before useful fad-
ing and staining limits are reached, and for this practical
reason, accelerated tests must be employed to study light
fading stability.
The three principal light sources for illuminating photo-
graphs are fluorescent light, indirect daylight through win-
dow glass, and incandescent tungsten light. Each of these
light sources has a distinctly different spectral distribution
and ultraviolet content, and because of this, each type of
illumination has a different fading and staining effect on
each dye of each of the many different color print materi-
als. In addition, extremely intense tungsten halogen illu-
mination is used in slide projectors (projector-caused fad-
ing of color slides is discussed in Chapter 6), and some
photographs are subjected to extremely intense, direct out-
door sunlight.
ANSI IT9.9-1990 specifies illumination sources, wave-
length distribution, and intensity for all five of these illumi-
nation conditions:
These tests are intended to simulate com-
mon use conditions. Selection of the appropri-
ate test should be based on the conditions of
intended use. In most homes, for example, in-
direct daylight through window glass is the
principal illumination causing displayed photo-
graphs to fade. (The low-intensity illumination
provided by incandescent tungsten lamps in
homes usually contributes very little to the
deterioration of color photographs. Fluores-
cent lamps, however, which generally provide
more intense illumination than tungsten lamps,
are increasingly found in homes. When fluo-
rescent lamps are present, they may make a
significant contribution to the fading of displayed
prints.) In offices and public buildings, fluores-
cent lamps are usually the primary source of
illumination. Photography exhibits in galler-
ies, museums, and archives are most often
illuminated with standard incandescent tung-
sten lamps or quartz-halogen tungsten lamps.
Exposure to direct sunlight is the principal cause
of fading in color print materials used outdoors
(e.g., billboards, outdoor displays, and identifi-
cation badges).
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#2123
(38%)
Accelerated Fluorescent Tests
This author uses two types of accelerated fluorescent
light fading tests. One is a short-term, high-intensity test
with an illumination intensity at the sample plane of 21.5
klux (2,000 fc). The other is a long-term, low-intensity test
with an illumination intensity at the sample plane of 1.35
klux (125 fc). Standard single-phosphor Cool White fluo-
rescent lamps are employed; because of their low cost and
high energy-efficiency, Cool White lamps are by far the
most common type of fluorescent lamp worldwide.
In both tests, the sample-plane temperature is 75F (24C)
and the relative humidity 60%. The tests are conducted in
temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms. Because of
the heating effect of the fluorescent lamps in the high-
intensity 21.5 klux test (the lamps are only about 2 inches
from the sample plane), high-velocity forced-air cooling is
required to maintain the proper temperature and relative
humidity in the samples.
To determine the sensitivity of materials to UV radia-
tion, identical samples are exposed to: a) direct, bare-bulb
illumination; b) glass-filtered illumination with standard
window glass covering the sample; c) UV-filtered illumina-
tion with Rohm and Haas Plexiglas UF-3, a sharp-cutting
UV filter. Bare-bulb fluorescent illumination exposes prints
to the ultraviolet 313 nanometer mercury vapor line emis-
sion of the fluorescent lamps; this can greatly increase the
fading rate of one or more dyes in Kodak Ektatherm prints
(and most other electronic hardcopy print materials),
Kodak Dye Transfer prints, Polacolor 2 and Polacolor ER
prints, and other materials manufactured without a UV-
absorbing emulsion overcoat. Ordinary window or framing
glass effectively absorbs this harmful wavelength. Plexi-
glas UF-3 absorbs essentially all ultraviolet radiation; vir-
tually all of the fading that occurs with this filter in place
can be attributed to the effects of visible light.
The high-intensity 21.5 klux test is a short-term test
which with most products runs about 4 months; the test
provides data very quickly and allows evaluation of new
color papers shortly after samples become available. This
test was extensively used for the color paper image-life
predictions and product comparisons in Chapter 3.
The long-term, low-intensity 1.35 klux fluorescent test
has
1
16 the illumination intensity of the 21.5 klux fluores-
cent test, and test periods run between 5 and 10 years for
most products. Unlike the high-intensity 21.5 klux test, the
1.35 klux test gives a good measure of the level of yellowish
stain that might occur during normal, long-term display.
By comparing 1.35 klux data with data from the 21.5 klux
test, an indication of a products tendency toward reciproc-
ity failures in light fading can be obtained. Data from the
long-term 1.35 klux test were absolutely critical for this
author to be able to give years of display predictions for
current products with reasonable confidence.
The 1.35 klux test produces a reasonably good simula-
tion of the fading and staining that can be expected in long-
term display under normal home and office conditions; this
would be this authors primary light fading test were it not
for the 3- or 4-year test periods most current color papers
require to reach this authors fading limits. By the end of 3
years, some products are no longer even on the market!
An illumination intensity of 6.0 klux is specified for the
accelerated fluorescent test in the ANSI IT9.9-1990 Stan-
dard. This intensity is a good compromise between short-
term, high-intensity tests that yield data quickly and long-
term, low-intensity tests that better simulate normal dis-
play conditions. With current color papers, this authors
fading limits should be reached in 6 months to a year with
the ANSI 6.0 klux test.
Tungsten Illumination Tests
This authors long-term 1.35 klux incandescent tung-
sten test is intended to simulate display conditions com-
monly found in museums and archives. Although 1.35 klux
is about four times more intense than the 300 lux illumina-
tion level recommended by this author for display of color
photographs in museums (see Chapter 17), data from the
1.35 klux accelerated test allow reasonably accurate im-
age-life predictions to be made for color prints displayed
under museum conditions.
The tungsten test has shown that extra UV protection
(e.g., a Plexiglas UF-3 filter) is of little or no value when
prints are displayed under tungsten illumination. Tung-
sten illumination has an undeservedly good reputation as
being safe for color prints. In fact, in this authors tests,
some materials including Cibachrome (Ilfochrome), the
now-discontinued Agfachrome-Speed material (Figure 2.21),
and Kodak Instant Print Film PR10 faded more rapidly
under 1.35 klux tungsten illumination than they did under
1.35 klux fluorescent illumination.
With all three of the materials mentioned above, the
cyan dye suffered significantly greater fading under tung-
sten illumination than under fluorescent, and this can prob-
ably be explained by the fact that the peak absorption of
This high-intensity 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) fluorescent test
allows rapid evaluation of new color papers as soon as
they become available. Shown here with the lamp
fixtures raised so that the print samples can be seen,
the test set-up employs high-velocity forced-air cooling
to maintain 75F (24C) and 60% RH at the sample
plane. Uncovered (bare-bulb), glass-covered, and Plexi-
glas UF-3 covered print samples, which are mounted
on aluminum foil-covered boards, are moved forward
every 24 hours to a new location under the lamps so
that all samples receive equal illumination during the
course of the test. This equipment was designed and
constructed by this author in 1983.
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Figure 2.21 In the now-obsolete Agfachrome-Speed print
material (198385), the rate of cyan dye fading is signifi-
cantly greater under glass-filtered tungsten illumination
than under glass-filtered Cool White fluorescent illumina-
tion of the same klux intensity. For the cyan dye in
Agfachrome-Speed, the same relationship also held true
for samples exposed to bare-bulb illumination and for
samples covered with a Plexiglas UF-3 ultraviolet filter.
#22133
(39%)
cyan dyes is in the red portion of the spectrum and, at any
given lux intensity, tungsten illumination has much greater
energy in the red wavelengths than does fluorescent illu-
mination. (To match the sensitivity of the human visual
system, a luxmeter has its peak sensitivity in the green
portion of the spectrum and does not fully take into ac-
count the differences in red or blue energy in different
types of illumination.) Because red wavelengths have such
low photochemical activity, this author was surprised that
these wavelengths had such a pronounced effect on the
fading rates of the cyan dyes in the three materials.
One of the difficulties in accelerated light fading tests
with incandescent tungsten lamps is that the high infrared
(IR) output of the lamps makes it difficult to maintain this
authors standard 75F (24C) and 60% RH conditions at the
sample plane. Because of this problem, this author has not
even attempted to run an incandescent tungsten test at
21.5 klux. ANSI IT9.9-1990 specifies an intensity of 3.0 klux
for its incandescent tungsten test.
Indoor Daylight Tests
This authors indoor daylight test is run under illumina-
tion from a large, north-facing glass window. The illumina-
tion intensity is about 0.78 klux averaged over a 24-hour
period; the accumulated light exposure is measured with a
Minolta integrating lux-hour meter. Duplicate print samples
are tested under window glass and Plexiglas UF-3 filters. The tests typically run for a period of several years. When
close to a window, north daylight has relatively high UV
and blue light components, so this is a good test to show
what protection is afforded by a UV filter. Farther from a
window, indoor daylight illumination usually has a much
lower UV content because of absorption by wall, floor, and
ceiling surfaces.
ANSI IT9.9-1990 specifies an intensity of 6.0 klux for
the indoor daylight test. To obtain better repeatability
than is possible with a test using actual daylight, the Stan-
dard specifies a filtered xenon arc illumination source that
is a reasonable simulation of north daylight; the required
wavelength distribution is given in the Standard.
Outdoor Sunlight Tests
This author has not routinely conducted light fading
tests in direct, outdoor sunlight. However, a 100-klux simu-
lated outdoor sunlight test with a xenon arc illumination
source is provided in ANSI IT9.9-1990.
Standard Display Conditions
for Predictive Tests
Based on measurements of illumination intensity in a
wide variety of display situations (Table 2.5), this author
selected 450 lux (42 fc) for 12 hours per day as the standard
home and office display condition on which to base the
years of display image-life predictions for color papers
given in Chapter 3. For incandescent tungsten illumina-
tion in museums and archives, 300 lux (28 fc) for 12 hours
per day was selected. In display situations where the daily
klux-hour light exposure is either greater or less than these
standard illumination conditions, it is a simple matter to
recalculate the image-life predictions so that they corre-
late with actual display conditions.
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Averaged over a 24-hour period, 12 months a year, the
intensity in this north-daylight test is approximately 0.78
klux. This test is useful primarily to determine what
improvement, if any, is afforded by framing prints with
UV-absorbing filter material. This test was started in
1983. As with this authors other light fading tests, this
test is maintained at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. In the
center of the sample area is the sensor of a Minolta
integrating lux-hour meter which is in place year-round
to measure the accumulated light received by the samples.
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#23535
(46%)
Table 2.5 Survey of Lighting Conditions in Display
Areas (19771988)
Summary of Table 17.1 in Chapter 17
Illumination Intensity
Location Median Level Average Level
A. Museums and Archives 215 lux (20 fc) 1,057 lux (98 fc)
B. Commercial Galleries 430 lux (40 fc) 549 lux (51 fc)
C. Public Buildings 1,325 lux (123 fc) 3,686 lux (342 fc)
(e.g., offices, libraries,
hospitals, and airports)
D. Homes 635 lux (59 fc) 3,213 lux (299 fc)
A, B, C, and D
grouped together: 375 lux (35 fc) 1,808 lux (168 fc)
This authors single-temperature dark fading tests are
performed in precisely controlled ovens with a tem-
perature of 144F (62C). Desiccator jars with a satu-
rated sodium dichromate solution in the bottom main-
tain a relative humidity of 45%. These tests were started
in 1983, and Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) prints, Dye Transfer
prints, and a few other materials with exceptional dark
fading stability have remained in the ovens since that
date. This author plans to acquire new humidity-con-
trolled ovens for Arrhenius testing in 1993.
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3
Much More Research on Accelerated
Light Fading Procedures Is Required
When employing accelerated light fading data to make
predictions of print life under typical long-term display
conditions, errors introduced by reciprocity failures, RC
base-associated fading, and other factors are, in most cases,
probably significantly greater than the possible errors in
the accelerated test procedures described here. It is obvi-
ous that a much better understanding of the actual behav-
ior of photographs during long-term display at low light
levels is needed if accelerated light fading tests are to have
greater predictive value. For example, the long-term ef-
fects on low-intensity light fading of relative humidity, tem-
perature, framing under glass, and coating prints with lac-
quers all need to be investigated with each of the many
different color print materials.
Test Methods to Determine Dark Fading and
Staining Characteristics of Color Materials
This authors tests of color print and color film dark
storage stability, reported in Tables 5.5a through 5.9 in
Chapter 5, were performed according to the general out-
line described in ANSI PH1.42-1969, American National
Standard Method for Comparing the Color Stabilities of
Photographs. Although replaced by ANSI IT9.9-1990 in
1991, this was the applicable Standard when these tests
were conducted.
For the basic accelerated dark fading test, ANSI PH1.42-
1969 specified a temperature of 140F (60C) and 70% RH.
According to the Standard, This condition is used to simu-
late results which occur with long-term storage. The Stan-
dard also specified a test at 100F (37.8C) and 90% RH to
simulate tropical storage conditions.
Experimental work by this author in the late 1970s sug-
gested that the 70% RH level at 140F was too severe. With
Kodachrome film and Cibachrome prints, the test produced
unaccountably rapid dye fading and exudation of sticky
substances (probably coupler solvents) on the emulsion
surfaces of incorporated-coupler films and prints. In the
case of Polaroid SX-70 prints, the test conditions led to
severe reddish-yellow stain formation. These kinds of im-
age deterioration were of a nature that this author had
never observed in photographs in actual, long-term stor-
age under less severe conditions (even in the tropics, where
relative humidities frequently are higher than 70%). For
this reason, this author adopted a more moderate level of
45% RH and a temperature of 144F (62C). These test
conditions were employed for the data reported in Chapter
5; they were also used for the comparisons of dark storage
stability of color films and color print materials published
by Bob Schwalberg, this author, and Carol Brower in the
June 1990 issue of Popular Photography magazine.
11
At the outset of these investigations in 1977, this author
set the test ovens at 140F (60C) as specified by ANSI
PH1.42-1969. With the aid of more precise temperature
measurements at the sample desiccator locations in the
ovens, it was later determined that the actual temperature
was 144F (62C), so it was decided to continue using this
temperature to make all test data comparable.
The relative humidity was maintained by placing test
samples in sealed glass desiccator jars containing a satu-
rated sodium dichromate solution in a compartment at the
bottom. The saturated sodium dichromate solution (con-
taining an excess of sodium dichromate so that some of
the salt remained undissolved) maintained the air inside
the desiccators at a relative humidity of 45% at a tempera-
ture of 144F (62C).
12
With representative products, tests were also conducted
at 75% RH using a saturated sodium chloride solution in
the desiccators. Although this author has little confidence
in the 75% RH data in terms of what might be expected to
happen under real-world storage conditions, several con-
clusions were reached: in dark storage, high humidities
cause some dyes to fade much faster, but other dyes are
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Figure 2.22 Data from room-
temperature dark storage of
Ektacolor 74 RC paper (initial
type, 197782) and Agfacolor
Type 4 paper (197482). The
storage temperature was 75F
(24C) and the relative humidity
60%. As can be seen, the
dark storage stability of the
cyan dyes in these papers is
poor, with Agfacolor Type 4
paper suffering catastrophic
fading in only a few years. The
accumulation of natural aging
data is an essential part in
any long-term testing program.
Comparisons between natu-
ral aging data and accelerated
test data are the only way that
predictions based on accel-
erated tests can be verified.
Figure 2.22
(76%)
ucts yielded a generally similar relationship.
The single-temperature tests in ANSI 1.42-1969 were
intended for comparing products in terms of their dye sta-
bility and their tendency to form yellowish stain during
dark storage; these tests could also help evaluate different
modes of processing (such as the effects of a washless
stabilizer on color print stability), or the effects of post-
processing treatments such as print lacquers. Although
these single-temperature tests indicated, in a general way,
how one product compared with another in terms of over-
all dye stability, they were not able to predict how many
years under a specified storage condition (e.g., at normal
room temperature) a product would last before losing a
given amount of dye density. Single-temperature tests also
do not provide a good assessment of changes in color bal-
ance (caused by the image dyes fading at different rates),
nor does the indicated rate of yellowish stain formation
necessarily relate to the rate of dye fading that would oc-
cur at room temperature.
The Arrhenius Test: A Predictive, Accelerated
Dark Fading and Dark Staining Test Method
The dark fading test specified in the ANSI IT9.9-1990
Standard is a predictive test based on the now well-known
Arrhenius equation formulated in the late 1800s by Swed-
ish physicist and chemist Svante August Arrhenius (1859
1927) to describe the relationship between temperature
and the rate of simple chemical reactions.
14
Arrhenius
received a Nobel prize in chemistry in 1903 for his electro-
lytic dissociation theory; he was the author of works on
biological chemistry, electrochemistry, physical chemis-
try, and astronomy.
The Arrhenius equation was applied in the 1950s by
Fred H. Steiger
15
of the Rohm and Haas Company in Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania and others in accelerated aging
studies of fabric dyes, anti-static treatments, curing rates
of plastics, the deterioration of rubber, and the life of poly-
ester-glass laminates.
16,17
little affected, and high humidities sharply increase yel-
lowish stain formation in incorporated-coupler chromoge-
nic materials such as Kodak Ektacolor paper and Ekta-
chrome film. Ilford has reported that high-humidity tests
(above 60% RH) conducted at high temperatures may cause
physical deaggregation (resulting in a loss of optical den-
sity) in the azo dyes in Ilfochrome (Cibachrome).
13
Similar
dye deaggregation is not believed to occur at normal stor-
age temperatures, and for this reason, accelerated dark
fading tests at high humidities will produce misleading
results with Ilfochrome.
In some cases, a material is so unstable (or enough
time is available) that non-accelerated, real-time tests at
normal room temperature are possible within a reasonable
length of time (Figure 2.22). The now-discontinued Agfa-
color Type 4 paper is an example; when stored in the dark
in this authors office at 75F (24C), sample prints suffered
a 20% cyan dye loss in 1,175 days (3.2 years). In an acceler-
ated test at 144F (62C), a 20% cyan density loss occurred
in 9 days. From this, one could draw the cautious conclu-
sion that this authors accelerated test increased the rate
of fading about 130 times. The number of years required
for a 10% cyan dye loss to occur in Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC
prints kept in the dark at 75F (24C) showed a similar
relationship with data from this authors accelerated tests
reported in Chapter 5.
This means, for example, that Kodak Ektacolor Plus
paper, which reached a 20% cyan dye loss after 230 days at
144F (62C) and 45% RH in this authors test, would be
expected to last approximately 80 years at 75F (24C) and
45% RH before the same degree of fading occurred. This is
in good agreement with Kodaks Arrhenius prediction of 76
years for the paper. (Kodaks published data for Ektacolor
Plus show that the yellow dye is slightly less stable than
the cyan dye; that this authors tests showed cyan to be the
least stable can probably be attributed to an older method
of d-min correction that was used by Kodak.) Comparison
of this authors data for a number of other Kodak film and
print materials with Kodaks Arrhenius data for these prod-
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#225SA
(74%)
predictions in terms of years of storage at a specific
temperature (for actual products, Kodak generally has pub-
lished only the upper of the two graphs).
Reproduced in Figure 2.24 is the original dark storage
stability graph published by Konica in April 1984 for Konica
Color Paper Type SR paper. The graph was based on
Arrhenius test data, and this was the first time that such
data for a color product had been included in nontechnical
advertising and promotional publications.
In Arrhenius tests, the rate of stain formation and the
fading characteristics (dependence of fading on tempera-
ture) of each dye are determined separately, and this al-
lows prediction of color-balance changes as well as mean-
ingful evaluation of stain growth and how stain will affect
color balance. To date, however, none of the manufactur-
ers have reported data on color-balance changes as influ-
enced by stain formation. And, with the exception of Fuji
for its low-stain Fujicolor Super FA and SFA3 color nega-
tive papers (Figure 2.25) and Fujichrome Type 34 and Type
35 color reversal papers, none of the manufacturers have
disclosed data on yellowish stain formation for their re-
spective products during dark storage.
Since the publication of Arrhenius test data for Konica
Type SR paper in 1984, other manufacturers, notably Fuji
and Agfa, have also published Arrhenius data for their color
Steiger described the Arrhenius equation as follows:
Arrhenius expressed the effect of tempera-
ture on the rate of reaction by the expression
(1)
where k is the rate constant of the reaction, R is
the universal gas constant, T is the absolute tem-
perature and E is an equation constant. If E is
assumed to be independent of temperature, the
above expression may be integrated to
(2)
where I is an integration constant.
The constant E represents the heat of activa-
tion or the energy required to convert unreac-
tive molecules to active ones. This quantity
may be determined by plotting ln K against l/T
since equation 2 shows the slope of such a plot to
be E/R. The integrated form of the Arrhenius
equation is used most frequently to calculate the
heat of activation of a reaction.
The phenomenon of aging, which we attribute
to inanimate items, may be treated as a single
chemical or physical reaction or a series of reac-
tions of that item with itself or its environment.
Since the rate of most of these reactions is de-
pendent on temperature, it is possible to use the
Arrhenius equation to solve problems involving
the aging of materials.
The Arrhenius equation was first applied to the study of
the dark fading of color photographic materials by George
W. Larson and his co-workers at Eastman Kodak in the
1960s. The first publication of image stability data based
on an Arrhenius test was by Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren
Graham, and Lloyd E. West of Eastman Kodak in an article
entitled Preservation of Motion-Picture Color Films Hav-
ing Permanent Value, in the November 1970 issue of the
Journal of the SMPTE.
18
Tucked away in the article was a
small graph showing predicted times for a 10% density loss
of the least stable dye (cyan) of samples of an unidentified
Kodak motion picture color negative and motion picture
print film stored at a wide range of temperatures.
Although it went almost unnoticed at the time, this small
graph represented a major breakthrough in the evaluation
and preservation of color materials. The data represented
in the graph provided the rationale for the construction of
low-temperature, humidity-controlled storage facilities for
the long-term preservation of color films and prints at mu-
seums such as the John F. Kennedy Library, the Art Insti-
tute of Chicago, the Peabody Museum at Harvard Univer-
sity, and at NASA in Houston, Texas (see Chapter 20).
In 1980 Charleton Bard, George Larson, Howell Hammond,
and Clarence Packard of Eastman Kodak published an ar-
ticle describing the application of the Arrhenius test at
Kodak in detail,
19
and this article provided the basis for the
Arrhenius dark storage test that appears in the ANSI IT9.9-
1990 Standard. Figure 2.23 illustrates how Arrhenius test
data are graphically plotted by Kodak to yield dark storage
Svante Arrhenius (18591927), the Swedish physicist
and chemist whose study of the influence of tempera-
ture on the rate of chemical reactions provided the
theoretical foundation for the predictive, accelerated
dark aging test that now bears his name. In 1903
Arrhenius was awarded a Nobel prize for his work in
chemistry. (Photograph courtesy of the Swedish Infor-
mation Service)
d ln k E
dT RT
2
E
RT
ln K = + I
=
T
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Figure 2.23
(100%)
Figure 2.23 An Arrhenius plot gen-
erated by Eastman Kodak using data
obtained in five accelerated dark fad-
ing tests, each employing a different
temperature but the same relative hu-
midity. This illustrative plot is based
on yellow dye fading data from a Ko-
dak product. Similar Arrhenius plots
can also be produced for cyan and
magenta dye fading, and for d-min
stain growth. Data for yellow dye
fading (reproduced in the upper left)
serve as the starting point for this
illustration of the method of project-
ing high-temperature keeping data to
predict long-term keeping at lower
temperatures. The first step in mak-
ing the prediction is to replot the origi-
nal data from the upper left on a new
plot with the reciprocal of the abso-
lute temperature on the vertical scale
(solid lines at lower left). The down-
ward arrows show how one density
level is replotted (0.90 density retained
corresponds to 0.10 dye loss) to record
the data points that determine the
straight line representing constant dye
density loss. The same method is
used to establish the other straight
lines representing 0.05, 0.20, and 0.30
density loss. Extending the straight-
line plots (dashed lines) to the 24C
(75F) line gives an estimate of the
time that it would take at 24C (75F)
to reach the corresponding density
level (dye loss). The predicted dark
keeping can also be shown on the
density-time plot (upper right) to cor-
relate with actual keeping data. (From:
Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman
Motion Picture Film, Kodak Publica-
tion DS-100, May 29, 1981. Repro-
duced with permission of Eastman
Kodak Company.)
print papers. Kodak published detailed Arrhenius data for
most of its color films, color papers, and color motion pic-
ture films in the early 1980s, but more recently the com-
pany has returned to a policy of non-disclosure regarding
the stability of most of its products.
Although Arrhenius tests show that the dependence of
fading on temperature differs to some degree with differ-
ent dyes in different products, it is nonetheless possible to
average data from a wide range of products and come up
with a general relationship between temperature and rate
of fading. Kodak has published a number of such general-
ized estimates and they have been plotted in Figure 20.1
(page 696) in Chapter 20. Such plots allow determination
of an approximate fading rate factor for any storage tem-
perature of interest. This in turn allows storage-life esti-
mates to be made for a particular product kept in cold
storage if a room-temperature estimate (75F [24C]) for
the product is available. This is how the image-life predic-
tions for Kodak products stored at various temperatures
given in Chapters 9, 19, and 20 were derived.
Running Arrhenius tests is complex and requires four
or more precision, humidity-controlled ovens; the high cost
of the equipment has kept the tests from being performed
except by the major photographic manufacturers. Inde-
pendent laboratories are beginning to acquire the neces-
sary equipment and expertise to run the tests, however,
and in 1986, B. Lavedrine, C. Trannois, and F. Flieder at
the Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Docu-
ments Graphiques in Paris published results from Arrhe-
nius tests on Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa-Gevaert negative and
reversal motion picture films.
20
More recently, the Image Permanence Institute at the
Rochester Institute of Technology began conducting Arrhe-
nius tests with color materials on a consulting basis and
for grant-funded research projects. (It is against the policy
of IPI to routinely publish stability comparisons of color
products. Like RIT itself, IPI has received substantial funding
from Eastman Kodak, and this has imposed certain re-
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Figure 2.25
(71%)
Figure 2.24
(66%)
Figure 2.24 Reproduced here is the original dark stor-
age dye-stability graph for Konica Color Paper Type SR
published by Konica in April 1984. Based on data
obtained in Arrhenius tests, this graph marked the first
time that such stability data were included in consumer-
oriented advertising. Using a 30% dye loss criterion,
Konica was able to claim that Type SR prints would last
more than 100 years in album storage under normal
conditions. (From: Konica Technical Data Sheet
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR, Konica Pub. No.
TDSK-213E, April 1984. Reproduced with permission
of Konica Corporation.)
Figure 2.25 Arrhenius tests can be used to predict dye
fading and yellowish stain formation in terms of years of
storage at specified temperature and humidity condi-
tions. Predictive data for yellowish stain formation were
first published by Fuji in 1987 for Fujichrome Paper Type
34; in 1988 similar data were published for Fujicolor Pa-
per Super FA and Fujicolor Color Professional Paper Su-
per FA. Stain data were also published for Fujicolor
Paper Super FA Type 3 (shown here), introduced in 1992.
(From: Fuji Film Data Sheet Fujicolor Paper Super FA
Type 3, Fuji Ref. No. AF3723E, January 1992. Repro-
duced with permission of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.)
strictions on IPI in terms of what the institute can do and
what it will publish.)
This author hopes to acquire the necessary equipment
for Arrhenius testing in 1993.
Precision and Accuracy
of Arrhenius Tests
The general validity of Arrhenius test procedures has
been confirmed by comparisons that have been made be-
tween Arrhenius predictions and the fading and staining
that actually occurred with a variety of color films and
papers stored under normal room-temperature conditions
for many years by Kodak and the other major manufactur-
ers. Kodak in particular has accumulated extensive natu-
ral aging data on the companys color films and papers.
Kodaks Long Range Testing Program monitors densitom-
etry changes over time in samples of hundreds of products
stored at 75F (24C) and 40% RH, and at 79F (26C) and
60% RH. In addition, freezer samples for checking densito-
meter calibration and for visual reference are preserved at
10F (23C).
21
This author has a more modest long-range monitoring
program for samples of color prints and films stored in the
dark at normal room temperatures. These tests were started
in 1978 and already have yielded much useful data on color
print dye fading and d-min yellowish stain formation; dark
fading curves for Agfacolor Type 4 and Ektacolor 74 RC
color papers are presented in Figure 2.22. The tests have
also provided rough years of storage correlations with
this authors single-temperature accelerated test data in-
cluded in Chapter 5. Densitometer check samples of se-
lected materials are preserved under refrigeration.
Many potential variables can be encountered when run-
ning an Arrhenius test; for accurate and repeatable re-
sults, every aspect of the test procedure must be controlled
precisely. In a 1986 presentation on application of the
Arrhenius procedure for testing color papers,
22
Charleton
C. Bard of Kodak said:
The sources of variability are many; some
of the principal ones being paper manufac-
ture, process, sensitometry, densitometry,
incubation conditions, data processing, and
the actual number of data points used to
prepare the Arrhenius plot. [It is best] to
repeat, independently, the test procedure
many times (e.g., more than 10 times). Un-
fortunately, for the very stable papers cur-
rently available, this procedure takes a lot
of time. Thus, it is quite probable that while
this long test procedure is under way, the
product being tested is no longer for sale.
Based on the experience of the Image Stability Techni-
cal Center at Kodak, Bard offered some estimates of the
precision and accuracy of Arrhenius predictions for color
prints:
For a dye that has a predicted time of up to 30
years to lose 10% of its density when stored in
the dark at the specified conditions (such as 24C/
40% RH), the predicted time (30 years) is prob-
ably reliable to no more than 6 years ( 20%).
For a dye that has a predicted time of about
100 years to lose a specified amount of density,
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#4014
(58%)
M
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2
2
,

1
9
9
1
Precision temperature- and
humidity-controlled ovens are
used for incubating film and
print samples in Arrhenius
tests. Because products must
be tested for long periods at
a minimum of four different
temperatures (typically 55,
65, 75, and 85C), and per-
haps two or more relative hu-
midity levels, a large number
of ovens may be required.
Suitable ovens cost between
$3,000 and $10,000 each.
Shown here are the test ov-
ens at the Image Permanence
Institute at the Rochester In-
stitute of Technology in Roch-
ester, New York. James Reilly,
director of IPI, is checking
samples of Ilford Cibachrome
(Ilfochrome) micrographic film
and other color microfilms un-
dergoing Arrhenius testing.
much more humid than Phoenix, Arizona, located in the
desert in the southwestern United States. No comprehen-
sive study has been published about worldwide, popula-
tion-based, indoor relative humidity, but what information
is available strongly suggests that the worldwide average
is above 60%, since the majority of the worlds population
lives in tropical or subtropical areas.
A 1981 Kodak study of the environmental conditions in
two typical homes in Rochester, New York found that the
indoor relative humidity ranged from 31% to 74%, with the
year-round average of the two homes being 54%.
24
Be-
cause Rochester is a northern city with a long winter (in-
door relative humidities are generally low during cold
months), the average relative humidity would be expected
to be higher in much of the country.
The ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard recommends a rela-
tive humidity of 50% for the Arrhenius tests, although the
user of the Standard may select a different humidity level
if the expected storage condition is higher (or lower) than
50% RH:
Because the effects of humidity on image
stability can differ markedly from one product
to another, it is useful to evaluate its effect.
This is done by means of a series of tempera-
ture tests carried out at different relative hu-
midities. If the relative humidity during stor-
age is expected to be significantly lower than
50% RH, such as in an arid climate, or signifi-
cantly higher, as in a tropical climate, the rela-
tive humidity selected for the test should cor-
respond to the climate. However, at relative
humidities above 60%, especially at the high
temperatures employed in accelerated tests,
misleading results may be obtained because of
difficulties in maintaining constant moisture lev-
els and because of abrupt changes in the physi-
the true value of the time could be as low as 50
years and as high as 200 years.
Therefore, for a very stable paper, >50 years
for a 10% dye loss, the best statement that usu-
ally can be made is that for album keeping, the
print will remain acceptable for more than a cen-
tury (at 24C, 4060% RH). Of course, to be abso-
lutely certain of the validity of this statement, we
will have to wait for more than a century.
Increased Fading Rates With Color Motion
Picture Films Stored in Standard Film Cans
All of the dark storage dye stability data given in this
book were based on Arrhenius tests conducted with free-
hanging film samples exposed to circulating air. Research
disclosed by A. Tulsi Ram et al. of Eastman Kodak in late
1992 showed that storing films in sealed or semi-sealed
containers (e.g., vapor-proof bags and standard taped or
untaped metal and plastic motion picture film cans) could
substantially increase the rates of dye fading and film base
deterioration.
23
Therefore, the estimates given in this book
for color motion picture films probably considerably over-
state the actual stabilities of the films when they are stored
in standard film cans under the listed temperature and
humidity conditions. For further discussion of this topic,
refer to Chapter 9.
Relative Humidity Levels
for Accelerated Dark Storage Tests
What is the best relative humidity for conducting dark
storage tests? Ideally, accelerated tests should be run at
the same humidity level in which photographs are stored
and displayed; this varies considerably depending on geo-
graphic location and season of the year. New Orleans,
Louisiana, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, is
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Figure 2.26
(133%)
Figure 2.26 In high-humidity conditions, color photo-
graphs generally fade faster and form higher levels of
yellowish stain than they do when stored under more
moderate conditions. Shown here are Arrhenius predic-
tions for 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% RH for Konica Color PC
Paper Professional Type EX (Type EX has the same stabil-
ity characteristics as Konica Color PC Paper Type SR).
Most of the dye stability data published by Konica to date
have been for 60% RH, but it is likely that Konica and the
other major manufacturers will in the future adopt 50% RH
for published data because this is the value recommended
by ANSI IT9.91990. (From: Konica Technical Data Sheet
Konica Color PC Paper Professional Type EX, Konica
Pub. No. TDSK231E, February 1987.)
With most color materials, light fading is characterized
by a disproportionate amount of dye fading in the lower
density portions of the image. This results in a loss of
highlight detail while the darker parts of the image may
appear to be unchanged. In the case of a white wedding
dress, the sense of texture and weave in the cloth is usu-
ally conveyed by a very low-density image (typically about
0.20 to 0.35) and can be totally lost after only a relatively
short period of display. With a photograph of this type, it is
difficult to know if the print ever had significant highlight
detail that is, was it once a good print which is now
somewhat faded, or was it just a poor photograph to begin
with?
Perceptions of fading can be closely intertwined with
the image quality of a print when new. Obviously, if a print
is made with an overly green color balance, it will be diffi-
cult to tell if it shifts a bit further toward green as a result
of magenta dye loss during light fading because the image
quality of the print is objectionable whether or not it has
faded.
cal properties of some components of photo-
graphic image layers, such as gelatin. Fur-
thermore, the combination of high temperature
and high relative humidity may cause changes
that are not typical of a photographs behavior
under normal storage conditions.
This author believes that 60% is probably the single
most representative relative humidity for stability tests,
and this level or two levels: 60% and 40% will probably
be adopted by this author for future work (60% RH has
been used satisfactorily for many years in this authors
accelerated light fading tests see Chapter 3). Konica
has used 60% RH for most of its published Arrhenius data
(Figure 2.26 shows the influence of relative humidity on
the dye fading of Konica Type EX and Type SR papers).
Fuji has run Arrhenius tests at <10% RH and at 70% RH,
and Arrhenius predictions for Fuji products stored at both
of these humidity levels are given in Table 5.12 in Chapter
5 (these two humidity levels apparently were chosen based
on ANSI PH1.42-1969).
Most data published by Kodak are based on 40% RH
tests, although Kodak also routinely runs tests at 60% RH.
25
Reporting data for two relative humidities is helpful be-
cause this gives a clear indication of the humidity-depen-
dence of fading and staining for a material. The dark fad-
ing rates of some dyes are greatly increased by high-hu-
midity storage, while other dyes are little affected. It is to
Kodaks advantage to use 40% instead of 60% RH for its
published predictions of product life because with some
products (e.g., color negatives with yellow dyes that are
highly humidity-sensitive) the fading rate will double when
the humidity is increased from 40% to 60%.
At What Point Are the Fading and Staining
of a Color Print Objectionable?
Light-caused fading and staining of a color print on dis-
play are slow but steady processes that start immediately
when the print is hung on a wall or placed in a frame on a
desk. The rate and nature of image deterioration are func-
tions of the inherent stability of the print material; the
intensity, duration, and spectral distribution of the light
used to illuminate the print; whether or not the print is
framed; and the ambient temperature and humidity.
What constitutes objectionable fading and/or staining of
a print is a highly subjective matter, and individuals may
have sharply different opinions as to what is acceptable
and what is not. And it is not simply a matter of how much
of the cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes has been lost:
some pictorial scenes show fading and staining much more
readily than others. Pictures with large areas of near-
neutral low- and medium-density areas show fading effects
much more than high-contrast scenes consisting mostly of
saturated colors and large, dark areas. People are more
sensitive to changes in the color rendition of flesh tones,
blue skies, concrete roads and sidewalks, fried chicken,
green grass, and other colors with which they are familiar
the so-called memory colors than they are to the
colors in abstract scenes and pictures of things like painted
houses and cars, which could plausibly be any of a variety
of colors.
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Serious photographers usually want the very best vi-
sual print quality they can get. For photographers who
make their own prints, it can be quite instructive to study
color balance and density differences between the final
print made from a particular negative and the closest re-
jected trial print. Although the types of changes that occur
when a color print fades especially the losses of high-
light detail caused by light fading are visually more
complex than simple color balance and density variations,
print comparisons of this type will furnish a good indica-
tion of the kinds and magnitudes of print quality deviations
the photographer considers unacceptable.
For photographers selling quality work, there are many
reasons why similar image-quality standards for evaluat-
ing new prints should also be used to determine when a
print has faded an objectionable amount. This is not to
say that a print no longer has any value and should be
disposed of when fading has progressed beyond this point,
or that the customer is even consciously aware of the fact
that the print has faded. But it does mean that the photog-
rapher considers the print to have changed beyond a point
where he or she would want to sell it if it were new. The
print has lost the richness and clarity that the photogra-
pher worked so hard to obtain, and while the customer may
not be able to define what if anything is wrong with the
image, the perception will grow that there is nothing really
special about the quality of the image. At this point, if an
unfaded comparison print is available, the average person
will immediately see the difference and will have a strong
preference for the unfaded print.
Eventually, the fading will reach a point where the cus-
tomer is consciously aware of the fact that something is
wrong with the print and if the customer considers the
image important may even take it back to the photogra-
pher to ask for a replacement. Examination of faded prints
returned to a number of portrait studios clearly indicates
that most people do not return prints until they have be-
come severely faded and discolored; however, it is likely
that the relatively small number of faded prints that actu-
ally get returned represent only the tip of the iceberg of
conscious or subconscious customer dissatisfaction. As
long as a person in a portrait can still be recognized, the
picture will probably continue to have some value to a
loved one even if it is seriously faded and discolored.
Kodak and other manufacturers have often tried to jus-
tify the inadequate stability of their products by claiming
that the average person will tolerate a significant amount
of fading and still consider a print to be acceptable as
long as an unfaded print is not available for side-by-side
comparison.
26
While this may be true, it avoids the central issues of
image quality and suggests that people should be content
with mediocre photographs. For the serious photographer,
it is not a question of what deficiencies in color prints
people will tolerate but how to deliver a product that will
convey a lasting feeling of exquisite tone and color repro-
duction.
For a museum collection, any clearly visible deteriora-
tion should be considered objectionable if it can be seen
when a print in perfect condition is compared side by side
with the print that has been displayed. The intent here is
to preserve the color photograph in an essentially unchanged
state so that the viewer can have the experience of looking
at exactly the same image the artist originally created.
The feelings of luminosity, clarity, and color intensity
which in many scenes can exist right along with very subtle
tonal gradations and color variations of a carefully printed
Ektacolor print can be considerably diminished by even a
small amount of fading and overall yellow staining.
Image-Life Limits for Fading
and Staining of Color Prints
After examining a large number of prints made on a
variety of color print materials and which had faded as a
result of exposure to light on normal long-term display,
and prints which had faded under controlled conditions
during accelerated light fading tests, this author devel-
oped two sets of criteria with limits for losses of density,
changes in color balance, and stain formation. The initial
work on these two sets of image-life criteria was done in
1978.
27
In formulating these sets of image-life criteria, this au-
thor devoted considerable study to a group of six photo-
graphs printed from medium-format Kodak color negatives
on Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper consisting of individual
and family portraits and two representative wedding pho-
tographs which had been incrementally faded using ac-
celerated light fading and dark fading procedures. These
prints were typical of high-quality portrait and wedding
photographs made by professional photographers in the
U.S. One of these negatives was subsequently selected to
make carefully matched prints on nearly every chromogenic
color negative print paper available in the U.S. since 1980
including color negative print papers manufactured by Ko-
dak, Fuji, Konica, Agfa, Mitsubishi, and 3M.
One set of image fading and staining limits, which is
intended for general use, allows a fairly large degree of
fading and color balance change to occur before the limits
are reached. The other set of criteria specifies much smaller
density losses and deviations in color balance and is in-
tended for critical museum and archive applications.
These sets of criteria limits are weighted in an attempt
to account for the differing human visual sensitivities to
losses of cyan dye (red density), magenta dye (green den-
sity), and yellow dye (blue density). With most pictorial
scenes, fading of the magenta dye is more obvious than the
same degree of fading of the cyan dye. People are much
more tolerant of the fading of yellow dye than they are of
losses of cyan and magenta; likewise, a much greater de-
gree of yellow stain can be accepted than would be the
case if the stain were of another color. Yellow contributes
very little to the perception of image detail, contrast, or the
sense of light and dark; however, the amount of yellow dye
present has a significant effect on the hue and warmth of
a photograph and is a critical component of skin-tone re-
production.
Unequal losses of cyan, magenta, or yellow dyes that
result in changes in color balance are much more notice-
able than density losses when all three dyes have faded
approximately the same amount. For this reason, both of
these sets of image-life criteria limits (end points) allow
greater overall dye fading than density loss imbalances
among the three dyes.
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Color imbalance (not stain-corrected):
Color imbalance between cyan dye (red density)
and magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%
and yellow dye (blue density). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11%
Color imbalance between magenta dye (green density)
and yellow dye (blue density). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11%
Change in minimum-density areas (clear whites),
expressed in density units:
Change [increase] in red or green density . . . . . . . 0.04
Change [increase] in blue density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08
Color imbalance between red and green densities 0.03
Color imbalance between red and blue densities . . . 0.04
Color imbalance between green and blue densities 0.04
Because 0.45 was chosen as the principal measurement
point in the Museum and Archive criteria set, the differ-
ence between the Museum and Archive and Home and
Commercial sets of criteria is greater than might be sup-
posed for chromogenic print materials such as Kodak Ek-
tacolor paper. For these products, the lower the initial
density is, the sooner a given percentage of dye loss is
reached in light fading (unlike dark fading, where the per-
centage loss tends to be equal throughout the density scale).
With light fading of dye-diffusion transfer materials such
as Polaroid Polacolor ER, this may not be true, and, quite
to the surprise of this author, some of these prints reached
a density loss criteria limit at an initial density of 0.6 or 1.0
sooner than they did at 0.45.
For museum and archive collections, this author be-
lieves that the suggested criteria limits should be consid-
ered the maximum amount of image change that can be
tolerated; with many kinds of pictorial content, differences
will be clearly visible when an identical but unfaded
print is compared with a print that has been displayed long
enough to reach one of the suggested Museum and Ar-
chive criteria limits. Museum curators may want to adopt
a more restrictive set of criteria for their collections.
The ANSI Test Methods Standard Does Not
Specify Limits for Fading and Staining
The new ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard includes a set of
image-life criteria (called color photograph image-life pa-
rameters) that do not specify change limits (called end
points in the Standard). According to the Standard:
The image-life parameters listed are the criti-
cal characteristics that have practical signifi-
cance for the visual degradation of color im-
ages; however, the numerical end points given
here [in the Standard] are only illustrative. The
General Home and Commercial Use
For general home and commercial applications, color
prints will be considered to have faded and/or stained an
objectionable amount when the first limit (end point) has
been reached in any of the following image-life criteria, as
determined from changes measured in gray-scale densi-
ties of 0.6 and 1.0, and in d-min (white) patches:
Absolute dye density loss (stain-corrected):
Loss of cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Loss of magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Loss of yellow dye (blue density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35%
Color imbalance (not stain-corrected):
and [minus] magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . 12%
and [minus] cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
and [plus or minus] yellow dye (blue density). . . . . 18%
and [plus or minus] yellow dye (blue density) . . . . . 18%
Change limits in minimum-density areas (clear
whites), expressed in density units:
Change [increase] in red or green density . . . . . . . 0.06
Change [increase] in blue density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15
Color imbalance between red and green densities 0.05
Color imbalance between red and blue densities . . . 0.10
Color imbalance between green and blue densities 0.10
Critical Museum and Archive Use
For museum and archive applications (and also for im-
portant commercial and documentary photographs, where
color and tone reproduction are critical), color prints will
be considered to have faded and/or stained an objection-
able amount when the first limit (end point) has been reached
in any of the following image-life criteria, as determined
from changes measured in gray-scale densities of 0.45 and
1.0, and in d-min (white) patches:
Absolute dye density loss (stain-corrected):
Loss of cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9%
Loss of magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9%
Loss of yellow dye (blue density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13%
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subcommittee that produced this standard was
not able to specify broadly applicable accept-
able end points because the amount of image
change that can be tolerated is subjective, and
will vary with the product type and specific con-
sumer or institutional requirements. Each user
of this standard shall select end points for the
listed parameters which, in that users judg-
ment, are appropriate for the specific product
and intended application. Selected end points
may be different for light and dark stability tests.
The set of criteria in ANSI IT9.9-1990 also does not
make provision for selecting different limits for cyan, ma-
genta, and yellow dye losses, or for different limits for dif-
ferent directions of color balance change. In the future,
ANSI may adopt a set of specifications for what constitutes
acceptable fading and staining for color print and film
materials.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, no one yet
had published Arrhenius predictions based on the set of
image-life parameters specified in ANSI IT9.9-1990. Since
1984, Konica has used a simple 30% loss of the least stable
image dye limit on which to base its claim of a 100-year
dark storage life for Konica Color Paper Type SR (also
called Century Print Paper and Long Life 100 Paper in
Konica's promotional literature for the paper). This is a
fairly large loss in dye density and results in a significant
color shift toward magenta. Especially with Type SR paper
processed with a normal water wash, the dye loss is ac-
companied by a high level of yellowish stain. One could
speculate that Konicas principal motivation in selecting
the large, 30% density loss figure was so that the claim of a
100-year print life could be made.
Eastman Kodaks Guidelines
for Color Image Fading
In a March 1991 Eastman Kodak publication entitled
Evaluating Image Stability of Kodak Color Photographic
Products,
28
the company issued the following dye-loss guide-
lines (from a 1.0 neutral patch) for prints, transparencies,
and other color materials that are directly viewed (these
guidelines do not apply to color negative materials):
0.10 Dye Loss (remaining density 0.90)
A 10% dye loss is only observable in a critical side-by-
side comparison with an unfaded sample of the same
image.
A 20% dye loss is observable in a critical evaluation of
the image by itself by someone familiar with the origi-
nal quality of the image.
A 30% dye loss is sufficient that most observers are
aware that the image has faded and has less quality.
However, since this is a very subjective evaluation, losses
beyond 30% may continue to be acceptable depending
on the intended use of the photographic material or the
nature of the image.
Kodak went on to say: These are only general guide-
lines, and assume some neutral and some non-neutral fad-
ing. Neutral fading (equal fading of different colors) is far
less evident than non-neutral fading (unequal fading of
colors). The most extreme case is where fading of one dye
in the material is significantly different from the fading of
the other two dyes.
Following Konicas lead, Kodak has in a few instances
also based claims of a 100-year+ life for Ektacolor paper
stored in the dark on a 30% loss of the least stable image
dye.
ANSI Abolishes the Term Archival,
Replacing It with LE Ratings for B&W Films
In 1990, ANSI Committee IT9, which has jurisdiction
over ANSI standards pertaining to physical properties and
permanence of photographic materials and other imaging
media, voted to abolish the long-standing archival desig-
nation in ANSI standards for black-and-white films and in
standards concerned with storage conditions for photo-
graphic materials.
For films, ANSI replaced the archival designation with
Life Expectancy ratings (LE ratings), which are given as
years of useful life under specified processing and stor-
age conditions. Definitions for these new terms are in-
cluded in ANSI IT9.1-1991, American National Standard
for Imaging Media (Film) Silver-Gelatin Type Specifi-
cations for Stability
29
(the wording given here is tentative
and may be somewhat altered in the published version of
the Standard):
Archival Medium. A recording material that
can be expected to retain information forever
so that it can be retrieved without significant
loss when properly stored. However, there is
no such material and it is not a term to be used
in American National Standard material or sys-
tem specifications.
Life Expectancy (LE). The length of time
that information is predicted to be retrievable
in a system under extended-term storage con-
ditions. (Note: The term Life Expectancy is
a definition. However, the actual useful life of
film is very dependent upon the existing stor-
age conditions [see IT9.11].)
LE Designation. A rating for the life ex-
pectancy of recording materials and associ-
ated retrieval systems. The number following
the LE symbol is a prediction of the minimum
life expectancy in years for which information
can be retrieved without significant loss when
stored under extended term storage conditions,
e.g., LE100 indicates that information can be
retrieved after at least 100 years storage.
Extended-Term Storage Conditions. Stor-
age conditions suitable for the preservation of
recorded information having permanent value.
Medium-Term Storage Conditions. Stor-
age conditions suitable for the preservation of
recorded information for a minimum of ten years.
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stain-correcting density data at all. One certainly does not
want to reward a print material for stain! It is believed
that most of the product-fading information published by
Kodak and the other major manufacturers has been de-
rived from d-min corrected data (Kodak has not generally
published stain characteristics for prints and films stored
in the dark).
Determining color imbalances is another matter, how-
ever, and based on study of many moderately faded (and
stained) pictorial prints, it is apparent that much better
visual correlation is obtained when densitometric data are
not d-min corrected. Shifts in color balance toward yellow,
for example, are accentuated by yellow stain, and this is
visually most apparent in low-density portions of the im-
age. At the critical densities between about 0.35 and 0.60,
stain is frequently a major determinant of perceived color
shift (shown previously in Figure 2.19).
In the tests conducted by this author to help formulate
the criteria sets described here, changes in pure cyan,
magenta, and yellow patches were also measured and ana-
lyzed, although fading limits for these separate colors were
not included in either the Museum and Archive or Home
and Commercial criteria limits. When these colors also
exist in a print in equal amounts to form a neutral gray, the
pure colors often fade much faster than they do in a neu-
tral gray area. The significance of this is very scene-de-
pendent and can be difficult to interpret; for example, a
blue sky on a print typically consists mostly of cyan dye,
much of which can be lost and still leave a blue sky, even if
it is a lighter shade of blue.
The particular relationship of pure-color versus gray-
scale fading also differs with each type of print material,
and this author feels that a great deal more study is re-
quired if meaningful limits are to be assigned. In general,
the analysis of gray-scale fading appears to be the best
single indicator of the overall light fading performance of a
material.
How much and what kind of image fading and staining
are objectionable, and defining the useful life of a dis-
played color print, are topics that are certain to be dis-
cussed and argued about for years to come. Although much
effort has gone into determining the two sets of criteria
limits given here, they are obviously not the last word on
the subject. Statistical studies need to be done to better
evaluate the responses to faded images by people of differ-
ent backgrounds and cultures. Variation of tolerance to
yellowish print stain among individuals in different parts
of the world is a highly interesting aspect of this subject
and certainly merits further investigation.
This author expects that these criteria will be modified
in the future as more experience is gained with faded prints
made on the broad range of color products now on the
market; it is also possible that separate sets of criteria
should be devised for dark-faded prints and transparen-
cies because this type of deterioration has some signifi-
cant visual differences from fading and staining caused by
light fading.
The selection of a particular percentage of density loss,
beyond which fading will be considered objectionable, will
always be somewhat arbitrary. Given the variety of picto-
rial scenes, the different fading characteristics of the many
types of print materials in use, and the variations in indi-
In ANSI IT9.1-1991, the maximum LE rating for black-
and-white films with a cellulose ester (e.g., cellulose triac-
etate) base is set at 100 years when the film is kept under
Extended-Term storage conditions, and the maximum LE
rating for polyester-base films is 500 years.
If ANSI subcommittee IT9-3, the group responsible for
the ANSI IT9.9 color stability test methods Standard, is
able to come to agreement on what constitutes accept-
able levels of fading and staining for color prints and films,
and can also define a set of standard storage and display
conditions, the concept of LE ratings could be expanded to
include color materials.
Densitometric Correction for
Minimum-Density Yellowish Stain
In this authors tests, most types of prints developed
some yellow stain density as a consequence of exposure to
light, but in almost no case was a minimum-density (stain)
criterion the first limit to be reached. In accelerated dark
fading tests, the minimum-density change limits were of-
ten reached very quickly, but Ilford Cibachrome (Ilfochrome),
Kodak Dye Transfer, and Fuji Dyecolor prints developed
little if any stain density during these light fading tests.
For determining absolute density loss of the cyan, ma-
genta, and yellow dyes, this author has d-min corrected
(also called stain-corrected) all densitometric data prior
to analysis. That is, increases in red, green, or blue den-
sity measured at d-min have been subtracted from the all
densities above d-min. If stain density were not subtracted,
it would, to the degree that stain has occurred, mask the
dye fading that has actually taken place. For example, a
yellowish d-min stain causing a blue density increase of
0.08 could make a medium-density yellow dye appear not to
have faded at all when in fact it lost 0.08.
While it is true that the human eye does not subtract
stain density in this way (a person looking at a print sees
the visual combination of the image dye and stain), it is
essential that stain be subtracted for meaningful analysis
of density loss. Otherwise, it would be of benefit for a print
to develop stain density because this would lessen mea-
sured dye fading. In this authors sets of image-life fading
limits, losses of absolute density can be thought of as in-
formation losses, measured as losses of image detail and
contrast.
The concept of stain-correcting (d-min correcting) data
makes the assumption that stain measured at d-min oc-
curs to the same degree throughout the density range of
the print. Unfortunately, this assumption is not always
justified; some types of photographs (e.g., Polacolor 2 prints)
generate more stain in high-density areas than at d-min.
Stain in chromogenic prints is caused mostly by print-
out of unused magenta coupler, and logic would dictate
that in high-density portions of an image, most of the ma-
genta coupler has been converted to image dye and there-
fore less stain should be present. However, with a conven-
tional densitometer, stain density cannot be distinguished
from dye density, except by inference from changes ob-
served at d-min, and for this reason we have no recourse
except to base corrections on d-min measurements.
It is obvious that even with its shortcomings, d-min cor-
rections made in this manner are better than simply not
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#27 (John Wolf)
(62%)
changes), and yellow dye density changes (blue density
changes).
During the course of this work, which had its begin-
nings in 1976, this author has used ESECO, Macbeth, and
X-Rite densitometers. More than one million individual
density readings have been made by this author during
this 16-year period. Especially in research conducted over
long periods of time, a number of potential problems with
densitometers may arise.
To maintain accuracy of the system, especially when
densitometer filters are replaced (or, a much more critical
matter, when the entire instrument is replaced with a new
model), it is essential that representative color print and
film samples be preserved in a freezer at 0F (18C) or
colder. These freezer check samples can be withdrawn
from cold storage from time to time to verify instrument
calibration. Any deviations from the original readings made
with these samples can be used to make numerical correc-
tions to current readings. This subject is discussed in
greater detail in Chapter 7, and is also discussed in ANSI
IT9.9-1990.
Computer Acquisition and Processing
of Densitometer Data
When this author acquired his first densitometer and
began doing systematic research on color stability in 1977,
each reading had to be transcribed by hand into notebooks.
This not only was tedious and time-consuming but also
required constant double-checking to keep transcription
errors to a minimum. (If a mistake is made and a number
is incorrectly entered into a notebook, it is usually difficult
to detect, and if it happens to be detected, it is usually
impossible to precisely correct after the fact.)
During the course of a test, densitometer readings from
each individual sample may be taken ten or more times.
vidual responses to faded photographs, it would be difficult
to say that a minimum-density color imbalance of 0.06 be-
tween yellow and magenta is acceptable while a 0.08 color
imbalance is not. Yet, in some cases, that small 0.02 varia-
tion in acceptability can result in a large difference in the
stability ranking of a product.
In spite of these limitations, the two sets of image-life
criteria given here can be quite helpful in comparing the
image stability of one product with another, and in making
predictions of how long a particular type of print can be
displayed before objectionable fading occurs. The criteria
correlate reasonably well with visual perceptions of faded
color images, and this author believes they represent a
significant improvement over past methods of evaluating
the fading and staining of color photographs.
Densitometers for Measuring
Fading and Staining
Photographic densitometers are electronic instruments
that measure the optical density of photographic materi-
als. Transmission densitometers are used with transpar-
ent films, and prints are measured with reflection densito-
meters. The instruments have long been employed in the
photographic industry for research and development work,
process control, and other purposes.
Color densitometers have separate filters, or channels,
that measure the densities of the cyan, magenta, and yel-
low dyes that form the images in most color materials. In
what is sometimes confusing to those not familiar with
color densitometry and the subtractive system of color im-
age formation, the cyan dye is measured with a red filter
(because cyan dye absorbs light primarily in the red por-
tion of the spectrum) and changes in cyan dye density are
often referred to as red density changes. The same holds
true for magenta dye density changes (green density
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Henry Wilhelm taking density
readings from print samples
that have been undergoing ac-
celerated light fading tests.
Since this work began in 1977,
this author has made more
than one million individual den-
sitometer readings. At first,
as was the case when this
photograph was taken in 1980,
the data were manually tran-
scribed into notebooks. Since
1983, however, the data have
been downloaded electroni-
cally from Macbeth and X-Rite
densitometers to a Hewlett-
Packard HP-125 computer for
recording, d-min correction,
and analysis according to the
sets of image-life criteria de-
scribed in this chapter. To
facilitate this work, a number
of computer programs were
written for this author by June
Clearman, a mathematician
and programmer.
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#2BS5
(77%)
With each sample, which consists of a photograph of a
Macbeth ColorChecker color test chart, four readings
(through the red, green, blue, and visual densitometer fil-
ters) are made from 11 of the patches in the ColorChecker
image. Included among the patches that are measured are
a 6-step gray scale; cyan, magenta, and yellow patches;
and light and dark skin tone patches. In addition, a read-
ing is made from a separate clear d-min (white) patch.
This comes to a total of at least 480 individual densitom-
eter readings per sample. To improve the reliability of the
whole testing procedure, a minimum of three replicate
samples are run for each product under each test condi-
tion. Over the years this has involved thousands of samples
and well over one million individual density readings.
After the data are recorded, there remains the task of
determining at exactly what point the limit for each of the
previously described fading and staining criteria has been
reached. Because the test samples do not have precise 1.0
or 0.6 (or 0.45 for museum and archive applications) neu-
tral density patches from which to report changes in red,
green, and blue densities, it is necessary to mathemati-
cally interpolate the desired densities from adjacent patches
that are both higher and lower in density than the target
densities. Additionally, the density loss criteria require
that data be corrected for yellowish or other stain that
develops in d-min areas over the course of a test.
With an ever-increasing number of product samples be-
ing added to this authors testing program, the amount of
work involved soon became so overwhelming that it could
not continue without computerizing the entire data acqui-
sition, d-min correction, and criteria analysis process.
Over a period of several years, beginning in 1983, June
Clearman, a mathematician and computer programmer who
at the time worked at the Robert N. Noyce Computer Cen-
ter at nearby Grinnell College, wrote a series of programs
to run on this authors Hewlett-Packard HP-125 computer
to handle all of the necessary data recording and analysis
tasks (see Appendix 2.1 on page 99 for a description of
some of the mathematical procedures employed in these
programs). Both the Macbeth TR-924 and X-Rite 310 den-
sitometers used by this author were hardwired directly to
the HP-125 computer using interface routines written by
Clearman, and this eliminated the need for manual tran-
scription of data into notebooks.
Special programs were written to enter into the com-
puter the densitometer data that had been transcribed in
notebooks during the previous 6 years. Keyboarding and
verifying the accumulated notebook data were a major un-
dertaking, but this transcription permitted d-min correc-
tions, density scale interpolations, and criteria analysis to
This author, his son David Wilhelm, and Carol Brower discussing some of the test data accumulated over the years. Data
files are stored on computer disks, and hardcopy printouts (shown here in ring binders) are generated by computer after
each sample has been read with a densitometer.
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#18010
(59%)
exclusively. Because of Kodaks close involvement with
Qualex, it was assumed that the labs pay close attention to
proper chemical replenishment and washing, and the con-
sistency of stability data obtained from the same type of
film processed at different times by Kodalux suggests that
this is, at least for the most part, true.
In order to obtain closely matched pictorial prints for
reproduction in this book, for use in articles, and for corre-
sponding Macbeth ColorChecker
30
test samples for densi-
tometry, EP-2 and R-3 compatible papers were processed
by this author with Kodak chemicals in a Kodak Rapid
Color Processor (Model 11) which has been fitted with a
precise electronic temperature regulator. Each test print
was made with fresh chemicals (Kodak Ektaprint EP-2 Stop
Bath was used between the developer and bleach/fix), and
the prints were carefully washed.
Processed Cibachrome samples were furnished by Il-
ford in Switzerland, and additional samples were processed
by this author. Kodak Dye Transfer prints were made in
several different New York City labs. Fuji Dyecolor prints
were made by Fuji in Japan. UltraStable Permanent Color
prints and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints were supplied
by Charles Berger, the inventor of both processes.
Konica, Fuji, and Agfa RA-4 compatible paper samples
be done by computer with the data from the older products
and proved to be a very valuable addition to this authors
product-stability database.
Today, these data files are stored on about 200 floppy
disks. To avoid data loss in the event of fire or tornado
(most of the town of Grinnell was destroyed by a tornado in
1882, and a tornado hit the edge of town in 1978), a com-
plete backup set of data disks is kept in a safe deposit box
in a Grinnell bank. In addition, hardcopy printouts in bind-
ers are kept for all of the data. In the future, the whole
system will be transferred to Apple Macintosh computers
and additional programs will be written for Arrhenius test-
ing and other data-handling and analysis needs.
Processing of Test Samples
When Kodak, Fuji, and other manufacturers test color
films and papers, their samples have received optimal pro-
cessing and thorough washing under carefully controlled
laboratory conditions. This is done both to show the prod-
ucts to their best advantage and to be sure that tests will
be repeatable over time (that is, to eliminate processing
variations as a consideration).
In the real world of replenished processing lines, hur-
ried lab schedules, and efforts to keep chemical and water
costs to a minimum, conditions frequently are not so well
controlled, and image stability can suffer. In some cases,
processing shortcomings such as chemical exhaustion, ex-
cessive carryover of processing solutions from one tank to
the next, inadequate water flow in wash tanks, or omission
of a stabilizer bath have resulted in drastic reduction in
image stability.
In recent years, a number of companies have entered
the photographic processing chemicals market, generally
supplying chemicals at lower cost than do Kodak, Fuji, and
the other major manufacturers. What effects that process-
ing chemicals from these outside suppliers might have on
long-term image stability is not known. Some companies,
in an effort to shorten processing time or reduce the num-
ber of processing steps, have substituted color developing
agents, eliminated stabilizer baths, and taken other short-
cuts that could adversely affect image stability. For pre-
dictable results, it is recommended that only chemicals
from the major materials manufacturers (i.e., Kodak, Fuji,
Agfa, and Konica) be used for processing test samples.
Processing recommendations, replenishment rates, wash
flow, and temperature specifications should be followed to
the letter.
Most labs try to retain tight control on color developer
activity that is, to reduce any process deviation result-
ing in image-quality losses that can be visually assessed
immediately after processing. But other processing prob-
lems, such as too-diluted (or omitted) C-41 or E-6 stabilizer
baths, excess bleach/fix carryover, or inadequate washing,
may not manifest themselves until years later.
In an attempt to represent the real world of good-qual-
ity, replenished-line processing, all C-41 color negative films,
E-6 transparency films, and Kodachrome films in this authors
testing program were processed by the Kodalux Process-
ing Services of Qualex, Inc. Eastman Kodak owns almost
half of Qualex (the former Kodak Processing Laboratories
are now part of Qualex), and Kodak chemicals are used
Carefully processed print samples for testing are pro-
duced in the Preservation Publishing Company dark-
room. Most of the prints have been processed with a
Kodak Rapid Color Processor (Model 11) equipped
with a precision, electronically controlled temperature
regulator. Processing chemicals are freshly mixed,
used only once, and then discarded. Prints are thor-
oughly washed, both front and back.
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Type 35, Fuji Film Data Sheet (Color Reversal Papers), Ref. No. AF3-
718E (92.1-OB-3-1), January 1992, p. 7. See also: Fuji Photo Film
Co., Ltd., Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA, Fuji Film Data
Sheet (Color Negative Papers), Ref. No. AF3-661E (90.2-OB-10-1),
February 1990, p. 7. See also: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujicolor
Paper Super FA Type 3, Fuji Film Data Sheet (Color Negative Pa-
pers), Ref. No. AF3-723E (92.1-OB-5-1), January 1992, p. 7.
6. Ilford Photo Corporation, Mounting and Laminating Cibachrome
Display Print Materials and Films, (Technical Information Manual),
Cat. No. 7929-RMI 895M, 1988, p. 6.
7. Stanton Anderson and Ronald Goetting, Environmental Effects on
the Image Stability of Photographic Products, Journal of Imaging
Technology, Vol. 14, No. 4, August 1988, pp. 111116. This article
contains a graph showing the predicted fading of Kodak Ektacolor
Plus Paper in display years, based on an illumination intensity of
100 lux for 12 hours per day (Fig. 24, p. 113). The 100-lux level was
adopted in Image-Stability Data: Kodachrome Films, Reference
Information from Kodak, Kodak Publication E-105, March 1988. Ko-
dak also used the 100-lux level in: Eastman Kodak Company, Evalu-
ating Image Stability of Kodak Color Photographic Products,
Kodak Publication CIS-130 (Current Information Summary), Eastman
Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650, March
1991, p. 5. These publications have not been widely distributed and
this author is not aware of any general consumer or professional
Kodak publications making an image-life prediction, expressed in
display years, based on data from accelerated light fading tests.
8. Robert Tuite, Image Stability in Color Photography, Journal of
Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 1979, pp.
200207.
9. Yoshio Seoka, Seiiti Kubodera, Toshiaki Aono, and Masato Hirano,
Some Problems in the Evaluation of Color Image Stability, Journal
of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1982, pp.
7982. This article was based on a presentation given at the 1980
International Conference on Photographic Papers, William E.
Lee, chairman, sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scientists
and Engineers (SPSE), Hot Springs, Virginia, August 11, 1980.
10. Toshiaki Aono, Kotaro Nakamura, and Nobuo Furutachi, The Effect
of Oxygen Insulation on the Stability of Image Dyes of a Color Photo-
graphic Print and the Behavior of Alkylhydroquinones as Antioxi-
dants, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8, No.
5, October 1982, pp. 227231.
11. Bob Schwalberg, with Henry Wilhelm and Carol Brower, Going!
Going!! Gone!!! Which Color Films and Papers Last Longest? How
Do the Ones You Use Stack Up?, Popular Photography, Vol. 97,
No. 6, June 1990, pp. 3749, 60. With a circulation of approximately
one million copies, Popular Photography is the worlds most widely
read photography magazine.
12. Arnold Wexler and Saburo Hasegawa, Relative Humidity-Tempera-
ture Relationships of Some Saturated Salt Solutions in the Tempera-
ture Range of 0 to 50C, Journal of Research of the National
Bureau of Standards, Vol. 4, No. 4, July 1954, pp. 1925. See also:
D. S. Carr and B. L. Harris, Solutions for Maintaining Constant Rela-
tive Humidity, Journal of Industrial Engineering Chemistry, Vol.
41, 1949, pp. 20142015.
13. Armin Meyer and Daniel Bermane, Stability and Permanence of Ciba-
chrome Images, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 9, No. 4, August 1983, pp. 121125.
14. Svante August Arrhenius, Zeitschrift fur physikalische Chemie,
Vol. 4, 1889, p. 226.
15. Fred H. Steiger, The Arrhenius Equation in Accelerated Aging, American
Dyestuff Reporter, Vol. 47, No. 9, May 5, 1958, pp. 287290.
16. A. E. Juve and M. G. Schoch, Jr., ASTM Bulletin, No. 195, 1954, p.
54.
17. C. P. Doyle, Modern Plastics, Vol. 33, No. 7, 1956, p. 143.
18. Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West, Preserva-
tion of Motion-Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value, Journal
of the SMPTE, Vol. 79, No. 11, November 1970, pp. 10111018.
19. Charleton C. Bard, George W. Larson, Howell Hammond, and Clar-
ence Packard, Predicting Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Char-
acteristics of Color Photographic Products from Short-Term Tests,
Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April
1980, pp. 4245.
20. B. Lavedrine, C. Trannois, and F. Flieder, Etude experimentale de la
stabilite dans lobscurite de dix films cinematographiques couleurs,
Studies in Conservation, Vol. 31, No. 4, November 1986, pp. 171
174.
21. Stanton Anderson and Robert Ellison, Natural Aging of Photographs,
Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 31, No. 2,
Summer 1992, pp. 213223.
22. Charleton C. Bard [Eastman Kodak Company], Clearing the Air on
the Stability of Color Print Papers, presentation at the SPSE Fourth
International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology [see ab-
were processed by their respective manufacturers from
test negatives furnished by this author; in most cases, print
samples processed with a water wash and with a washless
stabilizer in a minilab were made available. Kodak de-
clined to furnish processed samples of its Ektacolor RA-4
papers to this author, so these prints were obtained from
several different one-hour labs using Kodak minilabs and
Kodak RA-4 chemicals. In addition, sample prints made on
Ektacolor Supra, Ektacolor Portra, and Ektacolor Portra II
papers were obtained from several top-quality professional
labs in 1991 and 1992.
Exactly what constitutes typical or normal process-
ing cannot be specified at this time. Also unknown is how
the stability of each of the vast number of different film and
print materials on the market is affected by different types
of processing chemicals and by process deviations some
products are obviously more sensitive to improper pro-
cessing than are others. Yellowish stain formation during
dark storage appears to be particularly affected by pro-
cessing and washing conditions; a sobering study on this
topic was presented in 1986 by Ubbo T. Wernicke of Agfa-
Gevaert entitled Impact of Modern High-Speed and Washless
Processing on the Dye Stability of Different Colour Pa-
pers.
31
This author has accumulated a large store of unproc-
essed color paper, transparency films, and color negative
films in refrigerated storage so that, if necessary, addi-
tional work can be done in the future with materials that
are no longer being manufactured.
1. Konica Corporation, full-page advertisement, Professional Photog-
rapher, Vol. 111, No. 2069, October 1984, p. 20.
2. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH1.42-1969, Method
for Comparing the Color Stabilities of Photographs [reaffirmed
1981], American National Standards Institute, Inc., New York, New
York, 1969. The Standard was based largely on an article by three
Kodak researchers, David C. Hubbell, Robert G. McKinney, and Lloyd
E. West, Method for Testing Image Stability of Color Photographic
Products, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 5,
pp. 295305, SeptemberOctober 1967. In August 1990, ANSI PH1.42-
1969 was replaced by ANSI IT9.9-1990, listed below.
3. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI IT9.9-1990, American
National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of Color Photo-
graphic Images Methods for Measuring, American National Stan-
dards Institute, Inc., New York, New York, 1991. Copies of the Stan-
dard may be purchased from the American National Standards Insti-
tute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; tele-
phone: 212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
4. Henry Wilhelm, Reciprocity Failures in Accelerated Light Fading and
Light-Induced Staining of Color Prints, presentation at the Third
International Symposium on Image Conservation [see: Advance
Printing of Paper Summaries, p. 11], sponsored by the Society for
Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), International Museum of
Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, June
18, 1990. See also: Henry Wilhelm, Reciprocity Effects in the Light
Fading of Reflection Color Prints, 33rd SPSE Annual Conference
Program [abstracts], Journal of Applied Photographic Engineer-
ing, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 58A. This authors first findings on
light fading reciprocity failures were contained in a 1978 presentation
entitled Light Fading Characteristics of Reflection Color Print Materi-
als, given at the annual conference of the Society of Photographic
Scientists and Engineers, Washington, D.C., May 1, 1978, in a confer-
ence session organized by Klaus B. Hendriks of the National Archives
of Canada and entitled Stability and Preservation of Photographic
Materials (see: 31st SPSE Annual Conference Program [abstracts],
Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring
1978, p. 54A).
5. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujichrome Paper Type 34, Fuji Film Data
Sheet (Color Reversal Papers), Ref. No. AF3-638E (89.7-OB-5-6), July
1989, p. 6. See also: Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujichrome Paper
T
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stract in: Program and Paper Summaries, p. 9], Las Vegas, Ne-
vada, February 1012, 1986. Sponsored by the Society of Photo-
graphic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE). See also: Stanton I. Ander-
son and David F. Kopperl [Eastman Kodak Company], Limitations of
Accelerated Image Stability Testing, presentation at IS&Ts Sev-
enth International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology,
Las Vegas, Nevada, February 35, 1992, sponsored by the Society for
Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T). See also: D. F. Kopperl, R.
J. Anderson, R. Codori, R. Ellison, and B. V. Erbland [Eastman Kodak
Company], Quality Improvements and Control Procedures at the
Image Stability Technical Center, Journal of Imaging Technology,
Vol. 16, No. 5, October 1990, pp. 198202.
23. A. Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent,
and P. Miller [Eastman Kodak Company], The Effects and Preven-
tion of Vinegar Syndrome, presented at the Annual Conference of
the Association of Moving Image Archivists, San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, December 10, 1992.
24. Stanton I. Anderson and George W. Larson, A Study of Environmen-
tal Conditions Associated with Customer Keeping of Photographic
Prints, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 13, No. 2, April 1987,
pp. 4954. See also: Stanton I. Anderson and Richard J. Anderson,
A Study of Lighting Conditions Associated with Print Display in
Homes, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, JuneJuly
1991, pp. 127132.
Products, Kodak Publication No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subse-
quent CIS-50 series of dye-stability data sheets through 1985; Kodak
Ektacolor Plus and Professional Papers for the Professional
Finisher, Kodak Publication No. E-18, March 1986; Image-Stability
Data: Kodachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-105, March 1988;
Image-Stability Data: Ektachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-106,
May 1988; Image Stability Data: Kodak Color Negative Films
(Process C-41), Kodak Publication E-107, June 1990; Dye Stability
of Kodak and Eastman Motion Picture Films, Kodak Publication
DS-100 and DS-100-1 through DS-100-9, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, May 1981.
26. Donald A. Koop [Eastman Kodak Company], A Relationship Be-
tween Fading and Perceived Quality of Color Prints, presented at the
Second International Symposium: The Stability and Preserva-
tion of Photographic Images, at the Public Archives of Canada
(renamed the National Archives of Canada in 1987), sponsored by the
Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE), August 27,
1985.
27. Preliminary color print fading and staining parameters and limits for
acceptable change were first proposed by this author in a 1978
presentation entitled Light Fading Characteristics of Reflection Color
Print Materials, given at the 31st Annual Conference of the Soci-
ety of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, Washington, D.C.,
May 1, 1978, in a conference session organized by Klaus B. Hendriks
of the National Archives of Canada and entitled Stability and Preser-
vation of Photographic Materials (see: 31st SPSE Annual Confer-
ence Program [abstracts], Journal of Applied Photographic Engi-
neering, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 1978, p. 54A). A more complete
description of the fading and staining limits was included in an article
by this author entitled Monitoring the Fading and Staining of Color
Photographic Prints, Journal of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Vol. 21, No. 1, 1981, pp. 4964.
28. Eastman Kodak Company, Evaluating Image Stability of Kodak
Color Photographic Products, Kodak Publication CIS-130 (Current
Information Summary), Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street,
Rochester, New York 14650, March 1991, p. 8.
National Standard for Imaging Media (Film) Silver-Gelatin Type
Specifications for Stability, American National Standards Insti-
tute, Inc., New York, New York, 1991, p.8. Copies of the Standard
may be purchased from the American National Standards Institute,
Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone:
212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
30. The Macbeth ColorChecker chart may be purchased from photo-
graphic suppliers or from the Macbeth Division, Kollmorgen Instru-
ments Corporation, 2441 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218;
telephone: 301-243-2171. For a technical description of the specific
colors provided in the Macbeth ColorChecker see: C. S. McCamy, H.
Marcus, and J. G. Davidson, A Color Rendition Chart, Journal of
Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 3, Summer 1976,
pp. 9599.
31. Ubbo T. Wernicke, Impact of Modern High Speed and Washless
Processing on the Dye Stability of Different Colour Papers, Interna-
tional Symposium: The Stability and Conservation of Photo-
graphic Images: Chemical, Electronic and Mechanical, Bangkok,
Thailand, November 35, 1986. The symposium was sponsored by
the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE) and the
Department of Photographic Science and Printing Technology,
Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with Kodak (Thailand) Lim-
ited. See also: Heinz Meckl and Gunter Renner, Stabilizing Bath for
Colour Paper: Problems and Solutions, Fifth International Sympo-
sium on Photofinishing Technology and Marketing, sponsored
by the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (SPSE), Chicago,
Illinois, February 2526, 1988. See also: Shigeru Nakamura, Masakazu
Morigaki, and Hiroyuki Watanabe [Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.),
Photoprocessing Factors Affecting Color Image Stability, presenta-
tion at IS&Ts Seventh International Symposium on Photofinish-
ing Technology, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 35, 1992. Spon-
sored by the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T).
Additional References
P. Z. Adelstein and J. L. McCrea, Dark Image Stability of Diazo Films,
Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 3, 1977, pp.
173178.
Eastman Kodak Company, How Post-Processing Treatment Can Af-
fect Image Stability of Prints on Kodak Ektacolor Paper, Kodak
Publication CIS-62, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
February 1982. The material in this publication is based on a presen-
tation by Paul M. Ness, Professional Photography Marketing, and
Charleton Bard, Image Stability Technical Center, Eastman Kodak
Company, given at the February 28, 1982 meeting of the Wisconsin
Professional Photographers Association, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
See also: Paul M. Ness and Charleton C. Bard, Help Color Prints
Last The Effects of Post-Processing Treatments on the Dye Stability
of Prints on Kodak Ektacolor Paper, Professional Photographer,
Vol. 109, No. 2038, March 1982, pp. 2728.
Eastman Kodak Company, Dye Stability Kodak Scientists Discuss Practical
and Theoretical Duration, Professional Photographer, Vol. 109,
No. 2038, March 1982, pp. 2226.
Eastman Kodak Company, Image Stability Technical Center, Kodak
Brochure No. M7L044, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, January 1988.
Larry F. Feldman, Discoloration of Black-and-White Photographic Prints,
Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 1, Feb-
ruary 1981, pp. 19.
Etsuo Fujii, Hideko Fujii, and Teruaki Hisanaga, Evaluation on the Sta-
bility of Light Faded Images of Color Reversal Films According to
Color Difference in CIELAB, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 14,
No. 2, April 1988, pp. 2937; see correction of two tables in Errata,
Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 14, No. 3, June 1988, p. 93.
Klaus B. Hendriks, together with Brian Thurgood, Joe Iraci, Brian Lesser,
and Greg Hill of the National Archives of Canada staff, Fundamen-
tals of Photographic Conservation: A Study Guide, published by
Lugus Publications in cooperation with the National Archives of
Canada and the Canada Communication Group, 1991. Available
from Lugus Productions Ltd., 48 Falcon Street, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M4S 2P5; telephone: 416-322-5113; Fax: 416-484-9512.
Souichi Kubo [Chiba University], Shashin Kogyo, Vol. 50, No. 513, pp.
1011 and 4651, 1992. See also related article: Color Paper Dye
Fade Has Been Reduced In Half Quality Improvement of Color
Couplers Konica Has Completed the Change-Over, Nikkei Sangyo
Shinbun [Japan Industrial Newpaper], September 12, 1992, p. 5.
Noboru Ohta, Color Reproduction in Reflection-type Color Prints, Journal
of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, Spring 1976,
pp. 7581.
J. E. Pinney and W. F. Voglesong, Analytical Densitometry of Reflection
Color Print Materials, Photographic Science and Engineering,
Vol. 6, No. 6, 1962, pp. 367370.
S. J. Popson, A Comparison of Densitometers, Reflectometers, and
Colorimeters, Printing (TAPPI Journal), March 1989, pp. 119122.
Tadahisa Sato, Masakazu Morigaki, and Osamu Takahashi [Fuji Photo
Film Co., Ltd.], New Type Color Paper with Exceptional Dye Image
Stability Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3, presentation at IS&Ts
Seventh International Symposium on Photofinishing Technol-
ogy, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 35, 1992. Sponsored by the
Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T).
Yoshio Seoka and Yasuo Inoue, Effects of Temperature, Humidity and
Spectral Property of Exposure Light on Yellowing of Color Prints,
The Second SPSE International Conference on Photographic
Papers, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 2225, 1984.
Henry Wilhelm, Color Print Instability, Modern Photography, Vol. 43,
No. 1, February 1979, pp. 9293, 118ff. This was an expanded
version of: Color Print Instability: A Problem for Collectors and
Photographers, Afterimage (a publication of Visual Studies Work-
shop, Rochester, New York), Vol. 6, No. 3, October 1978, pp. 1113,
and Color Print Permanence A Problem for Collectors, Print
Letter [Switzerland], No. 17, October 1978, pp. 1012.
(Chapter 2 Appendix 2.1 on following pages)
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Appendix 2.1 Methods of Computer Analysis
of Densitometer Data
ferent from one using all the points or from one using twice
the number of recorded points (if we only had them). Prob-
ably the best, and simplest, method of accomplishing a smooth
joining of readings taken at nonregular intervals is a method
called spline fitting, which will be explained below.
Our initial readings of a sample have the actual re-
corded data from our stepwise visual scale, to which we
have arbitrarily assigned integer values corresponding to
the order of the steps. That is, a value of 1 has been
assigned to the step value of the least dense patch of the
graduated visual scale, 0 to a clear minimum-density patch
if such exists, and so forth. Using these values as the
independent variable, and interpolating between the read-
ings associated with these points, we then can say that a
particular value of densitometer reading would exist at a
particular non-integer value of the independent variable, if
we can simply accept the reality of such a step as 1.55 or
2.68 (i.e., a step placed somewhere on a graduated scale
between any two known steps). Then if, for instance, we
find one of our desired initial densities yielding a step value
of 2.68, on a second, or any subsequent, reading we may
ask, given the density values at step 2 and step 3, what
would the density at step 2.68 be, had we such a step. We
are essentially reversing the process we used for the first
reading. Instead of looking for the step value that corre-
sponds to a particular density, we are now looking for what
density value we should have been able to read had we
arranged physically to have such a step value. This rever-
sal of the interpolation process must, of course, use the
same basic procedure as the initial interpolation, except
that here, instead of trying to find the particular value on
the step scale that represents a desired density value, we
are looking for the density value that would be yielded by
that particular step value. This reversal of procedure makes
for a degree of simplification.
On the original reading, besides solving for the values
needed to do the interpolation, we needed a search proce-
dure on the interpolation curve to find, within a programmed
degree of accuracy, the particular density values we had
decided would be useful for comparisons. We have adopted
a binary search technique, which simply means that start-
ing with a known interval, we examine the midpoint and,
from it, determine which half interval contains the desired
value. A recursion of this method, given a continuous mono-
tonic curve, quickly yields an interval sufficiently small for
any desired degree of accuracy.
The programming of the automatic transfer of densito-
meter readings to a computer for storage on magnetic disks,
the calculation of the various curves, and the application of
image-life criteria required several assumptions and sim-
plifications. The reading of a new sample with a stepwise
visual scale (either a gray scale and/or a step wedge of
cyan, magenta, yellow, or other selected colors) could yield
values that were not necessarily the same as the readings
for any other new sample, or even the same as another
copy of a particular sample. Although these steps were
roughly arranged in an exponential (or logarithmic) pro-
gression, so that there was a temptation to fit a smoothed
exponential curve to the data, there was really no logical
reason to do so. The reason for wanting to fit a curve at all
rather than to deal only with the discrete points of the
readings was for the purpose of comparison among samples.
One could make immediate comparisons by following, on
different samples, what happens from an initial density
reading of, for instance, 0.6 at specific intervals of elapsed
time. In our judgment, the densitometer, with proper check-
ing, could be trusted, within its range, for greater accuracy
than the process producing the samples, or the assump-
tion of a logarithmic progression. Therefore, any method
for assuming values between the actual steps on the scale
would have to be an interpolation between actual data points
rather than a smoothed curve-fit method. That decision
led to the next decision, which was the choice of an inter-
polation technique.
Interpolation Methods
The simplest way to interpolate between two points is
by joining them with a straight line. That method appears
to involve no assumptions about the data beyond the initial
assumption that the known points are accurate. However,
if one were to join the end points only of a set of points, or
the endpoints and the midpoint, such lines would probably
miss all the intervening points somewhat, and we would
realize that straight-line interpolation indeed is making an
assumption about the shape of a curve within any interval.
Furthermore, any straight-line joining of data points on a
graph shows abrupt changes of direction from point to point,
so that each recorded point represents a discontinuity in
the curve. Even just intuitively, we wish to reject such
discontinuities. One feels that a proper joining of half the
recorded points should yield a curve not substantially dif-
By June Clearman
Programmer/Analyst
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Determining Failure Points for
Image-Life Parameters
Application of the various image-life criteria to the suc-
cessive sets of readings presents yet another situation where
the spline-fit technique seemed to be a relatively simple
and sensible way to arrive at a value of elapsed time that
we knew must occur between any two actual sets of read-
ings. Theoretically, the actual shape of the curves of den-
sity against time should be derivable from the chemistry
involved. Practically, however, this is much too complex,
encompassing as it does the chemistry of the particular
photographic material and the chemistry of any subsequent
image-deterioration effects effects of the support mate-
rial, staining, light sources, temperature, relative humid-
ity, and so forth. So here again we must settle for an
assumption that the actual density readings are the most
accurate thing we have and that any attempt to connect
the curves should be relatively smooth and continuous, but
not a curve fit that departs from the actual data on some
least squares or other error-tolerance scheme unless there
are a sufficiently large number of readings to clearly de-
fine the curve shape.
Any such scheme implies the choice of a curve form,
preferably one derived from the actual physics or chemis-
try of the phenomena under examination. This might be a
polynomial expression, or exponential, or one or another
transcendental expression. The choice of any one of them
would require justification in terms of the physical and
chemical processes involved. Therefore, we attempted to
use spline fitting here also. However, in many cases where
the density change was very small over relatively long time
periods, or where the curve changed direction very quickly
over short periods, we felt that a straight line might be as
essentially correct an interpolation as any other method.
The problem of numerical accuracy, for instance, where
a density change of only 0.02, for example, occurs over a
period as long as perhaps 185 days is such that one can say
very little about the exact spot where the change was 0.01.
The computer was therefore programmed to yield both
spline-fit and straight-line values. (Straight-line values
were used for determining the criteria failure points re-
ported in this book; spline-fit and other methods of curve
smoothing as applied to irregular fading curves are a sub-
ject of continuing study.) It should be noted that, regard-
less of whether the criteria were applied to a single curve
or were imbalance criteria involving the ratios between
two curves, the fit and search routine was applied to the
curves themselves, and not the ratios.
The Spline-Fit Curve Smoothing Method
This interpolation method was named after a handy
drafting device. Consisting of a flexible lead core encased
in rubber, a spline can be bent to meet many points and
produce a graph with a continuous slope and curvature.
What we do is solve for any point within any pair of
adjacent points by using a third-degree polynomial, unique
to each interval, that is determined in such a way that it
passes through the end points of the interval and matches
up each such interval, with the polynomials for the inter-
vals on each side, maintaining continuous first and second
derivatives through the endpoints. This means that the
slope at any interval endpoint (p
k
,y
k
) is the same whether
we compute it from the left using the interval [p
k-1
,p
k
] or
from the right using the interval [p
k
,p
k+1
]. These condi-
tions would uniquely determine every polynomial for all
intervals, except that at the first and last points we have
nothing to match. This means that we are missing two
conditions to complete our interpolation process. One so-
lution is to require that the second derivative at each end
point be a linear extrapolation of the second derivative at
the neighboring points (i.e., the third derivatives are con-
stant for p
1
and p
2
and for p
n-1
and p
n
, i.e., y' ' '
1
= y' ' '
2
and
y' ' '
n-1
= y' ' '
n
). Other endpoint methods could be used to
determine the two missing conditions for a complete sys-
tem of n equations in n unknowns.
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graph an authentic frozen moment of history is some-
thing that a painting can never achieve. People love color
photographs! But one thing an oil painting does have, and
an Ektacolor print does not, is permanence on long-term
display.
How long do prints made with the many different types
of color negative papers last on display? How much longer
will Fujis precedent-setting Fujicolor SFA3 papers last than
Kodaks Ektacolor papers? How does the light fading sta-
bility of Kodak Ektatherm thermal dye transfer prints com-
pare with that of Fujicolor and Ektacolor prints? What is
the best color negative paper for valuable portraits and
wedding photographs? What are the longest-lasting mate-
rials for printing color transparencies? Has the light fad-
ing stability of Ektacolor or Fujicolor prints improved much
over the past 20 years?
Is tungsten illumination less harmful to color prints than
fluorescent? Does UV protection help? Compared with
conventional color print materials, how much longer will
a more costly UltraStable Permanent Color print, Polaroid
Permanent-Color print, or EverColor Pigment color print
last? The answers to these and other light fading stability
questions are the subject of this chapter.
Light Fading Is Now a More Serious
Problem Than Dark Fading
In the 1970s and early 1980s, it could be debated which
was the more serious problem with color papers: poor dark
fading stability or poor light fading stability (yellowish stain
formation in dark storage was not much of a worry then
because the most pressing problem was poor dye stabil-
ity). Some color negative papers had very poor dark fading
stability indeed, and one paper, the previously mentioned
Agfacolor Type 4 paper (sold worldwide from 1974 until
1982), had such astonishingly poor cyan dye dark storage
stability that by the time this chapter was written in 1992,
all known examples of Type 4 prints had faded to an ugly
reddish shadow of their originally colorful images.
Although the Ektacolor papers of the same era were
much more stable than Agfacolor Type 4 paper, in dark
storage the cyan dye was also the least stable of the three
image dyes in Ektacolor prints (and most other EP-3 and
EP-2 papers during this period), and it was the inadequate
stability of the cyan dye that effectively limited the life of
Ektacolor prints in dark storage.
That situation changed with the historic introduction of
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR in April 1984. (Type SR
paper, which was still on the market when this book went
to press in 1992, is also called Konica Century Paper and
Konica Long Life 100 Paper.) Type SR paper was the
Recommendations
. . . part of the reason the Cabinet project
was done with photographs instead of the tra-
ditional oil paintings was that Smith was able
to convince White House officials that the pho-
tographic papers such as Kodak Ektacolor Pro-
fessional Paper offer improved image stability.
In addition, photography offers quick results at
a fraction of the cost of oil painting. So a 30" x
40" photograph taken by Smith and printed on
Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper now hangs
at the entry of every Cabinet members office
on Capitol Hill.
1
From an interview with Merrett T. Smith
in Kodak Studio Light magazine,
Issue No. 1, 1986
A Gregory Heisler photo of New York City
Mayor Edward I. Koch may wind up as Kochs
official portrait in City Hall. Unlike the Mayors
predecessors, whose portraits are both painted
and formal, Koch is looking rather relaxed and
candid in this color photo. The photo, taken for
the June 11, 1989, New York Times Sunday Maga-
zine, was Heislers first assignment to shoot
Koch. The Art Commission, which decides on
all art works in city buildings, still must ap-
prove the photo. Im excited, says Heisler,
who thinks the concern of the Art Commission
is that of archival quality whether a photo-
graph will last as long as a painting.
2
PDNews by Susan Roman
Photo District News
New York City
December 1989
Shooting a portrait on color negative film and making
prints with Ektacolor paper may indeed offer quick results
at a fraction of the expense of an oil painting (a 30x40-inch
sheet of Ektacolor paper costs only about $6.00), but there
are other reasons that most people prefer a color photo-
graph to a painting. The realism of a good color photo-
3. Light Fading Stability of Displayed Color Prints
Light-Induced Cracking of RC Papers:
Is It Still a Problem with Color Prints?
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first of a new generation of color negative papers to feature
an improved cyan coupler which, during processing, pro-
duced a new high-stability cyan dye. This improved cyan
dye made the overall dark storage dye stability of the new
Konica paper far better than that of any previous color
negative paper. In August 1984 Kodak followed with Ekta-
color Plus paper, which, like Konica Type SR paper, em-
ployed a new high-stability cyan dye. A few months later
Agfa and Fuji announced their own similarly improved color
negative papers, and these new products (which included
Ektacolor Professional Paper as a replacement for Ekta-
color 74 RC Paper in portrait and wedding markets) be-
came generally available in 1985.
In addition to heralding greatly improved dark storage
dye stability, the introduction of Konica Type SR paper
accomplished three important breakthroughs:
1. For the first time in the history of color photography,
image stability became an important competitive con-
sideration. Konicas advertisements for Type SR pa-
per, which claimed a 100-year album storage life for the
prints, marked the first time that a color negative pa-
per had ever been promoted on the basis of image sta-
bility. Kodak, Agfa, and Fuji all were forced to respond.
Before the introduction of Konica Type SR paper, im-
age stability data were for the most part kept secret by
Kodak and the other manufacturers, and most purchas-
ers of color paper were totally ignorant of the stability
characteristics of the products they bought.
2. The improved dark storage dye stability of Konica Type
SR paper and similar chromogenic papers made by Ko-
dak, Agfa, and Fuji shifted the emphasis from dark stor-
age dye stability to the problem of gradual formation of
yellowish stain in prints kept in the dark. Not only is the
stain objectionable in its own right, but it also contrib-
utes to a change in color balance toward yellow. It
became a question of what is the most objectionable
visual change when these papers are stored in the dark
for long periods (with most color print materials, light-
induced stain formation during long-term display is less
severe than stain that occurs in dark storage).
Yellowish stain formation in dark storage has been a
clearly recognized but little-discussed problem with in-
Light Fading Stability of Displayed Color Prints Chapter 3 102
Wedding portraits printed on Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA Type P being inspected at H&H Color Lab by printing
department supervisor Steve Tuggle. H&H, a leading professional portrait and wedding lab located near Kansas City in
Raytown, Missouri, switched from Ektacolor Portra paper to Fujicolor paper in 1990 because of the superior light fading
stability of the Fuji product. The change in color paper was made after a poll mailed to more than 700 H&H customers
showed that the great majority wanted their wedding photographs and portraits printed on the longest-lasting color paper
available, even if that meant changing from Kodak to Fuji as the paper supplier (see Chapter 8).
#34134
77%

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#32421
77%
corporated-coupler chromogenic materials ever since
the first Kodacolor prints appeared in 1942. However,
it was not until Fuji introduced Fujichrome Paper Type
34, a low-stain paper for printing transparencies, in 1986
(replaced with Type 35 paper in 1992) and Fujicolor
Super FA low-stain papers for printing color negatives
in 1989 (replaced with Fujis advanced Fujicolor SFA3
papers in 1992) that concern about dark-storage stain
problems really came into the open. Konica introduced
its first low-stain paper, Konica QA Color Paper Type
A5, in Japanese markets in 1990. Compared with Kodak
Ektacolor and most other papers currently on the mar-
ket, these new Fuji and Konica papers have greatly
reduced rates of stain formation. Fuji has emphasized
this advantage in promoting the papers, and the com-
pany has also discussed the topic in a number of techni-
cal papers (see Chapter 5).
With the current generation of color prints, dark-
storage stain formation is finally being acknowledged
as a significant problem a problem that in many
cases is even more serious than dye fading itself. The
new ANSI IT9.9-1990 color stability test methods stan-
dard published by the American National Standards
Institute
3
requires that d-min stain and d-min color bal-
ance changes be reported along with dye stability and
color balance data, and this should focus much greater
attention on the subject of dark-storage stain behavior.
3. Almost all current color papers feature high-stability
cyan dyes (at the time this book went to press in 1992,
the only exceptions were several of Kodaks Ektachrome
papers which still have a cyan dye with poor dark-stor-
age stability of the type abandoned by Fuji, Konica, and
Agfa by the mid-1980s), so the principal image stability
concern now is the light fading stability of color papers
on display. As Klaus Gerlach of Agfa said in 1985, fol-
lowing the introduction of Agfacolor Paper Type 8, In
terms of dye or image stability, we consider the dark
fading issue as resolved; improvements in light stabil-
ity are in progress.
4
Color prints now last much longer
when stored in the dark than they do when exposed to
light on display.
On Display, Some Types of Color Prints
Last Far Longer Than Others
The deterioration of displayed color print images is char-
acterized by shifts in color balance caused by unequal fad-
ing of the cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes; loss of
color and detail (especially in highlight areas); changes in
An exhibition of Tina Barneys large Ektacolor prints at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1990. Barney uses
a view camera with large-format color negative film. Represented by the Janet Borden Gallery in New York, some of
Barneys prints have sold for over $10,000.

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image contrast; and overall low-level yellowish stain for-
mation. Light-faded color prints characteristically have a
washed-out, off-color appearance. Such prints have lost
their original richness, brilliance, and sparkle.
The light-fading of a color print is a slow but steady
process that begins immediately when the print is hung on
the wall or placed in a frame on a desk. Other consider-
ations being equal, the rate of light fading of a particular
type of color print is determined by the inherent dye stabil-
ity characteristics of the paper, i.e., those built into the
material by the manufacturer.
Even though all types of color prints are subject to light
fading, grouping every type of color print together and stating
simply that all colors fade ignores the very large differ-
ences in dye stability among currently available products.
Some materials are much more stable than others. As
shown by UltraStable Permanent Color prints and Pola-
roid Permanent-Color prints, it is possible to make color
prints with high-stability color pigments that, in a practical
sense, do not fade at all: that is, under normal conditions of
display, the prints will probably retain excellent quality
color images for five hundred years or more.
#10315
77%
Image Fading and Discoloration Caused
by Print Lacquers, Retouching, and
Other Post-Processing Treatments
Color prints often are lacquered after processing. Treat-
ment with lacquers obscures surface defects caused by
corrective spotting and retouching; helps protect the sur-
face from abrasion, scratches, and fingerprints; modifies
emulsion surface gloss characteristics; and, probably most
importantly, allows prints to be framed directly against
glass without danger of the emulsion sticking or ferrotyp-
ing to the glass under humid conditions. Lacquering is
especially popular among portrait and wedding photogra-
phers and is often combined with various surface texturing
treatments because many photographers believe this en-
hances the value of a print to the customer.
According to Kodak, depending on the particular type of
lacquer and the manner in which it is applied, these prod-
ucts are capable of accelerating both light fading and dark
fading of Ektacolor prints and can under some circum-
stances produce severe yellow staining.
5
At the time this
book went to press in 1992, this author was not aware of
Fluorescent illumination is used in most offices, schools, and other public places. Illumination intensities of 500 to 2,000 lux
are common; in display cases, where photographs are often displayed for extended periods, much higher intensities can be
found. Because of their high energy-efficiency and low cost, single-phosphor Cool White lamps are by far the most
popular type of fluorescent lamp. In some fluorescent-illuminated offices, photographs are exposed to the bright light for
only short periods; for example, LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt is shown here in his office at Time Warner
Inc. in New York City selecting images for an exhibition of his photographs. When color prints are displayed under such
lights for many years, however, severe fading eventually will result.
1
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#14910
85%
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8
2
Art galleries and museums are among the few places where tungsten lamps are the only source of illumination. In this
exhibition of Ilford Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) prints by the late photographer Hans Namuth at Castelli Gallery in New York City,
the lamps were mounted on the gallerys high ceiling at a steep angle to the framed prints to minimize surface reflections.
any commercial print lacquer that did not contain at least
one ingredient identified by Kodak as potentially harmful.
To date, Kodaks published information on print lacquers
concerns only the effects of lacquers on Ektacolor prints
and may not apply to other types of color prints. No other
studies of the effects of lacquers on image stability have
been published.
This author believes that some types of abnormally rapid
dye fading in displayed prints are actually caused at least
in part by RC base-associated fading (see Chapter 2) and
cannot be attributed solely to lacquers. However, the use
of currently available print lacquers adds a significant un-
known element in attempting to determine the long-term
dye stability of a print. Thus, when possible, print lacquers
including those containing UV absorbers should be
avoided. (Lacquers and other print coatings are discussed
in more detail in Chapter 4.)
Retouching dyes can both accelerate localized image
dye fading and make normal print fading more obvious
because they may fade more slowly or more quickly than
the prints image dyes. As a portrait fades during display,
facial wrinkles and blemishes, skillfully smoothed over by
retouching when the print was new, begin to stand out in
stark relief because of these differences in fading rates,
and the picture can assume a ghastly appearance. (Re-
touching materials and procedures are discussed in more
detail in Chapter 11.)
It is an unfortunate fact that the more a customer pays
for a print, the more likely it is to have been subjected to
retouching, lacquering, canvas mounting, texturizing, or
other post-processing treatments, any of which can reduce
the dye stability of the print.
How to Interpret the Light Fading
Stability Tables in This Chapter
The color print image-life predictions given in the tables
at the end of this chapter were based on data obtained in
accelerated light fading tests using Cool White fluorescent
illumination, incandescent tungsten illumination, and north
daylight illumination. For the fluorescent and tungsten
illumination tests, color prints were subjected to three dif-
ferent tests: (1) Bare-Bulb tests in which there was no
glass or plastic sheet between the light source and test
prints, (2) Glass-Covered tests conducted with a sheet of
glass placed on top of the test prints, and (3) UV-Filtered
tests in which a sheet of Rohm and Haas Plexiglas UF-3, a
sharp-cutting ultraviolet filter that absorbs virtually all UV
radiation and even some short-wavelength blue light, was
placed on top of the test prints.
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#20925A
85%
Henry Wilhelm speaking with associate curator Matthew Postal (right) about the effect of illumination intensity on perceived
color print quality at the 1986 exhibition of Ektacolor prints by Len Jenshel at the Laurence Miller Gallery in New York City.
The glass and UF-3 sheets were in direct contact with
the surface of the prints. For the indirect north daylight
tests, prints were covered with either glass or Plexiglas
UF-3 sheets, spaced about
1
8-inch above the surface of the
prints, with free air circulation between the glass or Plexi-
glas and the print.
In addition to illumination intensity and spectral distri-
bution, a number of other factors can influence the life of a
print on display. These include framing effects (also
called enclosure effects) with prints framed under glass
or plastic, RC base-associated fading and staining, and dark
fading and dark storage staining that may occur concur-
rently with light-induced changes during prolonged dis-
play under low-level illumination (see Chapter 2 for discus-
sion of RC base-associated fading and framing effects
with displayed prints).
Changes in dye stability and/or stain characteristics can
also be brought about by application of print lacquers or
other coatings, retouching effects, and other factors such
as choice of processing chemicals and/or failure to adhere
to recommended processing and washing procedures. Sepa-
rately or in combination, all of these factors can have an
effect most often an adverse effect, and sometimes a
catastrophic effect on color image stability.
In the tables the products are listed in order of their
Glass-Covered stability rankings, as determined by the
tests. For the important group of current Process RA-4
compatible color negative papers (Table 3.1a on page 131)
and current Process EP-2 compatible color negative pa-
pers (Table 3.1b on page 132), at least three replicate samples
were tested in all three light exposure conditions, and the
experimental error was estimated to be 5%. For the
other tables, the experimental error is somewhat greater,
especially in cases where the limiting image-life param-
eter was a color imbalance between two dyes, rather than
a density loss of a single dye.
Illumination Intensity Is Generally
Much More Important Than the Spectral
Distribution of the Light Source
In reviewing the data presented in this chapter, it will
become apparent that for most modern color print materi-
als, the spectral distribution of the illumination source has
relatively little effect on fading rates. Far more important
is the intensity of the illumination. There are some excep-
tions to this Kodak Ektatherm thermal dye transfer prints
being a notable example but in general, for a given
illumination intensity, no great differences in fading rates
will be noted when prints are illuminated with different
types of commonly encountered indoor light sources (e.g.,
fluorescent lamps and incandescent tungsten lamps).
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#8313
79%
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York is an example of an older museum where some areas are illuminated with
both daylight through window glass and tungsten lamps. To maintain the architectural integrity of the historic building, the
windows cannot be covered. When this photograph was taken in 1977, this upstairs room was used to exhibit photographs
from the Eastman House collection. After the completion of the adjacent Eastman House Archives Building in 1988,
Eastman House was renovated and this room is no longer used to exhibit photographs from the permanent collection.
1
9
7
7
The Most Important Conclusions: Which
Color Print Materials Last Longest
The color print image-life predictions presented in this
chapter are based on accelerated test data with non-lac-
quered, correctly processed prints. Because of the previ-
ously mentioned factors, prints on actual long-term display
under typical home and office conditions may fade more
rapidly than predicted by these tests. Because of the reci-
procity failure trends noted with two-intensity testing, RC
base-associated fading, and framing effects during long-
term display (see Chapter 2), there appears to be little
chance that prints would last longer than predicted under
the specified illumination conditions. To the extent that
these image-life predictions could be in error, it is most
likely that they somewhat overestimate the stability of the
various types of color prints.
These uncertainties aside, the most important conclu-
sions from these tests are, within each class of color print
material (e.g., color negative paper, color reversal paper,
instant color prints, etc.), which type of color print likely
will last the longest when displayed. For professional wed-
ding and portrait photographers, or commercial photogra-
phers who sell prints for long-term display as wall decor, it
is only good ethics and certainly good business to
give customers the longest-lasting color prints possible.
For operators of color labs, the choice of color papers
will matter a great deal to at least some customers. For
competitive reasons, and to minimize the chance of clients
eventually bringing faded prints back and demanding free
replacement prints, the most economical strategy is to use
the most stable materials available. Otherwise a labs busi-
ness image will suffer, long-standing customers may leave,
and potential new clients will never walk in the door.
What Are Normal Display Conditions?
The illumination intensity, spectral distribution, and
duration; the temperature and relative humidity in the dis-
play area; and the method of framing or mounting that
constitute normal display practice cover such a wide range
(see Table 17.1 in Chapter 17) that the concept of normal
display conditions should be approached with caution.
The three most common indoor illumination sources
are: (1) indirect daylight that has passed through window
glass; (2) fluorescent lamps most commonly Cool White
lamps that may or may not be covered with a UV-absorb-
ing glass or plastic diffuser; and (3) incandescent tungsten
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Figure 3.1 The spectral energy distribution of sunlight illumination, incandescent tungsten lamps, and Cool White
fluorescent lamps. Mercury vapor line emissions from the low-pressure mercury arc in fluorescent lamps produce the
irregular energy peaks characteristic of these lamps. At a given illumination intensity (measured in lux units), the very
different spectral distributions of these three light sources produce surprisingly similar fading rates with Ektacolor,
Fujicolor, and other types of modern chromogenic color papers, all of which have effective UV-absorbing emulsion
overcoats. (Sources: Rohm & Haas Publication PL-612c and General Electric Company)
Figure 3.1
98%
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lamps. Typical spectral distributions for these three illu-
mination sources are given in Figure 3.1. These and other
illumination sources are described in detail in ANSI IT9. 9-
Stability of Photographic Images Methods for Measuring.
6
Of particular importance with fluorescent lamps is the
ultraviolet mercury vapor line emission at 313 nanometers,
shown in Figure 3.2. Although in terms of relative power
distribution the energy of this UV emission may appear to
be low, it has a devastating effect on color prints that lack
an effective UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat. The effect of
ultraviolet radiation on color print fading is discussed in
more detail below.
The years of display image-life predictions given in
Tables 3.1a through 3.6 (pages 131 through 144) are based
on two standard display conditions, as determined by
this author. One display condition is for homes, offices,
and commercial locations, and the other is for tungsten-
illuminated museum and archive display areas.
For homes, offices, and commercial locations, an inten-
sity of 450 lux (42 fc) for 12 hours a day has been adopted by
this author.
7
This illumination level is not greatly different
from the 500 lux (46.5 fc), also for 12 hours a day, adopted
by Fuji for reporting years of display image-life predic-
tions for Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3, one of Fujis
Figure 3.2
76%
Figure 3.2 The 313 nanometer mercury vapor emission
of bare-bulb fluorescent lamps may appear to be of rela-
tively low energy, but it can have a devastating effect on
the dye images of Kodak Ektatherm prints and other color
print materials that lack a UV-absorbing overcoat. A sheet
of ordinary window glass or framing glass placed be-
tween a fluorescent lamp and a color print will protect the
image from the harmful 313 nm emission glass and
most types of plastics effectively absorb UV radiation
below 330 nm. (Source: General Electric Company)
#927A
79%
Back-illuminated color transparencies and translucencies (e.g., Kodak Duratrans, Fuji Fujitrans, and Ilfochrome Translucent
Display Film) are a popular form of advertisement for hotels, rental car agencies, and other services catering to travelers at
airports. In this example at the Tampa, Florida airport, the intense 24-hour-a-day fluorescent illumination caused severe
fading of those images which had been displayed for extended periods.
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#3208
77%
The United States Declaration of Independence, which is housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., is displayed
with extremely low intensity tungsten illumination in an effort to minimize further fading. The Declaration (1776), the
Constitution (1787), and the Bill of Rights (written in 1789 and ratified in 1791), which are displayed in the main rotunda of
the National Archives, are protected with bullet-proof glass and a yellow filter material that absorbs UV radiation and most
blue light. (See page 244 in Chapter 7 for discussion of the computer-based monitoring system employed by the National
Archives to detect further ink fading, flaking, or other changes in the 200-year-old documents.)
family of Fujicolor SFA3 papers introduced in 1992. (Fujis
years of display extrapolations were based on data ob-
tained from very high-intensity, 85-klux xenon arc tests.)
According to Fuji:
Since in common domestic situations sunlit
areas may be as bright as 1000 lux or more
during the day and drop to 300 lux in the evening
and at night, storage conditions are usually des-
ignated to be at an average of 500 lux of light
exposure for a period of 12 hours per day.
8
Fuji selected an even higher illumination level on which
to base years of display predictions for Fujichrome Pa-
per Type 35, a reversal paper for printing color transparen-
cies, introduced in 1992: Type 35 paper is designed for
indoor display under high average illumination conditions
of 1000 lux for a period of 12 hours a day.
9
Employing data obtained from very high intensity (100
klux) cycling xenon arc tests, Ilford has chosen three illu-
mination conditions for years of display image-life pre-
dictions for Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome prints,
196391) displayed indoors:
10
Indoors/1 Normal conditions, protected from direct
sunlight at least 7 feet from a window
(i.e., living rooms, offices, and museums:
4555% RH, light intensity approximately
500 lux for 12 hours per day).
Indoors/2 Medium conditions, protected from direct
sunlight (i.e., under spotlights in galler-
ies and exhibits. Averaging 1000 lux for
12 hours per day).
Indoors/3 Extreme conditions, high humidity and
direct sunlight for half the day (i.e., near
indoor swimming pools and aquariums.
Averaging 2500 lux for 12 hours per day).
To date, Eastman Kodak has, for the most part, avoided
making predictive years of display image-life estimates
for color prints based on specified illumination conditions.
In 1988, in the first such instance, Kodak published an
article in the Journal of Imaging Technology which included
a small graph showing the predicted fading of Kodak Ekta-
color Plus Paper expressed in years of display based on
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9
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Figure 3.4 Two generations of Kodak Ektacolor paper exposed to north
daylight through window glass. The illumination intensity, averaged over a 24-
hour period, was 0.78 klux. The temperature was 75F (24C) and the relative
humidity 60%. Because the print samples were close to a north-facing win-
dow, with almost no light reflected from walls or ceilings (which tend to absorb
UV radiation), this is a worst-case indoor display situation in terms of UV
radiation and short-wavelength blue light. With Ektacolor Plus and Profes-
sional papers (1984), which are made with an effective UV-absorbing over-
coat, a sharp-cutting UV filter (Rohm & Haas Plexiglas UF-3) afforded little
more protection than ordinary window glass. With Ektacolor 74 RC paper (initial
type: 197782), which did not have a UV-absorbing overcoat, the fading of the
cyan dye was reduced by more than 50% when protected by UF-3. This paper,
like most other color negative papers of the era, has a UV-absorbing interlayer
that protects the magenta and yellow dye layers. Unannounced, Kodak added
a UV-absorbing overcoat to Ektacolor 74 RC paper in early 1982; Konica, Fuji,
and Agfa incorporated this feature in their color papers by 198485.
Figure 3.3 All modern color negative papers are manufactured with a UV-
absorbing emulsion overcoat that protects the image dyes from damaging
ultraviolet radiation present in fluorescent lamps, daylight, and some other
sources of illumination. The fading that occurs in displayed prints is caused
almost entirely by visible light, and additional UV protection is of little if any
benefit. Prints are effectively protected even from the UV radiation of bare-
bulb fluorescent lamps, most of which have a high-energy UV emission at 313
nm that produced rapid fading in earlier color negative papers without a UV-
absorbing overcoat. In this graph, the Fuji, Konica, and Kodak color papers
were exposed to Cool White fluorescent illumination in an accelerated test at
21.5 klux for 100 days; the temperature at the sample plane was maintained
at 75F (24C) and the relative humidity at 60%.
Figure 3.4
64%
Figure 3.3
64%
an illumination level of 100 lux for 12 hours
per day.
11
In a general discussion of acceler-
ated test methods, the 100-lux level was adopted
by Kodak in Image-Stability Data: Kodachrome
Films, Reference Information from Kodak,
Kodak Publication E-105 (March 1988).
12
This
publication has not been widely distributed and
this author is not aware of any other Kodak
publications making an image-life prediction,
expressed in years of display, based on data
from accelerated light fading tests.
In the display of color prints in homes, of-
fices, and museums, lighting conditions simi-
lar to this authors standard display conditions
are commonly encountered; however, display
situations frequently have much more intense
illumination and/or are illuminated for longer
than 12 hours per day either or both of which
would correspondingly shorten the image life
of a color print. In other cases, prints are
displayed under much lower light levels and/
or are illuminated for fewer hours each day
than specified in this authors standard dis-
play condition of 450 lux for 12 hours per day.
It is a simple matter to convert the color
print image-life predictions given in this chap-
ter to other display conditions by measuring
the light intensity in the display area with an
illuminance meter (the Minolta Illuminance
Meter is a good instrument for this purpose),
determining the average number of hours of
illumination each day, and then making the
appropriate calculations.
Fluorescent Illumination for
Accelerated Light Fading Tests
For a variety of reasons, fluorescent illumi-
nation has become the standard light source
for accelerated light fading tests. Fluorescent
lamps provide fairly high-intensity illumina-
tion with relatively little heat; this makes it
easier to maintain the proper temperature and
relative humidity in accelerated test equipment.
Compared with daylight-simulating xenon arc
light sources, fluorescent lamps provide stable,
energy-efficient, evenly distributed, and low-
cost illumination. More importantly, fluores-
cent lamps are by far the most common light
source in offices, educational institutions, stores,
and public buildings. Fluorescent lamps are
increasingly found in homes, especially in Ja-
pan and in other countries that stress energy
conservation.
All current chromogenic color papers are
made with UV-absorbing emulsion overcoats
and are little affected by the UV radiation
present in even bare-bulb fluorescent illumi-
nation (Figure 3.3) or indoor daylight that has
passed through window glass (Figure 3.4).
For testing current chromogenic papers,
glass-filtered fluorescent illumination provides
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98% were in color. Black-and-white photographs consti-
tuted just a little over 2% of the market.
15
Color slides
accounted for only about 5% of the photographs taken by
amateurs, and Polaroid instant color prints, which have
steadily declined in popularity in recent years, had about
2% of the market.
With over 15 billion exposures in 1990, color negative
films constituted the lions share of the total amateur film
market in the U.S. and accounted for 90% of all amateur
photographs made. The popularity of ordering twin prints
from each negative, along with sales of reprints and en-
largements, pushed the total number of prints made from
Figure 3.5 As shown in this 100-day 21.5 klux acceler-
ated fluorescent light fading test, the image dyes of
Kodak Ektatherm prints and other types of thermal dye-
transfer (dye-sublimation) prints that lack a UV-absorbing
overcoat are strongly affected by even the low-level ultra-
violet radiation present in glass-filtered fluorescent illu-
mination. The light fading stability of the prints is greatly
increased by the use of Plexiglas UF-3 or other effective
UV-absorbing filter.
Figure 3.5
67%
a reasonable approximation in terms of dye fading and
light-induced yellowish stain formation of the indirect,
glass-filtered daylight illumination found in homes.
In 1990, Stanton Anderson and Richard Anderson of East-
man Kodak reported that the typical daytime indoor illu-
mination in homes (away from windows) was very different
from what had been expected: The characteristic curve
contains most of its energy at the longer wavelengths. . . .
In direct contrast to sunlight, there is little content at the
shorter wavelengths (UV radiation and blue light) but much
yellow and red light of lower energy.
13
They found that
the shorter-wavelength radiation was largely absorbed by
floor coverings, paint on walls and ceilings, furniture, and
draperies. They suggested that glass-filtered fluorescent
or tungsten illumination provides a closer match to typical
indoor illumination than do the filtered xenon arc light
sources that have often been used in the past for testing
the light fading stability of color prints.
There are many types of fluorescent lamps (e.g., Cool
White, Warm White, Cool White Deluxe, Daylight, etc.), all
of which have different spectral energy distributions. How-
ever, according to the General Electric Company, more
than 70% of the fluorescent lamps in the U.S. are of the
Cool White type, and for this reason Cool White lamps
were used in the tests reported here. The ANSI IT9.9-1990
Standard also specifies Cool White lamps for the 6.0 klux
accelerated fluorescent light fading test (the now-obsolete
ANSI 1.42-1969 color stability test methods Standard called
for Cool White Deluxe lamps).
To date, nearly all of the light fading stability data re-
ported by Eastman Kodak have been based on 5.4 klux (500
fc) accelerated tests
14
employing fluorescent illumination
filtered with acrylic plastic panels to absorb the potentially
damaging 313 nm UV emission of fluorescent lamps (ordi-
nary window or framing glass also absorbs this wavelength).
The 313 nm wavelength emitted by bare-bulb fluores-
cent lamps caused rapid cyan dye fading in pre-1982 Ekta-
color papers, which, like most other color papers of the
time, were manufactured without UV-absorbing emulsion
overcoats. The bare-bulb 313 nm emission also causes
rapid fading of the cyan dye in Kodak Dye Transfer prints,
and it greatly increases the fading rate of Ilfochrome prints
(called Cibachrome prints, 196391). Neither Ilfochrome
nor Dye Transfer prints have a UV-absorbing overcoat.
Kodak Ektatherm prints and other types of thermal dye
transfer prints tested by this author also do not have effec-
tive UV protection of the image dyes, and bare-bulb fluo-
rescent illumination has a devastating effect on these prints
(see Figure 3.5). When the Kodak Photo CD system was
commercially introduced in the summer of 1992, Ektatherm
prints were the only type of print initially available for
reproducing images from the Photo CDs. The Photo CD
Index Prints supplied with each Kodak Photo CD as con-
tact sheets for visual reference to the images recorded on
the Photo CD are also Ektatherm prints.
Light Fading Stability of Current
Color Negative Print Papers
During 1990, according to estimates provided by Photo-
finishing News, amateur photographers in the United States
alone took nearly 17 billion photographs; of these, about
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of intense competition from Japanese and European manu-
facturers, Kodak left the minilab equipment market at the
end of 1989.) Ektacolor 2001 and other Process RA-4 com-
patible papers have a silver chloride emulsion that allows
processing in approximately half the time required for Process
EP-2 papers (such as Ektacolor Professional Paper), which
have slower processing silver bromide emulsions. Until
1988, Ektacolor 2001 was restricted mainly to the minilab
market, where the fastest possible processing is essential.
Ektacolor 2001 Paper was replaced by Ektacolor Edge Pa-
per in 1991.
In addition to reduced processing times, silver chloride
papers and RA-4 chemicals offer a number of other advan-
tages, including lower chemical replenishment rates, re-
duced water use, no benzyl alcohol in the color developer
(which allows easier mixing, less tar formation, and re-
duced environmental impact), and greater process stabil-
ity. In the case of the Ektacolor RA-4 papers, at least, less
silver is required than with Kodaks EP-2 papers, and this
lowers manufacturing costs (Kodak sells the two types of
papers for the same price, however).
Outside of the minilab field, the conversion from EP-2
papers to RA-4 papers was at first slow, in part because
photofinishing labs were reluctant to purchase all new pro-
cessing machines or to get involved with expensive con-
versions of existing equipment (most labs did not want to
deal with RA-4 and EP-2 chemical mixing and storage at
the same time, and the conversion to RA-4 from EP-2 be-
came sort of an all-or-nothing affair). Speed of processing
generally is less important for large photofinishers than it
is for minilab operators.
Commercial labs did not want to change until a full
complement of RA-4 materials was available (labs supply-
ing Duratrans translucent polyester-base display material
did not want to maintain a separate EP-2 line for just one
amateur color negatives to 20 billion. (The amateur mar-
ket for prints from slides was estimated to be only about 24
million prints less than 1% of the total number of ama-
teur color prints made in 1990.)
Not only are color negative papers the easiest and fast-
est to process and by far the lowest cost of all color print
materials every aspect of their design is dictated by the
requirements of mass production snapshot photofinishing
but virtually all professional color portraits and wedding
photographs, even the most expensive, are printed with
these papers. So to the 20 billion prints made from ama-
teur color negatives, one can add another billion or so
prints made from color negatives in the professional mar-
ket. In addition, most of the color photography for newspa-
pers is now done with color negative films, with prints
made on color negative papers (or with negatives scanned
and entered directly into electronic prepress systems without
making prints).
The majority of fine art color prints purchased by muse-
ums and private collectors are also made with color nega-
tive papers. Most photographers making fine art color
photographs prefer the wide exposure latitude of color nega-
tive films, and the smooth tonality, often subtle color rendi-
tion, and the speed and simplicity of making prints from
color negatives. Similar results are much more difficult to
obtain with prints made from color transparencies. From
all of this, it is easy to see why color negative papers are by
far the most important part of the color print market.
Process RA-4 Papers Will Soon
Replace Process EP-2 Materials
Kodak introduced fast-processing Ektacolor 2001 paper
and Process RA-4 chemicals when the company entered
the rapidly expanding minilab market in 1986. (In the face
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product). By early 1989 Fuji, Konica, and Agfa all had
introduced RA-4 photofinishing papers, and early latent-
image keeping problems with Ektacolor RA-4 papers had
been adequately resolved. Outside of the minilab market,
however, the move from EP-2 to RA-4 was still proceeding
fairly slowly. With Kodaks introduction of a complete line
of RA-4 materials in late 1989, and with lower-contrast RA-
4 professional papers and translucent polyester-base dis-
play materials also available from Fuji and Konica, an in-
dustry-wide changeover to RA-4 began in earnest in 1990.
By the end of 1994, it is likely that many of the EP-2 papers
available when this book went to press in 1992 will have
been discontinued.
For photofinishers wishing to continue using process-
ing equipment designed for Process EP-2, Kodak intro-
Figure 3.8 Process RA-4 compatible color nega-
tive papers compared by density losses from ~1.0
cyan, magenta, and yellow color patches. Note
that while the light-fading stability of the cyan
dyes of the various products is fairly similar, the
stabilities of the magenta and yellow dyes differ
significantly, with the Kodak Ektacolor papers be-
ing, overall, the worst of the group. Although not
included here, the image stability of Mitsubishi
RA-4 compatible papers is similar if not identical
to that of the Konica papers (Konica supplies key
emulsion components to Mitsubishi for use with
its papers).
tive papers compared by density losses from 1.0
neutral patches. Print samples were covered with
glass and exposed to 21.5 klux fluorescent illumi-
nation in accelerated light fading tests conducted
at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Unless otherwise noted,
all of the graphs in this chapter are based on this
high-intensity, 100-day test. This light exposure is
equivalent to 26 years of display under this authors
standard display condition of 450 lux for 12 hours
per day. The new type of high-stability magenta
dye employed in the Fujicolor SFA3 papers faded
much less than the magenta dyes in the other pa-
pers, and this in turn resulted in significantly less
color balance shift to green or green/yellow as
fading progressed. The new low-stain magenta
coupler in Fujicolor SFA3 papers also has much
lower rates of yellowish stain formation in dark
storage than the magenta couplers used in Kodak,
Agfa, and most Konica papers.
duced Process RA-4ECM, which allows Ektacolor Edge and
other Kodak RA-4 papers to be processed with the longer
EP-2 process cycle. In 1990, as part of the companys broad
competitive policy of maximum market segmentation, Ko-
dak introduced Ektacolor Royal Paper (later replaced by
Royal II paper) into the general minilab and photofinishing
markets (the paper was actually introduced in 1989, but at
first it was used only in the Kodak Create-A-Print 35mm
Enlargement Center). Ektacolor Royal II Paper has a thicker
RC base and a somewhat higher-gloss surface than other
Ektacolor papers; the image stability of Royal paper is the
same as for the other Ektacolor RA-4 papers. In 1990, to
compete directly with Ektacolor Royal Paper, Fuji intro-
duced Fujicolor Supreme paper, a thick-base, high-gloss
version of Fujicolor Paper Super FA paper.
T
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Figure 3.11 Process EP-2 compatible color nega-
tive papers compared by density losses from
1.0 neutral patches. As with the RA-4 compat-
ible papers discussed previously, the print samples
were covered with glass and exposed to 21.5
klux fluorescent illumination for 100 days in ac-
celerated light fading tests conducted at 75F
(24C) and 60% RH. This light exposure is equiva-
lent to 26 years of display under this authors
standard display condition of 450 lux for 12
hours per day. Fujicolor Type 12 paper (1985)
marked the first use of one of the high-stability,
low-stain magenta couplers developed by Fuji
for color papers.
tive papers compared by density losses from
the Macbeth ColorChecker Dark Skin Color patch.
This color is representative of the skin color of
dark-skinned individuals. Most portraits, whether
of light-skinned or dark-skinned people, have
important areas of low-density highlights, and
pictorial quality is adversely affected if these
highlight areas fade or suffer significant color
balance changes.
Figure 3.9 Process RA-4 compatible color negative
papers compared by density losses from the
Macbeth ColorChecker Light Skin Color patch.
For portraits and wedding photographs, this is
usually the most important indicator of a color
papers performance. As is the case in the other
graphs and tables in this chapter, the Fujicolor
SFA3 papers faded the least and had the least
color balance change. The Konica QA Type A2
(and Mitsubishi SA) papers were the next best,
with the Kodak Ektacolor papers fading the most
and suffering the most objectionable color bal-
ance change. In the Ektacolor papers, the com-
paratively large losses of both the magenta and
yellow dyes the two most important dyes in
skin tone reproduction seriously degrade skin
colors, resulting in a sickly, washed-out, green-
ish appearance. Because of the lower initial
density of the ColorChecker Light Skin Color
patch, a 60-day test period was used in this test
(equivalent to 16 years of display under this
authors standard display condition).
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Figure 3.12 Process EP-2 compatible color negative papers compared
by density losses from ~1.0 cyan, magenta, and yellow color patches.
Fujicolor Type 12 paper has the best light fading stability among the
papers; however, for a number of reasons, Fujicolor Type 12 paper has
not generally been marketed outside of Japan. Among the papers
available in the U.S. and Europe, Konica Color Type SR papers are
recommended as the best of the EP-2 products.
Figure 3.13 Process EP-2 compatible color negative papers com-
pared by density losses from the Macbeth ColorChecker Light Skin
Color patch. For portraits and wedding photographs, this is usually the
most important indicator of a color papers performance. The Konica
(and Mitsubishi) papers are recommended as the best among available
EP-2 papers and, in terms of overall stability, are significantly better
than Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Professional papers. Because of the
lower initial density of the ColorChecker Light Skin Color patch, a 60-
day test period was used in this test (equivalent to 16 years of display
under this authors standard display condition).
Comparative Light Fading Stability
of Current Process RA-4 Papers
for Printing Color Negatives
Introduced in February 1992, Fujicolor Pa-
per Super FA Type 3 and a higher-contrast
version called Fujicolor SFA3 Type C for com-
mercial labs are by far the best, longest-last-
ing RA-4 compatible color negative papers avail-
able. Fuji planned to introduce a lower-con-
trast professional version of the papers, ten-
tatively named Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Por-
trait Paper, around the end of 1992. Fujicolor
Supreme paper has also been upgraded to have
the same precedent-setting image stability char-
acteristics of the other SFA3 papers.
When exposed to light on display, the Fuji-
color SFA3 papers will last more than four
times longer than Ektacolor Edge, Ektacolor
Portra II, Supra, Ultra, and the other Kodak
RA-4 papers, as shown in Figure 3.6 and in
Table 3.1a (page 131). All of these papers
proved to be magenta-dye-limited (with this
authors visually-weighted fading limits, the
magenta dye was considered to be the least
stable of the three image dyes).
All of the RA-4 Ektacolor papers listed in
Table 3.1a had essentially identical light fad-
ing stability; the image-life predictions given
here were based on tests with Ektacolor Por-
tra II Paper, which was introduced in 1992 as
a replacement for Ektacolor Portra Paper.
Portra II was the latest version of Ektacolor
paper available to this author for testing at
the time this book went to press in late 1992.
The major advance in light fading stability
of the Fujicolor SFA3 papers was made pos-
sible by a new type of high-stability, low-stain
coupler that forms a magenta dye of greatly
increased resistance to light fading and also
has greater color purity. The resistance to
light fading is further increased by special sta-
bilizers incorporated into the emulsion of SFA3
papers.
16
The new Fuji magenta-dye-forming
coupler has markedly reduced rates of yellow-
ish stain formation when the prints are in dark
storage, and, in terms of stain formation, Fuji
reports that it makes little difference whether
the prints are processed in the washless mode
with Fuji washless stabilizer, or are given a
water wash.
The magenta-dye-forming coupler employed
by Kodak in its RA-4 and EP-2 Ektacolor pa-
pers has been little improved since the intro-
duction of Ektacolor 37 RC paper in 1971; the
magenta dye has poor light fading stability,
and the unreacted magenta coupler has a pro-
nounced tendency to form yellowish stain when
the prints are in dark storage. With current
RA-4 and EP-2 Ektacolor papers, dark storage
stain formation is a more serious problem than
dark storage dye fading.
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Although not as good as the Fujicolor SFA3
papers in either dark storage (yellowish stain)
or light fading stability, Konica Color QA Paper
Type A3 and its lower-contrast professional
counterpart, Konica QA Paper Professional Type
X2, are this authors second recommendation
among the RA-4 papers.
Figures 3.7 and 3.8 compare the light fad-
ing stability of neutral and color patches with
the current RA-4 papers. The superiority of the
Fujicolor SFA3 papers over Ektacolor, Konica
Color, and Agfacolor papers is obvious. The
stability of the magenta dye in Fujicolor SFA3
papers closely matches that of the cyan and
yellow dyes, thus minimizing color balance
changes as fading progresses.
Of particular importance for portrait and wed-
ding photographers is the performance of a color
paper in terms of the fading of skin tones (see
Figures 3.9 and 3.10; to this authors knowl-
edge, this is the first publication of a compari-
son of color papers based on the stability of
skin colors). Again, the superiority of the Fuji-
color SFA3 papers over Kodaks Ektacolor pa-
pers is obvious. As light fading progresses, the
disproportionate fading of the magenta dye in
Ektacolor papers imparts an ever more sickly,
greenish appearance to skin tones. This is es-
pecially apparent in light skin tones because of
their low initial density.
Because of the superior performance of the
Fujicolor SFA3 papers, both when exposed to
light on display and when kept in dark storage,
the papers are particularly recommended for
portrait, wedding, photo-decor, and fine art pho-
tography markets where long-lasting prints
are a must.
of Current Process EP-2 Papers
As discussed previously, Process EP-2 pa-
pers are being phased out in favor of faster-
processing RA-4 papers. The papers listed in
Table 3.1b (page 132) are probably the last of
their kind; with the market moving rapidly to-
ward RA-4 papers, it is unlikely that any new
EP-2 papers will be introduced in the future.
Figures 3.11 and 3.12 illustrate the light fading
stability of neutral and color patches for the
EP-2 papers. Compared with Ektacolor Plus
Figure 3.14 Process EP-2 compatible color nega-
tive papers compared by density losses from the
Macbeth ColorChecker Dark Skin Color patch. This
color is representative of the skin color of dark-
skinned individuals. Most portraits, whether of light-
skinned or dark-skinned people, have important ar-
eas of low-density highlights, and pictorial quality
is adversely affected if these highlight areas fade or
suffer color balance changes.
Figure 3.15 Konica Color PC Paper Type SR and Kodak Ektacolor
Plus Paper compared in a 6-year, 1.35 klux test with fluorescent
illumination. The sample area was maintained at 75F (24C) and 60%
RH, and the print samples were covered with glass. In this test,
Konica Type SR paper performed much better than did Ektacolor Plus.
Because of light-fading reciprocity failures, which are more pronounced
with the Ektacolor paper than with the Konica paper, the disparity
between the two products is greater than indicated by short-term,
high-intensity 21.5 klux tests. Particularly noteworthy is the substan-
tially increased fading of the Ektacolor yellow dye in the 1.35 klux test
compared with the 21.5 klux test. The low-intensity 1.35 klux test more
closely approximates normal indoor display conditions than does the
short-term, 21.5 klux test.
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Figure 3.16 Konica Color Type SR and Type EX
papers exposed to glass-filtered Cool White fluo-
rescent illumination for 6 years in a low-level,
1.35 klux accelerated light fading test. With a
relatively small change in color balance, the overall
light fading stability of Konica Type SR and Type
EX papers was better than that of any other Pro-
cess EP-2 compatible papers tested.
Figure 3.18 D-min yellowish stain formation in
Konica Color Type SR and Ektacolor Plus papers
compared in a 6-year, 1.35 klux test with fluores-
cent illumination. At the end of 6 years, the
Ektacolor print had developed approximately twice
the stain level of the Konica Type SR print. Be-
cause of pronounced stain-formation reciprocity
failures, high-intensity tests offer little useful in-
formation on the light-induced staining tendency
of chromogenic color papers. It should be noted,
however, that dye fading, and not stain forma-
tion, is the most serious problem for displayed
prints made with current papers.
Figure 3.17 Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Ektacolor
Professional papers exposed to glass-filtered Cool
White fluorescent illumination for 6 years in a
low-level, 1.35 klux accelerated light fading test.
Note the more rapid fading of the magenta and
yellow dyes, and the greater change in color bal-
ance, compared with that of Konica Type SR and
Type EX papers (see above Figure 3.16). Gener-
ally similar data were obtained with prints ex-
posed to bare-bulb fluorescent illumination and
with prints covered with sheets of Plexiglas UF-3,
a sharp-cutting acrylic UV filter.
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and Professional papers, Konica Type SR and Konica Pro-
fessional EX papers demonstrate improved performance.
This is particularly important for reproduction of light skin
tones, as shown in Figure 3.13. Dark skin color stability is
shown in Figure 3.14. The superiority of the Konica Color
PC Paper Type SR and Professional EX papers over Ekta-
color Plus and Ektacolor Professional paper becomes even
more apparent in 6-year, low-level 1.35 klux tests, as shown
in Figure 3.15 through Figure 3.18.
One of the interesting findings of this authors long-
term, low-level 1.35 klux tests is that with Ektacolor Plus
and Professional papers, the yellow dye exhibited signifi-
cant reciprocity failure and faded much more with equiva-
lent illumination than it did in high-intensity 21.5 klux tests.
In comparing Figure 3.19 with the Ektacolor Plus data in
Figures 3.11, 3.12, and 3.14, it can be seen that the color
balance shift was more extreme in the 1.35 klux condition.
Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3.19, when Ektacolor
Plus and Professional papers were processed with EP-3
Stabilizer, the fading of the yellow dye (and resultant color
balance change) was even more pronounced. Konica Type
SR and Professional EX, on the other hand, exhibited much
less of a reciprocity failure of the yellow dye in the 1.35 klux
tests, and a more pleasing flesh tone color balance was
maintained.
Except for limited sales under the name Fujicolor Mini-
lab Paper, Fujicolor Paper Type 12 has not been available
outside of Japan. This was the first Fuji paper to use one
of Fujis high-stability, low-stain magenta couplers, and it
is the predecessor of Fujis outstanding SFA3 papers. Fuji-
color Type 12 paper was not supplied to the general U.S.
market because, according to Fuji, Kodak and some other
non-Fuji EP-2 developers produced unacceptable color-cross-
overs when the developers were mixed with certain types
of water.
Even though Fujicolor Paper Type 03 and Professional
Type 02-P had somewhat better light fading stability, this
author recommends Konica Color Paper Type SR and Pro-
fessional Type EX as the best of the EP-2 papers because
the Konica papers had significantly better dark storage
stability, particularly when processed in the washless mode
with Konica Super Stabilizer.
Comparative Light Fading
Stability of Discontinued
Color Negative Papers
Most of the papers included in Table 3.1c (page 133) are
EP-2 products, although some RA-4 papers are represented.
One of the most striking findings is that very little improve-
ment in the light fading stability of Ektacolor papers has
been made since the introduction of Ektacolor 37 RC Paper
in 1971 over 20 years ago! The same general type of
magenta dye continues to be used by Kodak in its current
RA-4 and EP-2 papers. One improvement that can be seen
in Ektacolor papers, however, is the UV-absorbing emul-
sion overcoat that appeared unannounced in Ektacolor 74
RC Paper in early 1982. The initial type of Ektacolor 74 RC
Paper, which did not have a UV-absorbing overcoat, exhib-
ited very rapid cyan dye fading when exposed to illumina-
Figure 3.19 The light fading behavior of
Ektacolor Plus prints processed by two dif-
ferent methods. In 6-year, glass-covered 1.35
klux fluorescent tests, yellow dye fading in-
creased when prints were processed with
Ektaprint EP-3 Stabilizer as a final rinse. This
loss of yellow dye stability, which is particu-
larly objectionable in skin-tone colors, exhib-
its large reciprocity failures in short-term, high-
intensity (e.g., 21.5 klux) tests. Use of EP-3
Stabilizer was generally phased out after Ek-
tacolor Plus Paper was introduced in 1984.
EP-3 Stabilizer, which both increases cyan
dye stability and reduces yellowish stain for-
mation with Ektacolor papers in dark stor-
age, was extensively used with Ektacolor 37
RC paper (197178) and Ektacolor 74 RC
paper (197786). Unfortunately, EP-3 Stabi-
lizer significantly reduced the yellow dye sta-
bility of these papers when displayed. The
yellow dye in Konica Type SR paper is not
similarly affected by EP-3 Stabilizer or other
low-pH stabilizers such as Konica Super Sta-
bilizer.
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Figure 3.20 Papers for printing color transparencies com-
pared by density losses from 1.0 neutral patches. As with
the color negative papers discussed previously, the Pro-
cess R-3 Fujichrome, Ektachrome, and Agfachrome print
samples were covered with glass and exposed to 21.5
klux fluorescent illumination for 100 days in accelerated
light fading tests conducted at 75F (24C) and 60% RH.
Because of the large reciprocity failures exhibited by Ilford
Cibachrome materials (renamed Ilford Ilfochrome in 1991)
in short-term, high-intensity tests, the Cibachrome II samples
were exposed to an equivalent total light exposure at 1.35
klux for 5 years (1,825 days), also at 75F (24C) and 60%
RH. This light exposure is equivalent to about 30 years of
display under this authors standard display condition of
450 lux for 12 hours per day. It is important to note that
the relative performance of these papers when measured
at a neutral density of 1.0 may differ from that when the
density is measured at the visually more critical density of
0.6 which was employed in determining the image-life
limits reported in Table 3.2 on page 135.
Figure 3.21 Papers for printing color transparencies com-
pared by density losses from ~1.0 cyan, magenta, and
yellow color patches. The large loss of yellow dye in the
Ilford Cibachrome II (Ilfochrome Classic) print in this 1.35
klux test is not evident in short-term, high-intensity tests.
In spite of comparatively large losses of the yellow dye in
the pure yellow patch, this author nevertheless rates the
overall light-fading stability of Ilfochrome as the best of all
easily processed materials for printing color transparen-
cies. Of the various image-life parameters employed by
this author in evaluating color prints, the human eye is
least sensitive to losses in yellow and near-yellow colors
(see discussion in Chapter 2).
tion with a significant UV content (e.g., bare-bulb fluores-
cent lamps or bare-bulb quartz halogen lamps in fixtures
with no glass covers). In indoor north daylight tests, with
the light passing through a north-facing window, the ben-
efit of the UV-absorbing overcoat is significant. All chro-
mogenic color negative and color reversal papers are now
made with UV-absorbing overcoats.
Comparative Light Fading
Stability of Papers for
Printing Color Transparencies
The comparative stability of materials for printing color
transparencies is given in Table 3.2 (page 135) and in Fig-
ures 3.20 and 3.21. Among conventional, easy-to-process
color print materials, Ilford Ilfochrome materials (called
Cibachrome, 19631991) are the only products that can be
considered to be absolutely permanent (with essentially
zero stain levels) in dark storage at normal room tempera-
tures. Here we see the great advantage of the Ilfochrome
preformed dye system over the chromogenic process.
If Ilford would develop an improved-stability, negative-
printing version of Ilfochrome, which is well within the
realm of silver dye-bleach technology, this new product
would be enormously successful in the portrait, wedding,
commercial display, and fine art fields.
Beginning with several of the new Ilfochrome Rapid
print materials for Process P-4 announced during 1991 and
1992, Ilford introduced a new type of magenta dye that is
said to have somewhat improved light fading stability com-
pared with the previous magenta dye. Because both the
cyan and yellow dyes remain unchanged from previous
Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) print materials, the new magenta
dye will probably have little effect on the image-life predic-
tions given for Ilfochrome materials in Table 3.2 (page
135) and Table 3.4 (page 139). Ilford reports that the dark
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UltraStable Permanent Color Prints
and Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints
To make a color photograph that can withstand hun-
dreds of years exposure to light on display, UltraStable
Permanent Color prints
1719
and Polaroid Permanent-Color
prints
20
employ highly stable cyan, magenta, yellow, and
black pigments instead of the organic dyes used by other
types of color photographs to form the image. The pig-
ments are similar to those in automobile paints, which
must be able to survive years of outdoor sun exposure
under the harshest conditions. The prints are made on
long-lasting polyester-base materials.
Both UltraStable and Polaroid Permanent-Color mate-
rials were developed by Charles Berger of Ben Lomond,
California. The Polaroid materials are manufactured by
the Polaroid Corporation under contract with commercial
users and are not sold in the general market.
UltraStable materials, which have a number of improve-
ments over the earlier Polaroid Permanent-Color materi-
als, are supplied by UltraStable Color Systems, Inc. of Santa
Cruz, California.
When made properly, UltraStable prints are extremely
sharp and have excellent color and tone reproduction. Prints
can be made from existing prints, color negatives, or trans-
parencies. Because separation negatives the size of the
final image are required, having the prints made is fairly
expensive. A 16x20-inch UltraStable print may cost $500
or more for the first print; additional copies are less. (The
UltraStable process is described in detail on pages 4951.)
This author has employed various tests, including a 6-
year, high-intensity 21.5 klux accelerated fluorescent test,
to evaluate the stability of Polaroid Permanent-Color pig-
ment prints.
21
Because UltraStable Permanent Color ma-
terials with the improved-stability yellow pigment (to be
introduced in early 1993) were not available when this book
went to press, test data for these materials could not be
included. (Long-term tests were done with prototype ma-
terials having a different, less light-stable yellow pigment.)
What information that is available, however, leaves no
doubt that UltraStable prints made with the improved-
fading stability of the new magenta dye is as outstanding
as it was for the older magenta dye.
As shown in Figures 3.20 and 3.21, Fujichrome Type 35
paper is by far the best choice among Process R-3 reversal
papers. With its good dye stability and low stain level in
dark storage together with good light fading stability, this
is the slide-printing counterpart to Fujicolor SFA3 papers
for printing color negatives. It should be noted, however,
that although Fuji SFA3 and Type 35 papers have similar
dark storage stability, SFA3 paper is much more resistant
to light fading on display. For that matter, the light fading
stability of Fujicolor SFA3 paper is significantly better than
that of current Ilfochrome prints!
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance Paper, introduced in 1991
as the successor to Ektachrome 22 Paper, falls consider-
ably short of Fujichrome Type 35 paper in both light fading
stability and dark storage stability. In particular, the rates
of yellowish stain formation in dark storage are far higher
with Ektachrome Radiance papers than with Fujichrome
Type 35 papers.
Kodaks Ektachrome Copy Paper, which was still on the
market at the time this book went to press in 1992, has a
cyan dye with very poor dark fading stability. Ektachrome
Copy Paper is a relic from an earlier era of color papers
and should be strictly avoided.
of Pigment Color Prints
The estimated image life of displayed pigment color prints
is given in Table 3.2 (page 135). To a greater or lesser
degree, all of the organic dyes used to form the images in
conventional color films and prints gradually fade when
exposed to light. Even Ilford Ilfochrome and Kodak Dye
Transfer prints, both of which are exceedingly stable when
stored in the dark, will fade to an objectionable degree
after relatively few years of display.
(In long-term display, no current color material with a
dye image can even approach the stability of the silver
image of a carefully processed black-and-white photograph
made on fiber-base paper).
Figure 3.22 The predicted light-fading
stability of Polaroid Permanent-Color
prints compared with Kodak Ektacolor
prints. Polaroid Permanent-Color prints
employ color pigments that are far more
resistant to light fading than the organic
dyes in Ektacolor and other traditional
color prints. UltraStable Permanent Color
prints, which also employ high-stability
pigments, have cyan and magenta pig-
ments with light fading stability that is
similar to that of Polaroid Permanent-
Color prints. The improved-stability
non-toxic (lead-free) metal-type yellow
pigment to be introduced in early 1993
for the UltraStable process is expected
to have light fading stability that is simi-
lar to that of the cadmium yellow pig-
ment in Polaroid Permanent-Color prints.
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Figure 3.23 A comparison of UltraStable Permanent Color
prints (based on the estimated stability of the new yellow
pigment to be introduced in early 1993) and Polaroid Per-
manent-Color pigment prints with Kodak Dye Transfer and
Fuji Dyecolor prints by density losses from 1.0 neutral den-
sity patches. In this accelerated test, the prints were cov-
ered with glass and exposed to 21.5 klux fluorescent illumi-
nation for 100 days. Dye Transfer and Fuji Dyecolor prints
employ preformed dyes to form the image; while the prints
are subject to light fading, they are essentially permanent
in dark storage (see Chapter 5). All four of these processes
require black-and-white separation films that are the same
size as the final prints; because of this, they are consider-
ably more labor-intensive and costly than Fujicolor, Ekta-
color, Agfacolor, Konica Color, Ilfochrome, and other easy-
to-process materials.
Figure 3.24 A comparison of UltraStable Permanent
Color prints (based on the estimated stability of the new
yellow pigment to be introduced in early 1993) and Pola-
roid Permanent-Color pigment prints with Kodak Dye Trans-
fer prints and Fuji Dyecolor prints by density losses from
~1.0 cyan, magenta, and yellow patches. (The test con-
ditions were the same as those employed in Figure 3.23.)
Fujicolor Dyecolor prints, which are made by a method
which is similar to that used with the Kodak Dye Transfer
Process, are produced by the Fujicolor Services lab in
Osaka, Japan and are not available outside of Japan.
stability yellow pigment and Polaroid Permanent-Color
prints are far more stable than any other type of color print
on the market (see Figures 3.22 through 3.24). Under
typical indoor display conditions, it is expected that both
types of prints should last for 500 years or more before
noticeable fading or staining occurs. The prints also have
extremely good dark storage stability.
The stability of the color pigments in UltraStable and
Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints is such that the display
life of the prints probably is not limited by fading, but rather
by cracking (which most likely would be caused by fluctu-
ating relative humidity) of the pigment-containing gelatin
image layers, by instability of the gelatin after years of
exposure to light, by adhesion failures between the gelatin
and white polyester support material, or by the eventual
failure of the polyester support itself.
The comparative light fading characteristics of UltraStable
Permanent Color Prints (made with the improved-stabil-
ity yellow pigment introduced in early 1993), Polaroid Per-
manent-Color Prints, Kodak Dye Transfer Prints, and Fuji
Dyecolor prints are shown in Figures 3.23 and 3.24.
EverColor Pigment Prints
In late 1992 the EverColor Corporation of El Dorado
Hills, California announced the EverColor process for making
long-lasting pigment color prints.
22
The EverColor pro-
cess is a high-stability modification of the AgfaProof graphic
arts proofing process which employs silver-halide gelatin
emulsions that contain cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
pigments. EverColor plans to offer the prints commer-
cially in early 1993.
In succession, each layer is mechanically transferred
onto a polyester print support sheet with an AgfaProof
automated transfer machine. Following transfer, the sheet
is dried in an AgfaProof dryer. The print sheet is then
exposed through the appropriate screened separation nega-
tive in a low-wattage graphic arts contact printer. Follow-
ing exposure, the print sheet is run through an AgfaProof
processing machine which develops the image in a tan-
ning developer that hardens the gelatin in proportion to
image density, immerses the print in a bleach/fix bath to
remove the developed silver image, and then washes off
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unhardened pigment-containing gelatin in a warm water
bath to reveal the color image. The print is then dried in
an AgfaProof dryer, and the process is repeated for each of
the remaining three colors to complete the print.
The AgfaProof system was designed as a graphic arts
proofing process, and as such the cyan, magenta, yellow,
and black pigments normally employed by Agfa have been
selected to precisely match 4-color printing inks; light fad-
ing stability was not a consideration. The EverColor Cor-
poration contracted with Agfa to coat special emulsions
that are formulated with carefully selected high-stability
color pigments.
The EverColor process appears to have all of the needed
characteristics for making very long lasting, high-quality
prints at reasonable cost. The image quality of AgfaProof
graphic arts proofs is very good, and the process is highly
reproducible. In the future, with the incorporation of high-
speed silver halides in the emulsions, it would appear that
the materials could be direct-written by a laser scanner
output device. This would eliminate the expense of making
full-size separations and would lower the cost of making
the prints when only one or two copies are required.
Based on limited information on the pigments provided
by Bill Nordstrom of the EverColor Corporation, this au-
thor has included EverColor prints in Table 3.2 (page 135).
It must be emphasized, however, that at the time this book
went to press in late 1992, this author had not had the
opportunity to test EverColor prints. Indeed, at the time of
this writing, this author had not even seen an EverColor
print. Nevertheless, it was felt that the reader would want
to know about the EverColor process, and for that reason it
is included here.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, Nordstrom
was producing UltraStable prints through his firm, Color
Prints by Nordstrom. He has indicated that his company
will probably continue to supply UltraStable prints on re-
quest after the EverColor process goes into production.
Fuji-Inax Photocera
Ceramic Color Photographs
Fuji-Inax Photocera ceramic color photographs (see page
44) are a joint development of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and
Inax Corporation, a major Japanese producer of ceramic
tiles and bathroom fixtures. The photographs are avail-
able only in Japan through Fujicolor Processing Service.
The Photocera process, which was introduced in 1991,
employs inorganic pigments to print images on ceramic
substrates which are fired at very high temperatures. The
resulting photographic ceramic tile is permanent in the
dark and is also unaffected by light, rain, seawater, and
fire; in addition, the images are very resistant to surface
abrasion. Intended markets for Fuji-Inax Photocera color
photographs include heirloom gifts, outdoor signs in zoos
and parks, and portraits for memorials and gravestones.
Samples of Photocera photographs were not received in
time for test results to be included in this book. However,
test data made available to this author by Fuji leave little
doubt that Photocera photographs are extremely long last-
ing. Fuji calls the photographs quasi-eternal.
Photocera photographs, which have screened images,
can be printed from any type of photographic original and
are available in a variety of sizes from 2
1
2 x 3
1
2 inches
($260 for the first print, less for additional copies) to 24 x 31
inches ($5,820 for the first print, less for additional copies).
Fresson Quadrichromie Pigment Prints
Fresson Quadrichromie pigment color prints are made
in France by Atelier Michel Fresson. The Fresson lab,
located near Paris,
23
has been producing limited quanti-
ties of Quadrichromie prints since 1952. The materials to
make the prints are not available to the public.
Comparative Light Fading Stability of Color
Prints Made by Thermal Dye Transfer, Canon
Laser Copier, Iris Ink Jet, and Other Processes
Among the color print materials and processes listed in
Table 3.3 (page 137) are a number of new technologies for
making color prints that have emerged during the last 10
years and are now beginning to make serious inroads in
the photography field. Probably foremost among them is
the thermal dye transfer process, which is being employed
in digital desktop thermal printers made by Kodak, Sony,
Hitachi, and other manufacturers to produce fairly high-
quality photorealistic color prints. Ektatherm prints, which
are made with the Kodak XL7700-series digital printers
(costing between $18,000 and $25,000), are perhaps the most
prominent example of this technology. With the commer-
cial introduction of the Kodak Photo CD system in the sum-
mer of 1992, Ektatherm prints will be the only type of print
initially available from the Photo CDs; in addition, the Photo
CD Index Print supplied with each Kodak Photo CD as a
contact sheet visual reference to the images recorded on
the disc will be an Ektatherm print.
Unlike conventional color materials such as Ektacolor
and Fujicolor prints, Ektatherm and other thermal dye trans-
fer papers do not have a UV-absorbing overcoat. The im-
age dyes in Ektatherm prints are adversely affected by UV
radiation, and in display situations where significant UV
radiation is present, such as with bare-bulb fluorescent
illumination, the prints fade much more rapidly than they
do when protected from UV radiation (see Figure 3.5).
Because thermal dye transfer materials use preformed dyes
or pigments to form the color image, the stability of the
images could probably be significantly improved in the fu-
ture with the selection of more stable colorants.
Ink jet printing, in which color images are formed by
spraying millions of tiny ink droplets in precise position
onto paper, has found significant application in the graphic
arts field for direct proofing of the digital data from laser
or CCD scanners. Because of the ability of ink jet printers
to make large prints on almost any sort of paper or other
support material, there has been significant interest in the
technology in the fine arts field (see pages 5254 for dis-
cussion of the use of Iris ink jet printers for making fine art
prints at Nash Editions in California). Unfortunately, at
the time this book went to press in late 1992, all of the ink
sets available for use in Iris ink jet printers had very poor
light fading stability.
Image-life predictions for the standard Iris ink set are
given in Table 3.3 (page 137); also tested was an ink set
made by American Ink Jet, which proved only somewhat
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Image-receiving layer cracks are
often easier to detect in light areas
of an SX-70 image. Unlike the light-
induced cracks found in RC prints,
light apparently plays no role in
the formation of image-receiving
layer cracks in SX-70 prints.
A magnified view of the image
cracks, which form in the upper
layers of the prints internal struc-
ture. The transparent polyester
sheet that covers the top of the
print is not affected by the internal
cracking and remains intact.
A Polaroid SX-70 color print made
in 1973 that has developed inter-
nal image-receiving layer cracks.
Early SX-70 prints (197276) are
frequently found to have developed
such cracks, especially if they have
been stored in very dry conditions.
#8918
42%
#8912
45%
#896
40%
more stable than the Iris inks, and an ink set supplied by
Siemens, which was even less stable than the Iris inks. It
is hoped that a much more light-stable ink set can be de-
veloped for ink jet printing; the process has much to offer
from an aesthetic and functional point of view, especially
for large display prints.
Two ink set supplied by Stork Bedford B.V. for Stork ink
jet printers were also tested, but the light fading stability
of these inks proved to be little better than the Iris ink set.
Electrophotographic or xerographic color prints, all of
which use preformed colorants to form images, show great
promise as a means of making stable color prints. Using a
Canon Color Laser Copier, for example, photographs of
sufficient quality for proofs, business presentations, and
short-run publications can be produced quickly and at low
cost. The light fading stability of Canon color copies is
much better than that of Ektacolor prints, but not as good
as that of Fujicolor SFA3 prints.
Polaroid Instant Color Prints
As shown in Table 3.3 (page 137), Polaroid Spectra and
Polaroid 600 Plus prints also have poor light fading stabil-
ity. Polaroid Spectra film was replaced with Spectra HD
(High Definition) film in 1991; samples of Spectra HD were
not available in time for 1.35 klux test data to be included in
this book; however, the image stability of Spectra HD prints
is believed to be similar to that of previous Spectra prints.
When displayed, Polaroid Spectra, 600 Plus, and SX-70
prints fade significantly faster than typical chromogenic
papers. The dyes in Polaroid instant prints are extremely
stable in dark storage. The problem with these prints is
that in dark storage at normal room temperatures, they
develop an objectionable yellowish overall stain in a rela-
tively short period. In non-accelerated (real-time) tests,
the stain levels exceeded this authors d-min stain limits in
only a few years. The stain is produced by slow migration
of non-image dyes and/or other chemical constituents re-
siding in the lower layers of the tightly sealed Polaroid
print package.
In 1992 Polaroid introduced the Vision 95 system in Eu-
rope, a smaller format camera and film employing an im-
proved version of the Spectra HD print emulsion. In 1993,
Vision 95 cameras and film will be introduced in the United
States and other parts of the world under different names.
A Polaroid spokesman told this author that the light fading
stability of Vision 95 prints is expected to be essentially the
same as that of Spectra and Spectra HD prints. The spokes-
man also indicated that Vision 95 prints have a somewhat
reduced rate of yellowish staining in dark storage; how-
ever, specific stain data for Vision 95 prints were not avail-
able from Polaroid or independent laboratories at the time
this book went to press.
Polaroid color prints have no usable negative (like da-
guerreotypes, each exposure produces a unique image). If
important pictures have been made on these materials,
the best policy is to make two copies on a more stable print
material (Polaroid itself offers good-quality copies, made
on Fujicolor color negative paper, at reasonable cost). Keep
one copy in the dark and display the other.
Polaroid peel-apart prints (e.g., Polacolor ER and Pola-
color 2) do much better in dark storage than Spectra and
other Polaroid integral prints because in the peel-apart
prints, the negative layer (with its unused image-forming
dyes and other chemicals) is stripped away after process-
ing. However, these prints have poor light fading stability
and should be displayed with caution. Copies should be
made for long-term display.
Beginning with the introduction of SX-70 prints in 1972,
Polaroid has made numerous misleading claims about the
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dye stability of its materials.
2426
For example, in a two-
page advertisement that appeared in Newsweek and a number
of other national magazines, Polaroid said:
The photographer is Marie Cosindas. The
medium is Polaroids Polacolor Land film. The
result is the remarkable photograph at the right,
Dolls, a work of art recently acquired by the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Now, Pola-
color 2 film has the same unique metallized
dyes found in Polaroids SX-70 film. It has the
same exceptional clarity and stability. And its
brilliant colors are among the most permanent
and fade resistant ever developed in photogra-
phy. Polacolor film is used by amateur, profes-
sional and scientific photographers throughout
the world. Polaroid, the choice of the artist in
the creation of her art.
27
The Polaroid Corporation even operates a service called
the Polaroid Museum Replica Collection, which reproduces
works of art in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts collection
on large-format Polacolor ER film and offers the lacquered,
mounted, and framed prints to the public. The Polaroid
Museum Replica Collection will also reproduce works of
art for private individuals. There is no mention of the poor
light fading stability of these expensive prints, and no cau-
tions whatever are given concerning the fading that inevi-
tably will occur in the course of long-term display.
28
There are signs, however, that Polaroid is beginning to
take a more realistic public stance regarding the image
stability of its color print materials. In a technical data
sheet for Polacolor 64 Tungsten instant print film, dated
January 1992, Polaroid stated: Photographs can be dam-
aged by, and must be protected from, the effects of
light.
29
Polacolor 64 Tungsten, introduced in 1992, is a
tungsten-balanced derivative of daylight-balanced Polacolor
ER instant print film.
Internal Image-Receiving
Layer Cracking of Polaroid
SX-70 Instant Prints
The cracking of the internal image-receiving layer that
has occurred in many Polaroid SX-70 prints made during
the 1970s is another example of an entirely new type of
print material having a completely new type of deteriora-
tion. Cracking of this type, in which the internal image
layer cracks but the polyester cover and backing sheets
are unaffected, has not yet been observed in Fuji instant
prints (available only in Japan) or the now-obsolete Kodak
instant prints.
Apparently caused by low and/or widely fluctuating relative
humidity, the cracking of SX-70 prints does not appear to
be influenced by the presence or absence of light unless
the light is accompanied by significant heating of the print
(which occurs if the print is subjected to direct sunlight,
for example). There is no accepted accelerated test for
SX-70 cracking. Polaroid has declined to release the de-
tails of the tests it uses to evaluate the problem, although
the company has said that improvements were made in
SX-70 prints around 1980 and that the prints are no longer
subject to cracking except under extreme conditions.
Because unacceptable levels of yellow stain can occur
after only a few years of storage under normal conditions
(see Chapter 5) and because catastrophic internal image-
layer cracking is a possibility, this author does not recom-
mend Polaroid Spectra HD prints (called Polaroid Image
prints in Europe), Polaroid 600 Plus prints, or SX-70 prints
for other than short-term applications. Polaroid instant
color prints have no negative from which a new print can
be made when the original deteriorates.
Figure 3.25 A comparison of glossy, poly-
ester-base Ilford Cibachrome II (Ilfochrome
Classic) prints in an 8-year test with 1.35
klux fluorescent and 1.35 klux incandes-
cent tungsten illumination by density losses
from 1.0 neutrals. Note that the cyan dye
faded more under tungsten illumination than
it did under fluorescent illumination. Us-
ing this authors image-life fading and color
balance change limits, and a starting den-
sity of 0.6, the tungsten-illuminated print
actually reached its first image-life limit
sooner than did the fluorescent-illuminated
print (see Table 3.5).
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exposed in homes and offices is either indirect daylight
through window glass or light from fluorescent fixtures. In
other than museum display, tungsten light is usually of
such low intensity and/or hours of duration that its contri-
bution to the overall light fading of a print is relatively
small.
The surprising conclusion of these incandescent illumi-
nation studies, as shown in Table 3.5 (page 142), is that in
most cases color prints fade at about the same rate under
fluorescent and tungsten illumination of the same lux in-
tensity. There are some differences in fading rate and the
direction and degree of color balance change, but the mag-
nitude of these differences is generally small (e.g., refer to
the data in Table 3.5 for Konica Color PC Paper Type SR
and Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Professional papers).
Tungsten halogen lamps (also called quartz halogen
lamps) are increasingly found in museums, galleries, com-
mercial buildings, and homes. Tungsten halogen lamps
have become popular because they operate at a somewhat
higher color temperature than incandescent lamps and there-
fore produce a whiter light (see discussion in Chapter
17). Halogen lamps also last longer and use less electricity
than incandescent lamps.
To withstand their high operating temperature, halogen
lamps are made with a quartz bulb instead of the glass
bulb used in incandescent tungsten lamps. Quartz is trans-
parent to much shorter wavelengths than is glass, and for
this reason bare-bulb halogen lamps emit significant en-
ergy in both the long- and short-wavelength ultraviolet re-
gion. Such UV radiation can be very damaging to color
photographs (especially Kodak Ektatherm and other types
of color materials that lack a UV-absorbing overcoat). For
this reason, halogen lamps should always be fitted with a
protective glass or plastic cover that will absorb UV radia-
tion below about 330 nm.
Recent studies have shown that exposure to bare-bulb
tungsten halogen illumination may also increase the risk
of skin cancer in humans.
30
Covering the lamps with a
sheet of glass or plastic to absorb short-wavelength UV
radiation apparently eliminates such risk.
Comparative Light Fading Stability of Color
Prints Illuminated with North Daylight
Table 3.6 (page 143) gives the relative stability of many
types of color prints exposed to north daylight through
window glass. With the prints located close to the window,
this is a worst-case display situation. North daylight
contains a significantly higher percentage of blue light and
UV radiation than either tungsten or glass-filtered fluores-
cent light.
In comparing the image-life predictions in this table
with the predictions given in Tables 3.1b and 3.1c, and
Tables 3.2 and 3.3, it can be seen that north daylight illu-
mination is in most cases more harmful to color prints
than is either fluorescent or tungsten illumination. This is
true even when prints exposed to north daylight are shielded
from ultraviolet radiation with a UV-absorbing filter. Be-
cause the average illumination intensity in this north day-
light test was only 0.78 klux (averaged over a 24-hour pe-
riod), much longer test periods were required than was the
case with the high-intensity 21.5 klux fluorescent tests re-
of Color Prints Illuminated Under
Incandescent Tungsten Lamps
Table 3.4 gives image-life predictions for prints illumi-
nated with incandescent tungsten lamps. This is of pri-
mary interest to museums and archives where display ar-
eas are usually illuminated solely with tungsten lamps. In
this table, both the strict set of Critical Museum and Ar-
chive Use criteria, which allows very little change in im-
age characteristics, and the more tolerant set of General
Home and Commercial Use criteria have been included to
make display-life extrapolations from the accelerated test
data (see Chapter 2).
To report image-life predictions for color prints displayed
with incandescent tungsten illumination in museums and
archives, this author has adopted an illumination intensity
of 300 lux (28 fc) for 12 hours a day. This is a higher
illumination level than many conservators recommend, but
this author feels that this is the minimum level acceptable
for proper viewing of photographs, especially color photo-
graphs.
There is no minimum safe illumination for color pho-
tographs below which fading does not take place, and this
author believes that it is better to provide adequate illumi-
nation for museum exhibits and at the same time to regu-
larly monitor the fading/staining of the color photographs
in the collection. Fading and staining must not be allowed
to progress beyond pre-set limits.
Display of originals will have to be restricted in any
event, and, where it is deemed acceptable from a curato-
rial point of view, facsimile color copy prints can be substi-
tuted for long-term or permanent display while the origi-
nals are preserved in cold storage. (The reader is referred
to Chapter 7 and Chapter 17 for further discussion of this
sometimes controversial subject.)
Because incandescent tungsten illumination has a low
UV and blue content (the most photochemically active wave-
lengths) it has often been recommended that color prints
be displayed with tungsten illumination to minimize image
fading. This authors tests indicate that for equal illumina-
tion intensities, the fading rates observed for many types
of prints are not substantially different with tungsten or
fluorescent illumination. In fact, as shown in Table 3.5
(page 142), Ilford Ilfochrome Classic prints (formerly called
Cibachrome II prints), and the now-obsolete Agfachrome-
Speed and Kodak PR10 instant prints, along with several
other materials, actually faded more rapidly under tung-
sten light than they did with fluorescent.
In the case of Ilford Ilfochrome Classic, as shown in
Figure 3.25, the cyan dye faded significantly more under
tungsten illumination than it did under fluorescent illumi-
nation of the same 1.35 klux intensity in 10-year, low-level
tests. The most likely explanation for this is the propor-
tionally higher red content in tungsten illumination than in
Cool White fluorescent light. Although the photochemical
energy of red light is low, it is apparently sufficient to
cause fading of the Ilfochrome cyan dye, which has its
primary absorption in the red portion of the spectrum. This
also appears to be true of the cyan dyes in the now-obso-
lete Agfachrome-Speed and Kodak PR10 instant prints.
Most of the light to which displayed photographs are
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#1152
36%
#1155
36%
#1157
36%
A Kodak Ektacolor RC (resin-coated)
print that has suffered light-induced
cracking of the thin white RC layer
coated on the paper core of the
print beneath the emulsion. The
RC layer is made of polyethylene
pigmented with titanium dioxide.
This print, which was made in 1970,
developed the cracks after only
about 6 years of display under nor-
mal conditions in a home. The
print had been dry mounted and
framed under glass. (Original color
photograph by Max Brown)
A magnified view of part of the
cracked print. By the time the cracks
appeared, the print had also showed
significant fading. Like most pro-
fessional portraits, this print had
been lacquered. Similar Ektacolor
prints from the time that had not
been lacquered have in many cases
also suffered light-induced RC layer
cracking. This author has observed
similar light-induced RC cracking
in Agfacolor, Ektachrome, and Ciba-
chrome RC prints made from about
1974 until the early 1980s.
That prolonged exposure to light
was the cause of the cracking of
this print is evident in this magni-
fied view of the edge of the print:
the cracking of the RC layer stopped
where the edge of the print was
protected from light by a frame.
Black-and-white RC prints may also
develop light-induced cracking of
the RC layer; in addition, they may
suffer from light-induced discolora-
tion and fading of the silver image
(see discussion of the problems of
B&W RC prints in Chapter 17).
ported earlier in this chapter. Reciprocity failures prob-
ably contributed to the shorter image-life predictions for
many of the materials in the north daylight test. In addi-
tion, because an integrating lux-hour meter was available
for measuring the accumulated illumination only during
the last few years of this 10-year test, there is some uncer-
tainty about what the average illumination actually was
during the early years of the test.
The north daylight test does, however, provide valuable
information on the stability of one type of print versus
another under this display condition; the test also indi-
cates the possible effectiveness of an ultraviolet filter in
slowing the rate of fading.
In most display situations, the relative percentage of
UV radiation is less than what the prints were exposed to
in this north daylight test because UV radiation is largely
absorbed by most painted surfaces, walls, ceilings, and
floors, which reflect to the print a significant portion of
incident illumination. Because of this, the actual effective-
ness of UV filters in normal display conditions will prob-
ably be less than indicated by this test.
Eastman Kodak has used filtered Cool White Deluxe
fluorescent light as the illuminate for most of its published
data on print fading, saying, Its the type of energy to
which most prints displayed in public buildings will be sub-
jected. Simulated daylight sources have more UV than a
print is likely to see in most applications.
Light-Induced RC Paper Cracking A Serious
Problem with Early RC Color Papers
The introduction in September 1968 of Kodak Ektacolor
20 RC Paper the first quick-processing RC (polyethyl-
ene-resin-coated) paper sold in the general consumer market
also introduced an entirely new type of deterioration:
the embrittlement and subsequent cracking of the tita-
nium dioxide-pigmented polyethylene layer as a result of
exposure to even low-level light during normal display (for
additional discussion of the structure of RC papers and
light-induced RC paper cracking, see Chapter 17).
Many of these early RC prints developed cracks after
only a few years of display something that Kodak be-
came aware of even before the first RC papers were put on
the market. Previous fiber-base papers such as Ektacolor
Professional Paper, which took much longer to process,
wash, and dry than do waterproof RC papers, were not
subject to this type of cracking. (Fiber-base color prints
could, however, develop emulsion cracks as a consequence
of cycling relative humidity during storage and/or display.
Such cracks, which are not light-induced, are different from
the cracks found in RC papers.)
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During the 1970s, Kodak made a number of improve-
ments in the RC paper base which lengthened the time a
print could be displayed before cracks started to develop.
By about 1977 Kodak started to manufacture RC paper
with a polyethylene stabilizer incorporated into the con-
ventional paper core in the center of the RC paper struc-
ture; over time the stabilizer diffuses into the adjacent
polyethylene layers, thereby significantly increasing their
resistance to embrittlement and cracking.
Kodak will not say when this improvement was actually
introduced, but it is assumed that by 1980 all general-pur-
pose Kodak color and black-and-white RC papers had been
converted to the new RC base.
As yet there is no ANSI standard for testing the physical
stability of RC papers, but an American National Standards
Institute subcommittee is developing a new black-and-white
print stability standard that will include an accelerated
test procedure for black-and-white RC prints; the test method
should also be applicable to color RC prints. The new ANSI
standard is expected to be published in 1994.
Kodak has described a test the company has been using
since the 1970s for evaluating the stability of RC papers in
which the effects of light are accelerated by increasing the
temperature of the test prints.
31
Unfortunately, the appli-
cability of such tests to the many different types of RC
papers now on the market has yet to be confirmed by inde-
pendent laboratories.
At the time this book went to press, Fuji, Agfa, Ilford,
Mitsubishi, Konica, and other manufacturers had not pub-
lished any details of their RC-base test procedures; how
the RC papers supplied by these companies compare to
each other and to Kodak papers is not yet known. It is
probable that there are significant differences in the sta-
bility characteristics of these papers.
The rapid cracking and fading of Ektacolor RC prints in the 1970s presented a major problem for professional portrait and
wedding photographers. Here, Robert and Bernice Fehrenbach of Fehrenbach Studios in Reedsburg, Wisconsin discuss
the problem with photographers at their Faded and Cracked Photographs booth during the 1981 annual convention of the
Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the table are a selection from the
many hundreds of faded and cracked Ektacolor RC prints that disgruntled customers had returned to portrait studios in
Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The Fehrenbachs, who founded the Committee on Faded and
Cracked Photographs of the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association, had previously circulated a petition asking
Kodak to improve the stability of its color films and papers. They were also involved in a class-action lawsuit against
Eastman Kodak regarding these issues (see Chapter 8).
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Compared with the Problem of Dye Fading in
Displayed Color Prints, RC Base Cracking
Is No Longer A Serious Concern
Considering the fact that the color image dyes in all
current chromogenic RC prints are subject to light fading
during the course of display, available data indicate that,
under normal indoor display conditions, significant dye fading
will have occurred well before there is any likelihood of
cracks developing in the RC paper base. In other words,
unlike the situation with some of the earlier RC papers,
light-induced RC base cracking is no longer the weakest
link in the overall stability of these products (although only
long-term testing and experience in the coming years with
prints on display and stored in a variety of environments
can confirm this). This authors single-temperature accel-
erated dark storage tests with a variety of recent RC color
papers indicate that the dark storage stability of these RC
support materials is reasonably good.
Given the choice, however, this author recommends poly-
ester-base print materials such as Fujiflex SFA3 Super-
Gloss Printing Material over their RC-base counterparts
when maximum stability is desired. A polyester base also
avoids the potential problem of RC base-associated fading
and staining that has afflicted some chromogenic RC color
papers. As the dye stabilities of color print materials are
improved and the images last longer on display and/or
when stored in the dark the demands on the stability of
the RC base will also increase.
Ilford Ilfochrome materials are supplied both on a low-
cost, RC base and on a more expensive and highly stable
glossy, solid polyester support. Given the potentially ex-
tremely long life of these prints when stored in the dark, it
is recommended that the polyester-base types of Ilfochrome
be used if long-term storage is contemplated.
Furthermore, the long-term display characteristics of
the present Ilfochrome RC base are not now known, and if
maximum stability is desired, the polyester-base types of
Ilfochrome are recommended. RC-base Cibachrome II prints
(now called Ilfochrome Classic prints) made in 1980 which
were tested by this author developed serious overall yel-
lowish stain after several years of storage in the dark after
a moderate accelerated light fading test; the polyester-
base version of Cibachrome II was not affected in this manner
and remained free of stain (see Chapter 2).
1. Eastman Kodak Company, Merrett T. Smith, Kodak Studio Light,
Issue No. 1, 1986, p. 7.
2. Susan Roman, Kochs Official Portrait: A Photo, PDNews, Photo
District News, Vol. IX, Issue XIV, December 1989, p. 18.
graphic Images Methods for Measuring, American National
Standards Institute, Inc., New York, New York, 1991. Copies of the
Standard may be purchased from the American National Standards
Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036;
telephone: 212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
4. Agfa Committed To Finishers, Gerlach Says, Photo Weekly, Vol.
30, No. 10, April 15, 1985, p. 12.
5. Eastman Kodak Company, How Post-Processing Treatment Can
Affect Image Stability of Prints on Kodak Ektacolor Paper,
Kodak Publication CIS 62, February 1982. The material in this
publication is based on a presentation by Paul M. Ness, Professional
Photography Marketing, and Charleton Bard, Image Stability Techni-
cal Center, Eastman Kodak Company, given at the February 28,
1982 meeting of the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Associa-
tion, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
6. American National Standards Institute, Inc., see Note No. 3, p. 16.
Going!! Gone!!! Which Color Films and Papers Last Longest? How
Do the Ones You Use Stack Up?, Popular Photography, June
1990, Vol. 97, No. 6, pp. 3749, 60. The article included Wilhelms
years of display image-life predictions for color print materials
based on the 450 lux for 12 hours per day standard display condi-
tion that is used in this book.
8. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA,
Fuji Film Data Sheet Color Negative Papers, Ref. No. AF3661E
(90.2-OB-10-1), February 1990, p. 7. The same 500 lux for 12 hours
a day display condition was also used by Fuji in making image-life
predictions for its improved-stability Fujicolor Super FA Type 3 (SFA3)
papers, introduced in 1992: Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3,
Fuji Film Data Sheet Color Negative Papers, Ref. No. AF3-723E
(92.1-OB-5-1), January 1992, p. 7.
9. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujichrome Paper Type 35, Fuji Film
Data Sheet Color Reversal Papers, Ref. No. AF3-718E (92.1-OB-3-
1), January 1992, p. 8. Fuji had earlier used the same 1,000 lux for
12 hours a day display condition in making image-life predictions
for Type 34 paper, introduced in 1986: Fujichrome Paper Type 34,
Fuji Film Data Sheet Color Reversal Papers, Ref. No. AF3-638E
(89.7-OB-5-6), July 1989, p. 6.
Display Print Materials and Films, (Technical Information Manual),
Cat. No. 7929-RMI 895M, 1988, p. 6.
11. Stanton Anderson and Ronald Goetting [Eastman Kodak Company],
Environmental Effects on the Image Stability of Photographic Prod-
ucts, Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, Vol. 14, No.
4, August 1988, pp. 111116. This article contains a graph showing
the predicted fading of Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper in display years,
based on an illumination intensity of 100 lux for 12 hours per day
(Figure 24, p. 113).
12. Eastman Kodak Company, Image-Stability Data: Kodachrome Films,
Kodak Publication E-105, March 1988, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York 14650. Although this publication is primarily
concerned with the image stability of Kodachrome film, it also dis-
cusses test methods for both films and prints. See also: Eastman
Kodak Company, Evaluating Image Stability of Kodak Color Pho-
tographic Products, Kodak Publication CIS-130, March 1991.
13. Stanton I. Anderson and Richard J. Anderson [Eastman Kodak Com-
pany], A Study of Lighting Conditions Associated with Print Display
in Homes, paper given at the SPSE Sixth International Sympo-
sium on Photofinishing Technology, Las Vegas, Nevada, Febru-
ary 20, 1990, Advance Printing of Paper Summaries, pp. 8081;
published by The Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T),
7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-
9090; Fax: 703-642-9094.
Products, Kodak Publication No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subse-
quent CIS-50 series dye-stability data sheets through 1985; Kodak
Ektacolor Plus and Professional Papers for the Professional
Finisher, Kodak Publication No. E-18, March 1986.
15. Photofinishing News, Inc., Photo Processing North and South
America, The 1991 International Photo Processing Industry
Report, Chapter 2, p. 1 (1991). Photofinishing News, Inc., Suite
1091, 10915 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 33923;
telephone: 813-992-4421; Fax: 813-992-6328.
16. Tadahisa Sato, Masakazu Morigaki, and Osamu Takahashi [Fuji Photo
Film Co., Ltd.], New Type Color Paper with Exceptional Dye Image
Stability Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3, presentation at IS&Ts
Seventh International Symposium on Photofinishing Technol-
ogy, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 35, 1992. Sponsored by IS&T
The Society for Imaging Science and Technology. See also: O.
Takahashi, T. Sato, K. Hasebe, N. Furutachi and T. Ogawa [Fuji
Photo Film Co. Ltd., Japan], New Type Color Print Paper with an
Improved Color Saturation and Dye Image Stability Fujicolor Paper
Super FA, paper given at the SPSE Sixth International Sympo-
sium on Photofinishing Technology, Las Vegas, Nevada, Febru-
ary 20, 1990, Advance Printing of Paper Summaries, pp. 6870;
published by The Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T),
9090; Fax 703-642-9094.
17. William Nordstrom, In Search of Permanence: 500-Year-Life UltraStable
Color Photographs, Professional Photographer, Vol. 119, No.
2159, April 1992, pp. 3436.
18. David B. LaClaire, Marketing UltraStable Portrait Prints, Profes-
sional Photographer, Vol. 119, No. 2159, April 1992, p. 36.
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(Tables 3.1a through 3.6 on following pages)
19. Spencer Grant and Elizabeth Forst, Carbro Printing: Back to the
Future, Photo District News, Vol. XII, Issue II, February 1992, pp.
98100. See also: John Durniak, Color Almost Too Good to Be
True, The New York Times, December 6, 1992, p. Y27. See also:
Mark Wilson, A Color Process That Wont Fade Away, The Boston
Globe, May 17, 1992.
20. Linda Tien, Lasting Impressions At Ataraxia Studio, Images Are
Made to Stand the Test of Time, Specialty Lab Update (published
by the Photo Marketing Association International, Jackson, Michi-
gan), March 1992, pp. 1 & 4.
21. Henry Wilhelm, The Light-Fading Stability of Polaroid Permanent-
Color Prints, presentation at the Third International Symposium
on Image Conservation, sponsored by The Society for Imaging
Science and Technology (IS&T) and held at the International Mu-
seum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New
York, June 1720, 1990.
22. EverColor Corporation, 576 Powers Drive, El Dorado Hills, California
95762; telephone: 916-933-3403.
23. Atelier Michel Fresson, 21 rue de la Montagne Pavee, 91600 Savigny-
Orge, France; telephone: (33)-1-996-1260.
24. Polaroid Corporation, The First Thirty Years, 19481978: A Chro-
nology of Polaroid Photographic Products, Polaroid Catalog C7
TS/DA, December 1979.
25. H. G. Rogers, M. Idelson, R. F. W. Cieciuch, and S. M. Bloom
[Polaroid Corporation], Light Stability of New Polaroid Colour Prints,
The Journal of Photographic Science, Vol. 22, 1974, pp. 138142.
This paper was presented at a symposium on The Conservation of
Colour Photographic Records organized by the Colour Group of the
Royal Photographic Society on September 20, 1973 in London, En-
gland.
26. Polaroid Corporation, This Polaroid SX-70 photograph is part of the
collection of the Museum of Modern Art, two-page advertisement
that appeared in several magazines, including The New Yorker,
Vol. 53, No. 11, May 2, 1977.
27. Polaroid Corporation, This Polaroid Polacolor photograph was
acquired by Bostons Museum of Fine Arts for its permanent collec-
tion. . ., two-page advertisement that appeared in a number of
magazines, including Newsweek, May 9, 1977, and Scientific Ameri-
can, Vol 239, No. 2, August 1978.
28. Polaroid Corporation, The Private Works of John Singer Sargent,
The Polaroid Museum Replica Collection, promotional literature
postmarked July 23, 1987.
29. Polaroid Corporation, Polacolor 64 Tungsten Instant Print Films,
Polaroid Publication No. PP1401 (PID#1B5582), January 1992, p.6.
30. Warren E. Leary, New Study Offers More Evidence Linking Cancer
to Halogen Lamps, The New York Times, April 16, 1992, p. A12.
31. T. F. Parsons, G. G. Gray, and I. H. Crawford, To RC or Not To RC,
Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 2,
Spring 1979, pp. 110117.
Etsuo Fuji and Hideko Fuji, Evaluation of the Stability of Thermal Dye
Transfer Video Prints by Accelerated Fading Tests, Journal of
Imaging Science and Technology, Vol. 36, No. 1, JanuaryFebru-
ary 1992, pp. 2936.
This document originated at <www.wilhelm-research.com> on June 6, 2003 under file name: <HW_Book_3_of_20_HiRes_v1.pdf>
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Table 3.1a Comparative Light Fading Stability of Current Process RA-4 Compatible Papers
All of these papers were available at the time this book went to press in 1992.
Predicted years of display to reach Home and Commercial image-life fading limits for color prints displayed in home and office locations illuminated 12 hours
a day at 450 lux (42 fc) with Cool White fluorescent lamps. With these color papers, all of which have effective UV-absorbing emulsion overcoats, generally similar
behavior may be expected with indirect daylight and incandescent tungsten illumination in typical indoor display situations. These predictions are based on
equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH.
Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry. Letters inside parentheses ( ) following number of years indicate the first image-life fading
limit reached: (C) = cyan dye; (M) = magenta dye; (Y) = yellow dye. (CM) means, for example, that the color-balance change limit between cyan and magenta
was reached first, with the magenta dye fading more than the cyan dye.
Predicted Years of Display
Prints
Prints Covered Prints
Covered With UF-3 Not
With Ultraviolet Covered
Type of Color Paper Glass Filter (Bare Bulb)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3 54.4 (M) 57.3 (M) 38.2 (M)
Fujiflex SFA3 Super-Gloss Printing Material [polyester]
Fujicolor Peel-Apart Paper SFA3
Fujicolor Thin Paper SFA3
(Fujicolor Print)
(1993 for low-contrast SFA3 Professional Portrait Paper)
(1992 for other papers)
Fujicolor Prof. Paper Super FA Type P 24.0 (M) 24.8 (M) 20.5 (M)
(199193) (low-contrast professional portrait paper)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3 17.5 (M) 17.7 (M) 16.9 (M)
Konica Color QA Super Glossy Print
Material Type A3 [polyester]
Konica Color QA Paper Peelable Type A3
(Konica Color Century Paper or Century Print)
(Konica Color Long Life 100 Print)
(1991 )
Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 2000 [improved] 17.5 (M) 17.7 (M) 16.9 (M)
Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 5000 Pro [improved] [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(papers are believed to be identical to
Konica Color QA Type A3 and X2 papers)
(improved types: 1992 )
Prints
Ilford Ilfocolor Deluxe Print Material [polyester] 17.5 (M) 17.7 (M) 16.9 (M)
(ILRA.1K high-gloss polyester-base print [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
material manufactured by Ilford in Switzerland
with emulsion components supplied by Konica;
stability is believed to be similar if not identical to
Konica Color QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A3.)
(1991 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 9 15.3 (M) 15.9 (M) 15.2 (M)
Agfacolor Paper Type 9i [improved]
(Agfacolor Print)
(198892 for Type 9; 1992 for Type 9i)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5 13.2 (M) 13.2 (M) 12.7 (M)
(1990 ) (initially available only in Japan)
Kodak Ektacolor Edge Paper 12.1 (M) 12.8 (M) 11.9 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Portra II Paper
Kodak Ektacolor Royal II Paper
Kodak Ektacolor Supra Paper
Kodak Ektacolor Ultra Paper
Kodak Duraflex RA Print Material [polyester]
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
(1991 for Ektacolor Edge and Royal II)
(1992 for Ektacolor Portra II)
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Table 3.1b Comparative Light Fading Stability of Current Process EP-2 Compatible Papers
All of these papers were available at the time this book went to press in 1992. It is likely that many of these papers
will have been discontinued by the end of 1994 in favor of faster-processing RA-4 papers.
a day at 450 lux (42 fc) with Cool White fluorescent lamps. With these color papers, all of which have effective UV-absorbing emulsion overcoats, generally similar
behavior may be expected with indirect daylight and incandescent tungsten illumination in typical indoor display situations. These predictions are based on
equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Fujicolor Paper Type 12 21.3 (M) 22.4 (M) 21.0 (M)
Fujicolor Minilab Paper
(Fujicolor Print)
(Type 12 paper generally is
not available outside of Japan)
(1985 )
Fujicolor Paper Type 03 15.8 (M) 16.8 (M) 14.3 (M)
Fujicolor Professional Paper Type 02-P
Fujicolor Paper Type 02-C
Fujicolor HR Printing Material [polyester]
(Fujicolor Print)
(Fujicolor SuperGloss Print)
(Fujicolor HR Super Deluxe Print)
(1988 )
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 13.1 (M) 13.1 (M) 12.1 (M)
Konica Color PC Paper Prof. Type EX
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR (SG) [polyester]
Konica Color PC Paper Peelable Type SR
(Konica Color Century ProPrint Type EX)
(Konica Color Peerless Print)
(in Japan, Konica Color Paper Type SR was
originally called Sakuracolor PC Paper Type SR)
(1984 [April] for Type SR)
(1984 [July] for Type SG)
(1987 for Type EX )
(1988 for Peelable Type SR)
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER Type 6000 Super 13.1 (M) 13.1 (M) 12.1 (M)
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER Type 8000 Pro
(papers are believed to be identical
to Konica Type SR and EX papers)
(1985 for Type 6000 Super)
(1989 for Type 8000 Pro)
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material [polyester] 13.1 (M) 13.1 (M) 12.1 (M)
(IL.1K high-gloss polyester-base
print material is manufactured by
Ilford in Switzerland using emulsion
components supplied by Konica;
the stability of the Ilford product is
believed to be similar if not identical
to Konica Color Paper Type SR [SG]
polyester-base print material.)
(1990)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper 11.8 (M) 11.7 (M) 11.7 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Thin Paper
Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper
Kodak Duraflex Print Material [polyester]
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
(formerly Kodacolor Print)
(1984 [August] for Ektacolor Plus)
(1985 for Ektacolor Professional)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] 11.5 (M) 11.7 (M) 11.7 (M)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 ML
(Agfacolor Print)
(1986 )
Prints
Prints
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Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 2000 17 (M) 18 (M) 17 (M)
Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 5000 Pro [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(Mitsubishi Speed Access Paper)
(Mitsubishi Rapid Access Paper)
(initial type: 198992 for SA 2000) (RA-4)
(initial type: 199092 for SA 5000)
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER Type 1000 SA 17 (M) 18 (M) 17 (M)
(Mitsubishi Speed Access Paper) [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(paper is believed to be identical
to Konica Color QA Paper Type A)
(198889) (RA4)
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material [polyester] 17 (M) 18 (M) 17 (M)
(SP-729s high-gloss polyester-base [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
print material manufactured by Ilford
in Switzerland using emulsion components
supplied by Konica; the stability of the
Ilford product is believed to be similar if
not identical to Konica Color QA Super
Glossy Print Material Type A2.)
(initial type: 199091) (RA-4)
Fujicolor Paper Type 02 14 (M) 15 (M) 14 (M)
Fujicolor HR Printing Material [glossy polyester base]
(Fujicolor Print)
(198588) (EP-2)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type II 24 (M) 25 (M) 21 (M)
Fujicolor Supreme Paper
Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA Type C
Fujiflex SFA Super-Gloss Printing
Material [glossy polyester base]
(Fujicolor Print) (RA-4)
(199092 for Super FA Type II)
(199092 for Supreme)
(199192 for Super FA Type C)
(199192 for Fujiflex SFA)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA 24 (M) 25 (M) 21 (M)
(Fujicolor Print)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A2 17 (M) 18 (M) 17 (M)
Material Type A2 [glossy polyester base]
(Konica Color Century Paper)
(Konica Color Century Print)
(198892 for Type A2) (RA-4)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A 17 (M) 18 (M) 17 (M)
Table 3.1c Comparative Light Fading Stability of Discontinued
Process EP-2, EP-3, and RA-4 Compatible Papers for Printing Color Negatives
a day at 450 lux (42 fc) with fluorescent lamps. These predictions are based on equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) at 75F (24C)
and 60% RH. Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Additional dark fading changes that slowly occur with many of these papers during normal long-term display are not considered in these predictions. In particular,
the fading observed in displayed prints made with Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4 paper usually consists largely of dark fading changes, with light fading making
a much smaller contribution to the total change. Agfacolor Type 4 paper, in use from 1974 until 1982, has astonishingly poor dark fading stability.
Prints
Prints
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Table 3.1c (continued from previous page)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8901 14 (M) 14 (M) 13 (M)
(Fujicolor Print)
(198486) (EP-2)
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER Type 7000 Pro 13 (M) 13 (M) 12 (M)
to Konica Type EX paper)
(198589) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 2001 Paper 13 (M) 13 (M) 12 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Portra Paper
Kodak Ektacolor Royal Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
(198691 for Ektacolor 2001) (RA-4)
(198991 for Ektacolor Royal)
(198992 for Ektacolor Portra)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8908 13 (M) 13 (M) 9 (YC)
(Fujicolor Print)
(198084) (EP-2)
Fujicolor Paper FA 12 (M) 12 (M) 12 (M)
(Fujicolor Print)
(198889) (RA-4)
Konica Color PC Paper SIII 11 (M) 11 (M) 4 (YC)
Sakuracolor PC Paper SIII
(198384) (EP-2)
Sakuracolor PC Paper SII 11 (M) 10 (M) 5 (YC)
(197883) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper 11 (M) 11 (M) 4 (MC)
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
(initial type: 1977 82) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 37 RC Paper Type 2261 11 (M) 11 (M) 4 (MC)
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
(197178) (EP-3)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Type 2524 10 (M) 10 (M) 9 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 78 Paper Type 2524
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
(198286) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 8 10 (M) 9 (M) 8 (C)
(Agfacolor Print)
(initial type: 1984 [October]86) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7i 10 (M) 10 (M) 9 (M)
(Agfacolor Print)
(198485) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589i 8 (M) 8 (M) 8 (C)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7
(Agfacolor Print)
(198385) (EP-2)
3M Professional Color Paper Type 25 8 (M) 9 (M) 5 (YC)
3M High Speed Color Paper Type 19
(197888; 3M ceased manufacture
of color paper in 1988) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 5 7 (M) 7 (M) 3 (MC)
(Agfacolor Print)
(1977 82) (Agfa AP-87)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 6 (M) 7 (M) 5 (M)
(Agfacolor Print)
(1981 83) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4 6 (C) 7 (C) 5 (C)
(Agfacolor Print)
(this paper has extremely poor
dark fading stability)
(1974 82) (Agfa AP-85)
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Table 3.2 Comparative Light Fading Stability of Silver Dye-Bleach; Chromogenic Reversal; Dye-Imbibition;
and UltraStable, EverColor, and Polaroid Permanent Color Pigment Print Materials
a day at 450 lux (42 fc) with fluorescent lamps. These predictions are based on equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) at 75F (24C)
and 60% RH. Ilford Ilfochrome (formerly called Cibachrome) and Fresson Quadrichromie prints were tested at 1.35 klux (125 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH, as
described below. Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Test duration of up to 12 years (4,380 days).
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products listed had
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
(T) = For printing color transparencies
(T+N) = For printing either color
transparencies or negatives
Prints
Type of Color Print Product Glass Filter (Bare Bulb)
UltraStable Permanent Color Prints (T+N) >500 () >500 () >200 ()
(pigment color process) [polyester & fiber-base] [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(UltraStable Permanent Color Process)
(improved yellow pigment type: 1993 )
Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints (T+N) >500 () >500 () >200 ()
Ataraxia Studio Collectors Color Prints [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(pigment color process) [polyester]
(1989 ) (Polaroid Permanent-Color Process)
Fuji-Inax Photocera Color Photographs (T+N) >500 () >500 () >500 ()
(fired pigment color process) [ceramic support] [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(initially available only from
Fujicolor Processing Service in Japan)
(1991 ) (Fuji-Inax Ceramic Color Process)
EverColor Pigment Color Prints (T+N) (new product test data not available)
(A high-stability version of the AgfaProof
Process marketed by the EverColor Corporation.)
(1993 ) (EverColor Pigment Color Print Process)
Fresson Quadrichromie Prints (T+N) 225 (M) >225 () 100 (M)
(pigment color process) [fiber base]
(available only in France)
(1952 ) (Fresson Color Print Process)
Agfachrome CU 410 Color Prints (T) 88 (MY) 134 (M) 43 (MY)
[pigmented triacetate base]
(Abandoned by Agfa, this was an outstanding
example of the silver dye-bleach process.)
(197073) (Agfachrome Process 60)
Prints
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) 50 (M) 54 (M) 50 (M)
(high-stability Kodak MX-1372 yellow dye and paper
with UV-absorbing overcoat trade-tested in 198889)
(The paper and yellow dye proved difficult to work
with and Kodak decided not to market the materials.)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) 32 (MY) 21 (CY) 8 (MC)
(Kodak Film and Paper Dyes)
(1946, with minor changes)
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints (T) 29 (M)* 33 (CY)* 21 (M)*
Ilford Cibachrome II Prints
Ilford Cibachrome-A II Prints [improved type]
Fuji CB Prints (material supplied by Ilford)
(P-3, P-3X, P-30, and P-30P) [polyester and RC]
(Although Ilfochrome Pearl semi-gloss
and glossy-surface RC prints have dye
stability that is similar to Ilfochrome
high-gloss polyester-base prints, the RC
prints are subject to RC base cracking
and image yellowing, and therefore are not
recommended for long-term applications.)
(198091 for Cibachrome II)
(198991 for improved Cibachrome-A II)
(1991 for Ilfochrome Classic)
Fujichrome Paper Type 35 (T) 19 (M) 19 (M) 14 (M)
Fujichrome Copy Paper Type 35H
Fujichrome Super-Gloss Printing Material [polyester]
(Fujichrome Super Deluxe Prints) [polyester]
(1992 ) (R-3)
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Table 3.2 (continued from previous page)
Fujichrome Super-Gloss Printing Material [polyester]
(198692) (R-3)
Fuji Dyecolor Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) 17 (CY) 16 (CY) 7 (MY)
(dye transfer type process)
(available only in Japan)
(1970 ) (Fuji Dyecolor process)
Ilford Cibachrome-A II Prints (T) 16 (M)* 21 (CY)* 14 (M)*
[polyester and RC]
(Although Cibachrome Pearl semi-gloss and
glossy-surface RC prints have dye stability that is
similar to Cibachrome high-gloss polyester-base
prints, the RC prints are subject to RC base
cracking and image yellowing, and therefore are
not recommended for long-term applications.)
(initial type: 198189) (P-30)
Ilford Cibachrome-A Prints (T) 16 (M)* 19 (M)* 11 (M)*
(197581) (P-12)
(198386) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome Copy Paper (T) 15 (M) 15 (M) 14 (M)
Kodak Ektachrome HC Copy Paper
Kodak Ektachrome Thin Copy Paper
Kodak Ektachrome 22 Paper [initial type]
Kodak Ektachrome Prestige Paper [glossy polyester base]
(Not recommended: these Ektachrome papers have very poor
dark fading stability compared with Fujichrome, Konica Chrome,
Agfachrome, and Ektachrome Radiance Process R-3 papers.)
(198490 for initial type of Ektachrome 22)
(198691 for Ektachrome Prestige)
(198492 for Ektachrome HC Copy and Thin)
(1984 for Ektachrome Copy) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance Paper (T) 14 (M) 14 (M) 13 (M)
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance
Select Material [glossy polyester base]
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance HC Copy Paper
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance Thin Copy Paper
(1991 for Radiance and Radiance Select) (R-3)
(1992 for Radiance HC Copy and Thin Copy)
Kodak Ektachrome 22 Paper [improved] (T) 14 (M) 14 (M) 13 (M)
(improved type: 199091) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome 2203 Paper (T) 14 (M) 14 (M) 13 (M)
(197884) (R-100)
Konica Chrome Paper Type 81 (T)
(1989 ) (R-3)
Fujichrome Reversal Paper Type 31 (T) 10 (M) 12 (M) 11 (M)
(197883) (R-100)
Agfachrome Paper CRN [Type 63] (T) 10 (M) 11 (M) 10 (M)
Agfachrome High Gloss Material CRP [polyester]
Agfachrome Copy Paper CRH
(198490 for initial types)
(1990 for improved types) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome 14 Paper (T) 8 (CY) 7 (CY) 5 (CY)
(198185) (R-100)
Kodak Ektaflex PCT Color Prints (T+N) 7 (CM) 7 (CM) 6 (CM)
(dye-diffusion transfer process)
(Kodak Ektaflex Process)
(198188)
Agfachrome Reversal Paper CU 310 (T) 5 (M) 6 (M) 5 (CM)
(197984) (R-100)
Kodak Ektachrome RC Paper Type 1993 (T) 5 (M) 4 (M) 3 (C)
(197279) (R-5)
Agfachrome-Speed Color Prints (T) 2 (MC) 2 (MC) 2 (MC)
(single-sheet dye-diffusion process)
(Agfachrome-Speed Process)
(198385)
* Because of their large reciprocity failure factors (RF Factors) in high-intensity accelerated
light fading tests, Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints were illuminated with a lower
intensity of 1.35 klux (125 fc) for periods of up to 10 years; this lower intensity illumination
better simulates the performance of Ilfochrome prints in normal display conditions and
also affords a more valid comparison with most current chromogenic print materials,
which generally exhibit much smaller RF Factors than does Ilfochrome.
Prints
Prints
(test data not available, but
probably has light fading
stability similar to that of
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3)
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Table 3.3 Comparative Light Fading Stability of Polaroid, Fuji, and Kodak Instant Color Prints; Canon and
Kodak Digital Copier/Printer Color Prints; Color Offset Printing; Mead Cycolor Prints; and Thermal Dye
Transfer Prints and Ink Jet Color Prints for Digitized Pictorial Images and Computer-Generated Images
Predicted years of display to reach Home and Commercial image-life fading limits for color prints displayed in home and office locations illuminated 12 hours a day
at 450 lux (42 fc) with fluorescent lamps. These predictions are based on equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 1.35 klux (125 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60%
RH for photographic instant color prints, and 21.5 klux (2,000 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH for the other materials listed (marked with an *). Initial neutral density
of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry. With Mead Cycolor prints, the stain limit was reached before any of the dye-fading limits. With Stork ink jet color prints,
pure magenta and yellow colors faded unusually rapidly compared with the fading of more neutral colors, and this lowered the rankings of the Stork prints.
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Kodak, which introduced its first instant cameras and film in 1976, was forced to abandon the instant
photography field in 1986 after a federal court found that Kodak had infringed on Polaroid patents.
Prints
Prints
3M Electrocolor Prints 28.0 (M) Data Not 26.0 (M)
[continuous-tone, liquid-toner Available
electrophotographic color process]
(Abandoned by 3M, this was an outstanding example
of the liquid-toner color electrophotographic process.)
(196566) (3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota)
Canon Color Laser Copier Prints* 25.0 (CM) 40.0 (CY) 7.8 (CM)
[scanned, electronically produced prints]
(Xerographic plain-paper digital color
copier/printer; test prints made in 1989.)
Kodak ColorEdge Digital Copier Prints* 19.7 (CY) 23.1 (CY) 15.7 (CY)
Kodak Ektatherm Color Prints* 11.5 (MC) 23.3 (MC) 4.5 (C)
(Thermal dye transfer color prints made with Kodak
XL 7700 Digital Printer; test prints made in 1992.)
Polaroid 600 High Speed Prints 11.0 (M) 12.0 (M) 12.0 (M)
[continuous-tone instant photographic prints]
(Because of high levels of yellowish stain that form over
time in normal dark storage, Polaroid 600 prints are not
recommendedfor other than short-term applications.)
(1981 88)
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Prints [improved] 11.0 (M) 12.0 (M) 12.0 (M)
Polaroid Type 778 Time-Zero Prints
(Because of high levels of yellowish stain that form
over time in normal dark storage, Polaroid SX-70
Time-Zero and Type 778 prints are not recommended
for other than short-term applications.)
(improved type: 1980 )
Polaroid SX-70 Prints [improved] 10.0 (MY) 11.0 (MY) 11.0 (MY)
(improved type: 197679)
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Prints 6.0 (M) 7.0 (M) 6.0 (M)
(initial type: 197980)
Polacolor 2 Prints 6.0 (M) 5.0 (CY) 4.0 (M)
(Types 88; 108; 668; 58; and 808)
(The images of Polacolor 2 prints suffer a
yellowish color shift that may become
objectionable after only a few years of dark
storage under normal conditions; because
of this, Polacolor 2 prints are not recommended
for fine art or other critical applications.)
(1975 ) (peel-apart prints)
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Kodak Trimprint Instant Color Prints 4.1 (M) 4.6 (M) 4.0 (M)
(198386)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints 4.1 (M) 4.2 (M) 3.5 (M)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra name in Europe)
over time in normal dark storage, Polaroid Spectra
prints, Image prints, and 600 Plus prints are not
recommended for other than short-term applications.)
(198691 for Spectra)
(1988 for other prints)
Polaroid Spectra HD Prints 4.1 (M) 4.2 (M) 3.5 (M)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra HD in Europe) [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(Because of high levels of yellowish stain that
form over time in normal dark storage, Polaroid
Spectra HD prints are not recommended for
other than short-term applications.)
(1992 )
Polaroid Vision 95 Prints (name in Europe) 4.1 (M) 4.2 (M) 3.5 (M)
Polaroid ? 95 Prints (name in Asia) [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
Polaroid ? 95 Prints (name in North & South America)
(The internal structure of Vision 95 prints is basically the
same as that of Spectra HD and 600 Plus prints; however,
the rate of formation of yellowish stain that occurs over time
in dark storage is said by Polaroid to be somewhat reduced
compared with that of Spectra HD and 600 Plus prints. The
names Polaroid will use for Vision 95 products in non-European
markets were not available at the time this book went to press.)
(1992 for Vision 95 products sold in Germany)
(1993 for Asia, North and South America, and other markets)
Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints 3.7 (MY) 2.8 (MY) 3.7 (C)
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809)
Polaroid Polacolor 64T and 100 Prints 3.7 (MY) 2.8 (MY) 3.7 (C)
[continuous-tone instant photographic prints] [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
Polaroid Polacolor Pro 100 Prints
Stork Ink Jet Color Prints (Standard ink set)* 3.6 (M) 4.4 (M) 2.0 (M)
(Ink jet color prints made with a Stork Bedford B.V.
ink jet printer and the Stork #1010 Standard
graphic arts ink set; test prints made in 1992.)
Stork Ink Jet Color Prints (Reactive Dyes ink set)* 3.5 (Y) 4.0 (Y) 3.1 (Y)
(Ink jet color prints made with a Stork Bedford B.V.
ink jet printer and the Stork Reactive Dyes
ink set; test prints made in 1992.)
Fuji FI-10 Instant Color Prints 2.6 (YC) 2.8 (YC) 2.4 (YC)
(1981 ) (available only in Japan)
4-Color Offset Printed Images* 2.5 (CY) 2.5 (CY) 2.5 (CY)
[screened, photomechanical prints]
(Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black 4-color process
inks typical of those used in color offset printing of
books and magazines; samples printed in 1990.)
Iris Ink Jet Color Prints (Standard ink set)* 2.5 (CY) 2.5 (CY) 1.7 (CM)
(Ink jet color prints made on 100% cotton fiber
paper with an Iris Graphics, Inc. 3047 printer using
the Standard Iris ink set; test prints made in 1992.)
Mead Cycolor Prints* 2.5 (C+Y) Data Not 1.1 (C+Y)
[continuous-tone photographic prints] Available
(Mead Imaging Corporation microencapsulated
acrylate image color prints made with a Noritsu
QPS-101 Cycolor Slideprinter; test prints made in 1988.)
Fuji 800 Instant Color Prints 2.1 (MC) 2.1 (MC) 2.0 (MC)
Sony Mavigraph Still Video Color Prints* 1.2 (M) 1.7 (M) 0.6 (M)
(Thermal dye transfer prints made with Sony UP-5000
ProMavica Color Video Printer; test prints made in 1989.)
Kodak PR10 Instant Color Prints 0.5 (MC) 0.5 (MC) 0.6 (MC)
Prints
Prints
(New product: test data not available,
but probably has light fading stability
similar to that of Polacolor ER prints.)
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Table 3.4 Comparative Light Fading Stability of Color Prints Illuminated with Incandescent Tungsten Lamps
Predicted years of display to reach Home and Commercial and Museum and Archive image-life fading limits for color prints illuminated 12 hours a day at 300
lux (28 fc) with incandescent tungsten reflector flood lamps. Predictions based on equivalent light exposures in accelerated tests at 1.35 klux (125 fc) at 75F (24C)
and 60% RH. Initial neutral density of 0.6 (Home and Commercial) and 0.45 (Museum and Archive) with full d-min corrected densitometry.
* Indicates print materials with poor dark fading stability. In most cases, the performance of these prints in actual long-term display will be worse than indicated
by these accelerated light fading tests, which, because of their comparatively short duration, generally do not account for the contribution of dark storage to overall
print fading and staining.
UltraStable Permanent Color Prints Com: >500 () >500 () >500 ()
(pigment color process) [polyester] Mus: >500 () >500 () >500 ()
(UltraStable Permanent Color Process) [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints Com: >500 () >500 () >500 ()
Ataraxia Studio Collectors Color Prints Mus: >500 () >500 () >500 ()
(pigment color process) [polyester] [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(1989 ) (Polaroid Permanent-Color Process)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3 Com: 105 (M) 105 (M) 80 (M)
Fujicolor Supreme Paper SFA3 Mus: 40 (M) 40 (M) 35 (M)
Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Portrait Paper [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
(Fujicolor Print)
(1992/93 ) (RA-4)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] Com: 48 (MY) 46 (MY) 33 (C)
(Made with standard Kodak Dye Mus: 9 (C) 12 (Y) 6 (C)
Transfer Film and Paper Dyes and
standard Kodak Dye Transfer Paper.)
(1946, with minor modifications)
Fuji Dyecolor Prints [fiber-base] Com: 29 (MY) 31 (MY) 22 (MY)
(dye transfer type) Mus: 11 (Y) 12 (Y) 11 (Y)
(Fuji Dyecolor process)
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints Com: 25 (MC) 29 (MC) 17 (YC)
Ilford Cibachrome II Prints Mus: 4 (C) 6 (C) 4 (C)
(Although Ilfochrome Pearl semi-gloss and
glossy-surface RC prints have dye stability that
is similar to Ilfochrome high-gloss polyester-base
prints, the RC prints are subject to RC base cracking
and light-induced yellowing, and therefore are not
recommended for long-term applications.)
(198991 for improved Cibachrome-A II)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8901* Com: 24 (M) 24 (M) 23 (M)
(198486) Mus: 9 (M) 9 (M) 7 (M)
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR Com: 24 (M) 23 (M) 21 (M)
Konica Color PC Professional Type EX Mus: 9 (M) 9 (M) 7 (M)
(Konica Color Century Prints)
(Konica Color Peerless Prints)
(1984 [July] for Type SG)
(1987 for type EX)
Prints
Prints
Com: Home and Commercial Fading Limits
Mus: Museum and Archive Fading Limits
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Kodak Ektacolor Edge Paper Com: 24 (M) 23 (M) 24 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Portra II Paper Mus: 9 (M) 9 (M) 9 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Royal II Paper [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
Kodak Ektacolor 2001 Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
(1992 for Portra II)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8908* Com: 24 (M) 24 (M) 22 (M)
(198084) Mus: 9 (M) 8 (M) 9 (M)
Fujichrome Reversal Paper Type 31* Com: 24 (M) 24 (M) 22 (M)
(197883) Mus: 7 (M) 6 (M) 6 (M)
Konica Color PC Paper SIII* Com: 23 (M) 22 (M) Data Not
(198384) Mus: 8 (M) 8 (M) Available
Ektacolor Plus Paper Com: 21 (M) 23 (M) 21 (M)
Ektacolor Professional Paper Mus: 9 (M) 9 (M) 9 (M)
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
Kodak Ektachrome 2203 Paper* Com: 19 (M) 21 (M) 19 (M)
(197884) Mus: 8 (M) 8 (M) 8 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper* Com: 19 (M) 19 (M) 19 (M)
(Ektacolor Print) Mus: 6 (M) 6 (M) 6 (M)
(Kodacolor Print)
Kodak Ektacolor 37 RC Paper Type 2261* Com: 19 (M) 17 (M) 19 (M)
(Ektacolor Print) Mus: 6 (M) 5 (M) 6 (M)
(Kodacolor Print)
(197178)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7i* Com: 17 (M) 19 (M) 14 (M)
(198485) Mus: 6 (M) 6 (M) 5 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 78 Paper Type 2524* Com: 17 (M) 17 (M) 17 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Type 2524* Mus: 4 (M) 5 (M) 4 (M)
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
(198286)
Kodak Ektachrome 14 Paper* Com: 17 (M) 16 (M) 17 (M)
(198185) Mus: 3 (M) 3 (M) 3 (M)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589i* Com: 14 (M) 16 (M) 14 (M)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7* Mus: 5 (M) 6 (M) 6 (M)
(198385)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 5* Com: 10 (YM) 11 (M) 11 (M)
(197782) Mus: 4 (M) 4 (M) 4 (M)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589* Com: 9 (CY) 9 (CY) 9 (CY)
(198183) Mus: 4 (Y) 4 (M) 4 (Y)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4* Com: 9.0 (C) 11.0 (C) 9.0 (C)
(This paper has extremely Mus: 3.1 (C) 3.1 (C) 2.3 (C)
poor dark fading stability.)
(1974 82)
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints Com: 8.0 (MY) 10.0 (MY) 8.0 (MY)
Polaroid Autofilm Type 339 Prints Mus: 2.7 (MY) 2.9 (MY) 3.1 (MY)
Type 779 and Type 339 prints are not recommended
(1981 88 for Polaroid 600)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints Com: 8.0 (M) 8.0 (M) 7.0 (M)
Polaroid Autofilm Type 330 Prints Mus: 2.8 (M) 2.6 (M) 2.4 (M)
Polaroid Spectra Prints (Image Prints in Europe)
prints, Image prints, and 600 Plus prints are not
Prints
Prints
(Table 3.4 continued on following page . . .)
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Prints
Prints
Polaroid Spectra HD Prints Com: 8.0 (M) 8.0 (M) 7.0 (M)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra in Europe) Mus: 2.8 (M) 2.6 (M) 2.4 (M)
(Because of high levels of yellowish stain [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
that form over time in normal dark storage,
Polaroid Spectra HD prints and Image
prints are not recommended for other than
short-term applications.)
(1991 )
Polaroid SX-70 Prints [Improved] Com: 7.0 (CY) 7.0 (CY) 7.0 (CY)
(197679) Mus: 3.3 (CY) 3.4 (CY) 2.9 (CY)
Kodak Ektaflex PCT Color Prints Com: 5.7 (M) 5.7 (M) 5.0 (M)
(198188) Mus: 2.3 (M) 2.3 (M) 1.7 (M)
Kodak Trimprint Instant Color Prints Com: 4.6 (C) 4.6 (C) 4.6 (C)
(198386) Mus: 1.4 (C) 1.4 (C) 1.1 (C)
Polaroid Polacolor 2 Prints Com: 3.6 (MY) 3.3 (MY) 3.5 (MY)
(Types 88; 108; 668; 58; and 808) Mus: 2.2 (Y) 2.1 (CY) 2.1 (Y)
(The images of Polacolor 2 prints suffer a
yellowish color shift that may become
objectionable after only a few years of dark
storage under normal conditions; because
of this, Polacolor 2 prints are not recommended
(1975 )
Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints Com: 3.4 (MY) 3.3 (MY) 2.9 (MY)
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809) Mus: 2.4 (Y) 2.1 (CY) 1.8 (Y)
(1980 )
Polaroid Polacolor 100 Prints Com: 3.4 (MY) 3.3 (MY) 2.9 (MY)
Polaroid Polacolor 64T Prints Mus: 2.4 (Y) 2.1 (CY) 1.8 (Y)
(1992 ) [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
(1993 )
Fuji FI-10 Instant Color Prints* Com: 1.7 (YC) 1.6 (YC) 1.4 (YC)
(1981 ) (available only in Japan) Mus: 0.6 (C) 0.6 (C) 0.6 (C)
Fuji 800 Instant Color Prints* Com: 1.2 (MC) 1.2 (MC) 1.1 (MC)
(1984 ) (available only in Japan) Mus: 0.5 (MC) 0.5 (MC) 0.5 (MC)
Kodak PR10 Instant Color Prints* Com: 1.2 (C) 1.4 (C) 1.1 (C)
(initial type: 197679) Mus: 0.4 (C) 0.4 (C) 0.4 (C)
Agfachrome-Speed Color Prints Com: 1.2 (MC) 1.1 (MC) 1.0 (MC)
(198385) Mus: 0.5 (MC) 0.5 (MC) 0.4 (MC)
(New product: test data not available,
but probably has light fading stability
similar to that of Polacolor ER prints.)
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Table 3.5 Color Print Fading: Tungsten vs. Fluorescent Illumination
a day at 450 lux (42 fc). These predictions are based on equivalent light exposures in Cool White fluorescent and incandescent tungsten accelerated tests conducted
at 1.35 klux (125 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products listed
had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints Tung: 17.0 (YC) 20.0 (MC) 12.0 (YC)
Ilford Cibachrome II Prints Fluor: 29.0 (M) 33.0 (CY) 21.0 (M)
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR Tung: 16.0 (M) 15.0 (M) 14.0 (M)
Konica Color PC Paper Prof. Type EX Fluor: 15.0 (M) 15.0 (M) 13.0 (M)
(1984 [April] )
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Tung: 10.0 (M) 11.0 (M) 10.0 (M)
(initial type: 197782) Fluor: 9.0 (M) 9.0 (M) 4.2 (YC)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper Tung: 14.0 (M) 15.0 (M) 14.0 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper Fluor: 12.0 (M) 13.0 (M) 11.0 (M)
(1984 [August] )
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4 Tung: 6.0 (C) 7.0 (C) 6.0 (C)
(197482) Fluor: 6.0 (C) 7.0 (C) 5.0 (M)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 5 Tung: 7.0 (YM) 7.0 (CM) 7.0 (M)
(197782) Fluor: 7.0 (M) 8.0 (M) 6.0 (YC)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 Tung: 6.0 (CY) 6.0 (CY) 7.0 (CY)
(198183) Fluor: 5.0 (CY) 5.0 (CY) 7.0 (M)
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints Tung: 5.0 (MY) 6.0 (MY) 5.0 (MY)
Polaroid Autofilm Type 339 Prints Fluor: 11.0 (M) 12.0 (M) 10.0 (M)
(198188 for Polaroid 600)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints Tung: 5.0 (M) 5.0 (M) 4.4 (M)
Polaroid Autofilm Type 330 Prints Fluor: 4.1 (M) 4.2 (M) 3.5 (M)
Polaroid SX-70 Prints [improved] Tung: 6.0 (CY) 6.0 (CY) 6.0 (CY)
(197679) Fluor: 10.0 (MY) 10.0 (MY) 11.0 (MY)
Kodak Ektaflex PCT Color Prints Tung: 4.0 (M) 4.0 (M) 3.5 (M)
(198188) Fluor: 7.0 (CM) 7.0 (CM) 6.0 (CM)
Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints Tung: 2.0 (MY) 2.1 (MY) 1.8 (MY)
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809) Fluor: 3.7 (MY) 2.8 (MY) 3.7 (C)
(1980 )
Kodak PR10 Instant Color Prints Tung: 0.8 (C) 0.9 (C) 0.8 (C)
(initial type: 197679) Fluor: 2.0 (C) 2.0 (C) 2.0 (C)
Agfachrome-Speed Color Prints Tung: 0.8 (MC) 0.8 (MC) 0.6 (MC)
(198385) Fluor: 2.0 (MC) 2.0 (MC) 2.0 (MC)
Prints
Prints
Tung: Tungsten Illumination Test
Fluor: Fluorescent Illumination Test
Tung: Tungsten Illumination Test
Fluor: Fluorescent Illumination Test
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Table 3.6 Comparative Stability of Color Prints Illuminated with Diffuse North Daylight Through Window Glass
Predicted years of display to reach Home and Commercial image-life fading limits for color prints displayed close to a window in home and office locations and
illuminated for 12 hours a day with north daylight having an average intensity of 450 lux (42 fc). Predictions based on equivalent light exposures in accelerated north
daylight tests with an average light intensity (over a 24 hour period) of about 0.78 klux (75 fc) at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Initial neutral density of 0.6 with full
d-min corrected densitometry.
had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints 9.5 (M) 16.0 (M)
(Although Ilfochrome Pearl semi-gloss and glossy-
surface RC prints have dye stability that is similar to
Ilfochrome high-gloss polyester-base prints, the RC prints
are subject to RC base cracking and image yellowing, and
therefore are not recommended for long-term applications.)
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 9.0 (M) 9.6 (M)
(1987 for Type EX)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints 8.3 (MC) 6.3 (MY)
(standard Kodak Dye Transfer
Film and Paper Dyes)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8901 7.4 (M) 9.6 (M)
(198486)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper 7.1 (M) 7.6 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 37 RC Paper 6.5 (M) 8.2 (M)
(197178)
Kodak Ektacolor 78 Paper Type 2524 6.3 (M) 6.9 (M)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Type 2524
(198286)
Konica Color Paper SIII 5.8 (YC) 8.6 (M)
(198384)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper 5.7 (M) 7.3 (M)
Fujicolor Paper Type 8908 5.5 (YC) 8.6 (M)
(198084)
Kodak Ektachrome 14 Paper 5.4 (M) 7.4 (M)
(198185)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7i 5.0 (d-min: C+Y) 6.1 (M)
(198485)
Fujichrome Reversal Paper Type 31 4.9 (M) 7.7 (M)
(197883)
Kodak Ektachrome 2203 Paper 4.9 (C) 6.5 (C)
(197884)
Fuji Dyecolor Prints 4.6 (MY) 5.4 (CY)
(dye transfer type)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589i 4.2 (M) 5.4 (M)
(198385)
Prints
Prints Covered
Covered With UF-3
With Ultraviolet
Type of Color Print Product Glass Filter
Prints
Prints Covered
Covered With UF-3
With Ultraviolet
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Ilford Cibachrome-A Prints 4.2 (M) 8.9 (MY)
(197581) (P-12)
3M Profesional Color Paper Type 25 4.0 (M) 5.7 (M)
3M High Speed Color Paper Type 19
(197888)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 5 3.5 (M) 3.8 (M)
(197782)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 3.4 (CY) 2.6 (CY)
(198183)
Kodak Ektaflex PCT Color Prints 3.2 (M) 3.2 (M)
(198188)
Polaroid SX-70 Prints [improved] 3.0 (MY) 2.7 (CY)
(197679)
Kodak Trimprint Instant Color Prints 2.8 (M) 3.0 (M)
(198386)
Kodak Ektachrome RC Paper Type 1993 2.6 (M) 2.5 (M)
(197279)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints 2.5 (M) 3.1 (M)
(Because of high levels of yellowish
stain that form over time in normal
dark storage, Polaroid Spectra prints,
Image prints, 600 Plus prints, and other
Polaroid products using the Spectra
emulsion are not recommended for
Polaroid Spectra HD Prints 2.5 (M) 3.1 (M)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra in Europe) [tentative] [tentative]
Spectra HD prints are not recommended for
(1991 )
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints 2.1 (MY) 2.0 (MY)
stain that form over time in normal
dark storage, Polaroid 600, Type 779,
and Type 339 prints are not recommended
(1981 88 for Polaroid 600)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4 1.8 (C) 3.3 (C)
(This paper has extremely poor
dark fading stability.)
(197482) (Agfa AP-85)
Polaroid Polacolor 2 Prints 1.8 (C) 1.7 (CY)
(Types 88; 108; 668; 58; and 808)
(The images of Polacolor 2 prints
suffer a yellowish color shift that may
become objectionable after only a few
years of dark storage under normal
conditions; because of this, Polacolor 2
prints are not recommended for fine art
or other critical applications.)
(1975 )
Fuji FI-10 Instant Color Prints 1.6 (YC) 2.1 (YC)
(1981 )
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Prints 1.6 (MY) 1.3 (MY)
Fuji 800 Instant Color Prints 1.3 (MC) 1.3 (MC)
(1984 )
Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints 1.2 (MC) 1.6 (MY)
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809)
(1980 )
Agfachrome-Speed Color Prints 0.8 (MC) 1.1 (MC)
(198385)
Kodak PR10 Instant Color Prints 0.6 (C) 1.0 (C)
Prints
Prints Covered
Covered With UF-3
With Ultraviolet
Prints
Prints Covered
Covered With UF-3
With Ultraviolet
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See page 147 for Recommendations
4. The Effects of Print Lacquers,
Plastic Laminates, 3M Photogard,
and UV-Absorbing Plastic Filters
The Myth of UV Protection for
Ektacolor, Fujicolor, and Similar Color Prints
protective layer. When this book went to press in 1992,
Ilford Ilfochrome (called Cibachrome, 19631991), Polaroid
Polacolor peel-apart prints, Fuji Dyecolor, and Kodak Dye
Transfer were the only traditional color print materials not
incorporating a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat.
Kodak Ektatherm Electronic Print Paper, a thermal dye
transfer paper supplied by Kodak for use with its elec-
tronic digital and video printers, does not have a UV-ab-
sorbing overcoat and suffers devastating fading when illu-
minated with direct, bare-bulb fluorescent lamps. When
Ektatherm prints are displayed in this manner, ordinary
window glass affords a considerable improvement in im-
age stability. And, as discussed in Chapter 3, Ektatherm
As for the results of my experiment [with
McDonald UV-absorbing print lacquer], I detected
no difference in the degree of fading between
the surface of the print which was not sprayed,
and the surface area that was sprayed twice. . . .
I have concluded that if a UV inhibitor does
exist at all, its only value is as a promotional
sales tool [for the lacquer manufacturers].
1
Marty Rickard
Professional Photographer
January 1990
One of the most persistent beliefs in photography is that
color print fading is caused primarily by exposure to ultra-
violet radiation, and not by the effects of visible light. A
1970 Kodak publication stated: Ultraviolet radiation in the
illumination source is the chief cause of fading in color
photographs.
2
Therefore, so the logic went, all one had to
do to prevent fading of displayed color prints was to filter
out UV radiation.
Since the early 1980s, however, Ektacolor, Fujicolor,
Konica Color, Agfacolor, and most other modern color pa-
pers have been manufactured with a protective UV-absorb-
ing emulsion overcoat on top of the image layers. Because
of this built-in protection, almost all of the fading that oc-
curs in these papers under normal display conditions
even when the prints are exposed directly to the UV-rich
illumination of bare fluorescent lamps is caused by vis-
ible light. Covering a print with an additional UV filter, or
spraying it with a UV-absorbing lacquer, will do little if any
good in reducing the rate of fading during display.
As discussed in Chapter 3, a good method for assessing
the possible benefit of UV filtration for a particular type of
color print is to test the material when it has been covered
with Plexiglas UF-3, a sharp-cutting ultraviolet filter that
removes virtually all UV radiation and even some short-
wave blue light. UF-3 can be considered a perfect UV
filter. If little improvement is noted with UF-3, one can be
confident that other UV-filtering products will be of little or
no benefit.
Unannounced, Kodak began manufacturing Ektacolor
paper with a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat around 1981,
and this effectively eliminated the adverse effects of UV
radiation in nearly all display conditions (see Figure 4.1).
Other manufacturers now have also added this additional
Figure 4.1 Kodak Ektacolor Plus prints (Ektacolor Profes-
sional, Ektacolor Edge, Ektacolor Portra II, Ektacolor Su-
pra, and Ektacolor Ultra prints have similar fading charac-
teristics) and earlier Ektacolor 74 RC prints exposed to
north daylight for a period of 1,250 days (3.5 years). With
the prints located only a few feet from a large north-facing
glass window (average intensity over a 24-hour period of
0.78 klux), this is a worst-case indoor display situation.
With Ektacolor Plus, the glass-covered print faded only
slightly more than the print covered with Plexiglas UF-3, a
sharp-cutting UV filter that absorbs virtually all UV radiation
and even some short-wavelength blue light. Current Ekta-
color papers and similar products made by Fuji, Konica,
and Agfa are manufactured with an effective UV-absorbing
emulsion overcoat (as well as one or more UV-absorbing
layers within the emulsion), so framing such prints with a
UV-filtering material offers little if any additional protection.
Until the early 1980s, Ektacolor 74 RC paper and similar
color negative print papers supplied by other manufactur-
ers were made without a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat,
and the cyan dye in particular was adversely affected by
illumination sources with a high UV content.
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#34433A
(80%)
surface gloss characteristics from a very flat matte fin-
ish to a brilliant high gloss. Print lacquers are supplied
both in aerosol cans for easy spray application and in larger
bulk containers for commercial paint-spraying equipment;
brush application is not recommended.
Special lacquers are available which, after drying, have
surface characteristics unlike current photographic papers.
McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote Florentine, applied over coats
of conventional or textured lacquers, dries with a reticu-
lated (cracked) surface intended to simulate old and dete-
riorated oil paintings. Other special effects lacquers,
such as McDonald Pro-Texture Lacquer, can produce simu-
lated brush strokes on the surface of a print.
In addition to physically protecting a print from finger-
prints, moisture, and physical damage during handling,
lacquering covers the retouching and spotting work often
done on prints sold by professional photographers. Heavy
retouching and air-brushing usually result in changes in
print surface gloss in the area where the retouching was
done (sometimes a matte lacquer is applied first to provide
a toothed surface receptive to pencil retouching), and a
final coat of lacquer will cover the retouching and provide a
uniform surface to the print.
Perhaps the most compelling reason for using print lac-
quers is to permit color prints to be framed directly against
prints are an example of a print material for which a UV-
absorbing filter such as Plexiglas UF-3 offers a further,
significant improvement in light fading stability compared
with covering the prints with glass.
Thermal dye transfer and ink jet electronic print ma-
terials supplied by other manufacturers also are made without
a UV-absorbing overcoat. The same holds true for prints
made with a Canon Color Laser Copier (a xerographic color
copier), which have very good image stability much bet-
ter than that of Ektacolor prints when framed under
glass. But when the Canon color prints are exposed to
bare-bulb fluorescent lamps, both the cyan and magenta
colorants suffer markedly increased fading rates, and un-
der this condition, the overall light fading stability of the
prints is inferior to that of Ektacolor prints.
Print Lacquers
Portrait and wedding photographers frequently coat color
prints with a spray lacquer (currently available photographic
lacquers generally are made with transparent cellulose
nitrate [nitrocellulose] plastic dissolved in a mixture of
solvents, plasticizers, and, in many cases, matting agents;
a thin, hard layer of the plastic remains after the solvents
evaporate). Lacquers come with a number of different
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Print Lacquers, Plastic Laminates, 3M Photogard, and UV-Absorbing Plastic Filters Chapter 4 146
H&H Color Lab, located near Kansas City in Raytown, Missouri, is a leading Midwest lab serving professional portrait and
wedding photographers. As is the case with most professional portrait labs, H&Hs customers usually request lacquering
on larger-size prints. Shown here is print sprayer Tom White lacquering a color print. H&H was the first professional
portrait and wedding lab in the U.S. to switch from Kodak Ektacolor paper to Fujicolor paper. The change in color papers,
which took place in 1991, was made because of the much better image stability of the Fuji product (see Chapter 8).
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Plastic laminating films: If a protective surface coat-
ing for prints is needed (e.g., for large display prints
where framing under glass may not be practical), pres-
sure-sensitive plastic laminating films made by Coda,
Inc. and MACtac Permacolor are recommended (lami-
nating films supplied by other firms were not tested and
therefore cannot be recommended at this time). Lami-
nates must be applied after retouching and spotting are
completed. With Ektacolor, Fujicolor, and similar color
negative print papers displayed in typical indoor condi-
tions, there probably is no worthwhile benefit to be gained
from ultraviolet-filtering laminating materials.
Laminating proved better than lacquering in this
authors tests. For coating Ektacolor prints, none of
the print lacquers tested performed as well as the plas-
tic laminating films made by Coda, Inc. and MACtac
Permacolor. (The Sureguard-McDonald 900-series non-
cellulose-nitrate lacquers introduced in 1992 were not
available in time to be evaluated before this book went
to press.) Although not tested, liquid surface-texturing
finishes generally contain the same potentially harmful
ingredients as lacquers and therefore cannot be recom-
mended.
If a lacquer must be used, Lacquer-Mat lacquers
and the new Sureguard-McDonald 900-series non-
cellulose-nitrate lacquers introduced in 1992 tenta-
tively are recommended. This authors accelerated
aging tests showed that older McDonald lacquers and
probably all Sureguard brand lacquers will yellow over
time to an unacceptable degree; for this reason, these
lacquers should be avoided. (Sureguard brand lac-
quers should not be confused with the new Sureguard-
McDonald 900-series lacquers introduced in 1992. Both
product lines are now supplied by Sureguard Inc., al-
though the company has indicated that the Sureguard
brand will probably be discontinued in favor of the Sure-
guard-McDonald products in the future.) With Fujicolor
prints, Ektacolor prints, and most other types of modern
print materials displayed in typical indoor conditions, no
worthwhile benefit is afforded by UV-absorbing lacquers.
To minimize the likelihood of emulsion penetration by
lacquer solvents that could cause increased rates of
fading and staining when color prints are displayed or
are stored in the dark, Lacquer-Mat, Sureguard-McDonald,
and other print lacquers should be applied when the
ambient relative humidity is as low as possible never
higher than 50%. If the ambient relative humidity is
higher than 50%, lacquering should be avoided entirely
and plastic laminating films used instead.
A proven-safe color print lacquer is needed. A new
type of print lacquer that is harmless to Fujicolor, Ekta-
color, Konica Color, Agfacolor, and other chromogenic
prints, even when applied in high-humidity conditions,
is urgently needed (lacquers are comparatively inex-
pensive, so it is unlikely that they will be replaced with
plastic laminating films in the cost-conscious portrait
and wedding business). The lacquer itself should be
stable and should not yellow upon prolonged exposure
to light. The lacquer should be supplied in glossy,
semi-gloss, and matte formulations.
3M Photogard: 3M Photogard offers no worthwhile
protection against color print fading when Ektacolor
and similar prints are displayed in typical indoor condi-
tions; in fact, tests have shown that prints coated with
Photogard may fade more rapidly than uncoated prints.
Because of this, Photogard is not recommended for
professional portraits or other photographs intended
for long-term display. However, because of the excel-
lent physical protection afforded to prints by Photo-
gard due to its resistance to abrasion, damage caused
by water and other liquids, fungus growths, etc., Pho-
togard tentatively is recommended for coating amateur
snapshots, especially in the tropics and other humid
areas. Photogard is also recommended for coating
duplicate slides that must be handled frequently (e.g.,
in academic slide libraries). Valuable original color
slides or negatives should never be coated with 3M
Photogard.
KSH UV-absorbing plastic sheets: With Kodak Ekta-
color Professional Paper in accelerated fluorescent light
fading tests, KSH-UVF Picture Saver Panels offered no
significant reduction in fading rates when compared
with glass-covered prints. The KSH UV-absorbing plastic
sheets produced no worthwhile advantage even when
compared with prints exposed directly to bare-bulb
fluorescent illumination.
Do not lacquer or laminate valuable prints. Fine art
prints and important historical photographs should never
be laminated, lacquered, treated with Photogard, or
coated with any other material.
Recommendations
glass without the danger of the emulsion sticking to the
glass during periods of high relative humidity. A separat-
ing overmat is thus unnecessary. To many photographers,
this advantage alone justifies the small cost of lacquering
prints. Some commercial processing labs routinely lac-
quer prints for customers at no extra cost; other labs have
a small charge for this service typically about $0.50 for
an 8x10-inch print.
Collectively, print spotting, retouching, texturing, and
lacquering are often referred to as print enhancement. Pro-
fessional portrait and wedding photographers frequently
do all of these things in an effort to increase a prints
perceived value to the customer. Unfortunately, the image
stability of these enhanced prints is anything but en-
hanced. Either separately or in concert, all of these treat-
ments can have an adverse effect on Ektacolor Portra II
(RA-4), Ektacolor Professional (EP-2), or similar chromo-
genic color prints and further reduce the already inad-
equate stability of these photographs. Ironically, the ordi-
nary drugstore snapshot, or the non-enhanced, low-cost
portrait taken by one of the mass-market operations work-
ing out of a discount store, likely is more permanent!
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Kodaks Lacquering Recommendations
For many years, Eastman Kodak recommended lacquering
for both black-and-white and color prints. This 1970 state-
ment is typical of the advice given in many Kodak publica-
tions:
You can enhance and protect the appear-
ance of Ektacolor prints by coating them with
one of a number of lacquers available from photo
dealers. These lacquers are made especially
for photographic use.
. . . Lacquering helps protect the surface
from abrasions, finger prints, atmospheric con-
taminants, humidity, and dirt. You can clean a
lacquered print by wiping it with a damp cloth.
3
In Kodaks 1979 book Preservation of Photographs, the
company said:
Print lacquers provide physical protection
from fingerprints and act as a moisture bar-
rier. The use of a lacquer will also help prevent
the emulsion of a print from sticking to glass or
a material used as an overlay or for interleav-
ing. Since lacquer formulations vary, only a
lacquer designed for photographic applications
should be used.
4
However, in 1980 Kodak abruptly stopped advocating
lacquers for color prints and said: Lacquering of prints is
not recommended for optimum print stability.
5
On Febru-
ary 28, 1982, at the annual conference of the Professional
Photographers of Wisconsin, held in Oconomowoc, Wiscon-
sin, Kodak delivered a major presentation on the adverse
effects of print lacquers and other post-processing treat-
ments on Ektacolor RC prints. The results were published
by Kodak later that year.
6
The company identified several
types of accelerated dye fading that could be caused by
lacquers. Kodak attributed most of the problems to the
solvents in print lacquers and cited alcohols, esters, ke-
tones, and carbitols as solvents that are capable of pen-
etrating moist gelatin, and, through a variety of chemical
reactions, reducing Ektacolor dye stability and causing prints
to turn blue, develop cyan spots, turn red, or develop yel-
lowish stains. Both light fading and dark-storage stability
can be affected in some cases severely.
At the time of this writing in 1992, this author knew of no
commercially available print lacquer that did not contain
solvents that are potentially harmful to Ektacolor, Fujicol-
or, and other chromogenic color prints. At the time this
book went to press in 1992, all of the print lacquers sup-
plied by the two major U.S. manufacturers Sureguard
Inc., and Lacquer-Mat Systems, Inc. all contained at
least one of these potentially harmful ingredients.
McDonald print lacquers were for many years the most
popular brand of lacquer sold in the U.S. In 1989, Sure-
guard Inc., of Grand Prairie, Texas, acquired marketing
rights to the entire McDonald print lacquer line from Mc-
Donald Photo Products, Inc., another Texas company, and
Sureguard continues to market these products under the
McDonald name in addition to its previous line of Sure-
guard lacquers. With its two brands of lacquers, Sure-
guard Inc. claims it now has more than 80% of the total U.S.
print lacquer market.
In 1992 Sureguard introduced the Sureguard-McDonald
Pro-Tecta-Cote 900-series of non-cellulose-nitrate print lac-
quers which the company claims significantly reduced yel-
lowing during aging when compared with that of the firms
previous lacquers. This improved formulation was not ex-
tended to the Sureguard line of lacquers, which the com-
pany has indicated will probably be discontinued in the
future. This author did not have opportunity to evaluate
the new Sureguard-McDonald 900-series lacquers before
this book went to press. However, it is likely that the
elimination of cellulose nitrate from the lacquer will indeed
improve the performance of the lacquers, and this author
tentatively recommends the new Sureguard-McDonald lac-
quers in addition to the Lacquer-Mat lacquers that are
discussed in this chapter.
Although the Lacquer-Mat lacquers available at the time
this book went to press in 1992 contained cellulose nitrate,
they did not employ UV absorbers which, in accelerated
tests with earlier McDonald and Sureguard lacquers, ap-
parently were responsible for increasing the rate of yellow-
ing during aging. Pending further tests, this author tenta-
tively recommends both Lacquer-Mat lacquers and the new
Sureguard-McDonald 900-series lacquers.
On inquiry to Kodak by this author, the company re-
fused to recommend a particular lacquer for Ektacolor prints;
Kodak would not even reveal which lacquer proved the
least harmful in its tests. (It should be noted, however,
that in Kodaks 1987 book Photographic Retouching, which
was written for Kodak by former Kodak retouching expert
Vilia Reed, it is stated: There are lots of brands of photo
lacquers on the market. You should use only lacquer that
is designed for photographic use. The brand that I like
best is Lacquer-Mat. . . .
7
)
Around 1984, Kodak apparently concluded that photog-
raphers and labs were going to continue to use print lac-
quers on a large scale regardless of the warnings of poten-
tial harm to prints, so the company adopted a new public
position on the matter. Briefly stated, Kodak resumed rec-
ommending the practice of lacquering Ektacolor prints while
at the same time attempting to legally insulate itself from
complaints that could result from increased fading, yellow-
ing, localized discoloration, or other problems. According
to a 1985 Kodak pamphlet:
Applying print lacquers . . . modifies the sheen
of the surface, or provides a variety of surface
textures. You can also use lacquers to provide
physical protection from fingerprints or pro-
tection from moisture. Since not all lacquers
may be compatible with the emulsions of Ko-
dak papers, use only lacquers designed for pho-
tographic prints. Since formulations of lacquers
can change, you should reevaluate them from
time to time.
8
Kodak offered advice on lacquering procedures, saying:
If you plan to lacquer prints, observe the
following guidelines so that youll have the best
chance for maintaining the dye stability of prints:
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An advertisement for McDonald UV-absorbing print lac-
quer that appeared in a number of professional photogra-
phy magazines in 1984.
Figure 4.2 An Ektacolor Professional print coated with
McDonald UV-absorbing lacquer and an uncoated print
were exposed to bare-bulb fluorescent illumination in a
21.5 klux accelerated light fading test. The UV-absorbing
lacquer offered no protection against image fading (fad-
ing of the magenta dye is shown here because it is the
least stable of the three image dyes when the prints are
exposed to light on display).
1. Dry prints thoroughly before lacquering.
(If you wait for a time after processing and dry-
ing before you lacquer a print, the emulsion
can absorb water from humid air. If necessary,
redry the print in a heated mounting press or
with a hair dryer.)
2. Use only lacquers with solvents based on
hydrocarbons and chlorinated or fluorinated hy-
drocarbons.
3. Apply multiple light coats of lacquer in-
stead of one thick coat.
4. Lacquer in a dust-free, well-ventilated area
with a relative humidity of 50 percent or less.
5. Dont let lacquered prints come into con-
tact with glass in a frame. Dont seal prints in
a tight enclosure if the lacquer contains any
peroxide-forming solvents. (Dont let any prints
come into contact with glass, because they can
stick to it.)
9
Despite repeated inquiries by this author, Kodak de-
clined to identify even a single print lacquer based on hy-
drocarbons and chlorinated or fluorinated hydrocarbons
(this author is not aware that any exist) and also declined
to describe how a photographer could go about evaluating
a lacquer to determine its suitability for color prints.
10
Even Kodaks 1985 museum-oriented book Conservation
of Photographs recommended the use of print lacquers,
stating:
A large percentage of professional color por-
trait prints are lacquered. The technique is
commonly used to enhance the prints visual
appearance, to protect the print from physical
degradation such as soiling, scratching or abrad-
ing, or to provide a surface with tooth when
retouching is required.
11
The book went on to say:
Print lacquers provide physical protection
from fingerprints and fungus attack, and they
act as a temporary moisture barrier. The use
of a lacquer will also help prevent the emulsion
of a print from sticking to the glass or whatever
material that is used as an overlay, matt or an
interleaving. Since lacquer formulations vary,
only a lacquer designed for photographic appli-
cations should be used.
12
Since Kodak has described the ingredients for a safe
lacquer, one might wonder why Kodak simply doesnt pro-
duce a line of suitable print lacquers and solve the whole
problem. Indeed, according to an official at one large lac-
quer supplier, Kodak almost did just that: Around 1984 we
were approached by Kodak with an offer to sell us drums of
a lacquer which they said was okay. This was a high-gloss
lacquer and most of what we sell has a matting agent in it
[to produce semi-gloss and matte surfaces]. But Kodak
wouldnt certify it if we added a matting agent and they
PMT
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said they werent interested in producing a matte lacquer.
They then dropped the whole thing. (Until the early 1970s,
Kodak supplied Kodak Print Lacquer in gloss and matte
versions; both were said to have been thoroughly tested by
Kodak with black-and-white and color prints, and this au-
thor has been unable to learn why these apparently excel-
lent products were discontinued.)
The lacquer company official, who wished to remain
unnamed, went on to say, At the current state of the mar-
ket I dont think there is any product from any supplier that
meets Kodaks requirements. We have even sent samples
of our lacquers to Kodak for evaluation, but they wont tell
us if they are good or bad. He said his company was
concerned about potential problems with its current lac-
quers but saw no ready solutions. Our chemists are wor-
ried about the toxicity of chlorinated hydrocarbons and we
have not been able to make satisfactory nitrocellulose lac-
quers with hydrocarbons alone. We tried acrylics but had
adhesion problems with Ektacolor prints. Kodak tells pho-
tographers to lacquer their prints but also tells them that
Kodak wont be responsible if anything goes wrong. We get
the blame and that leaves us in a pretty tough spot.
UV-Filtering Print Lacquers
In 1982 McDonald International, Inc. (which, at that time,
had not yet been acquired by Sureguard Inc.) marketed an
ultraviolet-absorbing lacquer known as McDonald UV Pro-
Tecta-Cote print lacquer, which was claimed by an outside
consultant hired by the company to extend the life of a
color print six to eight times. McDonald went on to say
that If it only doubles the life of the color print, it will be in
demand by every photographer who cares about his valu-
able product.
13
One advertisement for the new lacquer
showed a very faded Ektacolor print that had been dis-
played for more than 10 years alongside a new print made
from the original negative and implied that if the new UV-
absorbing lacquer were used, the new print would remain
unfaded after 10 years of display. The advertisement went
on to say, The hottest topic in professional photography
today is color print stability. Everyone is talking about
color print fading . . . especially the photographer whose
reputation is on the line. McDonald is concerned enough
that we spent a lot of time and research dollars to develop
a UV inhibitor for lacquer that really works.
14
In tests conducted by this author on Ektacolor Profes-
sional Paper coated with the McDonald UV-absorbing lac-
quer, no improvement in image stability was observed, even
with direct, bare-bulb fluorescent light in which the 313
and 365 nanometer mercury vapor emission lines were not
absorbed by a glass or plastic sheet (see Figure 4.2). Tests
done with lacquered prints made on the earlier Ektacolor
74 RC Paper, Type 2524 gave similar results. Prints coated
with the UV-absorbing lacquer performed no better in light
fading tests (even with direct fluorescent light) than did
prints coated with a previous McDonald lacquer that did
not contain a UV absorber.
In 1983 Sureguard Inc. marketed Ultra Screen UV-ab-
sorbing lacquer,
15
similar in purpose to the McDonald product.
In tests conducted by this author, this lacquer also gave no
improvement in dye stability of either Ektacolor Profes-
sional Paper or the earlier product that it replaced, Ekta-
A 1985 photography magazine advertisement for Sure-
guard UV-absorbing lacquer.
PMT
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Figure 4.3 Yellowing of lacquer-coated and laminated Ektacolor Professional prints exposed to bare-bulb 21.5 klux
fluorescent illumination in a temperature- and humidity-controlled light fading test. Note in particular the pronounced
yellowing that occurred in the print with the McDonald UV-absorbing lacquer that was available at the time these tests were
conducted (see page 148 for discussion).
color 74 RC Paper, Type 2524. The yellowing of lacquered
and laminated prints illuminated with direct, bare-bulb fluo-
rescent lamps is shown in Figure 4.3.
Lacquer-Mat lacquers do not contain ultraviolet absorb-
ers; like the other lacquers, the Lacquer-Mat lacquer tested
by this author offered no improvement in light fading sta-
bility of Ektacolor Professional Paper. But, as shown in
Figure 4.4, the Lacquer-Mat lacquer performed much bet-
ter in accelerated dark storage tests than either the Mc-
Donald or Sureguard lacquers available at the time these
tests were conducted; in particular, the Lacquer-Mat lac-
quer yellowed far less than the other two products. (As
noted previously, these tests did not include the Sureguard-
McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote 900-series non-cellulose-nitrate
lacquers introduced by Sureguard Inc. in 1992. These new
lacquers probably will yellow less than previous McDonald
and Sureguard lacquers.) In preparing sample prints for
the tests reported here, all of the lacquers were applied in
two coats, in the manner recommended by their respective
manufacturers. In the spraying area, the temperature was
70F (21C) and the relative humidity 60% (prior to the
application of lacquer, the prints were pre-conditioned for
several weeks under these conditions).
Short-term accelerated tests probably do not give an
accurate indication of what might actually occur with lac-
quered prints in normal long-term display and storage; in
particular, the kinds of disproportionate dye fading and
yellowing which have been attributed to the effects of print
lacquers by Kodak, and which have on occasion been ob-
served by this author in prints on long-term display and in
normal album storage in the dark, appear to be impossible
to duplicate accurately with short-term accelerated tests.
However, the results of this authors accelerated tests con-
vincingly show that no improvement in the stability of Ek-
tacolor and similar prints may be expected from lacquer-
ing, formulated with or without UV absorbers.
More meaningful dark storage staining and fading data
can be obtained using the multi-temperature Arrhenius
accelerated test method specified in ANSI IT9.9-1990, Ameri-
can National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of
Color Photographic Images Methods for Measuring.
16
Kodak has indicated that the relative humidity of the air
where the lacquer is applied (and consequently the mois-
ture content of the print emulsion) can be a major influ-
ence on the effect the lacquer may eventually have on the
stability of the print. Kodak suggests a relative humidity of
50% or lower, but the photographer or processing lab will
rarely if ever have control over the ambient humidity.
Lacquer-Mat, Sureguard, and McDonald lacquers (in-
cluding the new Sureguard-McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote 900-
series lacquers introduced in 1992) all contain solvents which,
according to Kodak, could be harmful to Ektacolor and
similar chromogenic color prints, especially if the lacquers
are applied in humid environments. Because of this con-
cern, it would seem wise to avoid lacquers entirely. Lac-
quer fumes are also quite toxic if inhaled, and it is essen-
tial that prints be lacquered in an explosion-proof spraying
hood with proper high-velocity ventilation that exhausts
outdoors. If it is deemed necessary to apply a protective
coating to a print, a pressure-sensitive plastic laminate,
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Figure 4.4 In an accelerated dark storage test conducted at 144F (62C) and 45% RH, Ektacolor prints coated with the
McDonald and Sureguard lacquers available at the time these tests were conducted (see discussion on page 148) yellowed
significantly more than prints covered with plastic laminating films or coated with Lacquer-Mat lacquer.
food stores, restaurants, and public buildings. Such prints
are usually large, and it is too expensive or otherwise im-
practical to frame them under glass. It is also easier and
quicker to laminate a large print with an electrically pow-
ered applicator than it is to apply two or more coats of
spray lacquer. Laminates, like lacquers, are available in
glossy, semi-gloss, and matte surfaces.
In the U.S., most glossy-surface laminates are made
with polyester (e.g., DuPont Mylar or ICI Melinex), while in
Europe both polyester and polypropylene are used. Semi-
gloss and matte-surface laminates are generally made of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) containing a low level of plasti-
cizer, although other plastics are also employed. From a
stability point of view, polyester would appear to have some
advantages over PVC. Pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesives
with UV stabilizers are used with most if not all currently
available laminating products.
Although pressure-sensitive laminates are moderate in
cost, they are considerably more expensive than spray lac-
quers, and this has limited the popularity of laminates out-
side of the commercial display field; in particular, lami-
nates are less common in wedding and portrait markets,
where lacquers have had wide popularity for many years.
One of the leading suppliers of pressure-sensitive lami-
nates is MACtac PermaColor of Stow, Ohio.
17
MACtacs
products, which include pressure-sensitive cold-mount-
ing adhesives, were initially marketed under the MACtac
CoolMount name. In 1984 the name was changed to Per-
macolor after MACtac acquired the assets of the defunct
PermaColor Corporation, which in 1983 had unsuccessfully
described below, appears to be a much better choice at
present. If, for reasons of economy or other consider-
ations, a lacquer must be used, this authors accelerated
tests indicate that Lacquer-Mat lacquers are a better choice
than either Sureguard or McDonald lacquers.
There is obviously a need for a safe, non-yellowing, and
rapid-drying print lacquer that can be applied without diffi-
culty in a wide range of humidity conditions. Such a lac-
quer would have to be carefully tested for its effects on
light fading and dark-storage image stability of Ektacolor,
Fujicolor, Konica Color, Agfacolor, Ilfochrome, and other
common print materials (each type of print would have to
be tested individually because interactions between a lac-
quer formulation and different print materials can vary).
There would be a considerable market for a lacquer
proven to be both harmless to photographic materials and
long lasting without gradual yellowish discoloration.
Pressure-Sensitive Plastic Laminates
Only since around 1980 have pressure-sensitive plastic
laminates become popular in the commercial photography
field. Previously, laminates were more likely to be found
protecting and making tamper-proof such small photographic
items as drivers licenses and identification badges. The
transparent plastic laminate coverings, coated with a pres-
sure-sensitive adhesive, are similar in appearance to large
sheets of Scotch tape and are applied with pressure rollers
without heat. Pressure-sensitive laminates are now fre-
quently used to physically protect display prints hung in
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attempted to market small, UV-filtering, hermetically sealed
frames for color prints under the Permacolor name. (The
frames produced by PermaColor were claimed to reduce
fading of Ektacolor prints, although in this authors tests
they proved ineffective in this regard.) MACtacs PermaGard
laminating materials have been extensively advertised in
trade publications. Company literature says: The Perma-
color System is the result of years of research and testing.
Americas premier scientific method for preserving image
color. . . .
18
Although at the time the company was unable to furnish
any test data to show that PermaGard products reduced
the rate of print fading, there was no lack of enthusiasm
about the effectiveness of the products. According to Jack
McClintock of MACtac, We are now beginning to look at
extending the life of a print to within archival limits.
19
Pressure-sensitive laminating materials are also avail-
able from a number of other firms, including Seal Products
Incorporated (Seal Print Guard and Sealeze Print Shield-
UV); Coda, Inc., which sells its products under the Coda
Overlam name;
20
Drytac Corporation; and Ademco-Seal,
Ltd.
21
Both MACtac and Coda laminates are popular in the
U.S., and this author selected these for evaluation.
In this authors accelerated fluorescent light fading tests
with Ektacolor Professional Paper, neither Permacolor
PermaGard nor Coda Overlam offered any meaningful pro-
tection against light fading, even when compared with an
uncoated Ektacolor Professional print exposed to direct,
bare-bulb fluorescent illumination (Figure 4.2). Prints lami-
nated with these products yellowed less than lacquered
prints in these light fading tests (Figure 4.3), however.
In dark aging tests, the laminated prints exhibited fad-
ing and staining behavior that was generally similar to
uncoated Ektacolor Professional prints. However, the lami-
nated prints were substantially more stable and developed
much lower stain levels than prints lacquered with the
Sureguard or McDonald lacquers included in these tests.
The Lacquer-Mat coated prints were only slightly less stable
than the laminated prints. The Coda and Permacolor lami-
nating materials included in these tests were obtained from
their respective manufacturers in 1987.
Overall, this authors tests suggest that Coda and MAC-
tac laminating materials probably are not harmful to Ekta-
color prints. Although this authors tests showed that nei-
ther MACtac PermaGard nor Coda Overlam reduced the
rate of light fading of Ektacolor prints, data from Ilford
indicate that these products may offer substantial protec-
tion to Ilfochrome prints in many display situations.
22
MACtacs Published Light Fading Data
In early 1987 MACtac published the results of acceler-
ated light fading tests involving Kodak Ektacolor Plus Pa-
per laminated with MACtac PermaGard IP-7000, a glossy
polyester laminating film containing an ultraviolet absorber.
Both protected and unprotected panels were then placed
in a xenon arc Weatherometer to artificially accelerate the
fading process. The panels were exposed under high-in-
tensity UV light for 359 hours at 120F (50C).
23
The test
indicated that the PermaGard laminate markedly reduced
the fading rates of both the cyan and magenta dyes of the
Ektacolor Plus print (the yellow dye faded in approximately
Figure 4.5 Laminated and lacquered Ektacolor Professional prints exposed to high-intensity 21.5 klux bare-bulb Cool
White fluorescent illumination for 60 days in an accelerated light fading test (circulating air at the surface of the prints was
maintained at 75F [24C] and 60% RH). When compared with the uncoated print, none of these products offered any
worthwhile protection against light fading. The somewhat increased magenta dye fading that was measured in the print
covered with a Plexiglas UF-3 ultraviolet filter and the prints laminated with MACtac and Coda plastic films is an artifact of
the reduced stain levels that occurred in these prints and is not considered significant.
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#24417
(90%)
A practical application of plastic laminating films is the protection of photographs displayed outdoors from rain and dirt.
Measuring 30x50 feet and said to be the worlds largest backlit photographic billboard, this Kodak installation over the main
entrance to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York Citys Times Square features color prints made with Kodak Duratrans
translucent print material that has been laminated on both sides with MACtac plastic laminating films. In outdoor
applications, UV-absorbing laminating films probably offer some reduction in the rate of fading, but even at best the prints
have a relatively short life. The prints on this billboard are changed at regular intervals.
the same manner in both the laminated and unprotected
samples).
A xenon-arc Weatherometer of the type employed for
the MACtac tests is designed to simulate the spectral dis-
tribution of direct outdoor sunlight and is essentially use-
less in predicting the behavior of a print material displayed
indoors. The MACtac tests may be useful for simulating
outdoor display, but they are simply not relevant to indoor
display under normally encountered illumination conditions
including direct sunlight through window glass or bare-
bulb fluorescent lamps. (This author was surprised by the
greater loss of cyan than magenta dye shown in the MAC-
tac tests in outdoor display of an unprotected Ektacolor
print in direct sunlight, this author would have expected
the magenta dye loss to exceed that of the cyan dye.)
Kodak Recommends Laminates as Safer
Than Print Lacquers
Laminates contain no solvents and thus avoid the prin-
cipal problems of print lacquers. Eastman Kodak has gen-
erally recommended laminating materials as being less
harmful to color prints than lacquers, saying: In the cases
for which we have long-term results, we have seen no ad-
verse effect.
24
This authors tests support Kodaks rec-
ommendations in this regard. Kodak also says, Lami-
nates provide excellent protection from fungus and bacte-
rial attack, moisture, dirt, and harmful gases. For out-
door display of Ektacolor papers and Duratrans day-night
print material, Kodak advocates the use of UV-absorbing
laminates applied to both sides of the prints. Kodak cau-
tions, however, that the life of color prints displayed out-
doors (an increasingly common mode of advertising) will
be relatively short, regardless of the steps taken to protect
the prints. The reader is referred to the Kodak booklet
Backlit Displays with Kodak Materials
25
for an informative
discussion of both indoor and outdoor display of Duratrans
Display Material.
KSH UV-Absorbing Polystyrene Framing Sheets
Also of no benefit in reducing the light fading of Ekta-
color Professional prints exposed to fluorescent light in
tests by this author are the UV-filtering polystyrene KSH-
C
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A 3M Company billboard on the back of a bus in Ottawa, Canada. Like many 3M advertisements for Photogard (a UV-
absorbing transparent coating for photographs), this ad claims that there is no fading in color prints coated with
Photogard. Had this been true, it would have been a most sensational development in the color photography field! In
reality, as discussed in this chapter, displayed prints coated with Photogard may fade even faster than uncoated prints.
both in the U.S. and internationally. Dacar in turn dropped
its legal challenge of the validity of 3Ms patents.
No information could be obtained regarding the long-
term effects of Dacar ImageGARD (or Dacar REZCOAT, a
related product) on color films and prints, and, at the time
this book went to press, this author had not tested the
coatings nor been able to compare their long-term perfor-
mance with that of 3M Photogard. Therefore, until com-
prehensive tests can be completed, the Dacar coatings
cannot be recommended.
Photogard must be applied with special equipment in a
controlled environment, and has thus far been limited to
photofinishing operations and to the production of motion
picture release prints and microfilm work copies. In the
photofinishing field, coating negatives with Photogard Film
Protector is claimed to eliminate the need for negative
sleeves (sleeveless finishing). Negatives are cut and
inserted into customer print envelopes without sleeves or
other physical protection, thus, it is said, saving labs time
and money.
Since retouching and spotting must be done before the
coating is applied, it is unlikely that Photogard will find
significant acceptance for coating prints in the high-qual-
ity portrait, wedding, and commercial photography fields.
3M says that without special ultrasonic cleaning, Photo-
UVF Picture Saver Panels supplied by ICI Acrylics, Inc., of
St. Louis, Missouri.
26
A KSH brochure says that this prod-
uct Protects the beauty and extends the life of treasured
photographs, prints and works of art! and is illustrated
with comparison prints (made on an unidentified paper)
that had been exposed to 600 hours of UV radiation (of
unspecified intensity and spectral distribution).
3M Photogard Film and Print Coatings
Photogard Film Protector and Print Protector, coatings
marketed by the 3M Company, have been described as a
polymerized silane, 100% solids formulation that is cured
by ultraviolet radiation in a few seconds.
27
The coatings
are thin, optically clear, colorless, and flexible; unlike lac-
quers, Photogard contains no solvents that might penetrate
color print and film emulsions.
A UV-cured film-coating liquid that is similar to Photo-
gard, but lower in cost, was introduced in 1987 by the Dacar
Chemical Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is sup-
plied by CPAC, Inc. under the ImageGARD name. In 1988
3M initiated a lawsuit against Dacar claiming an infringe-
ment on 3M patents. The case was settled by the two
companies in 1990, and 3M granted Dacar a royalty-bear-
ing license to manufacture and market Dacars coatings
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gard cannot be applied to Agfachrome transparency films
or Agfacolor negative films because they have a silicone
coating.
Four types of Photogard coating equipment are avail-
able: (1) roll-film coaters for coating negatives, slides, and
motion picture films; (2) roll-paper coaters for coating color
or black-and-white RC or polyester-base prints in roll form;
(3) sheet coaters for coating prints or films in sheet form;
(4) strip coaters for coating individual short rolls of film (in
a minilab, for example).
Automatic coaters for applying Photogard to rolls and
sheets of film and paper are manufactured by CPAC, Inc.,
28
Nord Photo Engineering,
29
and CJ Laser Corporation.
30
Automatic coaters are not inexpensive; for example, the
CPAC FilmCOAT 35 machine for 16mm and 35mm film sells
for about $30,000. (The CPAC FilmCOAT M7040, a small,
manually operated applicator for individual rolls of film, is
available for about $2,000.) At the time Photogard was first
introduced, the 3M Company supplied coating equipment;
however, 3M discontinued making the equipment some years
ago (a number of 3M machines are said to still be in opera-
tion).
In promoting Photogard, 3M has cited five characteris-
tics of the coating that are claimed to contribute to the
preservation of color prints:
1. Protects against color fading. In a Photogard Print
Protector promotional brochure, 3M asserted that un-
coated prints subjected to a fading test (unspecified)
faded considerably, while no fading occurred in a Pho-
togard-coated print. Other 3M literature indicates that
the company based its claims on tests with direct sun-
light and a xenon-arc Atlas Fadeometer. For its pub-
lished pictorial examples, 3M apparently used 3M High
Speed Color Paper, a now-obsolete paper that had ex-
ceedingly poor dark fading stability.
2. Protects against spills and smudges. Because the
Photogard coatings are unaffected by common solvents
at room temperatures and do not readily absorb grease,
ink, oils, etc., prints can be cleaned with a cloth moist-
ened with water or solvents. The ability to wet-clean
the prints lessens the need for putting glass over dis-
played prints.
3. Resists abrasion. The coatings have exceptional abrasion
resistance compared with conventional lacquer coat-
ings or uncoated photographic emulsions. In this re-
spect, Photogard is indeed clearly superior to any lac-
quer or plastic laminate on the market.
4. Resists fungus. 3M has reported that Photogard coat-
ings have high resistance to fungus growth. In this
respect, the coatings are probably at least equal and
probably superior to conventional lacquer coatings.
5. Has anti-static properties. The coatings are claimed
to greatly reduce dirt accumulation and other conse-
quences of static electricity build-up in conditions of
low relative humidity.
3M Photogard has been used at one time or another by a
number of large-scale photofinishers in the U.S. and abroad,
A 3M Photogard sheet-coat-
ing machine at Duggal
Color Projects, Inc., shown
here in a 3M press release
photograph. Duggal is a
leading New York City cus-
tom lab. Believing it had
been deceived by 3M with
respect to the light fading
protection offered by Pho-
togard, Duggal abandoned
the coating service soon
after it was inaugurated in
1982 and later filed a law-
suit against 3M. The case
was settled out of court for
an undisclosed amount.
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Figure 4.6 Photogard-coated and uncoated color prints compared. When exposed to 1.35 klux fluorescent illumination for
960 days (2.6 years) in a low-level accelerated light fading test, the yellow dye of the Photogard-coated prints in every case
faded more than the yellow dye of the uncoated prints. The color prints in the test were made with now-obsolete 3M High
Speed Color Paper. The disproportionate fading of the yellow dye in Photogard-coated prints observed in this long-term
test did not occur in short-term, high-intensity tests in which the prints received the same total light exposure (circulating air
at the surface of the prints was maintained at 75F [24C] and 60% RH in both tests).
of an initial density of 1.5; the prints were exposed to three
spectral conditions. In the direct, bare-bulb fluorescent
exposures, the Photogard coating offered significant pro-
tection to the cyan dye; the loss of red density was much
higher for the uncoated print under the test conditions.
The 3M paper in these tests did not have a UV-absorbing
emulsion overcoat (this paper, which is no longer manu-
factured, does have a UV-absorbing layer under the cyan
layer, between the cyan and magenta layers, but it does
not protect the cyan dye from UV radiation). A glass filter
will effectively absorb the short-wavelength UV radiation,
resulting in substantial improvement in the stability of the
cyan dye in the 3M paper.
When Photogard-coated and uncoated 3M prints were
exposed to glass-filtered fluorescent light, quite different
behavior was observed. While the cyan dye of the Photo-
gard-coated print faded less than the cyan dye of the un-
coated print, the yellow dye of the Photogard print faded
more, producing significantly greater overall color imbal-
ance of the three image dyes resulting from unequal fading
rates in the Photogard-coated print.
The greater fading of the yellow dye when the prints
were covered with a sheet of glass cannot be accounted for
by the fact that direct fluorescent light causes yellow stain
formation (print-out of unreacted magenta coupler), which
replaces the blue-light absorption of some of the faded
yellow dye. There also appears to be a chemical bleaching
of the yellow dye in Photogard-coated prints. This possibly
is caused by reactions involving the somewhat photoreac-
tive pigmented polyethylene layer on top of the RC paper
support, next to the yellow dye layer (in a Photogard-coated
including Brown Photo, Living Color Labs (a division of
Genovese Drugstores, Inc., headquartered in Melville, New
York), and Far East Laboratories, a Tokyo processing lab
that coats Photogard on Ektacolor paper, selling the prints
under the Live name and claiming reduced fading rates.
One professionally oriented lab that installed Photogard
sheet-coating equipment is Duggal Color Projects, Inc., of
New York City. Baldev Duggal, president of the firm, said
at the inauguration of the Photogard service in 1982, The
3M Photogard coating is one of the landmarks in the his-
tory of photography. It gives a lasting image quality to a
piece of photo art, and this will add a whole new dimension
to our business.
31
Duggal intended to market this service
to well-known photographers and institutions such as the
Museum of Modern Art to permanently preserve their
color prints. Duggal based his claims about Photogard on
information supplied to him by the 3M Company. Duggals
Photogard service was an immediate market failure and
was discontinued shortly after it was announced. In June
1983, Duggal filed suit against the 3M Company, claiming
$207,500 in damages.
32
The case was settled out of court
and never went to trial. According to Duggal: I wanted to
take 3M to the cleaners, but they offered us a damn good
settlement so we accepted it.
33
Light Fading Characteristics
of Photogard-Coated Prints
Made on 3M Color Paper
Figure 4.6 compares Photogard-coated and uncoated
3M High Speed Color Paper printed with neutral gray patches
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Figure 4.7 When Photogard-coated prints were exposed to north daylight through window glass (average intensity over 24
hours of 0.78 klux) for 1095 days (3 years) the yellow dye faded significantly more than did the yellow dye of uncoated
prints. This was also true of the prints protected from UV radiation by Plexiglas UF-3.
illumination, or as tested in a fadeometer that simulates
direct sunlight illumination, a 6X improvement in cyan dye
stability is achieved by the incorporation of UV absorbers
in the Photogard coating.
35
3M is a high-technology company, and, given its sophis-
ticated technical resources, it is very difficult to under-
stand why the company has persisted in citing data from
irrelevant accelerated tests using a color paper that is no
longer even sold in the U.S. and advertising that Photogard
offers substantial protection against color print fading when
in fact it does not. In some instances, 3M has even gone so
far as to say that Photogard stops fading altogether. This
is perhaps a case of marketing people running amok, hav-
ing so long ago lost sight of the realities of the product they
are promoting that their often-repeated claims have as-
sumed a life of their own.
With respect to Photogard, the following conclusions
can be drawn from the data presented in this chapter and
from performance data supplied by 3M:
1. Photogard offers excellent abrasion resistance, and a
coated print can easily be cleaned should it become
soiled with fingerprints, oily dirt, etc. Photogards abra-
sion resistance is greatly superior to that of uncoated
print emulsions and of prints coated with lacquers or
pressure-sensitive laminates.
2. Under display conditions typically found in homes and
offices, Photogard offers little if any protection against
light fading. With 3M color paper and probably some
other types of color prints, Photogard actually some-
what increases the rate of light fading on long-term
display. Under high-UV light sources such as direct
sunlight, unfiltered fluorescent light, or direct expo-
print, the emulsion is sealed between the RC base and
the Photogard coating, and this might serve to accentuate
this type of yellow dye fading). In all three spectral condi-
tions of this authors tests, the changes in blue density
were greater in the Photogard-coated prints than in the
uncoated prints.
Glass-filtered fluorescent light generally provides a bet-
ter indication of how prints will behave on display in homes
(indirect daylight filtered by window and/or framing glass)
and in offices (fluorescent light filtered by glass or plastic
light diffusers and/or framing glass) than any other com-
mon light source.
Long-term tests indicate that the Photogard coating re-
duces fading of the cyan dye but somewhat increases the
fading rate of the yellow dye in 3M prints exposed to indi-
rect daylight (through window glass); the uncoated glass-
filtered print maintained the best color balance during fad-
ing (see Figure 4.7). In other words, in tests that are a
reasonable simulation of normal print display conditions,
Photogard not only failed to offer protection against dye
fading in 3M color paper but was actually detrimental.
In published information on Photogard, 3M has selected
high-UV test conditions and particular products (3M color
paper or older versions of Ektacolor RC papers) which, in
combination, make Photogard appear to significantly re-
duce light fading rates despite the fact that neither the test
conditions nor the papers being tested are likely to be found
in normal print display situations.
34
This author believes
that 3M is aware of the inadequacies of its test procedures;
nevertheless the company was continuing to make mis-
leading and irrelevant claims about Photogard. For ex-
ample, in the January 1987 issue of the prestigious SMPTE
Journal, Ashwani K. Mehta, manager of Photogard prod-
ucts at 3M, stated: For color prints under direct sunlight
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A CJ Laser Corporation B-1114 sheet-coater for Photo-
gard. The $12,000 unit, distributed by CPAC, Inc., can
handle prints and films up to 11x14 inches. Once Photo-
gard is applied to a print or film, there is no known
method for removing the coating without destroying the
photograph. If a particle of dirt or lint should become
embedded in the coating, it cannot be removed; this is
one reason Photogard should not be applied to valuable
original films or prints.
#28021
#2822
sure in xenon-arc Fadeometers and if prints are not
covered with framing glass or plastic, Photogard will
reduce the fading rates of most older color papers.
However, for current products such as Ektacolor, Fuji-
color, Konica Color, and Agfacolor papers, all of which
have an effective UV-absorbing layer over the three
image dye layers, Photogard offers little if any addi-
tional protection against light fading, even under high-
UV display conditions such as direct illumination with
bare-bulb fluorescent lamps.
3. Since Photogard contains no solvents, it probably does
not reduce or otherwise disrupt the inherent dye stabil-
ity of chromogenic prints, such those on Ektacolor pa-
pers. Currently available lacquers contain solvents and
other ingredients that can harm chromogenic prints;
damage from lacquers is especially likely to occur if
they are applied in thick coats and/or in conditions of
high relative humidity.
4. Because neither spotting and retouching colors nor lac-
quers will properly adhere to the surface of a Photo-
gard coating, all spotting and retouching must be com-
pleted before a print is coated. If additional spotting or
retouching is necessary after a print has been coated, a
new print will have to be made, since Photogard cannot
be removed. Portrait and advertising photographers in
particular should be aware of this drawback to Photo-
gard.
5. Like lacquers, Photogard will allow prints to be framed
directly against glass without a spacing overmat.
6. Photogard offers excellent protection against fungus
growth on emulsion surfaces if prints are stored or
displayed in humid environments. Typically, fungus
becomes a problem when prints are stored for pro-
longed periods in warm climates with relative humidi-
ties above 70%, such as in some southern areas of the
U.S. or in the tropics.
7. Photogard is claimed by 3M to reduce dust attraction
and other problems associated with static electricity
when the relative humidity is low. Simple observation
indicates that Photogard does indeed reduce static build-
up.
8. Because of the danger of permanently sealing in dust
or other dirt on original negatives, transparencies, and
motion pictures, and the possibility that Photogard could
adversely affect the image stability of these products,
Photogard should not be applied to valuable original
material.
9. Photogard should not be applied to valuable color or
black-and-white RC or fiber-base prints, such as those
in museum collections, because of uncertainties about
the aging properties of various types of prints coated
with Photogard and because of the danger of perma-
nently sealing dust, lint, or other dirt to the surface of
the prints. Once applied, Photogard cannot be removed
from a print or film by any known method.
A FilmCOAT M7040 strip-coater for applying Photogard
to individual rolls or short strips of 35mm and other roll
films. Made by CPAC, Inc. and costing about $2,000, the
unit is aimed at minilab markets. One worthwhile appli-
cation of Photogard is to coat scratched negatives; as
long as a scratch does not penetrate the image layers of
a film, Photogard can reduce or even eliminate the effect
of base or emulsion-side scratches when prints are made.
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7. Vilia Reed, Photographic Retouching, Kodak Publication No. E-97,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, August 1987, p.
103. See also: Vilia Reed, The Fuji Professional Retouching
Guide, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., 1992. Instructional videos which
cover retouching color negatives and color prints are also available
for use in conjunction with the book. Available from Fuji Photo Film
U.S.A. Inc., 555 Taxter Road, Elmsford, New York 10523; telephone:
914-789-8201 (toll-free: 800-755-3854).
8. Eastman Kodak Company, Finishing Prints on Kodak Water-Re-
sistant Papers, Kodak Publication No. E-67, September 1985, p. 1.
9. Eastman Kodak Company, see Note No. 8, p. 2.
10. Henry Wilhelm, letter to Henry Kaska, director, public information,
Corporate Communications, Eastman Kodak Company, October 29,
1986.
11. Eastman Kodak Company, Conservation of Photographs (George
T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-40, March 1985, p. 66.
13. McDonald International, Inc., Information Sheet on UV Pro-Tecta-
Cote Lacquer, 1982.
14. McDonald International, Inc., In 10 Years. . .This. . . Or This? Intro-
ducing a New UV Pro-Tecta-Cote Lacquer from McDonald, adver-
tisement in Professional Photographer, Vol. 109, No. 2045, Octo-
ber 1982.
15. Color Print Fading is a Hot Topic, advertisement for Sureguard
Photo Print Lacquers in Studio Photography, Vol. 19, No. 8, August
1983, p. 16. (Sureguard, Inc., Photo Lacquer Division, 2350 114th
Street, Grand Prairie, Texas 75050; telephone: 214-647-9049).
Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York
10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286.
17. MACtac products were previously sold under the CoolMount name;
MACtac is a division of Morgan Adhesives Company. Permacolor
Permagard IP-7000 pressure-sensitive laminate material was used in
this authors accelerated tests; the material was obtained in March
1985.
18. MACtac Permacolor, The Magic of Photography, promotional bro-
chure published by MACtac Permacolor Division, Morgan Adhesives
Company, 1985.
19. Jack McClintock, Eye On The Future, Permaviews, Spring 1985,
published by MACtac Permacolor Division, Morgan Adhesives Com-
pany, Stow, Ohio, p. 4.
20. Coda, Inc., Overlam products were among the first pressure-sensi-
tive laminating materials to be marketed for photographs.
21. Ademco-Seal mounting and laminating products are manufactured
by Ademco-Seal Ltd., Chester Hall Lane, Basildon, Essex SS14 3BG,
England; telephone: 011-44-268-287-650.
[Ilfochrome] Display Print Materials and Films, (Technical Infor-
mation Manual), Cat. No. 7929-RMI 895M, 1988. Available from
Ilford Photo Corporation, West 70 Century Road, Paramus, New
Jersey 07653; telephone: 201-265-2000 (toll-free: 800-631-2522). See
also: Remon Hagen, Further Improvements in the Permanence of
Cibachrome Materials Under Adverse Display Conditions, Journal
of Imaging Technology, Vol. 12, No. 3, June 1986, pp. 160162.
23. MACtac Permacolor, UV-Resistance Accelerated Weathering Tests,
Permaviews, Winter 19861987, published by MACtac Permacolor
Division, Morgan Adhesives Company, Stow, Ohio, p. 3. See also:
Mike Spidare [MACtac Permacolor], Cold Mounting Films: A New
Era in Image Marketing, Photo Lab Management, Vol. 9, No. 8,
August 1987, pp. 5961.
25. Eastman Kodak Company, Backlit Displays with Kodak Materials,
Kodak Publication No. E-84, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,
New York, July 1986.
26. K-S-H, Inc., KSH-UVF Picture Saver Panels, product brochure
published in 1982 by K-S-H, Inc., K-S-H Industrial Division, St. Louis,
Missouri. (K-S-H, Inc. is now part of ICI Acrylics, Inc., 10091 Manchester
Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63122; telephone: 314-966-3111 (toll-free:
800-325-9577). The UV-absorbing polystyrene Picture Saver Panels
continue to be sold under the KSH-UVF name.)
27. A. K. Mehta, D. R. Hotchkiss, and J. F. Kistner, Photogard Technol-
ogy, presentation at the International Symposium: The Stability
and Preservation of Photographic Images, sponsored by the
Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers at the Public Ar-
chives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, August 31, 1982. As
yet, no stability data on color prints coated with Photogard have
been published by researchers outside of the 3M Company.
28. CPAC equipment for applying 3M Photogard is sold under the FilmCOAT
name; the machines were introduced in 1986. CPAC, Inc., 2364
Useful Applications for 3M Photogard
Photogards most valuable characteristics are its abra-
sion, moisture, and fungus resistance, and its ease of cleaning.
Photogard appears to be well suited for roll-coating work-
ing copies of microfilms, microfiche, motion picture prints,
intermediate motion picture printing negatives, and ex-
pendable color negatives (such as those in mass-market
portrait and school-picture operations). In addition, a Pho-
togard coating on duplicate slides that are to be distrib-
uted to academic slide libraries or similar institutional col-
lections would eliminate the need for expensive glass mount-
ing.
Photogard is also beneficial as a coating for amateur
snapshot color prints with the clear understanding that
although the coating offers substantial physical protection
to the emulsion of the prints, it will not improve and may
even reduce the light fading stability of the prints. The
fungus protection offered by Photogard is of great value
when prints have to be stored or displayed in high-humid-
ity areas, especially in the tropics. Likewise, coating ama-
teur negatives with Photogard can be of substantial benefit
in humid areas.
A number of mass-market and school-portrait finishing
labs, including School Pictures Inc. of Jackson, Mississippi,
treat color negatives with Photogard immediately after pro-
cessing and drying and have reported that the protection
against scratches resulting from rough handling, dust, and
static offered by the coating substantially reduces the time
required for spotting finished prints. The money saved
more than pays for the cost of applying Photogard, even
though the negatives are generally disposed of soon after
printing.
1. Marty Rickard, An Ounce of Prevention?, Professional Photogra-
pher, Vol. No. 2132, January 1990, p. 48. Rickard described his
experiments as follows: To find out how effective these [UV-absorb-
ing] additives are in slowing the fading process, I selected a vividly-
colored 8x10 print and sprayed a portion of the surface with one
heavy coat of the protective spray, another portion with two thick
coats, and left a third area unprotected. To provide a control area on
the print, I covered the center where all three test areas converged
with a heavy 1
1
4-inch metal washer. This area was not exposed to
light. On December 16, 1987, I placed the experimental print in the
south window of my studio and left it there until August 16, 1989 a
period of 20 months. As for the results of my experiment, I detected
no difference in the degree of fading between the surface of the print
which was not sprayed, and the surface that was sprayed twice. (If
there is a difference, it would take a scientific color measuring
device to detect it). The identity of the print lacquer used in Rickards
tests was not given in the article, but was later confirmed to be a
McDonalds lacquer by Rickards studio in New Sharon, Iowa.
2. Eastman Kodak Company, Printing Color Negatives, Publication
No. E-66, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, Septem-
ber 1970, p. 41.
4. Eastman Kodak Company, Preservation of Photographs, Publica-
tion No. F-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, Au-
gust 1979, p. 35.
5. Eastman Kodak Company, Storage and Care of Kodak Color
Materials, Publication No. E-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Roches-
ter, New York, revised December 1980.
6. Eastman Kodak Company, How Post-Processing Treatment Can
Affect Image Stability of Prints on Kodak Ektacolor Paper,
Kodak Pamphlet No. CIS-62, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,
New York, 1982. See also: Eastman Kodak Company, Conserva-
tion of Photographs (George T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication
No. F-40, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March
1985, p. 66.
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Leicester Road, Leicester, New York 14481; telephone: 716-382-
3223.
29. Nord Photo Engineering (a subsidiary of Photo Control Corpora-
tion), 4800 Quebec Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55428;
telephone: 612-537-7620.
30. CJ Laser Corporation, 3035 Dryden Road, Dayton, Ohio 45439; tele-
phone: 513-269-0513. The firm supplies the B-1114 sheet coater
($12,000) for prints and films in sizes up to 11x14; it can coat about
150 8x10-inch prints per hour.
31. 3M Company, Duggal Color Projects and Genovese Drug Stores
Offer 3Ms Photogard Protective Coating, 3M Company Press
Release PH 82-205, November 29, 1982 (For Release: December 2,
1982), p. 2. 3M Photo Color Systems Division, 3M Company, 3M
Center, St. Paul, Minnesota.
32. Duggal Color Projects, Inc. (Plaintiff), against Minnesota Mining and
Manufacturing Company (Defendant). Case Index No. 4911-84, filed
in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in June 1983. A
transcript of the case may be obtained from: Supreme Court of the
State of New York, County Clerks Office, 60 Center Street, New
York, New York 10007; telephone: 212-374-8300.
33. Baldev Duggal, president, Duggal Color Projects, Inc., telephone
discussion with this author, December 11, 1986.
34. 3M Company, U.V. Fade Study on Kodak Color Paper With and
Without Photogard, 3M Data Sheet, PE-PUVFS-K(52.25)R [1982],
Photographic Products Division, 3M, 223-2SE 3M Center, St. Paul,
Minnesota 55144. Included in the data sheet: The minimum benefit
of Photogard on Kodak Color Paper [Ektacolor 74 RC], under the
conditions tested and using the end point criteria defined, is to
extend the papers life by a factor of 4 (Photogard Factor = 4X).
Other factors, such as dark fade and fade in normal light should also
be considered in the overall evaluation of fading in color print pa-
pers. See also: 3M Company, U.V. Fade Study on 3M Color Paper
With and Without Photogard, 3M Data Sheet, PE-PUVFS(22.25)R1
[1982]. Graphs from the two 3M data sheets were included in: 3M
Protective Coating, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineer-
ing, Vol. 9, No. 5, October 1983, p. 152A.
35. Ashwani K. Mehta, Photogard Technology [synopsis of a presenta-
tion at the 128th conference of the Society of Motion Picture and
Television Engineers, held October 2429, 1986 in New York], SMPTE
Journal, Vol. 96, No. 1, January 1987, p. 131. See also: Martin
Hershenson, Photogard A Tough Finish For Half-A-Century,
Photographic Processing, Vol. 22, No. 8, August 1987, pp. 26ff.
Apparently quoting 3M test data, Hershenson reported:
Photogard has the ability to increase protection against the
damage caused by ultra-violet light. (A serious cause of dye fading).
Two brands of color paper were incorporated into the test
parameters. Accelerated tests were performed for overall stability.
In particular, the ever fickle cyan dye came under close scrutiny.
The evaluation was done using a xenon arc as the light
source, operating in the range of 760 nanometers. The tests would
determine how many hours of exposure to so rich a source in UV it
would take to reach a 30% dye loss. Brand A color paper when
untreated exhibited the loss in only 110 hours. The same brand of
paper which had been safeguarded with the protective coating re-
quired 600 hours to show the same degree of change.
Paper Brand B was also impressive. Here the numbers for
the untreated sample were 160 hours of exposure to the xenon arc,
as compared with the Photogard coated paper which took over 700
hours to exhibit a 30% dye loss. 3M makes no claims of any
improvement in light or dark keeping. (This last statement, appar-
ently a disclaimer offered by 3M, is given without further explana-
tion.)
See also: Martin Hershenson, Prints and Slides Protected
3M Claims its Photogard Process Can Protect Your Originals From
Almost Anything . . . Even Hot Chicken Soup!!! Does it Really
Work?, Modern Photography, Vol. 50, No. 8, August 1986, pp. 24,
80.
Anon., Film and Paper Coating Primer, Photo Lab Management, Vol.
8, No. 7, July 1986, pp. 2426. (Article about 3M Photogard.)
Toshiaki Aono, Kotaro Nakamura, and Nobuo Furutachi, The Effect of
Oxygen Insulation on the Stability of Image Dyes of a Color Photo-
graphic Print and the Behavior of Alkylhydroquinones as Antioxi-
dants, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8, No.
5, October 1982, pp. 227231.
Eastman Kodak Company, Encyclopedia of Practical Photography,
Vol. 9, American Photographic Book Publishing Company, Garden
City, New York, 1978, pp. 14811487.
Eastman Kodak Company, How to Use Kodak Print Lacquer for Matte
or Glossy or Textured Surfaces, Pamphlet No. J26, minor revi-
sion August 1968.
Eastman Kodak Company, General Information for Print Lacquer Us-
ers, Tips Technical Information for Photographic Systems,
Vol. 10, No. 5, OctoberNovember 1979, p. 11.
Eastman Kodak Company, Preparing Large Color Prints on Kodak
Ektacolor 37 RC Paper, Kodak Pamphlet No. E-54, minor revision
September 1975.
Kris Fehrenbach, Preserve Your Portrait Photography Archivally Framed
Photos Last Generations, Professional Photographer, Vol. 114,
No. 2107, December 1987, pp. 3739.
Kathy Hubbard, editor, L.A.C.S. (Lacquer-Associated Cyan Spotting),
The Meisel Forum, Vol. 11, No. 1, Meisel Photochrome Corpora-
tion, Dallas, Texas, 1980.
Paul M. Ness and Charleton C. Bard, Help Color Prints Last, Profes-
sional Photographer, Vol. 109, No. 2038, March 1982, pp. 2729.
Allan Tyndell, Print Spraying, Professional Photographer, Vol. 108,
No. 2028, May 1981, p. 48.
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Suppliers
3M Home & Commercial Care Division
Bldg. 223-3N-05
3M Center
St. Paul, Minnesota 55144-1000
Telephone: 612-733-6864
(Supplier of 3M Photogard
Film and Photo Protector)
CPAC, Inc.
2364 Leicester Road
Leicester, New York 14481
Telephone: 716-382-3223
CJ Laser Corporation
3035 Dryden Road
Dayton, Ohio 45439
Telephone: 513-296-0513
Nord Photo Engineering
4800 Quebec Avenue North
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55428
Telephone: 612-537-7620
MACtac Permacolor
4560 Darrow Road
Stow, Ohio 44224
Telephone: 216-688-1111
Toll-free: 800-323-3439 (outside Ohio)
Coda, Inc.
194 Greenwood Avenue
Midland Park, New Jersey 07432
Telephone: 201-444-7755
Lacquer-Mat Systems, Inc.
1302 East Washington Street
P.O. Box 24
Syracuse, New York 13201
Telephone: 315-471-4037
Toll-free: 800-942-2223
Sureguard Inc.
2350 114th Street
Grand Prairie, Texas 75050
Telephone: 214-647-9049
Toll-free: 800-662-2350 (outside Texas)
(Sureguard Inc. distributes Sureguard-
McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote print lacquers
and related products in addition to the
firms line of Sureguard lacquers.
Sureguard acquired marketing rights
for the McDonald product line in 1989.)
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Recommendations
Shortly before his death, Arthur Rothstein
visited the Library of Congress where the 8x10
Ansco transparencies are stored on which he
shot most of his food assignments. Because of
the instability of the emulsion dyes, he said the
transparencies had faded beyond recognition
or usefulness.
1
Casey Allen
Technical Photography
April 1988
Once a color photograph has been properly processed,
the most important factors in determining the useful life of
a color film or color print are the inherent dye stability and
resistance to stain formation during aging that have been
built into the product by its manufacturer. While it is true
that even the most unstable materials can be preserved
almost indefinitely in humidity-controlled cold storage, only
a small fraction of one percent of the many billions of color
photographs made around the world each year will ever
find their way into a cold storage vault. (In 1990, more than
20 billion photographs were made in the U.S. alone and
of that number, more than 90% percent were shot on color
negative film and printed on Kodak Ektacolor paper or
similar chromogenic color negative print papers made by
Fuji, Konica, or Agfa.
2,3
)
Sadly, even many important museums do not yet pro-
vide cold storage for their color photograph collections. At
the time this book went to press in 1992, the International
Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in Roch-
ester, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.,
and the Division of Photographic History at the Smithso-
nian Institution in Washington, D.C. were among those
institutions that did not yet have cold storage facilities.
Even the National Geographic Society, which during the
years since its founding in 1888 has amassed a large and
historically significant color photography collection, stores
its photographs without refrigeration in its Washington,
D.C. offices. The National Geographic magazine, which
published its first offset-printed color photograph in the
July 1914 issue (the original was an Autochrome plate by
Paul Guillamette), was a true pioneer in the publication of
photographs in color and in 1920 became the first maga-
zine to have its own in-house color processing laboratory.
The vast majority of color photographs are kept in homes
and offices under whatever conditions are provided for the
people who live or work there. If air conditioning is avail-
able and in most of the world it is not it is for the
comfort of people, and not to prolong the life of photo-
graphs. How long a particular color photograph will last
depends, more than anything else, on the inherent stability
of the film or paper with which it was made. Some materi-
als are much more resistant to fading and formation of
yellowish stain than others.
While a photographer must consider many things in
selecting a film or print material for a particular applica-
tion, it only makes good sense to choose the most stable
products available from those that otherwise meet the
photographers requirements. For example, Kodaks tung-
sten-balanced Vericolor II Professional Color Negative Film
Type L has a far shorter dark storage life than Fujicolor
160 Professional Film L. Agfacolor XRS 1000 Professional
Film is much less stable in dark storage than are Fujicolor
Super HG 1600, Kodak Gold 1600, Kodak Ektapress Gold
1600, and Kodak Ektar 1000 films.
Fujichrome Paper Type 35 for printing transparencies
is much more stable in dark storage and when displayed
than Kodak Ektachrome Radiance and Radiance Select
papers. Longer-lasting still are Ilford Ilfochrome (called
Cibachrome, 19631991) polyester-base print materials and
color microfilms, the only easily processed color materials
on the market that are essentially permanent in dark stor-
age (they should last 500 or more years without significant
fading or staining when kept in the dark under normal
room temperature conditions).
Dark Fading and Staining versus
Light-Induced Fading and Staining
This chapter deals with the fading and staining that
may occur when color film and print materials are stored
in the absence of light that is, in the dark. (Throughout
this book, dark fading and dark staining are often com-
bined under the term dark fading stability.) Dark fading of
course is not caused by darkness (light fading, on the other
hand, is caused by light and UV radiation). Dark fading
simply refers to the fading and staining that take place in a
color material during storage when light is not present.
Given the inherent dark fading stability characteristics
of a particular material, the rate of dark fading and stain-
ing is determined primarily by the ambient temperature
and, usually to a lesser extent with modern materials, by
relative humidity. Air pollution and contamination from
unsuitable storage materials can also play a part in the
deterioration of color photographs, but these factors are
usually much less important. (The delicate silver images
of black-and-white photographs, on the other hand, can be
5. Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of
Color Prints, Transparencies, and Negatives
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Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Color Prints, Transparencies, and Negatives Chapter 5 164
extremely sensitive to air pollutants and other environ-
mental contaminants.)
Improper processing of color materials can also impair
image stability; for example, use of non-recommended, ex-
hausted, or contaminated chemicals, inadequate washing,
omission of the proper stabilizer bath when one is called
for, and so forth.
Unless noted otherwise, the data presented in this book
are based on careful processing with the manufacturers
recommended chemicals. In the real world of hurried lab
production and efforts to keep chemical and wash water
costs to a minimum, processing often is less than it should
be, and image stability can and does suffer sometimes
catastrophically.
Actually, the slow but inexorable chemical processes
involved in dark fading and dark staining continue
whether or not a color photograph is exposed to light on
display or during projection. Light fading is a separate
process altogether. When a color photograph is exposed to
light on display, both light fading and dark fading occur
simultaneously. The fading and staining that afflict a pho-
tograph over time are in fact a combination of these two
basic types of deterioration.
Given the commonly encountered conditions of prints
on display, it may be assumed, at least with modern mate-
rials, that the fading observed over time has been caused
primarily by light. An Ektacolor print, for example, will
last far longer when stored in the dark than it will on dis-
play. In other words, under normal conditions, the light
fading stability of most types of color prints is substantially
inferior to their dark fading stability.
Light fading and dark fading also differ in the way that
they affect the appearance of the image. In light fading, a
disproportionate loss of density occurs in the lower densi-
ties and highlights. Visually dark parts of an image can
remain more or less intact while lighter areas can become
totally washed out. With modern materials, light-induced
stain formation (distinguished from light-induced fading)
is of less concern when prints are displayed than is stain-
ing when the prints are stored in the dark. In dark fading,
highlight detail is not lost but an overall color shift occurs,
caused by the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes fading at
Thomas Beecher, a staff member at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and Beverly W. Brannan, curator of
documentary photography in the Prints and Photographs Division of the library, examine color transparencies in the Look
Magazine collection. The Look collection was donated to the library after the magazine ceased publication in 1971. A wide
variety of films dating back to the first Kodachrome films of the mid-1930s are found in the collection. As is the case with
most other magazine and picture agency files from this period, many of the transparencies were made on Ansco and
Ektachrome films which, because of their very poor dark fading stability in room temperature storage, have suffered
substantial image deterioration. (Since this photograph was taken in 1979, the color materials in the Look collection have
been moved to the librarys humidity-controlled cold storage facility in nearby Landover, Maryland.)
1
9
7
9
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different rates, and is exacerbated by an ever-increasing
level of yellowish stain. In addition, there is both an over-
all loss of contrast and a discoloration caused by stain that
is most objectionable in highlight and low-density areas
(see Chapter 2 for further discussion).
A further feature of dark fading versus light fading is
that a dye with good stability in the dark may be compara-
tively unstable when exposed to light. In Kodak Ektacolor
papers, for example, the magenta dye is the most stable of
the three dyes in the dark, but is the least stable in light
under typical indoor display conditions.
Improvements Have Been Made
in Dark Fading Dye Stability
In the late 1970s, the dark fading stability of both color
negative films and papers was so poor that it prompted Ed
Scully, in his column in Modern Photography magazine, to
write:
Those using color-negative material should
know that theirs isnt the most permanent color
vehicle. Its bad enough that prints [in albums]
are destroyed by leaching polyvinyl chloride,
but whats worse is that color negatives will
also deteriorate. Those moments to remem-
ber wont be able to be recaptured unless
somethings done about them now. My recom-
mendation: have reprints made from those nega-
tives you really want, wrap them for freezing in
a plastic/foil combination and put them into the
freezer. You know, thats a hell of a sad testi-
mony to our photographic technology.
4
But, as is evident in the product stability tables that
follow, significant improvement in the dark fading stability
of most types of color print materials has been made dur-
ing the past 10 years. With the introduction in 1984 of
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR (also known as Konica
Century Paper), the first of the new generation of chro-
mogenic color negative print papers, Konica achieved an
approximately five-fold increase in dark fading stability over
the Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa papers available then. Now, in
fact, for Ektacolor and Agfacolor papers, it is no longer dye
fading but rather yellowish stain formation that is the main
image stability problem when the prints are stored in the
dark. Fujicolor and Fujichrome papers utilize new types of
low-stain magenta couplers that afford them much lower
rates of stain formation in dark storage than Kodak, Agfa,
and most Konica papers.
Most (but not all) color negative and transparency ma-
terials have also been improved greatly in terms of dark
fading stability. The Kodak Gold Plus color negative films
on the market today, for example, are much more stable
than the corresponding Kodacolor films of the early 1980s.
These dye stability improvements led Klaus Gerlach of
Agfa-Gevaert to say in 1985: In terms of dye image stabil-
ity, we consider the dark fading issue as resolved; improve-
ments in light stability are in progress. With our latest
generation color paper [stored in the dark] you can still
see yourself after 200 years.
5,6
This author does not agree
with that assessment. Although you still might be able to
see yourself in 200 years if the print is stored in the dark,
you wont look very good; fading and staining of the Agfa-
color print will be substantial. But Gerlachs point was not
completely off the mark compared with color print pa-
pers available for the early 1980s and before, todays color
papers have been significantly improved.
It appears likely that further significant improvements
in dark storage dye stability and reduction in stain levels
can be achieved with chromogenic materials. Recent gains
in image stability in Fujichrome Type 35 paper for printing
transparencies and Fujicolor Super SFA3 papers for print-
ing color negatives which this author considers to be by
far the best chromogenic papers produced to date are a
major step toward the goal of low-cost chromogenic prints
that will remain essentially unchanged after 100 years of
being stored in the dark under normal conditions. But a
chromogenic print that can retain all of its original bril-
liance after 100 years of display is, at least for now, beyond
the reach of the photographic industry.
Of Kodak Ektacolor papers, for example, the current
Ektacolor Portra II, Ektacolor Supra, Ektacolor Ultra, Ek-
tacolor Edge, and Ektacolor Professional papers have only
marginally better light fading stability under normal in-
door display conditions than do prints made on Ektacolor
37 RC paper, introduced in 1971. That is more than 20
years with very little progress in light fading stability on
the part of Kodak.
In spite of significant light fading stability improvements
made by Fuji since 1986 the light fading stability of the
new Fujicolor Super SFA3 chromogenic papers is much
better than that of Kodak Ektacolor papers the chro-
mogenic process may never prove adequate for permanent
display in museums, public buildings, or homes. Alterna-
tive methods of print production (e.g., color pigment prints
made by photographic or electrophotographic means, thermal
dye transfer prints or ink jet prints with high-stability col-
orants, or prints made with an improved version of the
silver dye-bleach process) may be the only solution to the
light fading problem.
In Terms of Dark Fading Stability, the
History of Color Materials Is Not Pleasant
The extremely poor dark fading stability, combined with
very high levels of yellow-orange stain formation, of all
Kodacolor prints produced by Kodak from 1942 until the
process was improved in 1953 has resulted in a total loss of
the first great era of amateur color prints; this author does
not know of a single example of the many millions of Koda-
color prints made during this period that is still in good
condition.
For more than 30 years, from 1946 when Ektachrome
was introduced until improved Process E-6 films became
available in 19761977, the Kodak Ektachrome sheet and
roll films widely used by professional photographers had
extremely poor dark fading stability. Many museum and
commercial collections have large numbers of severely faded
Process E-1, Process E-2, and Process E-3 Ektachrome
transparencies, while most Kodachrome transparencies from
this period remain in good condition.
The combination of high temperature and high relative
humidity can be particularly devastating to some materi-
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The light fading stability of color prints is discussed in
Chapter 3. Projector-caused fading of color slides (a spe-
cific type of very rapid light fading) is covered in Chapter 6.
Recommendations for color motion picture films are given
in Chapter 9.
Test Methods to Determine Dark Fading and
Staining Characteristics of Color Materials
Accelerated test methods for color stability are discussed
in detail in Chapter 2, and the reader is advised to consult
the sections on accelerated dark fading tests in order to
better understand the comparative and predictive tests
employed to produce the data reported in this chapter.
This authors tests, reported in Table 5.5a through Table
5.9 (pages 180 through 194), are comparative tests and were
performed according to the general outline described in
ANSI PH1.42-1969, American National Standard Method
for Comparing the Color Stabilities of Photographs.
7
This
Standard, which was in effect at the time most of the tests
reported here were conducted, has been replaced with ANSI
IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Imaging Me-
dia Stability of Color Photographic Materials Method
for Measuring.
8
In the accelerated dark fading test described in ANSI
PH1.42-1969, a temperature of 140F (60C) and 70% RH
are specified. According to the Standard, This condition
is used to simulate results which occur with long-term
storage. The Standard also specifies a test at 100F (37.8C)
and 90% RH to simulate tropical storage conditions.
In this chapter, products are ranked according to the
number of days required for a 20% loss of the least stable
dye to occur from an initial density of 1.0 when the prod-
ucts are subjected to an accelerated dark storage test at
144F (62C) and 45% RH. This is a rather simplistic ap-
proach to evaluating the dark storage stability of color
materials, but the more complex color balance change and
d-min change limits used in the light fading tests in Chap-
ter 3 could not be employed here because, in the case of
this authors data, there is considerable uncertainty about
als, such as the Ansco and GAF transparency films (manu-
factured from the late 1930s until GAF abandoned the pho-
tography business in 1977) and the Agfachrome 64 and 100
films (19761983), all of which used the so-called Agfa-type
dye-forming couplers.
Prints made in the late 1970s and early 1980s on the
now-infamous Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4 have exhibited
extremely poor dark fading stability; some Agfacolor PE
Paper Type 4 portraits in this authors collection have suf-
fered more than 60% cyan dye loss in less than 4 years of
dark storage in an air-conditioned room kept at 70F (21C).
The dark fading rate of these prints is so rapid that it can
greatly exceed the rate of light fading in normal display
conditions.
Historically, the most widely used chromogenic print
materials such as Kodak Ektacolor 37 RC and 74 RC papers
have been poor in both regards; these prints are doomed to
steadily deteriorating color quality whether put on display
or kept in an album in the dark (see Figure 5.1).
Recommendations of the Best
Color Film and Print Materials
Recommendations for the most stable, longest-lasting
products in the different categories of film and print mate-
rials are given at the beginning of Chapter 1. Other than
for color negatives, which normally receive negligible light
exposure during printing and are otherwise stored in the
dark, these recommendations take into account both light
fading and dark fading stability and consider the possible
visual significance of yellowish stain formation that occurs
during long-term dark storage and/or during or after pro-
longed display of most chromogenic color materials.
The recommendations are based on this authors short-
and long-term accelerated tests, on dark fading data ob-
tained from the manufacturers (which is reported later in
this chapter), and on examination of large numbers of color
photographs of various types that have been stored and
displayed under a wide variety of normal conditions in
homes, offices, public buildings, and museums and archives.
Figure 5.1 In dark storage, the
cyan dyes in chromogenic pa-
pers traditionally have been the
least stable of the three dyes.
Cyan dye fading of three papers
stored at room temperature (75F
[24C] and 60% RH) is shown here.
Agfacolor Type 4 paper (1974
1982) had extremely poor cyan
dye stability, with 20% dye fad-
ing occurring in about 4 years
when optimally processed and
in a much shorter time with com-
mercial processing in many in-
stances. The cyan dye stability
of Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC paper
(19771986) was much better than
that of the Agfacolor paper, but
not nearly as good as that of Kon-
ica Color Type SR (1984), the
first of a new generation of color
negative papers with improved
cyan dark storage stability.
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the relative rates of dye fading and stain formation in single-
temperature tests.
With most chromogenic materials in dark storage, yel-
lowish stain formation can have a profound influence on
color balance changes. Most commonly, the stain exagger-
ates color imbalances that occur between the yellow and
cyan or magenta dyes, but sometimes the stain will help
make up for, or mask, a disproportionate loss of yellow
dye. In such a situation, a small amount of yellowish stain
can, overall, actually be visually beneficial.
To evaluate d-min stain formation, the number of days
to reach a d-min color imbalance of 0.10 during accelerated
testing, as well as the actual yellowish stain increase after
180 days (6 months) in the tests, are reported in Tables
5.5a through 5.7 (pages 180188), and in Table 5.9 (page
193). The d-min color imbalance figures are always fol-
lowed by the letters C+Y, which means that the color
imbalance occurs on the cyan/yellow axis (that is, between
red and blue densities). Note that for both the 20% dye
fading data and d-min color imbalance (C+Y) stain data,
the greater the number of days required to reach the limit,
the more stable is the product. For the 180-day d-min blue
density (yellowish stain) increase, however, the lower the
number, the more resistant to stain is the product.
Condensed versions of many of these tables were pub-
lished in the June 1990 issue of Popular Photography magazine
in a cover story by Bob Schwalberg with Carol Brower and
this author.
9
This article marked the first time that signifi-
cant, comparative stability data including dark storage
d-min stain characteristics had been reported for color
photographic products.
Both the manufacturers data and this authors data
that are presented in this chapter are best seen as a begin-
ning effort to compare the image stability of current and
past color materials. To give more meaningful evalua-
tions, Arrhenius data must be reported for the full set of
image-life parameters specified in Table 9 of ANSI IT9.9-
1990, preferably for two different relative humidity condi-
tions (e.g., 40% and 60% RH). The light-fading data pre-
sented in Chapter 3 and the projector-fading data for color
slides given in Chapter 6 are in many respects much more
complete.
Because of uncertainties in how data derived from the
single-temperature accelerated dark fading tests specified
in ANSI PH1.42-1969 and reported here relate to the ac-
tual performance of film and print materials kept under
normal storage conditions, the rankings of various prod-
ucts should be considered only approximate when they
have fairly close failure times in these accelerated tests.
When test data show wider gaps between products, there
is reasonable confidence that the more stable one will also
be the more stable during long-term storage under normal
conditions.
The closer an accelerated test temperature is to actual
storage conditions, the more reliable the product rankings
will be. The recommended temperature of 140F (60C) in
ANSI PH1.42-1969 will produce a 20% density loss of the
least stable dyes of most chromogenic products in a year
or less; a lower temperature would be better, but test peri-
ods would become prohibitively long. In this authors tests,
materials with extremely good dark fading stability, such
as Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) and Dye Transfer, have
shown negligible fading and, in the case of Ilford Ilfochrome,
no measurable staining following a full 9 years of aging at
144F (62C) one can only guess how many years it might
take to reach a 20% density loss! Visually, the Cibachrome
prints could not be differentiated from prints that had been
stored at normal room temperature for 9 years. Even when
compared side by side, no fading or color shift could be
detected, and no staining whatever occurred, front or back!
Predictive Arrhenius Tests to Evaluate
the Dark Storage Stability of Color Materials
The Arrhenius dark storage stability test, specified in
ANSI IT9.9-1990, is a complex multi-temperature test which
allows predictions to be made of the number of years re-
quired for specified amounts of dye fading, change in color
balance, and stain formation to occur when materials are
stored in the dark under normal room temperature and
relative humidity conditions (e.g., 75F [24C] and 60% RH)
or when kept at some other temperature and relative hu-
midity conditions. The Arrhenius test is described in more
detail in Chapter 2. At the time this book went to press,
this author did not yet have the temperature- and humid-
ity-controlled ovens necessary to conduct Arrhenius tests,
but he hoped to acquire the equipment during 1993.
Arrhenius data obtained from the various manufactur-
ers, listed in alphabetical order in Tables 5.10 through
5.17, are reported on pages 195 through 209. These predic-
tions are given for a 20% loss of the least stable dye when
ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Imag-
ing Media Stability of Color Photographic Images
Methods for Measuring specifies a predictive, multi-tem-
perature Arrhenius test for evaluating dark storage stabil-
ity. The Standard also specifies a number of comparative
light fading tests for different display conditions.
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the film or print material is stored at 75F (24C).
Unfortunately, with the exception of Fuji for its low-
stain Fujichrome Type 35 and Fujicolor SFA3 papers (and
Fujis earlier Type 34 and Super FA papers), the manufac-
turers did not disclose predictions for yellowish stain for-
mation, and with many of these products (e.g., Kodak Ekta-
color papers) yellowish stain formation is a more serious
image stability problem than is dye fading in dark storage.
In addition, the manufacturers did not all adopt the same
relative humidity level for their tests, and this somewhat
limits the comparability of these data.
Dye Fading versus Yellowish Stain Formation
Prior to the introduction in 1984 of Konica Color PC
Paper Type SR, with its greatly improved dark storage dye
stability, stain formation in chromogenic prints generally
had not been a major concern. Until that time, the cyan
dyes in color negative papers had such poor dark fading
stability that cyan fading, with a resulting color-balance
shift toward red, was the weakest link. Now, however, with
improvements in dye stability, stain has become a major
concern. Particularly with color prints kept in the dark,
yellowish stain formation during long-term storage is often
visually more objectionable than dye fading itself. Stain
robs color images of their sparkle and brilliance, giving
them a dull, muddy look.
The current emphasis on stain behavior in dark storage
came about in part because in the late 1970s Kodak re-
placed the final, low-pH stabilizer in the EP-3 process with
a somewhat extended wash and renamed it the EP-2 pro-
cess. EP-3 stabilizer greatly reduced the rate of stain for-
mation in Ektacolor paper in dark storage. Without this
stabilizer, Ektacolor Plus and Professional papers processed
with EP-2 chemicals and a water wash have a worse stain
problem than did the EP-3 processed Ektacolor 37 RC and
74 RC papers of the 1970s.
In a 1985 presentation entitled Dark Stability of Photo-
graphic Color Prints from the Viewpoint of Stain Forma-
tion, Kotaro Nakamura, Makoto Umemoto, Nobuo Sakai,
and Yoshio Seoka of Fuji Research Laboratories showed
that Fujicolor Process EP-2 prints subjected to a short-
term accelerated dark fading test exhibited relatively little
dye fading, but yellowish stain was quite apparent. The
Fuji researchers concluded that Arrhenius tests were valid
for predicting the rate of stain formation in normal storage
conditions. The authors stated:
In contrast to the arguments on dark fading,
especially on cyan fading, in recent years, the
importance of stain generation seems to have
been overlooked . . . . The authors think that
for extending dark storage life, the problem of
yellow stain must be solved.
10
The principal cause of yellowish stain formation in Ek-
tacolor and other types of chromogenic prints with similar
magenta dye couplers has been attributed by Robert J.
Tuite of Kodak
11
and others to discoloration of unreacted
magenta coupler; the amount of magenta coupler that re-
mains after processing is inversely proportional to the amount
of magenta dye present in an image. Kodacolor prints
from the 1940s and early 1950s now show this problem to
the extreme.
Historically, stain formation during dark storage has
been a problem with all chromogenic materials except Ko-
dachrome. (From its inception in 1935, Kodachrome has
been an external-coupler product in which the color-forming
dye couplers are placed in separate cyan, magenta, and
yellow developer solutions, instead of being anchored in
the film emulsion itself. After processing and washing, no
unreacted couplers remain in Kodachrome; for this reason
the film remains completely free of stain, even after pro-
longed storage under adverse conditions.)
Advances have been made, however, and Fujicolor SFA3
and Fujichrome Type 35 papers exhibit markedly reduced
levels of stain during aging compared with color papers
made by Kodak and Agfa. Most color papers made by
Konica still exhibit high stain levels in dark storage; how-
ever, in 1990, Konica introduced Konica Color QA Paper
Type A5 in Japan, which, like the improved Fuji papers,
has significantly reduced rates of yellowish stain forma-
tion.
12
In 1990, Fuji included an Arrhenius projection for dark
storage stain formation in a technical brochure for its new
Process RA-4 compatible Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type
II,
13
and a similar graph for the improved Fujicolor SFA3
papers introduced in 1992 is reproduced here as Figure
5.2. Fuji also has published similar data for Fujichrome
Paper Type 34 and Type 35 papers.
14
Fuji is to be praised for publishing this information
the first time a manufacturer has provided such data. The
graph shows that, if one were to adopt the stain/color bal-
ance limit of 0.1 proposed by this author (see Chapter 2),
the stain limit for Fujicolor SFA3 paper would be reached
after approximately 45 years of storage at moderate hu-
midity levels, compared with over 100 years for the 20%
dye fading limit to occur; in this case cyan is the least
stable dye.
Figure 5.3 shows the reduction in yellowish stain achieved
in Konica Color QA Paper Type A5, introduced in Japanese
markets in 1990, when compared with Konica Color QA
Paper Type A2. (With respect to stain, Konica Type A3
paper is similar to Konica Type A2 paper.)
As part of his long-term testing program, this author
periodically measures the fading and staining of color pa-
per samples kept in the dark under normal room tempera-
ture storage conditions of 75F (24C) and 60% RH. That
most color papers do indeed develop significant levels of
yellowish stain in normal, non-accelerated storage is clearly
evident in Figure 5.4. Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Profes-
sional papers and Agfacolor Type 8 paper (all EP-2 papers)
had reached this authors critical Museum and Archive
limit in less than 4 years. This authors more tolerant
Home and Commercial d-min color imbalance limit for
these papers will probably be reached in less than 15 years.
Figure 5.5 shows the yellowish stain increase for a number
of RA-4 color papers in this authors single-temperature
accelerated test at 45% RH. The superiority of the low-
stain Fujicolor Super FA papers is clearly evident in this
comparison.
In all cases with chromogenic papers, high relative hu-
midity in the storage environment significantly increases
the rates of yellowish stain formation (see Figure 5.6).
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As shown in Figure 5.7, yellowish stain formation in
dark storage usually has a pronounced effect on perceived
color balance; the effect is visually most apparent in low-
density areas of an image (e.g., at densities below 0.5).
Although dye stability Tables 5.5a through 5.7 and Table
5.9 include stain-formation data, insufficient information is
available to use these data with any assurance as part of
the ranking of products given in this book. Likewise, evalu-
ation of color imbalances could not be done. At this stage,
it is simply not possible to evaluate color prints and trans-
parencies for dark fading and staining with the full set of
image-quality criteria used to rank color prints for light
fading stability in Chapter 3. For the same reason (with
the exception of the data published by Fuji for Fujicolor
SFA3 papers and Fujichrome Type 35 papers), the absence
of Arrhenius stain data from Kodak, Agfa, Konica, and 3M
has precluded stain growth and color imbalance as major
considerations in evaluating Arrhenius storage-life predic-
tions by these companies.
What information is available, however, strongly sug-
Figure 5.3 An Arrhenius plot for Konica Color QA Paper
Type A5 (QA A5 paper) showing both dye fading and d-
min yellowish stain formation. Predictions are given for
storage in the dark at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Com-
pared with Konica Type A2 and Type A3 papers (QA A2
and QA A3), the rate of yellowish stain formation has
been considerably reduced. Type A5 paper, which was
introduced in Japanese markets in 1990, is the first Kon-
ica paper to utilize a low-stain magenta coupler. (Kon-
ica data from: The Development of Konica QA Paper
Type A5, Konica Technical Report, Vol. 5, January 1992,
pp. 2529. Reproduced with permission.)
Figure 5.4 Yellowish stain
formation in room-tempera-
ture dark storage (75F
[24C] and 60% RH) was
significantly reduced in
Fujicolor Paper Type 12,
introduced in 1985, and
available primarily in Japa-
nese markets. This was
the first color negative pa-
per to employ improved,
low-stain magenta dye
couplers. Long-term,
room-temperature data are
not yet available for Fuji-
color SFA3 papers intro-
duced in 1992, but accel-
erated aging data indicate
that the rates of stain for-
mation are as low or lower
for these papers.
Figure 5.2 An Arrhenius plot for Fujicolor Paper Super
FA Type 3 (one of Fujis SFA3 papers), introduced in
1992, showing both dye fading and d-min yellowish stain
formation. Predictions are given for storage in the dark
at 77F (25C) and 70% RH and in very dry (<10% RH)
conditions. Both stain formation and dye fading, espe-
cially yellow dye fading, are significantly increased by
high relative humidity. Fujicolor SFA3 papers and Fuji-
chrome Type 34 and 35 papers employ new types of
low-stain magenta dye couplers, and these products
have much lower stain levels in dark storage than com-
peting papers made by Kodak and Agfa. (Fuji data from:
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3, Fuji Publication No.
AF3723E, January 1992. Reproduced with permission.)
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drawback is that low-pH stabilizers such as EP-3, which
are effective in reducing dark-storage stain (see Table 5.1),
also tend to reduce the light fading stability of the yellow
dye in chromogenic color papers (see Chapter 2).
EP-3 stabilizer should NOT be used on Ektacolor
Plus or other current papers; to do so may have an
adverse effect on dark and/or light fading stability, par-
ticularly of the yellow dye. Only stabilizers specifically
recommended by a paper or film manufacturer for its
particular products should be used. For example, do
not use Konica Super Stabilizer with Ektacolor papers.
At present, EP-2 or RA-4 process-compatibility does
not extend to washless stabilizers.
Figure 5.6 Stain formation of six Process EP-2 compat-
ible papers in an accelerated dark aging test at 144F
(62C). Data are given for 45% RH and 76% RH. The
superiority of Fujicolor Paper Type 12 (1985) processed
with a water wash is readily apparent. This paper em-
ploys a low-stain magenta coupler and was the first
Fuji paper to incorporate this major improvement.
Figure 5.5 A comparison of yellowish stain formation in
four Process RA-4 compatible papers in an accelerated
dark storage test conducted at 144F (62C) and 45% RH.
All of the papers were processed with the manufacturers
chemicals in washless minilabs using a stabilizer as the
final rinse. The substantial reduction of yellowish stain in
Fujicolor Super FA and SFA3 papers is one benefit of the
new low-stain magenta coupler employed by Fuji in the
new papers. In addition to reducing stain, the new cou-
pler produces magenta dye with better color purity and
far better light fading stability than the magenta dye in
Kodak Ektacolor and other color negative papers.
Figure 5.7 Color balance changes in chromogenic pa-
pers result from a combination of image dye fading and
yellowish stain formation. As shown in this accelerated
aging test at 144F (62C) and 45% RH, the effect of stain
on Ektacolor 2001 Paper (198691) is most pronounced
at low densities and in d-min areas (Ektacolor Portra II
and other Ektacolor papers have similar stain character-
istics). With typical pictorial scenes, a density of about
0.6 (about 0.5 above d-min) is the most critical in terms of
color balance changes.
gests that many of the predictions of dark storage print life
published by Kodak and other manufacturers that have
omitted yellowish stain behavior, both in and of itself and
with respect to the influence of stain on color balance changes,
are too optimistic.
Kodak certainly recognizes that clear, bright whites
are an important aspect of print quality. In a 1992 adver-
tisement for Ektacolor Edge paper that appeared in Photo-
graphic Processing magazine and other trade publications,
Kodak said:
15
When it comes to building your business,
new Kodak Ektacolor Edge paper delivers cut-
ting-edge advantages. It features a new, larger
backprint for greater brand identity, plus sharp
color and whiter whites created by improved,
fresh D-min characteristics.
Like other advertisements for Ektacolor and Ektachrome
papers, nothing was said about the d-min staining charac-
teristics of the papers during storage and display.
Two methods can help reduce stain in chromogenic ma-
terials. One approach is to do what is done in washless
minilabs and add a stain-reducing stabilizer to the stan-
dard water-wash EP-2 and RA-4 processes in other words,
return to EP-3 (with a new stabilizer designed specifically
for current papers). The third processing bath would cost
little and would probably reduce water consumption, but
this approach has a major drawback in that current water-
wash processors would have to be modified to accommo-
date the stabilizer bath, and processing time would be in-
creased.
It is unlikely that most large photofinishers and custom
processing labs would readily make this change. A further
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Figure 5.8 Processing shortcomings can have an ad-
verse effect on dye stability and on rates of yellowish
stain formation. In this example, the cyan dye in Kodak
Vericolor 400 (a Process C-41 color negative film) had
much worse stability when the film was processed by a
leading commercial and portrait lab located in the south-
western U.S. than the same film did when processed by
the Qualex Kodalux lab in Findley, Ohio.
Agfa, and Konica. What effects processing chemicals from
these outside suppliers might have on long-term image
stability are not known. Some suppliers, in an effort to
shorten processing times or reduce the number of pro-
cessing steps, have substituted color developing agents,
eliminated stabilizer baths in the C-41 and E-6 processes,
and taken other shortcuts that adversely affect stability.
For predictable results, it is recommended that only chemicals
from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, and Konica be used. Processing
recommendations, replenishment rates, wash flow, and tem-
perature specifications should be followed to the letter.
Most labs try to retain tight control on color developer
activity that is, to reduce any process deviation result-
ing in image-quality losses that can be visually assessed
immediately after processing. But other processing prob-
lems, such as too-diluted (or omitted) C-41 or E-6 stabilizer
baths, excess bleach-fix carryover, or inadequate washing,
may not manifest themselves until months or years later.
The photograph studio at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City discovered rapid and irregular ma-
genta dye fading in a large number of Ektachrome trans-
parencies processed by an outside lab in New York be-
tween 1982 and 1987.
21
The transparencies, most of which
were in the 8x10-inch format, were of paintings, sculptures,
and other artifacts in the museums collections and had
looked perfect when they were received from the lab. (The
Metropolitans photograph studio is a large operation that
produces between 3,000 and 5,000 large-format color trans-
parencies a year.) Many other Ektachromes from the same
period have not faded prematurely, and none processed
before 1982 exhibit the problem; all were stored in the dark
under the same conditions.
After investigation, the cause of the premature and ir-
regular fading and streaking was attributed to low solution
level in the E-6 stabilizer tank in the processor or, possibly
in some cases, omission of the stabilizer altogether.
In an attempt to represent the real world of good-qual-
The second approach to reducing yellowish stain is to
employ new types of low-stain magenta couplers, as Fuji
has done with Fujicolor SFA3 color negative papers and
Fujichrome Type 35 reversal papers.
16
(As mentioned ear-
lier, unreacted magenta couplers that remain in a chro-
mogenic paper after processing are the principal source of
yellowish stain that forms over time.)
Fujicolor Paper Type 12, introduced in 1985, primarily
in Japanese markets, and Fujichrome Paper Type 34, in-
troduced in 1986, were the first chromogenic papers to
employ low-stain magenta couplers.
17
Konica has also uti-
lized a low-stain magenta coupler in Konica Color QA Pa-
per Type A5, introduced in Japan in 1990. This is really the
only satisfactory solution to the stain problem because the
Fujicolor, Fujichrome, and Konica Color papers either may
be given a water wash following processing or may be treated
with a washless stabilizer as a final rinse, as is now
usually the case in minilabs. Furthermore, the reduction
in stain levels afforded by the new low-stain magenta cou-
plers is significantly greater than that of papers with con-
ventional magenta couplers processed with EP-3 stabilizer
or a similar, low-pH stabilizer.
The coupler technology, dye stability, reduction in stain
level, and improvements in color reproduction in Fujicolor
Super FA papers have been described in a 1990 paper en-
titled New Type Color Print Paper with an Improved Color
Saturation and Dye Image Stability Fujicolor Paper Su-
per FA, by O. Takahashi, T. Sato, K. Hasebe, N. Furutachi,
and T. Ogawa,
18
and in a 1992 paper entitled New Type
Color Paper with Exceptional Dye Image Stability Fuji-
color Paper Super FA Type 3,
19
by Tadahisa Sato, Masakazu
Morigaki, and Osamu Takahashi.
The low-stain coupler technology and other improve-
ments in Konica Type A5 paper have been described by
Makoto Kajiwara, Toyoki Nishijima, and Noboru Mizukura
in a report entitled The Development of Konica QA Paper
Type A5, published by Konica in 1992.
20
The magenta dyes produced by the new magenta dye-
forming couplers in current Fujicolor SFA3 papers for printing
color negatives (and Fujichrome Type 35 papers for color
transparencies) have significantly better light fading sta-
bility and also have better reproduction of reds, purples,
pinks, and blues than do the older types of magenta dyes
found in Ektacolor, Ektachrome, and most other papers.
Processing of Test Samples
When Kodak, Fuji, and other manufacturers test their
products, they use samples that have received optimum
processing and thorough washing under carefully controlled
laboratory conditions. This is done to show the products to
their best advantage and to ensure that tests will be re-
peatable over time (that is, to eliminate processing varia-
tions as a consideration).
In the real world of replenished processing lines, hur-
ried lab schedules, and efforts to keep chemical and water
costs to a minimum, things frequently do not turn out so well.
In some cases, as shown in Figure 5.8, processing short-
comings can have disastrous effects on image stability.
In recent years, a number of companies have entered
the photographic processing chemicals market, generally
supplying chemicals at lower cost than do Kodak, Fuji,
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Clearly the best of the current RA-4 papers are the Fuji-
color SFA3 papers introduced in 1992. Of special impor-
tance to portrait and wedding labs is Fujicolor SFA3 Pro-
fessional Portrait Paper (tentative name), which Fuji planned
to make available in the U.S. during 1993. The light fading
stability of the Fujicolor papers are unsurpassed among
color negative papers, and the resistance of the papers to
dark fading and dark storage yellowish stain formation is
equalled only by Konica Color QA Paper Type A5.
But unlike Konica Type A5 paper and most of the other
color papers tested by this author, the rates of dye fading
and yellowish stain formation of the Fujicolor SFA3 papers
in dark storage were almost identical when the prints were
given a water wash or when they were treated with the
recommended stabilizer in a washless process.
In this authors dark fading tests, the overall dye stabil-
ity of Kodak Ektacolor Portra II Paper was better than that
of other current Ektacolor papers and the previous Portra
paper (in the single-temperature, 45% RH tests, the yellow
dye and the previously less stable cyan dye had almost
identical stability). Unfortunately, however, Portra II proved
to have the same unacceptably high rates of yellowish stain
formation in dark storage found in Portra and other Ekta-
color papers. In addition, the poor light fading stability of
Portra II paper remains unchanged and is no match for the
much longer lasting Fujicolor SFA3 papers.
Current Process EP-2 compatible color negative papers
are listed in Table 5.5b (page 181), with obsolete products
listed in Table 5.5c (page 183). A comparison of the pre-
1984 materials in Table 5.5c with current materials clearly
shows the dramatic improvements in dye stability in most
products that began with the introduction in 1984 of Konica
Color PC Paper Type SR (also called Konica Century Pa-
per). A Konica ad for the new paper appearing in Profes-
sional Photographer magazine read in part:
Prints made on paper currently available will
fade, and badly, over a relatively few years. Not
so with color prints made on Konica SR Paper.
The rich color and details in these pictures will
show virtually no signs of fading in 100 years.
Our advanced emulsion technology enhances
dye stability. In fact, accelerated aging tests
show that dye images will retain more than
70% of their original density for 100 years or
longer under normal album storage conditions.
24
A few months after the introduction of Konica Type SR
paper, Kodak followed with Ektacolor Plus Paper, a similar
EP-2 product having a cyan dye with improved stability.
Konica Type SR paper is even better when processed in
the washless mode with Konica washless stabilizer; stain
levels are greatly reduced with the stabilizer. Type SR
paper is superior to Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Professional
papers in both dark fading and light fading, and for this
reason it is the recommended EP-2 product.
When Ektacolor Plus paper is processed in KIS Ultra X
Press chemicals, substituting CD-4 developing agent for
the normal CD-3 developing agent to increase the speed of
processing, a significant reduction in both light and dark
fading stability occurs; for this reason the KIS process should
be avoided.
ity, replenished-line processing, all C-41 color negative films,
E-6 transparency films, and Kodachrome films in this authors
testing program were processed by the Kodalux Process-
ing Services of Qualex, Inc. (see Chapter 2). Eastman
Kodak owns almost half of Qualex (the former Kodak Pro-
cessing Laboratories are now part of Qualex), and Kodak
chemicals are used exclusively. Because of Kodaks close
involvement with Qualex, it was assumed that the labs pay
careful attention to process control, and the consistency of
stability data obtained from the same type of film processed
at different times by Kodalux suggests that this is, at least
for the most part, true.
In order to obtain closely matched pictorial prints for
reproduction in this book, for use in articles,
22
and for cor-
responding Macbeth ColorChecker test samples for acquiring
densitometer data, EP-2 and R-3 papers were processed by
this author with Kodak chemicals and a Kodak Rapid Color
Processor Model 11 fitted with a precise electronic tem-
perature regulator (see Chapter 2). Each test print was
made with fresh chemicals (Kodak Ektaprint EP-2 Stop
Bath was included between the developer and bleach-fix),
and the prints were properly washed.
Processed Cibachrome samples were furnished by Il-
ford in Switzerland, and additional samples were processed
by this author. Kodak Dye Transfer prints were made in
several different New York City labs. Fuji Dyecolor prints
were supplied by Fuji. UltraStable Permanent Color prints
and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints were supplied by
Charles Berger, the inventor of both processes.
Konica, Fuji, and Agfa RA-4 compatible paper samples
were processed under carefully controlled conditions by
their respective manufacturers from test negatives fur-
nished by this author. In most cases, prints processed
with a water wash and duplicate prints processed with the
particular manufacturers washless stabilizer were sup-
plied. Kodak declined to furnish samples of processed
Ektacolor RA-4 prints, so prints made with Ektacolor Por-
tra, Portra II, and Supra papers were obtained from sev-
eral leading commercial labs. In addition, samples of Ek-
tacolor 2001 paper were obtained from a number of 1-hour
labs using Kodak minilabs and Kodak RA-4 chemicals.
Exactly what constitutes typical or normal process-
ing cannot be answered at this time. Also unknown is how
the stability of each of the vast number of different film and
print materials on the market is affected by different types
of processing chemicals and by process deviations (some
are obviously more sensitive to improper processing than
are others). Both cyan dye stability and yellowish stain
formation during dark storage appear to be particularly
affected by processing and washing conditions. A sobering
study in this regard was presented in 1986 by Ubbo T.
Wernicke of Agfa-Gevaert, entitled Impact of Modern High-
Speed and Washless Processing on the Dye Stability of
Different Colour Papers.
23
Dark Fading and Staining of
Color Negative Print Papers
In terms of market share, chromogenic papers for print-
ing color negatives are by far the most significant type of
color print material. Current Process RA-4 compatible
color negative papers are listed in Table 5.5a (page 180).
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Table 5.1 Comparison of Plain Water Wash and Final
Treatment in Kodak Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer on
the Dark Fading and Staining Behaviors of
Selected Process EP-2 Compatible Papers
Accelerated Dark Fading Tests at 144F (62C) and 45% RH
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S. and/
or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had either been discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Initial
neutral density of 1.0 with
1
2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] 370 (C) 365 (C)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 ML >500 (M) >500 (M)
355 (Y) +0.11Y 170 (Y) +0.07Y
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 300 (C) 365 (C)
Konica Color Paper Professional >500 (M) >500 (M)
Type EX >500 (Y) +0.13Y >500 (Y) +0.07Y
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER
Type 6000 Super
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER
Type 8000 Pro
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper 230 (C) 260 (C)
Kodak Ektacolor Prof. Paper >500 (M) 500 (M)
>480 (Y) +0.12Y 140 (Y) +0.07Y
Fujicolor Paper Type 02 155 (C) 230 (C)
Fujicolor Professional Paper >500 (M) >500 (M)
Type 01-P >500 (Y) +0.14Y 175 (Y) +0.07Y
Fujicolor Paper Type 12 130 (C) 180 (C)
Fujicolor Minilab Paper >500 (M) >500 (M)
>500 (Y) +0.07Y 190 (Y) +0.04Y
Fujicolor Paper Type 8908 55 (C) +0.23Y 115 (C) +0.06Y
Konica Color (Sakuracolor) 50 (C) +0.14Y 95 (C) +0.08Y
PC Paper SIII
Kodak Ektacolor 74 36 (C) +0.11Y 60 (C) +0.09Y
RC Paper Type 2524
Kodak Ektacolor 78
Paper Type 2524
Kodak Ektacolor 37 31 (C) +0.16Y 52 (C) +0.10Y
RC Paper Type 2261
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper 27 (C) +0.14Y 52 (C) +0.08Y
Final Treatment in
Kodak Ektaprint 3
Plain Water Wash Stabilizer
Stain Stain
Days for Increase Days for Increase
20% Loss of After 20% Loss of After
Type of Color Print Paper Image Dye 90 Days Image Dye 90 Days
The Effects of Low-pH EP-3
Stabilizer on the Dark Fading
Stability of Process EP-2 Prints
In a series of experiments to deter-
mine the effects on dark storage stability
of a generic low-pH stabilizer, this au-
thor treated various papers with the now-
obsolete Kodak Ektaprint EP-3 stabilizer
after washing. The results of these tests
are shown in Table 5.1. The stabilizer
increased cyan dye stability and at the
same time reduced stain levels in all of
the older papers; with current papers, how-
ever, all products except Konica Type SR
paper suffered a marked reduction in yel-
low dye stability. Konica Type SR paper
showed an even greater reduction in stain
when processed with Konica Super Sta-
bilizer (see Figure 5.9). With the excep-
tion of Type SR paper, all of the EP-2
papers tested including Ektacolor Plus
and Ektacolor Professional papers also
exhibited significantly increased yellow
dye fading in low-level, long-term light
fading tests.
Stability of Papers for
Printing Color Transparencies
Most of the products listed in Table
5.6 (page 185) are intended for printing
from color transparencies; the Polaroid
Permanent-Color , UltraStable Permanent
Color, and EverColor pigment color pro-
cesses along with the Kodak Dye Trans-
fer process can also be used to make prints
from color negatives or to make copies of
existing prints. When compared with even
the best of the chromogenic papers, the
dark storage superiority of the preformed-
dye systems, as exemplified by Ilfochrome
(called Cibachrome, 1963-91), is clearly
evident in this table and in Table 5.12
(page 193). The preformed-dye products
have extremely good dark fading stabil-
ity and develop little or no stain. A com-
parison between Ilfochrome and Kodak
Ektachrome Copy Paper (introduced in
1984 and still on the market at the time
this book went to press in 1992) and the
initial version of Ektachrome 22 Paper
(198491) is a study in extremes.
Among the Process R-3 compatible pa-
pers, the Fujichrome Type 35 papers are
clearly the longest lasting, both in terms
of dye stability and resistance to stain
formation. The Fujichrome papers are
greatly superior to Kodaks Ektachrome
Radiance and Radiance Select papers.
Fujichrome Type 35 paper was intro-
duced in 1992 as a replacement for Type
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Table 5.2 Stain Formation in Polaroid Spectra Prints
and Other Polaroid Integral Instant Color
Prints Stored in the Dark at Normal Room
Temperature and Relative Humidity Conditions
Initial Densitometry: 24 Hours After Processing
Test Duration of Up to 10 Years (3,650 Days)
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the
U.S. and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992.
Days to Reach Years to Reach
Museum Commercial
d-min Color d-min Color
Type of Print Imbalance Limit Imbalance Limit
Polaroid Spectra Prints (198691) 16 (C+Y) 3.0 (C+Y)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints (1988)
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints 12 (C+Y) 0.3 (C+Y)
Polaroid 600 High Speed Prints (198088)
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Film (1979) 32 (C+Y) 0.4 (C+Y)
Polaroid SX-70 Film [improved] (197679) 31 (C+Y) >10.0 (C+Y)
34 paper. There was not enough time to
complete tests on the new Type 35 paper
before this book went to press. How-
ever, Fuji has informed this author that
the dye stability and resistance to yel-
lowish stain of Type 34 and Type 35 pa-
pers are identical (the improvements in
Type 35 paper had to do with color and
tone reproduction, and did not affect im-
age stability). For this reason, the data
given for Type 34 and Type 35 papers in
Table 5.6 are identical.
When this book went to press in 1992,
Ektachrome Copy Paper still employed
one of the pre-1984 types of highly un-
stable cyan dyes that does not approach
the stability of the cyan dye in Fujichrome
Type 34 and Type 35 papers.
Instant Color Prints and Thermal
Dye Transfer, Ink Jet, and Other
Print Processes for Digitized and
Computer-Generated Images
As shown in Table 5.7 (page 187), the
dyes in Polaroid instant prints are ex-
tremely stable in dark storage. However,
when discussing the stability of Polaroid
SX-70, Spectra, and Polaroid 600 Plus
prints, dark storage dye stability is only
part of the story. The problem with these
prints is that in dark storage at normal
temperatures they develop an objection-
able overall yellowish stain in a relatively short time. In
non-accelerated, real-time tests, the stain levels exceeded
this authors limits in only a few years (see Table 5.2 and
Figure 5.10). The stain is produced by slow migration of
non-image dyes and/or other chemical constituents resid-
ing in the lower layers of the tightly sealed Polaroid print
package.
Figure 5.9 Yellowish stain formation in Konica Color PC
Paper Type SR prints is similar when they are processed
with Kodak EP-3 Stabilizer or with Konica Super Stabi-
lizer. In common with other Process EP-2 compatible
papers, Type SR paper has a significantly higher stain
rate when a final water wash is employed in place of a
low-pH stabilizer.
In 1991, Polaroid introduced a sharper and finer-grain
Spectra film called Spectra High Definition film (Spectra
HD film); however, a company official informed this author
that the new film was not markedly improved in terms of
its tendency to form yellowish stain in dark storage.
In 1992, Polaroid introduced the Vision 95 system in
Europe, a smaller format camera and film employing an
improved version of the Spectra HD print emulsion. In
1993, Vision 95 cameras and film will be introduced in the
United States and other parts of the world under different
names. A Polaroid spokesman told this author that Vision
95 film has somewhat reduced rates of yellowish staining
in dark storage; however, specific stain data for Vision 95
prints were not available from Polaroid or independent
laboratories at the time this book went to press.
Polaroid Spectra and Polaroid 600 Plus prints have poor
light fading stability. When displayed, these prints fade
significantly faster than typical chromogenic papers. Pola-
roid color prints have no usable negative (like daguerreo-
types, each exposure produces a unique image). If impor-
tant pictures have been made on these materials, the best
policy is to make two copies on a more stable print mate-
rial. (Polaroid itself offers good-quality copies made on chro-
mogenic paper at reasonable cost.) One of these copies
should be kept in the dark and the other may be displayed.
Polaroid peel-apart prints (e.g., Polacolor ER and Pola-
color 2) last much longer in dark storage than Spectra and
other Polaroid integral prints because the negative layer
with its unused image-forming dyes and other chemicals is
T
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Figure 5.10 Polaroid Spectra
and other Polaroid integral in-
stant color films develop sig-
nificant yellowish stain during
normal, room-temperature stor-
age at 75F (62C) and 60% RH.
Earlier Polaroid SX-70 [improved
type] prints exhibited much lower
stain levels. The sharper and
finer-grain Spectra HD film in-
troduced in 1991 is reported by
Polaroid to have yellowish stain
characteristics that are similar
to the earlier Spectra film.
Figure 5.11 Polaroid Polacolor
2 and Polacolor ER peel-apart
prints have generally better stain
characteristics than Polaroid in-
tegral prints. With Polacolor 2
prints, higher levels of stain oc-
curred at higher image densi-
ties (e.g., 1.0) than at d-min,
and this resulted in a yellowish
color-balance shift that was
readily visible.
stripped away after processing (see Figure 5.11). Pola-
color 2 prints, however, may exhibit pronounced color bal-
ance shifts in higher density areas of the image, despite
relatively little change at d-min.
Polacolor ER and Polacolor 2 peel-apart prints have
poor light fading stability and should be displayed with
caution. Copies should be made for long-term display.
Kodak Ektatherm thermal dye transfer prints did not do
well in these dark fading tests. When the Kodak Photo CD
system was commercially introduced in the summer of 1992,
Ektatherm prints were the only type of print initially avail-
able for reproducing images from Kodak Photo CDs. The
Photo CD Index Print supplied with each Kodak Photo CD
as a contact sheet for visual reference to the images
recorded on the Photo CD was also an Ektatherm print.
Kodak declined to supply Arrhenius data for Ektatherm
prints, and it is not known whether these prints undergo
abnormally rapid image deterioration when subjected to
high-temperature accelerated tests. There is concern that
when thermal dye transfer materials are subjected to sus-
tained temperatures above a certain point, the image dyes
may migrate or undergo physical changes within the struc-
ture of the print in a manner that will never occur at more
moderate temperatures.
Preliminary tests with high-resolution color ink jet prints
made with ink sets supplied by Iris Graphics, Inc. and Stork
Bedford B.V. indicate that the prints have extremely good
dark storage stability with no tendency to form yellowish
stain if they are made on stable support materials. How-
ever, as discussed in Chapter 3, the light fading stability of
the ink sets supplied by these two manufacturers at the
time this book went to press in 1992 was very poor.
One reassuring finding of this authors research is that
the inks used in ordinary 4-color offset magazine and book
printing are extremely stable in dark storage (in spite of
the fact that the light fading stability of most magenta and
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Among Process E-6 films, Fujichrome and Ektachrome
had generally similar overall dark storage stability in these
tests. Both types of film developed relatively high levels of
yellowish stain, and it is stain, not dye stability, that is the
most significant image stability problem with these and
other E-6 films. It is expected that in the future, low-
stain magenta couplers related to those presently em-
ployed in Fujicolor and Fujichrome papers will be utilized
in Process E-6 color transparency films. Such an improve-
ment would greatly reduce yellowish stain formation in
dark storage and would substantially increase the useful
dark storage life of both Fujichrome and Ektachrome films.
It should be noted that in Arrhenius test data made
available to this author by Eastman Kodak (see Table 5.13),
the more recent Group II Ektachrome films, including
Ektachrome 64T and 320T films, Plus, HC, and X
films, have much improved yellow dye stability compared
with the older Group I types of E-6 Ektachrome. In fact,
in Kodaks Arrhenius tests, the improved Ektachrome films
have somewhat better dye stability than Kodachrome film!
However, Kodak did not supply stain data for either the
new or older Ektachrome films, and it is likely that by the
time the least stable dye fades 20%, the films will have
developed a very high stain level.
With twice the projector-fading stability of either the
new or older Ektachrome films, Fujichrome has the best
projector-fading stability of any color slide film (see Chap-
ter 6). For this reason, Fujichrome is this authors primary
recommendation among color slide films.
The very poor stability of the Kodak Process E-3 Profes-
sional Ektachrome films was one of the most dishearten-
ing findings of this authors tests. These films were in wide
use among professional advertising and fashion photogra-
phers throughout the 1960s and up until the films were
replaced by Process E-6 Ektachrome films in 19761977.
The E-3 films had far worse stability than their amateur
Process E-4 Ektachrome counterparts, a fact that Kodak
withheld from photographers during the period these films
were being marketed. Most photographers were equally
unaware of the greatly superior dark fading stability of
Kodachrome film over any of the Ektachrome films avail-
able during this period.
Color Microfilm
The extraordinary dye stability and total freedom from
yellowish stain of Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic Film (for-
merly Cibachrome Micrographic Film) during long-term
accelerated tests are shown at the end of Table 5.9 (page
194) and in Figures 5.12 and 5.13. Ilfochrome is made with
a polyester base that is far more stable than the cellulose
triacetate base used with most other color films. This
author believes that when stored under typical museum
and archive conditions, Ilfochrome Micrographic Film will
likely outlast the silver images of conventionally processed
black-and-white microfilms.
Accelerated test data as well as examination of histori-
cal silver dye-bleach color prints strongly suggest that the
dye images of Ilfochrome Micrographic Film are much more
resistant to the effects of peroxides and other airborne
contaminants than are the very fine-grain silver images of
black-and-white microfilms.
yellow inks is very poor). Color images printed on good-
quality paper will in most cases far outlast the photographic
originals from which they were made. Most modern alka-
line-buffered coated book papers are reasonably stable,
and are fairly resistant to yellowing with age.
Stability of Color Negatives
As shown in Tables 5.8a (page 189) and 5.8b (page 191),
the dark fading stability of most color negative films has
been substantially improved in the last 10 years. (In gen-
eral, light fading is not a relevant factor with color nega-
tives; light exposure in the enlarger is insignificant, even
when making many prints from a negative.) As a group,
the Kodak and Konica 400-speed and faster films, together
with Kodak Vericolor III film and Fujicolor Super HG, HG
400, and Super G films rated the best in these tests.
Numerous considerations go into making a choice about
which film is best for a particular job, and a photographer
may decide to select a less stable film to gain some other
advantage. Fujicolor Reala, which has excellent color and
tone reproduction and gives exceptionally good results with
difficult-to-photograph fluorescent illumination, is a case
in point. Although photographers may choose a somewhat
less stable color negative film such as Reala, the very worst
products, such as Kodak Vericolor II Professional Film
Type L, Vericolor Internegative Film 6011, and Agfacolor
XRS 1000 Professional Film, should be strictly avoided.
Because color negatives are not viewed directly, but
rather are used to make prints, analysis of color negative
fading (and the ramifications of d-min stain or density losses)
in the future will be based on the effects they have when
printed. A certain amount of negative density loss and
color imbalance can be satisfactorily adjusted for during
printing, but more severe negative deterioration cannot.
Historically, both still camera and motion picture color
negative films have had particularly poor dark fading sta-
bility the logic being, one might suppose, that most color
negatives are printed soon after processing so that fading
of the negative in later years will not matter in most cases.
The introduction of Kodacolor HR Disc Film in 1982 (soon
followed by Kodak Vericolor III Professional Film) signaled
a major advance in the stability of color negatives: the disc
film had a new cyan dye-forming coupler, which produced
a cyan dye of greatly increased stability. Improved-stabil-
ity cyan dyes, combined with improved yellow dyes, have
now been incorporated into most Kodak color negative
films, both still and motion picture. Poor-stability Kodak
color negative films, which have not yet been replaced with
improved products, include Vericolor II Professional Film
Type L and Vericolor Internegative Film.
Stability of Color Transparencies
The comparative dark storage stability of color trans-
parency films is given in Table 5.9 (page 193). Kodachrome
clearly is the most stable transparency film in dark stor-
age; the film is especially outstanding in terms of its total
freedom from yellowish stain, even after extended aging.
In spite of Kodachromes unequaled dark storage stability,
it has the worst projector-fading stability of any slide film
on the market.
Figure 5.12 As shown
in this accelerated aging test at 144F (62C) and 45% RH,
Ilford Ilfochrome (formerly Cibachrome) Micrographic Film
has extremely good dark storage stability compared with
that of Kodachrome film, Ektachrome film, and Eastman
5384 color print film. Ilfochrome Micrographic Film, which
is made with an extremely long-lasting polyester base, is
probably more stable in typical storage conditions than
conventionally processed black-and-white microfilm with
silver images.
Figure 5.13 Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) Micrographic
Film developed negligible yellowish stain in a test at
144F (62C) and 45% RH. Kodachrome film, an external-
coupler chromogenic film, had no stain formation during
the test, but the cellulose triacetate base of the Koda-
chrome disintegrated after 3 years in the test.
Manufacturers Arrhenius Predictions for
a 20% Dye Loss (Fading) in Color Materials
In August 1980, after considerable pressure from influ-
ential movie directors and professional portrait and wed-
ding photographers, Kodak announced that the company
would begin to publish stability data for its products. A
compilation of these and other Kodak data
25
is given in
Table 5.13, which begins on page 201. Unpublished Kodak
data for earlier products are given in Table 5.14 (page
204). Similar tables and data from the other manufactur-
ers, listed in alphabetical order in Tables 5.10 through
5.17, which can be found on pages 195 through 209.
Kodak has also published estimates of the effect of stor-
age temperature on dye fading rates (see Table 5.3), based
on data from typical Kodak products, and these estimates
can be used to calculate approximate storage times for
temperatures other than the 75F (24C) used in Tables
5.13 and 5.14. The effect of relative humidity on the fading
rates of certain humidity-sensitive yellow chromogenic dyes
is given in Table 5.4. The estimates in Tables 5.3 and 5.4
can also be applied in a general way to other manufactur-
ers color film and print materials.
With recent color negative films, Kodak has chosen to
list films in image stability categories, and to give pre-
dictions of dark storage stability in terms of a range of
years that will encompass all of the films in a certain cat-
egory, rather than give dark storage predictions for each
type of film separately. For example, Kodak Vericolor III,
Vericolor 400, Ektapress Gold 400, Kodak Gold 400, and
Ektar 1000 film are all included in a category of films that
Kodak predicts will last from 38 to 65 years before suffer-
ing a 20% loss of the least stable image dye when kept in
dark storage at 75F (24C) and 40% RH. This does not
mean that a specific film will last from 38 to 65 years under
these conditions, but rather that the various films included
in the group, which may differ in terms of their actual
image stability, all will fall within this range.
Note that the predictions in Table 5.13 and Table 5.14
(pages 201204) are based on storage at a relative humidity
of 40%; in many places the yearly average indoor relative
humidity will be higher than this, with 60% probably being
more typical of the major populated areas of the world. A
60% RH could increase the overall fading rates of many
products, particularly those in which the yellow dye is the
least stable, by a factor of two or more. The new ANSI
IT9.9-1990 Standard recommends that dark storage tests
be performed at 50% RH, and it is likely that Kodak and the
other manufacturers will adopt this level in the future.
Konica employed 60% RH for the 20% dye loss predic-
tions for its products in Table 5.15 (page 205). With Konica
color negatives in particular, in which the humidity-sensi-
tive yellow dye is the least stable of the three image dyes,
the higher humidity level may have reduced the predicted
number of years for a 20% dye loss by as much as 50%
versus what would have been predicted if Konica had adopted
the 40% RH test condition used by Kodak and Agfa.
It should also be noted that since the introduction of
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR in 1984, Konica has used a
30% dye loss criterion for evaluating its color print materi-
als. The Konica claim of a 100-year life for the prints in
dark storage was based on Arrhenius predictions that a
30% loss of the least stable dye would not occur until more
than 100 years had passed, when the prints were kept in
the dark under normal room temperature conditions.
Konica has given the following predictions for years of
storage required for a 30% loss of the least stable dye
(cyan) for its color papers processed with a water wash
(data for yellowish stain formation was not disclosed):
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5 . . . . . . . . 230270 years
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3 . . . . . . . . 230270 years
Konica Chrome Paper Type 81 . . . . . . . . 230270 years
Konica Color QA Paper Type A2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 years
Konica Color QA Paper Type A . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 years
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR . . . . . . . . . . . 130 years
Konica Color PC Paper Type EX . . . . . . . . . . 130 years
Table 5.4 Effect of Relative Humidity on
Fading Rates of Certain Kodak
Chromogenic Yellow Dyes*
Relative Dye Fading Rate
Relative Humidity at a Specified Temperature
60% 2X
40% 1X
15%
1
2X
* Derived from: Charleton C. Bard et al., Predicting Long-Term Storage
Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic Products from
Short-Term Tests, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 43 (with permission).
Table 5.3 Effect of Temperature
on Dye Fading Rates at
40% Relative Humidity*
Storage Temperature Relative Storage Time
86F (30C)
1
2X
75F (24C) 1X
66F (19C) 2X
55F (13C) 4X
45F (7C) 10X
40F (4C) 16X
32F (0C) 28X
14F (10C) 100X
0F (18C) 340X
15F (26C) 1000X
* Derived from: Charleton C. Bard et al., Predicting Long-Term Storage
Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic Products from
Short-Term Tests, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 44 (with permission). Fading rates of many
dyes can be significantly greater when stored where relative humidi-
ties are higher than 40%.
Fuji, following one of the test specifications in the ear-
lier ANSI PH1.42-1969 color stability test Standard, gave
20% dye loss predictions for both 70% RH and <10% RH in
Table 5.11 (pages 197198). As can be seen, the overall
dye stability of Fujicolor and Fujichrome papers is little
influenced by the level of relative humidity, while the yel-
low dyes (the least stable dyes) in Fujicolor negative and
Fujichrome transparency materials fade significantly faster
at the higher, 70% RH level than they do at <10% RH.
The Arrhenius tests employed by Kodak and the other
manufacturers were performed according to the general
procedures described by Charleton C. Bard, George W.
Larson, Howell Hammond, and Clarence Packard in a 1980
article, Predicting Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability
Characteristics of Color Photographic Products from Short-
Term Tests.
26
With some modification, this test has been
adopted in the recent ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard for color
stability test methods.
When reviewing the Kodak estimates and the data sup-
plied by the other manufacturers in Tables 5.10 through
5.17 (pages 195209), keep in mind that dark storage pre-
dictions have a significant margin for error. Reporting on
a 1986 presentation by Charleton Bard of the Eastman Ko-
dak Company,
27
Klaus B. Hendriks wrote:
Bard noted that the accuracy of the Arrhe-
nius test is quite good. . . . However, the preci-
sion of the Arrhenius test for predicting 0.3 den-
sity loss (from an initial 1.0 density) is less reli-
able. To improve this situation would require a
very large number of tests to be conducted for
five or more years, using samples with different
coatings produced under varying conditions of
exposure and processing, and taking into ac-
count variations in densitometry and data analy-
sis. According to Bard, claims that a given product
will not lose 30 percent of any dye in 100 years
at 24C [75F] and 40 percent RH may mean that
such dye loss could occur as early as within 50
years or as late as in 200 years for an individual
measurement. Furthermore, for a 30 percent
loss of a dye there is the possibility that a de-
crease in density no longer accurately reflects
the chemical degradation of the dye. The for-
mation of colored decomposition products of the
degraded dye may destroy the linear relation-
ship between density and fate of the dye.
28
Agfa has indicated that, based on its experience with
the Arrhenius test, the dark storage predictions given for
its products in Table 5.10 (pages 195196) may have a
margin for error as high as 50%.
Indeed, several of the manufacturers made available to
this author, data from Arrhenius tests they conducted with
competitors products (in sharing these data with this au-
thor, it was requested that they not be published). In ex-
amining these data, it was apparent that in many cases
significantly different image-life predictions were obtained
with a given product, depending on who conducted the
Arrhenius test. Also, keep in mind that with the exception
of Fuji with its low-stain Fujicolor and Fujichrome papers,
none of the manufacturers supplied stain predictions for
their papers and that with Kodak, Agfa, and most Konica
print materials, yellowish stain in dark storage is a more
serious problem than is dye fading. This, combined with
the different humidity levels employed in the tests by dif-
ferent manufacturers, may make it difficult to make a pre-
cise comparison of the various manufacturers products.
In spite of these uncertainties, however, the 20% dye
loss predictions given in Tables 5.10 through 5.17 are still
very useful in comparing one product with another. These
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dye loss (fading) predictions also provide information that
is vital if one is to determine what storage temperature is
required for a given type of color film or print material to
be preserved for extended periods (e.g., for 500 or 1,000
years). It is expected that in the future, when the major
manufacturers and independent laboratories begin pub-
lishing Arrhenius fading and yellowish stain data in the
manner specified in ANSI IT9.9-1990, and the tests are
conducted at the 50% RH level recommended in the Stan-
dard, more meaningful comparisons of the dark storage
stability of various products will be possible.
1. Casey Allen, Arthur Rothstein: A Man For All Seasons, Technical
Photography, Vol. 20, No. 4, April 1988, p. 39.
1091, 10915 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 33923;
telephone: 813-992-4421; Fax: 813-992-6328.
3. Consumer Markets: Photofinishing, The 199091 PMA Industry
Trends Report, Photo Marketing Association International, Jack-
son, Michigan, September 1990, pp. 1421.
4. Ed Scully, Ed Scully on Color, Modern Photography, Vol. 41, No.
8, August 1977, pp. 4748.
5. Edith Gordon, Quality Has Top Priority in Agfa-Gevaert Planning,
Photo Weekly, Vol. 30, No. 10, April 15, 1985, p. 13.
6. Agfa Committed To Finishers, Gerlach Says, Photo Weekly, Vol.
30, No. 10, April 15, 1985, p. 12.
7. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH1.421969,
American National Standard Method for Comparing the Color
Stabilities of Photographs, American National Standards Institute,
212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
telephone: 212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023). This author has been
a member of the ANSI subcommittee that wrote this Standard since
the work began in 1978; in recent years he has served as secretary
of the subcommittee.
Going!! Gone!!! Which Color Films and Paper Last Longest? How
Do the Ones You Use Stack Up?, Popular Photography, Vol. 97,
No. 6, June 1990, pp. 3749, 60. With a circulation of approximately
one million copies, Popular Photography is the worlds largest
photography magazine.
10. Kotaro Nakamura, Makoto Umemoto, Nobuo Sakai, and Yoshio Seoka,
Dark Stability of Photographic Color Prints from the Viewpoint of
Stain Formation, Second International Symposium: The Stabil-
ity and Preservation of Photographic Images (held at the Na-
tional Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), sponsored by
the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, Springfield,
Virginia, August 2528, 1985, p. 381.
11. Robert J. Tuite [Eastman Kodak Company], Image Stability in Color
Photography, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 200207, Fall 1979.
12. Souichi Kubo [Chiba University], Shashin Kogyo, Vol. 50, No. 513,
pp. 1011 and 4651, 1992. See also related article: Color Paper
Dye Fade Has Been Reduced In Half Quality Improvement of Color
Couplers Konica Has Completed the Change-Over, Nikkei Sangyo
Shinbun [Japan Industrial Newpaper], September 12, 1992, p. 5.
13. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type II, Fuji
Film Data Sheet Ref. No. AF3662E, February 1990. See also:
Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA, Fuji Film Data Sheet Ref.
No. AF3661E, February 1990.
14. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., Fujichrome Paper Type 34, Fuji Film Data
Sheet Ref. No. AF3638E, July 1989.
15. Eastman Kodak Company, Now Kodak Gives You The Competitive
Edge, advertisement on the back cover of Photographic Process-
ing, Vol. 27, No. 12, December 1992.
16. Kotaro Nakamura, Makoto Umemoto, Nobuo Sakai, and Yoshio Seoka,
see Note No. 10, pp. 381387.
17. Akio Mitsui, Nobuo Furutachi, Takeshi Hirose, and Yoshinobu Yoshida
[Ashigara Research Laboratories, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.], On the
New Fujichrome Paper Fujichrome Paper Type 34, Abstract, SPSE
Second International Symposium: Photofinishing and Minilab
Technology, Cologne, Germany, September 89, 1986.
18. O. Takahashi, T. Sato, K. Hasebe, N. Furutachi, and T. Ogawa, New
Type Color Print Paper with an Improved Color Saturation and Dye
Image Stability Fujicolor Paper Super FA, paper given at the SPSE
Sixth International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology,
Las Vegas, Nevada, February 20, 1990, Advance Printing of Paper
Summaries, pp. 6870; published by The Society for Imaging Sci-
ence and Technology (IS&T), 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Vir-
ginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090; Fax 703-642-9094.
19. Tadahisa Sato, Masakazu Morigaki, and Osamu Takahashi, New
Type Color Paper with Exceptional Dye Image Stability Fujicolor
Paper Super FA Type 3, presentation at IS&Ts Seventh Interna-
tional Symposium on Photofinishing Technology, Las Vegas,
Nevada, February 35, 1992. Sponsored by The Society for Imaging
Science and Technology (IS&T), 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield,
Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090; Fax 703-642-9094.
20. Makoto Kajiwara, Toyoki Nishijima, and Noboru Mizukura, The De-
velopment of Konica QA Paper Type A5, Konica Technical Re-
port, Vol. 5, January 1992, pp. 2529.
21. Barbara Bridgers, manager of the photograph studio at the Metro-
politan Museum of Art, New York City, letter to this author and
telephone discussion, October 1987.
22. Bob Schwalberg, et al., see Note No. 9.
23. Ubbo T. Wernicke [Agfa-Gevaert AG], Impact of Modern High Speed
and Washless Processing on the Dye Stability of Different Colour
Papers, Proceedings of the International Symposium: The Sta-
bility and Conservation of Photographic Images: Chemical,
Electronic and Mechanical, organized by the Society of Photo-
graphic Scientists and Engineers and the Department of Photo-
graphic Science and Printing Technology, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand, November 35, 1986.
24. Konica Corporation, full-page advertisement, Professional Pho-
tographer, Vol. 111, No. 2069, October 1984, p. 20.
25. Evaluating Dye Stability of Kodak Color Products, Kodak Publi-
cation No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subsequent CIS-50 series of
dye-stability data sheets through 1985; Image-Stability Data: Ko-
dachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-105, 1988; Image-Stability
Data: Kodak Ektachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-106, 1988;
Image-Stability Data: Kodak Color Negative Films (Process C-
41), Kodak Publication E-107, June 1990; Evaluating Image Stabil-
ity of Kodak Color Photographic Products, Kodak Publication
No. CIS-130, March 1991; Kodak Ektacolor Plus and Professional
Papers for the Professional Finisher, Kodak Publication No. E-18,
March 1986; Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman Motion Picture
Films (data sheets); Kodak Publications DS-100-1 through DS-100-
9, May 29, 1981, and other published and unpublished Kodak sources.
26. Charleton C. Bard, George W. Larson, Howell Hammond, and Clarence
Packard [Eastman Kodak Company], Predicting Long-Term Dark
Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic Prod-
ucts from Short-Term Tests, Journal of Applied Photographic
Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, pp. 4245. See also: A. Tulsi
Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and P.
Miller [Eastman Kodak Company], The Effects and Prevention of
Vinegar Syndrome, presented at the 1992 Annual Conference of
the Association of Moving Image Archivists, San Francisco,
California, December 10, 1992. (See Chapter 9 for further discus-
sion of this topic.)
27. Charleton C. Bard [Eastman Kodak Company], Clearing the Air on
the Stability of Color Print Papers, presentation at the SPSE Fourth
International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology [see
abstract in: Program and Paper Summaries, p. 9], Las Vegas,
Nevada, February 1012, 1986. Sponsored by the Society of Photo-
graphic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE). See also: Stanton I. Anderson
and David F. Kopperl [Eastman Kodak Company], Limitations of
Accelerated Image Stability Testing, presentation at IS&Ts Sev-
enth International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology,
Las Vegas, Nevada, February 3, 1992. Sponsored by The Society for
Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T). See also: Stanton Ander-
son and Robert Ellison [Eastman Kodak Company], Natural Aging
of Photographs, Journal of the American Institute for Conser-
vation, Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer 1992, pp. 213223.
28. Klaus B. Hendriks, The Stability and Preservation of Recorded Im-
ages, Imaging Processes and Materials (Neblettes Eighth Edi-
tion), edited by John M. Sturge, Vivian Walworth, and Allan Shepp,
Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, New York, 1989, p. 656.
Table 5.5a Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Current
Process RA-4 Compatible Papers for Printing Color Negatives
Number of Days Required for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye in Accelerated Dark Fading Tests at 144F (62C) and 45% RH
All of the papers listed were available at the time this book went to press in 1992. Initial neutral density of 1.0 with 1/2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3 380 (C) 545 (C+Y) +0.05Y
(Fujicolor Print)
[processed with Fuji CP-40FA (RA-4)
chemicals and water wash, or with Fuji
CP-40FA Stabilizer in washless minilab]
(1993 for SFA3 Professional Portrait Paper)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5 360 (C) 615 (C+Y) +0.07Y
[processed with Konica CPK-20QA (RA-4)
chemicals and water wash]
Konica Color QA Prof. Paper Type X2 [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
Material Type A3 [polyester]
chemicals and water wash]
(1991 )
Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 2000 360 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
Days for Days to Reach Yellowish Stain
20% Loss of d-min Color (Blue Density)
Least Stable Imbalance Increase
Type of Color Paper Image Dye of 0.10 After 180 Days
Ilford Ilfocolor Deluxe Print Material 360 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
(RA.1K high-gloss polyester-base [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
print material manufactured by Ilford in
Switzerland using emulsion components supplied
by Konica; the stability of the Ilford product is
believed to be similar if not identical to Konica
Color QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A3.)
(1992 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 9 305 (C) 90 (C+Y) +0.21Y
Agfacolor Paper Type 9i [improved]
(Agfacolor Print)
[Agfa AP-94 (RA-4) chemicals
and water wash]
(1988 for Type 9; 1992 for Type 9i)
Kodak Ektacolor Portra II Paper 295 (C) 80 (C+Y) +0.28Y
(Ektacolor Print)
(1992 )
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5 275 (Y) 960 (C+Y) +0.06Y
chemicals and Konica Super Stabilizer in
Konica washless minilab]
Kodak Ektacolor Edge Paper 190 (C) 80 (C+Y) +0.26Y
Kodak Ektacolor Royal II Paper
(Ektacolor Print and Kodalux Print)
Fujicolor Prof. Paper Super FA Type P 155 (C) 315 (C+Y) +0.07Y
(199193) (low-contrast professional portrait paper)
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Table 5.5b Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Current
Process EP-2 Compatible Papers for Printing Color Negatives
All of these papers were available at the time this book went to press in 1992. It is likely that many of these papers will have been
discontinued by the end of 1994 in favor of faster-processing RA-4 compatible papers.
Initial neutral density of 1.0 with 1/2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 300 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
(In Japan, Konica Type SR paper was
[EP-2 process with water wash]
(1984 [April]for Type SR)
(1984 [July]for Type SG)
(1987for Type EX )
(1988for Peelable Type SR)
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER 300 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
Type 6000 Super
Mitsubishi Color Paper KER Type 8000 Pro
(papers manufactured by Konica and are believed
to be identical to Konica Type SR and EX papers)
(1985for Type 6000 Super)
(1989for Type 8000 Pro)
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper 230 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.25Y
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Thin Paper
Kodak Duraflex Print Material [polyester]
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
(1984 [August]for Ektacolor Plus)
(1985for Ektacolor Professional)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] 360 (Y) 90 (C+Y) +0.23Y
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 ML (for minilabs)
(Agfacolor Print)
(1986 )
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR 315 (C) 160 (C+Y) +0.11Y
(In Japan, Konica Type SR paper was
[processed with improved Konica Super
Stabilizer in Konica washless minilab]
(1984 [April]for Type SR)
(1984 [July]for Type SG)
(1987for Type EX)
(1988for Peelable Type SR)
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material 300 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
[polyester base]
(IL.1K high-gloss polyester-base [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
print material manufactured by
Ilford in Switzerland using emulsion
components supplied by Konica;
the stability of the Ilford product
is believed to be similar if not
identical to Konica Type SR [SG]
polyester-base print material)
(1990 )
Table 5.5b (continued from previous page)
Fujicolor Minilab Paper 170 (C) 150 (C+Y) +0.13Y
(Fujicolor Paper Type 03)
(Fujicolor Print)
[processed with Fuji Stabilizer in
Fuji washless minilab]
(1988 )
Fujicolor Paper Type 03 155 (C) 110 (C+Y) +0.20Y
Fujicolor Prof. Paper Type 02-P
Fujicolor Paper Type 02-C
(Fujicolor Print)
(1988 )
(Fujicolor Print)
(Type 12 paper is generally not
available outside of Japan)
(1985 )
Not Recommended:
Kodak Ektacolor Plus Paper with 105 (C) Data Not Data Not
KIS Ultra X Press processing chemicals Available Available
(Ektacolor Print)
[processed in KIS Magnum Pro Minilab
with KIS Ultra X Press chemicals]
(Ektacolor Plus paper processed in this
manner has reduced light and dark fading
stability compared with Ektacolor Plus
processed with the standard EP-2 process.)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 with 105 (Y) 50 (C+Y) +0.21Y
Agfa AP-95 processing chemicals
(Agfacolor Print)
[processed with Agfa AP-95 rapid
process with AP-95SB Stabilizer in
Agfa washless minilab]
(Agfacolor Paper Type 8 processed in
this manner has reduced light and dark
fading stability compared with Type 8 paper
processed with the standard
EP-2 process and water wash.)
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Table 5.5c Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Discontinued
Process EP-2, EP-3, and RA-4 Compatible Papers for Printing Color Negatives
Number of Days Required for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye
in Accelerated Dark Fading Tests at 144F (62C) and 45% RH
By the time this book went to press in 1992, these papers had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Initial neutral density of 1.0 with 1/2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Konica Color QA Paper Prof. Type X1
Konica Color QA Super Glossy
Print Material Type A2 [polyester]
chemicals with Konica Super Stabilizer
in Konica washless minilab]
(198892 for Type A2) (RA-4)
Mitsubishi Color Paper SA 2000 360 (C) 82 (C+Y) +0.20Y
[processed with Mitsubishi Speed Access
chemicals in washless minilab]
(initial type: 198992 for SA 2000) (RA-4)
(initial type: 199092 for SA 5000)
Konica Color QA Paper Type A 360 (C) 82 (C+Y) +0.20Y
Type 1000 SA [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
to Konica Color QA Paper Type A)
(198889) (RA-4)
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material [polyester] 360 (C) 82 (C+Y) +0.20Y
(SP-729s high-gloss polyester-base [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
print material manufactured by Ilford in
Switzerland using emulsion components
supplied by Konica; the stability of the Ilford
product is believed to be similar if not
identical to Konica Color QA Super Glossy
Print Material Type A2.)
(199091) (RA-4)
Type 7000 Pro
to Konica Type EX paper)
(198589) (EP-2)
Fujicolor Paper FA 200 (C) 130 (C+Y) +0.16Y
(Fujicolor Print)
[processed with Fuji CP-40FA (RA-4)
chemicals and CP-40FA Stabilizer]
(198889) (RA-4)
Kodak Ektacolor 2001 Paper 200 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.25Y
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
[Ektacolor 2001 paper processed with Kodak
RA-4 chemicals and RA-4NP Stabilizer]
(198991 for Ektacolor Royal)
(198992 for Ektacolor Portra)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 200 (Y) 65 (C+Y) +0.27Y
(Agfacolor Print)
(initial type: 1984 [October]86) (EP-2)
Table 5.5c (continued from previous page)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type II 190 (C) 315 (C+Y) +0.07Y
Fujicolor Supreme Paper
Fujiflex SFA Super-Gloss Printing Material [polyester]
(Fujicolor Print)
[processed with Fuji CP-40FA
(RA-4) chemicals and CP-40FA
Stabilizer in Fuji washless minilab]
(199092 for Super FA Type II and Supreme) (RA-4)
(199192 for Super FA Type C, and Fujiflex SFA)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA 190 (C) 315 (C+Y) +0.07Y
(Fujicolor Print)
[processed with Fuji CP-40FA
(RA-4) chemicals and CP-40FA
Stabilizer in Fuji washless minilab]
(Fujicolor Print)
(198588) (EP-2)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] 120 (Y) 120 (C+Y) +0.19Y
(Agfacolor Print)
[Processed with old type Agfa AP-92SB
Stabilizer; the improved AP-92SB
Stabilizer introduced in 1988 avoids the
reduction in yellow dye stability that
resulted from the original AP-92SB Stabilizer.
The dark fading stability of Type 8 paper
is now probably similar to that of Agfacolor
Type 9 paper listed in Table 5.1a.]
(198689) (EP-2)
(Fujicolor Print)
(198486) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper Type 2524 60 (C) 115 (C+Y) +0.19Y
Kodak Ektacolor 78 Paper Type 2524
(Kodacolor Print)
(Ektacolor Print)
[EP-3 Process with EP-3 Stabilizer]
(198286) (EP-2 or EP-3)
(198084) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC Paper 52 (C) 110 (C+Y) +0.18Y
(Kodacolor Print)
(Ektacolor Print)
(initial type: 197782) (EP-2 or EP-3)
Kodak Ektacolor 37 RC Paper Type 2261 52 (C) 90 (C+Y) +0.19Y
(Kodacolor Print)
(Ektacolor Print)
(197178) (EP-3)
Konica Color (Sakuracolor) PC Paper SIII 50 (C) 66 (C+Y) +0.33Y
(198384) (EP-2)
Sakuracolor PC Paper SII 50 (C) 66 (C+Y) +0.30Y
(197883) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 7i 50 (C) 30 (C+Y) +0.24Y
(Agfacolor Print)
(198485) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589i 45 (C) 52 (C+Y) +0.30Y
(Agfacolor Print)
(198385) (EP-2)
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 45 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.26Y
(Agfacolor Print)
(198183) (EP-2)
Kodak Ektacolor 74 Paper Type 2524 36 (C) 98 (C+Y) +0.28Y
Kodak Ektacolor 78 RC Paper Type 2524
(Kodacolor Print)
(Ektacolor Print)
(198286) (EP-2 or EP-3)
(Agfacolor Print)
(197782) (Agfa AP-87)
3M Professional Color Paper Type 25 27 (C) 22 (C+Y) +0.34Y
3M High Speed Color Paper 19
(197888; 3M ceased manufacture
of color paper in 1988) (EP-2)
(Agfacolor Print)
(this paper has extremely poor dark fading stability)
(197482) (Agfa AP-85)
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Table 5.6 Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Silver Dye-Bleach; Chromogenic Reversal;
Dye-Imbibition; and UltraStable, EverColor, and Polaroid Permanent Color Pigment Print Materials
Number of Days Required for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye or Pigment
in Accelerated Dark Fading Tests at 144F (62C) and 45% RH
Test duration of up to 9 Years (3,285 Days)
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Initial neutral density of 1.0 with 1/2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Days for
20% Loss of Days to Reach Yellowish Stain
Least Stable d-min Color (Blue Density)
Image Dye Imbalance Increase
Type of Color Print Product or Pigment of 0.10 After 180 Days
EverColor Pigment Prints (T+N) (new product test data not available)
(EverColor Pigment Color Print Process)
(A high-stability version of the AgfaProof
Process marketed by the EverColor Corp.)
(1993 )
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints (T+N) >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.02Y
(Kodak Film and Paper Dyes and
fiber-base Kodak Dye Transfer Paper)
Fuji Dyecolor Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.02Y
(dye transfer type process)
(1970 ) (Fuji Dyecolor process)
Agfachrome-Speed Color Prints (T) >3,285 (M) >3,285 () +0.00Y
(single-sheet dye-diffusion process)
(198385) (Agfachrome-Speed Process)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints (T+N) >3,285 () 1,300 (C+Y) +0.05Y
(discontinued MX-1119 yellow dye
available in the early 1980s) [fiber-base]
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints (T+N) >3,285 () 150 (C+Y) +0.13Y
[fiber-base]
(high-stability Kodak MX-1372 yellow dye and
No. 45203 Dye Transfer receiver paper with
UV-absorbing overcoat trade-tested in 198889)
(The paper and yellow dye proved difficult to work
with and Kodak decided not to market the materials.)
Ilford Cibachrome-A Prints (T) >1,460 () >1,460 ( ) +0.04Y
(197581) (P-12)
UltraStable Permanent Color Prints >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.00Y
(pigment color process) [polyester & fiber-base] [tentative] [tentative]
(UltraStable Permanent Color Process) (T+N)
Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.00Y
Ataraxia Studio Collectors Color Prints [tentative] [tentative]
(pigment color process) [polyester] (T+N)
(Polaroid Permanent-Color Process)
(1989 )
Fuji-Inax Photocera Color Photographs >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.00Y
(fired pigment color process) [ceramic] (T+N) [tentative] [tentative]
(initially available only from
Fujicolor Processing Service in Japan)
(1991 ) (Fuji-Inax Ceramic Color Process)
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic Prints (T) >3,285 () >3,285 () +0.00Y
Ilford Ilfochrome Rapid Prints
Ilford Cibachrome-A II Prints [initial type]
Ilford Cibacopy Materials
(P-3, P-3X, P-30, P-30P, P-22, and P-4) [polyester and RC]
(Although Ilfochrome Pearl semi-gloss and
glossy-surface RC prints have dye stability that
is similar to Ilfochrome high-gloss polyester-base
prints, the RC prints are subject to RC base cracking
and light-induced image yellowing, and therefore
are not recommended for long-term applications.)
(198189 for initial type Cibachrome-A II)
(198991 for improved type Cibachrome-A II)
(1991 for Ilfochrome Classic and Rapid)
Days for
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Days for
Days for
(test data not available, but
probably has light fading
stability similar to that of
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3)
Agfachrome CU 410 Color Prints (T) >1,460 () >1,460 () Data Not
[pigmented triacetate base] Available
(Outstanding example of the silver dye-bleach
process that was abandoned by Agfa.)
(197073) (Agfachrome Process 60)
Kodak Ektaflex PCT Color Prints (T+N) 1,050 (M) 300 (+M) +0.07Y
(dye-diffusion transfer process)
(Kodak Ektaflex Process)
(198188)
Fujichrome Paper Type 35 (T) 370 (C) 270 (C+Y) +0.08Y
Fujichrome Super-Gloss
Printing Material [glossy polyester base]
(1992 ) (R-3)
Fujichrome Super-Gloss
Printing Material [glossy polyester base]
(198692) (R-3)
Konica Chrome Paper Type 81 (T)
(1989 ) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance Paper (T) 180 (C) 140 (C+Y) +0.16Y
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance
Select Material [glossy polyester base]
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance HC Copy Paper
Kodak Ektachrome Radiance Thin Copy Paper
(1991 for Radiance and Radiance Select)
(1992 for Radiance HC and Thin Copy) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome 22 Paper [improved] (T) 170 (C) 110 (C+Y) +0.20Y
(improved type: 199091) (R-3)
(198386) (R-3)
Fujichrome Reversal Paper Type 31 (T) 85 (C) 75 (C+Y) +0.28Y
(197883) (R-100)
Agfachrome Paper CRN [Type 63] (T) 63 (C) Data Not Data Not
Agfachrome High Gloss Available Available
Material CRP [glossy polyester base]
(198490 for initial types)
(1990 for improved types) (R-3)
Kodak Ektachrome RC Paper 60 (C) 39 (C+Y) +0.20Y
Type 1993 (T)
(197279) (R-5)
Kodak Ektachrome 14 Paper (T) 53 (C) Data Not Data Not
(198185) (R-100) Available Available
Kodak Ektachrome 2203 Paper (T) 42 (C) 120 (C+Y) +0.12Y
(197884) (R-100)
Agfachrome Reversal Paper CU 310 (T) 35 (C) Data Not Data Not
(197984) (R-100) Available Available
Kodak Ektachrome Copy Paper (T) 28 (C) 72 (C+Y) +0.26Y
Kodak Ektachrome HC Copy Paper
Kodak Ektachrome Thin Paper
Kodak Ektachrome 22 Paper [initial type]
Kodak Ektachrome Prestige Paper [polyester]
(Not recommended: these Ektachrome
papers have very poor dark fading
stability compared with Fujichrome,
Konica Chrome, and Agfachrome
Process R-3 compatible reversal papers.)
(198490 for initial type of Ektachrome 22)
(19861991 for Ektachrome Prestige)
(198492 for Ektachrome HC Copy and Thin)
(1984 for Ektachrome Copy) (R-3)
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Table 5.7 Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Polaroid, Fuji, and Kodak Instant Color Prints;
Canon and Kodak Digital Copier/Printer Color Prints; Color Offset Printing; Mead Cycolor Prints; and
Thermal Dye Transfer and Ink Jet Color Prints for Digitized Pictorial Images and Computer-Generated Images
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. After losing a patent infringement suit initiated by Polaroid, Kodak was forced to abandon the instant
photography field in 1986. Initial neutral density of 1.0 with 1/2 d-min corrected densitometry.
Type of Color Print Product Image Dye of 0.10 After 180 Days
Kodak Trimprint Instant Color Prints >2,190 () 220 (C+Y) +0.09Y
(separated from backing)
(198386)
Kodak Trimprint Instant Color Prints >2,190 () 48 (C+Y) +0.13Y
(not separated from backing)
(198386)
Polaroid SX-70 Prints [improved] >2,190 () (see text for discussion)
(197679)
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Prints >2,190 () (see text for discussion)
stain that form over time in normal dark
storage, Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero and
Type 778 prints are not recommended for
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints >2,190 () (see text for discussion)
(Because of high levels of yellowish stain
that form over time in normal dark storage,
Polaroid Type 779 and Type 339 prints are not
(198188 for Polaroid 600)
3M Electrocolor Prints (T+N) >2,190 () >2,190 () +0.03Y
[continuous-tone, liquid-toner
electrophotographic color process]
(Abandoned by 3M, this was an outstanding example
of the liquid-toner color electrophotographic process.)
(196566) (3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota)
4-Color Offset Printed Images >2,190 () >2,190 (C+Y) +0.02Y
[screened, photomechanical prints] [estimated] [estimated]
(Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
4-color process inks typical of those
used in color offset printing of books
and magazines; samples printed in 1990.)
Polaroid Polacolor ER Prints >2,190 () 57 (C+Y)* +0.15Y*
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809)
Polaroid Polacolor 64T Prints >2,190 () 57 (C+Y)* +0.15Y*
Polaroid Polacolor 100 Prints [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
(1992/93 ) (peel-apart prints)
Polacolor 2 Prints >2,190 () 30 (M+Y)* +0.20Y*
(Types 88; 108; 668; 58; and 808)
(The images of Polacolor 2 prints suffer a yellowish
color shift that may become objectionable after only
a few years of dark storage under normal conditions;
because of this, Polacolor 2 prints are not recommended
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Iris Ink Jet Color Prints >1,095 () >1,095 (C+Y) +0.01Y
[scanned, electronically produced prints] [estimated] [estimated]
(Ink jet color prints made on 100% cotton
fiber paper with Iris Graphics, Inc. 3047
printer using the Standard Iris ink set;
test prints made in 1992.)
Stork Ink Jet Color Prints >1,095 () >1,095 (C+Y) +0.01Y
[scanned, electronically produced prints] [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
(Ink jet prints made with a Stork Bedford B.V.
ink jet printer using both the Standard and
Reactive Dyes ink sets; prints made in 1992.)
Polaroid 600 Plus Prints >1,095 () (see text for discussion)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra name in Europe)
prints, Image prints, 600 Plus prints, and other
Polaroid products using the Spectra emulsion are not
(198691 for Spectra prints)
Polaroid Spectra HD Prints >1,095 () (see text for discussion)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra in Europe) [tentative]
Spectra HD prints, Image prints and other Polaroid
products using the Spectra HD emulsion are not
(1992 )
Polaroid Vision 95 Prints (in Europe) >1,095 () (see text for discussion)
Polaroid ? 95 Prints (name in Asia) [tentative]
Polaroid ? 95 Prints (name in North & South America)
Kodak Kodamatic Instant Color Prints 1,400 (M) 36 (C+Y) +0.14Y
(198286)
Canon Color Laser Copier Prints >730 () >730 (C+Y) +0.03Y
Kodak ColorEdge Copier Prints >730 () >730 (C+Y) +0.03Y
[scanned, electronically produced prints] [estimated] [estimated] [estimated]
Polaroid Polacolor Prints [initial type] >500 () >500 (C+Y) +0.03Y
(196375) (peel-apart prints)
Mead Cycolor Prints >500 () 500 (C+Y) +0.06Y
[continuous-tone photographic prints]
(Mead Imaging Corporation
microencapsulated acrylate image
color prints made with a Noritsu QPS-101
Cycolor Slideprinter; test prints made in 1988.)
(1988 )
Fuji 800 Instant Color Prints 470 (M) 55 (C+Y) +0.20Y
Fuji FI-10 Instant Color Prints 300 (M) 160 (M+Y) +0.19Y
Kodak PR10 Instant Color Prints 250 (M) 90 (C+Y) +0.14Y
Kodak Ektatherm Color Prints* 65 (C) 80 (C+Y) +0.21Y
(Thermal dye transfer color prints made
with Kodak XL 7700 Digital Printer; test
prints made in 1992.)
Sony Mavigraph Still Video Prints* 6 (C) Data Not Data Not
[scanned, electronically produced prints] Available Available
(Thermal dye transfer prints made with
Sony UP-5000 ProMavica Color Video
Printer; test prints made in 1989.)
* Note: Heat-accelerated dark fading tests may not give a meaningful
indication of the long-term stability of prints of this type see text.
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Table 5.8a Comparative Dark Fading Stability of Current Color Negative Films
These films, which were available in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992, are all compatible with Kodak Process C-41.
Dye losses measured from an initial neutral density of 1.0 above d-min with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Days for 20% Loss of
Type of Color Negative Film Least Stable Image Dye
Kodak Vericolor III Professional Film, Type S (1983 ) 215 (Y)
Kodak Ektacolor Gold 160 Professional Film (1986 )
Kodak Ektacolor GPF 160 Professional Film (1991 )
(In the U.S., Ektacolor GPF is sold only in 8-exposure 35mm rolls)
Kodak Vericolor 400 Professional Film 200 (Y)
Kodak Ektacolor Gold 400 Professional Film
(1988 )
Kodak Ektapress Gold 1600 Professional Film (1988 ) 200 (Y)
Kodak Ektar 1000 Film (1988 )
Kodak Gold 1600 Film (1991 )
Konica Color SR-G 3200 Professional Film 180 (C)
Konica Color GX3200 Professional Film
(1989 )
Konica Color Super SR 400 Film 180 (C)
Konica Color Super DD 400 Film [tentative]
Konica Color XG400 Film
Polaroid HighDefinition 400 Color Print Film
(Polaroid HighDefinition 400 film is made by Konica in Japan;
it was introduced in Europe in 1990, and in the U.S. in 1992.)
(1990 )
(1992 for XG400 film, which is sold in Japan)
Kodak Ektapress Gold 400 Professional Film (1988 ) 175 (Y)
Kodak Gold Plus 400 Film (1992 ) 175 (Y)
Kodak Gold II 400 Film (name in Europe)
3M ScotchColor 100 Film 145 (Y)
(Although this film is labeled by 3M as
Made in U.S.A., it is actually manufactured in Italy
by a subsidiary of the 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota.)
Polaroid OneFilm Color Print Film (ISO 200) [tentative]
(Although these films are labeled by 3M and Polaroid
as Made in U.S.A., they are actually manufactured in Italy
(Although this film is labeled by 3M as Made in U.S.A., it is [tentative]
actually manufactured in Italy by a subsidiary of the 3M Company.)
Konica Color Super SR 200 Film (U.S.A. market only) 140 (Y)
Konica Color Super SR 200 Professional Film [tentative]
(1990 )
Kodak Ektar 100 Film 130 (Y)
(1991 )
Fujicolor Super G 200 Film 130 (Y)
Fujicolor Super G 400 Film [tentative]
(1992 )
Fujicolor Super HG 200 Film 130 (Y)
(198992 for Super HG 200 and 400)
(199092 for Super HG 100)
(1990 for Super HG 1600)
Fujicolor HG 400 Professional Film 130 (Y)
(1991 ) [tentative]
Konica Color Impresa 50 Professional Film 110 (Y)
(1991 ) [tentative]
Konica Color Super SR 100 and Super DD 100 Films
Konica Color Super SR 200 Film 110 (Y)
Konica Color Super DD 200 Professional Film [tentative]
Polaroid HighDefinition 100 and 200 Color Print Films
(Polaroid HighDefinition 100 and 200 films are made by Konica in Japan;
they were introduced in Europe in 1990, and in the U.S. in 1992.)
(1990 )
Kodak Kodacolor VR 100, VR 200, and VR 400 Films 110 (Y)
(Kodacolor VR films are still manufactured
by Kodak in Europe and are sold worldwide.)
(1983 )
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Table 5.8a (continued from previous page)
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 400 Films (1988 ) 100 (Y)
Agfacolor XRS 400 Professional Film (1989 )
Fujicolor 160 Professional Film S 90 (Y)
Fujicolor 160 Professional Film L
(1985 )
Kodak Ektar 25 Film (1988 ) 90 (Y)
Kodak Ektar 25 Professional Film (1989 )
Fujicolor Reala Film (ISO 100) 85 (Y)
(1989 )
Kodak Ektapress Gold 100 Professional Film 85 (Y)
(1988 )
Kodak Gold Plus 100 Film 85 (Y)
Kodak Gold II 100 Film (name in Europe) [tentative]
(1992 )
Kodak Gold Plus 200 Film 85 (Y)
Kodak Gold II 200 Film (name in Europe) [tentative]
(1992)
Kodak Vericolor HC Professional Film 85 (Y)
(1987 )
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 100 Films 75 (Y)
(1988 )
Agfacolor XRS 100 Professional Film 75 (Y)
Agfacolor XRS 200 Professional Film
(1989 )
Agfacolor Ultra 50 Professional Film 75 (Y)
Agfacolor Optima 125 Professional Film [tentative]
Agfacolor Portrait 160 Professional Film
(1990 )
Agfacolor Optima 200 Professional Film 75 (Y)
(1992 ) [tentative]
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 200 Film 75 (Y)
(improved type: 1992 ) [tentative]
Agfacolor XRS 1000 Professional Film 45 (C)
(1984 )
Kodak Vericolor II Professional Film, Type L 30 (C)
(1974 )
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Table 5.8b Comparative Dark Fading Stability of Discontinued Color Negative Films
All films are compatible with Kodak Process C-41 unless otherwise noted.
Dye losses measured from an initial neutral density of 1.0 above d-min with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Kodak Ektar 125 Film 130 (Y)
(198991)
Fujicolor Super HRII 100 Film 120 (Y)
Fujicolor Super HRII 1600 Film
(198990)
Fujicolor Super HR 100 Film
Fujicolor Super HR 200 Film 115 (Y)
(198689)
Konica Color SR-V 100 Film 115 (C)
Konica Color SR 200 Film 115 (C)
Sakuracolor SR 200 Film
Konica Color SR-G 100 Film 110 (Y)
Konica Color GXII 100 Film
Polaroid HighDefinition 100 Colour Print Film
(Polaroid HighDefinition 100 film was
made by Konica in Japan and was
marketed in Europe and Australia.)
(198990)
Kodacolor VR 1000 Film 105 (Y)
(198489)
Kodak Gold 100 Film (199192) 85 (Y)
Kodak Kodacolor Gold 100 Film (198691)
(formerly Kodacolor VR-G 100 Film)
Kodak Gold 200 Film (199192) 85 (Y)
Kodak Kodacolor Gold 200 Film (198691)
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 200 Films 75 (Y)
Kodak Kodacolor Gold 1600 Film 200 (Y)
(198991)
Konica Color SR-V 3200 Professional Film 180 (C)
(198789)
Konica Color GX400 Film
(198789)
Konica Color SR-G 400 Film 180 (C)
Konica Color GX400 Film [tentative]
(Polaroid HighDefinition 400 film was made by Konica in
Japan and was marketed in Europe and Australia.)
(198990)
Kodacolor Gold 400 Film (Improved) 175 (Y)
(199192) [tentative]
Kodacolor Gold 400 Film (Improved) 175 (Y)
(198789)
Kodacolor VR-G 400 Film 175 (Y)
Kodacolor Gold 400 Film
(Kodacolor VR-G 400 was introduced in January 1986,
and then almost immediately withdrawn; a new version
was introduced in September 1987.)
Konica Color SR-G 200 Film 140 (Y)
(Polaroid HighDefinition 200 film was made by Konica in
Japan and was marketed in Europe and Australia.)
(198990)
Konica Color and Sakuracolor SR-V 100 Film
Konica Color SR-V 200 Film
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Table 5.8b (continued from previous page)
Discontinued Films with Comparatively Poor Stability (listed in alphabetical order)
Agfacolor XR 100 Film
(198389)
Fujicolor HR 100 Film
(198386)
Fujicolor F-II Film (197483)
Fujicolor F-II 400 Film (197683)
Ilford Ilfocolor HR 100 Film All films in this group:
Ilford Ilfocolor HR 200 Film 30 to 60 days (C)
Ilford Ilfocolor HR 400 Film
(Ilfocolor films made by Agfa were
marketed from March 1987 to May 1988.)
(same as Agfacolor XR films)
Kodacolor 400 Film (197784)
Kodacolor II Film (197284)
Kodacolor-X Film
(196374) (Process C-22)
Kodak Ektacolor Professional Film, Type S
(195663) (Process C-22)
Kodak Vericolor II Professional Film, Type S (197483)
Kodak Vericolor Commercial Film, Type S (197986)
Discontinued Films with Comparatively Poor Stability (listed in alphabetical order)
Konica Color SR 100 Film
(same for equivalent Sakuracolor films)
(198487)
Konica Color SR Professional Film Type S
Sakuracolor SR Professional Film Type S
(198589)
Polaroid Supercolor 100 Print Film
(Initial type of Polaroid Supercolor film made by Agfa
and sold in Spain and Portugal beginning in 1987.)
(198789)
3M Scotch HR 100 Film
(Although this film was labeled by 3M as All films in this group:
Made in U.S.A., it was actually manufactured 30 to 60 days (C)
in Italy by a subsidiary of the 3M Company,
St. Paul, Minnesota.)
3M Scotch HR 200 Color Print Film
Polaroid OneFilm Color Print Film (ISO 200)
(Although these films were labeled by 3M and Polaroid as
Made in U.S.A., they were actually manufactured in Italy
(initial type: 1986/8990)
(Although these films were labeled by 3M as Made in U.S.A.,
they were actually manufactured in Italy by a subsidiary
of the 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota.)
(198691)
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Table 5.9 Comparative Dark Fading and Yellowish Staining of Color Transparency Films
Test Duration of Up to 7 Years (2,555 Days)
had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Initial neutral density of 1.0 with full d-min corrected densitometry.
Type of Color Film Image Dye of 0.10 After 180 Days
Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 580 (Y) >1,200 () +0.00Y
professional and amateur films;
Kodachrome 40 Type A Film
(1974 ) (K-14)
Kodachrome II and Kodachrome-X films 320 (Y) >1,200 ( ) +0.00Y
Kodachrome II Professional Type A Film
(196174) (K-12)
Kodak Ektachrome 64T and 320T, 225 (C) 60 (C+Y) +0.28Y
Plus and X professional films,
and Ektachrome HC amateur films
(64X and 64T; 1991; 100X: 1990;
400X: 1992; 100 Plus and HC: 1988;
50 HC: 1990; 400 HC and 320T: 1992 )
Kodak Ektachrome professional 210 (C) 80 (C+Y) +0.19Y
and amateur films, and Ektachrome
duplicating films
(not including the Group II 64T and 320T,
Plus, HC, and X films listed above)
(1976 ) (E-6)
Fujichrome professional and 185 (C) 45 (C+Y) +0.24Y
amateur films, and Fujichrome
duplicating films
(not including Fujichrome Velvia Prof. Film)
(initial types: 198388/89) (E-6)
(improved types: 1988/89/92 )
Polaroid Professional Chrome 185 (C) 45 (C+Y) +0.24Y
Film 64T and 100D films
(These 4x5-inch format films are
made for Polaroid by Fuji in Japan.)
(1987 ) (E-6)
Fujichrome 100 and 400 films 185 (C) 50 (C+Y) +0.26Y
(initial types: 197884) (E-6)
GAF 64, 200, and 500 Color Slide films 180 (Y) 365 (C+Y) +0.07Y
(196977) (GAF Process AR-1)
Agfachrome 64 and 100 films 180 (Y) >600 (C+Y) +0.02Y
(Agfa Process AP-41)
(197683)
Konica Chrome R-50, R-100, R-200, (Data Not Available)
and R-1000 professional films
(1990 ) (E-6)
Konica Chrome RD100 Color Reversal Film (Data Not Available)
Polaroid HighDefinition 100 Chrome Film
(Polaroid HighDefinition 100 Chrome Film
is made for Polaroid by Konica in Japan
and is marketed in Europe and Australia.)
(1986/89 ) (E-6)
Agfachrome RS 50 Plus and 140 (Y) 150 (C+Y) +0.10Y
RS 100 Plus Professional films [tentative] [tentative] [tentative]
and Agfachrome CT 100 Plus Film
(1992 ) (E-6)
Agfachrome RS 50 and RS 100 140 (Y) 150 (C+Y) +0.10Y
Professional films and
Agfachrome CT 100 Film
(improved types: 198892) (E-6)
Agfachrome RS 200 Professional 140 (Y) 150 (C+Y) +0.10Y
and Agfachrome CT 200 films
(improved types: 1988 ) (E-6)
Agfachrome RS 200 Professional 140 (Y) 24 (C+Y) +0.31Y
and Agfachrome CT 200 films
(initial types: 198385) (E-6)
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film 135 (Y) 90 (C+Y) +0.14Y
(1990 ) (ISO 50) (E-6)
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Kodak Ektachrome-X Film 120 (C) 90 (C+Y) +0.16Y
Kodak High Speed Ektachrome Film
Kodak High Speed Ektachrome Film
Type B (Tungsten)
(196377) (E-4)
3M ScotchChrome 100, 400, 800/3200, 95 (C) 70 (C+Y) +0.21Y
and 640T films
Polaroid Presentation Chrome Film (100)
(1988 ) (E-6)
3M Scotch 640T Color Slide Film
(198189)
(Polaroid Presentation Chrome Film is
made for Polaroid by the 3M Company)
(although these films are labeled by 3M
and Polaroid as Made in U.S.A., they
are actually manufactured in Italy by
a 3M subsidiary.)
Polaroid PolaChrome Instant Slide Film 90 (C) 80 (C+Y) +0.14Y
(Because of very poor stability in humid
storage conditions and formation of
severe, irregular stain during projection,
this film is not recommended for other
than short-term applications.)
(1983 ) (Polaroid instant process)
Agfachrome RS 1000 Prof. Film 75 (Y) 210 (C+Y) +0.07Y
Agfachrome RS 50 Prof. Film
Agfachrome RS 100 Prof. and CT Films
(198488) (E-6)
Ilford Ilfochrome 50 Color Slide Film 75 (Y) 210 (C+Y) +0.07Y
Ilford Ilfochrome 100 Color Slide Film
(Ilfochrome slide films made by Agfa
were marketed in 198788.) (E-6)
Polaroid Superchrome 100 Slide Film
(Initial type of Polaroid Superchrome
film made by Agfa and sold in Spain
and Portugal in 198788.) (E-6)
Agfachrome 200 Professional Film 70 (C) 12 (C+Y) +0.53Y
(initial type: 198284) (E-6)
Fujichrome R-100 Film 55 (C) 50 (C+Y) +0.18Y
(196873) (E-4)
3M ScotchChrome 1000 Film (1988 ) 45 (C) 140 (C+Y) +0.09Y
3M Scotch 1000 Color Slide Film (198388)
3M Scotch 100 Color Slide Film (198488)
3M CRT 100 Color Slide Film (198588)
Polaroid Presentation Chrome
35mm Film (198588) (E-6)
(Although these films were labeled by
3M and Polaroid as Made in U.S.A.,
they were actually manufactured in
Italy by a 3M subsidiary.)
Kodak Ektachrome Professional films 13 (C) 25 (C+Y) +0.28Y
(sheet and 120 roll films)
(195977) (E-3)
Color Microfilm
Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic Film, >2,555 () >2,555 () +0.01Y
Type M and Type P
(called Ilford Cibachrome
Micrographic Film, 198491)
(1984 ) (Ilfochrome Process P-5)
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Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Color Papers and Display Films: Least Stable Dye
Table 5.10 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of Agfa Color Print Materials, Color Negatives, and Transparencies
(from Data Supplied by Agfa-Gevaert and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
Estimated Storage Time for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye
for Storage in the Dark at 75F (24C)
(Note: Predictions Are for Storage at 40% RH)
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S., Germany, and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. These estimates are based on initial cyan, magenta, and yellow densities of 1.0 with full
d-min corrected densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials
in particular (e.g., Agfacolor Type 8 and Type 9 papers), the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 20%.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
(N) = For printing color negatives
Agfacolor Paper Type 9 (RA-4) (N) 120 (Y)
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with Agfa AP-94 chemicals [tentative]
and Agfa AP-94SB Stabilizer in Agfa washless minilab)
(1988 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 9 (RA-4) (N) 120 (Y)
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with [tentative]
Agfa AP-94 chemicals and water wash)
(1988 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 9i [improved] (RA-4) (N) (not disclosed)
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with
Agfa AP-94 chemicals and water wash)
(1992 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] (EP-2) (N) 120 (Y)
(processed with Agfa AP-92 [EP-2] chemicals and water wash)
(1986 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] (EP-2) (N) 120 (Y)*
(processed with Agfa AP-92 [EP-2] chemicals and
improved Agfa AP-92SB Stabilizer in Agfa washless minilab)
(1986 )
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 [improved] (EP-2) (N) (not disclosed)
(processed in Agfa AP-95 rapid-process chemicals with
improved Agfa AP-95SB Stabilizer in Agfa washless minilab)
Agfacolor Paper Type 8 (EP-2) (N) 120 (Y)
Agfatrans and Agfaclear Display Films (EP-2) (N) 120 (Y)
(1989 )
Agfachrome Paper CRN [Type 63] (R-3) (T) 85 (C)
Agfachrome High Gloss Material CRP [polyester]
Agfachrome Overhead Film CRF
(1990 )
Agfachrome Reversal Paper Type 63 (R-3) (T) 85 (C)
Agfachrome CR 410 High-Gloss Reversal Material [polyester]
Agfachrome Reversal Copy Paper
Agfachrome Overhead CRF Reversal Material
(198490)
Process C-41 Compatible Color Negative Films:
Agfacolor Ultra 50 Professional Film (not disclosed)
Agfacolor Optima 125 Professional Film
Agfacolor Portrait 160 Professional Film
(1990 )
Agfacolor Optima 200 Professional Film (not disclosed)
(1992 )
Agfacolor Optima 400 Professional Film (not disclosed)
(1992 )
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 100 Film 30 (Y)
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 400 Film
(1988 )
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 200 Film
(198992)
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6
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Process C-41 Compatible Color Negative Films: Least Stable Dye
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Process E-6 Compatible Color Transparency Films: Least Stable Dye
Agfachrome RS 50 Professional Film 55 (Y)
Agfachrome RS 50 Plus Professional Film (not disclosed)
(1992 )
Agfachrome RS 100 Professional and CT Films 55 (Y)
Agfachrome RS 100 Plus Professional and CT Films (not disclosed)
(1992 )
Agfachrome RS 100 Professional and CT Films
(198488)
(198792)
Agfachrome RS 1000 Professional Film (not disclosed)
Agfacolor XRC and XRG 200 Film (not disclosed)
Agfacolor XRS 200 Professional Film 30 (Y)
(1989 )
Agfacolor XR 100i Film [improved] 15 (C)
(198389)
(198489)
(19841989)
Agfacolor XRS 1000 Professional Film (not disclosed)
* According to Agfa, The stability of Agfacolor Type 8 Paper stabilized in fresh AP-92SB
is slightly better than normally washed material. This situation can change somewhat
after the solution has become seasoned. This situation is not specific to [Agfa] color
paper and chemistry, but instead it is common to all color papers and stabilizers. Use
of the initial version of Agfa process AP-92 stabilizer in washless processing resulted
in a reduction in the stability of the yellow dye in Agfacolor Type 8 paper; an improved
stabilizer formulation that corrected this shortcoming was introduced in 1988.
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Table 5.11 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of Fuji Color Print Materials, Color Negatives, and Transparencies
(from Data Supplied by Fuji and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
Estimated Storage Time for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye for Storage in the Dark at 75F (24C)
(Note: Predictions Are for Storage at <10% RH and 70% RH)
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S., Japan, and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
d-min corrected densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With earlier types
of Fuji print materials (e.g., EP-2 compatible Fujicolor papers), the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 20%.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Fujicolor Paper Type 03 (EP-2) (N) 60 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Minilab Paper 50 (C) [70% RH]
Fujicolor Paper Type 02
Fujicolor Paper Type 12 (EP-2) (N) 60 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Minilab Paper 50 (C) [70% RH]
Fujicolor Minilab Paper (EP-2) (N) 60 (C) [<10% RH]
(processed with Fuji Stabilizer in Fuji washless minilab) 50 (C) [70% RH]
Fujitrans Super FA Display Material (RA-4) (N) 80 (C) [<10% RH]
70 (C) [70% RH]
Fujitrans Display Material (EP-2) (N) 60 (C) [<10% RH]
50 (C) [70% RH]
Fujichrome Paper Type 35 (R-3) (T) 120 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujichrome Copy Paper Type 35H 100 (C) [70% RH]
Fujichrome Printing Material [polyester]
(1992 )
Fujichrome Paper Type 34 (R-3) (T) 120 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujichrome Copy Paper Type 34H 100 (C) [70% RH]
Fujichrome Printing Material [polyester]
(198692)
Fujichrome Reversal Paper Type 33 (R3) (T) 25 (C) [<10% RH]
(198386) 20 (C) [70% RH]
(T+N) = For printing either transparencies or negatives
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type 3 (RA-4)(N) 120 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Supreme Paper SFA3 100 (C) [70% RH]
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with Fuji CP-40FA
chemicals and Fuji washless stabilizer or with water wash)
(1993 for Prof. Portrait Paper; 1992 for other papers)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA Type II (RA-4) (N) 80 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Supreme Paper 70 (C) [70% RH]
Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA Type P
Fujiflex SFA Super-Gloss Printing Material [polyester]
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with Fuji CP-40FA
chemicals and Fuji washless stabilizer or with water wash)
(199192 for Super FA Type C, and Fujiflex SFA)
(199092 for Super FA Type II and Supreme)
(199193 for Prof. Super FA Type P)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA (RA-4) (N) 80 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Paper FA 70 (C) [70% RH]
(RA-4 compatible papers processed with Fuji CP-40FA
chemicals and stabilizer in Fuji washless minilab)
(198990)
Fujicolor Paper Super FA (RA-4) (N) 80 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Paper FA 70 (C) [70% RH]
(RA-4 compatible papers processed with
Fuji CP-40FA chemicals and water wash)
(198990)
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Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Color Papers: Least Stable Dye
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Fujicolor Reala Film (ISO 100) 70 (C) [<10% RH]
(1989 ) 20 (Y) [70% RH]
Fujicolor HG 400 Professional Film 70 (C) [<10% RH]
(1991 ) 20 (Y) [70% RH]
Fujicolor 160 Professional Film S
Fujicolor 160 Professional Film L stability is similar to
Fujicolor HR Disc Film Fujicolor Super HG films
Fujicolor Super HR 200 Film 70 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Super HR 400 Film 20 (Y) [70% RH]
Fujicolor HR 100 Film 14 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor HR 200 Film 9 (C) [70% RH]
Fujicolor HR 1600 Film 20 (C) [<10% RH]
15 (Y) [70% RH]
Fujicolor Internegative Film IT-N 70 (C) [<10% RH]
(1988 ) 20 (Y) [70% RH]
Process E-6 Compatible Color Transparency Films:
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film (ISO 50) 150 (Y) [<10% RH]
(1990 ) 40 (C) [70% RH]
Fujichrome 50D Film
Fujichrome 64T Film
Fujichrome 100D Film 150 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujichrome 400D Film (198492) 40 (C) [70% RH]
Fujichrome 400D Film (improved type: 1992 )
Fujichrome 1600D Film
Fujichrome Duplicating Films
(1983/88/92 )
* This authors tests indicate that the dark stability of Fuji Dyecolor prints is extremely good and
is similar to that of Kodak Dye Transfer prints (i.e., longer than 600 years at 75F [24C] and 40%
RH; see Table 5.13). Also like Dye Transfer prints, Fuji Dyecolor prints are essentially free from
stain formation, even after prolonged storage in the dark or display under adverse conditions.
Fuji CB Prints (T) (see Ilford Ilfochrome
(Ilford Ilfochrome materials supplied data in Table 5.12)
under the Fuji name in Japan)
(1970 )
Fuji Dyecolor Prints (dye transfer type) (T+N) (not disclosed)*
Fuji-Inax Photocera Color Photographs (T+N) quasi-eternal
(fired pigment color process with ceramic support)
(Fuji-Inax Ceramic Color Process)
Fuji Colorcopy Paper AP (direct positive paper) (T) 100 (C) [<10% RH]
(Fuji AP-NM, AP-SG, AP-SGR, and AP-T 80 (C) [70% RH]
materials for Fuji Colorcopy AP System)
(1988 )
Fuji Colorcopy Paper AP (negative print paper) (N) 80 (C) [<10% RH]
(Fuji AP-NP and AP-NPR materials 70 (C) [70% RH]
for Fuji Colorcopy AP System)
(1988 )
Fuji Pictrography Color Prints (T+N) (not disclosed)
(silver-sensitized hybrid thermal dye transfer
process for printing digitized color images)
(1990 )
Instant Color Prints:
Fuji FI-10 and Fuji 800 Instant Color Prints
(1981 for Fuji FI-10; 1984 for Fuji 800) (not disclosed)
Fujicolor Super G 200 Film stability is similar to
Fujicolor Super G 400 Film Fujicolor Super HG films
(1992 )
Fujicolor Super HG 200 Film 70 (C) [<10% RH]
Fujicolor Super HG 400 Film 20 (Y) [70% RH]
(1990 for Super HG 1600; 198992 for other films)
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Table 5.12 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of Ilford Color Print Materials, Color Negative Films, and Slide Films
(from Data Supplied by Ilford and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
(Note: Predictions Are For Storage at 40% RH)
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Ilford is a subsidiary of the International Paper Company, an American company headquartered in Purchase,
New York. These estimates are based on initial cyan, magenta, and yellow densities of 1.0 with full d-min corrected densitometry. Unlike chromogenic materials,
Ilfochrome prints and microfilms (called Cibachrome prints and microfilms, 196391) can be expected to remain virtually free of stain even after prolonged storage.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
Silver Dye-Bleach Materials 20% Loss of
for Printing Color Transparencies: Least Stable Dye
Ilfochrome Classic Translucent Display Film (CT.F7) more than 500 *
Cibachrome II Display Film, Translucent Base (CL.F7)
[for back-lighted displays]
(Process P-3, P-3X, P-30, and P-30P)
(198092 for Cibachrome Display Films; 1992 for Ilfochrome)
Ilfochrome Classic Clear Display Film (CC.F7) more than 500 *
Cibachrome II Display Film, Transparent Base (CTD.F7)
[for back-lighted displays]
Ilfochrome Classic Clear Display (OHP) Film (COH.F7) more than 500 *
Cibachrome II Overhead Transparency Film (COHP.F7)
[for overhead transparencies and back-lighted displays]
Ilfochrome Rapid Deluxe Print Material (RLL.1K) more than 500 *
[high-gloss polyester-base material]
(1991 ) (Process P-22 and P-4)
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (RPL.1M) more than 500 *
[glossy RC paper]
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (RPL.44M) more than 500 *
[Pearl semi-gloss RC paper]
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (CCO.1M) more than 500 *
[high-contrast glossy RC copy paper]
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (CCO.1K) more than 500 *
[high-contrast glossy polyester-base copy material]
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
Silver Dye-Bleach Materials for 20% Loss of
Ilfochrome Classic Deluxe Print Material (CPS.1K) more than 500 *
Cibachrome II Print Material (CPS.1K)
[high-contrast, high-gloss polyester-base material]
(Cibachrome II: 198091)
(Ilfochrome Classic: 1991 )
Ilfochrome Classic Deluxe Print Material (CM.1K) more than 500 *
[medium-contrast, high-gloss polyester-base material]
(Process P-3, P-3X, P-30, and P-30P) (1992 )
Ilfochrome Classic Deluxe Print Material (CF.1K) more than 500 *
Cibachrome II Print Material (CF.1K)
[low-contrast, high-gloss polyester-base material]
(Ilfochrome Classic: 1991 )
Cibachrome II Print Material (CRC.44M) more than 500 *
Ilfochrome Classic Print Material (CPM.1M) more than 500 *
[medium-contrast glossy RC paper]
Ilfochrome Classic Print Material (CPM.44M) more than 500 *
[medium-contrast Pearl semi-gloss RC paper]
Ilfochrome Classic Print Material (CPH.1M) more than 500 *
[high-contrast glossy RC copy paper]
(1992 )
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2
0
0
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
Silver Dye-Bleach Materials for 20% Loss of
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (CCO.44M) more than 500 *
[Pearl semi-gloss high-contrast RC copy paper]
Ilfochrome Rapid Print Material (CCO.44L) more than 500 *
[lightweight Pearl semi-gloss high-contrast RC copy paper]
Ilfochrome Rapid OHP Film (CTR.F7) more than 500 *
[overhead transparency film]
Cibacopy RC Papers and Polyester-Base Print Materials more than 500 *
[processed in Ilford Cibacopy and Ilfochrome Rapid
Systems KP-30/40, CC-1217Z/E, CC-1012, CC-120/180,
as well as other systems employing P-17, P-22, P-222,
and P-4 chemicals] (197691)
Cibachrome-A II Print Material (CPSA.1K) more than 500 *
[high-gloss polyester-base print material]
(Process P-30 and P-30P)
(198189 for initial type)
(198991 for improved type)
Cibachrome-A II Print Material (CRCA.44M) more than 500 *
(198189 for initial type)
(198991 for improved type)
Cibachrome-A II Print Material (CF.1K) more than 500 *
[low-contrast, high-gloss polyester material]
Silver Dye-Bleach Color Microfilm:
Ilfochrome Micrographic Film Type M & Type P more than 500 *
Cibachrome Micrographic Film Type M & Type P
[high-resolution color microfilms] (Process P-5)
(1984 )
Chromogenic Materials for Printing Color Negatives:
Ilford Ilfocolor Deluxe Print Material (ILRA.1K) (RA-4) (not disclosed)
(high-gloss polyester-base print material manufactured by Ilford in
Switzerland using emulsion components supplied by Konica; the stability
of the Ilford product is believed to be similar if not identical to Konica Color
QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A3 see Table 5.5a and Table 5.15)
(1991 )
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material (SP-729s) (RA-4) (not disclosed)
of the Ilford product is believed to be similar if not identical to Konica Color
QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A2 see Table 5.5c and Table 5.15)
(199091)
Ilford Colorluxe Print Material (IL.1K) (EP-2) (not disclosed)
of the Ilford product is believed to be similar if not identical to Konica
Color Type SR [SG] print material see Table 5.5b and Table 5.15)
(1990 )
Ilford Ilfocolor Deluxe Translucent Display Film (ITRA.F7) (RA-4) (not disclosed)
(translucent, polyester-base display material manufactured by Ilford in
of the Ilford product is believed to be similar if not identical to
Konica Color Trans QA Display Film Type A3 see Table 5.15) (1992 )
Chromogenic Color Negative and Color Slide Films:
Ilford Ilfocolor HR 100 Film (C-41) (not disclosed) **
Ilford Ilfochrome 50 Film (E-6) (not disclosed) ***
* This authors accelerated tests conducted at 62C (144F) and 45% RH suggest that Ilfochrome (Cibachrome)
images are essentially permanent in dark storage they are probably even more stable than Kodak Dye
Transfer prints (i.e., longer than 600 years for a 20% density loss of the least stable dye when stored at 75F
[24C] see Table 5.13). Like Dye Transfer prints, Ilfochrome polyester-base prints remain virtually free from
stain formation even after prolonged storage in the dark or display under adverse conditions (Ilfochrome
RC-base prints, however, can develop yellowish stain after exposure to light during extended display).
** These now-discontinued Ilford Ilfocolor HR color negative films were made for Ilford by Agfa-Gevaert in
Germany and are believed to have stability characteristics identical to Agfacolor XR films of the same ISO
rating (see Table 5.10); these Ilfocolor film were marketed from March 1987 until May 1988. Prior to 1987
Ilfocolor films are believed to have been supplied to Ilford by Konica.
*** These now-discontinued Ilford Ilfochrome transparency films were made for Ilford by Agfa-Gevaert in
Germany and are believed to have stability characteristics that are identical to Agfachrome CT films of the
same ISO ratings (see Table 5.10); these Ilfochrome films were marketed by Ilford from March 1987 until May
1988. Prior to 1987 Ilfochrome films are believed to have been supplied to Ilford by Konica.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Chromogenic Materials for Printing Color Negatives: Least Stable Dye
2
0
1
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Table 5.13 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of Kodak Color Print Materials, Color Negatives, and Transparencies
(Compiled from Published Kodak Data and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. These estimates are based on initial cyan, magenta, and yellow densities of 1.0 with full d-min corrected
densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials in particular (e.g.,
Ektacolor papers), the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 20%.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
Color Print Materials: Stable Image Dye
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) >1,000 ()
(Obsolete MX-1119 special-order yellow dye
available in the early 1980s.)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) >600 (Y)
(Prints made with standard Kodak
Film and Paper Dyes.)
Kodak Dye Transfer Prints [fiber-base] (T+N) (not disclosed)
(Kodak MX-1372 Yellow Dye trade-tested in 1989 and
standard Kodak Magenta and Cyan Film and Paper
Dyes; MX-1372 Yellow Dye was withdrawn in 1990.)
Trimprint Instant Color Film (I) >400 (M)
Kodak Instant Color Film Trimprint (I) >400 (M)
Kodamatic Instant Color Film HS 144-10 (I) >400 (M)
Kodak Instant Color Film PR 144-10 (I) >300 (M)
Ektaflex PCT Color Prints (198188) (T+N) 160 (M)
Ektacolor Plus Paper (EP-2) (N)
Ektacolor Professional Paper 76 (Y)
Ektacolor Plus Thin Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
Duraflex Print Material 4023 [improved] (EP-2) (N) [76 (Y)]
Duratrans Display Material 4022 [improved] (EP-2) (N) [76 (Y)]
Ektacolor Edge Paper (RA-4 with water wash) (N)
Ektacolor Royal II Paper
Ektacolor Portra II Paper (not disclosed)
Ektacolor Supra Paper
Ektacolor Ultra Paper
Duraflex RA Print Material [polyester]
Duratrans RA Display Material
Ektatrans RA Display Material
Duraclear RA Display Material
Ektacolor 2001 Paper
Ektacolor Royal Paper
Ektacolor Portra Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
Ektacolor Edge Paper (RA-4NP with washless stabilizer) (N)
Ektacolor Portra II Paper (not disclosed)
Duraflex RA Print Material [polyester]
Duratrans RA Display Material
Ektatrans RA Display Material
Duraclear RA Display Material
Ektacolor 2001 Paper
Ektacolor Royal Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
(T+N) =For printing either transparencies or negatives
(I ) = Instant camera print
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Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
Color Negative and Internegative Films (C-41): Stable Image Dye
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
Ektachrome Radiance Paper (1991 ) (R-3) (T) (not disclosed)
Ektachrome Radiance Select Material (1991 ) [polyester]
Ektachrome Radiance HC Copy Paper (1992 )
Ektachrome Radiance Thin Copy Paper (1992 )
Ektachrome 22 Paper [improved type: 199091] (R-3) (T) (not disclosed)
Kodak Ektatherm Color Print Paper (1990 ) (not disclosed)
(thermal dye transfer paper used with Kodak
XL 7700-series Digital Continuous Tone Printers)
Kodak Thermacolor Electronic Print Paper (1989 ) (not disclosed)
(thermal dye transfer paper used with Hitachi Video Printer)
Ektacolor 37 RC Paper (EP-3 w/stabilizer) (N) 20 (C)
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
Ektachrome 14 Paper (R-100) (T) 20 (C)
Duratrans Display Material 4022 (EP-2) (N) 18 (C)
Ektacolor 74 RC Paper (EP-2) (N) 16 (C)
Ektacolor 78 Paper
(Ektacolor Print)
(Kodacolor Print)
Ektachrome Copy Paper (R-3) (T) 16 (C)
Ektachrome HC Copy Paper
Ektachrome Overhead Material
Ektachrome Prestige Paper (19861991) [polyester]
Ektachrome 22 Paper (initial type: 198490)
Ektachrome 2203 Paper (R-100) (T) 15 (C)
Color Negative and Internegative Films (C-41):
Vericolor III Professional Film, Type S 38 to 65 (Y)
Ektacolor Gold 160 Professional Film
Ektacolor GPF 160 Professional Film
(In the U.S., Ektacolor GPF is sold only in 8-exposure 35mm rolls)
Vericolor 400 Professional Film 38 to 65 (Y)
Vericolor HC Professional Film 16 to 28 (Y)
Vericolor Copy/ID Film 38 to 65 (Y)
Ektapress Gold 100 Professional Film 16 to 28 (Y)
Ektar 25 Film and Ektar 25 Professional Film 16 to 28 (Y)
Ektar 100 Film (not disclosed)
Ektar 125 Film 16 to 28 (Y)
Ektar 1000 Film 38 to 65 (Y)
Kodacolor HR Disc Film 43 (Y)
Kodak Gold Disc Film (1991 )
Kodacolor Gold Disc Film (not disclosed)
Kodacolor VR Disc Film
Kodacolor VR 100 Film
Kodacolor VR 400 Film
(1983 )
Kodacolor Gold 100 Film (198691) 26 (Y)
Kodak Gold 100 Film (199192)
Kodacolor Gold 200 Film (198691) 16 to 28 (Y)
Kodacolor Gold 400 Film (198891) 38 to 65 (Y)
Kodak Gold Plus 100 Film (1992 ) (not disclosed)
Kodak Gold 1600 Film (1991 ) 38 to 65 (Y)
Kodacolor Gold 1600 Film (198991)
(Table 5.13 continued on following page . . .)
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Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
Process E-6 Ektachrome Films (Group I films): Stable Image Dye
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage for
20% Loss of Least
Color Negative and Internegative Films (C-41): Stable Image Dye
Ektachrome 160 Professional Film (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 160 Professional Film, 5037 (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 200 and 200 Professional Film 105 (Y)
Ektachrome 200 Professional Film, 5036
Ektachrome 400 Film
Ektachrome P800/1600 Professional Film
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5071
Ektachrome SE Duplicating Film SO-366
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film, Type K
Ektachrome Duplicating Film 6121
Process E-3 and E-4 Ektachrome Films:
Ektachrome Infrared Film 2236 (E-4) 42 (C)
High Speed Ektachrome Film (E-4)
High Speed Ektachrome Film Type B (Tungsten) 30 (C)
Ektachrome-X Film
Ektachrome Professional Films (E-3) 8 (C)
(sheet and 120 roll films: 195977)
Kodak Photomicrography Color Film 2483 (E-4) 6 (Y)
Print Films for Making Slides from Negatives or Internegatives:
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 (slide from negative) 88 (Y)
Vericolor Slide Film 5072 (slide from negative) 18 (Y)
Vericolor Print Film 4111 (transparency from negative) 18 (Y)
Eastman Color SP Print Film 5383 (slide from negative) 9 (C)
Note: The estimates given here have been derived from data in Evaluating Dye Stability of Kodak Color
Products, Kodak Publication No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subsequent CIS-50 series of dye-stability data
sheets through 1985; Image-Stability Data: Kodachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-105, 1988; Image-
Stability Data: Kodak Ektachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-106, 1988; Image-Stability Data: Kodak
Color Negative Films (Process C-41), Kodak Publication E-107, June 1990; Evaluating Image Stability
of Kodak Color Photographic Products, Kodak Publication No. CIS-130, March 1991; Kodak Ektacolor
Plus and Professional Papers for the Professional Finisher, Kodak Publication No. E-18, March 1986;
Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman Motion Picture Films (data sheets); Kodak Publications DS-100-1
through DS-100-9, May 29, 1981; and other published and non-published Kodak sources. The estimate for
Process E-3 Ektachrome films is from an article by Charleton Bard et al, (Eastman Kodak) entitled Predicting
Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic Products from Short-Term
Tests, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 44. The accelerated-
test data given in the article were for Ektachrome Duplicating Film 6120 (Process E-3) and is assumed to apply
to Process E-3 Ektachrome camera films; Kodak has declined to release dye-stability data for these films.
Kodacolor 400 Film 22 (C)
Kodacolor II Film 14 (C)
Vericolor II Professional Film, Type S 14 (C)
Vericolor Internegative Film 6011 12 (C)
Kodak Commercial Internegative Film (1993 ) (not disclosed)
Vericolor Internegative Film 4114 (198493) (not disclosed)
Vericolor II Professional Film, Type L 7 (C)
Vericolor II Commercial Film, Type S 7 (C)
Process K-14 Kodachrome Films:
Kodachrome 25 and 25 Professional Films
Kodachrome 40 Film 5070 (Type A) 185 (Y)
Process E-6 Ektachrome Films (Group II films introduced beginning in 1988):
Ektachrome 100 Plus Professional Film
Ektachrome 100 HC Film
Ektachrome 50 HC Film 220 (C)
Ektachrome 64T Professional Film (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 320T Professional Film (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 64X Professional Film
Ektachrome 400 HC Film
Process E-6 Ektachrome Films (Group I films introduced beginning in 1978):
Ektachrome 50 Professional Film (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 50 Professional Film, 5018 (Tungsten)
Ektachrome 50 Professional Film, 6018 (Tungsten) 105 (Y)
Ektachrome 64 Film
Ektachrome 64 Professional Film
Ektachrome 64 EPV Film (Press and Video Film)
Ektachrome 100 Film
Ektachrome 100 Professional Film
Ektachrome 160 Film (Tungsten)
Table 5.14 Unpublished Kodak Estimates of Dark Fading Stability for Kodak Color Materials
(Applicable to Kodak Products Marketed from About 1960 Through 1977)
Estimated Storage Time for 10% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye for Storage in the Dark at 75F (24C)
Note: These estimates are for a just noticeable 10% loss of the least stable image dye. To compare these data with those in other tables in this chapter, which
present estimates for a 20% loss of dye density, the storage times given below should be multiplied by a factor of 2.3. (With many products, the dark fading curve
is reasonably linear as fading progresses to the point of a 20% dye loss, and a simple multiple of 2x will be reliable. However, with some products the rate of fading
gradually decreases as dark fading progresses, and a 20% density loss will take more than twice the storage time required for a 10% loss.)
The Process E-6 Ektachrome Professional films listed below were the initial versions manufactured in 1976; later versions of the films were significantly improved
in dark fading stability, and it is believed that by the end of 1978 or early in 1979 all Kodak Process E-6 Ektachrome professional and amateur films had the same,
improved stability. Kodak has not revealed when the improvements were made in each particular type of Ektachrome film, although it has been reported that
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5071 was the first to be marketed with an improved dark fading stability.
These estimates are based on initial cyan, magenta, and yellow densities of 1.0 with full d-min corrected densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only
and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials in particular (e.g., Kodak Ektacolor papers), the level of stain may become
objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 10%.
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21 to 50 Years:
Kodachrome II Film (Daylight) [Process K-12]
Kodachrome II Professional Film, Type A [Process K-12]
Kodachrome-X Film [Process K-12]
Kodachrome II Movie Film (Daylight) [Process K-12]
Kodachrome II Movie Film (Type A) [Process K-12]
11 to 20 Years:
Ektachrome 160 Professional Film 5037 (Tungsten) [Process E-6]
Ektachrome Duplicating Film 6121 [Process E-6]
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5071 [Process E-6]
Ektachrome-X Film [Process E-4]
High-Speed Ektachrome Film (Daylight) [Process E-4]
High-Speed Ektachrome Film (Tungsten) [Process E-4]
Ektachrome EF Film 7241 (Daylight) [Process ME-4]
Ektachrome EF Film 7242 (Tungsten) [Process ME-4]
Ektachrome MS Film 7256 [Process ME-4]
6 to 10 Years:
Ektachrome 50 Professional Film 5018 and 6118 (Tungsten) [Process E-6]
Ektachrome 64 Professional Film 5017 and 6117 (Daylight) [Process E-6]
Ektachrome 200 Professional Film 5036 (Daylight) [Process E-6]
Ektacolor Slide Film 5028 [Modified Process C-22]
Ektacolor Print Film 4109 [Modified Process C-22]
6 to 10 Years (continued):
Ektacolor 37 RC Paper (Kodacolor Print) [Process EP-3]
Ektachrome RC Paper, Type 1993 [Process R-5]
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 (1976 improved version) [Process ECN-2]
Less Than 6 Years:
Ektachrome Film 6115, Daylight Type [Process E-3]
Ektachrome Film 6116, Type B [Process E-3]
Ektachrome Professional Film (Daylight) EP120 [Process E-3]
Ektachrome Professional Film, Type B (Tungsten) EPB120 [Process E-3]
Ektachrome Duplicating Film 6120 [Process E-3]
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5038 [Process E-4]
Vericolor S Film [Vericolor Process]
Vericolor L Film [Vericolor Process]
Vericolor II Film, Type S (original version) [Process C-41]
Vericolor II Film, Type L [Process C-41]
Kodacolor-X Film [Process C-22]
Ektacolor Professional Film, Type S [Process C-22]
Ektacolor Professional Film 6101, Type S [Process C-22]
Ektacolor Professional Film 6102, Type L [Process C-22]
Ektacolor Internegative Film 6008 and 6110 [Modified Process C-22]
Eastman Color Negative Film 5254 and 7254 [Process ECN]
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 and 7247 (orig. versions) [Process ECN-2]
Eastman Color Print Film 5381 and 7381 [Process ECP]
Ektachrome 40 Movie Film 7262 [Process EM-25]
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Table 5.15 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of Konica Color Print Materials, Color Negatives, and Transparencies
(from Data Supplied by Konica and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S., Japan, and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
d-min corrected densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials
in particular (e.g., Konica Color Paper Type SR and Type A3), the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 20%.
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Konica Color QA Paper Type A2 (RA-4) (N) 80 (C)
Konica Color QA Super Glossy Print Material Type A2 [polyester]
Konica Color QA Paper Type A
Konica CPK-20QA chemicals and Konica
Super Stabilizer in Konica washless minilab)
(1988/90 )
Konica Color QA Paper Type A
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with Konica
CPK-20QA chemicals and water wash)
(1988/90 )
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR (EP-2) (N) 80 (C)
Konica Color PC Paper Professional Type EX
(EP-2 compatible paper processed with
Konica CPK-18 chemicals and Konica
(1984/88 )
Konica Color QA Paper Type A5 (RA-4) (N) (not disclosed)
Konica CPK-20QA chemicals and Konica
(1991 )
Konica Color QA Paper Type A3 (RA-4) (N) (not disclosed)
(RA-4 compatible paper processed with Konica CPK-20QA
chemicals and Konica Super Stabilizer in Konica washless minilab)
(1991 )
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Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Konica Color PC Paper Type SR (EP-2) (N) 70 (C)
Konica Color PC Paper Professional Type EX
(EP-2 compatible paper processed with
Konica CPK-18 chemicals and water wash)
(1984/88 )
Konica Color Trans QA Display Film Type A3 (RA-4) (N) 120140 (Y)
(translucent polyester-base version of Type A3 paper)
Konica Color Clear QA Display Film Type A3
(clear polyester-base version of Type A3 paper)
(1992 )
Konica Color Trans Display Film Type SR (EP-2) (N) 70 (C)
(translucent polyester-base version of Type SR paper)
Konica Color Clear Display Film Type SR
(clear polyester-base version of Type SR paper)
(1988 )
Konica Chrome Paper Type 81 (R-3) (T) 160200 (C)
(1989 )
Konica Color Impresa 50 Professional Film 20 (Y)
(1991 )
(1990 )
Konica Color Super DD 100 Film 13 (Y)
Konica Color Super DD 200 Professional Film 13 (Y)
Konica Color Super DD 400 Film 15 (Y)
(1990 )
Konica Color XG400 Film (not disclosed)
Konica Color Super SR 200 Film (USA market) 22 (Y)
Konica Color Super SR 200 Professional Film 22 (Y)
(1990 )
Konica Color Professional 160 Film Type S (not disclosed)
Konica Color Professional 160 Film Type L
(1990 )
Konica Color SR-G 100 Film (not disclosed)
Konica Color GXII 100 Film
Konica Color SR-G 200 Film
Konica Color SR-G 400 Film
(198990)
Konica Color SR-G 160 Professional Film (not disclosed)
(1989 )
Konica Color SR-G 3200 Professional Film (new name: 1989 ) 13 (Y)
Konica Color GX3200 Professional Film (new name: 1989 )
Konica Color SR-V 3200 Professional Film (198789)
Konica Color GX100 Film (not disclosed)
Konica Color SR-V 200 Film 13 (Y)
Konica Color SR-V 400 Film 14 (Y)
Konica Color SR Professional Film Type S
Konica Color SR 200 Film (improved type) 30 (C)
Process E-6 Compatible Color Transparency Films:
Konica Chrome R-100 Film 115 (C)
(1986 )
Konica Chrome R-50 KF Film 115 (C)
Konica Chrome R-100 KS Film 115 (C)
Konica Chrome R-200 KU Film 48 (Y)
Konica Chrome R-1000 KX Film (not disclosed)
Note: In Japan and some other countries, Konica Color films and papers were originally sold under
the Sakuracolor brand name. In October 1987 the Sakuracolor name was dropped in favor of the
Konica Color name in all markets, worldwide; at the same time the manufacturer, Konishiroku Photo
Industries Co. Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, changed its name to Konica Corporation.
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Table 5.16 Predicted Dark Storage Stability of Polaroid Color Prints, Color Negatives, and Transparencies
(Data Requested from Polaroid Were for Accelerated Tests, Non-Accelerated Tests, and/or
Storage at Normal Room Temperature)
Estimated Storage Time for a 20% Loss of the Least Stable Image Dye and a 0.10 d-min
Color Imbalance for Instant Materials Stored in the Dark at 75F (24C)
(Note: Predictions Were Requested for Storage at 40% RH)
Estimated Years of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of Least Stable Dye
Integral Polaroid Instant Prints: or 0.10 d-min Color Imbalance
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Instant Prints (not disclosed)
Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Instant Prints (not disclosed)
Polaroid High Speed Type 779 Prints (not disclosed)
Polaroid 600 High Speed Instant Prints
(1981 )
Polaroid Spectra Instant Prints (198691) (not disclosed)
Polaroid 600 Plus Instant Prints (1988 )
Polaroid Spectra HD Instant Prints (not disclosed)
Polaroid Image Prints (Spectra HD in Europe)
(1991 )
Polaroid Vision 95 Instant Prints (name in Europe) (not disclosed)
Polaroid ? 95 Instant Prints (name in Asia)
Polaroid ? 95 Instant Prints (name in North & South America)
Pigment Color Prints: or 0.10 d-min Color Imbalance
Polaroid Permanent-Color Print Materials (not disclosed)
(Materials for making extraordinarily stable pigment (see Table 5.6)
color prints; available on special order from Polaroid.)
(1989 )
Peel-Apart Polaroid Instant Prints:
Polacolor Instant Prints (not disclosed)
(196375)
Polacolor 2 Instant Prints (not disclosed)
(Types 88; 108; 668; 58; and 808)
(1975 )
Polacolor ER Instant Prints (not disclosed)
(Types 59; 559; 669; and 809)
(1980 )
Polacolor 100 Instant Prints (not disclosed)
Polacolor 64T Instant Prints
(1992 )
Polacolor Pro 100 Instant Prints (not disclosed)
(1993 )
Integral Polaroid Instant Prints:
Polaroid SX-70 Instant Prints (not disclosed)
(197276)
Polaroid SX-70 Instant Prints (Improved) (not disclosed)
(197679)
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Process E-6 Compatible Color Transparency Films: or 0.10 d-min Color Imbalance
Polaroid Instant 35mm Color Slide Films: or 0.10 d-min Color Imbalance
Polaroid PolaChrome 35mm Slide Film (not disclosed)
Polaroid PolaChrome High Contrast 35mm Slide Film (not disclosed)
Polaroid Supercolor 100 Print Film (not disclosed)
(Initial type made by Agfa for
Polaroid and sold in Spain and Portugal.)
Polaroid OneFilm Color Print Film (ISO 200) (not disclosed)
(improved-stability type: 1990 )
(Although the film is labeled by Polaroid as
Made in U.S.A., it is actually manufactured in
Italy by a subsidiary of the 3M Company.)
Polaroid OneFilm Color Print Film (ISO 200) (not disclosed)
(Although the film was labeled by Polaroid as
Made in U.S.A., it was actually manufactured in
Italy by a subsidiary of the 3M Company.)
Polaroid HighDefinition 100 Color Print Film (not disclosed)
(The initial version of this film was introduced in Europe
and Australia in 1989; the current version was introduced
in Europe and Australia in 1990, and in the U.S. in 1992.
The film is made in Japan by Konica see Table 5.14.)
Polaroid Professional Chrome Film 64 Tungsten (not disclosed)
Polaroid Professional Chrome Film 100 Daylight
(The 64T and 100D Process E-6 sheet films, which were
introduced in 1985, are manufactured for Polaroid by
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. in Japan and are believed to have
stability characteristics that are identical to Fujichrome
transparency films of the same ISO ratings see Table 5.11.)
Polaroid 35mm Presentation Chrome Film (not disclosed)
(This film is manufactured for Polaroid by the 3M Company
in Italy and is believed to be essentially identical to
3M ScotchChrome 100 Film [improved]. Earlier versions
of Polaroid Presentation Chrome Film were believed to
be identical to now-discontinued 3M ScotchChrome 100.)
Polaroid Superchrome 100 Slide Film (not disclosed)
(Initial type made by Agfa for
Polaroid and sold in Spain and Portugal.)
Polaroid HighDefinition 100 Chrome Film (not disclosed)
(introduced in Europe and Australia in 1989; film is
made in Japan by Konica see Table 5.15.)
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Table 5.17 Predicted Dark Fading Stability of 3M Scotch Color Papers, Color Negative Films, and Slide Films
(from Data Supplied by 3M Italia and Based on Arrhenius Accelerated Dark Fading Tests)
Estimated Storage Time for a 20% Loss of Least Stable Image Dye for Storage in the Dark at 75F (24C)
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed in the U.S., Italy, and/or other countries when this book went to press in 1992; the other products listed
had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. These estimates are based on initial cyan, magenta, and yellow densities of 1.0 with full d-min
corrected densitometry. These estimates are for dye fading only and do not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials in
particular, the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 20%.
All 3M Scotch color films including all those marked Made in USA are actually manufactured in Ferrania, Italy
by 3M Italia S.p.A. (a subsidiary of the 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota).
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Process E-6 Compatible Color Slide Films:* Least Stable Dye
Estimated Years
of Dark Storage
for 20% Loss of
Color Papers, Transparency Films, and Dry Silver Materials: Least Stable Dye
3M High Speed Color Paper Type 19 (EP-2) (N) 22 (C)
3M Professional Color Paper Type 25 (EP-2) (N) 22 (C)
3M Color Laser Imager Paper and Transparency Film (EP-2) (not disclosed)
3M Color Laser Imager Paper and Transparency Film (RA-4) (not disclosed)
3M Dry Silver Color Materials (not disclosed)
Process C-41 Compatible Color Negative Films:*
3M ScotchColor 100 Color Print Film (not disclosed)
(formerly 3M Scotch HR 100 Color Print Film)
3M Scotch HR 100 Color Print Film 20 (C)
(initial type)
3M ScotchColor 200 Color Print Film (initial type) 16 (C)
3M ScotchColor 400 Color Print Film (initial type) 12 (C)
3M Scotch HR Disc Film (initial type) 19 (C)
3M ScotchChrome 100 Film (improved type: 1988 ) (not disclosed)
3M Scotch 100 Color Slide Film (1987 version) (not disclosed)
3M Scotch 100 Color Slide Film 60 (C)
3M Scotch CRT 100 Film (not disclosed)
3M ScotchChrome 400 Film (improved type: 1988 ) (not disclosed)
3M ScotchChrome 800/3200 P Film (1988 ) (not disclosed)
(initially supplied for the European market; the film
itself is essentially identical to 3M ScotchChrome 400)
3M Scotch 400 Color Slide Film (1987 version) (not disclosed)
3M Scotch 400 Color Slide Film 47 (C)
3M ScotchChrome 640T Film 60 (C)
(formerly 3M Scotch 640T Color Slide Film)
3M ScotchChrome 1000 Film 25 (C)
(formerly 3M Scotch 1000 Color Slide Film)
* Prior to early 1986, Scotch brand color negative and color transparency films were sold under the
3M Color Print Film and 3M ColorSlide Film names (the stability characteristics of the films
remained the same when the names were changed). In late 1988 the ScotchChrome name was
adopted for all new color transparency films films that were already on the market were renamed
and supplied in the new ScotchChrome style of packaging. In 1990 all 3M color negative films were
given the 3M ScotchColor name and a new packaging style was adopted.
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End of Chapter 5
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incorrectly attributed to projection when the primary cause
has actually been the poor dark fading stability of the film;
this has been particularly true for slides made on unstable
motion picture films (such as Eastman Color Print Film
5383 and earlier versions) which were prevalent in educa-
tional and slide library markets in the United States from
the 1960s until about the end of 1983.
It should never be forgotten that an original color slide
is a unique, one-of-a-kind photograph. Like an instant color
print, there is no negative from which to make another
slide should the original fade, be physically damaged, or be
lost. Unless they make their own color prints and have a
firsthand appreciation for the exasperating problems that
scratches and dirt cause on reversal prints most pho-
tographers handle their color slides with far less care than
they do their black-and-white and color negatives. Minor
scratches, surface dirt, fingerprints, and other defects are
not nearly as noticeable when slides are projected as they
are when the slides are used to make prints for display or
color separations for book or magazine reproduction.
For the typical amateur photographer, the projector-
fading stability of current slide films appears to be ad-
equate for the usually limited total times of projection;
dark fading stability is generally the more important con-
sideration for amateurs. On the other hand, picture agen-
cies, academic slide libraries, teachers, and lecturers are
likely to subject slides to repeated and extended projec-
tion: 5- to 10-minute projection periods each time a slide is
shown are typical for academic art slide libraries, for in-
stance.
Generally speaking, the more valuable a particular slide
is, the more likely it is to receive repeated and extended
projection. Most photojournalists and stock photograph-
ers have slides for which reproduction rights are sold over
and over again, year after year. In the hands of editors and
art directors, the accumulated projection time may
quickly become sufficient to cause subtle losses of image
quality especially in the highlights and eventually will
result in serious image deterioration. Knowledge of the
fading rates of slide films will enable the user to obtain
projection duplicates before the fading of originals be-
comes objectionable.
Light (Not Heat) Is the Primary Cause
of Color Slide Fading During Projection
It is primarily light that causes fading when a slide is
projected. Because slide films are subjected to projection
heat for relatively short durations, projection heat in itself
contributes almost nothing to slide fading. For example,
an Ektagraphic III projector has a film-gate temperature
of about 130F (55C),
4
and accelerated dark fading data
(see Chapter 5) indicate that no significant fading could
Projecting a 35mm color slide exposes the image to a
concentrated beam of extremely intense light a Kodak
Ektagraphic III projector equipped with the standard 300-
watt EXR quartz-halogen lamp has a light level at the film
plane of over one million lux (almost 100,000 footcandles),
which is equivalent to about ten times the illumination in-
tensity of direct outdoor sunlight.
1
The Kodak Ektapro
7000 and 9000 projectors, introduced in 1992, also employ
EXR lamps; however, because of an improved mirror de-
sign, the Ektapro projectors have about 10% greater film
plane illumination intensity than Ektagraphic III projec-
tors. Kodak Carousel and earlier model Ektagraphic pro-
jectors equipped with 300-watt ELH quartz-halogen lamps
have a light intensity that is only slightly less than that of
an Ektagraphic III.
Some special-purpose projectors for large auditorium
screens are equipped with powerful xenon-arc lamps which
can exceed the light intensity and fading power of the
standard Kodak projectors by as much as eight times.
2
This can equal 75 times the intensity of direct outdoor
sunlight!
Projector-caused fading
3
is a term used by this author
to distinguish the deterioration of images caused by slide
projection from other types of light fading. The usually
intermittent and relatively short total exposure of slides to
the extremely intense light and moderately high heat of
projection is a unique fading condition to which color prints
and negatives are never subjected. During projection, fad-
ing takes place at a rapid rate, and it is only because the
total projection time of most slides in their lifetimes is
relatively short normally not exceeding 1 or 2 hours
that color slide images manage to survive at all.
The projector-fading and dark fading characteristics of
a film often have little relation to each other. For example,
Kodachrome films have the best dark fading stability of
any type of camera film in the world. However, in this
authors projector-fading tests, the situation was quite the
reverse, with Kodachrome ranking the worst of all current
color slide films. In projector-fading tests, the current
Process K-14 Kodachrome films proved even less stable
than the previous generation of Process K-12 films (Koda-
chrome II and Kodachrome-X), which were introduced in
1961 and discontinued in 1974, having been replaced that
year by the Process K-14 films Kodachrome 25 and Koda-
chrome 64.
Assuming that a slide receives at least some projection
time, the fading that takes place during its lifetime will be
some combination of projector-caused fading and dark fad-
ing. The fading of many slides in recent years has been
6. Projector-Caused Fading of 35mm Color Slides
Fujichrome Films Have
the Longest Life When Projected
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Projector-Caused Fading of 35mm Color Slides Chapter 6 212
1
9
7
9
The National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., like many facilities with important commercial and publication slide
collections, houses millions of 35mm color slides (at the time this book went to press in 1992, the Geographics collection
totaled nearly 11 million slides). Ferne Dame, head librarian, describes the Geographics slide filing system to Klaus B.
Hendriks, Director of the Conservation Research Division at the National Archives of Canada. Geographic staff members
are urged to keep projection to a minimum and to avoid exposing slides unnecessarily to light from illuminated editing
tables and from room lights when slides sit uncovered on desks. To protect slides from fingerprints and scratching during
editing and handling, all slides in the Geographics working library are kept in Kimac transparent cellulose acetate sleeves.
take place at that temperature during the short total times
normally associated with projection. If a slide were pro-
jected long enough for heat to have an effect, the resulting
light fading would be so severe as to make the heat-in-
duced dark fading inconsequential. High heat may, how-
ever, indirectly increase the rate of light fading,
5
and for
this reason as well as to minimize buckling of slides in
open-frame cardboard or plastic mounts and to avoid physical
damage to the film base and emulsion projector cooling
systems should be in proper working order, and the infra-
red-absorbing glass filter should never be removed.
There has been a trend in projector design during the
past 20 years to increase the light intensity at the film
plane while employing infrared-transmitting dichroic lamp
reflectors and mirrors, heat-absorbing glass filters, and
high-velocity cooling systems to control slide temperature.
The introduction of the ELH quartz-halogen lamp in Kodak
Carousel and Ektagraphic projectors in 1971 was a major
step in this direction. The new 300-watt lamps and associ-
ated optical systems provided significantly more intense
light at the film plane than did the previous 500-watt incan-
descent lamp and, unfortunately, more rapid fading of
slides as well. According to Kodak, the Ektagraphic III has
an illumination intensity which is 25% more
6
than previ-
ous Ektagraphic models E-2 through AF-2; in normal use
this means that for any given degree of fading, slides will
last about 25% longer when projected in the older model
Ektagraphic projectors with ELH lamps, and about 30%
longer in the older model Carousel projectors that also had
ELH lamps but had uncoated condensers in their illumina-
tion systems, thereby somewhat reducing their light inten-
sity compared with the Ektagraphic models. The Kodak
Ektapro projectors introduced in 1992 provide an additional
10% increase in illumination intensity compared to that in
Ektagraphic III projectors.
What Is the Useful
Life of a Projected Slide?
Three factors determine how long a slide can be pro-
jected before objectionable fading takes place:
1. The projector-fading characteristics of the particu-
lar slide film. Current films vary a great deal in their
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projector-fading rates (see Figure 6.1). Selection of a
film usually cannot be based solely on its projector-
fading rates; dark fading stability is more important in
many applications. Film speed, granularity, sharpness,
contrast and color reproduction characteristics, batch-
to-batch uniformity, and ready availability of process-
ing are also important considerations.
2. The intended use of the slide and, subjectively, how
much fading can be tolerated. If the slide is intended
only for projection, much greater fading can usually be
tolerated than if the slide is needed for making color
prints or for photomechanical reproduction. The picto-
rial content of a particular slide can also make a great
difference in how much fading is acceptable some
types of scenes show fading much more readily than
others. Projection of an original slide can, of course, be
reduced or avoided by making expendable duplicates
for everyday purposes.
3. The type of slide projector and projector lamp. With
the exception of special high-intensity projectors, this
slides via internegatives, Fujicolor Positive Film LP 8816
is best. Also recommended is Eastman Color Print Film
5384. Agfa CP1 and CP2 color print films have very poor
dark fading stability and should be avoided. Kodak
Vericolor Slide Film 5072 has relatively poor dark fading
stability and should also be avoided if possible. Ilford
Ilfochrome (formerly Cibachrome) Micrographic film, which
in dark storage is the worlds only permanent color film,
and also has relatively good projector-fading stability, is
unfortunately not yet available in a version with sensito-
metry suitable for top-quality slide duplication.
Projection Guidelines
Never forget that original color slides are one-of-a-kind
color photographs and should be treated as such. As
with daguerreotypes of the 1800s, there is no negative
to go back to should an original slide fade, suffer physi-
cal damage, or become lost.
Keep the projection time of original slides or nonreplaceable
duplicates to a minimum. For general applications (with
Kodak Ektagraphic, Ektapro, and Carousel projectors),
the total accumulated projection time with Fujichrome
should not exceed 5
1
2 hours; with Fujichrome Velvia do
not exceed 4 hours; with Ektachrome do not exceed 2
1
2
hours; with Kodachrome do not exceed 1 hour. For
particularly important slides or when image quality is
critical much shorter total projection times should be
adhered to (see Table 6.1). The accumulated projection
time, not the length of a particular projection, is what is
important. Lecturers who project certain slides repeat-
edly should be especially cautious. Project expendable
duplicates whenever possible.
It is the intense light of a projector that causes color
image fading; under normal circumstances, projector
heat in itself makes a negligible contribution to image
fading. (The temperature at the projector film gate should
never get so high that buckling, blistering, or other physical
damage occurs, however.)
Unless showing expendable duplicates, avoid high-
intensity xenon-arc projectors.
Glass mounts offer no protection against fading during
projection; in fact, glass mounts may somewhat increase
the rate of fading.
Color Slide Films
Fujichrome is best when significant projection of
originals is anticipated or when an easily processed
E-6 film is required. During projection, Fujichrome is
significantly more stable than any other slide film on
the market. Ektachrome (including Ektachrome Plus
and HC films, and the new Ektachrome 64T, 320T, 64X,
100X, and 400X films) is the second-choice recommen-
dation. Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film, a very
sharp, extremely fine-grain 50-speed film introduced in
1990, fades somewhat more rapidly during projection
than other Fujichrome films, but Velvia nevertheless is
still more stable than Ektachrome when projected.
Kodachrome is best when little or no projection of
originals is expected. In spite of Kodachromes un-
equaled dark-storage dye stability and complete free-
dom from d-min stain, Kodachrome has the worst pro-
jector-fading stability of any color slide film currently
on the market. Kodachrome is an excellent film if
projection can be avoided; but if projection of originals
is sometimes a must and time or money prevents rou-
tine duplication of originals or if the complex and
time-consuming processing required for Kodachrome
is not available and a Process E-6 film is needed
Fujichrome is recommended.
Slide films to avoid: In terms of overall image stabil-
ity when projector-fading stability and dark storage
stability are considered together both Agfachrome
and 3M ScotchChrome films are inferior to both Fuji-
chrome and Ektachrome films. And when visually com-
pared with Fujichrome, Ektachrome, or Kodachrome,
neither Agfachrome nor ScotchChrome distinguishes
itself in terms of sharpness, grain structure, or color
reproduction; this author can see no compelling rea-
son to recommend their use. Polaroid PolaChrome
instant color slides should be strictly avoided unless it
is essential to have a quickly processed slide.
PolaChrome slides have very poor image quality, the
high base density of PolaChrome results in very dark
screen images when the slides are projected, and the
film suffers from various other practical shortcomings.
Duplicating films: Fujichrome Duplicating Film CDU,
which has the same projector-fading and dark-storage
stability characteristics as regular Fujichrome camera
films, is recommended for duplicating slides. For printing
Recommendations
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Figure 6.1 Fading of magenta dye from an initial neutral density of 1.0 in Fujichrome, Ektachrome, Kodachrome,
Agfachrome, and 3M ScotchChrome films. With nearly all of these films, the magenta dye is less stable during projection
than either the cyan or yellow dye. The very poor projector-fading stability of Kodachrome is obvious in this comparison.
(Continued on page 219)
slides and where a fairly large amount of fading can usu-
ally be tolerated. For critical commercial and museum
applications, a more stringent set of criteria has been cho-
sen. The criteria and method of evaluation are discussed
in more detail later.
In developing these criteria, slides made on a variety of
films were projected in a Kodak Ektagraphic III projector
for 30 seconds, six times each day (a total of 3 minutes a
day) during a 140-day period in an attempt to simulate the
intermittent short projections, spread out over many months
or years, commonly experienced by slides. All of the cur-
rent E-6 and Kodachrome films tested were processed by
the Kodalux Processing Services Laboratory (formerly a
Kodak Processing Laboratory) in Findlay, Ohio. Kodalux
processing is believed to be representative of top-quality,
replenished-line commercial processing and, for the pur-
poses of this study, the films are assumed to have optimum
image stability (see Chapter 5 for discussion of the influ-
ence of processing on image stability).
Older, now-discontinued films were processed by their
respective manufacturers. Densitometric data accumu-
lated during the course of the tests were then analyzed by
special computer programs in terms of the two sets of
criteria. The results of these tests are summarized in
Table 6.1.
Several negative-positive print films for making slides
from original negatives or in large-quantity slide pro-
duction from internegatives are listed in Table 6.2. All
of these films were exposed and processed by Stokes Im-
aging Services, Inc., Austin, Texas.
9
Ilford Ilfochrome Mi-
crographic Film (called Cibachrome Micrographic Film,
is not usually as significant a variable as the other two
factors listed here. There are important considerations
related to the projector, however. For example, oper-
ating a Kodak Carousel, Ektagraphic, or Ektapro pro-
jector with the lamp-intensity switch in the Low posi-
tion instead of High will slow the rate of fading by
approximately 30%.
In Figure 6.1 and other graphs that follow, it should be
understood that changes indicated for cyan, magenta, and
yellow dyes are actually changes in integral red, green,
and blue densities, respectively, as measured by a densito-
meter. Red density refers to the amount of red light ab-
sorbed by the image and is determined primarily by the
amount of cyan dye (which absorbs red light) present.
Magenta dye primarily absorbs green light, and the amount
of magenta present determines green density. Yellow dye
absorbs blue light, and the amount of yellow dye (and yel-
low stain, if any) present determines blue density.
7
For
ease of understanding by the reader who may not be famil-
iar with photographic densitometry, this author has in gen-
eral avoided reference to red, green, and blue densities
and instead uses cyan, magenta, and yellow designations.
Methods of Evaluating Color Slide Fading
This author has developed two sets of criteria to be
applied in the computer evaluation of fading and shifts in
color balance that result from the projection of slides.
8
One set of criteria is for general amateur and commercial
situations where prints are not typically made from the
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Fujichrome professional and amateur films, and Fujichrome
duplicating films (for Fujichrome Velvia film, see below) 5 hr 20 min (M) 2 hr 25 min (M)
(initial types: 198388/89)
(improved types: 1988/89/92)
[see Note #1] (Process E-6)
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film (ISO 50) 4 hr 45 min (M) 1 hr 5 min (M)
(1990)
3M ScotchChrome 100, 400, 800/3200, and 640T films 3 hr 30 min (M) 1 hr 20 min (M)
Polaroid Presentation Chrome Film (1988)
3M Scotch 640T Color Slide Film (198189)
(although these films are labeled by 3M and Polaroid
as Made in U.S.A., they are actually manufactured
in Italy by a 3M subsidiary)
Kodak High Speed Ektachrome Film 3 hr 30 min (M) 1 hr 10 min (M)
Kodak High Speed Ektachrome Film Type B
Kodak Ektachrome-X Film
(196377)
Kodak Ektachrome Professional Film EP-120 3 hr (M) 1 hr 10 min (M)
(120-size transparencies) (195977)
Fujichrome 100 Film 2 hr 45 min (YM) 1 hr 45 min (YM)
Fujichrome 400 Film
(initial types: 197884)
Kodak Ektachrome professional and amateur films, 2 hr 40 min (M) 1 hr 5 min (M)
and Ektachrome duplicating films
(1976)
Ektachrome 100 Plus Professional Film 2 hr 40 min (M) 1 hr 5 min (M)
Ektachrome 100HC, 50HC, and 400HC films
(100 Plus and HC: 1988; 50HC: 1990; 400HC: 1992)
Ektachrome 64T, 320T, 64X, 100X, and 400X Professional films
(64X and 64T: 1991; 100X: 1990; 320T and 400X: 1992)
Fujichrome R-100 Film 2 hr 15 min (M) 1 hr 5 min (M)
(196873)
Konica Chrome R-50, R-100, R-200, and R-1000 films (data not available for these films)
(1990) (generally available only in Japan)
Table 6.1 Comparative Stability of Projected Color Slide Films
Accumulated Times of Intermittent Projection in a Kodak Ektagraphic III Projector
to Reach Specified Limits of Density Loss or Color Balance Shift
GE Type EXR Lamp Projector on High Lamp Position Slides in Open-Frame Mounts
Letters inside ( ) following projection time indicate first limit reached: C = cyan, M = magenta, Y = yellow. For
example, (MY) means that the color-balance criterion between magenta and yellow was reached, with yellow
fading more than magenta; (C) means the cyan-dye fading limit was reached first. See Chapter 5 for data on the
dark-storage stability of these films. Times for slides in Kodak Ektapro projectors are similar to those listed here.
Boldface Type indicates films that were being marketed in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went
to press in 1992; the other products listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
General Commercial Critical Commercial
Slide Film Type and Amateur Use and Museum Use
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Agfachrome RS 50, 50 Plus, 100, 100 Plus, 200, 2 hr (CM) 20 min (CM)
and 1000 professional and CT amateur films
(improved types: 1988/92)
Agfachrome 64 and 100 films 1 hr 35 min (C) 50 min (C)
(197683)
[see Note #12] (Process AP-41)
Kodachrome II and Kodachrome-X films 1 hr 20 min (CM) 30 min (CM)
Kodachrome II Professional Type A Film
(196174)
[see Note #13] (Process K-12)
Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 professional 1 hr (CM) 20 min (CM)
and amateur films; Kodachrome 40 Type A
(1974)
[see Note #14] (Process K-14)
GAF 64, 200, and 500 films 40 min (MC) 25 min (MC)
(196977)
[see Note #15] (Process AR-1)
PolaChrome Instant Color Slide Film (developed severe, irregular stains
(1983) during test not recommended for
[see Note #16] (instant process) other than short-term applications)
Slide Film Type and Amateur Use and Museum Use
Notes:
1. Only Fujichrome 50D and 100D Professional films were
included in these tests; however, Fuji has indicated that
all of the new type E-6 professional and amateur Fuji-
chrome films, the first of which were introduced in early
1983, have similar projector-fading and dark fading sta-
bility characteristics. The films can be processed in
Kodak Process E-6 or Fuji Process CR-56 (Fujis equiva-
lent to E-6). Fujichrome professional, amateur, and du-
plicating films are this authors primary recommendation
for Process E-6 compatible films.
2. Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film is an ISO-50 Pro-
cess E-6 (Fuji CR-56) film introduced in January 1990.
Velvia is a high-saturation, very sharp, and extremely
fine-grain film. The name Velvia was derived from the
words velvet (smooth, long-scale, and very fine-grain
tone reproduction) and media (the main market for
Velvia is in commercial, advertising, and fashion photog-
raphy intended for reproduction in printed media). The
grain and sharpness characteristics of Velvia are better
than Kodachrome 64 and, overall, are approximately equal
to those of Kodachrome 25 film, which had long been
considered the sharpest and finest-grain color slide film
in the world.
3. Only 3M ScotchChrome 100 film was included in these
tests; however, 3M ScotchChrome 400 and 800/3200
films probably have similar projector-fading stability. 3M
ScotchChrome films formerly were called 3M Scotch Color
Slide films; prior to that they were sold under the 3M
ColorSlide name. In 1986 the name was changed to
Scotch and the film packaging redesigned in an attempt
to build stronger identification with the well-known 3M
Scotch brand (e.g., Scotch tapes). The data given
here are for the improved type films introduced in 1988.
(At the time this book went to press in 1992, ScotchChrome
640T and 1000 films were still being sold. These films
have projector-fading characteristics that are generally
similar to the improved 1988 films; however, the 640T
and 1000 films have inferior dark fading stability com-
pared with the new films.) Polaroid Presentation Chrome
film is a non-instant E-6 film made for Polaroid by 3M;
Presentation Chrome is apparently identical to Scotch-
Chrome 100 Film. Although labeled Made in USA, 3M
ScotchChrome and 3M Scotch Color Print films in reality
are made in Ferrania, Italy by 3M Italia S.p.A. The films
are only packaged in the U.S. 3M Italia is a subsidiary of
the 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota. In spite of the
relatively good projector-fading stability of 3M Scotch-
Chrome films, they have comparatively poor dark fading
stability and are not recommended. By the end of the 6-
hour intermittent projection tests with 3M ScotchChrome
640T film, a greasy surface residue was observed on
parts of the emulsion surface. The nature of this unde-
sirable substance has not been identified, but it likely is
coupler solvent or other emulsion addenda. The residue
was not apparent on slides projected continuously for 6
hours. The exudation seems to be caused by the com-
bined effects of intermittent projector light and projector
heat. A similar-appearing surface residue was noted on
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 slides after between 5
and 6 hours of intermittent projection (see Note #1 in
Table 6.2).
4. High Speed Ektachrome Film was introduced in April
1959 as a Process E-2 160-speed film; it was converted
to Process E-4 around 1966. Ektachrome-X, an ASA 64
film, was marketed in March 1963 as a replacement for
the previous ASA 32 Ektachrome film. Although un-
known to photographers at the time, these films had
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100-speed transparency film in amateur markets in Ja-
pan and some other countries since 1976; this film has
not been available in the U.S. and this author has not
tested the film for projector-fading stability. The Konica
Chrome professional films also are not available in the
U.S. and had not been tested by this author at the time
this book went to press in 1992. Unlike Kodak, Fuji, and
Agfa all of which have broad lines of both color nega-
tive and color transparency films Konica has largely
focused its efforts on color negative films and color negative
papers.
11. Process E-6 compatible Agfachrome RS professional and
CT amateur films were introduced by Agfa in 198485 as
replacements for Agfachrome 64 and 100 films, which
could be processed only in Agfa Process 41. The initial
versions of the Agfachrome E-6 compatible films had
poor dark fading stability. In March 1987 Ilford intro-
duced Ilfochrome 50, 100, and 200 color slide films.
These films were made for Ilford by Agfa-Gevaert and
apparently were identical to Agfachrome films of the
same ISO ratings. Ilford discontinued sale of the films in
1988. Like their Agfachrome counterparts, the Ilfochrome
films had comparatively poor dark fading stability. Im-
proved versions of Agfachrome RS and CT films with
better dark fading stability were introduced in 1988.
12. Agfachrome 64 and 100 films were direct descendants of
the original Agfacolor Neu transparency film introduced
in 1936 (this was the worlds first incorporated coupler
color film and was much simpler to process than the
Kodachrome films introduced by Kodak a year earlier in
1935). Agfachrome 64 and 100 films could be processed
only with Agfa Process 41; when the Kodak E-6 process
came into almost universal use in the late 1970s, the
market for the Agfa films became ever more limited.
Agfachrome 64 and 100 films have good dark fading
stability in low-humidity conditions but fade rapidly in
high-humidity accelerated tests. Agfa replaced the films
with E-6 compatible Agfachrome RS and CT films begin-
ning in 1984.
13. Process K-12 Kodachrome II Film and Kodachrome II
Film, Type A [3400 K tungsten] were introduced in Feb-
ruary 1961 as replacements for the modified Kodachrome
films placed on the market in 1938. The original daylight
Kodachrome 35mm film, introduced in September 1936,
and Kodachrome Film, Type A, introduced in October
1936, had very poor dark fading stability, especially in
terms of the yellow dye; both the film and processing
technique were changed in 1938, and from that date all
Kodachrome films have had comparatively good dark
fading stability in addition to almost complete free-
dom from stain formation. Kodachrome-X, a higher-
speed version of Kodachrome II, was introduced in De-
cember 1962. The films were widely used by both pro-
fessionals and amateurs.
14. Considered by Kodak primarily to be amateur slide films,
Process K-14 Kodachrome 25 and 64 films were intro-
duced in March 1974 as replacements for Process K-12
Kodachrome II and Kodachrome-X films. A Process K-14
version of Kodachrome 40 Film, Type A was marketed in
January 1978. In response to numerous complaints by
professional photographers about color balance irregu-
larities and curve crossover problems of the amateur
much better dark fading stability than the Process E-3
Ektachrome Professional films widely used by profes-
sional photographers until 1977 (see Note #5), when the
Process E-3 films were replaced by Process E-6 films
(see Notes #7 and #8).
5. Introduced in 1959, Ektachrome Professional Process E-
3 roll and sheet films have extremely poor dark fading
stability the worst of any transparency film tested by
this author. Ektachrome Process E-3 120 roll film and
sheet films were not supplied by Kodak in the 35mm
format. However, the film was included in this study
since transparencies made with it are sometimes pro-
jected using 120 slide projectors. The Process E-3 pro-
fessional films replaced the original Process E-1 Ekta-
chrome film introduced in 1946 (a tungsten-balanced
Type B version was marketed in 1952). Ektachrome
sheet films replaced Kodachrome sheet films that had
far better dark fading stability, a fact of which Kodak was
well aware but which was withheld from photographers.
Process E-3 camera and duplicating films were in wide-
spread use by commercial, advertising, and fashion pho-
tographers until the films were replaced with Process E-
6 films. Perhaps surprisingly, the amateur Process E-4
Ektachrome films, available all through the 1960s and
1970s, were much superior to the professional Ekta-
chrome films in terms of dark fading stability.
6. Introduced by Fuji in 1978, Fujichrome 100 and 400 films
were used primarily by amateurs and had a relatively
small market in the U.S. The films were replaced by
new type E-6 compatible Fujichrome films in 1983.
7. Only Ektachrome Professional 50 Tungsten and Ekta-
chrome 400 film were included in these tests. Kodak
Publication CIS No. 50-45 (August 1982) and Kodak Pub-
lication E-106 (May 1988) indicate that these two films as
well as other amateur and professional Process E-6 films
(including Ektachrome 64, Ektachrome 160, Ektachrome
200, and Ektachrome Duplicating Films, but not includ-
ing Ektachrome 100 Plus, Ektachrome HC films, and
Ektachrome X films), have identical projector-fading
and dark fading stability. Early versions of the Process
E-6 Ektachrome films, introduced in 1976, were less stable
in dark storage than later versions.
8. Introduced in February 1988, Ektachrome 100 Plus Pro-
fessional Film has higher color saturation than Ekta-
chrome 100 Professional Film and other older Ektachrome
professional films. Ektachrome 100 HC film, also intro-
duced in 1988, is the amateur counterpart of Ektachrome
100 Plus film. Ektachrome 50 HC film was introduced in
1990. Kodak has indicated that the earlier Ektachrome
100 Professional Film will continue to be sold. Ekta-
chrome 64X (1991), 100X (1990), 400X, 400HC, 64T,
and 320T (1992) are warm-balance, high-saturation
films with overall color and tone reproduction that are
generally similar to those of Fujichrome films.
9. Fujichrome R-100 was a Process E-4 compatible film
intended mostly for the amateur market; manufactured
from 1968 to 1973, the film was never widely sold in the
United States.
10. Konica Chrome professional color transparency films
were introduced in late 1990. Konica has sold an ISO
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Table 6.2 Comparative Stability of Projected Negative-Positive Slide
Print Films and Ilford Ilfochrome Color Microfilm
Accumulated Times of Intermittent Projection in a Kodak Ektagraphic III Projector
to Reach Specified Limits of Density Loss or Color Balance Shift
GE Type EXR Lamp Projector on High Lamp Position Slides in Open-Frame Mounts
Letters inside ( ) following projection time indicate first limit reached: C = cyan, M = magenta, Y = yellow. For
example, (MY) means that the color-balance criterion between magenta and yellow was reached, with yellow
fading more than magenta; (C) means the cyan dye fading limit was reached first. See Chapter 5 for data on the
dark-storage stability of these films. Times for slides in Kodak Ektapro projectors are similar to those listed here.
Boldface Type indicates films that were being marketed in the U.S. and/or other countries when this book went
to press in 1992; the other products listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Film Type and Amateur Use and Museum Use
Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic Film 7 hr (C) 1 hr 40 min (M)
(called Ilford Cibachrome, 19841991)
[see Note #1] (P-5 process)
Vericolor Slide Film 5072 5 hr (M) 1 hr 50 min (M)
[Eastman Kodak] (C-41 process)
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 4 hr 20 min (CM) 3 hr 10 min (CM)
(ECP-2A motion picture process)
[Eastman Kodak] [see Note #2]
Eastman Color Print Film 5383 3 hr 30 min (CM) 2 hr 15 min (CM)
(ECP-2 motion picture process)
[Eastman Kodak] [see Note #3]
Gevacolor Print Film 982 2 hr 30 min (CM) 1 hr 45 min (CM)
(ECP-2A motion picture process)
[Agfa-Gevaert] [see Note #4]
Kodachrome 25 and 64 films, Kodak introduced Koda-
chrome 25 Professional Film (and special professional
processing at Kodak labs) in 1983, and followed with
Kodachrome 64 Professional Film in 1984. Kodachrome
200 Professional Film and a 120 roll-film version of Ko-
dachrome 64 Professional Film were introduced in Octo-
ber 1986. All of the Process K-14 Kodachrome films
have identical, poor projector-fading stability; but in dark
storage Kodachrome films have outstanding dye stabil-
ity and complete freedom from yellowish stain.
15. GAF 35mm slide and roll-film transparency films, which
until 1969 had been sold under the Anscochrome name,
were withdrawn from the market in 1977 when General
Aniline and Film Corporation decided to abandon its
photographic materials business. The GAF films had the
worst projector-fading stability of any transparency film
tested by this author. These films used the older Agfa-
type couplers and, in common with other films of this
type, have very poor stability in high-humidity acceler-
ated dark fading tests. In low-humidity storage, how-
ever, the dark fading stability of these films appears to
be reasonably good.
16. Polaroid PolaChrome instant color slide film, an ISO 40
film based on the antiquated additive-screen process,
was introduced in 1983 (PolaChrome High Contrast film
was introduced in 1987 for special applications such as
photographs of graphs, charts, etc.). Intended for use in
conventional 35mm cameras, PolaChrome films can be
processed in about 1 minute with a small tabletop pro-
cessing unit. During the course of these projector-fad-
ing tests, PolaChrome instant slides developed severe,
irregular yellow stains; non-uniform staining of this type
cannot be corrected by adjustments in color balance or
exposure during duplication or printing and is one of the
worst types of flaws a photographic product can have.
Because of the stain problem, coupled with very poor
stability in high-humidity accelerated dark fading tests,
this film is not recommended for applications requiring
other than short-term stability. Had the irregular yellow
stains not occurred, PolaChrome film would have been
given about a 6-hour projection life based on the Gen-
eral Commercial and Amateur Use criteria (with density
measurements made in lesser-stained areas of the im-
age). If one were to ignore the stain problem, the projec-
tor-fading stability of PolaChrome film is in a general way
similar to that of Fujichrome film (it is difficult to compare
directly the projector-fading stability of PolaChrome film
with conventional films because PolaChrome has a very
high base density, and a distinctly different manner of
fading and staining).
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198491), a low-speed (about ISO 1), high-resolution silver
dye-bleach color microfilm designed for copying maps and
other documents but sometimes also used as a slide film
and slide-duplicating film, was also included in this study
because of its essentially permanent dark-storage charac-
teristics. This film was processed by Microcolor Interna-
tional, Midland Park, New Jersey.
10
Fujichrome Film: The Best Projector-Fading
Stability of Any Color Slide Film
In terms of projector-caused fading, this authors tests
showed clearly that Fujichrome films are the most stable
slide films currently available. When projected, standard
Fujichrome films were twice as stable as Ektachrome films
and more than five times as stable as Kodachrome films.
In this authors dark-storage tests, standard Fujichrome
films and Ektachrome films had similar stability charac-
teristics. Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film, a very sharp
and extremely fine-grain 50-speed E-6 film introduced in
1990, is somewhat less stable when projected than stan-
dard Fujichrome; however, Velvia is significantly more stable
than Ektachrome or Kodachrome. Current Agfachrome
RS and CT professional and amateur films, although sig-
nificantly improved compared with earlier Agfachrome E-6
films, are inferior to Fujichrome and Ektachrome in both
projector-fading and in dark storage. (The dark fading
characteristics of color transparency films are discussed
in Chapter 5.)
For most photographers, Fujichrome and Kodachrome
professional films should be the slide films of choice. Fuji-
chrome is available in a comprehensive line of 35mm, 120
roll-film, and sheet-film formats, with ISO speeds from 50
to 1600; Fujichrome films can be processed easily by the
user or by any lab offering E-6 processing. In the late
1980s many experienced professional photographers came
Table 6.2 Notes:
1. Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic films are manufactured
in Fribourg, Switzerland by Ilford AG (a subsidiary of
International Paper Company, headquartered in New
York City). The films were introduced in 1984, and
from that date until 1991 they were called Ilford Ciba-
chrome Micrographic films. Ilfochrome Micrographic
films, which utilize the silver dye-bleach color sys-
tem, are made on a polyester base. In dark storage,
the films are essentially permanent; they should last
many hundreds of years without noticeable fading or
staining. No other type of color film can even ap-
proach the dark storage stability of Ilfochrome Micro-
graphic films. The films are supplied in two versions:
Type M, a high-contrast film for copying reflection
materials, and Type P, a moderate-contrast film for
reproducing transparent originals and for use as a
duplicating film. The films are processed by the user
in Ilfochrome Process P-5. Ilfochrome Micrographic
films are distributed in the U.S. by Microcolor Interna-
tional, Inc., 85 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park, New
Jersey 07432; telephone: 201-445-3450. Microcolor
also offers various micrographic services including
processing of Ilfochrome Micrographic films.
2. Between the fifth and sixth hour of intermittent pro-
jection, the Eastman Color Print Film 5384 slide of a
Macbeth ColorChecker was noted to have significant
amounts of a greasy residue on the emulsion side
of the film in sections of the high-density parts of the
image; the residue probably became apparent prior
to the fifth hour of projection, but was not noticed
during routine densitometry during which only the
base side of the film was visible to this author. The
substance has not been identified, but it appears to
be coupler solvent or other emulsion addenda. The
residue, which smears easily when touched, would
create problems with glass-mounted slides. To date,
a similar residue has been seen only on 3M Scotch
Color Slide 640T and 1000 films (see Note #3 in
Table 6.1). The residue on 5384 was not observed in
accelerated dark fading tests with the film; the resi-
due seems to be caused by the combined effects of
intermittent exposure to projection light and projec-
tion heat. Continuous projection for 6 hours did not
produce the surface residue. Eastman Color Print
Film 5384 was introduced in 198182 as a replace-
ment for 5381 and 5383. Eastman 5384 is widely
used as a slide print film by low-cost labs offering
Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 and 5294 motion
picture films respooled in 35mm cassettes for still
cameras (use of these negative films in still camera
applications is not recommended by this author).
Eastman Color 5384 has much better dark fading
stability than Vericolor Slide Film 5072, and this au-
thor recommends 5384 as a better film for making
slides from color negatives, in spite of the projector-
caused emulsion exudation observed with 5384.
3. Eastman Color Print Film 5383 has very poor dark
fading stability and for this reason was not suitable
for color slide production, although it was extensively
used for this purpose. 5383 and a similar motion
picture print film, 5381, were discontinued in 1983
and replaced by Eastman Color Print Film 5384, which
has much better dark fading stability than 5383 and
5381 (see Note #2 above concerning 5384). Eastman
Color 5383 was widely used as a slide print film by
low-cost labs offering Eastman Color Negative Film
5247 motion picture film respooled in 35mm cassettes
for still cameras. Both the negative and resulting
slides have very poor dark fading stability.
4. The Gevacolor Print Film 982 in these tests (obtained
in 1983) had very poor dark fading stability. In 1984
Agfa-Gevaert introduced a new version of Gevacolor
Print Film 982 (the name of the product remained the
same). This motion picture print film was replaced
with Agfa CP1 print film in 1990 (which was supple-
mented with Agfa CP2 film in 1992). Information is
not available on the projector-fading stability of CP1
and CP2 films, but it is probably similar to the discon-
tinued 982 film tested here. Both CP1 and CP2 have
very poor dark fading stability and should be avoided.
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to believe that Fujichrome films had generally better color
saturation and more pleasing color and tone-scale repro-
duction than Kodaks analogous Ektachrome films. Thom
OConnor, writing in New York Citys Photo District News
in 1987, said: Since their introduction in America just three
years ago, Fujichrome Professional transparency films have
significantly eroded both the professional sales and pres-
tige of Kodaks Ektachrome and Kodachrome emulsions.
In the article, veteran Time magazine photographer Bill
Pierce, a recent convert to Fujichrome, cited a number of
reasons why he and many other top photojournalists had
come to prefer the Fuji films:
Fujichrome has a magical quality. Every-
where Ive worked in the past few years, in or
out of the country, photographers were using
Fuji as an alternative to Ektachrome. Fuji is a
warmer film, its punchier, it has exciting col-
ors, it makes skies majestically blue. Espe-
cially on overcast days, it delivers. In the be-
ginning we all used Fuji for pictures that were
important to us of our kids and girlfriends
the pictures that we werent being paid for. Now
Fuji has become a bread-and-butter film.
11
OConnor reported, [P]hotographers are switching from
Kodachrome and Ektachrome not because of price differ-
ences, fancy packaging, or expensive ad campaigns, but
because they simply feel Fujichrome gives better results.
Photographers and editors at Time, Play-
boy, Sports Illustrated, and the Los Angeles Times
Sunday Magazine have been favorably impressed
by Fuji, and USA Today has gone so far as to
recommend Fujichrome as the film of choice
for staff and freelance photographers. When
we assign a photographer, explains Bob
Deutsch, USA Today staff shooter based in New
York, we talk about Fuji as a film which is
superior enough to Kodak to make it our choice.
Fuji emphasizes the warm tones, and its very
good with blues outdoors. We prefer the 50-
speed film, although I often use the 100-speed
film for the extra bit of speed.
The 1988 introduction of Ektachrome 100 Plus Profes-
sional Film, and its Ektachrome 100 HC Film amateur coun-
terpart, brought Kodak closer to Fujichrome in terms of
color saturation. The warm-balance Ektachrome 64X,
64T, 100X, 320T, and 400X professional films introduced
during 199092 were designed to compete directly with the
high-saturation, somewhat warm color rendition of the
Fujichrome professional films. While the color and tone-
scale reproduction gap between Fujichrome and Ektachrome
films has narrowed, and some photographers feel that the
skin tone reproduction of Ektachrome 64X and 100X films
is superior to that of Fujichrome films, the projector-fading
stability of the new Ektachrome films has not been im-
proved, and in this respect they remain markedly inferior
to Fujichrome films. Where extensive projection might
occur, and it is impractical to make expendable duplicates
from originals for projection, Fujichrome films are the ob-
vious choice.
In 1993 Kodak will introduce a new series of Ektachrome
films that the company claims will have the best speed/
grain ratio of any color transparency films in the world
(presumably including Kodachrome and Fujichrome Vel-
via). It is of course possible that the new Ektachrome films
also will have improved projector-fading characteristics
when compared with that of current Ektachrome films, but
no image stability data on the new films were available at
the time this book went to press in 1992.
With the exception of a 120 roll-film version of Koda-
chrome 64 Professional Film, marketed in early 1987, Koda-
chrome films are currently available only in 35mm, with
ISO speeds restricted to 25, 40 (tungsten balance), 64, and
200, and the complicated processing procedure can be car-
ried out only by Kodalux labs and a very small number of
commercial labs. Kodachrome 25, 40, and 64 films have
very fine grain and excellent image sharpness, and Koda-
chrome films also have by far the best dark fading stability
of any chromogenic color film transparency or negative.
But one must be very careful to restrict the projection of
Kodachrome originals; duplicates, preferably on Fujichrome
Duplicating Film, should be made when significant projec-
tion is a possibility.
With an Improved Magenta Dye, Kodachrome
Could Have the Best Projector-Fading Stability
of Any Color Slide Film
Kodachrome is unique among the worlds chromogenic
color films in that the dye-forming color couplers are in the
developer solutions, and are not placed in the film itself
during manufacture (see Chapter 1 for a description of the
complex Kodachrome processing procedure). It should
not be difficult for Kodak to design a new magenta coupler
that would produce a magenta dye with better projector-
fading stability. Given the good stability of the present
cyan and yellow dyes, a sufficiently improved magenta would
make Kodachrome the most stable of all color slide films
when projected and Kodachrome is already the most
stable color film in the world when kept in the dark.
Apparently believing that Kodachrome was primarily
an amateur product that was destined for eventual obli-
vion, Kodak has made no significant improvements in the
Kodachrome K-14 process since it was introduced in 1974
and this research and development neglect has taken its
toll. No other color film in the world has gone for so long
without significant improvement. In both color reproduc-
tion and projector-fading stability, Kodachrome has fallen
behind Fujichrome, Ektachrome, and other E-6 films.
Short versus Long Projection Times
One important conclusion of this authors research is
that at least for Ektachrome, Kodachrome, Agfachrome,
and PolaChrome films much more fading is caused by
projecting slides for short, intermittent periods than by
long, continuous projections of an equivalent total projec-
tion time (as will be discussed later, fading of Fujichrome
films is less variable under different projection conditions).
Recognition of this slide projection reciprocity failure is
crucial in developing meaningful projector-fading tests. This
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Figure 6.2 Comparison of fading of Ektachrome and Kodachrome slides in glass mounts and open-frame mounts during
intermittent projection. With both films, slightly greater fading took place in the glass-mounted slides.
topic is discussed in more detail later.
Kodak and other film manufacturers have frequently
advised that slides not be projected for longer than one
minute. This advice is apparently given in an attempt to
restrict total projection time, but it has often been inter-
preted by photographers and other users of slides to mean
that disproportionate damage is done by long projections.
The most frequent explanation for this belief given to this
author is that heat which builds up in the slide during
long projection causes premature dye fading.
Glass Mounts versus Open-Frame Mounts
Kodak Ektachrome 50 Tungsten and Kodachrome 25
films were tested in conventional open-frame plastic mounts
and in a modern type of plastic-framed glass mount.
12
Af-
ter 6 hours of intermittent 30-second projections, both types
of film appeared to have faded slightly more in the glass
mounts (see Figure 6.2). The differences in fading be-
tween the glass and open-frame mounts were so small as
to be within the range of experimental error and are an
insignificant factor in deciding which type of mount to use.
What was clear, however, was that glass mounts did not
increase the life of the color image, as has sometimes been
suggested. Other types of films possibly may respond dif-
ferently to projection if they are in glass mounts, and films
stored in either a higher or lower relative humidity than
the 60% chosen for these tests may also show dissimilar
results. The length of each projection and the time inter-
val between projections are probably significant variables.
Polyester-tape-sealed glass mounts of the type advocated
by Christine L. Sundt of the University of Oregon at Eu-
gene were not included in this study because of the lengthy
test periods required to accurately evaluate this type of
semi-sealed slide mount.
13
Visual Characteristics of Projector-Faded
Color Slide Images
When a color slide image fades in a projector, it loses
density; undergoes a shift in color balance because of un-
equal fading rates of the cyan, magenta, and yellow image
dyes; and in some cases develops objectionable yellow stains
which are most apparent in the highlight areas of the im-
age. In contrast to dark fading, which is characterized by a
more or less equal percentage loss of density throughout
the density range, the visual effects of light fading are very
much concentrated in the lower-density portions of the
image. The percentage losses of green density (repre-
sented mostly by magenta dye) throughout the density range
of a Kodachrome 64 slide after 1 and 6 hours of intermit-
tent projection are illustrated in Table 6.3. The dispropor-
tionate loss of image dyes in low densities is a characteris-
tic of light fading (and of projector-fading of transparen-
cies) that is recognized in the new ANSI IT9.9-1990, American
National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of Color
Photographic Images Methods for Measuring.
14
The topic
is discussed in Annex A of the Standard.
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Figure 6.3 Fading of the magenta dye at selected lower densities in a projected Kodachrome slide. For clarity, the yellow
and cyan curves in this graph have been omitted at the lowest density. The disproportionate fading of the magenta dye
causes a marked color shift toward green. In the low, highlight, and near-highlight densities, even a relatively short
projection time can result in a total loss of the magenta image.
Table 6.3 Percentage Losses of Green Density (Magenta Dye)
in Kodachrome 64 Film as a Result of Fading in a Kodak
Ektagraphic III Projector GE Type EXR Lamp
Six 30-Second Projections Per Day Slide Kept in Dark at 75F (24C) and 60% RH Between Projections
Neutral-Gray Patches (Base + Fog Density = 0.18)
Density Loss Density Loss
at After % Loss Minus at After % Loss Minus
Start 1 Hour % Loss Base + Fog Start 6 Hours % Loss Base + Fog
0.25 0.08 32% 100% 0.25 0.16 64% 100%
0.35 0.11 31% 65% 0.35 0.23 66% 100%
0.45 0.11 24% 41% 0.45 0.29 64% 100%
0.6 0.11 18% 26% 0.60 0.37 62% 88%
1.0 0.10 10% 12% 1.00 0.47 47% 57%
1.5 0.09 6% 7% 1.50 0.56 36% 42%
2.0 0.07 4% 4% 2.00 0.54 27% 30%
2.5 0.06 2% 3% 2.50 0.53 21% 23%
3.0 0.06 2% 2% 3.00 0.53 18% 19%
Note: These integral green-density values were computer-interpolated based on data from a 10-step
gray scale with a minimum density of 0.21 and a maximum of 3.30. Measurements were made
with a Macbeth TR924 densitometer equipped with Status A filters.
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In projector-caused fading of Kodachrome films, the
magenta dye is significantly less stable than either the
cyan or yellow dyes. As fading of the image progresses,
ever more serious color-balance shifts toward green, coupled
with a loss of detail, occur in low-density and highlight
regions of the color image; the color shifts cannot be cor-
rected by means of filter adjustments during printing with-
out causing undesirable color changes in higher-density
parts of the image.
Figure 6.3 shows the progression of fading of Koda-
chrome 64 starting at an original neutral density of 0.6 and
three lower densities. As can be seen, the lower green
densities fade very quickly to the base + fog level of about
0.18 (at which point the image detail contained in the ma-
genta dye layer is entirely lost). The base + fog density of
most color images consists of the optical density of the film
base (typically about 0.05) with the remainder composed of
a dye fog, perhaps with a small of amount of residual
sensitizer dye or other stain. The base + fog density of a
particular product is considered to be the d-min (minimum
density). The dye present in the d-min is of course subject
to light fading just like the image itself, and this is why
projector-caused fading often results in a density that is
less than the original d-min.
At an original density of 0.35, a little over 2 hours of
projection is required for the green density of a Kodachrome
slide to reach the base + fog level; most slides have impor-
tant parts of the image with a density of 0.35 or less. At
0.25, in the highlight region, only about 45 minutes of pro-
jection is required to reach the base + fog level! The
extreme color-balance shifts toward green that occur in
the lower densities as Kodachrome progressively fades are
readily apparent from the curves in Figure 6.3.
How visually obvious these defects are depends not only
on how much fading has taken place in all three image
dyes but also to a very significant degree on the nature of
the image. Scenes with large low-density areas show this
effect much more than high-contrast scenes which consist
mostly of medium- and high-density areas. A beach scene
with large areas of light sand and a gray, overcast sky
along with darker areas of muted colors would be particu-
larly sensitive to projector-caused fading. A portrait of a
person with light brown or blonde hair may show a shift in
color in the lighter portions of the hair, which can be very
obvious when compared with the hair in darker areas. Be-
cause of the poor stability of the magenta dye versus the
cyan dye, Kodachrome films are particularly susceptible to
this type of fading.
When slides are viewed in a dark surround, the eye can
adapt to shifts in color balance much more readily than is
the case when color prints are viewed in a normally lighted
room. With many types of scenes, fairly substantial fading
and color shifts can take place in a projected slide without
the viewer thinking anything is wrong with the image
unless an unfaded image is projected next to or immedi-
ately after the faded one. A slightly pink sky in a Koda-
chrome slide can very quickly shift to a neutral sky and
later to a slightly green sky as a result of projector-
caused fading. If the viewer did not know what the sky
looked like in the original slide, this major change in the
appearance of the image would probably not be noticed.
Multi-image slide shows, in which two or more projectors
are operated simultaneously so that images are projected
next to each other, or even in edge-to-edge contact, can
clearly reveal even slight shifts in color balance in similar
scenes.
Low-density color shifts due to moderate projector-caused
fading can be partially corrected in the course of duplica-
tion or printing by filtration. The appearance of a dupli-
cate made from a faded Kodachrome slide can almost al-
ways be improved in this manner, but the image will still
suffer from loss of highlight detail. If the best correction is
selected for lower mid-tone portions of the image, both
lighter and darker portions of the image will continue to
have color imbalances the highlights will be shifted to
magenta and the higher-density image areas will have a
greenish cast. Once lost through projector-caused fading,
highlight detail cannot be restored. Because of this, cor-
rective duplication using contrast-adjusting masks for the
faded dyes, such as the procedures suggested by Edwin
Wiitala of Eastman Kodak for dark-faded transparencies,
15
has only limited effectiveness with light-faded images.
In the hands of a skilled operator, better success might
be had with electronic digital image-processing equipment
such as Apple Macintosh computers running Adobe
Photoshop, the Kodak Premier Image Enhancement Sys-
tem, or the Agfa Digital Slide Printer. In general, however,
restoration of transparencies that suffer from serious light
fading is much more problematic than restoration of dark
faded transparencies. The general impression one gets
from projector-faded images of most slide films is a high-
light and mid-tone color shift with most current films
the shift is toward green because the magenta dye fades
more rapidly than either the cyan or yellow dyes. With
some exceptions, the magenta dyes in chromogenic films
and prints have historically had inferior light fading stabil-
ity compared with cyan and yellow dyes; however, magenta
dyes in most products have much better dark fading stabil-
ity than the other two dyes.
But progress is being made. The second-generation
Fujichrome E-6 compatible films introduced in 1983, and
improved in 1988, show better retention of neutral color
balance in critical lower densities during the course of
projector-caused fading compared with any of the Kodak
camera slide films on the market at the time this book
went to press in 1992. The Process E-6 compatible Agfa-
chrome films introduced in 198485, and improved in 1988
and 1992, have greatly improved projector-fading charac-
teristics compared with previous Agfachrome films; never-
theless, they are still not as stable as Fujichrome and Ek-
tachrome films when projected. Correctly exposed or slightly
overexposed slides show the effects of fading more readily
than darker (underexposed) slides; the overexposed slide
has a greater portion of the image contained in the low-
density portions of the curve. For best photographic re-
sults, of course, slides should be correctly exposed this
is especially important if prints are to be made.
Criteria for Color Balance Shift
and Loss of Density
Two sets of image-deterioration criteria were used in
this study.
16
One set allows a fairly large degree of fading
and color balance shift to occur before the limits are reached
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is greater than might be supposed. Because 0.45 is further
down the density scale than 0.6, the effect of any given
density loss or color imbalance is percentage-wise
magnified. The data in Table 6.1 indicate that while the
relationship of the fading times with the two sets of criteria
varies among the various films, the General criteria typi-
cally allow projection two to three times longer than the
Critical criteria.
Although changes in near-minimum-density areas (the
lowest density, or clear gray-scale patch) were measured,
with most of these film samples the areas were not true
minimum densities and thus could not be used for stain-
correction of the fading data for determining absolute density
loss, such as was done with the analysis of light-faded color
prints in Chapter 3 and with the accelerated dark fading of
films and prints in Chapter 5. In the case of the slide films
tested here, stain-correction of the data would probably
have made little if any difference in the results. None of
the films was yellow-dye-limited (it is with yellow-dye fad-
ing that stain formation usually has the most effect), and in
any event it is this authors practice not to stain-correct
data used for color-balance analysis.
A further complication with the stain-correction of data
from projected slides is that whatever stain that does take
place frequently will be obscured by fading of the relatively
high d-min fog levels characteristic of most reversal films.
It was also apparent that stain growth in higher-density
image areas of Ektachrome and a number of other films
was not correctly reflected by d-min changes.
Pure cyan, magenta, and yellow color patches were also
measured, but changes in these areas were not included in
the criteria limits because this author felt that much more
study of a variety of faded pictorial scenes with slides
made on a variety of films was needed to assign mean-
ingful limits to each of the three image dyes. In most
cases, separate magenta and yellow areas faded faster in
projection than did the three dyes when combined to form
a neutral gray; this is because of the protective effect of
one layer on another.
With most films, the cyan layer is coated on the bottom
next to the film base, and in projection the cyan dye to a
certain extent shields the magenta and yellow dye layers
from the light of projection. From looking at many projec-
tor-faded slides, it is apparent that the significance of the
more rapid fading of the dyes that can take place when
they are in separate color patches is very dependent on the
scene.
This author believes that the sets of criteria given here,
which concern only changes in neutral density, are a good
reflection of the overall visual changes that take place when
slides with typical scenes are projected. Had pure cyan,
magenta, and yellow color patches been included in the
analysis, the indicated projection times before the first
limit was reached would probably have been shortened for
some of the films, but in most cases the stability rankings
of the various films would have been the same. For ex-
ample, no realistic method of analysis could rank Ekta-
chrome as being more stable than Fujichrome in projec-
tor-caused fading.
Study by this author of many faded slides and color
prints clearly demonstrated that the eye is most sensitive
to changes in color balance along the magenta/green axis
and is intended for general use where it is not normal
practice to make prints from slides. The other set of crite-
ria specifies much less density loss and smaller deviations
in color balance; it is intended for critical commercial and
museum applications.
General Commercial and Amateur Use
For general commercial and amateur applications, pro-
jected color slides will be considered to have faded an ob-
jectionable amount when the first limit (end point) has
ties of 0.6 and 1.0:
Loss of cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Loss of magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Loss of yellow dye (blue density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35%
and [minus] magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . 12%
and [minus] cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
and [plus or minus] yellow dye (blue density) . . . . 18%
Critical Commercial and Museum Use
For critical commercial and museum applications, pro-
jected color slides will be considered to have faded an ob-
jectionable amount when the first limit (end point) has
ties of 0.45 and 1.0:
Loss of cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
Loss of magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%
Loss of yellow dye (blue density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
and [minus] magenta dye (green density) . . . . . . . . 8%
and [minus] cyan dye (red density) . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
Since 0.45 density was selected as the primary mea-
surement point in the Critical set of criteria, the differ-
ence between the General and Critical sets of criteria
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criteria. In the fine art field and other areas of photogra-
phy that have very high standards for print color and tone
reproduction and where a slide may be printed repeat-
edly over the years it would be wise to adopt a policy of
never projecting originals, especially Kodachrome slides.
Because of the vagaries of a particular emulsion batch
of film, exposure conditions, and/or processing of the film,
a transparency may be only barely acceptable even in an
unfaded condition. If projector-caused fading results in
accentuating these defects, only a very short projection
time may be needed to push the image past acceptable
limits. For example, some of the amateur Kodachrome
film used by this author in preparing samples for these
tests had distinctly low magenta-dye-layer contrast after it
was processed by Kodak, resulting in a pronounced green
color balance. Projector-caused fading only accentuated
the problem. In fact, one could argue that the greater the
film/processing/exposure variations experienced with a par-
ticular type of slide film, the more strict the fading criteria
should be in order to avoid ending up with unacceptable
color images.
Unless projector-caused fading of a slide becomes se-
vere, the overall impression of its brightness on the screen
changes very little. Based on the General criteria given
here, the increase in projected brightness of a faded slide
that has reached the specified limits would typically be
equivalent to less than a one f-stop increase in camera
exposure. A slide that has reached the stricter commer-
cial and museum limits would typically be equivalent to
less than a one-half f-stop increase in exposure. The fact
that the faded image as a whole does not appear to have
lost much density can easily obscure the much more sig-
nificant changes that have taken place in low-density and
highlight areas of the image.
While this authors two sets of criteria were arrived at
after study of many slides and prints with known amounts
of fading and are offered in good faith without bias for or
against any particular product, other individuals may have
different opinions about the relative values assigned to
each dye, the permissible color-balance deviations, and
the overall amount of fading that can be tolerated. Whether
or not a print is to be made from a slide or if it is to be
reproduced in a magazine or other publication is an
important consideration in any discussion of slide fading.
As stated previously, slides that will be used only for pro-
jection generally can tolerate much more fading than those
that will be reproduced in print form.
Despite the subjective nature of any determination of
acceptable limits of fading, a well-thought-out set of cri-
teria can be effectively employed to compare the stability
of the various slide films marketed now and in the past.
The criteria given here, and the computer programs with
which the data were analyzed, are to a significant extent
unaffected by inherent color and contrast imbalances
within the range found in the films that were tested. This
author was indeed surprised by the great irregularities in
sensitometric characteristics of most of the films (and in
manufacturers processing); as might be expected, the pro-
fessional films were much better in terms of consistency
and neutral color balance than amateur films. The com-
puter programs and methods of data analysis are discussed
in Chapter 2.
this is especially true in near-neutral colors and in the
colors of human flesh-tone reproduction. Changes in cyan/
red are somewhat less critical in most scenes, and most
people are quite tolerant of color shifts along the yellow/
blue axis, especially if the direction of change is toward
yellow. Yellow dye principally influences the yellow/blue
hue of the image and contributes very little to the rendition
of image detail and the impression of image contrast or
the sense of light and dark in a scene. Another reason for
the acceptance of an excess of yellow, especially in low-
density image areas, is that paper, oil paintings, wood, and
many other materials gradually yellow with age. Yellowing
is thus a key characteristic of what is often referred to as
the patina of age. North American Caucasians often
express a preference for a decided excess of yellow and,
to a lesser extent, excess magenta in the color balance
of their portraits. This is the healthy tanned look.
Both sets of fading criteria give different, weighted val-
ues to the cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes to reflect
typical visual responses. The criteria chosen here for slides
are this authors attempt to take into account the observed
disproportionately rapid low-density and highlight-detail
fading due to projection. Various individuals have distinctly
different responses to the effects of color fading; in addi-
tion, the perception of fading is also highly dependent on
the pictorial content of a particular photograph. Much
more study needs to be done concerning visual responses
to faded slides both projected in a dark surround and
used to make reflection prints.
Since photographers, museum curators, and other visu-
ally oriented people are the most likely to be concerned
with color stability, the studies should focus on these groups
of slide users. Casual observation indicates that the gen-
eral public usually has a less rigorous notion of what good
photographic quality is. However, it has been this authors
experience that the average person can be quite discrimi-
nating when comparing an even slightly faded print with
the same picture in its original state. The fact that a per-
son may accept as adequate a significantly faded picture if
no comparison is available may be more an indication of
limited familiarity with carefully printed color photographs
than it is an indication of lack of visual discrimination.
Presented with a selection of color prints of varying qual-
ity, the average persons opinions about which prints look
the best are usually similar to the views expressed by ex-
perienced photographers.
Some people may feel that the criteria given here are
too strict and that for general purposes where the infor-
mation content of a slide is usually more important than
aesthetics and precise color and tone reproduction sig-
nificantly more fading can be tolerated. On the other hand,
some photographers especially those who are more con-
cerned with how prints or published reproductions look
than they are with the appearance of projected slides
may feel that in at least some respects even the set of
criteria intended for critical commercial and museum use
is not strict enough.
Indeed, a slide with important areas of the image in the
0.20 to 0.35 density range may exhibit obvious changes in
the color balance and density of these low-density areas
before it has been projected long enough to reach one or
more of the limits specified in this authors Critical set of
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Eastman Kodaks Recommendations
for Slide Projection
Kodak has published relatively little on the projection
life of color slides. Part of the reason for this is that most
amateurs do not project their slides enough to cause objec-
tionable fading, and the company has probably received
few complaints about projector-caused fading. In recent
years the popularity of slides among amateurs has sharply
declined, with most people now showing a strong prefer-
ence for color prints made from color negatives. However,
during the last decade, slide use has grown considerably in
the audiovisual area, where slide presentations are fre-
quently employed for education and training purposes and
to accompany talks at meetings and conferences. Slides
have been consistently preferred in the photojournalism,
commercial, and advertising fields where they are often
subjected to repeated and prolonged projection.
The March 1973 edition of Kodak publication E-30, Stor-
age and Care of Kodak Color Films, stated:
The projection life of a color slide depends
on the amount of light and heat from the pro-
jection lamp falling on the slide and upon the
total projection time. Prolonged projection with
high-wattage lamps or arc lamps will shorten
the life of, and may even distort, the transpar-
encies. Avoid projection times longer than one
minute. If long projection times are unavoid-
able, make duplicate slides of the original and
use them for projection purposes.
17
In common with other Kodak publications of the period,
no specific information about the projector-fading or dark
fading stability of the companys various films was given.
In the January 1976 edition of Storage and Care of Ko-
dak Color Films, Kodaks policy was changed somewhat
and this information was offered:
The dye images most stable to light are those
in slides made on Kodak Ektacolor Slide Film
5028, Kodak Ektachrome Duplicating Film 5038,
and Kodak Ektachrome Films. Slides made on
Kodachrome Film are somewhat less stable,
but may be expected to withstand 250 to 500 15-
second projections (one projection per minute)
in non-arc slide projectors before significant
dye fading results.
18
The Kodak figures of 250 to 500 15-second projections
amount to 1 hour 2 minutes to 2 hours 5 minutes total
projection time.
In 1975, a researcher in color stability at Kodak supplied
the Dunlap Society, an archive and producer of American
art and architecture slides and microfiche, with the dark
fading and projector-fading characteristics of certain Ko-
dak films the Society was considering for production of
slide sets (see Table 6.4). This information included the
same figures given above for projection life of Kodachrome
film, and 300 to 750 15-second projections (1 hour 15 min-
utes to 3 hours 8 minutes) for the then-new Process E-6
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5071. This latter esti-
mate was not contained in any regular Kodak publication,
Table 6.4 Projector-Fading and Dark Fading Stability Data Supplied by
Eastman Kodak to the Dunlap Society in Washington, D.C. in 1975
If Projected for 15 Seconds
If Kept in the Dark with a Tungsten-Halogen Bulb,
the Color Should Be the Color Should Not Change
Kind of Film Stable for. . . . Until Projected. . . .
Kodachrome Film 50+ years 250500 times
[Process K-14] [1 hr 2 min to 2 hr 5 min]
Ektachrome Slide at least 300500 times
Duplicating Film 5071 1020 years [1 hr 15 min to 3 hr 8 min]
[Process E-6] perhaps
2050 years
Ektachrome-X Film 1020 years 3751000 times
[Process E-4] [1 hr 34 min to 4 hr 10 min]
Kodacolor Slide 510 years 5001000 times
Print Film 5028 [2 hr 5 min to 4 hr 10 min]
[Process C-41]
Ektachrome Slide 510 years 300750 times
Duplicating Film 5038 [1 hr 15 min to 3 hr 8 min]
[Process E-4]
Eastman Color 5 years 400800 times
Motion Picture Print [1 hr 40 min to 3 hr 20 min]
Film 5381
[Process ECP-1]
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however, and was seen by few people outside of the spe-
cialized art and architecture slide library field.
Extracting this information from Kodak was a major
breakthrough on the part of the Dunlap Society. According
to the Societys Isabel Lowery, who obtained the data from
Kodak, We didnt want to repeat the Sandak fiasco and
have all our slides turn pink.
19
Lowery was referring to
the millions of slides, printed on Eastman Color Print Film
(a motion picture print film), that suffered catastrophic
cyan and yellow dye loss only a few years after they had
been sold by Sandak, Inc. to art slide libraries and other
collections all over the world.
Lowery said that when she called Kodak with questions
about the stability of various films, she received only vague
and generalized cautions about color fading. But the cus-
tomer service representative she talked to let slip the
name of a man at the company who worked in research and
who knew about color fading. She called him directly
and he supplied her with the information given in Table
6.4. Based on this, the Dunlap Society selected Ektachrome
Slide Duplicating Film 5071 for making distribution copies
of the original slides in its archive. At the time, the Society
was about to embark on a major slide-production program
funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities;
this was one of the initial activities of the Societys Visual
Documentation Program.
In the 1977 and 1984 editions of The Sourcebook Ko-
dak Ektagraphic Slide Projectors, Kodak said:
For most viewing purposes, pictorial slides
made on properly processed Kodak Color Films
will be acceptable through 3 to 4 hours of total
projection time. This is true when the slides
are used in an Ektagraphic or Carousel Slide
Projector that is equipped with a tungsten-fila-
ment lamp and has unrestricted air circula-
tion, even if the projector is operating with the
selector switch set at HIGH.
20,21
Surprisingly, in this publication Kodak did not distin-
guish between Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides in terms
of projector-caused fading.
More recently Kodak has stopped publishing specific
recommendations for acceptable projection times. Be-
ginning in early 1982, in answer to individual requests to
the company, Kodak started releasing data in the form of
graphs showing density loss as a function of projection
time for the common slide and print films for still cam-
eras.
22
At first these sheets were accompanied with color
prints showing the visual effects of projector-fading and
accelerated dark fading tests. About a year later, these
prints were discontinued. The graphs are based on one 15-
second projection in a Kodak Carousel Projector every 20
minutes; data for up to 720 projections (3 hours total expo-
sure time) are given.
A Kodak spokesman has indicated that the company
receives very few requests for this information. This per-
haps is not surprising in view of the fact that the company
has, to this authors knowledge, never announced the avail-
ability of the stability data sheets in any Kodak publication,
and they are not listed in the Kodak publications catalog.
Very few photographers and archivists were aware that
the sheets existed.
In 1988 Kodak quietly published new image-stability data
sheets for Ektachrome (not including Ektachrome Plus,
HC or X films)
23
and Kodachrome,
24
but as was the case
with the data sheets published in 1982, these new publica-
tions were not announced and they saw little circulation.
Kodak has apparently decided to publicly minimize the
rather large differences between Kodachrome and Ekta-
chrome films in terms of projector-fading stability; and the
recommendation on the permissible projection time for
Kodachrome film given in the 1976 edition of Kodak Publi-
cation E-30, Storage and Care of Kodak Color Films, has
been dropped in recent editions of E-30 (now entitled Stor-
age and Care of Kodak Color Materials, because of the
addition of some information on the care of color prints).
In the December 1980 edition of E-30, Kodak stated only
that Ektachrome Films . . . withstand the effects of light
better than Kodachrome Films. In the May 1982 edition of
the same publication, Kodak watered this down a bit fur-
ther and changed the sentence to read: Ektachrome Films
. . . withstand the effects of light somewhat better than
Kodachrome Films.
In 1984, Kodak took the matter of the comparative pro-
jector-fading rates of different types of slide films such as
Table 6.5 Variations in Projector
Lamp Intensity
Intensities of various lamps measured with a Minolta Illuminance
Meter, 10 feet from front of lens (Kodak Ektanar C Lens, 127mm,
f2.8) of Kodak Ektagraphic III AT projector. Open-frame slide
mount (without film) in projector film gate; measurements made in
center of frame. Equipment was not available to measure lamp
intensities directly in projector film gate. Lamps allowed to stabi-
lize about 20 seconds before measurements were made.
General Electric EXR Lamps
1) 2,560 lux
2) 2,690 lux Average: 2,678 lux
3) 2,640 lux Difference between brightest
lamp and average: 8.3%
4) 2,700 lux
Difference between dimmest
5) 2,560 lux and brightest lamps: 12.3%
6) 2,920 lux
Sylvania EXR Lamps
1) 2,410 lux
Average: 2,425 lux
2) 2,440 lux
General Electric EXW Lamp
1) 3,080 lux
General Electric EXY Lamp
1) 1,740 lux
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Figure 6.4 Light intensity at a projector film gate tends
to be higher in the center of a slide than at the corners,
and this results in correspondingly greater fading in the
center area. For the data reported in Figure 6.5, density
readings were taken at the film-gate locations shown
here.
Figure 6.7 In this example involving Ektachrome film,
image fading occurred essentially simultaneously with
exposure to light in a projector; negligible change oc-
curred after the end of the projection period. Because of
massive reciprocity failure during the continuous 5-hour
projection period of this particular test, the cyan dye
faded more than the magenta (the opposite occurs dur-
ing normal, intermittent projection).
Figure 6.6 After some fairly abrupt initial changes, pro-
jector fading of Ektachrome film and most other slide
films proceeds in a fairly linear fashion as a function of
projection time.
Figure 6.5 After 5 hours of continuous projection of a
slide with a uniform neutral density of about 1.25 and
made with now-obsolete Agfachrome 64 film, density read-
ings were taken at the film-gate locations shown in Figure
6.4. Note the reduced fading that occurred at the corners
of the image due to the fall-off in illumination intensity.
Ektachrome and Kodachrome films.
27
In what appears to
signal a major change in Kodaks stance regarding the
relative merits of Ektachrome vis-a-vis Kodachrome, this
entire section was deleted from the new edition of E-77.
Why Kodak would change its position on such an impor-
tant matter is open to speculation. One possibility is that
with the introduction of Kodachrome Professional films,
and Kodaks renewed emphasis on Kodachrome in the pro-
fessional market, the company does not wish in any way to
disparage Kodachrome in the minds of photographers. It
is also conceivable that, fearing the inevitable unfavorable
comparison of the projector-fading stability of both Koda-
chrome and Ektachrome with Fujichrome, Kodak wants to
discourage this line of thinking altogether. Fujichrome is
the principal competition for Ektachrome and Kodachrome
in the professional market.
Top
Center
Top
Right
Corner
Top
Right
Center
Center
of
Frame
Lower
Left
Center
Lower
Left
Corner
Bottom
Center
Kodachrome and Ektachrome one step further and, in a
rather astonishing statement, said: . . . the film type, if it is
a photographic film with dye images, does not make a sig-
nificant difference, assuming proper processing and the
projector operating at relatively normal room tempera-
tures.
25
In the 1986 edition of Kodak Color Films and Papers for
Professionals (Kodak Publication No. E-77), Kodak said:
Color slides are usually projected on a screen by a bright
light for several seconds and then returned to storage.
Therefore, the preservation techniques for these materials
is much the same as for color negatives. While cautioning
against prolonged or repeated projections such as might
occur in a commercial display, Kodak concluded the dis-
cussion by saying, Kodak transparency film is very stable.
All Kodak slide films are made to be projected, and it is
usually not projection that causes image deterioration if
reasonable care is taken . . . .
26
The previous, 1980 edition
of E-77 contained a section that briefly discussed the pro-
jector-fading and dark storage stability differences between
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Figure 6.8 In now-obsolete Agfachrome 64 film, some
regeneration was noted in the cyan dye during dark
storage after a 5-hour period of continuous projection.
The yellow and magenta dyes were not similarly affected.
various slide films included in the tests. The critical densi-
ties of the gray-scale image were contained in the density
steps in the center of the scale, and even though they were
on the bottom of the image, they received essentially the
same amount of light as the center of the frame. Slides
with ten-step gray scales centered in the middle of the
frame were included with some of the films.
The projector was operated at the recommended 120
volts (measured with the projector turned on and the lamp
on High). Kodak states that Ektagraphic projectors will
operate satisfactorily in the range of 110 to 125 volts; how-
ever, the lamp light intensity and hence the fading rate
varies considerably with the operating voltage. Accord-
ing to Kodak figures, the ELH quartz-halogen lamp pro-
duces 15% more light at 125 volts than it does at 120 volts.
30
At 115 volts, the light level is reduced 12% from that at 120
volts, and at 110 volts, the light level is reduced 25%.
Variations from one lamp to another can also be ex-
pected at any given voltage. Robert Beeler of Kodak ex-
plained:
. . . there is a good bit of variation in the total
illumination and in the evenness of illumina-
tion from different lamps. It appears that the
lamp manufacturers can make the filaments
fairly consistent, but the dichroic [infrared-trans-
mitting] coatings on the reflectors are some-
thing else. The total variation usually falls within
perhaps 10 percent, but sometimes is more.
In addition, the coatings are often not perfectly
even on the reflector, and this may affect the
evenness of illumination at the projector gate.
Putting the lamps on an illuminator (prefer-
ably with a tungsten light source) will show up
differences in the light transmitted by the re-
flectors, and it is often considerable.
31
Variations in the intensity of a number of the projector
lamps used in this authors study are listed in Table 6.5.
By the conclusion of the initial phase of this study, when
Projector-Fading Test Procedures
For the tests conducted by this author and reported
here, each slide was subjected to six 30-second projections
each day, with approximately 4 hours between each projec-
tion. The tests were carried out over a 140-day period,
resulting in a total projection time of 7 hours for each slide
(for the less stable films, such as Kodachrome, the tests
were ended after 120 days a total of 6 hours projection
for each slide). During the tests the projector was located
in a darkened room at a temperature of 75F (24C) and a
relative humidity of 60%; fans in the room maintained indi-
rect air currents over the projector and slide tray, cooling
both fairly quickly after each projection period.
A Kodak Ektagraphic III AT projector, equipped with
the standard ANSI Code EXR 82-volt, 300-watt quartz-halo-
gen tungsten lamp (made by General Electric), was used
in the tests.
28
Ektagraphic projectors are heavy-duty ver-
sions of the popular Kodak Carousel projectors introduced
in 1961; in the United States, Carousel and Ektagraphic
projectors have achieved practically total domination in
educational and commercial markets. The Ektagraphic III
projectors were introduced in 1981. The microprocessor-
controlled Ektapro projectors introduced by Kodak in 1992
are expected to produce rates of slide fading that are gen-
erally similar to that of Ektagraphic III projectors. This
author had used a Carousel 750H projector with an ANSI
Code ELH quartz-halogen lamp in previous experimental
work; an initial study was done in 1979 with a Sawyer ro-
tary projector.
A precise electronic repeat-cycle timer designed by this
author was set at 31 seconds to control the Ektagraphic
slide-change mechanism; the additional 1 second
29
allowed
for the slide-change mechanism to function, giving an ac-
tual projection time of 30 seconds. The primary sequence
timer controlled a secondary timer set at 0.1 second to
provide a short but sustained electrical contact closure to
cause the projector to move to the next slide (this simu-
lated a momentary depression of the change button on the
hand control). These timers and the projector itself were
controlled by a third timer which turned the entire system
off after all of the slides had been projected once.
The slide tray was manually returned to the starting
position and the bulb checked at the start of each projec-
tion sequence to make certain it had not burned out. Expe-
rience showed that it was unnecessary to monitor the pro-
jection lamp during the course of each sequence; when
lamps burned out, they did so without exception within a
fraction of a second of a new sequence being started. At
the end of a lamps life, the filaments fail suddenly, appar-
ently due to the initial current surge. Given the relatively
short projection time of 20 or 30 minutes for each sequence,
the lamps would remain operational throughout this pe-
riod if they had survived the initial current surge.
To determine the evenness of illumination at the film
gate, a full-frame, neutral-density Agfachrome 64 slide was
projected for a period of 6 hours. Various locations on the
slide (see Figure 6.4) were measured with a densitometer;
the fading that took place at each of the locations is given
in Figure 6.5.
A Macbeth ColorChecker was photographed onto the
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the majority of the films were tested as a group, a large
quantity of lamps had been consumed, and it is assumed
that differences in intensity and evenness of illumination
were largely averaged out in the course of the tests. For
subsequent tests of more recently introduced films, the
lamps were individually tested and only those which mea-
sured very close to the average intensity of the initial set
were included. Only General Electric Type EXR lamps
were used in these tests (this was the type of lamp origi-
nally supplied by Kodak with the Ektagraphic III projector
when it was purchased and is considered to be the stan-
dard lamp for this projector as well as Kodaks new Ek-
tapro projectors, introduced in 1992).
Measurement of Density Changes
Many films exhibit relatively rapid losses in density of
one or more dyes during the first 5 or 10 minutes of projec-
tion; Figure 6.6 illustrates the changes that took place in a
low-density, neutral-gray area of an Ektachrome 50 Tung-
sten slide. The cause of these initial rapid density losses is
not known. It is possible that residual sensitizer dyes re-
main in the film after processing and that these fade com-
paratively quickly on exposure to light; however, low-level
stains from other sources may be the cause. To a certain
extent, fading slows after early projection periods as a con-
sequence of the reciprocity failures in light fading which
are discussed in more detail later. To observe these early
changes, density measurements were made after 6 min-
utes of projection time; these were followed with additional
measurements after 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour.
For the remainder of the test, measurements were made
after each hour.
Density measurements were taken with a Macbeth TR924
Densitometer equipped with Kodak Status A filters. The
densitometer was connected directly to a Hewlett-Packard
HP-125 microcomputer which, running the programs de-
scribed in Chapter 2, processed the data, interpolated pre-
selected gray-scale step values, provided a hardcopy print-
out, and set up data files on computer disks for storage and
later analysis with the sets of fading criteria.
Judging from the instances in which two or more samples
of films of the same type were included in the tests, the
repeatability of the procedure including the computa-
tions of the criteria analysis program was reasonably
good. As an example, samples of Kodachrome 25 and Koda-
chrome 64 were tested, with each sample having a dis-
tinctly different color balance. The Critical museum cri-
teria program predicted 19.5 minutes for the Kodachrome
25 sample to reach the cyan/magenta color imbalance limit,
and 19.8 minutes for the Kodachrome 64 sample to reach
the same limit. The potential experimental error for samples
analyzed with the General set of criteria is estimated to
be about 10%; the potential error is larger for the Criti-
cal set of criteria.
ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Im-
aging Media Stability of Color Photographic Images
Methods for Measuring
32
specifies correction of densito-
metric data for changes in d-min densities when measur-
ing density losses in the individual cyan, magenta, and
yellow dyes, but not when determining changes in color
balance. For the purposes of this study, however, this
author felt it was more meaningful in a visual sense to use
uncorrected data for both density losses and color balance
changes. Unlike the blue-density increases (caused by
gradual yellowish stain formation) that take place over time
with most types of color photographs in dark storage, pro-
jection usually causes a reduction in d-min densities. Pro-
jection of a slide generally does not result in yellowish
stain that can be measured in d-min areas and, therefore,
this author feels that the usual rationale for making d-min
corrections does not apply to projector-fading of color slides.
For most films, projector-caused fading appears to take
place virtually simultaneously with exposure to the intense
projector light. Figure 6.7 shows the changes that took
place in a neutral-gray, moderately high-density (2.0) area
of an Ektachrome 50 Tungsten slide during a period of 5
days in the dark (75F [24C], 60% RH) after 5 hours of
continuous projection. An initial density reading was made
within 15 seconds of the end of the 5-hour projection. No
further detectable loss in image density took place during
5 days in dark storage.
However, with an Agfachrome 64 transparency (an ob-
solete film developed with Agfa Process 41), with an initial
density of 0.6, (see Figure 6.8), there was a gradual in-
crease in red density during dark storage following the 5-
hour projection period, suggesting a regeneration of some
of the faded cyan dye. An apparent partial regeneration of
cyan dye has also been noted with some types of color
prints after (or during) exposure to intense light.
Two years after completion of the initial 6- or 7-hour
intermittent projection tests (3 minutes projection per day
for 120 or 140 days), densities of Fujichrome 100D, Koda-
chrome 64, Ektachrome 50 Tungsten, and PolaChrome color
slides were measured again; none of the films showed sig-
nificant further density changes. During the 2-year stor-
age period, the slides had been kept in the dark at 75F
(24C) and 60% RH.
Reciprocity Failures in
Projector-Caused Fading
Accelerated light fading tests for color prints employ
high-intensity illumination in an attempt to simulate in a
short time the fading and staining that the prints will expe-
rience in actual long-term, low-intensity display conditions.
For example, exposing an Ektacolor print to fluorescent
light with an intensity of 20 klux for 1 month should result
in the same amount of fading as if the print were exposed
to fluorescent illumination with an intensity of 1 klux for 20
months in both cases the prints would receive 14,400
klux-hours of illumination. Stated simply, exposure to a
bright light for a short period should produce the same
amount of fading as exposure to a less intense light for a
proportionally longer time.
Unfortunately, as discussed in Chapter 2, most types of
color prints fade faster and stain more under long-term,
low-intensity illumination than they do when exposed to an
equivalent amount of light in short-term, high-intensity ac-
celerated tests.
33
This deviation is known as reciprocity
failure. There are very few examples of color prints or
films that exhibit the opposite relationship that is, fade
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more in high-intensity tests than in low-intensity tests. There
are, however, a number of print materials with one or more
dyes which, in this authors tests, showed almost identical
fading behavior in high- and low-intensity tests; the ma-
genta dyes in Konica Color Paper Type SR, Ektacolor Plus,
and Ektacolor Professional papers are examples.
With some types of color prints Polaroid Polacolor
ER, Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome), and the now-obsolete
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 589 are examples reciprocity
failures can be quite large. Thus, in normal display condi-
tions, one or more of the image dyes in such prints can
fade significantly faster than predicted by high-intensity
accelerated tests. These prints can be said to have a large
reciprocity failure, or RF Factor. An RF Factor can be
expressed numerically; for example, if the yellow dye of a
Figure 6.9 Reciprocity failure in projector fading of Koda-
chrome film. For a 6-hour total projection time, intermit-
tent projection of 30 seconds every 4 hours produced
more than twice the magenta dye loss than that which
occurred with continuous projection. In normal, intermit-
tent projection, which is usually spread over a period of
many years, it is likely that even greater fading would
take place after 6 hours of accumulated projection.
Figure 6.10 With Kodak Ektachrome films (including the
newer Plus, X, and HC type films, and 64T and 320T
films), the magenta dye faded far more in intermittent
projection than with continuous projection; the cyan dye
was not greatly affected. Note that in continuous projec-
tion, the cyan dye faded the most and caused a red color
shift. In normal, intermittent projection, the magenta dye
fades the most, causing an obvious green color shift.
Figure 6.11 Fujichrome showed very little reciprocity
failure (the reduced yellow loss measured during inter-
mittent projection of 30 seconds every 4 hours probably
resulted from a compensating stain increase that was not
reflected at d-min). These tests show that continuous
projection can produce highly misleading comparisons
of slide films. With continuous tests, one would errone-
ously conclude that the stability of Ektachrome was simi-
lar to that of Fujichrome.
Figure 6.12 Polaroid PolaChrome instant color slide film
also suffered from reciprocity failure in continuous pro-
jection. The stability problems of PolaChrome relate more
to the discoloration and fading of the silver image layer
than with dye stability per se; for this reason, the data
presented in this graph produce an incomplete depiction
of the stability behavior of the film.
certain type of print fades twice as much in a low-intensity
test as it does under the same total light exposure in a
high-intensity test, the RF Factor of the yellow dye is 2.0
(for those two test conditions). If the yellow dye fades the
same amount in both test conditions, the RF Factor is said
to be 1.0.
To further complicate matters, the cyan, magenta, and
yellow dyes that make up the color image usually have
different RF Factors, which means not only that the print
may fade faster overall under long-term, low-intensity illu-
mination but also that the color shift may be different as
well. When evaluating prints with a set of criteria such as
those used here, the relationship between the criterion
which fails first in a low-intensity test and that which
fails first in a high-intensity test can be expressed as an
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RF Factor the print material as a whole can then be
said to have a certain RF Factor, under the two given test
conditions.
The significance of the RF Factor is that meaningful
estimates of fading behavior in long-term use under nor-
mal conditions cannot be obtained from high-intensity tests
if a print material has a large RF Factor. Stain behavior
frequently is also subject to reciprocity failures in high-
intensity tests. It is of course possible for a print material
to have a large RF Factor and still be relatively stable
Ilfochrome is an example. Likewise, a print material with
a small RF Factor may nevertheless have poor light fading
stability.
Experimental work by this author in 1980 indicated that
projected slides were subject to reciprocity failures in fad-
ing that were somewhat similar to the reciprocity failures
observed previously in the fading of color prints. In the
case of slides, where the light intensity in the projector is
essentially a constant, however, the important variables
were the length of time of each individual projection and,
more significant in terms of the usual short projections for
color slides, the length of time between projections. The
relative humidity of the air surrounding the slides between
projections is probably also an important factor, especially
when the intervals between projections are short.
To investigate reciprocity failures in projector-caused
fading, a number of films were projected under the follow-
ing three conditions:
1) Continuous projection for a total of 6 hours.
2) Intermittent projection for 30 seconds every 30 min-
utes, for a total of 6 hours projection over a period of 15
days. Between projections, the slides were quickly re-
equilibrated with ambient conditions of 75F (24C) and
60% RH.
3) Intermittent projection for 30 seconds every 4 hours,
for a total of 6 hours projection over 120 days. Between
projections, the slides were re-equilibrated with ambi-
ent conditions of 75F (24C) and 60% RH.
In every case, projection for intermittent 30-second pe-
riods caused greater losses in dye density than did a single
continuous projection of 6 hours. The degree of reciprocity
failure varied considerably with the type of film. Among
conventional color films, the magenta dye of Kodachrome
had an RF Factor of 2.5 (Figure 6.9), the Ektachrome ma-
genta dye had a very large RF Factor of 4.4 (Figure 6.10),
and the Fujichrome magenta dye exhibited an RF Factor of
only 1.4 (Figure 6.11). In the case of these three films, the
RF Factors were computed from density losses from an
initial 1.0 neutral density; losses measured from pure
cyan, magenta, and yellow areas generally had even higher
RF Factors under these test conditions. For example, based
on losses measured from a pure magenta with an initial
density of 1.0, Ektachrome film had an RF Factor of 6.6
(versus an RF Factor of 4.4 when magenta losses were
measured from a 1.0 neutral density). In other words, the
pure magenta in Ektachrome film faded 6.6 times more
in the intermittent test than it did in the continuous-pro-
jection test!
The apparently reduced fading of yellow dye in Fuji-
chrome film in the 4-hour intermittent condition was caused
by low-level yellow stain formation; Ektachrome exhibited
similar low-level stain formation in intermittent projection.
The stain formation was not observed in either type of film
in low-density (e.g., 0.6) or d-min areas. Density measure-
ments detected the stain only in higher-density portions of
the images; the stain had little effect on the visual impres-
sion of color balance and is considered by this author not
to be a significant problem. Further study of this would
require the use of a spectrophotometer, which this author
did not have available at the time of this research. Neither
Ektachrome nor Fujichrome developed significant stain at
any density during continuous projection (at least stain
was not evident at the lowest density available in the test
slides in this study); Kodachrome appeared to be free of
stain formation under all projection conditions.
PolaChrome instant color slides (Figure 6.12) also showed
marked deviations in fading depending on the projection
condition, although the total amount of fading, relatively
speaking, was not great compared with Ektachrome and
Kodachrome. Because PolaChrome slides have an extremely
high base density (d-min) of about 0.7, they were measured
at a neutral density of 1.5, instead of the 1.0 selected for
the conventional films. The increase in blue density ob-
served with PolaChrome film was the result of significant
yellow stain formation; that the apparent stain was less in
the 4-hour intermittent condition can probably be attrib-
uted to a complementary fading of the red, green, and
blue additive-screen elements in the film.
In intermittent projection, Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome)
Micrographic film (Figure 6.13) also showed a significant
increase in fading rate compared with continuous projec-
tion. The now obsolete Agfachrome 64 and 100 films had
only a moderate RF Factor under the three projection con-
ditions in this authors tests.
Of particular note was the excellent test performance of
Fujichrome film. Either by intention or as a fortunate
occurrence related to other aspects of the films design,
Figure 6.13 Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) Micrographic
color film suffered large reciprocity failures in continuous
projection compared with more normal, intermittent pro-
jection. When projected 30 seconds every 4 hours, the
special-purpose Ilfochrome film proved to be somewhat
more stable than Fujichrome when evaluated according
to this authors image-fading criteria.
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Fuji has managed to mitigate those factors that cause other
films to exhibit significant RF Factors. This also under-
scores the importance of the test method in evaluating
projector-caused fading of slide films. Under continuous
projection, Fujichrome fades at a rate similar to that of
Ektachrome film, and the obvious superiority of Fujichrome
in normal, intermittent-projection conditions might go un-
appreciated. In continuous-projection tests, the image sta-
bilities of all the films with the singular exception of
Fujichrome are greatly overrated compared with what
would actually be experienced in normal use.
A possible explanation of the observed reciprocity fail-
ures in projector-caused fading is that oxygen plays a role
in the light fading of certain dyes. During high-intensity
light fading, oxygen is depleted at the sites of the dye mol-
ecules, resulting in a slowing of the photochemical reac-
tions. Oxygen availability may be further hindered by low
humidity, which lowers the permeability of gelatin to oxy-
gen. This dependence of light fading of magenta and yel-
low chromogenic dyes on oxygen availability was suggested
by Tuite of Kodak in 1979
34
and further discussed by Seoka
et al.
35
and Aono et al. of Fuji in 1982.
36
It is also possible
that water vapor plays a direct role in the fading of image
dyes.
By allowing a significant length of time between projec-
tions, the emulsion can equilibrate with ambient atmospheric
conditions, and both the moisture and oxygen content of
the emulsion can normalize before the next projection, thus
increasing the rate of fading.
Even the Intermittent Tests Reported Here
Probably Overestimate the
Stability of Slides in Normal Use
Normal use of a slide, of course, does not imply projec-
tion for 30 seconds every 4 hours. In actual practice, slides
may be projected for 10, 15, or 30 seconds at a time, but in
nearly every case, there will be a great deal more time
than 4 hours between projections. Days, weeks, months,
or even years between showings are more common. Judg-
ing from the slope of the fading rates of Kodachrome film,
under the three projection conditions in this authors tests,
for example, there is no reason to assume that the fading
rate would not be even greater with shorter projections
and/or longer periods between projections. Therefore, the
estimates of useful life given by this author in Tables 6.1
and 6.2 almost certainly overestimate the actual stability of
the slides under normal use. The magnitude of the error
will depend on the particular film; because of the small RF
Factors for Fujichrome films, the estimates of stability un-
der normal use for them are probably more meaningful
than for the other films.
The undesirable greasy surface residue noted on 3M
Scotch 640T Color Slide Film (see note in Table 6.1) and
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 (see Table 6.2) after 6 hours
of intermittent projection was not found when identical
slides were subjected to 6 hours of continuous projection.
The relationships between length of individual projec-
tions, the interval between projections, and the influence
of relative humidity are probably different for every prod-
uct, and for each type of dye of a given product. In order to
more accurately predict the long-term stability of slide films
under typical intermittent-projection conditions, study of
all of these factors is continuing, and this author hopes in
the future to publish results from tests with much longer
periods between projections.
Projector-Fading Curves of Slide Films
Projector-fading curves for some of the films included
in this study are given in Figures 6.14 to 6.22. A starting
neutral-gray density of 0.6 was used for all the films. Each
slide was subjected to six 30-second projections each day,
with approximately 4 hours between each projection. The
tests were carried out over a 120-day period, resulting in a
total projection time of 6 hours for each slide. The ambient
temperature in the test room was 75F (24C) and the rela-
tive humidity was 60%.
Eastman Kodaks Test Methods
Reciprocity failures as a consequence of the test method
may account for the differences between this authors tests
with Ektachrome films and the data reported by Kodak in
CIS No. 5045, August 1982, Evaluating Dye Stability of
Kodak Color Products Transparencies on These Kodak
Ektachrome Films, and in Kodak Publication E-106 (1988),
Reference Information from Kodak Image Stability Data:
Kodak Ektachrome Films (Process E-6).
37
Both of these
publications indicate that during projector-caused fading
of a neutral patch with an initial density of 1.0, the cyan dye
(red density) and magenta dye (green density) faded at a
similar rate over a 3-hour projection period, while the yel-
low dye (blue density) faded almost not at all.
38
In this
authors tests, the magenta dye in a neutral patch faded
significantly faster than the cyan dye, as illustrated in Fig-
ure 6.18. Continuous projection of Ektachrome film caused
the magenta to fade less rapidly than the cyan; the ma-
genta dye appears to have a larger RF Factor in projector-
caused fading than either the cyan or yellow dye.
Kodak indicated that it used one 15-second projection
every 20 minutes (720 projections in a 10-day test period) in
a Carousel projector, which is in keeping with the proce-
dure for testing slide-projector fading described in the now-
obsolete ANSI PH1.42-1969, American National Standard
Method for Comparing the Color Stabilities of Photographs.
39
Such a projection sequence can easily be achieved by plac-
ing slides in an 80-slide Carousel tray and setting a projec-
tor timer for 16 seconds (which allows 1 second for slide
changing). As the tray continues to rotate, each slide will
be projected once every 20 minutes and will have achieved
720 projections in approximately 240 hours (10 days) of
continuous operation.
In a projection situation such as this, where the projec-
tor operates continuously, heat from the projector keeps
the entire tray of slides warm. This in turn reduces the
relative humidity of the air in the vicinity of the slides and
maintains the moisture content of the film emulsion at a
low level throughout the duration of the test.
Whether Kodak actually applied this method of project-
ing the slides has not been revealed. In any event, the
Kodak test method (one 15-second projection every 20 min-
utes) did not allow as much time to elapse between projec-
tions as in this authors tests; in addition, the Kodak tests
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apparently did not allow the film emulsions to regain much
moisture between projections, probably contributing to a
reduction in fading rates. The resulting reciprocity fail-
ures likely account for the differences in results. This
authors longer-term tests, with full moisture equilibration
at 60% RH between projections, produced more rapid fad-
ing of the magenta dye, leading to a significant shift in
color balance toward green, while Kodaks tests produced
a less noticeable shift toward yellow. In Figure 6.11, it can
be seen that a projection condition somewhere between
continuous projection and the intermittent projection peri-
ods employed in this authors tests would produce slower
magenta dye fading, resulting in similar fading rates for
the magenta and cyan dyes.
The new ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Stan-
dard for Imaging Media Stability of Color Photographic
Images Methods for Measuring specifies a 15-second pro-
jection period each hour (a total of 6 minutes of illumina-
tion each 24 hours), with the surrounding air having a tem-
perature of 75F (24C) and 50% RH. This test cycle falls in
between the old ANSI PH1.42-1969 specification of a 15-
second projection every 20 minutes, with an air tempera-
ture of 75F (24C) and no RH specified (this is the test
cycle used by Kodak in the past), and this authors test
cycle of a 30-second projection every 4 hours, with an air
temperature of 75F (24C) and 60% RH.
In 1983 Patrick Young, staff photographer in the De-
partment of History of Art, University of Michigan, reported
a projector-fading experiment done with Kodachrome and
Ektachrome films (and a now obsolete Agfachrome film) in
which slide copies of a Claude Monet painting were pro-
jected for periods of 2 minutes (with 2 minutes between
projections) for totals of 50 minutes, 100 minutes, and 200
minutes.
40
Significant change was noted in the Kodachrome
slide at the end of 200 minutes, but no visually detectable
Figure 6.17 Ektachrome films (current E-6 types, except
for Ektachrome Plus, HC, X, 64T, and 320T films).
Figure 6.18 Ektachrome Plus, HC, X, 64T, and 320T
films (E-6 films introduced by Kodak beginning in 1988).
Figure 6.16 Kodachrome films (all current K-14 types). Figure 6.15 Fujichrome Velvia film (ISO 50).
Figure 6.14 Fujichrome films (except Velvia).
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fine series of dyed red, green, and blue lines imprinted on
the film base. Deterioration of a PolaChrome image is a
complex matter and can involve either the silver layer and
the dyed screen elements separately, or both at the same
time. Being an additive system, the d-min of PolaChrome
is very high (about 0.70), and correctly exposed slides have
a very dense appearance. When projected, PolaChrome
images appear much darker on the screen than conven-
tional slides.
During the course of the 120-day intermittent projection
tests, all of the PolaChrome slides developed serious, ir-
regular yellow stains this was in addition to a more
uniform, overall yellow staining. Figure 6.24 illustrates
the changes that occurred in a light skin-tone patch from a
Macbeth ColorChecker (the area of the light skin-tone patch
developed an especially high stain level on this particular
PolaChrome slide). The red and green densities dropped
in a fairly orderly fashion, but after a short drop at the very
beginning of the test, the blue density increased rapidly,
reflecting the formation of yellow stain; the color balance
of the skin-tone patch shifted markedly toward yellow.
The stain formation is probably accompanied by some
fading of the blue dye; integral densitometry, such as that
employed in these tests, cannot distinguish between these
two causes of density change. Unlike subtractive films
which have relatively clear d-min areas, PolaChrome is an
color shift was observed in the Ektachrome slide at the end
of this time. Favorable reciprocity effects afforded by these
test conditions were probably a significant factor in the
degree of stability attributed to the Ektachrome slide.
Problems with Polaroid
PolaChrome Instant Color Slides
Introduced in 1983, Polaroid PolaChrome instant color
slide film is used in conventional 35mm cameras (a related
film, High Contrast PolaChrome, was marketed in 1987 for
making high-contrast slides of graphs, charts, etc.). Po-
laChrome film is developed in about a minute in a separate
Polaroid Autoprocess tabletop processor; the slides can be
mounted and ready for projection in as little as 5 minutes
after exposure. PolaChrome is a modern reincarnation of
the additive-screen Autochrome plates and similar color
processes popular in the early part of the 1900s. Because
of problems inherent in any additive color system, these
processes were abandoned soon after Kodachrome and other
continuous-tone subtractive color films became available.
PolaChrome utilizes the same imaging technology as
the ill-conceived and quickly abandoned Polavision
instant movie system introduced in 1978. In PolaChrome,
the color image is formed by a positive silver image layer
which controls light transmission through an extremely
Figure 6.20 Agfachrome 64 and 100 films (obsolete). Figure 6.19 Agfachrome RS film and CT films (E-6 types).
Figure 6.21 Kodachrome II and Kodachrome-X films
(obsolete K-12 types).
Figure 6.22 3M ScotchChrome 100 Film (E-6 type).
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additive film with full-density red, green, and blue strips in
all areas of the film, making analysis of changes more prob-
lematic. Direct comparisons between the fading charac-
teristics of PolaChrome and other films are difficult be-
cause of the high base density, compressed density-scale,
and other unusual aspects of PolaChrome images.
Because of the irregular nature of the yellow stains that
occurred in the course of projection, and because PolaChrome
images had essentially disappeared by the end of this authors
90-day, high-humidity (144F [62C], 75% RH) accelerated
dark fading tests, PolaChrome film cannot be recommended
for any application requiring more than short-term stabil-
ity. Irregular stains of this type are virtually impossible to
correct in duplication or printing and are one of the most
serious flaws that a photographic material can have.
Using continuous-projection tests, Polaroid concluded
that PolaChrome slides have very high resistance to pro-
jector-caused fading (to this authors knowledge, Polaroid
has not published data from intermittent-projection tests):
All color slides subjected to long periods of
projection will eventually fade. Tests under
typical projection conditions indicate that Po-
laChrome slides can be projected two to five
times longer than conventional (chromogenic)
slide films before exhibiting a similar degree of
fading.
A PolaChrome slide projected continuously
for 10 hours in a 300-watt projector showed a
subtle visual change in some colors. After 20
hours the change was still small enough to be
unnoticed unless directly compared to an iden-
tical, unprojected slide.
Because of this resistance to fading, Pola-
Chrome film is particularly recommended for
slide shows . . . .
41
Because of its poor image quality, lack of a continuous-
tone image, extremely high base density, large grain struc-
ture, compressed density range (which reduces the bril-
liance of projected images), slow speed of ISO 40, color-
fringing with certain types of scenes, difficulty of making
color separations for photomechanical reproduction, poor
stability under commonly encountered projection and stor-
age conditions, and other drawbacks, the only reason any-
one would want to use PolaChrome film is that it can be
processed and ready for projection in slightly less than 5
minutes the only current instant 35mm color slide
film.
Polaroid has suggested that PolaChrome slides be treated
with gold chloride toners to protect the delicate silver im-
age if better stability is desired, especially under less-than-
ideal storage conditions.
42
However, it is highly unlikely
that many photographers would be willing to get involved
in toning and washing the films prior to projection or stor-
age in an effort to improve the stability of the product.
1. Eastman Kodak Company, The Source Book Kodak Ektagraphic
Slide Projectors, Kodak Publication No. S-74, October 1984, p.
153, Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New
York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000. The light intensity at the film
plane of an Ektagraphic III projector equipped with an EXR lamp is
given as 95,000 footcandles [1,022,200 lux]. See also: Eastman
Kodak Company, Evaluating Dye Stability of Kodak Color Prod-
ucts, Transparencies and Movies on Kodachrome [Films], Ko-
dak Current Information Summary CIS No. 5041, Eastman Kodak
Company, June 1982. This publication gives a film-plane intensity of
925 klux (86,000 fc) for a Kodak Carousel projector with a quartz-
halogen lamp. The 19821983 Kodak Photographic Products
Reference Guide, Kodak Publication No. R-50, states that the then-
new Ektagraphic III projectors had Increased illumination (25% more
than Ektagraphic Slide Projector Models E-2 through AF-2) (p. 70).
The coated condensers in Ektagraphic projectors result in about an
8% increase in light intensity at the film plane over Kodak Carousel
projectors, which are equipped with lower-cost, uncoated condenser
lenses. Kodak Ektapro 7000 and 9000 slide projectors, introduced
in 1992, employ the same EXR lamps that are used in Ektagraphic III
projectors. According to James Parker, Coordinator of Presentation
Technology for Kodaks Professional Imaging Division (telephone
discussion with this author, February 19, 1992), an improved mirror
design in the Ektapro projectors gives about a 10% increase in film
plane illumination intensity compared to that in Ektagraphic III pro-
jectors. This author did not have the necessary equipment to be
able to directly measure the projector-gate light intensities.
2. The estimated light intensity at the film plane of typical xenon-arc
projectors was based on discussions with three makers of such
projectors. None had actual data on film-plane light intensity, but
expressed the light intensity of their projectors in terms of the per-
centage increase in screen illumination compared with an Ekta-
graphic III projector, using the same lens and projection distance.
Reciprocity failures at the extreme illumination levels of xenon-arc
projectors have not been investigated.
3. This author delivered a talk entitled Projector-Caused Fading of
35mm Color Slides at the annual conference of the Society of
Photographic Scientists and Engineers, held in Minneapolis, Minne-
sota, May 5, 1980. This presentation included some data on reci-
procity failures in projector-caused fading. Additional research was
reported at the Advanced Studies in Visual Resources Seminar,
Production and Preservation of Color Slides and Transparen-
cies, sponsored by the Department of Art, School of Architecture,
and Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin,
Texas, March 2728, 1981. The proceedings of this landmark semi-
nar were reported by Bob Schwalberg in Color Preservation Up-
date, Popular Photography, Vol. 89, No. 1, January 1982, pp. 81
85, 131. In February 1990, further research was reported in a pre-
sentation by this author entitled The Stability and Preservation of
Color Slides: Duplicates for Use, and Cold Storage of Originals
Provide the Only Answer, ARLISVRA Joint Session, Conservation
and Preservation Issues Beyond the Book: Slides, Microforms,
Videodiscs and Magnetic Media, at the ARLIS (Art Libraries Soci-
ety of North America) 18th Annual Conference, New York City, Feb-
ruary 14, 1990. Comparative projector-fading and dark fading stabil-
ity data for color slide films were included in: Bob Schwalberg, with
Figure 6.23 During intermittent projection, PolaChrome
instant color slide film developed high levels of yellowish
stain generally in visually objectionable, irregular pat-
terns. The example shown here occurred in the light
skin-tone patch of an image of a Macbeth ColorChecker.
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Henry Wilhelm and Carol Brower, Going! Going!! Gone!!! Which
Color Films and Papers Last Longest? How Do the Ones You Use
Stack Up?, Popular Photography, Vol. 97, No. 6, June 1990, pp.
3749, 61. The stability data in the article were condensed from this
book.
4. Peter Moore, The Great Carousel Go-Around, Modern Photogra-
phy, Vol. 45, No. 10, October 1981, pp. 128133, 172, 176.
5. David C. Hubbell, Robert G. McKinney, and Lloyd West, Methods
for Testing Image Stability of Color Photographic Products, Photo-
graphic Science and Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 5, September
October 1967, p. 297. This article was the basis for ANSI PH1.42-
1969, American National Standard Method for Comparing the
Color Stabilities of Photographs, American National Standards
Institute, Inc., 1430 Broadway, New York, New York 10018; tele-
phone: 212-354-3300. In 1990 ANSI PH1.42-1969 was replaced by
ANSI IT9.9-1990 (see Note No. 14).
6. Eastman Kodak Company, see Note No. 1.
7. In practice, however, cyan absorbs some green light and contributes
to green density; magenta absorbs some red and some blue light in
addition to green. Readings taken with a normal densitometer are
known as integral density measurements and usually equate fairly
well with the visual perception of an image. A loss in green density
of a gray scale patch is caused mostly by the fading of magenta dye,
but losses in the cyan dye may also contribute to the measured
losses because of the secondary absorption of the cyan in the green
region. Strictly speaking, one cannot say that losses in green den-
sity are losses of magenta dye. This is the principal reason that
graphs and other data are often expressed in terms of changes in
red, green, and blue densities. If yellow stains are present, they will
have considerable influence on the blue density readings.
8. A somewhat simplified version of the criteria given here was first
proposed by this author in 1978 as part of a presentation entitled
Light Fading Characteristics of Reflection Color Print Materials at
the 31st Annual Conference of the Society of Photographic Scien-
tists and Engineers, May 1, 1978, in Washington, D.C. Preliminary
data on reciprocity effects in the light fading of color prints, with
specific reference to the light fading characteristics of Polacolor 2
prints, were also discussed during the presentation. Further re-
search by this author was described in a presentation entitled Reci-
procity Effects in the Light Fading of Reflection Color Prints at the
33rd Annual Conference of the Society of Photographic Scientists
and Engineers, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 5, 1980. See
also: Henry Wilhelm, Monitoring the Fading and Staining of Color
Photographic Prints, Journal of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Vol. 21, No. 1, Fall 1981, pp. 4964.
9. Stokes Imaging Services, Inc., 7000 Cameron Road, P.O. Box 14277,
Austin, Texas 78761-4277; telephone: 512-458-2201.
10. Microcolor International, Inc., 85 Godwin Avenue, Midland Park,
New Jersey 07432; telephone: 201-445-3450.
11. Thom OConnor, Pros Winners of Film Wars, Photo District News,
Vol. VII, Issue II, February 1987, pp. 1, 14, 16, 18.
12. Gepe Double Glass Slide-Binders were used for the glass-mounted
slides in the tests reported here. The mounts have plastic frames
which snap together, thin aluminum masks that also serve to posi-
tion the film in the mount, and anti-Newtons rings glass on both
sides of the mount. Gepe mounts, which are popular in the U.S. and
many other countries, are made in Sweden by BiWex. The mounts
are distributed in the U.S. by Gepe, Inc., 16 Chapin Road, Pine
Brook, New Jersey 07058; telephone: 201-808-9010.
13. Christine L. Sundt, Mounting Slide Film Between Glass For Pres-
ervation or Destruction? Visual Resources, Vol. II, Nos. 123,
Fall/Winter 1981/Spring 1982, pp. 3762. See also: Christine L.
Sundt, How to Keep Slide Mounts Clean, International Bulletin
for Photographic Documentation of the Visual Arts, Vol. 13, No.
2, Summer 1986, pp. 1415; and: Christine L. Sundt, Conservation
Practices for Slide and Photograph Collections, VRA Special Bul-
letin No. 3, Visual Resources Association, 1989. Sundt, who is
continuing the research reported in these articles, currently is cura-
tor of the slide collection of architecture and applied arts at the
University of Oregon at Eugene.
14. American National Standards Institute, ANSI IT9.9-1990, American
10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. This author
has served as a member of the ANSI subcommittee that wrote this
standard since the group was founded in 1978; in recent years this
author has been secretary of the subcommittee. This Standard
replaced ANSI PH1.42-1969 in 1990 (see Note No. 5).
15. Eastman Kodak Company, Restoring Faded Color Transparen-
cies by Duplication (White-Light Printing Methods), CIS No. 22,
Current Information Summary, July 1979, Eastman Kodak Company,
343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650; telephone: 716-724-
4000.
16. Henry Wilhelm, see Note No. 8. The criteria proposed in 1978 were
for reflection prints and did not assign weighted values to changes
in red, green, and blue densities; in other respects the concept of
specified limits for density loss, color imbalances, and stain forma-
tion was similar to that discussed here.
Films, Kodak Publication No. E-30, March 1973, Eastman Kodak
Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650; telephone:
716-724-4000.
Films, Kodak Publication No. E-30, January 1976, p. 5. The quoted
statement was slightly reworded in Conservation of Photographs
(George T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-40, March 1985,
p. 69, Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New
York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
19. Isabel Lowery, the Dunlap Society, telephone discussion with this
author, February 15, 1984.
20. Eastman Kodak Company, The Sourcebook Kodak Ektagraphic
Projectors, Kodak Publication No. S-74, 1977, p. 59, Eastman Ko-
dak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650; tele-
phone: 716-724-4000.
21. Eastman Kodak Company, The Sourcebook Kodak Ektagraphic
Projectors, Kodak Publication No. S-74, October 1984, p. 154. Eastman
Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650;
telephone: 716-724-4000.
Products (Current Information Summary), Kodak Publication No.
CIS No. 50 (19811985), Customer Technical Service, Eastman Ko-
dak Company, Rochester, New York 14650. CIS No. 5041 gives
data on Kodachrome films; CIS No. 5045 gives data on Ektachrome
films. Inquiry should be made to Eastman Kodak Company to obtain
current image stability data sheets for the particular Kodak products
of interest (see Notes No. 23 and 24). The data sheets are usually
reissued (and possibly updated) each year. The data sheets for
Ektachrome and Kodachrome films referenced by this author were
dated 1982. See updated Kodak publication: Evaluating Image
Stability of Kodak Color Photographic Products (Current Infor-
mation Summary), Kodak Publication No. CIS-130 (March 1991),
Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York
14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
23. Eastman Kodak Company, Reference Information From Kodak
Image Stability Data: Kodak Ektachrome Films (Process E-6),
Kodak Publication No. E-106 (May 1988), Eastman Kodak Company,
343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650.
24. Eastman Kodak Company, Reference Information From Kodak
Image Stability Data: Kodachrome Films, Kodak Publication No.
E-105 (March 1988), Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street,
Rochester, New York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
26. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Color Films and Papers for
Professionals, Kodak Publication No. E-77, March 1986, p. 58.
14650.
27. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Color Films, Kodak Publication
No. E-77, September 1980, pp. 3435. Eastman Kodak Company,
343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650.
28. Because the original Kodak patents for the Carousel projector and
tray have expired, anyone can make a projector based on the Carou-
sel design; Telex Communications [formerly Singer] (Caramate Pro-
jectors), Elmo (Omnigraphic Projectors), Leitz (Pradolux Projectors),
and a number of other companies market projectors of this type that
accept the standard Kodak Carousel 80- or 140-slide-capacity
trays. From a conservation point of view, a noteworthy feature of all
of these projectors is that when the rotating tray moves a slide into
position for projection, the slide drops by gravity into the projection
gate. If the mount is warped or if something else causes the slide to
jam, in most cases it either remains in the tray slot or drops part way
into the gate and is then usually, but not always, ejected without
physical damage. Many other projector designs force a slide into
the projection gate, and the slide can be seriously damaged if it
should jam on the way in or out of the gate.
29. Eastman Kodak Company, see Note No. 20. For the Kodak Ekta-
graphic Projectors E-2 through AF-2, the total time required for the
slide-change mechanism to function was given as 950 milliseconds,
with the projector gate shutter closed 830 milliseconds of that period
(p. 39). This author allowed 1 second for changing each slide in the
tests described here.
30. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Slide Projector Lamp Data and
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Light Output Modification, Publication No. S-80-2, March 1979,
14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
31. Robert S. Beeler, Motion Picture and Audiovisual Markets Division,
Eastman Kodak Company, letter to this author, February 28, 1980.
32. American National Standards Institute, Inc., see Note No. 14.
33. Henry Wilhelm, Reciprocity Failures in Accelerated Light Fading
and Light-Induced Staining of Color Prints, presentation at the Third
International Symposium on Image Conservation, sponsored by
the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (SPSE) and held at
the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House,
Rochester, New York, June 1720, 1990.
34. Robert Tuite, Image Stability in Color Photography, Journal of
Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 4, Fall 1979, pp.
200207.
35. Yoshio Seoka, Seiiti Kubodera, Toshiaki Aono, and Masato Hirano,
Some Problems in the Evaluation of Color Image Stability, Journal
of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1982,
pp. 7982. This article was based on a presentation given at the
1980 International Conference on Photographic Papers, William
E. Lee, chairman, sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scien-
tists and Engineers (SPSE), Hot Springs, Virginia, August 11, 1980.
36. Toshiaki Aono, Kotaro Nakamura, and Nobuo Furutachi, The Effect
of Oxygen Insulation on the Stability of Image Dyes of a Color
Photographic Print and the Behavior of Alkylhydroquinones as An-
tioxidants, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8,
No. 5, October 1982, pp. 227231.
37. Eastman Kodak Company, see Notes No. 23 and No. 24.
38. Eastman Kodak Company, Evaluating the Dye Stability of Kodak
Color Products Transparencies on These Kodak Ektachrome
Films (Current Information Summary), Kodak Publication No. CIS
5045 (August 1982), Customer Technical Service, Eastman Kodak
Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650.
39. American National Standards Institute, Inc., see Note No. 5, p. 11,
Sec. 3.4, Intermittent Type Slide Projector (50,000 fc) specifies the
following test: A 35 mm slide projector with continuously repeated
intermittent exposure of the test specimens is specified. An auto-
matic slide projector with a cylindrical magazine and a 500-watt
tungsten lamp is a convenient type of test unit . . . . Each slide is
projected for 10 to 20-second intervals. The projector is operated in
room conditions, 75F 5F, which will allow the blower to circulate
air around the slide and maintain a slide film temperature of less
than 160F. . . . The Standard, including the slide-fading test, is
largely based on a 1967 article by Hubbell, McKinney, and West of
Eastman Kodak (see Note No. 5). This now-obsolete Standard did
not specify the length of time between each projection, other than
saying the projections are intermittent, and the possibility of reci-
procity failures is not mentioned; the relative humidity of the test
area is not specified.
40. Patrick Young, A Comparison of Color Films Used to Photograph
Works of Art, International Bulletin for Photographic Documen-
tation of the Visual Arts, Vol. 10, No. 2, June 1983, pp. 711.
41. Polaroid Corporation, Polaroid 35mm Instant Slide System, A
Polaroid Book by Lester Lefkowitz, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and Focal Press, Boston, Massachusetts and Lon-
don, England, 1985, p. 57.
42. Polaroid Corporation, see Note No. 41, p. 99. Illustrated is an
example of a PolaChrome instant color slide stored for 1 year at 68
74F (2023C) and 4050% RH, and an identical slide stored for 1
year in a tropical environment with an average temperature of 80F
(28C) and an average relative humidity of about 75%. The film
stored in the warm and humid environment lost considerable den-
sity, with changes taking place in an apparently irregular pattern.
Polaroid concluded: High heat and humidity adversely affect image
stability of processed [PolaChrome] film. Especially under less-
than-ideal storage conditions, gold chloride toning was recommended
to increase the image stability of PolaChrome slides. Gold-toning
instructions are available from Polaroid: Technical Assistance, Pola-
roid Corporation, 784 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts
02139; toll-free telephone: 800-354-3535.
Etsuo Fujii, Hideko Fujii, and Teruaki Hisanaga, Evaluation of the Stabil-
ity of Light Faded Images of Color Reversal Films According to Color
Difference in CIELAB, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 14, No.
2, April 1988, pp. 2937; see correction of 2 tables in Errata,
Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 14, No. 3, June 1988, p. 93.
Joyce H. Townsend and Norman H. Tennent, The Photochemical and
Thermal Stability of Color Transparencies, Colour Imaging Sys-
tems, pp. 117123, 1988. Published by the Royal Photographic
Society of Great Britain, The Octagon, Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DN,
United Kingdom.
Henry Wilhelm, Color Photographs and Color Motion Pictures in the
and Preserving Materials in Nonbook Formats, (Kathryn Luther
Henderson and William T. Henderson, editors), pp. 105111, 1991.
The book contains the papers presented at the Allerton Park Insti-
tute (No. 30), sponsored by the University of Illinois Graduate School
of Library and Information Science, held November 69, 1988 at the
Chancellor Hotel and Convention Center, Champaign, Illinois. Pub-
lished by the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
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Compared with most other types of artistic media, color
photographs generally fade and/or stain fairly rapidly when
exposed to light on display. And, unlike the dyes and pig-
ments in watercolors, paints, and fabrics almost all of
which have very good stability when protected from light
and stored under normal room-temperature conditions
most kinds of color photographs slowly fade and develop
overall yellowish stains even when kept in the dark.
When the fading of a color print is not severe, it is diffi-
cult to visually assess the deterioration of the image over
periods of many years, and subtle changes are usually not
noticed at all; this is particularly true when the viewer sees
the print frequently during the months and years while
fading is progressing. Most people have a rather poor
recollection of exactly how a color image appeared many
years past, and often a person will not have seen a particu-
lar faded print in its original and unfaded state. As an
example, most people have never seen an albumen black-
and-white print from the late 1800s that has not suffered
significant image deterioration. The faded and yellowed
albumen print has come to be accepted as normal. People
are usually shocked when they first view an albumen print
that has remained in pristine condition, with its rich purple-
brown tones and wealth of highlight detail with bright, neu-
tral whites.
More extreme is the example of Kodacolor prints from
the 1940s and early 1950s; all prints of this type that this
author has seen have faded. Worse, the serious loss of
image density is accompanied by severe orange-yellow stain-
ing. It is no longer possible to view an early Kodacolor
print in a state that even remotely resembles its original
condition. In a more recent disaster, untold millions of
prints made on Agfacolor Type 4 paper in the 1970s have
now lost most, if not all, of the cyan dye component of their
color images. Even if stored in the dark, these prints now
have a ghastly red-yellow appearance.
A moderately faded and/or stained image may evoke
feelings that the image is weak, or it lacks brilliance,
or something is wrong with it. Most people will, how-
ever, be at a loss to describe in specific or quantitative
ways the changes that have taken place in the image. Of-
ten a person will speculate that the print was never very
good, that the highlights were washed out, or that the
color balance was off a bit when the print was made.
Douglas Seversons findings confirm a fact
that has long been suspected and dreaded, that
is, that the exhibition of photographs is incom-
mensurate with their preservation.
The exhibition Severson monitored [made
up of some of the finest photographs in the
collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and
sent to Japan for 3 months in 1984] was mounted
at the highest level of practice and was of rela-
tively short duration, yet dramatic changes were
recorded. The few other monitoring projects
which have been conducted show similar re-
sults. If one contemplates the probable effects
upon the majority of photographs displayed for
longer periods, under less controlled conditions
without monitoring systems, the implications
are sobering.
. . . We must accept the conclusion that we
are squandering the largely unrenewable re-
sources of our photographic heritage in an ig-
norant fashion. It is sadly ironic that this is
being done under the banner of promoting the
appreciation of photographs.
1
Grant B. Romer, Conservator
International Museum of Photography
at George Eastman House
Rochester, New York September 1986
People go to museums and galleries to see original works
of art whether they are paintings, photographs, draw-
ings, or sculptures. Viewing a copy of a 1653 Rembrandt
painting no matter how perfect the copy is simply not
the same intellectual or emotional experience as looking at
the original work of art. The desire to see originals cer-
tainly extends to color photographs: it is accepted practice
to exhibit original color prints despite the fact that expo-
sure to light during display causes gradual image deterio-
ration in the form of fading, changes in color balance, and,
with most types of color photographs, formation of low-
level yellowish stains.
7. Monitoring the Long-Term Fading and Staining
of Color Photographs in Museum and Archive
Collections
Similar Procedures Can Be Employed
with Black-and-White Prints
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Monitoring the Long-Term Fading and Staining of Color Photographs in Museums and Archives Chapter 7 240
Douglas G. Severson, conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, monitors a color print by Joel Meyerowitz on Kodak
Ektacolor 74 RC paper. Seversons monitoring of a selection of photographs from the Art Institute collection that were
shipped to Japan for a 9-week exhibition in 1984 showed that some historical photographs suffered significant deterioration
even during short-term travel and exhibition. Particularly disturbing was the severe staining that occurred in a number of
prints, including a 1919 palladium print by Alfred Stieglitz, an 1892 albumen print by William Henry Jackson, an 1874
albumen print by Julia Margaret Cameron, and an 1857 albumen print by Francis Frith.
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Recommendations
What should be monitored: Museums and archives
should monitor all valuable color and black-and-white
photographs in their collections. It is particularly
important to monitor photographs made with pro-
cesses that are known to have poor fading and/or
staining characteristics (e.g., almost all types of color
prints, albumen prints, salted paper prints, and sil-
ver-gelatin prints made on printing-out papers).
Limits of fading and staining: The limits given in
Table 7.1 are recommended. With experience, an
institution may decide to adopt limits that are differ-
ent from those given here. In general, museums with
fine art collections will tolerate less change than in-
stitutions emphasizing historical photographs. Re-
gardless of the type of collection, however, it is best
to adopt fairly tight limits of change. Over time,
densitometer errors may understate the amount of
change that has actually taken place. In addition, the
perceived value of many photographs will increase
as the years go by, and future caretakers will wish
that such prints had been better preserved.
Available display time should be used only gradu-
ally. A curator should not use up all of the available
display time for a particular print during his or her
tenure as much display time as possible should be
left for the future. This means that display of original
color prints and other unstable types of prints should
be infrequent, and then only for short periods. Be-
tween display periods, the prints should be kept in
humidity-controlled cold storage. Facsimile color copies
should be made for routine display.
Facsimile color copies should always be made
before a fading or staining limit is reached. It
should be emphasized that with the exceptions of
UltraStable Permanent Color prints, Polaroid Perma-
nent-Color prints, and properly processed fiber-base
black-and-white prints, photographs cannot be dis-
played for extended periods without damage. Un-
less kept in humidity-controlled cold storage, most
types of color prints gradually fade and stain even
when kept in the dark. Therefore it is simply a matter
of time before most photographs will reach one or
more of the specified limits of change.
Prints believed to have reached a fading or
staining limit before the start of monitoring
should not be displayed at all. It may safely be
assumed that albumen prints and most other types
of historical photographs years ago exceeded the
fading and staining limits given here. Most types
of color prints that have been displayed or stored
in the dark at normal room temperatures for more
than 5 or 10 years also have probably exceeded
one or more fading or staining limit (Polaroid Spec-
tra prints, Polaroid 600 Plus prints, and Polaroid
SX-70 prints generally will exceed the stain limits
only a few months after they are made). To pre-
vent further damage, such prints must be kept in
cold storage and not displayed. Facsimile copies
should be made for display and study purposes.
Densitometers: At the time this book went to
press in 1992, Macbeth TR924 densitometers with
specially installed Kodak Wratten 92, 93, 94A, and
visual 102 filters were recommended. The user
should purchase the filters in 5-inch-square sheets
from Kodak and forward the filter sheets to Macbeth
for installation in the densitometer filter wheels;
leftover filter material should be stored in the origi-
nal Kodak packages in a cool, dry place (if pos-
sible, in humidity-controlled cold storage). The
normally supplied ANSI Status A and Status M fil-
ters have poor stability and are unsuitable for moni-
toring applications.
Long-term densitometer calibration: At the start
of a monitoring program, a new densitometer should
be purchased. The densitometer should be re-
served for print monitoring and not used for pro-
cess control or other routine darkroom applica-
tions. In addition to the porcelain calibration plaque
supplied by the densitometer manufacturer, a Ko-
dak Reflection Densitometer Calibration Plaque
should be used to assess changes in spectral re-
sponse of the instrument. But most important for
long-term densitometer calibration are color pho-
tographic calibration prints made on each type of
color material in the collection; to keep the prints
unchanged, they must be preserved in 0F (18C)
humidity-controlled cold storage.
With older prints, there is likely to be doubt about the
color and tone-reproduction characteristics of the materi-
als with which the prints were made. Ilford Cibachrome
prints made on the materials available in the 1970s some-
times have washed-out highlights and look very much like
prints subjected to significant light fading; the appearance
of such prints is most likely due to excessive contrast and
poor tone-scale reproduction of the older Cibachrome ma-
terials and is probably not the result of light fading. On the
other hand, these prints may also have been subjected to
light fading, making evaluation of their condition more dif-
ficult. Only rarely is an identical but unfaded print avail-
able for a side-by-side comparison with the displayed print.
Reasons for Monitoring Color Prints
With the singular exception of pigment color prints made
by the UltraStable Permanent Color process or the Pola-
roid Permanent-Color process, a museum cannot respon-
sibly display color photographs for the extended periods
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#434
(51%)
Conservation technician Peter Mustardo (left) and con-
servator Grant Romer monitor a group of color prints in
the George Eastman House conservation laboratory. An
Electronic Systems Engineering Company Speedmaster
TRC-60D densitometer was used for the monitoring project.
The 1982 show Color as Form: A History of Color Photography at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. was
the first photography exhibition to be densitometrically monitored for image fading and staining. Curated by John Upton for
the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, the show was the first major survey of color
photography as an art form. Consisting of vintage prints made by a wide variety of color processes most with unknown
stability characteristics the exhibition was at the Corcoran for 3 months and was later shown at George Eastman House.
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Lumiere Autochromes and transparencies made by other
early processes were copied on Ektachrome sheet film
for display in light boxes in the Corcoran exhibition; the
originals were deemed too unstable for display.
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common with modern fiber-base black-and-white prints.
Once this unfortunate limitation of color photography is
accepted, the question then becomes: How long can a
color print be displayed before objectionable fading takes
place? The purpose of monitoring a print is to provide a
quantitative record of the prints original condition and of
the complex changes that take place over the months and
years of display or storage. Monitoring makes it possible
to establish a set of criteria for permissible changes in an
image and to do what is necessary to prevent fading and
staining from progressing beyond those limits. Monitoring
allows prints to be treated individually in terms of display
times and light intensities; it permits prints made on the
more stable materials such as Ilford Ilfochrome (called
Cibachrome, 19631991) to be displayed much longer than
prints made on less stable materials such as Polaroid Po-
lacolor ER, with the assurance that no print will exceed
the predetermined limits of fading.
If a print is made on a material subject to fading and/or
staining when stored in the dark, such as Kodak Ektacolor
paper, long-term deterioration can be arrested only by placing
the photograph in low-temperature, low-humidity storage.
At normal room temperatures, dark-storage changes
often referred to as dark fading will continue whether or
not a print is on display. Thus, when a print is displayed,
the total change that takes place is a complex combination
of dark fading/staining and light fading/staining. Light fad-
ing is caused by both visible light and ultraviolet radiation.
For most types of color prints in normal museum display
conditions, image deterioration caused by ultraviolet ra-
diation is much less significant than changes caused by
visible light.
Illumination conditions for color photographs vary widely
from one museum to another, and even within a given in-
stitution (see Table 17.1 in Chapter 17). Typically, color
prints in museums are illuminated with incandescent tung-
sten lamps of about 2800 K; intensity on the print surface is
in the range of 130430 lux for about 12 hours per day. The
small ultraviolet component of the illumination, below about
330 nanometers, is normally absorbed by the glass sheet in
the picture frame.
Low illumination levels of about 50 lux (4.7 footcandles)
have frequently been recommended for displaying works
of art on paper in general, and color photographs in par-
ticular.
2
This level is much too low, however, for proper
viewing of color prints indeed, it is much too low for
adequate viewing of black-and-white photographs as well.
Under low illumination, visual perception of the image is
impaired; it may not be possible to see details in darker
areas of a print, and perception of color also suffers. East-
man Kodak states: The intensity of the light source influ-
ences that amount of detail that can be seen in a print. For
good viewing, a light source should provide an illuminance
of 1,400 lux 590 lux (130 fc 55 fc).
3
(For further discus-
sion of the relationship between illumination levels and
visual perception of color and tone reproduction in photo-
graphs, see Chapter 17.)
Inevitably, a compromise must be made between the
high illumination levels required for optimal appreciation
of a color photograph, the desire for extended display peri-
ods, and the need to minimize fading. For museum appli-
cations, this author recommends glass-filtered incandes-
cent tungsten illumination with an intensity of about 300
lux (28 fc). Tungsten illumination of this intensity should
also be available in darkrooms, print study rooms, and other
areas where color prints are evaluated.
With many common types of color photographs, such as
prints made on Kodak Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color,
and Agfacolor chromogenic papers (sometimes incorrectly
called Type C papers) manufactured prior to 1985, dark
fading reactions may predominate when the prints are dis-
played under low-level tungsten light; low-level tungsten
illumination on the order of 50 lux (4.7 fc) may result in
little if any gain in print life with these materials.
In April 1984, Konica Color Paper Type SR (also known
as Konica Century Print Paper) was introduced; Type SR
paper was the first of a new generation of chromogenic
color negative print papers with significantly improved
dark fading stability. By the end of 1985, Kodak, Agfa, and
Fuji had also introduced similar papers with improved
dark fading stability. With these new papers, unfortunately,
the light fading stability and the tendency toward stain
formation on display and in dark storage were only mar-
ginally better than previous papers.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, stain forma-
tion with Kodak Ektacolor and most other chromogenic
print materials in dark storage was a more serious prob-
lem than dye fading itself. The only exceptions to this are
Fujichrome Type 34 and Type 35 papers (introduced in
1986 and 1992) for printing color transparencies, Fujicolor
Super FA and Fujicolor SFA3 papers for printing color nega-
tives (introduced in 199092), and Konica Color QA Paper
Type A5 (introduced in Japan in 1991). These papers have
markedly reduced rates of dark-storage stain formation
compared with similar products made by Kodak and Agfa.
Because dark fading reactions in displayed prints are
much less of a factor with current papers, longer display
times under low-level illumination are possible. Never-
theless, this author believes a higher illumination level is
necessary to properly view color prints.
Extrapolations based on fading and staining observed
in high-intensity accelerated light fading tests often under-
estimate the amount of deterioration that actually occurs
during long-term display under normal conditions (called
reciprocity failure, this characteristic of light fading and
light-induced staining is discussed in Chapter 2), and esti-
mates of long-term fading and staining rates in dark stor-
age currently are not available for many of the numerous
types of color print materials found in museum and archive
collections. It is therefore usually quite difficult to predict
accurately the rates at which changes will take place for a
given color print. Current color print materials manifest
an extremely wide range of differences in light fading,
dark fading, and stain formation characteristics.
Procedures for Monitoring Prints
To determine what changes take place over a period of
months or years, it is necessary to monitor a color print
that is to periodically measure the color and optical den-
sity of a print directly. Alternatively, the changes can be
measured indirectly with a fading monitor made of the
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same type of color print material as the photograph in
question and subjected to the same light, temperature, and
relative-humidity conditions. Measurements of a print or
fading monitor are made with an accurate electronic color
densitometer designed for photographic applications. The
quantitative data thus obtained can indicate at what point
in time small but visually significant changes have
taken place so that the photographer or custodian knows
when to retire the original print to cold storage, substitut-
ing copy prints for study and display purposes. Table 7.1
shows the quantitative limits of tolerable fading, shifts in
color balance, and stain formation suggested by this au-
thor for critical museum and archive applications.
Because of reciprocity failures in light fading, the com-
plex relationship between dark fading/staining and light
fading/staining of the dye sets in the many types of color
photographic materials, and variables having to do with
processing or the materials themselves (many of these
factors are not well understood), measurement of the total
light exposure received by a print by means of Blue Wool
Fading Standards, NBS Fading Papers, integrating pho-
tometers, and so forth will generally not indicate accu-
rately the degree of deterioration of a color photograph
during long-term display and/or dark storage.
The general procedures described here for monitoring
color prints can also be applied to color transparencies,
color motion picture films, color negatives, and so forth.
Black- and- white silver- gelatin photographs, albumen
prints, salted paper prints, and other types of monochrome
photographs can also be monitored in a manner similar to
that used for color photographs.
4
Likewise, yellowing and
other forms of visual deterioration in works of art on paper
and in other paper objects can be monitored during long-
term display and storage. The measurement techniques
are applicable in documenting changes in objects after con-
servation treatments, too.
Changes in watercolors and paintings can also be mea-
sured with a densitometer, but because of the wide variety
of colorants in paints, a spectrophotometer may have to be
employed
5
in addition to, or in place of, a color photographic
densitometer to ensure accuracy. Color photographic im-
ages are composed of cyan, magenta, and yellow colors
that have spectral absorption peaks within a fairly narrow
range; photographic densitometers are designed to mea-
sure colors with these spectral characteristics.
Although the concept of predetermined limits of change
is directly applicable to paper objects, watercolors, paint-
ings, and so forth, the limits selected for these media will
probably differ from those suggested here for color photo-
graphs. Still, it is important to measure quantitatively and
record the visual characteristics of all objects of these
types so that any changes in future years can be deter-
mined with reasonable accuracy.
The National Archives Document Monitoring
System for the Charters of Freedom
In 1987 the National Archives and Records Administra-
tion in Washington, D.C. installed a sophisticated electronic
document monitoring system designed to detect and quan-
tify changes in the condition of the United States Declara-
tion of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787), and
the Bill of Rights (written in 1789 and ratified in 1791).
Known collectively as the Charters of Freedom of the
United States, the parchment documents have suffered
significant ink flaking and other deterioration over the years
because of mishandling and poor storage and display con-
ditions. The Declaration of Independence is in particularly
poor condition, with the ink inscriptions now deteriorated
so much as to be almost unreadable. In the early years the
Declaration traveled frequently and was stored and dis-
played in a number of different locations. The document
suffered partial ink loss during an ink-transfer copying
process in the early 1800s. Further damage is believed to
have occurred in the late 1800s, particularly during the
period of 1877 to 1894 when it was displayed at the old
State-War-Navy building in Washington, D.C. and was sub-
jected to intense daylight illumination from a large win-
dow across from the display cabinet.
Since 1952, in an effort to minimize further deteriora-
tion, the documents have been housed at the National Ar-
chives building in bullet-proof, helium-filled display cases
fitted with yellow filters that absorb wavelengths below
about 500 nanometers; the documents are displayed under
low-level tungsten illumination.
With the Archives new document monitoring system, a
high-resolution electronic camera with a scanning charge-
coupled device (CCD) sensor and computerized image-analy-
sis system are used to record a series of 30-millimeter-
square digitized images (1024 x 1024 pixels) from selected
areas of the documents once each year.
6
After the images
are recorded, the image analysis system electronically
compares the new images with images made in previous
years. Even minute changes in the physical condition or
reflectance of the ink inscriptions and the parchment upon
which the documents are written can be detected. As an
example of the kinds of things that can be monitored, on
the first page of the Constitution the first e of We the
people . . . has partially flaked off, and the letter is being
monitored yearly to detect any further degradation.
The imaging camera is mounted on a 3-ton optical bench
with solid granite risers supported by four nitrogen-filled
cylindrical legs to eliminate ground vibrations from road
traffic and a nearby subway. The system was designed to
image the documents through the glass cover sheets of the
display cases, thus making it unnecessary to open the he-
lium-filled cases.
Technologically related to the electronic remote-imag-
ing devices employed in space satellites for intelligence
gathering, Earth survey work, weather forecasting, and in-
space telescopes, the Archives electronic camera and as-
sociated computer system were designed by the Jet Pro-
pulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technol-
ogy in Pasadena and constructed by Perkin-Elmer Corpo-
ration. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is associated with
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The system cost $3.4 million and took 5 years to develop.
Although designed specifically for monitoring textual
documents, the system could be adapted for detecting
changes in the physical condition (e.g., surface cracking
and flaking) and the staining and fading of photographs, oil
paintings, pastels, watercolors, and other works of art.
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#320 8/16
Mark Ormsby, a physicist with the Archival Research and Evaluation staff of the U.S. National Archives, is shown with the
Archives sophisticated $3.4 million computer-based document monitoring system designed to detect physical and visual
changes in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Although designed specifically for
monitoring textual documents, the equipment will be used experimentally to monitor some of the photographs in the
National Archives vast collections.
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In the central rotunda of the
National Archives and Records
Administration building on
Constitution Avenue in Wash-
ington, D.C., long lines of
people wait to see the United
States Declaration of Indepen-
dence (1776), the Constitu-
tion (1787), and the Bill of
Rights (written in 1789 and
ratified in 1791). Because of
inadequate care during the
1800s, the 200-year-old docu-
ments have suffered serious
deterioration. In particular, the
ink inscriptions on the Decla-
ration of Independence are
now faded so badly that they
are almost unreadable.
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Located in a room next to the electronic CCD camera, a computerized image-analysis system compares the initial digitized
images of a document with images made in subsequent years and detects any changes in physical or optical properties that
have taken place (e.g., ink flaking, movement of ink and dust particles, or tear propagation in the parchment on which the
documents are written).
#37721A
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Mounted on a 3-ton optical
bench, the units electronic
camera utilizes a scanning
charge-coupled device (CCD)
sensor to produce high-reso-
lution digitized images of one
or more 30-millimeter-square
(1
3
/16 inch) sections of the
object being monitored. A
computer-controlled mecha-
nism precisely positions the
CCD camera. Scanning time
required for each image is
about 5 minutes.
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manufacturers for washless and conventional process-
ing of Ektacolor, Fujicolor, and similar papers. To be accu-
rate, a separate fading monitor must be made with materi-
als processed and washed exactly as was the print being
monitored. These and other requirements will generally
restrict the application of fading monitors to contemporary
color prints, where the monitors gray patches can be made
at the same time as the print. A valuable color print should,
if possible, be monitored directly from time to time, even
when it is accompanied by a separate fading monitor.
Polyester Overlays to Locate
the Densitometer Head on the Print
It is not possible to measure image density accurately
when a print is framed under glass, so such a print should
be removed from the frame when density readings are to
be made. To avoid direct contact of the densitometer head
with the surface of the print, and to provide an exact record
of the densitometer reading locations on the print, a thin,
matte-surface polyester overlay sheet
8
must be prepared
for each print (cellulose acetate or polyvinyl chloride sheets
are not satisfactory because curling and dimensional in-
stability are potential problems), with the print image loca-
tions traced on the sheet so that the densitometer head
can be registered accurately on the image during each
series of readings. The matte surface of the polyester
sheet accepts ink and pencil lines readily; ink will not ad-
here to the surface of ordinary clear polyester and may
smear or wear off. This author has found that polyester
sheets with one matte side and one glossy side are more
satisfactory for this application than sheets with both sides
matte. The sheet should be cut about 2 inches larger than
the print in both dimensions; space on the edges is avail-
able for writing identification data, date of preparation,
and other information. The polyester sheet material should
be 3 or 4 mil (0.003 or 0.004 inch) thick for general applica-
tions; thinner material is adequate for prints 8x10 inches
and smaller.
The corners of the print image and the densitometer
head locations must be precisely marked on the overlay
sheet using a technical pen with a medium point and a
suitable stable black ink.
9
The glossy side of the polyester
sheet is placed down, against the surface of the photo-
graph; the matte side of the sheet is on top. All ink mark-
ings and notations should be on the matte side. Great care
should be taken to keep ink away from the photograph. It
is usually satisfactory to mark the densitometer head loca-
tions by tracing the outer edges of the densitometer base
plate onto the polyester sheet; in addition, at each location,
a dot of ink should be placed on the polyester sheet in the
center of the densitometer reading aperture to aid in locat-
ing the holes to be cut later. After all of the densitometer
head locations have been selected and marked, the polyes-
ter sheet should be removed and a hole about
1
2 inch (1.3
cm) in diameter should be cut at each reading location.
10
All ink markings on the overlay sheet should be com-
pleted before cutting any holes; otherwise, the pen point
might accidentally slip through a hole and deposit ink on
the photograph. To avoid confusion, the overlay sheet should
be marked (e.g., Top, Bottom) to indicate proper orien-
tation. The sheet should bear a serial number that identi-
Photographic Densitometers
Reflection densitometers suitable for color and black-
and-white print monitoring are available from the Macbeth
Division of Kollmorgen Instruments Corporation, X-Rite,
Inc., and a number of other firms.
7
The Macbeth TR924
Color Transmission/Reflection Densitometer, specially
equipped by Macbeth with Kodak Wratten filter numbers
92 (red), 93 (green), 94A (blue), and 102 (visual), is at present
this authors primary recommendation for print-monitor-
ing applications. The Status A and M filter sets normally
supplied by Macbeth are not acceptable because these fil-
ters have proven to be very unstable and likely will require
replacement every 3 or 4 years; problems with densitom-
eter filters are discussed in detail later in this chapter.
To ensure maximum life of the instrument, a densitom-
eter for print monitoring should not also be assigned to
other functions, such as photographic process control. In
general, readings are taken with the red-green-blue filters;
the 102 (visual) filter is not necessary when monitoring
most types of color prints, although it should be used in
addition to the color filters for monitoring monochrome
prints. Density data should always be recorded in the
standard red-green-blue sequence to avoid confusion.
Basic to any monitoring system is a calibration proce-
dure that assures the continued accuracy of the densitom-
eter or other measuring instrument as well as the compa-
rability of measurements even after old equipment has been
replaced by new instruments of different design. Main-
taining accuracy of the system for hundreds or thousands
of years will require careful planning as well as the very-
long-term preservation of color photographic calibration
standards in an unchanged state by means of humidity-
controlled cold storage. As discussed later, preserved color
photographic calibration standards are likely to provide
more accurate densitometer calibration than would be pos-
sible from porcelain plaques or stable pigment standards,
which usually have only two or three neutral densities and
which have spectral characteristics different from those of
the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes in color photographs.
Direct Monitoring of Color Prints
Of the two methods described in this chapter for moni-
toring the fading and staining of color prints, institutions
generally will choose to measure image changes directly
on the prints. Separate fading monitors are useful chiefly
for research in cases where the fading monitors unique
ability to distinguish between light-induced changes and
dark-storage deterioration can provide important informa-
tion in the design of better storage and display facilities.
The difficulties involved in preparing and using fading
monitors, as well as the fact that monitors cannot be made
for print materials that are no longer commercially avail-
able, will limit their routine application for indirect moni-
toring of pictorial color prints in institutional collections.
In many cases it may be impossible to identify precisely
the type of color material on which a print was made. There
may also be uncertainty as to how an original print was
processed and washed this is especially true today, with
ever more frequent introduction of new products and the
proliferation of processing chemistries supplied by various
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#187
(85%)
fies the print, and densitometer calibration data should be
recorded in a notebook made of reasonably stable paper.
The overlay sheet must remain in exact registration
with the print during all readings; smooth-surfaced weights
placed on the edges of the sheet will help keep it in posi-
tion. Because of localized density variations in most color
prints, subsequent readings must be taken at precisely the
same locations as the original readings if the measure-
ments are to be meaningful. When densitometer heads are
changed, a method must be devised for positioning the
new head using the old tracings. The importance of taking
future readings at the exact locations of the original read-
ings cannot be overemphasized accurate data cannot
otherwise be obtained. The person taking the readings
should test his or her technique by seeing whether read-
ings by a second person produce identical results.
As an alternative to marking the densitometer head lo-
cations on the overlay sheet with ink, Douglas G. Severson,
conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, has suggested
locating the point at which a reading is to be taken and
then cutting a round hole in the sheet which is slightly
larger in diameter than the reading aperture of the densi-
tometer. Severson has found a #7 (
13
64-inch) leather punch
of the type manufactured by C. S. Osborne & Company to
be satisfactory.
11
After marking the locations of each hole
with a dot of ink, the polyester sheet is flipped over and
placed on a sheet of Masonite; the punch is struck with a
hammer to cut the holes. Severson cautions that to avoid
scratching the delicate print surface, the holes must be
punched from the bottom side of the sheet so that the
slightly rough edges of the holes lift away from the print
rather than toward it. To take readings, the densitometer
head reading aperture is centered over each hole.
Making Density Readings
Work areas should be clean, and cotton gloves should be
worn by the operator to avoid putting fingerprints on the
photographs. A sheet of bright white mount board or opaque
white glass should be placed on the work table and prints
placed on this white surface while densitometer readings
are made. Since most print support materials transmit
some light, the reflectance of the surface beneath a print
may have a significant effect on densitometer readings
made in low-density areas of a photograph. For example,
readings taken on a dark work surface will usually indicate
somewhat higher densities than readings taken on a white
work surface; such discrepancies may be quite large with
albumen prints and other types of photographs made on
thin paper supports. The same type of work surface should
Density measurements of a color print are read with a Macbeth TR924 densitometer (left). Data are transmitted by the
densitometer to this authors microcomputer (center) and recorded on disk (right). The computer is programmed to analyze
data in terms of specified densitometric limits of change.
1
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be used for making all readings, and densitometer read-
ings of the work surface itself should be recorded each
time the work surface is changed.
Density readings through the red, green, and blue den-
sitometer filters (which respectively indicate changes in
cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes) should be made at mini-
mum-density (white) locations, low-density locations of
about 0.45, and maximum-density locations. Normally,
readings in each density range should be taken in at least
three locations (for a total of at least nine reading loca-
tions), and the readings should always include near-neu-
tral (gray) colors, assuming such colors are present. Some
of the readings should be taken near the top of the print,
where the intensity of illumination during display is usu-
ally somewhat higher than it is near the bottom. If pos-
sible, fairly large areas of uniform tones should be selected
for reading locations. In many photographic images, how-
ever, such areas may not be present, so a large number of
readings will be required for accurate representation. Af-
ter readings have been taken, the polyester overlay sheets
should be stored flat in polyester sleeves
12
or in high-qual-
ity paper envelopes.
When prints are subject to light fading on display, it is
particularly important that low-density (approximately 0.35
to 0.60) areas be carefully monitored, as dye losses in the
low-density areas will be much greater proportionally than
dye losses in high-density areas (see Table 7.2). This rela-
tionship between dye loss and density is typical of many
types of color print materials; however, some types of prints,
such as Polaroid Spectra prints (called Polaroid Image
prints in Europe), Polaroid 600 Plus prints, and Polaroid
SX-70 prints, develop overall yellowish stain during stor-
age which may obscure fading of yellow image dye in low-
density areas. With these prints, density losses resulting
from light fading may be larger even on a percentage
basis than losses in lower-density portions of the image.
With dark fading, unlike light fading, most types of color
prints exhibit dye losses that are more or less proportional
throughout the density range of the color image. Prints
which have faded in dark storage do not suffer the loss of
highlight detail that is characteristic of prints which have
faded because of exposure to light.
Cautions
Although a fading monitor or direct monitoring of an
original color print will give an accurate indication of dye
fading and stain formation, it may or may not indicate the
physical deterioration that can occur in the print. Com-
mon examples of physical deterioration include cracking of
the top polyethylene and emulsion layers of RC (polyethyl-
ene-resin-coated) prints, cracking of emulsions on fiber-
base prints, and cracking of the internal image-receiving
layer or formation of small snowflakes in Polaroid SX-70
prints from the 1970s. Retouching and corrective dust
spotting may produce irregular fading or staining such as
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A color print is shown here with a matte-surface polyester overlay sheet marked with the densitometer head locations. The
Kodak Dye Transfer print, with an image size of 10 x 10 inches, is of the John F. Kennedy family; it was taken August 4, 1963
by Cecil Stoughton. The original Ektacolor negative is preserved in humidity-controlled cold storage at the John F. Kennedy
Library in Boston, Massachusetts.
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the orange discolorations sometimes seen on Kodak Ekta-
color prints. Storage in conditions of high humidity can
result in fungus growth on print emulsions. All prints
should be carefully examined on a regular basis so that
any physical defects or other irregularities can be docu-
mented and photographed for future reference.
13
Fading Monitors for Color Prints
Use of a separate fading monitor allows indirect mea-
surement of the changes that take place in a color photo-
graph. The colors and tones in conventional color photo-
graphs are obtained by varying the concentrations of cyan,
magenta, and yellow image dyes which are in three or
more emulsion layers coated on the surface of the support
material the same three dyes form all of the different
colors in a color print. A neutral-gray patch serving as a
fading monitor consists of nearly equal concentrations of
the three image dyes. A minimum-density patch contains
little or no dye.
It is possible to measure changes in neutral-gray patches
of minimum density, low density, and maximum density
and thereby to obtain a reasonably accurate indication of
changes occurring in any area of a color print if the three
patches are made on the same print material and are pro-
cessed in the same way as the original print. A single
fading monitor consisting of three patches should be matched
with only one color print, and the monitor should be per-
manently assigned to that print with a serial number.
Potential disadvantages of fading monitors include pos-
sible differences in print and monitor fading/staining rates
caused by differences in print materials, processing, fram-
ing, and other conditions. Furthermore, as noted previ-
ously, monitors can be prepared only with print materials
and processes which are available in the marketplace;
monitors therefore cannot be prepared for most, if any,
older color print materials in a collection. Institutions
generally will find it more practical and accurate to moni-
tor their color prints directly and to reserve fading moni-
tors for special situations; for example, in some cases it
may be undesirable to remove a print from its frame re-
peatedly for direct measurements.
Used by themselves, fading monitors can provide impor-
tant information on the stability behavior of specific color
print materials in actual long-term display and storage
conditions. Data thus obtained can be compared with changes
observed in controlled, accelerated tests. Fading monitors
can also function as low-cost integrating photometers
for estimating accumulated light exposure in a display
area over time, although this author believes that the Blue
Wool Standards, which are standardized and appear to
have little reciprocity failure in accelerated light fading
tests, are probably better suited for this application.
14
Preparing a Fading Monitor
Three test patches, about
1
2 x 1
1
4 inches (1.3 x 3.2 cm)
each, should be prepared with the same color print mate-
rial, processing chemicals, and processing procedures as
those used to make the original print. Any variation in
processing between the original print and its monitor may
affect the fading characteristics of the monitor and may
reduce its accuracy. One patch should be minimum den-
sity (white), one should be a neutral gray close to 0.45
density, and one should be maximum density (black). The
three patches can be optically printed to the proper size on
a sheet of print material. As an alternative, entire sheets
of material can be printed to the desired density and the
sheets cut to the proper sizes after processing.
The three print monitor patches should be mounted, as
The reading position
of the densitometer
head is indicated by
an ink tracing of the
heads base on a poly-
ester overlay sheet.
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indicated in the accompanying photograph, on the same
type of board used to mount the photograph being moni-
tored, and should be attached with the same type of adhe-
sive or mounting system. The monitor should be covered
with a mat made of the same type of board that overmats
and supports the original print. The overmat should have
an opening in the center so that only half of the patch is
exposed to light; this keeps the light fading and dark fading
functions of the monitor separated (the overmat must be
opaque 4-ply mount board is recommended for the
monitor to give an accurate indication of dark fading). The
monitor should then be placed in a small frame
15
with the
same type of glass or plastic covering and backing materi-
als that were used with its companion print.
Fading monitors for integral instant materials, such as
Polaroid Spectra and SX-70 prints, should be prepared by
optically printing the three density patches in the center of
a sheet of the material. Since cutting or trimming such
prints may alter their stability characteristics, fading moni-
tors made on these instant materials should remain intact.
Polaroid has made changes in its instant color materials
on a fairly frequent basis, and some of these changes have
altered the fading and staining characteristics of the prints.
One should therefore ascertain that a monitor for an in-
stant color print is actually made on the same material as
the companion print.
In the preparation of fading monitors for chromogenic
materials, such as Ektacolor papers, every effort must be
made to duplicate exactly the processing and washing pro-
cedures followed in making the original print. If the origi-
nal processing conditions are unknown or uncertain, the
original print should be monitored directly as well as by a
separate fading monitor. Polacolor 2 and Polacolor ER
instant prints can be treated in the same manner as con-
ventional color print materials.
If the primary purpose of a monitor is to function as an
integrating photometer, Ektacolor, Fujicolor, or a similar
chromogenic paper printed with a pure color magenta
patch of about 1.0 density is suggested; the magenta dyes
of these papers have good dark fading stability, and their
rate of light fading is not greatly affected by varying rela-
tive humidity or temperature. With current papers, the
relative ultraviolet content of the illumination has little
influence on the fading rate.
A minimum-density (white) patch should also be included
to allow for later stain-correction of the magenta patch
readings. Fading monitors can be calibrated with con-
trolled, accelerated light fading tests; if, for example, a
0.25 density loss is measured in a magenta patch on the
monitor, the lux-hour exposure required to produce this
amount of fading can be estimated from the exposure time
that results in a 0.25 density loss with a magenta patch on
the same print material in an accelerated test of known
light intensity. When used as integrating photometers, the
magenta patches need be read only with the green-density
densitometer filter.
Using a Fading Monitor
A print and its monitor should be kept in the same tem-
perature and relative humidity conditions at all times. When
a print is on display, its monitor should be exposed to the
same intensity of light of the same spectral distribution for
exactly the same length of time. The monitor can be ex-
posed to light in a room separate from the display area
only if all conditions are identical. The light level on the
monitor can be adjusted by varying the distance of the
monitor from the light source; the level chosen should be
equal to the light intensity on the most brightly illuminated
portion of the print. Most gallery and museum display
areas do not provide uniform illumination over the entire
surface of a print.
If the display areas receive any daylight, it will probably
be necessary to place the monitor on the wall adjacent to
the print, as it is difficult to obtain identical lighting condi-
tions at all times of the day in a different location. When
An alternate system for locating the densitometer head is
preferred by Douglas G. Severson of the Art Institute of
Chicago. His method is to punch a small hole that is
slightly larger than the densitometer reading aperture at
each reading location in the overlay sheet; the small
diameter of the holes assures sufficiently accurate posi-
tioning of the densitometer head.
To position a polyester overlay sheet on a print, Severson
marks all four corners with diagonal lines that nearly
touch the corners of the image. Chamois-covered weights
hold the overlay sheet in place while densitometer read-
ings are made.
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#25723
(54%)
the print is shipped to another location (for example, when
it is loaned to another institution), the monitor must ac-
company the print during transit and storage; the print
and its monitor must be kept together at all times. The
borrowing institution must be instructed as to the proper
use of the monitor.
Initially, the densities of the fading monitor should be
measured at least once a year to see how much change has
taken place; experience with each type of print material
and with the dark-storage and display conditions to which
the prints are subjected will indicate whether the monitor
should be measured more or less frequently.
Maintaining Long-Term Accuracy of
a Monitoring System for Color Prints
The most difficult aspect of a monitoring program is
maintaining long-term accuracy of the system; the ulti-
mate success of a monitoring program will depend on the
accuracy of initial and future instrument calibrations. Es-
pecially in fine art applications, very small changes in the
visual characteristics of color prints must be measured
accurately over many decades or centuries.
The calibration system must not be affected by changes
in color densitometers or in other measuring equipment.
It is obvious that present densitometers will become obso-
lete and will be replaced many times during the next sev-
eral hundred years with new instruments. Because any
two color densitometers may give significantly different
readings from the same print samples (Table 7.3), the data
obtained with one piece of equipment will have to be trans-
lated accurately to permit comparisons with readings taken
with another instrument.
A specific densitometer should be dedicated for a moni-
toring program, and it should not be assigned to any other
project. Densitometer readings should be taken in an envi-
ronment with reasonably constant temperature and rela-
tive humidity. All photographs to be read should be brought
to the work area in which the densitometer is located. The
instrument should be allowed to warm up until calibration
readings stabilize (with modern densitometers having solid-
state sensors, a warm-up period of about 15 minutes should
be adequate). Prior to each reading session, the porcelain
calibration plaque supplied with the densitometer should
be cleaned with Windex or a similar wax-free glass cleaner
and then immediately wiped dry with paper towels. Fin-
gerprints or other slight soiling can cause a significant
deviation in readings taken on the high-density (black) patch
on the plaque. Cleaning should be done in an area away
from the densitometer and away from where photographs
are stored; should tiny droplets of cleaner spray fall on a
print, serious damage to the image may eventually occur.
After the densitometer has warmed up, the unit should
be calibrated with the low- and high-density patches on
the porcelain plaque, carefully following the manufacturers
instructions. Before density measurements are made of
each print (or each fading monitor), the densitometer should
be recalibrated (zeroed) on the low-density (white) patch
on the porcelain plaque. With most modern densitometers,
it is sufficient to perform the high-density calibration just
once at the beginning of the session; experience with a
particular instrument will indicate whether more frequent Severson enters readings into a notebook.
high-density calibrations are necessary.
Repeated low-density calibrations should be performed
even if there is no indication that the instrument is drifting
following the initial calibration. Most densitometers have
only two figures to the right of the decimal point; when the
instrument calibration is checked with the porcelain plaque,
the digital readout of such instruments may always indi-
cate 0.04, for example, whereas a densitometer may in fact
drift over time between 0.036 and 0.043 such a drift is not
apparent to the operator. It has been this authors experi-
ence with several different densitometers that recalibrating
a densitometer before reading each print can significantly
improve the repeatability of the measurements.
Before each measurement session, or at least once each
day the densitometer is used, the accuracy of the instru-
ment should be checked with a Kodak Reflection Densito-
meter Check Plaque and the readings recorded;
16
this
plaque will indicate changes in spectral response of the
densitometer that result from fading of the filters or from
other causes. The Kodak plaque should be permanently
assigned to the densitometer and should be stored care-
fully between uses.
In addition, measured gray scales and color scales made
of each type of color photographic material in the collec-
tion should be kept in cold storage at 0F (18C) or lower
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and at a relative humidity of 3040%; storage at very low
temperatures will reduce changes in these photographic
calibration standards to a negligible amount during the
next 1,000 years or more, according to current estimates
based on accelerated test data.
17
A Macbeth ColorChecker
18
is recommended as a suit-
able original gray scale and color patch image for prepar-
ing the calibration standards for photographic materials;
the standards should be printed about 3x5 inches (7.6x12.7
cm), including a border of at least
3
8 inch (1 cm) to protect
the image area. A minimum-density (white) area and all of
the color patches, including those with low-saturation col-
ors, should be read and the data recorded. Although the
porcelain calibration plaques will generally be adequate
for continued calibration of a specific densitometer, they
will not necessarily produce accurate readings after an
instrument has been repaired or if the filters have faded or
been replaced; instrument response may also change if the
photodiode or photomultiplier tube light sensor has been
replaced. Each dye of each type of color photographic
print has a distinct set of spectral absorption characteris-
tics; for this reason, any change in the spectral response of
a densitometer will produce different readings from a given
photographic sample even if the instrument has been cali-
brated with the same porcelain plaque.
When the color photographic calibration standards are
needed, the packages containing the standards should be
removed from cold storage and allowed to reach room
temperature before they are opened. After the densitom-
eter has been calibrated with the porcelain plaque, read-
ings should be taken with the color photographic calibra-
tion standards and numerical corrections determined for
each gray-scale density and color patch of each material;
these calibration corrections will ensure continued accu-
racy of the overall system during the lifetime of the color
prints. The photographic calibration standards must be
handled with great care, especially when readings are be-
ing made with a densitometer, to avoid surface abrasion
and other physical damage that could affect the accuracy
of readings. As an added degree of protection when densi-
tometer readings are being made, the calibration standard
can be covered with a thin polyester overlay with a reading
hole cut in it. Because the calibration standards will be
read periodically over the next several hundred years
or perhaps even several thousand years the need for
careful handling cannot be overemphasized.
While other long-term calibration procedures may be
devised in the future, this author believes that, at present,
long-term system accuracy can be maintained with cer-
tainty only by preserving photographic calibration stan-
dards for each type of material in a collection. It is pre-
sumed that in the near future most institutions with sig-
nificant color photographic collections will install humid-
ity-controlled cold storage facilities for preserving their
color collections; the calibration standards can be kept in
these cold storage areas. (See Chapters 19 and 20 for
information on refrigerated storage.) If humidity-con-
trolled cold storage is not available, the photographic cali-
bration standards should be carefully double-sealed in
suitable vapor-proof envelopes
19
and placed in a regular
0F (18C) household-type or commercial freezer.
Deterioration of Densitometer Filters and
Gradual Drift in Densitometer Response
In an unplanned demonstration of the need for an accu-
rate long-term calibration procedure, this authors Macbeth
TR924 densitometer suffered a significant drop in red-density
reflection readings in less than 5 years after it was pur-
chased in 1981. As an example, for a polyester-base Ilford
Cibachrome print stored in the dark as a photographic
reference standard (accelerated aging tests indicate that
polyester-base Cibachrome prints have extremely good
dark fading stability), the densitometer indicated a 0.03
loss in red density from an original neutral density of 1.0
and a 0.02 loss from an original neutral density of 0.60 by
the end of the 4-year period. Measurement of a cyan patch
with an initial red density of 1.43 indicated a loss of 0.06. In
other words, the densitometer indicated that the print had
faded, when in fact it had not.
That it was the densitometer and not the Cibachrome
print that was changing was verified by similar drops in
Fading monitor covered with a sheet of glass in a small
metal frame.
1
9
8
1
#1716
(45%)
Fading monitor with an overmat. The three pieces of
color print material are mounted on the upper center of
the board; the mount board and overmat measure 2
1
/2 x
3
1
/2 inches.
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red-density readings from a Kodak porcelain Reflection
Densitometer Check Plaque as well as from refrigerated
Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, and Agfacolor calibra-
tion prints. The response of the instrument had been checked
frequently over the 5-year period, and no significant change
had been detected in either the green- or blue-filter read-
ings. Most of the change in the densitometers red-filter
response took place in the final 6 months of the 5-year
period.
The reflection head of this densitometer is equipped
with Status A red, green, and blue filters, in addition to a
Wratten 102 (visual) filter. The transmission head, which
is equipped with both Status A and Status M filters, also
suffered significant changes in filter response. Macbeth
supplies replacement visual, red, green, and blue filters
in a filter wheel that is installed in the densitometer head;
thus all the filters are replaced at the same time. Macbeth
recommends that new Status A and M filters be installed
about every 3 years; but, because of tests in progress, this
author was reluctant to do so and kept on using the origi-
nal filters until the red filter in the reflection head began
to deteriorate so rapidly that there was no choice but to
replace it.
At that point this author installed a new filter wheel and
much to his distress found that the green filter gave read-
ings higher by 0.05 on the green check patch of the Kodak
Reflection Densitometer Check Plaque than did the previ-
ous Status A green filter (which still gave stable readings).
The red and blue filters in the new wheel gave readings on
the Kodak Check Plaque that were almost identical to those
of the original filters. In order not to upset the green-
density readings (the accuracy of which is crucial in the
long-term light fading evaluation of magenta-limited pa-
pers like Ektacolor), it was decided to remove the red filter
from the new wheel and install it in the original filter wheel,
leaving the original visual, green, and blue filters in place.
The densitometer head was then reassembled and aligned
with the reading aperture (taking a densitometer head
apart and replacing the filters is not a simple task, and the
reader is advised not to attempt this procedure). The unit
checked out well with the Kodak Check Plaque; but it was
discovered that for refrigerated photographic calibration
prints, the new red filter was giving high readings (typi-
cally 0.04 higher with 1.0 densities).
When there is a change in response in a print monitor-
ing densitometer, even if the change is only slight, it re-
quires that new readings from ongoing work be corrected,
which not only requires additional labor but also increases
the potential for error. A most unwelcome complexity!
Status A and M densitometer filters appear to be made
with dichroic coatings on one side (to block infrared radia-
tion), and examination of this authors defective red filter
showed clearly that this reflective coating had seriously
deteriorated, reducing its light transmission and giving it
a yellowish, cloudy appearance. It is not known how
much longer the green and blue filters will last before they
also will require replacement; that the red filter was the
first to fail may be only a coincidence. It is indeed distress-
ing for one attempting to measure long-term fading of color
photographs to find that current densitometer filters are
themselves so unstable that they last only 3 or 4 years!
The unsatisfactory experience with the Status filters sup-
plied by Macbeth does not necessarily mean that all Sta-
tus filters are unstable; the Kodak Certified Densitom-
eter Filter sets AA and MM (the original Status filters) may
be more stable; however, Kodak discontinued these filters
in 1986.
This author also has an older-model Electronic Systems
Engineering Company (ESECO) Speedmaster densitometer
equipped with Kodak Wratten 92 (red), 93 (green), 94 (blue),
and 106 (visual) filters. Although the unit does not have a
computer interface, it continues to be used for a number of
tests that were started about 14 years ago. The filters are
still giving stable responses once the unit has fully warmed
up and is properly calibrated. These four Wratten filters
were the traditional densitometer filters until the advent
of the Status A and M filters, which were designed to have
an improved spectral match to chromogenic transparen-
1
9
8
1
Kodak photographic
Reflection Densitom-
eter Check Plaque for
detecting changes in
the spectral response
of a densitometer.
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cies and prints (Status A) and chromogenic color negatives
(Status M). It should be noted, however, that the spectral
characteristics of Status A filters are not well matched to
some other types of photographs, including Ilfochrome and
Polaroid prints.
In print monitoring and long-term stability research,
one is primarily interested in changes that take place in a
photograph, and the specific spectral characteristics of a
set of filters are not nearly so important as the need for
filters that will remain absolutely unchanged over time.
The Status A and M filters, which are supplied with most
current photographic densitometers, are unquestionably
the weakest link in their design.
It would be of great benefit if the photographic industry
would produce permanent, standardized filters for densito-
meters; it is not unlikely that red, green, and blue technical
glasses exist that would be suitable for this purpose.
This author strongly advises that Status A and M filters
not be used in monitoring programs; instead, Kodak Wratten
92, 93, 94A, and 102 filters are recommended. These filters
can be purchased from Kodak in large sheets (e.g., 125mm,
5-inch, squares), and it is suggested that two sheets of
each filter be obtained.
20
These four polyester-base dyed
gelatin Wratten filters appear to be essentially permanent
in dark storage. In a high-temperature accelerated dark
aging test conducted by this author, the filters were sub-
jected to 144F (62C) and 45% RH for five years (1987 to
1991) with no significant changes occurring in either their
transmission characteristics or in their physical proper-
ties. The filters are, however, subject to light fading and
fading may occur over time in the course of using a densi-
tometer.
On special order, Macbeth will install Wratten filters cut
from sheets in TR924 densitometers.
21
(Not all densitom-
eter manufacturers are willing to install customer-sup-
plied filters in their instruments, and if the reader is con-
templating the purchase of other than a Macbeth densito-
meter, the manufacturer should be consulted prior to mak-
ing the purchase.) In the transmission head, the 92, 93,
and 94A filters should be installed only in the Status A filter
positions; the Status M filter positions should be blocked
with an opaque material.
This author recommends that at the time the densitom-
eter is purchased, five additional transmission and reflec-
tion filter wheels fitted with filters cut from the same sheets
of filter material be obtained from Macbeth. These filter
wheels should be carefully packaged in a completely opaque
container to protect them from light, and stored in a cool,
dry place. Unused filter material should be kept in the
original Kodak packages and also stored in a cool, dry place
(if possible, in humidity-controlled cold storage).
When it is determined that one or more filters require
replacement, new reflection and transmission filter wheels
and the densitometer should be shipped to Macbeth for
installation (replacement of filter wheels in a Macbeth den-
sitometer is a complex procedure and should not be at-
tempted by the user). This procedure will eliminate spec-
tral changes in the densitometer filters as a variable in a
long-term monitoring program; a 5-inch square of filter
sheet contains enough material for at least 24 filter re-
placements.
At the time of this writing, X-Rite said that the company
was not in a position to install customer-supplied filters in
its X-Rite 310 Color Transmission/Reflection Densitometer.
This is unfortunate because this apparently otherwise ex-
cellent densitometer reads and displays density measure-
ments through all four filters simultaneously, thus greatly
speeding monitoring operations when the densitometer is
connected to a computer or accessory printer. In 1989
Macbeth introduced the Macbeth TR1244, which also reads
all four filter channels simultaneously, but because the
reflection head of this instrument is attached to the top of
the unit and cannot be removed, it is not suitable for moni-
toring prints.
The X-Rite 310 has the option (in the 10X Mode) of
displaying readings with three figures to the right of the
decimal point; this not only permits somewhat more pre-
cise readings, especially when reading low densities and
minimum densities, but also allows the operator to more
accurately assess drift of the instrument over time. (Be-
cause of short-term instrument drift, which unfortunately
appears to be inherent with the X-Rite 310, the 10X Mode
does not actually afford a 10X increase in precision; how-
ever, with frequent recalibration, the 10X Mode is some-
what of an improvement over the normal mode with two
figures to the right of the decimal point.) At the time of this
writing, this author had been using an X-Rite 310 for less
than 6 years and could not yet assess the long-term stabil-
ity of the instrument; however, the X-Rite 310 calibration
procedure which calls for both low-density and high-
density calibrations of each densitometer filter appears
to give better long-term repeatability than densitometers
such as the Macbeth TR924 that allow a high-density (slope)
calibration for the visual filter only.
X-Rite has said that in the approximately 8 years the
company has been supplying densitometers with Status A
and Status M filters, no deterioration has been noted
with the filters (with a different design than other densito-
meters, the filters in X-Rite densitometers are sealed to
plastic light pipes and photodiodes with epoxy cement and
are thus protected on both sides from the atmosphere).
Nevertheless, this author recommends that for long-term
print-monitoring applications, Status filters also be avoided
with X-Rite densitometers. It is hoped that at some point
in the future the company will be able to supply 92, 93, and
94A filters with its instruments.
This author has been engaged in discussions with sev-
eral densitometer manufacturers in an effort to devise a
set of permanent filters, and institutions engaged in print-
monitoring programs should contact this author for cur-
rent information.
22
Recommended Limits for Deterioration
of Color Print Images
Examination of large numbers of deteriorated color prints
including samples that were faded in accelerated light
fading and dark-storage tests as well as prints that slowly
faded during long-term display and dark storage under normal
conditions has led this author to propose the set of limits
for deterioration of color print images given in Table 7.1.
These limits are for critical applications in museums and
archives. A number of print materials displayed under a
typical tungsten-illuminated museum display condition and
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evaluated with these fading and staining limits are included
in Table 3.4 in Chapter 3. For general commercial and
home purposes, this author has proposed less stringent
limits; these are discussed in Chapter 2 and have been
used for most of the light fading comparisons in Chapter 3.
The four groups of criteria that comprise the fading and
staining limits describe all of the significant visual changes
that can take place in a color print in dark storage and/or
during exposure to light and ultraviolet radiation. Such
changes include stain formation, changes in overall den-
sity and contrast, loss of highlight detail, shifts in color
balance, and various combinations of these.
For ease of understanding by persons not familiar with
photographic densitometry, the limits for dye fading and
color imbalances are specified in terms of changes in the
cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes even though, strictly
speaking, the limits should be stated in terms of red, green,
and blue density (changes in cyan dye density, for example,
are measured with the red densitometer filter because the
absorption peak of cyan is in the red portion of the spec-
trum). However, for stain formation at minimum density
(where no image dyes are present), the limits are stated in
terms of red, green, and blue density (see Chapter 2 for
further discussion).
The specific limits given here (e.g., not more than 9%
magenta dye [green density] loss is specified instead of,
for example, a 10% magenta loss) were selected in part to
correlate with actual density units at the target density of
0.45 a critical density to indicate small changes caused
by light fading. A 9% density drop from 0.45 is a loss of
0.04 (0.0405, actually), whereas a 10% loss would be 0.045.
Most densitometers give readings to only two decimal
places, resulting in uncertainty whether a specified 10%
loss should be read as a 9% loss (0.04) or as an 11% loss
(0.05). Were it not for this practical consideration, limits
such as 7%, 11%, and 13% would have been given as 8%,
12%, and 14% respectively.
Density losses measured at about 0.45 initial density
are of interest primarily in terms of light fading and reflect
a loss of image detail, especially noticeable in low-density
highlight areas of a photograph. Initial densities of about
0.45 are best for these measurements; however, densities
from 0.35 to 0.6 can be used if necessary. Within this
range, the limits are given as losses of density units (i.e.,
0.04 for cyan and magenta dye losses and 0.06 for yellow
dye losses), and are not calculated from percentage losses
(although for reference the percentage losses are given in
Table 7.2). In a displayed print made on Ektacolor paper,
for example, a 0.08 magenta dye loss measured at an initial
neutral density of 0.45 will be approximately the same as
the magenta losses at 0.35 and 0.6. That is, the losses at all
three densities will be 0.08 (or close to that figure), while
the percentage (and visual) losses at the three densities
are quite different being greatest at 0.35 and least at 0.6.
For evaluation of shifts in color balance, it is necessary
to measure changes in near-neutral colors. When sub-
jected to light fading on display, the pure cyan, magenta,
and yellow colors of most types of color prints fade more
rapidly than when all three colors are present in approxi-
mately equal amounts (forming near-neutral or gray col-
ors). It is not uncommon for the separate pure colors to
fade two or even three times faster than when combined to
form a neutral gray. On the other hand, a pure magenta
can lose considerable density and still be magenta it
will simply be a lighter magenta. The same degree of
magenta lost from a neutral gray would cause a decided
color shift toward green. With most types of pictorial scenes,
this author has found it satisfactory to monitor near-
neutrals of about 0.45 density. Within the limits suggested
in Table 7.1, losses of pure yellow, magenta, and cyan col-
1
9
9
0
A fi l ter wheel from a
Macbeth TR924 den-
si tometer. On spe-
cial request, Macbeth
wi l l i nstal l the Kodak
Wratten 92, 93, 94A,
and 102 filters recom-
mended by this author
in place of the normally
supplied Status A fil-
ters (which are too un-
stable for long-term
print monitoring).
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ors will not often be visually excessive; many scenes do not
even contain significant areas of such colors.
If, however, a photograph contains important areas of
relatively pure, saturated colors, and especially if the col-
ors are of a low density to begin with (e.g., a light pink sky),
it is certainly appropriate to monitor these areas as well
and to apply the same limits as suggested for near-neutral
colors. Density losses from saturated colors should be
determined using the densitometer filter (or filters) show-
ing the highest initial density; for example, the green filter
indicates the highest density for magenta and pink colors.
In portraits and other photographs where people are an
important part of the scene, flesh tones must also be
monitored.
If there is any doubt about the relative significance of
density losses measured in different parts of an image, or
if a decision has to be made about how much change is
tolerable in a particular photograph, it is best to be conser-
vative. If one must err, it is better to allow too little display
time than too much. Remember, the intent here is to keep
the print as close to its original condition as possible.
With most types of color prints, density losses mea-
sured at d-max (maximum density) give a more accurate
assessment of dark fading than measurements made at
lower densities, such as 0.45. At or near d-max, the limits
are given as percentage losses, as computed from the ac-
tual measured initial densities. Some prints have no high-
density dark areas, and in such cases the highest densities
available in the print should be chosen for d-max measure-
ments. When monitoring pictorial prints, it is generally
not possible to accurately stain-correct the density read-
ings based on changes measured in minimum densities
(see Chapter 2 for an explanation of stain-corrected den-
sitometry). In pictorial prints, true minimum-density ar-
eas frequently are not present; if white borders are in-
cluded, they are generally covered with overmats that
shield the borders from exposure to light on display and
therefore could be used only for stain-correction of dark
fading data.
Separate values are given for blue density increases and
the resulting color-balance shifts toward yellow caused by
the yellow stain that occurs in many materials, particu-
larly in dark storage. Some people feel that a fairly signifi-
cant degree of yellow stain is tolerable especially in
instant photographs and they may wish to assign higher
numbers to the limits of stain formation and minimum-
density color imbalance. Such higher limits would not nor-
mally be acceptable, especially in a color imbalance be-
tween red and green densities, or even as a loss in blue
density (the opposite of a yellow stain).
Yellow stain, however, does not significantly affect the
sense of visual image contrast; in addition, so many com-
mon materials such as low-grade book papers yellow
with age that many people have developed a tolerance for
this particular type of deterioration. Indeed, for some people,
a moderate degree of yellow stain the patina of age
provides assurance that an article is old, and may even
impart an added degree of value. Such views have no
validity: the goal here is to preserve color photographs in
their original condition. The yellow stain formation com-
mon to many types of prints is undesirable and should be
prevented if at all possible.
Polaroid SX- 70, Polaroid 600 High Speed, Polaroid Spec-
tra (Image prints in Europe), and Polaroid 600 Plus prints
are almost certain to have exceeded the suggested low-
density stain formation limits given in Table 7.1 even be-
fore they arrive in a museum collection. To obtain an
approximation of the stain level reached by a particular
print, it should be measured in the area of lowest density,
and this reading compared with measurements taken
from the identical material shortly after processing (initial
readings should generally be made about 24 hours after
the processing of an instant print).
To further complicate matters, the stain that occurs in
these types of Polaroid prints in dark storage is less stable
in light fading than the image dyes themselves. For ex-
ample, when a Spectra print that has developed a low-level
yellowish stain during a year or two of dark storage is put
on display, the blue density can drop very rapidly.
The limits proposed here allow only for relatively small
amounts of deterioration appropriate to museum and
archive collections and require that the monitoring den-
sitometry be done with a high degree of accuracy. It should
be possible to make measurements in low- to medium-
density areas with a repeatability of 0.01, although in
practice a deviation of 0.02 may be more realistic. In
high-density areas of an image, a repeatability of 0.03 to
0.05 should be possible; at high densities, an error of 0.03
is of much less consequence than it is at low densities. The
percentage (and visual) difference of a 0.02 error is far
greater at a low density than it is at a high density (e.g., a
density of 1.80).
One reason for specifying small amounts of permissible
change is that densitometer reading errors and/or densito-
meter calibration errors may result in significantly greater
change taking place in the print than indicated by the den-
sity readings. For example, with a minimum-density stain
color imbalance limit of 0.04, a density measurement error
of 0.02 could result in an actual color imbalance of 0.06
(usually caused by yellow stain) a rather noticeable change
before the limit is reached. Setting tight limits on per-
missible density changes will assure that even with signifi-
cant densitometer calibration and reading errors, large
changes in print condition will almost certainly be detected.
However, even with careful use of a densitometer and
precise calibration procedures, the accuracy and repeat-
ability of readings will probably not be as good as one
would like, especially if the instrument must be replaced
and the new densitometer is calibrated from photographic
color print samples kept in cold storage. Accurately de-
tecting small changes in print densities over long periods
of time strains the capabilities of even the best equipment
currently available; one must expect a certain amount of
noise in the readings and be content with less than exact
repeatability. This is not a perfect system.
Potential difficulties aside, however, careful monitoring
of prints is certainly an improvement over past museum
practice in which there was no way to know whether, much
less how much, a print had faded or stained, even if rather
large changes had occurred over the years. Monitoring
prints allows one to know when a print has been subjected
to excessive display and eliminates the uncertainty of how
to properly handle prints made on paper of an unknown
type or processed under unknown conditions (more often
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Table 7.1 Recommended Limits of Color Print Fading and Staining for
Museums, Galleries, Archives, Artists, and Collectors
Print density changes should not exceed the following:
Overall density losses from near-neutral colors:
Cyan dye (red density) loss from about 0.45: 0.04 (9%)
Magenta dye (green density) loss from about 0.45: 0.04 (9%)
Yellow dye (blue density) loss from about 0.45: 0.06 (13%)
Density losses measured at about 0.45 initial density are of interest primarily in terms of light fading and reflect a loss of image detail that is
especially noticeable in low-density highlight areas of a photograph. Initial densities of about 0.45 are best for these measurements; however,
densities from 0.35 to 0.60 can be used if necessary. Within this range, the limits are given as losses in density units(i.e., 0.04 for cyan and magenta
dye losses and 0.06 for yellow dye losses) and are not calculated as percentage losses.
Cyan dye (red density) loss from d-max: 9%
Magenta dye (green density) loss from d-max: 9%
Yellow dye (blue density) loss from d-max: 13%
With most types of color prints, density losses measured at d-max (maximum density) give a more accurate assessment of dark fading than
measurements made at lower densities, such as 0.45. At d-max and near d-max, the limits are given as percentage losses, as computed from
changes in measured densities. Some prints have no high-density dark areas, and in such cases the highest densities available in the print should
be chosen for d-max measurements.
Cyan-magenta-yellow color imbalances in near-neutral image areas:
Cyan/Magenta (red/green density) imbalance at about 0.45: 0.03 (7%)
Cyan/Yellow (red/blue density) imbalance at about 0.45: 0.05 (11%)
Magenta/Yellow (green/blue density) imbalance at about 0.45: 0.05 (11%)
Color imbalances measured at about 0.45 initial density are of interest primarily in light fading. Initial densities of about 0.45 are best for these
measurements; however, densities from 0.35 to 0.60 can be used if necessary. Within this relatively low range, it is more practical to determine
color imbalances as imbalances in density units (i.e., 0.03 between cyan and magenta, and 0.05 between yellow and either cyan or magenta)
than it is to calculate them as percentage imbalances. Stain formation frequently contributes to medium- and low-density color imbalances.
Cyan/Magenta (red/green density) imbalance at d-max: 7%
Cyan/Yellow (red/blue density) imbalance at d-max: 11%
Magenta/Yellow (green/blue density) imbalance at d-max: 11%
With most types of color prints, density imbalances measured at d-max (maximum density) are of interest primarily in terms of dark fading. At
d-max and near d-max, the limits are given as percentage imbalances, as computed from the actual measured densities. Some prints have no
high-density dark image areas, and in such cases the highest densities available in the print should be used for d-max measurements. Stain
formation generally has little visible effect on d-max color imbalances.
Minimum-density stain formation:
Red Density increase at d-min: 0.04
Green Density increase at d-min: 0.04
Blue Density increase at d-min: 0.08
D-min (minimum-density) changes may occur in dark storage and/or as a result of exposure to light on display; an increase in blue density (as
a result of yellowish stain) is the most commonly observed change. In some cases, as a result of exposure to light, the minimum density (most
commonly red density) will decrease somewhat, instead of increasing. Such losses may be ignored in terms of the stain-formation limits; however,
d-min losses will probably contribute to the generally more significant minimum-density color imbalances, the limits for which are given below.
Minimum-density color imbalances:
Red/Green density imbalance at d-min: 0.03
Red/Blue density imbalance at d-min: 0.04
Green/Blue density imbalance at d-min: 0.04
D-min (minimum-density) color imbalances may occur in dark storage and/or as a result of exposure to light on display. Minimum-density color
imbalance limits will almost always be reached before minimum-density increase limits are reached.
Note: Many pictorial scenes do not have near-neutral colors throughout the density range; readings should be taken from important colors, such as flesh
tones, sky areas, etc. Readings may be taken throughout the range of tones in a print, from the lightest to the darkest; however, the emphasis should
be on image areas with densities close to d-min, 0.45, and d-max. With Polaroid instant prints, which have higher minimum densities than
conventional prints, measurements at about 0.60 may prove to be more useful than measurements at 0.45. A typical print should be monitored
in five to ten different locations. Small color (density) imbalances may be visually apparent on prints only in large areas of near-neutral colors.
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than not, this is the case even with prints in museum col-
lections). Being told that a certain print is a Type C print
means very little in terms of its stability in dark storage or
on display!
A color print may be considered to have reached the
limit of acceptable deterioration when the first of the nu-
merically expressed criteria has been attained. With any
given color print material, the particular changes involved
depend on the specific conditions of display or dark stor-
age. For example, in Polaroid Spectra, Spectra HD, Pola-
roid 600 Plus, and Polaroid SX-70 prints stored in the dark,
the minimum-density color imbalance limit will always
be reached first. In Kodak Ektacolor Professional, Ekta-
color Plus, Ektacolor Supra, and Ektacolor Portra and Por-
tra II prints on long-term display, the overall density loss
limit for magenta dye (green density) will likely occur first.
When these types of modern Ektacolor prints are stored in
the dark at normal room temperature, the prints slowly
develop yellowish stain and the minimum-density color
imbalance limit probably will be reached first.
In Ilford Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome prints,
19631991) on display under low-level tungsten illumina-
tion, the cyan/yellow color imbalance limit will probably
come first, because of the comparatively inferior light fad-
ing stability of the cyan dye in relation to the yellow dye
when the prints are displayed under these conditions. (Dis-
played under low-level fluorescent illumination, the Ilfo-
chrome yellow dye is less stable than the cyan dye the
very opposite of what occurs under tungsten illumination!)
Compared with the 10% density loss of one or more
dyes at an initial density of 1.0, a criterion which has
sometimes been used in the technical literature of Kodak
and a few other manufacturers,
23
the more complex analy-
sis of color image deterioration proposed here correlates
much better with visually observed changes. The 10%
density loss criterion also ignores stain formation, which
is the principal factor in color image deterioration in mate-
rials like Polaroid Spectra and SX-70 prints stored in the
dark.
The 30% density loss, upon which Konica, Agfa, and
Kodak have based their claims for the 100-year life of their
respective color prints kept in dark storage, is far too much
change to be acceptable for museum and archive collec-
tions. In light fading, a 30% dye loss measured at an initial
density of 1.0 will result in total destruction of important
highlight detail, as well as a severe loss of magenta in low-
and medium-density portions of the image. (Other than
reporting basic accelerated light fading test data, Konica
has made no specific claims for its color papers in terms of
how long the prints may be expected to last on display.)
Most photographic manufacturers would prefer a rather
broad interpretation of what constitutes objectionable fad-
ing. American manufacturers in particular tend to be-
lieve that the general public is particularly tolerant of yel-
low stain formation and loss of highlight detail common to
light fading. By allowing a large amount of change to occur
before it is said that a print has reached the end of its
useful life, the manufacturers projections of the average
life of a given print material can be greatly extended, and
the publics perception of the stability and quality of
the print material can be influenced accordingly.
This author suggests, of course, that the limits of color
Table 7.2 Percentage Losses of Magenta Dye (Green Density) in Kodak
Ektacolor Professional Paper in an Accelerated Light Fading Test
21.5 klux (2,000 fc) Glass-Filtered Cool White Fluorescent Illumination
75F (24C) and 60% RH at Sample Plane
From Neutral-Gray Patches (Base + Fog Density = 0.10)
Loss Loss
After % Loss Minus After % Loss Minus
Start 60 Days % Loss Base + Fog Start 120 Days % Loss Base + Fog
0.25 0.09 36% 60% 0.25 0.10 40% 67%
0.35 0.13 37% 52% 0.35 0.18 51% 72%
0.45 0.16 36% 46% 0.45 0.24 53% 69%
0.60 0.16 27% 32% 0.60 0.31 52% 62%
1.00 0.16 16% 18% 1.00 0.36 36% 40%
1.50 0.16 11% 11% 1.50 0.35 23% 25%
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image deterioration given here should not be reached during
any single exhibition period and that color prints should
not normally be placed on continuous display long enough
to reach the limits. Most types of pre-1985 chromogenic
color prints, such as Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC prints, will
pass these limits of deterioration in less than 10 years,
even when kept in the dark at room temperature, because
of their poor dark storage stability; this can be prevented
only by placing the prints in low-temperature, humidity-
controlled storage. Each curator will have to decide how
much of the useful life of a print he or she will allow to be
consumed during a particular exhibit, or during the curators
tenure, and how much will be left for future curators.
For example, given this set of deterioration criteria, and
knowing the stability characteristics of Kodak Ektacolor 74
RC Paper, one could conclude that under moderate tung-
sten illumination of 300 lux (28 fc) and nominal conditions
of 75F (24C) and 50% RH, a print made with this now-
obsolete paper will have a display-life expectancy of about
6 years; this would allow twelve 6-month exhibitions if the
print is kept in cold storage between display periods. If the
print is not kept in cold storage, but instead is kept at room
temperature, the acceptable life would probably be less
than 8 years even if it were never exhibited. If the print is
put in cold storage between exhibitions, and is displayed
for a single 3-month period each 5 years, the final showing
of the print could take place about 120 years after the first
exhibition. Other print materials (such as those made with
many of the early color processes) are much less stable
than Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC prints and could tolerate only
a small fraction of this total display time.
Museum Exhibitions of Color Photographs
That Have Been Monitored
Grant Romer, conservator of photographs at George East-
man House in Rochester, New York, working in conjunc-
tion with this author and Ronald Emerson, at the time a
curator at George Eastman House, and John Upton, guest
curator at the museum, employed the basic color print
monitoring procedures described here for Color as Form:
A History of Color Photography, an exhibition at the Corcoran
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. from April 10 to June 6,
1982 and at the International Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House from July 2 to September 5, 1982.
This was the first exhibition of color photographs to be
monitored densitometrically during the display period. (Some
of the photographs chosen for the exhibition, including a
number of Lumiere Autochrome glass-plate transparen-
cies, were not shown in their original form because of physical
problems and/or the potential instability of their color im-
ages; instead, color copy prints or transparencies were
shown.)
Sergio Burgi, who was in charge of densitometry and
data analysis for the exhibition, has reported that whereas
none of the photographs reached the set of limits adopted
for the project, a number of prints came close to the limits.
Among the images that showed significant changes were
Kodak Kotavachrome and Minicolor prints from the period
19411945 (these prints were made on pigmented cellulose
acetate film base using a variation of the external-coupler
Kodachrome process see Chapter 1). During the 4-
month period of the display, the photographs had been
Table 7.3 Response Variations of Four Color Densitometers
Near-neutral patches of various color print materials were read with a Macbeth TR924 densitometer equipped with Status A
filters; for ease of interpretation, readings with the other densitometers are given as deviations when compared to
measurements made with the Macbeth TR924 (this is not to imply that the Macbeth is more accurate than, for example, the
X-Rite 310 densitometer). One of the Electronic Systems Engineering Company Speedmaster TRC-60D densitometers was
equipped with Kodak Certified AA filters (Status A response), which were discontinued by Kodak in 1986; the other Electronic
Systems Engineering Company Speedmaster TRC-60D densitometer was equipped with Kodak Wratten 92, 93, and 94 filters.
The ESECO densitometers are of an older design that is no longer manufactured. Each densitometer was calibrated using
the porcelain plaque supplied by the manufacturer.
Macbeth TR924 X-Rite 310 ESECO TRC-60D ESECO TRC-60D
Status A Filters Status A Filters Kodak AA Filters Wratten Filters
Type of Print Red-Green-Blue Red-Green-Blue Red-Green-Blue Red-Green-Blue
Ektacolor Professional 0.99 1.02 1.07 +.03 +.00 .01 .01 +.05 +.04 +.05 +.07 +.03
Fujichrome Type 34 1.35 1.28 1.21 +.04 +.00 .02 +.10 +.06 +.02 +.01 +.11 +.03
Cibachrome II Glossy 1.52 1.33 1.16 .05 .01 .04 .39 +.08 +.04 .37 +.09 .01
Kodak Dye Transfer 1.20 1.27 1.04 +.03 .01 +.01 .15 +.02 +.00 .03 +.08 .02
ArchivalColor Pigment Print 0.74 1.02 1.00 +.00 +.01 .02 .06 +.02 +.02 .07 +.08 +.06
Polaroid Spectra 1.29 1.34 1.56 +.05 .01 .03 .07 +.08 .07 +.13 +.22 +.09
Polacolor ER 1.50 1.29 1.23 +.06 +.02 .01 .17 +.09 .01 +.10 +.22 .02
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3. Light Level: Not to exceed 325 lux (30 footcandles).
4. No sunlight or daylight permitted in exhibition area.
5. No TV or film crew lights permitted.
A calotype negative made by Fox Talbot in the exhibit
was covered with brown cloth to protect it from exposure
to light except when the cloth was lifted by a person view-
ing the print.
The prints were away from the Art Institute for a total of
12 weeks, with the actual exhibition lasting 9 weeks. Dur-
ing the exhibition period, the gallery temperature ranged
from 56 to 77F (1325C) and the relative humidity was
recorded over a range of 3966%. The photographs were
matted with 100% cotton fiber mount board and framed
with Acrylite OP-2 ultraviolet-filter acrylic plastic sheet.
The exhibit was illuminated with tungsten lamps (presumed
not to exceed 325 lux [30 fc]), and no daylight or fluores-
cent light was present.
Before air shipment of the exhibit to Japan, density mea-
surements were made on the 38 selected prints, and the
prints were measured again upon their return to Chicago;
the measured density changes are given in Table 7.4. Se-
verson made the following observations about the changes
that took place in the prints during the time they were
away from the Art Institute:
Overall, of the 38 prints monitored, 17 did not
change, 15 changed 10% or less, and 6 changed
more than 10%. Of the 13 different processes
monitored, only 5 were immune to change and 4
of those are rather unusual or hybrid materials
(silver-gelatin being the only common process to
remain unchanged).
With regard to albumen prints, the most com-
mon type of 19th-century photographic material,
several points can be noted. Support can be
found here for the notion that the rate of image
deterioration in these materials is closely related
to their condition. Without exception, the prints
in better condition [at the time the exhibit was
shipped from the Art Institute] showed more den-
sity change than those in poor condition. For
instance, the most stained and faded albumen
print in the exhibit (#7 by Baldus) was unchanged,
while that with the richest tonalities (#14 by Jack-
son) changed considerably. Also, the pattern of
results in prints #1013 would indicate that staining
may appear first in the shadows, where it is the
least detectable by the human eye.
Perhaps the most surprising result to be found
here is the change that occurred in photograph
#21 by Stieglitz. Platinum and palladium prints
have a reputation for extreme stability, but this
image yellowed considerably in the midtones and
shadows. One might assume the change is a
yellowing of the paper base due to the acidic
nature of the process, but the absence of high-
light yellowing tends to contradict that notion.
There may be other deterioration mechanisms
operating here.
exposed to only 110160 lux (1015 fc) of tungsten illumina-
tion for approximately 10 hours a day. Burgi commented
on the results of his examination of the densitometry data:
In a Kotavachrome print there were some
areas with quite a significant loss which was
not necessarily consistent throughout the print.
I found some staining and some dye loss going
on simultaneously in the print; one area stained
a lot.
Some of the prints have already lost 0.02
density and this would increase on further ex-
hibition. It certainly points out that we should
think twice about having some of the prints in
another exhibition.
However, the recent Ektacolor prints didnt
present any significant change and they could
certainly tolerate more exhibition time. I plan
to go through the data so as to be able to sepa-
rate the more stable prints from the less stable.
I think monitoring is a very useful method
for control of exhibition time and to reassure
us that we are not harming prints by putting
them on display.
24
Burgi said that in general he believes the monitoring
procedure gave reliable data, adding, It can be very accu-
rate if you work carefully. The museum has prints made
on a number of materials including Kodak Dye Transfer,
Ektacolor 74 RC, and Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome)
and placed them in freezer storage as aids in future cali-
bration of their monitoring system.
An Important Illustration
of Print Monitoring by the
Art Institute of Chicago
In what turned out to be a dramatic illustration of the
value of print monitoring, Douglas G. Severson, assistant
conservator for photography at the Art Institute of Chi-
cago, monitored 38 prints from the 180 photographs in the
1984 exhibition The Art of Photography: Past and Present,
From the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The
exhibition was put together by David Travis, curator of
photography at the Art Institute, and was shown at the
National Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan from October 6 to
December 4, 1984.
According to Severson, The selection represented a
broad cross-section of photographic history and technique,
with prints dating from 1842 to 1982. Among the 38 prints
monitored, 13 photographic processes and works by 24 dif-
ferent photographers were represented. The exhibition
included Kodak Dye Transfer prints by Eliot Porter, Ekta-
color 74 RC prints by Joel Meyerowitz and John Pfahl, and
Polacolor 2 prints by Paolo Gioli.
For the Osaka exhibition, the Art Institute placed the
following restrictions on display conditions:
1. Temperature: Not in excess of 75F (24C).
2. Relative Humidity: 40% RH. A range of 3555% RH is
permitted if rapid changes in humidity are avoided.
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Table 7.4 Density Changes Measured in Photographs from The Art of Photography: Past and Present,
From the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago Following Their Return After a 9-Week
Exhibition in 1984 at the National Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan
Prints monitored by Douglas G. Severson, Assistant Conservator
for Photography, the Art Institute of Chicago
d-min Density
% Density % Density Initial after Exhibition d-min
Original Change in Change in d-min and Trip to Density
Photographer Date Process Condition Shadows Midtones Density and from Japan Change
1) Fox Talbot 1842 calotype negative fair 0 0 0.42 0.44 NS
2) Salzman 1854 salted paper print good 0 +6% 0.24 0.25 NS
3) Cameron 1857 albumen print fair 0 0 0.41 0.43 NS
4) Cameron 1874 albumen print good +5% 0 0.31 0.31 NS
5) Cameron 1867 albumen print good +7% +15% 0.37 0.48 +0.11
6) Frith 1857 albumen print good +7% +10% 0.41 0.46 +0.05
7) Baldus 1855 albumen print fair 0 0 0.27 0.28 NS
8) LeGray 1856 albumen print fair 0 0 0.42 0.43 NS
9) MacPherson 1867 albumen print fair 0 0 0.31 0.31 NS
10) Bourne 1865 albumen print good +5% 0 0.36 0.36 NS
11) Bisson Freres 1863 albumen print good +5% 0 0.44 0.45 NS
12) Atget ND albumen print good +5% 0 0.28 0.30 NS
13) Watkins c.1865 albumen print excellent +5% 0 0.25 0.26 NS
14) Jackson 1892 albumen print excellent +5% +15% 0.21 0.29 +0.08
15) OSullivan 1863 albumen print good 0 10%* 0.26 0.26 NS
16) Fenton 1856 dilute albumen fair 0 0 0.33 0.34 NS
17) Tripe 1858 dilute albumen fair 0 0 0.31 0.33 NS
18) Atget c.1910 matte-albumen good 0 14%* 0.24 0.24 NS
19) Atget c.1910 gelatin p.o.p. good 5% 10%* 0.48 0.43 0.05
20) Steichen 1904 multiple gum print good 0 0 0.50 0.50 NS
21) Stieglitz 1919 palladium print good +15% +30% 0.40 0.44 NS
22) Stieglitz 1931 silver gelatin good 0 0 0.18 0.18 NS
23) Strand 1928 silver gelatin good 0 0 0.28 0.28 NS
24) Hine 1909 silver gelatin fair 0 0 0.26 0.26 NS
25) Hine 1920 silver gelatin fair 0 0 0.22 0.21 NS
26) Meyerowitz 1978 Ektacolor 74 RC excellent 0 0 0.14 0.14 NS
27) Meyerowitz 1978 Ektacolor 74 RC excellent 0 +10% 0.29 0.28 NS
28) Meyerowitz 1978 Ektacolor 74 RC excellent 3% +5% 0.17 0.18 NS
29) Pfahl 1981 Ektacolor 74 RC excellent 5% 0 0.25 0.27 NS
30) Pfahl 1980 Ektacolor 74 RC excellent 0 +5% 0.18 0.18 NS
31) Porter 1951 Dye Transfer good 0 0 0.32 0.33 NS
32) Porter 1963 Dye Transfer good 0 0 0.45 0.42 NS
33) Porter 1967 Dye Transfer excellent 3% 0 0.32 0.33 NS
34) Porter 1969 Dye Transfer excellent 6% 0 0.20 0.20 NS
35) Porter 1974 Dye Transfer excellent 0 20% 0.62 0.62 NS
36) Gioli 1982 Polacolor 2 excellent 0 0 0.11 0.10 NS
37) Gioli 1982 Polacolor 2 excellent +3%,8% 0 0.11 0.10 NS
38) Josephson 1969 color litho, etc. good 0 0 0.15 0.17 NS
* measured at edge of image NS = Not Significant
Important to Note:
1) Changes are reported as percentage of initial density in whichever densitometer color channel changed most (generally blue density).
2) Reliability of the readings was estimated quite conservatively, with a margin of error of 0.02. Thus, only changes greater than 0.04
were considered significant.
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David Kolody, a photographic conservator, demonstrates his system of print monitoring at a meeting of the Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation in Rochester, New York (see Note No. 4). Kolody has employed the
system primarily to measure changes that result from conservation treatments.
#14631
(111%)
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The color photographs, on the other hand,
may have changed less than one would antici-
pate, given their reputation for instability. One
might also note the inverse relationship of age
to deterioration with the five Eliot Porter Dye
Transfer prints the newest print changed
most, while the oldest was stable.
. . . One principal conclusion seems ines-
capable namely, that some photographs do
indeed change when [shipped and/or] exhib-
ited, sometimes in ways that are difficult to
understand or predict, and sometimes more than
one would anticipate.
. . . This method of print-monitoring can be
a very time-consuming and exacting activity.
But for those in a position to make decisions or
give advice about exhibiting photographs, the
information it provides can be extremely use-
ful and important.
25
Severson noted that according to this authors Recom-
mended Limits of Print Image Deterioration,
26
which con-
stitutes a somewhat simplified version of the limits given
in Table 7.1, 21 of the 38 prints monitored would have
exceeded those limits in this one exhibition period.
The total light exposure experienced by the prints dur-
ing the 9-week exhibition was relatively small, and this
author would be surprised if light exposure alone could
account for the large changes observed in some of the
prints. If low-level air pollutants were present where the
prints were exhibited (information about air quality could
not be obtained), they could have contributed to the changes
that were measured. Because the prints were matted and
framed before leaving Chicago, and were exhibited for only
a relatively short 9-week period, low-level air pollution
was probably not a significant factor, however.
The fading and staining of the prints in this exhibit were
more likely caused by the uncontrolled environmental con-
ditions to which the prints were subjected during shipment
to and from Japan. Severson reports that the photographs
may have been exposed to excessive or rapidly fluctuating
temperatures and humidities in transit. For instance, the
baggage compartment of a jet plane can be as cold as 40F
[40C], while that of a truck on a hot day can reach as high
as 120F [50C]. Uncontrolled humidity can be even more
damaging, and it is known that the crates in this exhibi t
experienced at least one major rainfall in the course of
their journey. Conditions in transit are always one of the
most difficult aspects of any traveling exhibition to control
and measure, but they may be a more likely cause of dam-
age than any other even in the full course of the exhibit.
The shipping crates themselves may also be implicated in
the damage that occurred to the prints; plywood and other
common packaging materials are known to evolve formal-
dehyde vapors and other potentially harmful substances
(see Chapter 15).
It should be noted that the large changes noted by Se-
verson in the 1919 Stieglitz palladium print (#21) likely
are not representative of what is to be expected with all
palladium prints under similar exhibition and transit con-
ditions. The fact that the changes did occur with this par-
ticular print, however, underscores the importance of
monitoring valuable photographs. Particularly with older
photographs, merely being able to identify the process does
not make it possible to predict how a print will be affected
by display and storage. The specific material with which a
print is made, its processing, its history of storage (tem-
perature, relative humidity, and exposure to contaminants
from storage materials or the atmosphere over the years),
prior exposure to light (duration, intensity, and spectral
distribution), and so forth, can singly or in combination
influence future changes that take place in a given photo-
graph. With further experience in monitoring various types
of photographs, it will become apparent which types of
prints are particularly vulnerable to damage as a conse-
quence of exhibition or shipment under uncontrolled con-
ditions; but with historical photographs it probably never
will be possible to predict with certainty the behavior of a
specific print.
When significant changes in a photograph have been
noted for example, in the 1867 Cameron albumen print
(#5) and the 1892 Jackson albumen print (#14), both of
which suffered substantial image and highlight staining as
a result of the trip to Japan great care must be taken to
ensure that no further deterioration takes place. Future
display should be restricted (or eliminated, if monitoring
indicates that further changes are taking place), and travel
outside of the museum should not be permitted. The Art
Institute is fortunate in having a temperature- and humid-
ity-controlled storage facility for its collection, and the prints
will have the best chance of survival if they remain there
in the dark.
This author considers Seversons study to be an ex-
tremely important contribution to our presently limited
knowledge about what changes can take place in historical
photographs when they are exhibited and/or shipped con-
siderable distances under uncontrolled conditions. Seversons
experience with the Osaka exhibition leaves no doubt that
the practice of routinely shipping valuable photographs
around the country or around the world in traveling
exhibitions must be carefully re-examined.
Under the direction of conservator John McElhone, the
National Gallery of Canada also maintains an extensive
monitoring program.
27
Note: This chapter is based on an article by this author published in the
Fall 1981 issue of the Journal of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 4964, entitled Monitoring the Fading
and Staining of Color Photographic Prints. This author discussed
the design and use of fading monitors and presented a preliminary
version of the Recommended Limits of Color Print Image Deteriora-
tion, given in this chapter, as part of a paper entitled Light Fading
Characteristics of Reflection Color Print Materials at the 31st An-
nual Conference of the Society of Photographic Scientists and
Engineers, Washington, D.C., May 1, 1978. Additional information
on print monitoring was included in a paper entitled Special Topics:
Pigment Color Prints, Fading Monitors for Color Prints, Special Dis-
play Techniques, and Cold Storage Facilities, given at the Interna-
tional Symposium on the Conservation of Contemporary Art, spon-
sored by the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, July 9,
1980; and in a presentation entitled Monitoring the Fading and
Staining of Color Photographic Prints at the Summer Meeting of the
Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conser-
vation, held as part of the Annual Conference of the American Insti-
tute for Conservation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 31, 1981.
1. Grant B. Romer, Can We Afford to Exhibit Our Valued Photographs?,
Topics in Photographic Preservation 1986 (compiled by Maria
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S. Holden), Vol. 1, pp. 2324, 1986. American Institute for Conserva-
tion Photographic Materials Group, American Institute for Conserva-
tion, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036;
telephone: 202-232-6636; Fax: 202-232-6630. The article was re-
printed in Picturescope, Vol. 32, No. 4, Winter 1987, pp. 136137.
For a related discussion, see: Paul Lewis, Preservation Takes Rare
Manuscripts From the Public, The New York Times, January 25,
1987, p. H1.
2. A review of museum lighting recommendations has been given by
Garry Thomson in The Museum Environment, second edition,
Butterworth & Co., Ltd. (in association with the International Institute
for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works), London, England,
1986, pp. 2235. A maximum illuminance of 50 lux (4.7 fc) is recom-
mended for objects especially sensitive to light, such as textiles,
costumes, watercolours, tapestries, prints and drawings, manuscripts,
miniatures, paintings in distemper media, wallpapers, gouache, dyed
leather. Most natural history exhibits, including botanical speci-
mens, fur and feathers. A maximum illuminance of 200 lux (18.6 fc)
is recommended for oil and tempera paintings, undyed leather,
horn, bone, and ivory, oriental lacquer. (p. 23).
See also: Stefan Michalski, Towards Specific Lighting Guildelines,
Preprints of the 9th Triennial Meeting of the ICOM Committee
for Conservation, Dresden, German Democratic Republic, August
2631, 1990, pp. 583588. (Published by the International Council of
Museums Committee for Conservation, Los Angeles, California.)
See also: James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-
Century Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S, East-
man Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, 1986. Reilly concurred
with the 50 lux (4.7 fc) recommendation, saying it applies to all
photographic print materials that have exposed paper fibers (salted
paper prints, platinotypes, cyanotypes, gum bichromate prints, and
carbon prints), to all photomechanical print materials, and to albu-
men prints. It also applies to all prints that have applied color in any
form. Prints with baryta coatings (most gelatin developing-out pa-
pers, gelatin printing-out papers, and collodion printing-out papers)
may tolerate up to 100 lux (10 foot-candles). p. 105.
Professionals, Kodak Publication No. E-77, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, March 1986, p. 49.
4. A project to monitor albumen prints was begun in 1979 at the Inter-
national Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in Roch-
ester, New York by James Reilly, Douglas Severson, and Grant
Romer. Both 19th-century and freshly made albumen prints (the
latter in the form of gray scales) were included in the project in an
effort to better understand the stability characteristics of this type of
print. The project was continuing at the time this writing.
David Kolody, a conservator in Stow, Massachusetts, adapted
the method of direct monitoring of prints described in this chapter to
the routine monitoring of black-and-white photographs, lithographs,
watercolors, and etchings. Kolody prepared a polyester overlay
sheet marked with a grid consisting of numbered lines drawn
3
4 inch
(2 cm) apart and with holes cut at each intersection of lines. Density
readings can be quickly taken at points of line intersection which
correspond to high-density, medium-density, and low-density parts
of the image; the line coordinates and density data are recorded in a
notebook. Only one overlay sheet is needed in this procedure; the
same sheet is used for all of the prints being monitored. Although
the pre-drawn grid overlay sheet does not offer the flexibility of being
able to locate the densitometer head precisely at any desired point
on a print, Kolody believed that the method was adequate for routine
monitoring of work before and after conservation treatments. Kolody
developed the system in early 1982. He gave a brief demonstration
of his monitoring techniques at the Winter Meeting of the Photo-
graphic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation
in Rochester, New York, February 3, 1982, and a more detailed
demonstration at the Winter Meeting of the Photographic Materials
Group, at the Art Institute of Chicago, January 31, 1983.
Also at the 1983 Photographic Materials Group Winter Meeting,
Siegfried Rempel, who at the time was conservator of photographs
at the Humanities Research Center (HRC), University of Texas, Aus-
tin, Texas, described an ongoing project to monitor calotypes from
the HRC collection that were included in the exhibition Paper and
Light The Calotype in France and Great Britain 18391870.
The exhibition was on display at the Art Institute of Chicago from
December 15, 1982 to February 13, 1983, after which it traveled to
several other institutions.
In 1984 Douglas G. Severson monitored a selection of black-and-
white and color prints from the exhibition The Art of Photography:
Past and Present, From the Collection of the Art Institution of
Chicago, which was exhibited at the National Museum of Art in
Osaka, Japan from October 6 to December 4, 1984. This monitoring
project is discussed in the text (also see Note No. 25).
5. In 1966, Garry Thomson, scientific adviser to the National Gallery in
London, started an investigation of methods to record changes in
paintings and arranged for a specially designed spectrophotometer
to be built for this purpose; certain paintings are now being mea-
sured once every 5 years. See: Linda Bullock, Reflectance Spectro-
photometry for Measurement of Colour Change, National Gallery
Technical Bulletin, Vol. 2, 1978, pp. 4956. See also: R. M.
Johnson and R. L. Feller, The Use of Differential Spectral Curve
Analysis in the Study of Museum Objects, Dyestuffs, Vol. 44, No. 9,
1963, pp. 110; and R. L. Feller, Problems in Spectrophotometry,
1967 London Conference on Museum Climatology, second edi-
tion, Garry Thomson, editor, IIC, London, 1968, pp. 196197.
6. Alan R. Calmes, Monitoring the U.S. Charters of Freedom by Elec-
tronic Imaging, a chapter in: Proceedings of the International
Symposium: Conservation in Archives, published by the National
Archives of Canada, 1989, pp. 243251. The Symposium, which
took place May 1012, 1988 in Ottawa, was jointly sponsored by the
National Archives of Canada and the International Council on Ar-
chives. Copies of the Proceedings are available from the Interna-
tional Council on Archives, 60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003
Paris, France. See also: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Conceptual
Design of a Monitoring System for the Charters of Freedom,
JPL Publication 83-102, Jet Propulsion Laboratory through an agree-
ment with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cali-
fornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 1984. See also:
Alfred Meyer, Daily Rise and Fall of the Nations Revered Documents,
Smithsonian, Vol. 17, No. 7, October 1986, pp. 135143.
7. Manufacturers of high-quality photographic densitometers include:
Macbeth Division, Kollmorgen Instruments Corporation, P.O. Box
230, 405417 Little Britain Road, Newburgh, New York 12550, tele-
phone: 914-565-7660; X-Rite, Inc., 3100 44th Street S.W., Grandville,
Michigan 49418, telephone: 616-534-7663; and ESECO Speedmaster
(Electronic Systems Engineering Company), 1 Eseco Road, Cushing,
Oklahoma 74023, telephone: 918-225-1266. Good-quality transmis-
sion/reflection densitometers cost between $3,000 and $5,000, de-
pending on the model. Kodak Wratten 92 (red), 93 (green), 94A
(blue), and 102 (visual) filters are currently recommended by this
author instead of the normally supplied Status A and Status M filters
(see discussion in text).
8. Matte-surface polyester (such as DuPont Mylar or Cronar) sheets of
a type intended for drafting with technical pens can be obtained from
stores that sell drafting and engineering drawing supplies. Matte
DuPont Mylar Type EB-11, or other matte polyester with an incorpo-
rated matting agent of silicon dioxide or other abrasive material,
should be avoided because the abrasive can easily damage the
delicate surface of a photograph.
9. Densitometer head locations can be marked with a technical pen
(such as a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph) with a No. 1 point (medium) and
a suitable stable black ink (such as Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph Uni-
versal Waterproof Black Drawing Ink No. 3080-P, Koh-I-Noor Rapidomat
Black Ink No. 3074-F, or Higgins Professional India Ink for Film No.
4465 Black).
10. Holes in the polyester overlay sheet are best cut by placing the sheet
on a large piece of glass and cutting out a circle with an X-Acto Craft
Swivel Knife No. 3241. As an alternative to round holes, square
holes may be cut with a straight-blade knife. Be certain that the knife
blade is very sharp, and cut the holes carefully to avoid rough edges
that might scratch the surface of a print. Holes can also be punched
with a suitable leather punch (see Note No. 11).
This author gratefully acknowledges the suggestion by Grant
Romer, conservator at the International Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, that holes be cut in
the polyester overlay sheet. Eliminating the polyester from the
densitometer optical path improves the long-term accuracy of this
system; it also permits the use of matte-surface polyester, to which
ink adheres far better than it does to high-gloss polyester. In the
original version of the monitoring system proposed by this author in
1978, readings were made through a clear polyester overlay sheet.
11. The punch used by Douglas Severson at the Art Institute of Chicago
is manufactured by C. S. Osborne & Company, 125 Jersey Street,
Harrison, New Jersey 07029; telephone: 201-483-3232. The #7
punch cuts a
13
64-inch hole, which accommodates the
3
16-inch head
aperture of the Macbeth TR924 and similar Macbeth densitometers.
Severson cautions that after marking the polyester overlay sheet, it
must be inverted for punching so that the slightly rough edges of the
hole lift away from the print rather than toward it, to prevent scratch-
ing delicate print surfaces.
12. Suitable transparent polyester (DuPont Mylar D or ICI Melinex 516)
sleeves which open along one edge so it is not necessary to slide a
print or film in and out (thus minimizing the risk of scratching the
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surface) are available from: Talas Inc., Ninth Floor, 213 West 35th
Street, New York, New York 10001-1996; telephone: 212-594-5791.
13. Documentation photography is most effectively done with color re-
versal films (recommended is Fujichrome 64T Professional Film [Tung-
sten] or, as a second choice, Kodak Ektachrome 64T Professional
Film [Tungsten]). After processing, the color transparencies can be
preserved almost indefinitely by placing them in humidity-controlled
cold storage. This author believes that in most cases, color films
stored under the proper conditions (0F [18C], 30% RH) will greatly
outlast archivally processed black-and-white films stored under typi-
cal room-temperature conditions. It is assumed here that an institu-
tion engaged in a monitoring program will have cold storage facili-
ties for its collections, densitometer photographic calibration stan-
dards, and color documentation photographs.
14. When a fading monitor is used as an integrating photometer to
study environmental conditions in which photographs are displayed,
density losses measured with the fading monitor are correlated with
density losses of the same type of photographic material that result
from low-level accelerated light fading tests in which the light expo-
sure is known.
The application of photographic materials for integrating pho-
tometers has been reported by Stanton Anderson and George Larson
of Eastman Kodak Company in A Study of Environmental Condi-
tions Associated with Customer Keeping of Photographic Prints,
tion of Photographic Images, (Printing of Transcript Summaries),
Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985, pp. 251282. Available from:
IS&T, Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003 Kilworth
Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090.
This author believes, however, that Blue Wool Standard test
cards are more satisfactory than photographic materials for use as
integrating photometers. Blue Wool Standard test cards are avail-
able from: British Standards Institution, 10 Blackfriars Street, Manchester
M3 5DT, England; Beuth-Vertrieb, Burggrafenstr, 4-7, D-1000 Berlin
30, Germany; Japanese Standards Association, 1-24 Akasaka 4,
Minatoku Tokyo, Japan. In the U.S. the cards may be purchased
from: Talas Inc., Ninth Floor, 213 West 35th Street, New York, New
York 10001-1996; telephone: 212-736-7744.
The Blue Wool Standards are described in BS 1006:1978, Brit-
ish Standard Methods of Test for Colour Fastness of Textiles
and Leather, British Standards Institution, 2 Park Street, London
W1A 2BS, England; telephone: 01-629-9000. See also: ISO 105/ A-
1978 Textiles Tests for Colour Fastness Part A: General
Principles and ISO 105/ B-1978 Textiles Tests for Colour
Fastness Part B: Colour Fastness to Light and Weathering,
published by ISO, 1, rue de Varembe, Case postal 56, CH-1211
Geneve 20, Switzerland; telephone: 41-22-34-12-40. ISO Standards
are available in the U.S. from American National Standards Institute,
212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. The Blue Wool light-fastness Stan-
dards (numbered 18) should not be confused with the L Blue
Wool Standards, (numbered L2L9) supplied by the American As-
sociation of Textile Chemists and Colorists.
A significant problem with the use of color photographic papers
as integrating photometers is that new color papers are introduced
and older versions discontinued on a fairly regular basis, and this
will make long-term continuity difficult. In addition, manufacturers
sometimes make unannounced changes in a material and/or its
processing, which can affect its stability and possibly its light fading
reciprocity characteristics. Because of these uncertainties, each
new batch of color paper will have to be retested for calibration
purposes a time-consuming process. Unlike photographic pa-
pers, the Blue Wool Standards are standardized and should provide
good repeatability from year to year. The eight steps of the Blue
Wool Standards afford measurement over a very wide range of
accumulated exposure and, in this authors tests, the Blue Wool
Standards exhibited minimal reciprocity failure in long-term natu-
ral tests compared with short-term accelerated tests (see Chapter
2). For discussion of the Blue Wool Standards as integrating pho-
tometers see: Robert L. Feller and Ruth Johnston-Feller, Use of the
International Standards Organizations Blue Wool Standards for
Exposure to Light. I. Use as an Integrating Light Monitor for Illumina-
tion Under Museum Conditions, AIC Preprints of Papers Pre-
sented at the Sixth Annual Meeting, Forth Worth, Texas, June 1
4, 1978, pp. 7380. Also see: Robert L. Feller and Ruth Johnston-
Feller, The International Standards Organizations Blue-Wool Fad-
ing Standards (ISO R105), Textile and Museum Lighting, pub-
lished by the Harpers Ferry Regional Textile Group, 1985, pp. 4157.
For more accurate measurement of light exposure accumulated
over time than is possible with the Blue Wool Standards, various
electronic integrating photometers are available. Recommended is
the Minolta Illuminance Meter (Model T-1), a moderate-cost lux/
footcandle meter with an integration function, available for about
$600 from Minolta Corporation, 101 Williams Drive, Ramsey, New
Jersey 07446; telephone: 201-825-4000 (manufactured by Minolta
Camera Company, Ltd., 30,2-Chome, Azuchi-Machi, Higashi-ku, Osaka
541, Japan).
15. Inexpensive metal frames of appropriate size can be obtained at
many variety stores and, for large-quantity purchases, directly from
a manufacturer such as Intercraft Industries Corporation, Chicago,
Illinois 60614. Backing materials supplied with such frames should
be discarded and replaced with high-quality mounting board.
16. Kodak Reflection Densitometer Check Plaque, Kodak Catalog No.
140-5026, for use with reflection densitometers. For transmission
densitometers, obtain a Kodak Transmission Densitometer Check
Plaque, Catalog No. 170-1986. Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State
Street, Rochester, New York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
17. See, for example: Robert J. Tuite, Image Stability in Color Photogra-
phy, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 5, No.
4, Fall 1979, pp. 200207. For stability information on specific Kodak
color materials, see: Eastman Kodak Company, Evaluating Dye
Stability of Kodak Color Products, Kodak publication CIS No. 50,
and CIS No. 50 series data sheets for Kodak color papers, January
1982 and later dates.
18. The Macbeth ColorChecker chart can be purchased from photo-
graphic suppliers or from Kollmorgen Instruments Corporation, Macbeth
Division, P.O. Box 230, 405-417 Little Britain Road, Newburgh, New
York 12550; telephone: 914-565-7660; toll-free: 800-622-2384.
19. Heat-sealable vapor-proof envelopes called Light Impressions Heat
Seal Envelopes, which are suitable for storage of photographs in
uncontrolled humidity conditions, are available in two sizes from
Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New
York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-271-8960 (toll-free: 800-828-6216).
Similar vapor-proof envelopes, called Containers for Freezing Pho-
tographic Material, are supplied (minimum purchase of 500 enve-
lopes) by Conservation Resources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes
Place, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730 (toll-
free: 800-634-6932). These heat-sealable envelopes are made with
an aluminum-foil vapor barrier which is laminated between sheets of
polyethylene and paper; ordinary plastic bags are not suitable.
20. Kodak Wratten densitometer filters in 125mm (5-inch) square sheets
may be ordered from Kodak as follows: Visual No. 102 (Catalog No.
166-8318); Red No. 92 (Catalog No. 176-4513); Green No. 93 (Cata-
log No. 186-0261); and Blue No. 94A (Catalog No. 148-2413). (In
1985 Kodak replaced the traditional Wratten No. 94 densitometer
filter with the Wratten No. 94A densitometer filter.) Eastman Kodak
Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650; telephone:
716-724-4000.
21. Jeanne Boddin, product manager, Macbeth Division, Kollmorgen
Instruments Corporation, telephone discussion with this author, De-
cember 4, 1986.
22. For current recommendations on densitometers and densitometer
filters for photographic print-monitoring applications, contact Henry
Wilhelm at Preservation Publishing Company, 719 State Street, P.O.
Box 567, Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0567; telephone: 515-236-5575; Fax:
515-236-7052.
23. Robert J. Tuite, see Note No. 17.
24. Sergio Burgi, International Museum of Photography at George East-
man House, telephone discussion with this author, August 5, 1983.
Burgi was tentatively using the set of limits previously proposed by
this author in an article in the Journal of the American Institute
for Conservation (see Note No. 26). The limits suggested in that
article are a somewhat simplified version of the limits given in this
chapter (Table 7.1).
25. Douglas G. Severson, The Effects of Exhibition on Photographs,
tion, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036;
telephone: 202-232-6636. Slightly revised, the article was reprinted
in Picturescope, Vol. 32, No. 4, Winter 1987, pp. 133135.
26. Henry Wilhelm, Monitoring the Fading and Staining of Color Photo-
graphic Prints, Journal of the American Institute for Conserva-
tion, Vol. 21, No. 1, Fall 1981, pp. 4964.
27. John McElhone (National Gallery of Canada), Determining Respon-
sible Display Conditions for Photographs, presentation at The Cen-
tre for Photographic Conservation Conference 92: The Imperfect
Image: Photographs their Past, Present and Future, Windermere,
Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, April 610, 1992.
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An Upset Customer
Fehrenbach Studios in Reedsburg, Wiscon-
sin has been our photographer for years. We had
our wedding pictures taken by them, I had my
portrait taken for my husband while he was in
the service, and when we had our first baby, we
had Fehrenbach Studios take his picture. We
were happy with them up to this point then
strange things began to happen to our photographs.
My portrait has turned blue and faded to almost
nothing. The photo of our son has turned yellow
and is fading away. My brothers graduation photo
also has turned blue and is faded.
My mother approached Bob Fehrenbach on
this matter and he said he would gladly replace
these photographs for half price. He also stated
that Eastman Kodak does not guarantee that pho-
tographs will not fade, and he went on to say that
if he replaced all the faded prints that were re-
turned to him free of charge, he would go out of
business in a short time. . . .
Needless to say, when our second child was
born we found another photographer.
The thing I would like to know is why should
we have to pay a second time for something that
should have lasted a lifetime.
Eastman Kodak has always contended with
their advertising that photographs are lasting
memories, once in a lifetime treasures, that keep
today alive forever. I do believe a photograph
should last longer than 7 years. I wanted to pass
our childrens baby pictures down to them when
they got married, the same as my mother did for
me. I have nothing to give them but a faded
print.
I do not believe that this is the right way to do
business. I feel that I have been cheated be-
cause my photographs have not lasted like they
were advertised. Would you please look into this
matter. . . .
1
Letter from Mrs. Sharla M. Stanclift
of Reedsburg, Wisconsin to the Office
of Consumer Protection, Wisconsin
Department of Justice, May 16, 1980
Fujicolor SFA3 Papers Are by Far the
Longest-Lasting Color Negative Papers Available
8. Color Print Fading and the Professional
Portrait and Wedding Photographer What to Do
About a Troubling Situation
People Expect Their Color Portraits
and Wedding Photographs to Last
In no other area of photography is the stability of a color
print as important to the customer and the continued
commercial success of the photographer as it is in the
professional portrait and wedding business. Photographs
are among the few possessions that the average person
would like to hand down to future generations. In the
modern era, few individuals have any significant written
record of their lives most people have only photographs,
and since the early 1970s, most of these have been color
photographs. Indeed, the desire to preserve the memory
of important times and events in peoples lives child-
hood, school and college graduations, careers, weddings,
children, and families together is what drives the pro-
fessional portrait and wedding market. Describing the
emotions of people who have survived fires, floods, earth-
quakes, and other natural disasters, an official of the American
Red Cross said: The items that cause the most grief are
photographs. People lose their history when photos are
lost.
2
Probably no one knows the average persons attach-
ment to family photographs better than Eastman Kodak,
and the theme of preserving memories has been the basis
of nearly all of Kodaks promotional efforts in portrait and
wedding markets. A long-running Kodak advertising cam-
paign, keyed to the slogan For the Times of Your Life, is
only the latest example.
Although few people think it necessary to preserve all
their photographs in pristine condition forever, almost ev-
eryone has at least some color photographs that they value
and would like not only to keep and display during
their lifetimes but also to pass on to future generations.
Unfortunately, few color photographs from the past 20 or
30 years will survive for future generations after not too
many years of display, many have already deteriorated so
seriously that they are now only faded ghost-images of
what they originally looked like. The fading of color por-
traits and wedding pictures affects the rich and famous,
the poor and unknown, alike. And, as will be discussed
later, the price paid for a portrait or wedding album usu-
ally has no bearing on how long the photographs will last.
If a print is made from a color negative on Kodak paper,
it doesnt matter whether it costs the customer one dollar
or one thousand dollars: they are all printed on one of the
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Color Print Fading and the Professional Portrait and Wedding Photographer Chapter 8 268
bers of indignant customers demanding free reprints, and
his story was featured on the CBS television program Walter
Cronkites Universe. In 1976, Max Brown had sued East-
man Kodak for one million dollars, and in 1982, Wisconsin
professional photographers Bob and Bernice Fehrenbach
and Robert Germann sued Kodak for $3.7 million.
4
Both lawsuits claimed that normally framed and dis-
played prints made with the Ektacolor RC papers supplied
by Kodak during the late 1960s and early 1970s suffered
extremely rapid image fading and cracking of the RC base.
(This authors examination of a variety of Ektacolor prints
that had been displayed under typical home and office con-
ditions indicated that these early Ektacolor RC papers were
as much as 3 to 5 times less stable than the earlier Ekta-
color Professional fiber-base paper they replaced.)
Neither the Brown suit nor the Fehrenbach/Germann
suit ever reached trial; as a result of well-orchestrated
defenses coordinated by Kodaks legal staff in Rochester
H&H Color Lab, Inc., a leading professional color lab located near Kansas City in Raytown, Missouri, switched from Kodak
Ektacolor paper to Fujicolor paper in 1991 because of the much better color permanence of the Fuji product. H&H was the
first major wedding and portrait lab in the U.S. to adopt Fujicolor paper (see pages 280283). Shown here inspecting
Fujicolor test prints coming off a Pako Leader Belt Processor are Sue Cadena, print inspector, and Rob Newbanks, quality
assurance manager at H&H. Before making the change to Fujicolor paper, H&H president Wayne B. Haub sent a
comprehensive information packet to the labs customers explaining the stability advantages of Fujicolor paper and asking
them whether they felt the lab should switch papers. Matched sets of prints of typical wedding and portrait photographs
printed on both Ektacolor Portra and Fujicolor Professional papers were included for the customers to examine. Over 90%
of those who responded to the survey said that they wanted H&H to make the change to the longer-lasting Fujicolor paper.
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low-cost, poor-stability Ektacolor papers products con-
ceived and manufactured primarily for amateur snapshot
photofinishing. In terms of image stability, there is no
difference between a top-quality professional portrait printed
on Ektacolor Portra II paper, the most expensive of which
may cost many hundreds of dollars, and the 35-cent Koda-
lux (formerly Kodacolor) print made with Ektacolor Edge
paper that one picks up at the local drugstore.
Photographers Complain to Kodak About
the Inadequate Stability of Ektacolor Paper
Beginning around 1980, faded color portraits and wed-
ding pictures have been the subject of numerous newspa-
per and magazine stories.
3
In 1982, Max Brown, a well-
meaning Iowa wedding and portrait photographer, went
out of business after faded and cracked Ektacolor RC prints
from the early 1970s were returned to him by large num-
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Bernice and Robert Fehrenbach of Fehrenbach Studios in Reedsburg, Wisconsin are shown here with some of the more
than 100 faded and cracked Ektacolor RC prints, taken between 1969 and 1976, that were brought back to the studio by
angry customers. The three prints held by the Fehrenbachs support their claim that Ektacolor RC prints from the early
1970s faded even faster than the previous Ektacolor fiber-base prints. The print on the left, an Ektacolor fiber-base print,
has faded much less than the two Ektacolor RC prints, even though the fiber-base print was displayed several years longer
(all three prints were displayed in identical lighting conditions). The Fehrenbachs and another Wisconsin photographer,
Robert Germann, subsequently sued Kodak for $3.7 million in damages, alleging fraud by Kodak and saying that Kodak
advertisements promised the color prints would last forever.
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Bernice and Robert Fehrenbach, with their son Thomas, discuss the Ektacolor fading problem at their Faded and Cracked
Ektacolor Print Booth during the 1981 annual convention of the Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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base their livelihood on Kodak products and
stake their reputations on their trust in Kodak
product quality each time they accept an as-
signment or tackle a new photographic chal-
lenge.
5
Acting on behalf of the Committee on Faded and Cracked
Photographs of the Wisconsin Professional Photographers
Association (WPPA), Bernice Fehrenbach also circulated a
petition asking Eastman Kodak to produce color film and
print materials with greater stability for professional pho-
tographers and requested that Kodak engage in more truthful
consumer advertising. The petition was backed by the
board of directors of the WPPA and was signed by more
than 275 professional portrait and wedding photographers
from Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Da-
kota. (The Wisconsin petition and Bernice Fehrenbachs
cover letter, which were sent to Eastman Kodak, are re-
printed in Appendix 8.1 on page 294.)
Texas Professional Photographers
Protest Kodaks Advertisements
One angry photographer who has had hundreds of badly
faded Ektacolor RC prints returned by customers is Zavell
Smith, operator of a profitable wedding and portrait studio
in San Antonio, Texas. According to Smith, Nobody has
helped me more than Eastman Kodak, but nobody has got-
ten me in more trouble than Eastman Kodak. And its not
in which the photographers lawyers were hopelessly
outspent and outclassed Kodak managed to get both
cases dismissed on legal technicalities having nothing to
do with the issues of color fading, RC-base cracking, or
fraudulent advertising. (After Browns lawsuit was dis-
missed, he successfully sued his lawyers, Paul Moser, Jr.,
of Des Moines, Iowa, and Robert L. Huffer, of Story City,
Iowa, for legal malpractice; in an out-of-court settlement in
1985, Brown and his wife received $185,000.)
The Fehrenbachs were particularly bitter about the dis-
missal of their suit before it even had a chance to be ar-
gued in court with a group of four very successful fam-
ily-operated studios in rural Wisconsin, money was never
the main issue with Bob and Bernice Fehrenbach. The
Fehrenbachs are people of great integrity who care deeply
about their photography and the honest value of the work
they do for their customers, many of whom they know on a
personal basis. They feel strongly that color prints should
last forever. In the end they felt deceived and betrayed by
Kodak. During the time of the suit, Bernice Fehrenbach
often cited a statement made by William A. Sawyer, Jr.,
vice president and general manager of Professional and
Finishing Markets for Kodak:
Professional photographers have always been
extremely important to Kodak; you are our part-
ners in photographic progress. This partner-
ship is much more than the ordinary type of
manufacturer-user relationship. Photographers
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Max Brown being interviewed about his lawsuit against
Kodak by Christy Callahan for WHO-TV in Des Moines,
Iowa. Waiting to be interviewed is an Iowa assistant
attorney general who was in the midst of investigating
charges by another Iowa photographer, Edward J. Mulvin,
who had filed a complaint with the Attorney Generals
office concerning premature fading and discoloration caused
by Kodak retouching colors and by the application of
print lacquers as recommended by Kodak.
Brown in front of his former studio in Story City, Iowa.
The studio was purchased by photographer Pete Tekippe
after Brown went out of business and his bank forced the
sale of the property.
Max Brown, a Story City, Iowa portrait and wedding photographer, in his lawyers office with a selection of the hundreds of
faded and cracked Ektacolor RC prints from the late 1960s and early 1970s that had been returned by disgruntled
customers, many of whom demanded that the prints be replaced at no charge. The faded print problem caused Brown to lose
many of his lucrative school portrait accounts, and he was forced out of business. Accusing Eastman Kodak of false
advertising and misrepresenting the stability of its Ektacolor RC papers, Brown sued the company for $1 million. Because of
a technical error by Browns attorneys, Robert Huffer and Paul Moser, the suit was dismissed in 1980. After losing an appeal
to the Iowa Supreme Court, Brown sued his attorneys for legal malpractice; that suit was settled out of court for $185,000.
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Brown signs the sale papers for his home. Deeply in
debt, Brown moved into a small rented house with his
two sons and daughter. In the course of the lawsuit with
Kodak, Brown and his wife separated. After holding a
number of sales jobs to support himself and his children,
Brown started a new wedding photography business in
1991 and now lives near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Brown in the basement of his home with boxes of Ekta-
color and Vericolor portrait and wedding negatives. Be-
fore he went out of business, Brown had built a sizable
high school portrait operation in central Iowa. As part of
his suit against Kodak, Brown had asked Kodak to bear
the costs of reprinting the faded prints that had been
returned to him by customers.
After the bank foreclosed, Browns house was sold at auction. Taping the sale was a crew from CBS-TV, which included the
event in a segment on the problems of fading color portraits and motion pictures for Walter Cronkites Universe, broadcast
nationwide on CBS television. Although both the Brown and Fehrenbach/Germann lawsuits were dismissed in court, they
nevertheless had a major impact on Kodak and helped convince the company that it needed to improve the stability of its
color negative films and papers. This concern soon resulted in the introduction of Vericolor III film and Ektacolor Plus and
Professional Papers all of which had much improved dark fading stability compared with previous Kodak products.
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Zavell Smith, a San Antonio, Texas photographer, is seen with some of the faded Ektacolor wedding portraits brought back
to him by his customers. Upset about the situation, Smith helped organize a petition complaining about the poor image
stability of Ektacolor paper and asking Kodak to inform the public of the true expected life of color materials, and to
publicly absolve professional photographers of blame in the fading of color materials available to them. The petition was
signed by members of the Texas Professional Photographers Association.
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just that we have a color print fading problem with Kodak
we have an industry-wide problem. You can take a trip
anywhere in the country, visit any school or public build-
ing, and you will see faded color prints.
6
Smith says that
many people want faded prints replaced at no cost, but he
insists on a charge of 50% of the current price.
Smith attempted to have a Faded Color Print Booth at
a convention of the Texas Professional Photographers As-
sociation but, Smith contended, the idea was blocked by
TPPA officials. According to Smith, They are all scared to
rock the boat they are all scared to talk about faded
photographs.
Many of the photographers felt that publicity on the
issue could only hurt their businesses because if custom-
ers became aware of the truth about the instability of the
expensive Ektacolor prints they were buying, they might
have their pictures taken by low-cost, mass-market opera-
tions instead. Or, they simply might give up having por-
traits made at all and spend their money on something else
with greater perceived value.
The Texas organization did, however, circulate a strongly
worded petition complaining about the poor stability of
Ektacolor paper and saying that professional photographers
had to bear the brunt of these inadequacies. Stating that
in some cases the reputations of photographers have been
severely damaged, the association asked Kodak and other
manufacturers for an advertising policy that will properly
inform the public of the true expected life of color materi-
als, and to publicly absolve professional photographers of
blame in the fading of color materials available to them.
(See Appendix 8.2 on page 295.)
Kodak Promises the Federal Trade Commission
and the Wisconsin Department of Justice That
It Will Stop Knowingly Making False Claims
In addition to citing the extremely poor light fading sta-
bility of the Ektacolor RC papers from the 1970s, the Feh-
renbach and Germann suit also alleged fraud on the part of
Kodak because of the companys advertisements that stated
Ektacolor prints would last forever or a lifetime when
in fact Kodak knew very well that the prints would not.
Two years before the suit was filed, the Fehrenbachs had
complained about Kodaks advertising claims to both the
Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Federal Trade
Commission in Washington, D.C. After examining Kodaks
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advertising materials, an attorney with the Wisconsin De-
partment of Justice informed Kodak that it likely was in
violation of Wisconsins consumer-fraud statutes and wrote
the company, Given the admission by Kodak that its color
print materials do not last forever, why are you preparing
advertisements in direct contradiction?
7
Kodak was asked to submit in writing a promise that it
would discontinue any claim, statements, or advertise-
ments which represent that pictures made from your
companys materials will last longer than you are aware is
the case.
In August 1980, a member of Kodaks legal staff wrote to
both the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Federal
Trade Commission stating that Kodak has withdrawn all
advertisements, brochures, pamphlets, etc. which, taken
alone, could imply that an individual print will retain its
original appearance for a lifetime, etc.
8
Kodak promised
to monitor all such material in the future to ensure that no
unsupportable claims were made.
Kodak Resumes Making Misleading Claims
About the Stability of Ektacolor Prints
Kodak adhered to its agreement for a few years, but, by
the beginning of 1986, all of that seemed forgotten and
Kodak was once again making statements that contained
false implications about the permanence of Ektacolor prints.
As part of the nationwide For the Times of Your Life
promotional campaign managed by Paul M. Ness, coordi-
nator of markets development for Kodaks Professional
Photography Division, one brochure said:
A professional portrait can capture the unique
personality of each member of your family. Or
help you remember special moments in a young
childs life. The times that are important to
you. You can keep today frozen in time, the
memories just as fresh as the day they hap-
pened.
. . . you can have a beautiful family portrait
that youll treasure for a lifetime.
9
Another 1986 Kodak brochure said: With professional
wedding photography, tradition and good times come to
life again and again. . . . let us help you capture the magic
of this moment forever.
10
Stated yet another promotional
brochure: Keep today alive. Gather your family together
once more for a professional family portrait. It takes only a
few moments to capture this special time. The family por-
trait you take today could be your greatest possession to-
morrow.
11
With the For the Times of Your Life advertising cam-
paign still going strong, Kodak described a new brochure
in The Times newsletter this way: Citing the sparkle in
the eyes of her grandmother on a young womans wedding
day, the stuffer is guaranteed to provoke an emotional re-
sponse from the viewer. It is designed to build interest in
creating heirlooms for generations.
12
In a 1988 article headlined A Century of Value Helps
Create Priceless Memories, Peter M. Palermo, vice presi-
dent and general manager of the Consumer Products Divi-
sion of Eastman Kodak, said:
Precious memories recorded on film are irre-
placeable and, therefore, priceless. Pictures which
capture once-in-a-lifetime moments have a value
that far exceeds the cost of the film and paper
they are printed on. Photography allows people
to relive their most precious moments forever.
That has been the case for the last 100 years,
ever since George Eastman revolutionized pho-
tography when he introduced the first snapshot
camera in June 1888. Most photographs are
made for the purpose of obtaining a record which
cannot be had in any other way, Eastman once
said.
. . . One thing hasnt changed. People still
take pictures for the same reason they did 100
years ago. It is a natural longing to preserve
ones memories so we can make our best mo-
ments live forever.
13
All of this would be great if displayed Ektacolor prints
actually would last forever, or even a lifetime. This would
be a wonderful and effective promotion if only it were
true. And Kodak is acutely aware that it is not. To some
photographers, all of this may seem like too much nitpick-
ing. But one of the serious consequences of Kodaks con-
tinuing to mislead the public and telling people that their
proudly displayed color prints will last forever is that in a
very real way this reduces the incentive for Kodak to pro-
duce a color print material capable of doing just that
preserving priceless memories in brilliant color forever.
Even if forever seems out of reach at the moment to
Kodak, the company certainly has the technological capa-
bility to produce color negative print papers with light fad-
ing and album-keeping (dark fading) stability far superior
to that of current Ektacolor Portra II Paper and other Ek-
tacolor papers. The slogan for a 1990 Kodak national ad
campaign said: A professional portrait isnt expensive.
Its priceless. Assuming this to be true, it only makes
sense that Kodak should produce a paper for professional
portraits that is better, longer-lasting and, yes, more ex-
pensive than the current Ektacolor drugstore photofinish-
ing papers.
Print Fading Can Affect All Photographers,
But the Studio Professional Is Harmed Most
When dealing with faded prints, established studios of-
ten feel at a disadvantage to the mass-market portrait op-
erations whose low prices and ambiguous affiliations mean
that only rarely will the mass-market photographer be asked
to replace a faded print. And a traveling photographer who
sets up for a few days at a time in a never-ending series of
discount and department stores such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart,
and J.C. Penney knows that he or she personally will not
have future dealings with the people in the photographs.
Even the permanent department store studios, such as
those operated by CPI Corporation (headquartered in St.
Louis, Missouri) in nearly one thousand Sears Roebuck
retail stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, have a
distinctly anonymous character. Most of these low-cost
operations retain negatives for only a short time if at all
after they are printed.
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A photographer named Dennis with Photo Promotion
Associates, Inc. visited this authors hometown of Grinnell,
Iowa for several days in 1983 to take portraits at a local
discount store and told this author: Our prints will last
indefinitely hanging on the wall. We use Kodak paper and
thats the best that there is. Very occasionally you get a
bad batch of paper and it might fade, but if it does we will
replace it. I hear that PCA [a competitor of Photo Promo-
tion] has had some trouble with their pictures turning red,
but they dont use Kodak paper. Photo Promotion Associ-
ates, based in Monsey, New York, and whose promotional
literature contained the Kodak-supplied We use Kodak
paper . . . for a good look logo, went out of business in 1985.
At the time, PCA International, Inc., a huge portrait
operation headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, was
in fact having serious problems with faded prints because
from about 1975 until 1982 the company had the distinct
misfortune of using Agfacolor Type 4 paper in its process-
ing laboratories.
When PCA chose the Agfa paper, which was made in
Germany by Agfa-Gevaert, the company was totally un-
aware of the astonishingly poor image stability of the prod-
uct. PCA printed untold millions of portraits of children,
adults, and families on Type 4 paper. All of these portraits
are now severely faded, whether stored in the dark or dis-
played, and the photographs cannot be reprinted because
the original negatives have long since been discarded.
In 1985 this author examined a selection of Agfacolor
Type 4 prints made by PCA. They were less than 6 years
old and had never been displayed, but all appeared to have
suffered in excess of a 75% loss of cyan dye and had an
extreme reddish color shift. Prints that had been displayed
during the period were in even worse condition, but most
of the deterioration evident in the displayed prints could be
attributed to dark fading which took place while the prints
were on display light was not the major factor. Agfa-
color Type 4 paper is without a doubt the most unstable
color print material of the modern era no other paper
that this author is aware of even comes close to the speed
at which Type 4 prints fade in the dark.
Business losses resulting from the exceedingly poor sta-
bility of Type 4 paper led to the filing of a nationwide class-
action lawsuit in 1985 against Agfa-Gevaert on behalf of
labs and photographers all across the U.S. who had used
Type 4 paper; the case was settled out of court for an
undisclosed sum in 1987.
14
According to court documents,
PCA alone purchased more than $45 million of Type 4 pa-
per between 1978 and 1982 (however, apparently because
PCA previously had reached a financial settlement with
Agfa, PCA was not a party to the class-action suit).
PCAs alarming experience with Agfacolor Type 4 paper
also led the company to set up its own image-stability test-
ing laboratory in 1984 so that it could conduct evaluations
of color paper. PCA was probably the first major user of
color paper anywhere in the world to have an in-house lab
to test image stability. In 1985, in a presentation describ-
ing the work carried on in the facility, PCA explained that
image stability was a subject of increasing concern for the
company:
The quality of portrait image stability is be-
coming a more important factor in evaluating
overall product quality. Consumers now ex-
pect their portraits to not only have good color
and composition characteristics, but also to
maintain those images for much longer peri-
ods of time.
15
Along with Olan Mills, Inc., Lifetouch, Inc., American
Studios, Inc., and CPI Corporation, PCA International, Inc.
(the initials stand for Photo Corporation of America) is one
of the worlds largest child-oriented, mass-market portrait
operations, producing many millions of low-cost portraits
every year. PCA operates permanent studios in depart-
ment and discount stores and also has hundreds of mo-
bile photographers traveling to discount stores, churches,
and other locations. PCA is reputed to be the worlds larg-
est single consumer of Agfacolor paper; at the time of this
writing in 1992, the firm was using Agfacolor Type 9 paper,
a product of vastly improved stability compared with the
catastrophic Type 4 paper of the 197582 period.
This authors tests with Agfacolor Type 9 paper show
that it is superior to Ektacolor Portra II Paper (RA-4) and
Ektacolor Professional Paper (EP-2) in both light fading
and dark fading stability when the fading of flesh tones is
compared with the fading of neutral colors. (These colors
are deemed by this author to be the most important colors
to evaluate in portrait and wedding photographs; the be-
havior of pure cyan, magenta, and yellow colors is usually
less important.) Over the years PCA has used Agfacolor
papers primarily because they have been less expensive
than Ektacolor paper and most other competing products
for large-volume users.
Discouraged Customers May Abandon
Professional Portrait Studios and Give Their
Business to Discount Store Photographers
By the mid-1970s, substantial numbers of color prints
had been hanging on walls in homes and offices long enough
for serious fading to have taken place, and this was when
portrait and wedding photographers began to realize the
magnitude of their problem. These concerns were height-
ened when photographers discovered that the Ektacolor
RC papers introduced by Kodak beginning in 1968 faded
even faster than the previous fiber-base Ektacolor Profes-
sional paper many prints made with the improved
Ektacolor RC papers during the years from 1968 until about
1976 became severely faded after only 3 or 4 years of dis-
play. (Following its long-standing posture regarding color
fading, Kodak denied that there were any stability short-
comings with its Ektacolor RC papers and, as Kodak has
always done in the past, the company told photographers
that there was no cause for alarm.)
In 1981, the Professional Photographers of America sent
a list of recommendations on how to deal with the prob-
lems of color fading to the organizations 15,000 members
(see Appendix 8.3 on page 296), and some professional
photographers felt compelled to supply each of their cus-
tomers with printed statements acknowledging the insta-
bility of color prints and absolving themselves of any liabil-
ity; an example is the brochure issued by Krider Studios of
Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which is reprinted in Appendix
8.4 on page 297.
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Like most mass-portrait operations, PCA does not retain
negatives for more than a short period. When a print
fades, there is no way to make a new one.
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2
Photographers were dismayed to realize that every dis-
played print they had sold in the past, as well as all of those
that will be sold in the future, will in time fade to the point
where the customer no longer finds them acceptable. Cur-
rent Ektacolor Portra II, Ektacolor Edge, and Ektacolor
Professional papers are more stable than the Ektacolor RC
papers from the late 1960s and early 1970s, but in spite of
the improvements that have been made, it is a sobering
fact that, if displayed, every print sold by professional pho-
tographers will in a relatively few years lose the special
glow it had when new. Sometime between 10 and 30 years
depending on the particular color paper, how brightly
the print is illuminated, and whether (and under what cir-
cumstances) it was lacquered the print will fade to such
a degree that many customers will find it unacceptable, or
at least quite uninspiring.
When that happens, some people will simply put the
photograph away, sad to see that it has faded. Others will
lose the feeling they once had that professional portraits
are valuable heirlooms worth their often high cost. They
will have their portraits taken by low-cost department store
photographers or by minilab-equipped one-hour portrait
studios. Some will give up having portraits taken at all. A
few will even bring faded prints back to the portrait pho-
Portrait photography is now almost universally done in color, and most childrens and family photographs are done by mass-
portrait operations such as PCA International, Inc. of Matthews, North Carolina. Shown here in 1982, a visiting PCA
representative photographs the Charles Kolstad family in a Pamida discount store in Iowa. PCA used Agfacolor Type 4 Paper
in the 1970s and early 1980s, and all of the millions of PCA portraits printed on Type 4 paper during that period have now
faded to an unsightly red color regardless of whether they were displayed or kept in the dark.
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tographer and ask for replacements. The better known the
photographer and the longer he or she has been in busi-
ness the more likely it is that disgruntled customers will
return deteriorated prints.
For the Established Professional,
Even a Little Fading Can Hurt a Lot
Perhaps more insidious for the high-quality and expen-
sive professional is the effect of subtle fading and image
yellowing that will result after only comparatively few years
of display. A print can lose some of its brilliance the
smooth, long-scale tonality that distinguishes really good
professional prints made from large-format roll-film nega-
tives from the run-of-the-mill discount store special. The
customer in such cases may not be inspired to come back
to the studio in the future for another expensive and highly
profitable 30x40-inch display print. The image quality lost
in the initial stages of fading of a print on display the
partial loss of highlight detail in a wedding gown or a di-
minished feeling of richness can be so subtle that even
the photographer may not be consciously aware of the
changes in the print unless an unfaded print can be com-
pared side by side. But the drop in the customers per-
ceived value of the photograph can be very real.
Kodak Likes to Think That the
Average Person Is Unconcerned About
Even Substantial Color Print Fading
Kodak has maintained that its studies show that the
average person is unaware of even substantial amounts of
image fading in color prints and therefore professional pho-
tographers should have little cause for concern about print
fading.
16
It should be noted, however, that the Kodak stud-
ies were done without unfaded prints present for compari-
son, and the participants in the studies did not know the
subjects personally and therefore were not familiar with
the original color of a spouses or childs hair, items of
clothing, etc.
What Kodak is actually saying is that it believes that the
general public is not sensitive to what constitutes a top-
quality color photograph and, therefore, it doesnt really
matter whether their prints fade. This is quite an amazing
viewpoint, coming as it does from the worlds largest pho-
tographic manufacturer. Rather than promoting image
quality, Kodak seems to want to convince photographers
and their customers that nobody really cares very
much what their precious color prints look like.
This author would give the average person a lot more
credit than Kodak apparently does. Most people are actu-
ally quite sensitive to print quality, especially when they
can compare prints side by side. When offered something
better, most people quickly recognize it and want it. The
typical home has on display both old and new color prints
often hanging together on a wall or arranged in groups
on a table. The side-by-side comparison is there. The
worse the prints look (whether because of fading or be-
cause the prints were of poor quality to begin with), the
less likely it is that their owner will feel inspired to return
to the studio and pay to have more pictures taken. Every
photographer knows this.
One should recall that earlier Kodak studies showed
that most people were going to be happy with the unsharp
and grainy images produced by the Kodak Disc camera
introduced in 1982; the marketplace proved Kodak wrong
on that score (customer dissatisfaction and rapidly declin-
ing sales as people switched to Japanese 35mm cameras
for their far better image quality led Kodak to abandon the
disc camera in 1988), and it will undoubtedly prove Kodak
wrong on the color fading issue as well.
Kodak has failed to recognize that a color photograph
that can in fact preserve memories forever or at least
for a very long time is a very appealing product, and
something that nearly everyone would like to own. As
Charles Lewis, a professional photographer writing in The
Rangefinder magazine about the color fading problem, said:
Deep down inside, you know that the client expects that
portrait to last forever.
17
Once the general public understands the color print sta-
bility problem and is offered a reasonably priced prod-
uct that will last substantially longer on display than Ekta-
color Portra II Paper or Ektacolor Professional Paper, there
is no doubt what the average person will choose.
In the portrait and wedding market, better image stabil-
ity is simply good business. Kodak doesnt appear to know
that. Instead, the company seems to believe that if it spends
enough money promoting Kodak paper in television, radio,
and print advertising, and keeps suggesting to the public
that its color pictures will last forever, people will keep on
buying prints made with Kodak paper even when better
color papers are being offered by Japanese or German
producers.
Beginning around 1985, trade publications such as Photo
Marketing and Photographic Processing started carrying
full-page ads by Konica, Agfa, and Fuji extolling the im-
proved image stability of their color papers; most Kodak
ads, on the other hand, said little or nothing about the
stability of Ektacolor Paper and instead promoted the Ko-
dak Colorwatch System, a processing quality-control pro-
gram available from Kodak to processing labs that agree to
use Kodak color paper and Kodak chemicals exclusively.
Supported by a multimillion dollar advertising campaign
on TV and in magazines and newspapers, Kodak says the
program is designed to drive customers into photofinish-
ing departments identified as members of the Kodak
Colorwatch system. The program also includes trade ad-
vertising intended to make every retailer aware of the
quality standards you meet.
18
Many people in the photofinishing business say that the
real purpose of the Kodak Colorwatch System is to make
drugstores, portrait studios, minilabs, and other retailers
fear that if they do not offer prints made on heavily adver-
tised Kodak paper, they will lose customers to studios and
processing outlets that do. This in turn is intended to
make processing labs fear that if they do not use Kodak
paper and chemicals, professional photographers and pro-
cessing retailers may change to a lab that does.
Kodaks attitude is reminiscent of that of the Detroit
automakers in the 1960s before Japanese cars began to
take a substantial share of the market from them. At the
time this book went to press in 1992, Kodak was behind
Fuji, Konica, and Agfa in the stability of color prints. And it
was Konica not Kodak that marketed the first of the
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compatible papers introduced in 1992, had by far the best
overall light fading and dark storage stability of any color
negative paper. When displayed, prints made on Fujicolor
SFA3 papers should last more than four times longer
than prints made with Ektacolor Portra II Paper and other
Ektacolor papers.
(Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA Type P, intro-
duced in 1991, is approximately twice as stable on display
as Ektacolor Portra II Paper. Fujicolor Super FA Type P
paper will be replaced with Fujicolor SFA3 Professional
Portrait Paper [tentative name] in 1993.)
When evaluated with this authors image-life criteria
and standard display conditions, the display life of Fujicol-
or SFA3 prints is estimated to be 54 years; the display life
of Ektacolor Portra II prints, on the other hand, is esti-
mated to be only about 12 years. On long-term display, the
retention of critical flesh-tone colors is particularly out-
standing with the Fujicolor SFA3 papers (see Chapter 3).
When stored in the dark, the Fujicolor SFA3 papers have
much better dye stability and far lower rates of brilliance-
robbing yellowish stain formation than Ektacolor Portra II
Paper and other Ektacolor papers.
As a second choice among RA-4 compatible papers, Konica
Color QA Paper Professional Type X2 and Konica QA Pa-
per Type A3 are recommended. Although not the equal of
the Fujicolor SFA3 papers in terms of light fading stability,
the Konica QA papers are better than Ektacolor Portra II
Paper. The best EP-2 compatible papers are Konica Color
PC Paper Professional Type EX and Konica Color PC Pa-
per Type SR. This authors accelerated light fading tests
indicate that these Konica papers are superior to Ekta-
color Professional and Ektacolor Plus papers.
Because of the new magenta dye in the Fujicolor SFA3
papers, they have better color reproduction (especially of
new generation of color papers with enhanced dark stor-
age stability, Konica Color PC Paper Type SR (also adver-
tised as Konica Century Print Paper) in April 1984, months
before Kodaks similar Ektacolor Plus Paper became avail-
able to photofinishers as a replacement for Ektacolor 78
Paper.
It was more than a year later, in the middle of 1985, that
Kodak finally introduced Ektacolor Professional Paper as
a replacement for Ektacolor 74 RC Paper, a product that
since 1977 had been the mainstay of the professional por-
trait and wedding field. Ironically, during that one-year
period, low-cost Kodacolor snapshots from the drugstore
(printed by Kodak on Ektacolor Plus paper) had far better
dark fading stability than the expensive Ektacolor 74 RC
prints sold by the best professional studios!
It was also Konica, not Kodak, that in 1984 introduced
the first stability-enhancing washless stabilizer chemi-
cals and companion minilab for color film and paper; it
took 2 more years before Kodak introduced washless pro-
cessing chemicals. (Kodak entered the minilab market in
1986 with machines manufactured in Japan by Noritsu and
Copal. Sales of these and later Kodak-manufactured mini-
labs were poor, however, and Kodak withdrew from the
minilab market in 1989.)
Fujicolor SFA3 Papers Last Far Longer
Than Any Other Color Negative Paper
Supplying prints on the most light-stable color paper
available is probably the single most important improve-
ment a professional photographer can make in his or her
operation.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, this authors
accelerated tests showed that Fujicolor SFA3 papers, RA-4
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Recommendations
For Professional Portrait
and Wedding Photographers
Choose a lab that uses Fujicolor SFA3 paper. The single
most important thing a professional photographer can do is to
use the color paper with the best light fading stability when
displayed. At the time this book went to press in 1992, Fujicol-
or SFA3 papers, including the low-contrast Fujicolor SFA3
Professional Portrait Paper (tentative name) designed for use
by portrait and wedding photographers that will be introduced
in 1993, had far better light fading stability than any other
color negative paper on the market. Accelerated light fading
tests indicate that, for a given amount of fading, displayed
prints made with Fujicolor SFA3 papers will last more than
four times longer than prints made with Kodak Ektacolor
Portra II or Ektacolor Professional papers. In dark storage, the
dye stability and yellowish stain characteristics of the Fujicolor
SFA3 papers also are far superior to Ektacolor papers. With
their excellent tone and color reproduction, these breakthrough
Fujicolor papers are the primary recommendation for profes-
sional portrait and wedding photography; no other color nega-
tive paper even comes close to the longevity of the Fujicolor
SFA3 papers. Fujicolor SFA3 papers, which are compatible
with the RA-4 process, are also the primary recommendation
for commercial photography and general photofinishing.
Two top-quality professional portrait/wedding labs offering
prints made with Fujicolor papers are: H&H Color Lab, Inc.,
8906 East 67th Street, Raytown, Missouri 64133; telephone:
816-358-6677 (toll-free: 800-821-1305) and LaClaire Laborato-
ries, Inc., 6770 Old 28th Street, S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan
49546; telephone: 616-942-6910 (toll-free: 800-369-6910). For
the names of other labs using Fujicolor papers contact: Fuji
Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., Color Paper Dept., 555 Taxter Road,
Elmsford, New York 10523; telephone: 914-789-8100 (or call
toll-free: 800-526-9030 and ask for Customer Service).
The second longest-lasting color papers are Konica Color
QA Professional Paper Type X2 and its higher-contrast photo-
finishing counterpart, Konica Color QA Paper Type A3. For
labs that have not yet converted to Process RA-4 and are
continuing to use the EP-2 process, Konica Color Professional
Type EX or Konica Color Type SR papers are recommended.
Inform customers about the color fading problem. Tell
customers that Ektacolor, Fujicolor, and similar color prints
gradually fade when exposed to light on display, and explain
to them the need to keep at least one copy of every important
photograph in the dark, in an album or print-storage box. Even
in the dark the prints are not permanent, but protected from
light, they will last much longer than displayed prints. This not
only is a service to your customers that will be appreciated,
but will also generate additional print sales.
Offer UltraStable Permanent Color Prints, Polaroid Per-
manent-Color Prints, or EverColor Pigment Prints as valu-
able heirloom keepsakes, and promote them for upscale dis-
play applications (EverColor is a tentative recommendation).
Offer these permanent color prints as an alternative premium
product to all segments of the portrait, wedding, and family
group market. Regardless of price expectations, customers
should be informed of the availability of permanent color prints
for those special photographs they would like to display and
keep as heirlooms. This can develop into an entirely new and
profitable market segment. High-priced photographers serv-
ing the carriage trade should furnish permanent color prints
exclusively. Permanent color prints should also be used for
portraits of government leaders, corporate presidents and board
members, and cultural figures, and for other color photographs
of historical importance intended for long-term display.
Color negative films: Kodak Vericolor III and Kodak Vericolor
400 professional color negative films are recommended for por-
trait and wedding photography. These films, which in Europe,
Japan, and most other countries are called Kodak Ektacolor
Gold 160 Professional Film and Ektacolor Gold 400 Professional
Film respectively, have better dark storage stability than any
other color negative films designed for portrait and wedding
photography. (At the time this book went to press in 1992,
Vericolor III was not available in a Type L version for tungsten-
illuminated exposures. Kodak Vericolor II Type L has extremely
poor stability and is even less stable than obsolete Vericolor II
Type S film; when a tungsten-balanced color negative film is
required, Fujicolor 160 Professional Film Type L is recommended.)
Fujicolor Reala (ISO 100), Fujicolor HG 400 Professional Film,
and Konica Color Impresa 50 and Konica Color Super SR200
professional films are designed for portrait and wedding photog-
raphy and have comparatively fine grain with excellent pictorial
quality. Although not as stable as Kodak Vericolor III and Veri-
color 400 films, the Fuji and Konica films have fairly good stabil-
ity and are satisfactory alternatives to the Kodak films.
Negatives should be retained indefinitely. If space limita-
tions preclude storage of all negatives, at least keep negatives of
sale prints. Inform customers of your policy on negative reten-
tion. One reason for retaining negatives (aside from the com-
petitive advantage over mass-market operations, which usually
do not keep negatives) is that when improved, more stable print
materials become available (and they most surely will), a pho-
tographer may be able to generate significant business reprint-
ing older negatives for customers. Negatives should be stored
in an air-conditioned room with reasonable relative humidity
(always less than 60%). Ideally, all negatives of value those
from which prints have been sold should be refrigerated
according to the recommendations in Chapter 19. It is espe-
cially important to refrigerate older and less stable Vericolor,
Vericolor II, Ektacolor, Kodacolor-X, and Kodacolor II negatives
in order to prevent further image deterioration. Negatives should
be stored in uncoated polyester (such as DuPont Mylar D) or
uncoated polypropylene top-flap sleeves placed inside of paper
envelopes (see Chapter 14).
It is best not to lacquer prints. None of the currently available
print lacquers can be recommended without reservation. Like-
wise, surface-texturing finishes, such as McDonald Pro-Texture,
should be avoided. If a protective surface coating is needed
(e.g., with large display prints where framing under glass may
not be practical), pressure-sensitive laminating films made by
Coda, Inc. and MACtac Permacolor are recommended by this
author (see Chapter 4). Laminates must be applied after re-
touching and spotting are completed. With the recommended
papers for printing color negatives, no worthwhile benefit is
gained from ultraviolet-filtering lacquers or laminating materials;
likewise, 3M Photogard offers no additional protection against
fading and may in fact cause prints to fade even more rapidly.
If a lacquer must be used: Lacquer-Mat lacquers and the
Sureguard McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote 900-series non-cellulose
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nitrate lacquers introduced in 1992 are recommended (see
Chapter 4, where addresses of suppliers are also given).
With the recommended color papers, no worthwhile benefit
is gained from the use of UV-absorbing lacquers.
Do not emboss, texture, or canvas-mount prints. Prints
should not be pressure-textured or split through the core
for canvas mounting. Either of these operations can cause
emulsion and/or RC base cracking, thereby shortening the
life of a print.
Retouching and spotting: For wet-brush retouching of
color negative print papers, use only Kodak Liquid Re-
touching Colors. For dry (steam-set) application, use only
Kodak Retouching Colors (dry). All other retouching colors
on the market should be avoided since the long-term ef-
fects of these products on color papers are unknown. Re-
touching with colored pencils is not possible without first
applying a matte retouch lacquer to accept the pencil
colors, and therefore this method is not recommended.
Framing techniques: Prints should be framed with an
overmat to avoid direct contact with glass. An aluminum-
foil or polyester-sheet vapor barrier should be placed be-
tween the print (or mount board if the print has been mounted)
and the backing board in a frame. Prints should be framed
under glass (see Chapter 15 for further discussion of fram-
ing). With the recommended color negative print papers,
no worthwhile benefit is gained from UV-filtering materials
such as KSH UV-filtering sheets or Plexiglas UF-3.
Wedding albums: Wedding albums should have pages,
or page inserts, made of uncoated polyester (such as DuPont
Mylar D); acceptable alternatives are albums with open-
frame pages with prints held under page overmats. Prob-
ably satisfactory are albums with pages made of untreated
polypropylene. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and so-called mag-
netic self-stick pages should be strictly avoided, as should
all albums made of cheap paper and other low-quality ma-
terials. If prints have been lacquered, open-frame, over-
matted album pages should be used.
Recommendations for Manufacturers
A high-stability, negative-printing silver dye-bleach print
material (e.g., a more stable, negative-printing version of
Ilford Ilfochrome) is urgently needed. In dark storage such
a material should be essentially permanent, with no fading
or staining occurring in hundreds of years; on display the
prints should be at least several times more stable than
current Fujicolor SFA3 papers. Because top-quality profes-
sional portrait and wedding photographers could clearly
differentiate themselves from cut-rate, mass-portrait opera-
tions by offering such a premium, high-stability product, a
print material of this type would almost instantly find a huge
market in the professional photography field.
A proven-safe print lacquer is needed. A print lacquer
that is harmless to Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, Agfa-
color, and other chromogenic prints, even when the lac-
quer is applied in high-humidity conditions, is urgently needed.
The lacquer itself should be stable and not yellow upon
prolonged exposure to light; the lacquer should be sup-
plied in glossy, semi-gloss, and matte formulations.
pinks, reds, and purples) than any other color negative
paper. (In a practical sense, the color reproduction differ-
ences between current Kodak, Konica, and Agfa papers
are now so small as to be almost undetectable visually.)
Future competition among papers for printing color nega-
tives will focus on three issues: image stability (especially
light fading stability), color reproduction, and price. Ko-
dak is currently at a disadvantage in all three areas.
As shown in Figure 8.1, in recent years Kodak has made
no significant improvements in the light fading stability of
Ektacolor papers. Tests indicate that although the dark
fading stability of Ektacolor Professional and Ektacolor
Plus papers is much improved over Ektacolor 74 RC and
previous Ektacolor RC and fiber-base papers, current Ek-
tacolor Professional, Ektacolor Plus, Ektacolor Portra II,
and Ektacolor Supra papers have light fading stability that
is only slightly better than Ektacolor 37 RC Paper, intro-
duced in 1971 more than 20 years ago!
Photographers should try to keep abreast of current
information in the field. As professional photographers
have more clearly made their needs known, significant com-
petition has developed among Konica, Fuji, Kodak, and
Agfa in terms of improving the stability of their respective
color papers.
Indeed, this authors current recommendation of Fuji-
color papers could change abruptly if Kodak, Konica, or
Agfa were to introduce a substantially improved paper for
the professional market. But for now, offering color prints
on Fujicolor paper can be a definite competitive advantage
over studios that stay with Ektacolor paper because, given
the option, virtually everyone wants their displayed color
prints to last as long as possible.
H&H Color Lab Switches from Ektacolor to
Fujicolor Paper After a Survey of Its Customers
Shows Strong Support for the Change
Some labs may fear a loss of business if Kodak paper is
abandoned for the superior Fujicolor papers. Photogra-
phers may worry that they also could lose business if they
stop offering prints on Kodak paper indeed Kodaks massive
advertising campaigns for Ektacolor paper on TV and in
magazines and newspapers play on that very fear. But
there should be little difficulty in convincing customers
that Japanese papers are better than Ektacolor paper.
Americans have come to expect superior quality in Japa-
nese products, whether they be cameras, consumer elec-
tronics, automobiles, or the many other quality products
that Japan is known for.
H&H Color Lab, a leading professional portrait and wed-
ding lab located near Kansas City in Raytown, Missouri,
19
made the change from Ektacolor paper to Fujicolor paper
in 1991 after making a detailed study of the comparative
merits of each product and conducting a survey of the labs
customers to get their views on the matter.
Despite being convinced that Fujicolor paper was not
only a much longer lasting product than Ektacolor paper,
and that Fujicolor paper also had visibly superior color and
tone reproduction, H&H president Wayne B. Haub was con-
cerned that switching to Fujicolor paper might cause his
photographer customers to lose some business, and that
this in turn could result in a loss of business for his lab.
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is superior to Ektacolor, even if it had the same
display life. The bride and groom picked up the
album on Saturday and with no coaching
from us perceived a significant difference in
the color saturation and contrast between their
wedding pix and our display albums on Ekta-
color. We are now hoping for an early phase-in
of the Super FA paper in all departments of
your lab. Thanks for taking such good care of
your customers (and our clients).
Another H&H customer, Paul McMillian of Van Deusen
Photography in Kansas City, Missouri, said:
23
Since I have been experiencing a problem
with my window display prints fading after
only a couple of months of display exposure
to strong daylight, I was very interested to
hear of the Fuji papers resistance to fading.
Being from the Show Me state, I am truly
one that must see the results for myself! I
displayed a set of test prints in my southern
exposure solarium for several months. No
contest! The Fuji paper is clearly the longer
lasting material, especially when you com-
pare skin tones the Fuji prints retain their
natural look much better.
Commented David Lee of Photography by Lee in Wash-
ington, Illinois:
24
It [Fuji Super FA paper] seems to have ex-
cellent contrast without losing shadow detail.
The color is richer with the Fuji paper. Recent
weddings done at churches where earlier work
looked dark and muddy, now look brighter and
richer . . . a superior product. Im thrilled.
H&H was the first major professional portrait and wed-
ding lab in the U.S. to switch from Ektacolor to Fujicolor
paper. H&H president Wayne B. Haub reports that since
making the change, business has steadily increased and
that the lab has even been forced to temporarily turn away
some new customers to keep the lab from expanding so
fast that service and product quality might be compro-
mised. Haub commented to this author that if he decided
to change back to Ektacolor Portra II Paper, there would
be far more resistance among his customers than he en-
countered in 1991 when H&H made the change to Fujicolor
paper. Haub says that providing his customers and
their clients the best and longest-lasting product is sim-
ply the right thing to do.
Haub, who, along with H&H lab manager Ron Fleckal,
has made print quality and customer service almost an
obsession at the lab, says that the lower cost of Fujicolor
paper has allowed H&H to offer its customers a number of
services that it was unable to provide in the past and still
maintain a competitive price structure.
But, Haub added, if Kodak were to introduce a new Ek-
tacolor paper that had better permanence and image qual-
ity than Fujicolor paper, he would promptly switch back to
Kodak, despite the higher cost of Kodaks products.
If H&H decided to drop Ektacolor paper, Kodak would
prohibit photographers using H&H Color Lab from partici-
pating in Kodaks For the Times of Your Life promo-
tional program, even if the photographer continued to use
Kodak color film.
20
Wrote Haub in a cover letter that ac-
companied the H&H survey:
21
Since the introduction of color into portrait
and wedding photography, Kodak has been the
undisputed leader in the industry and has be-
come synonymous with quality. Therefore, many
times we have not even considered alternatives
and in actuality have limited our choices be-
cause of this mindset. But, in the past decade
technology has progressed in quantum leaps in
all areas, including the science of emulsion
manufacturing. From the results of our find-
ings, we believe that for the first time in our
industry there exists a real choice between chro-
mogenic color paper manufacturers in relation
to quality, price, and permanence.
Accompanying the survey sent to H&H customers was
an information packet describing the longer life of the Fuji-
color prints and a set of matched prints made with both
Ektacolor Portra and Fujicolor professional papers. Of
those that responded to the survey, more than 90% voted
for changing from Ektacolor to the longest-lasting paper
available. According to H&H, an overwhelming majority
were pleased with the extended display permanence of the
Fuji product . . . and felt the time long overdue to address
this important issue. (See Appendix 8.5 on page 298.)
In January 1991, H&H switched most of its color print
production to Fujicolor paper and, according to Haub, the
response among his customers has been very enthusiastic.
In a letter written to H&H, Mac McKinley of Customcraft
Photography in Slidell, Louisiana said:
22
We received a Profit Pack wedding from H&H
last Friday on the new Fujicolor paper. Fan-
tastic color!! We compared the pix with a re-
cent wedding shot in the same church, with the
same lighting, done on Ektacolor by your lab
what a tremendous improvement!! This paper
Wayne B. Haub, president of H&H Color Lab, Inc.
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H&H film technician Darryl Owens with rolls of 220 Veri-
color and Fujicolor color negative films that have been
processed in a Sitte Tischer Divomat MX-24 dip-and-dunk
processor. For protection against scratches, dust, and
fingerprints, all film is sleeved immediately after process-
ing (films remain sleeved during analyzing and proofing).
Prior to proofing and printing, each negative is coded
and carefully video analyzed with the color balance and
density values entered into a networked Digital Equip-
ment Corporation VAX computer system running Kodak
Accudata software. When the negative is proofed and
later printed, the data are used to control printer filtration
and exposure times. Shown here is operator Graciella
Marshall with a Kodak PVAC Video Analyzer. H&H also
uses Bremson Data Systems CVIS digital video analyz-
ers. Proof prints are individually backprinted with the
studio name and date, H&H order number, roll and frame
number, and negative density and color filtration values.
Printer operator Lea Bass printing orders on a Lucht V-7
multi-lens package printer. The daylight printer is loaded
with 575-foot rolls of 10-inch Fujicolor paper. H&H also
has enlarger stations for prints where custom cropping,
dodging, burning, and precise color balance are required.
Printer inspector Sue Cadena and quality assurance man-
ager Rob Newbanks checking Fujicolor prints coming off
a Pako Leader Belt Processor Model 2140 which has
been modified to run the RA-4 process. H&H uses Fuji-
Hunt processing chemicals throughout the lab.
(H&H Color Lab continued on next page)
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Like most large professional labs, H&H uses com-
puters throughout its operation for order track-
ing, printer control, pricing, etc. Shown here is
quality assurance manager Robert Newbanks with
the labs Digital Equipment Corporation VAX central
system. In 1992, the lab began using a high-end
Apple Macintosh computer system with a Kodak
XL 7700 thermal dye transfer printer for restora-
tion of faded and damaged photographs.
Boxes of Fujicolor professional paper. H&H was
the first major professional portrait and wedding
lab in the U.S. to switch from Ektacolor paper to
Fujicolor paper.
Extensive retouching, air brush work, and hand coloring and re-
pair of restoration copies of faded and damaged originals is done
for an hourly charge. Artists Dee Myers and Myrna Gamble work
on large prints in the retouching department. Negatives can also
be retouched to remove blemishes, soften facial wrinkles, etc. As
is the case with most wedding and portrait labs, H&H customers
usually request lacquering on larger-size prints.
Steve Valenzuela, print spotter/inspector at H&H, checking prints
prior to cutting and packaging. All prints from 120/220 negatives
are routinely dust-spotted (retouched to remove small dust spots).
H&H devotes considerable effort to make sure all the prints it
produces have pleasing color balance and density and are free of
dust spots and other imperfections; prints that do not meet H&Hs
standards are remade. Print inspector Chandra Wilper checks
wedding prints prior to packaging and shipping.
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The Fading Problem Started with the
Conversion from Black-and-White to Color
In the mid-1960s, portrait and wedding photographers
began the large-scale conversion from black-and-white to
color photography. The shift to color had greatly acceler-
ated by the beginning of the 1970s, and by 1975 nearly
every studio in the U.S. had changed to color photography.
At the time, few photographers realized that in promoting
color and abandoning fiber-base black-and-white prints
they were also giving up a very long tradition of essen-
tially permanent images. Almost none of their customers
were aware of the fact that the Ektacolor prints they were
buying and displaying would in many cases not survive in
acceptable condition for even 5 years. The extremely stable
silver image of a properly processed fiber-base black-and-
white print was displaced by a very unstable dye image
subject to rapid fading when exposed to light on display
and the color prints gradually faded and yellowed even
when kept in the dark.
Kodak set the stage for the conversion of the portrait
and wedding industry to color when it introduced Ekta-
color color negative sheet film in 1947. At that time Kodak
would not sell color paper on the open market, so users of
the new color negative film had to make prints by the Dye
Transfer process. In order to maintain a monopoly in the
lucrative Kodacolor amateur processing business, Kodak
sold Kodacolor film with processing and printing included
in the price; as a result, it was not necessary nor in
Kodaks interest to sell color printing paper and pro-
cessing chemicals in the retail market.
As a consequence of antitrust action initiated by the
independent photofinishing industry, however, Kodak in
1955 signed a federal court consent decree compelling the
company to start selling Kodacolor film without processing
included, and to make color paper and chemicals commer-
cially available. Kodak Color Print Material, Type C was
introduced in August 1955 (the name was changed to Ko-
dak Ektacolor Paper in May 1958).
In 1963 Ektacolor film, which by then closely resembled
Kodacolor amateur film, was introduced in 120 and 620
rolls to supplement the sheet-film formats and, along with
the establishment of large photofinishing labs such as Meisel
Photographic Corporation of Dallas, Texas, the field rather
quickly evolved into the color portrait and wedding busi-
ness as we know it today.
Even though Ansco had been a leading supplier of black-
and-white films and paper to professional photographers,
and also had supplied some color materials to the portrait
and wedding profession in the form of Ansco color trans-
parency films and Ansco Printon reversal print materials
(both of which the user could process), the company quickly
lost out when Kodak Ektacolor films and papers became
available. The demise of Printon a material noteworthy
for its exceedingly poor light fading stability was no loss
to the field.
Kodaks introduction of Vericolor II film, and the com-
panion C-41 process, in 1972 spelled the end of Anscos
involvement in the professional studio business. The com-
pany (which in its later years went under the GAF name)
dropped out of photography altogether in the mid-1970s,
leaving Kodak with a virtual monopoly in this branch of
photography. Commenting on the introduction of Veri-
color III in 1983, one writer said:
The [wedding and portrait] people market
is predominantly Kodak Vericolor. Kodacolor
barely accounted for 1%. Surveys of big people
labs revealed that the 120 negative market ap-
pears to be holding, with an increase in the 220
long rolls, particularly where labs can offer pro-
cessing without looping. This is a market that
is almost 99 and
44
100 percent pure Kodak. A
few labs reported seeing a slight increase in
Fuji film, but Fuji 120 is primarily sold in small
quantities over-the-counter and does not make
its way to the pro labs.
25
The film picture in the United States remained pretty
much the same at the time this book went to press in 1992;
Vericolor III and Vericolor 400 films were used by the ma-
jority of professional portrait and wedding photographers,
although Fuji was beginning to make serious inroads into
the market with Fujicolor HG 400 Professional Film (often
called Fuji NHG 400 film) and Fujicolor Reala Film.
Kodaks Policy of One Paper for All Needs
and Why Professionals Ended Up with
Poor-Stability Color Papers Designed
for Low-Cost Drugstore Photofinishing
When it was introduced in 1955, Kodak Color Print Ma-
terial, Type C was essentially the same material used by
Kodak in its own photofinishing labs to produce Kodacolor
prints. This marked the start of Kodaks supplying the
professional trade with print materials in which virtually
every aspect of their design was dictated by the price,
processing speed, and other competitive requirements of
amateur snapshot photofinishing a segment of the busi-
ness that consumes far more color paper than professional
portrait and wedding photography.
The number of prints produced by the amateur photo-
finishing industry is awesome. A single large photofinish-
er, Fox Photo, Inc. of San Antonio, Texas, reported in 1986
that its 20 wholesale photofinishing plants daily made more
than 2 million Ektacolor prints. Said Fox, We are proud of
the part we have played in the preservation of the memo-
ries of our nation and its people. (In 1986, Fox Photo,
which has used Kodak paper since its founding in 1905, was
offered for sale and was quickly purchased by Eastman
Kodak for $96 million, apparently to ensure that Kodak
would remain the sole color paper supplier to Foxs photo-
finishing labs. In 1987, Kodak sold the retail division of Fox
back to the previous president of Fox, Carl D. Newton III,
for an undisclosed sum; Kodak retained the wholesale labs
and they are now a part of Qualex, Inc. a joint venture
between Kodak and Fuqua Industries that is 49% owned by
Kodak and 51% owned by Fuqua.)
Kodacolor prints made before 1953 had extremely poor
light fading stability and rather quickly developed severe
yellow-orange stains whether stored in the dark or placed
on display, and Kodak apparently thought that the stability
of this product was inadequate for the professional market.
Dye Transfer has been available since 1946, but the high
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cost and complexity of making Dye Transfer prints kept
the demand for the process very small.
Once the Kodacolor staining problem was solved to
Kodaks satisfaction, and after the 1955 federal court con-
sent decree forced Kodak to make color paper and pro-
cessing chemicals commercially available, Kodak proceeded
to sell Ektacolor paper in portrait and wedding markets.
(Although less severe than it once was, yellowish stain
formation during storage is still a problem with current
Ektacolor Portra II and other Ektacolor papers; it has the
same root cause staining of unreacted color couplers,
principally the magenta dye-forming couplers as the
stain that afflicted the early Kodacolor papers.)
Although there were a number of Ektacolor papers pro-
duced during the 1960s they differed mostly in sensito-
metric characteristics the introduction of Ektacolor 37
RC paper in August 1971 finally solidified Kodaks policy of
having only one negative-positive color paper for all appli-
cations. This continued through the introduction of Ekta-
color 74 RC Paper in April 1977 and remained the general
Kodak policy until the introduction of Ektacolor 78 paper in
1979. Ektacolor 78 paper was somewhat higher in contrast
than Ektacolor 74 RC; however, with respect to image sta-
bility, processing characteristics, etc., the two papers were
identical. (By the time Ektacolor 78 was introduced, it and
virtually all other color papers were on an RC base, and
Kodak no longer felt it necessary to include RC in the prod-
uct name.)
Professional portrait labs for the most part continued to
use Ektacolor 74 RC while gradually, over a period of a few
years, many amateur photofinishers and some commercial
photographers began using Ektacolor 78 paper because its
higher contrast provided more snap and somewhat higher
color saturation. The reasons for this are that small prints
often look better with increased contrast and that low-cost
amateur cameras have lower-quality and often dirty lenses,
both of which tend to reduce the contrast of the color nega-
tive image. On the other hand, high-contrast images tend
to suffer from loss of both highlight and shadow detail and
frequently have a somewhat harsh appearance. During
the early 1980s, Kodak apparently used the two papers
interchangeably in the companys chain of amateur photo-
finishing labs (Kodak Processing Laboratories).
The Differences Between Ektacolor Professional
and Ektacolor Amateur Photofinishing Papers
When Ektacolor 78 paper was replaced by Ektacolor
Plus paper in 1984, Kodak promoted the new paper prima-
rily as an amateur photofinishing product. Ektacolor Pro-
fessional Paper, the replacement for 74 RC paper, followed
about a year later, in June 1985, and this paper is clearly
identified by Kodak as a professional portrait/wedding prod-
uct. Although targeted at different markets, the two Ekta-
color papers have identical stability characteristics (while
much improved in dark storage dye stability compared with
the Ektacolor 78 and 74 RC papers they replaced, the new
Ektacolor papers are only slightly better in terms of light
fading stability).
The only difference between Ektacolor Professional and
Ektacolor Plus papers is their sensitometric properties.
Stated simply, Ektacolor Plus is about 12% higher in con-
trast than Ektacolor Professional Paper. Logically, the
papers could have had the same name, with contrast num-
ber designations to distinguish them, as is the usual prac-
tice with black-and-white papers.
With the introduction of the faster-processing RA-4 pa-
pers, the picture got a little more complex: Ektacolor Edge
paper (formerly Ektacolor 2001 paper) is sold in photofin-
ishing markets, while Ektacolor Portra II paper, a low-
contrast professional product, is supplied for portrait and
wedding photography. Kodak also produces higher-con-
trast Ektacolor Supra (similar in contrast to Ektacolor Plus
paper) and the even higher-contrast Ektacolor Ultra paper
for the commercial lab market. (Basically these three pro-
fessional Ektacolor papers are simply low-, medium-, and
high-contrast versions of the same paper. Were it not for
Kodaks desire to segment the market, the three papers
would have been supplied the same way black-and-white
papers are: with one product name and three contrast grades.)
Ektacolor Portra II, Supra, and Ultra all have Kodak Pro-
fessional Paper printed on the backside. In addition, for
the minilab market, there is Ektacolor Royal II Paper, which
is made with gold-colored backprinting and a somewhat
thicker RC base.
Regardless of what name Kodak has given the papers,
all of the Ektacolor RA-4 papers that were available at the
time this book went to press in 1992 had essentially identi-
cal light fading and dark storage stability characteristics.
Following Kodaks example, other manufacturers have
similar high- and low-contrast versions of their color pa-
pers and have also designated their low-contrast products
as professional papers. Fuji makes Fujicolor Paper Su-
per FA Type 3 and, in 1993, Fuji will introduce low-contrast
Fujicolor SFA3 Professional Portrait Paper (tentative name)
as an improved-stability replacement for Fujicolor Profes-
sional Paper Super FA Type P. Fuji also supplies a higher-
contrast paper called Fujicolor Professional Paper SFA3
Type C for commercial labs, and gold backprinted Fujicol-
or Supreme Paper SFA3 for the minilab market.
Konica markets its products as Konica Color QA Paper
Type A3 and Konica Color QA Paper Professional Type X2.
Agfacolor Type 9 is currently supplied in a single grade
only; the contrast of Type 9 paper falls between that of
Ektacolor Portra II paper and Ektacolor Supra paper.
The Differences Between Process RA-4
and Process EP-2 Compatible Papers
Ektacolor 2001 Paper, the first of the rapid-processing
RA-4 papers, was introduced in 1986 as a replacement for
Ektacolor Plus Paper in the expanding minilab market (RA
stands for rapid access).
The principal difference between the old and new types
of color negative papers is that Ektacolor Edge (originally
Ektacolor 2001), Ektacolor Portra II, Fujicolor SFA3, and
other RA-4 compatible papers use silver chloride as the
light-sensitive silver halide, whereas Ektacolor Plus Pa-
per, Ektacolor Professional Paper, and other process EP-2
compatible papers employ silver bromide. Silver chloride
allows faster processing, particularly in the bleach-fix step.
Dry-to-dry processing times for RA-4 papers can be under
4 minutes less than half the time required for the stan-
dard EP-2 process. For large operations, the significance
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of the decreased processing time is not so much that any
particular print is processed more rapidly, but that twice
the amount of paper can be processed on a machine in a
given amount of time, thereby reducing capital equipment
costs.
Even faster processing times for silver chloride papers
are likely to become common in the future. For example,
Agfa has reported an experimental process with a total
processing time of only 30 seconds!.
Historically, pure silver chloride emulsions were found
primarily in slow-speed black-and-white contact papers;
while it has long been known that silver chloride emulsions
could be processed more rapidly than silver bromide emul-
sions, it was only since the mid-1980s that silver chloride
emulsions were perfected that were both fast enough and
had sufficiently good latent image keeping characteristics
to be suitable for color enlarging papers.
RA-4 papers also do not require that the color developer
contain benzyl alcohol (necessary with the EP-2 process),
and this allows much more rapid mixing of the developer
concentrate with water to make a working solution.
By the end of 1994, RA-4 compatible papers from Kodak,
Fuji, Konica, and Agfa will likely have largely displaced
EP-2 compatible papers.
A 1989 Kodak advertisement for Ektacolor 2001 Paper
described a number of advantages this paper and the RA-4
process offer over the older Ektacolor Plus Paper (and, by
implication, the lower-contrast Ektacolor Professional Pa-
per) and process EP-2:
How many reasons do you need to switch?
Take your pick. There are a lot of good rea-
sons for converting to Ektacolor 2001 paper and
process RA-4.
Like the advantage of processing prints in half
the time required with yesterdays technology.
Not that you have to sacrifice quality for speed.
In fact, with this combination you get even brighter
whites, more brilliant highlights, richer colors,
and unsurpassed image stability.
But the greatest temptation could be new pro-
duction efficiencies. For instance, greater qual-
ity control with increased process stability and
outstanding emulsion uniformity. And consider
the savings with decreased mixing time and re-
plenishment rates.
26
With the introduction of Konica QA Paper Type A in
early 1988, Konica became the second company after Ko-
dak to market an RA-4 compatible paper (QA stands for
quick access). Mitsubishi sells Konica QA paper under
its own label called Mitsubishi Color Paper SA (SA stands
for speed access); the paper is also known as Mitsubishi
Rapid Access Paper.
Agfa introduced its Agfacolor Paper Type 9 later in 1988,
and Fuji began selling Fujicolor Paper Super FA (FA stands
for fast access) in 1989. Agfa, which historically has
offered color papers in only one contrast grade, will in the
future probably follow the practice of its competitors and
market two or more versions (contrast grades) of Agfa-
color paper. (At the time this book went to press in 1992,
Agfa did not yet have a professional color paper.)
The Stability of Current Ektacolor
Papers Is Still Far from Adequate
The design, processing, cost, and image stability of cur-
rent Ektacolor papers are still dictated by the require-
ments of the amateur photofinishing field. Because of in-
creased competition from Fuji, Konica, and Agfa, the con-
straints imposed by the amateur photofinishing market prob-
ably have even more influence on Kodak today than they
did when Kodak Color Print Material, Type C was mar-
keted in 1955. Given this situation, it is not surprising that
the Ektacolor papers which have evolved over the years
have proved so inadequate in terms of image stability. Es-
pecially in terms of light fading stability, current Ektacolor
papers fall far short of the needs of professional photogra-
phers.
Indeed, the typical customer buying an expensive pro-
fessional portrait, or spending more than $1,000 on a set of
wedding photographs, would be quite disillusioned to learn
that the stability of the prints she or he receives is no
better than that of the low-cost Kodalux prints, formerly
known as Kodacolor prints, available at the local drug-
store. (Kodacolor prints were made by Kodak on Ekta-
color paper there has not been a Kodacolor paper for
many years.) Worse still is the knowledge that the exten-
sive retouching, lacquering, texturing, and canvas mount-
ing commonly given professional prints can all further re-
duce the stability of an already inadequate product. Be-
cause 35-cent drugstore Kodalux prints have been spared
these image enhancement treatments, they are almost
certain to be more stable than professional studio prints!
Why Prints Made by Mass-Portrait Operations
Are Likely More Stable Than the Most Expensive
Prints Sold by Well-Known Professionals
Color prints currently supplied by mass-portrait compa-
nies such as PCA International, Inc., CPI Corporation (which
operates studios in Sears Roebuck retail stores), Olan Mills,
Inc. (which has more than 1,100 portrait studios in the U.S.
and Great Britain), American Studios, Inc. (which services
many Wal-Mart discount stores), and Lifetouch, Inc. are
also likely to be more stable than the more expensive prints
sold by traditional studios. These prints are rarely lac-
quered, and retouching, if done at all, never exceeds simple
dust-spotting. Olan Mills, having dropped Ektacolor paper
in 1988, now uses Konica color paper in its labs. (In this
authors long-term light fading tests with critical neutral
gray and flesh-tone colors, Konica EP-2 and RA-4 papers
proved superior to their corresponding Ektacolor papers,
and the Konica papers were also better in dark fading sta-
bility.) CPI Corporation uses both Konica and Fujicolor
papers in its labs.
Even prints produced in minilab-equipped one-hour
portrait studios that are rapidly emerging as competitors
to the serious studio professional are likely to have better
image stability than the far more expensive prints sold by
traditional studios. This is particularly true in the case of
photographers using Konica minilabs because the papers
normally supplied for these minilabs have better light and
dark fading stability than Ektacolor papers.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, most of the
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the Recommendations section on pages 279 and 280 of
this chapter, but the only real solution is the introduction
of new negative-positive color print materials with greatly
improved light fading stability. Todays Ektacolor Profes-
sional and Ektacolor Portra II papers and even the new
Fujicolor SFA3 papers are simply not adequate for the
requirements of professional photography. These papers,
all of which were designed primarily for drugstore photo-
finishing, have never been adequate. At the very least, a
color print material designed for printing color negatives
should be essentially permanent when stored in the dark
at room temperature. This means not only that the image
dyes must not fade over time but also that the prints re-
main completely free of yellowish stain formation so that
whites and delicate highlights retain their original bril-
liance. When exposed to light on display, the material
should be at least ten times more stable than the current
Ektacolor Portra II Paper. Indeed, the light fading stabil-
ity of Ektacolor papers has seen little improvement over
the past 20 years, and it is poor light fading stability that
is the major shortcoming of these products.
The greatest concern for the professional photographer
is to deliver the most stable color prints possible to the
customer. Stable prints reduce the likelihood that a print
will be returned in faded condition by a disgruntled cus-
tomer demanding a free replacement, and, more impor-
tantly, mean that the photographers reputation for top-
quality work will not suffer. Few people who have pur-
chased an expensive portrait or family group photo only to
find that 5 or 10 years later it has lost its vivid colors,
sparkling highlights, and rich, deep shadows will be in-
clined to give the photographer more business. Faded
prints mean loss of repeat business, and this will affect the
serious studio professional far more than the low-cost, anony-
mous mass-portrait operations like PCA International or
the CPI Corporation studios in Sears Roebuck stores.
A More Expensive, High-Stability Color Paper
Will Clearly Differentiate the Serious Studio
Photographer from the Mass-Portrait Operations
For the serious studio photographer, who may sell a
30x40-inch family portrait for $500 or more, the percentage
cost of the color paper to make that portrait is very small.
If the cost of a high-stability color paper were to be even
several times that of Ektacolor paper, the price impact on
the finished print would be minimal (proofing could con-
tinue to be done on Fujicolor, Ektacolor, or other low-cost
paper). Almost anyone spending $500 for a portrait would
be willing, indeed happy, to spend an additional $20 or $25
for a print that they knew would last far longer on display.
Todays more sophisticated consumer looks for quality
and value in everything he or she buys, and is willing to pay
more to get it. Image stability is a key aspect of photo-
graphic quality, and after 10 or 15 years of display in the
customers home, image stability will be the most impor-
tant aspect of quality. The photographers reputation will
rest on it.
It is difficult to think of any other type of product where
the public is offered but a single quality level. There are
inexpensive, utilitarian cars like the Ford Escort and the
General Motors Geo; a wide variety of cars are available in
high-quality people labs supplying the professional wed-
ding and portrait business were still using Kodak papers
exclusively, and this too has become a disadvantage to the
professional photographer.
Kodaks R&D Efforts Have Been Stymied
by the Companys Fear of the Stability Issue
After discussing Kodaks single-color-paper-for-all-needs
policy with Kodak officials and many others in the photo-
graphic industry, it has become quite obvious how this
unfortunate state of affairs came about. To date Fuji, Konica,
and Agfa have followed Kodaks example, and none offers a
premium, high-stability color paper for professional needs.
The problem actually began more than 50 years ago,
with the introduction in 1935 of Kodaks first successful
color film, Kodachrome film. For the next 45 years, Kodak
kept a tight cloak of secrecy on the stability characteristics
of all of its color products.
In the early 1940s, when Kodacolor was displacing black-
and-white films in the amateur field, and later, when Ekta-
color was doing the same in the portrait and wedding busi-
ness, Kodak was loath to reveal information about color
stability out of fear that to do so would discourage custom-
ers from switching to the more expensive and profitable
color materials. Later, when Ektacolor paper was firmly
established in both amateur and professional markets, Ko-
dak did not want to say anything that would give customers
in either market reason to question the quality of the prod-
uct. In spite of the fact that the portrait and wedding
markets are big business, by far the largest market for
Ektacolor paper is amateur photofinishing.
The way the situation evolved, it would do the company
no good to produce a premium, high-stability print mate-
rial because Kodaks policy of keeping stability data secret
would effectively prevent advertising the stability advan-
tages of such an improved material. Because a more stable
print material would be more expensive and/or more diffi-
cult to process than existing Ektacolor paper, Kodak would
be unable to justify the existence of the product if it could
not talk about its major virtue: improved stability. And it
would be difficult to discuss the stability of one product
without talking about them all.
By 1986 it was evident that research and development at
Kodak was falling behind both Konica and Fuji in terms of
color paper image stability, and with the 1989 introduction
of Fujicolor Paper Super FA, Kodak had clearly lost its
long-standing leadership position to Fuji. Kodak fell even
further behind when Fuji introduced the Fujicolor SFA3
papers in 1992. Kodak has lost the lead not only with pa-
pers for printing color negatives but also with process R-3
papers for printing transparencies: both Fujichrome Type
34 paper, introduced in 1986, and Fujichrome Type 35 pa-
per, introduced in 1992, have much better light fading and
dark storage stability than Kodaks Ektachrome Radiance
and Radiance Select papers, which were introduced in 1991.
A Premium-Quality, High-Stability
Color Paper is Urgently Needed
A number of things can be done to improve the situation
for wedding and portrait photographers, as suggested in
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the middle price range; and those who want the best pur-
chase a Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar, Cadillac,
Lincoln, or other top-of-the-line vehicle. There are expen-
sive refrigerators and cheap ones. Shoes and clothing come
in all price and quality levels. Kodak and the other manu-
facturers have premium-quality, fiber-base black-and-white
papers to complement their less expensive and less stable
RC papers, and there is no reason why color photography
should not offer a range of price/permanence options.
The availability of a premium, high-stability paper would
in the eyes of the public clearly differentiate the serious
professional from the mass-market portrait operation. Mass-
market companies likely could not afford a significantly
more expensive color paper: the low prices paid for their
prints, coupled with the large numbers of package prints
that are made on speculation but never picked up by cus-
tomers, make their costs for color paper a comparatively
large percentage of their operating expenses.
By not supplying the portrait and wedding business with
a special, premium-quality, and high-stability color print
paper, Kodak and the other manufacturers have done a
major disservice to the photography profession and to
the general public.
Notwithstanding the headline used by Kodak in a series
of magazine and newspaper advertisements that began run-
ning in 1988 and was continuing in 1992, A Professional
Portrait Isnt Expensive. Its Priceless, Kodak is saying
to professional photographers and to their customers
that expensive professional color photographs deserve noth-
ing better than the Ektacolor paper used to make the lowly
35-cent drugstore Kodalux (Kodacolor) print.
Ilford Ilfochrome and Kodak Dye Transfer
Are Not the Answer to the Fading Problem
Nearly all professional portraits and wedding photo-
graphs are made with color negative films because of their
superior tone reproduction (the ability to retain both high-
light and shadow detail) and their very pleasing flesh-tone
reproduction. Prints made from color negatives usually
have better overall color quality with lower, more pleasing,
contrast than prints made from color transparencies.
Negative films also have far wider exposure latitude
than transparency films, and prints made from color nega-
tives are much easier to retouch (scratches and dust spots
print lighter than the image) than are color prints made
from transparencies, where dust and other defects print
darker than the image. These and other advantages of the
color negative-positive system in the portrait and wedding
field effectively rule out such alternatives as silver dye-
bleach Ilford Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome prints,
196391), which must be made from transparencies. Mak-
ing an interpositive from an original negative and then
making an Ilfochrome print from the interpositive not only
is expensive but usually gives unsatisfactory results.
Using presently available equipment, it is of course pos-
sible to digitize color negatives with a high-resolution scanner
and, using electronic reversal to achieve a positive image,
output the images on current Ilfochrome silver dye-bleach
paper. To make prints from color negatives in this manner
would add significant cost to their production and, in any
event, the light fading stability of Ilfochrome prints is not
as good as that of Fujicolor SFA3 paper.
Kodak Dye Transfer prints also are inferior to Fujicolor
SFA3 prints in terms of light fading stability, and this,
coupled with the high cost of Dye Transfer prints, makes
them ill-suited for most wedding and portrait applications.
At present, this leaves only the chromogenic print pa-
pers such as Fujicolor, Ektacolor, and similar papers made
by Konica and Agfa for printing portraits and wedding pho-
tographs from color negatives.
A Silver Dye-Bleach Color Negative Print
Process Offers the Best Hope for a Reasonably
Priced, High-Stability Color Paper
This author believes that a negative-printing silver dye-
bleach paper, similar in concept to Ilford Ilfochrome (called
Cibachrome, 19631991) except that prints are made from
color negatives instead of transparencies, offers the best
hope for producing premium-quality, reasonably priced,
and easily processed color prints with a substantial in-
crease in light fading stability. Ideally, one would want the
light fading stability of such an improved paper to be at
least ten times better than that of Ektacolor Portra II and
other Ektacolor papers and this means that the new
paper would also have to be much more stable on display
than Fujicolor SFA3 paper or Ilfochrome materials.
A major advantage of a negative-printing silver dye-
bleach paper is that, when made with a polyester base
instead of a less stable and lower cost RC base, it would be
genuinely permanent when kept in albums or elsewhere in
the dark; in normal room-temperature storage, the prints
probably would last for more than 500 years without fading
and would remain totally free of the yellowish stain that
plagues Ektacolor prints in long-term storage.
The technology to produce a negative-printing silver
dye-bleach paper has been available for some time: Ciba-
Geigy actually demonstrated such a product (called Cibacolor
paper) in 1963. In one of the most unfortunate marketing
blunders in the entire 150-year history of photography, Ciba-
Geigy was unable to recognize the importance of what its
scientists had created, and the companys management
decided not to commercialize the process.
In 1989 Ciba-Geigy, a huge Swiss pharmaceutical and
chemical firm with operations all over the world, sold its
Ilford photographic division (with its line of Ilfochrome
products) to the International Paper Company, headquar-
tered in Purchase, New York. There is now real hope that
Ilford, under its new American owner, will do what Ilfords
previous owners failed to do and will develop an improved,
more stable, negative-printing version of Ilfochrome. Ac-
cording to Robert Fletcher, former president of Ilford Photo
Corporation, We are looking at how this might be accom-
plished, but it is much too early to say when such a product
might actually become available.
27
Although currently having no silver dye-bleach prod-
ucts, Agfa-Gevaert is another company with considerable
expertise in this technology. Judging from the outstanding
light fading stability of Agfachrome CU-410, a silver dye-
bleach paper produced by Agfa in the early 1970s, an Agfa
negative-printing silver dye-bleach product could be truly
outstanding. The light fading stability of the Agfa product
was considerably better than that of current Ilfochrome
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materials (see Chapter 3.)
In 1982, at a conference of the Society of Photographic
Scientists and Engineers held in Rochester, New York,
Fuji of Japan gave a presentation on a new technology for
negative-printing silver dye-bleach papers
28
and even showed
a few color prints made by the process. Rumors about the
process have surfaced from time to time, but nothing offi-
cial has been heard from Fuji since the 1982 conference.
At one time even Eastman Kodak had a silver dye-bleach
print material. Known as Azochrome, the material and
associated processing chemistry were produced on a lim-
ited scale in the early 1940s. The Azochrome process,
which was designed for making prints from color transpar-
encies, was never actually marketed and Kodak abandoned
silver dye-bleach technology in favor of the vastly inferior
but less expensive and easier to process Kodacolor nega-
tive paper the forerunner of todays Ektacolor paper. A
number of beautiful Azochrome prints are in the collection
of the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
When a high-stability silver dye-bleach material for print-
ing color negatives becomes available, a new era will begin
for professional portrait and wedding photographers. Not
only will they finally be able to offer their customers prints
that look better than the low-cost Ektacolor prints sup-
plied by their low-cost discount store competitors, but the
silver dye-bleach prints will also be absolutely permanent
when stored in the dark in albums and will last far longer
than Ektacolor prints when displayed.
Most likely, proof prints will continue to be made with
Ektacolor, Fujicolor, or similar inexpensive papers; only
the enlargements ordered by customers would be printed
on the premium-quality and longer-lasting silver dye-bleach
material. The higher cost of the silver dye-bleach prints,
while probably having relatively little impact on the prices
asked of customers by top-quality professionals, will prove
to be a significant competitive advantage because the print
materials and processing will be too expensive for mass-
portrait operations to make available in their low-cost print
packages.
At some point in the future, an improved electrophoto-
graphic, ink jet, thermal dye transfer, or other direct digi-
tal process may offer a more cost-effective, high-stability
alternative to a negative-printing silver dye-bleach mate-
rial. But for now, all of these digital print processes fall
short of what is needed in one or more of the following
areas: color stability, pictorial image quality, speed of print
production, print-size limitations, and cost.
UltraStable Permanent Color Prints, Polaroid
Permanent-Color Prints, and EverColor Pigment
Prints: Premium Products for Upscale Markets
For premium-priced display applications, where the very
best quality and truly permanent display prints are desired
(and cost is a secondary consideration), UltraStable Per-
manent Color Prints, Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints, and
EverColor Pigment Prints are the only choices available.
Unlike Fujicolor, Ektacolor, Ilfochrome, Kodak Dye Trans-
fer, and other color prints that form images with organic
dyes, permanent color prints employ extremely stable pig-
ments that, for all practical purposes, do not fade. The
pigments are similar to those used in automobile enamels
and other exterior paints.
According to estimates from this authors accelerated
light fading tests, UltraStable Permanent Color prints (made
with the improved yellow pigment to be introduced in early
1993) and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints are expected to
last more than 500 years without perceptible fading or staining
when displayed under normal indoor conditions.
These are the most permanent high-quality color prints
in the 150-year history of photography on display, they
are far more stable than Ilfochrome or any other silver
dye-bleach print material that has ever been produced.
The prints should last at least as long and quite possibly
longer than the best archivally processed and toned
fiber-base black-and-white prints. In short, UltraStable
Permanent Color prints and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints
are absolutely in a class by themselves!
Permanent color prints can be made from original Fuji-
color, Ektacolor, or other prints, or from color transparen-
cies. Most commonly, photographers will supply the lab
with a finished Ektacolor print (that has been carefully
printed, spotted, and retouched), and a facsimile pigment
print will be made from this original. Special high-resolu-
tion, laser-scanned color separations are employed in the
production of the prints (the complete process, which is
fairly complicated, is described in Chapter 1).
The materials and technology for producing these visu-
ally outstanding prints were originally developed by Charles
Berger, a fine art photographer and inventor working in
Ben Lomond, California. Berger and his associates (at the
time operating as the ArchivalColor Company) licensed
the process to the Polaroid Corporation in 1986, and Pola-
roid began supplying the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black
pigment-coated sheets used to form the color image to-
gether with the white opaque polyester base material and
basic printmaking instructions in 1989. (Polaroid is acting
only as a supplier of Permanent-Color materials; the com-
pany does not offer a printmaking service. At the time this
book went to press in 1992, only Ataraxia Studio, Inc., lo-
cated in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, was utilizing the Pola-
roid-manufactured materials.)
Because of Polaroids reluctance to continue research
and development work on the process, Berger set up his
own company, UltraStable Color Systems, Inc., in partner-
ship with Richard N. Kauffman, to continue research on
the color pigment process. Sold under the UltraStable
Permanent Color name, Bergers new materials offer im-
proved color and tone reproduction, faster and easier print
production, and elimination of toxic chemicals from the
process. UltraStable materials were introduced on a lim-
ited scale in 199192; with an improved stability yellow
pigment, full availability of the materials was scheduled
for early 1993.
EverColor Pigment Prints, supplied by the EverColor
Corporation in El Dorado Hills, California, are made with a
high-stability modification of the AgfaProof graphic arts
proofing system. EverColor plans to introduce the high-
resolution, polyester-base prints in early 1993. At the time
this book went to press in 1992, this author had not had the
opportunity to test the stability of the prints, but informa-
tion supplied to this author about the structure of the prints
and the pigments employed to form the color image sug-
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LaClaire Laboratories, Inc., a top-quality processing lab in Grand Rapids, Michigan catering to wedding and portrait
photographers nationwide, planned to offer UltraStable Permanent Color prints in 1993 as a much longer-lasting alternative
to the Kodak Dye Transfer prints that the lab has supplied for many years (see Note No. 29 on page 292). In 1991, LaClaire
Laboratories switched from Kodak Ektacolor papers to Fujicolor papers because of the better image stability of the Fuji
products. According to lab manager Bob Steenwyk, As a lab, we have an ethical responsibility to offer our customers the
longest-lasting prints we can. Shown here with a large family portrait printed on Fujicolor SFA3 paper are Steenwyk and
lab technician Jim Nieboer.
gests that the stability of the prints will be very good. (Light
fading and dark storage tests will be started as soon as
production samples of EverColor prints become available.)
manent-Color Prints initially will be quite expensive $850
or more for the first copy of a 20x24-inch print.
30
Subse-
quent copies of a print cost much less. (While still expen-
sive, EverColor Pigment Prints are not expected to cost as
much). But even when the photographers fees are added
to the cost of the prints, possibilities will be good for sales
in the upscale portrait, family group, wedding, executive
boardroom portrait, fine art, and photo-decor markets.
Permanent color prints will have great appeal to families
and individuals as heirlooms that can be displayed and
handed down for generation after generation.
Such prints are expected to be widely used for portraits
of presidents, heads of state and other politicians, and en-
tertainment celebrities anyone of historical note. Labs
planning to offer permanent color prints are listed in the
Suppliers section on page 293.
With future development, the cost of making perma-
nent, pigment color prints should decrease significantly,
thereby expanding the potential market to a much larger
segment of the population.
Lifetime Warranties for Color Prints
Burrell Colour, Inc., a professional color lab in Crown
Point, Indiana with associated labs located in at least seven
other states, is one lab that guarantees a free reprint for
any color print that fails to last 100 years, whether dis-
played or not.
31
Burrell, which has used Ektacolor paper
exclusively, began offering the guarantee to customers in
1986 even though, according to owner Donald J. Burrell,
all of our competitors think we are out of our minds
they think a lot of prints are going to be coming back.
32
Burrell says that we are banking on the idea that people
wont put a print in bright light in front of a window and
that if a print is hung in your living room, for example, we
feel that most living rooms will be remodeled or redeco-
rated within 7 to 10 years and during that time period the
photograph will fade so slowly that you wouldnt even no-
tice it. After that time period the person will take the
photograph off the wall and put it into a drawer to save it
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for history. Being in a dark area, it will last that long [100
years] and we dont see it as a problem. We took our lead
from Kodak that the prints would last 100 years when we
came out with that announcement.
Burrell knows that prints left on display for maybe 20
years will fade, but if they do, send us the negative and
we will reprint it at no charge. Arguing that the photog-
rapher has to give his customer some type of insurance
that somebody is going to stand behind a product that cost
$200, or $300, or $400, or even $1,000, Burrell said that this
is a form of advertising and should be seen as a satisfac-
tion guarantee rather than an assurance that every print
will actually last 100 years. Some years earlier Burrell
offered a free-replacement guarantee for any print that
failed to last 5 years,
33
and the effectiveness of that promo-
tion encouraged him to expand the warranty when Ekta-
color Professional Paper became available.
Burrell Colour requires that returned prints be accom-
panied by the original negative and a copy of the Burrell
invoice (Burrell suggests that the customer tape the in-
voice to the back of the framed print to aid in identifying
the photograph). Photographs must be cared for prop-
erly and not be physically damaged. Burrell has not specified
how much fading qualifies a print for free replacement,
saying that this is left up to the customer. As part of the
guarantee, Burrell will also spot, lacquer, and mount the
replacement print in the same manner as the original, at
no additional charge.
Most processing labs have been very cautious about
print-life warranties, however. They fear that eventually
they could be deluged with demands for free reprints. Meisel
Photographic Corporation of Dallas, Texas, a large lab serving
the commercial, portrait, and wedding markets, at one time
offered an all-inclusive free-replacement guarantee for faded
color prints. But after Bank Langmore, a professional pho-
tographer working out of San Antonio, Texas, asked Meisel
to replace a large number of faded prints that he had sold
some years earlier to the Minolta Corporation for display
in the companys New Jersey headquarters, Meisel aban-
doned the free-replacement guarantee. According to
Langmore, Meisel initially balked at honoring its guaran-
tee for his prints (many of the prints were large and expen-
sive), but he and Meisel eventually reached what Langmore
called a satisfactory settlement. Apparently sobered by
that experience, in 1982 Meisel instituted a much more
limited guarantee:
Meisel will reprint at one-half the current price
any print five years old or less that has faded
severely, even if improperly displayed. Prints over
five years old will be reprinted at full charge.
34
This author believes that lifetime or 100-year color
print warranties are not a legitimate form of product pro-
motion unless customers are clearly informed that these
are guarantees of satisfaction and are not misled into thinking
that displayed color prints will in fact remain in good con-
dition for 100 years. With the exceptions of UltraStable
Permanent Color Prints, Polaroid Permanent-Color Prints,
and EverColor Pigment Prints, they will not.
The customer must also be informed that if the photog-
rapher goes out of business, the studio changes hands, or
the lab goes out of business or changes ownership, the
guarantee probably will be worthless.
Offering a 100-year warranty does have some positive
aspects: it likely will make a lab much more conscious of
the stability characteristics of the color papers it uses,
more careful with processing, spotting, and lacquering, and
more receptive to color papers offering improved stability
when they become available. A lab offering a 100-year free-
replacement warranty is assuming a significant amount of
liability (with current Ektacolor Portra II Paper, for ex-
ample, virtually all prints that are displayed for a life-
time will end up severely faded), and this can only help
increase the concern for product quality and product sta-
bility by both the lab and the photographer. A Burrell
Colour promotional brochure describing the guarantee said:
The logistics of the Guaranteed for a Lifetime Program
are relatively simple but the concept is far reaching. Our
part is a total commitment to maintain utmost quality in
our products. . . . (It is worth noting, however, that at the
time this book went to press in late 1992, Burrell, a long-
time Kodak customer, was using Ektacolor Portra II Paper
instead of one of the much longer-lasting Fujicolor papers.)
A photographer offering a lifetime free-replacement
warranty has a real incentive to retain and properly care
for negatives and invoices and this too is a positive
aspect of the concept. Print fading aside, organized nega-
tive files also offer the potential of selling new prints to old
clients when color materials with improved light fading
stability become available in the future. Mass-portrait op-
erations normally do not retain negatives for any length of
time, and this fact can be turned into a competitive advan-
tage for the established studio professional.
1. Mrs. Sharla M. Stanclift, letter to the Office of Consumer Protection,
Wisconsin Department of Justice, Madison, Wisconsin, May 16, 1980.
This was one of a number of complaints about faded prints made on
Ektacolor RC papers during the period 19691976 that was sent to
the Office of Consumer Protection by customers of Fehrenbach
Studios and other professional photographers in Wisconsin.
2. Nadine Brozan, Natural Disaster: Hidden Legacy of Pain, The New
York Times, June 27, 1983.
3. See, for example: Ellen Ruppel Shell, Memories That Lose Their
Color, Science 84, Vol. 5, No. 7, September 1984, pp. 4047; John
Rumsey, Faded Photos May Cloud Kodak Future, Times-Union
(Rochester, New York), February 29, 1980, p. 1; Richard Whitmire,
When Pictures Dont Last Forever Kodak Goes to Great Lengths to
Head Off Suit Over Fading Prints, and companion article: Kodaks
Ads Make Fewer Promises, Times-Union, November 14, 1980, p. 1;
Allen Mundth, Photographers Challenge Kodak Ads, Wisconsin
State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin), Section 4, July 7, 1980; David
Trend, Kodak and the Pros When Memories Get Returned, After-
image (Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York), Vol. 8, No.
6, January 1981; Stephen R. Milanowski, Notes on the Stability of
Color Materials, Exposure, Vol. 20, No. 3, Fall 1982, pp. 3851.
4. Max E. Brown and Corinne R. Brown and Flaire Color Photography
Incorporated (Plaintiffs) vs. American Professional Color Corpora-
tion and Eastman Kodak Company (Defendants), Case No. 54126,
filed August 1976 in the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County.
A transcript of the court proceedings may be obtained from: Iowa
District Court for Black Hawk County, Clerk of Court, 316 East 5th
Street, Waterloo, Iowa 50703; telephone: 319-291-2482. See also:
Bernice Fehrenbach and Robert J. Fehrenbach, d/b/a Fehrenbach
Studios, Inc. and Robert Germann, d/b/a/ Germann Photographs
(Plaintiffs) vs. Eastman Kodak Company (Defendant), Case No. 82-
C-185, filed in 1982 in the United States District Court for the West-
ern District of Wisconsin. A transcript of the court proceedings may
be obtained from: United States District Court, Clerk of Court, P.O.
Box 432, Madison, Wisconsin 53701; telephone: 608-264-5156.
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5. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Studio Light (Centennial Issue),
No. 2, 1980, p. 1; from Foreword, by William A. Sawyer, Jr., vice
president and general manager, Professional and Finishing Markets,
Eastman Kodak Company.
6. Zavell N. Smith, telephone discussion with this author, November
19, 1980, and interview with this author in San Antonio, Texas, March
25, 1981.
7. Mark E. Smith, assistant attorney general, Wisconsin Department of
Justice, letter to Robert Locker III, Eastman Kodak Company, July
17, 1980.
8. Robert F. OConnor, Eastman Kodak Company legal department,
letter to Mitchell Paul, an attorney with the Division of Advertising
Practices, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C., August 1,
1980.
9. Eastman Kodak Company, Magic., brochure in the For the Times of
Your Life promotional campaign, Kodak Pub. No. P3-703, 1986.
10. Eastman Kodak Company, How to Advertise and Promote Your
Studio For the Times of Your Life Professional Photogra-
phy Promotion Guide Book, Kodak Publication No. P3-708, Janu-
ary 1986.
11. Eastman Kodak Company, Expressions., For the Times of Your
Life promotional brochure, Kodak Publication No. P3-705, 1986.
12. Eastman Kodak Company, The Times, Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, 1988,
Kodak Publication No. P3-84A, p. 1.
13. Peter M. Palermo, vice president and general manager, Consumer
Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company, Photography 1888
1988, A Century of Value Helps Create Priceless Memories,
Eastman Kodak Press Release No. NS988798EXP, September 1988.
14. Charley Wise Photography, individually, and on behalf of all others
similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. Agfa-Gevaert, Inc., Defendant. Case
No. PCA 85-4223-RV, United States District Court, Northern District
of Florida, Pensacola Division, filed June 3, 1985. A transcript of the
court proceedings may be obtained from: United Stated District
Court, Clerk of Court, Rm. 129, 100 N. Talafox Street, Pensacola,
Florida 32501; telephone: 904-433-2107. A year before the filing of
the class-action suit against Agfa-Gevaert, James Nall of M&A Stu-
dios, Mobile, Alabama, had threatened to take legal action against
Agfa because of damages he allegedly suffered from his use of
Agfacolor Type 4 Paper. Nall had purchased $54,000 worth of Type
4 paper during 19781981, and by 1985, according to Nall, every
single picture had turned pink. Nall sought $162,000 in damages;
the case was quickly settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
15. Dave Withington, A Review of the Testing Methodology for Evaluat-
ing Portrait Image Stability, presentation at the 38th Annual Confer-
ence of the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE),
Atlantic City, New Jersey, May 15, 1985.
16. Donald A. Koop, A Relation Between Fading and Perceived Quality
of Color Prints, Second International Symposium: The Stability
and Preservation of Photographic Images, Ottawa, Ontario, Au-
gust 2528, 1985, (Printing of Transcript Summaries), pp. 335349.
Available from The Society for Imaging Science and Technology
(IS&T), 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151.
17. Charles J. Lewis, Preserve Priceless Negatives, (Studio Manage-
ment Series), The Rangefinder, Vol. 33, No. 9, Sept. 1984, p. 55.
18. Eastman Kodak Company, Develop a Brighter Profit Picture with
the New Kodak Colorwatch System, advertisement on the back
cover of Photographic Processing, Vol. 20, No. 9, September
1985. The Kodak Colorwatch System was originally announced by
Kodak in mid-1985 under the name of The Kodak Masterprint Sys-
tem. Soon after the announcement, the name was changed to
avoid possible legal action against Kodak by photofinishers already
using the Masterprint name.
19. H&H Color Lab, Inc., 8906 East 67th Street, Raytown, Missouri 64133;
telephone: 816-358-6677 (toll-free: 800-821-1305); Fax: 816-356-7950.
20. During 1991 and 1992, Terry J. Deglau, Coordinator, Portrait and
Wedding Photography, U.S. Marketing Operations, Professional Pho-
tography Division, Eastman Kodak Company, sent letters to many of
H&Hs customers, which said in part (from a letter dated June 17,
1991):
Consumers expect member studios of For the Times of Your
Life to use Kodak professional products in producing their profes-
sional portraits. Unfortunately, however, our records indicate that
your primary professional lab does not use enough Kodak profes-
sional products to be routinely providing your studio with finished
packages made with these products.
If you would like to remain a member of the For the Times of
Your Life program, you have two options:
Request that your professional lab use Kodak professional papers
and chemicals for your orders.
Switch to a lab that will qualify your continued membership in the
For the Times of Your Life program.
Once you have decided how you wish to proceed, please forward
a letter detailing your decision to For the Times of Your Life, East-
man Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New York 14650-
0412. We will quickly review your input and respond in a timely
manner.
Kodak took the position that even if a photographer was using
Kodak Vericolor professional films exclusively for his or her work,
that was not sufficient to continue membership in the For the Times
of Your Life program. In part because of this stance, increasing
numbers of H&Hs customers have switched to Fujicolor profes-
sional films and stopped using Kodak products altogether.
At one point, after Kodak learned that H&H was considering changing
to Fujicolor paper, David P. Biehn, vice president and general man-
ager of Kodaks Professional Imaging Division, visited H&H presi-
dent Wayne Haub and lab manager Ron Fleckal to try to dissuade
them from making the switch. According to Haub, Biehn did not
dispute the claim that Fujicolor paper had much better light fading
stability than Ektacolor paper, but he nevertheless told Haub and
Fleckal that H&H would lose business if the lab dropped Kodak
paper. Responding to an invitation from Biehn, Haub later visited
Kodak in Rochester, New York for further discussions on the matter.
H&H was the first professional portrait and wedding lab in the U.S. to
switch from Ektacolor to Fujicolor paper.
21. Letter and survey from H&H Color Lab, Inc. president Wayne Haub
to H&H customers, dated September 26, 1990.
22. H&H Color Lab, Inc. Customer Testimonials, excerpts of letters
sent to H&H by its customers concerning their reaction to prints
made with Fujicolor paper, 1990.
23. H&H Color Lab, Inc., see Note No. 22.
24. H&H Color Lab, Inc., see Note No. 22.
25. Elizabeth Cunningham, Product Improvements; New Items; New
Film Speeds, Photographic Processing, Vol. 18, No. 1, January
1983, p. 35.
26. Eastman Kodak Company, How Many Reasons Do You Need To
Switch?, advertisement in Photographic Processing, Vol. 24, No.
1, January 1989, back cover.
27. Robert Fletcher, former president, Ilford Photo Corporation, Paramus,
New Jersey, telephone discussion with this author, March 7, 1989.
28. Koichi Nakamura, Silver Catalyzed Dye Reduction and Its Applica-
tion as an Imaging Process, presentation at the 35th Annual Con-
ference of the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engi-
neers, Rochester, New York, May 12, 1982.
29. LaClaire Laboratories, Inc., 6770 Old Twenty-Eighth Street, S.E.,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506; telephone: 616-942-6910 (toll-free:
800-369-6910). In 1993, LaClaire Laboratories plans to introduce
UltraStable Permanent Color prints for clients who want a longer-
lasting alternative to the Kodak Dye Transfer prints that have been
produced by LaClaire for many years. See: David B. LaClaire,
Marketing UltraStable Portrait Prints, Professional Photographer,
Vol. 119, No. 2159, April 1992, p. 36. See also: John Durniak, Color
Almost Too Good to Be True, The New York Times, December 6,
1992, p. Y27. See also: Mark Wilson, A Color Process That Wont
Fade Away, The Boston Globe, May 17, 1992.
30. At the time this book went to press in 1992, only two labs furnishing
UltraStable Permanent Color prints had established prices for the
prints. Color Prints by Nordstrom: $350 for 8x10-inch prints; $450
for 11x14; $675 for 16x20; $850 for 20x24; $1,400 for 24x36 (addi-
tional prints from the same image are discounted 50% or more,
depending on quantity). See: William Nordstrom, In Search of
Permanence: 500-Year-Life UltraStable Color Photographs, Pro-
fessional Photographer, Vol. 119, No. 2159, April 1992, pp. 3436.
Ken Lieberman Laboratories, Inc.: $1,200 for 16x20; $1,400 for 20x24;
and $2,200 for 24x36 (additional prints from the same image are
discounted 50% or more, depending on quantity). See the Suppli-
ers list on page 293 for the addresses of these labs and other
suppliers of UltraStable Permanent Color prints and Polaroid Perma-
nent-Color prints.
In 1993, the EverColor Corporation, a company founded by Will-
iam Nordstrom and Richard H. Carter, plans to sell EverColor Pig-
ment Prints for $150 for 8x10 and $325 for 16x20, with additional
prints from the same image available at a substantial discount.
31. Burrell Colour, Inc., Lifetime Guaranteed Colour Prints Only from
Burrell Colour, advertisement in The Professional Photographer,
Vol. 113, No. 2092, September 1986, p. 53.
32. Donald J. Burrell, president, Burrell Colour, Inc., telephone discus-
sion with this author, December 5, 1986.
33. Burrell Colour, Inc., Are Your Color Prints Guaranteed If Not, What
Will You Do?, advertisement in Studio Photography, Vol. 18, No.
8, August 1982.
34. George K. Conant III, president, Meisel Photographic Corporation,
letter to this author, September 7, 1982.
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Suppliers
Suppliers of Color Print Materials
Agfa Corporation
Professional Products Division
100 Challenger Road
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 07660
Telephone: 201-440-2500
Eastman Kodak Company
Professional Photography Division
343 State Street
Rochester, New York 14650
Telephone: 716-724-4000
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc.
Color Paper Department
555 Taxter Road
Elmsford, New York 10523
Telephone: 914-789-8100
Toll-free: 800-345-6385
Konica U.S.A., Inc.
Professional Products Group
440 Sylvan Avenue
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07623
Telephone: 201-568-3100
Polaroid Corporation
Attn: Mr. Dave Morreale
100 Duchaine Blvd.
New Bedford, Massachusetts 02745
Telephone: 508-998-5563
(source of materials and
instructions for making
Polaroid Permanent-Color
Prints; Polaroid itself does
not make prints)
UltraStable Color Systems, Inc.
500 Seabright Avenue
Santa Cruz, California 95062
Telephone: 408-427-3000
(source of materials, instruction
manuals, and workshops on
making UltraStable Permanent
Color Prints; UltraStable itself
does not make prints)
Lab Producing Color Prints Made With
Polaroid Permanent-Color Materials
Ataraxia Studio, Inc.
3448 Progress Drive Suite E
Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020
Telephone: 215-343-3214
Labs Offering Color Prints Made With
UltraStable Permanent Color Materials
EverColor Corporation
Suite 140
5145 Golden Foothill Parkway
El Dorado Hills, California 95762
Telephone: 916-939-9300
Fax: 916-939-9302
(beginning in 1993, EverColor
will also offer EverColor
Pigment Prints see below)
LaClaire Laboratories, Inc.
6770 Old 28th Street, S.E.
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
Telephone: 616-942-6910
Photographic Arts, Inc.
70 Webster Street
Worcester, Massachusetts 01603
Telephone: 508-798-6612
Robert Liles Photography and Printmaking
3935 N. Seeley Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60618
Telephone: 312-477-8536
Australian Colour Laboratories
39 Hotham Parade
Artarmon 2064, N.S.W.
Australia
Telephone: (61)-2-438-3322
Fax: (61)-2-437-4328
Sillages
Marc Bruhat
91, quai Panhard et Levassor
75013 Paris, France
Telephone: (33)-1-4584-6713
Fax: (33)-1-4584-0883
Labs Offering Color Prints Made With
EverColor Pigment Print Materials
EverColor Corporation
Suite 140
5145 Golden Foothill Parkway
El Dorado Hills, California 95762
Telephone: 916-939-9300
Fax: 916-939-9302
New York City sales representative of EverColor:
Ken Lieberman Laboratories, Inc.
118 West 22nd Street
New York, New York 10011
Telephone: 212-633-0500
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Appendix 8.1 Text of Cover Letter and Petition Sent to
Eastman Kodak by the Wisconsin Committee
on Faded and Cracked Photographs
March 11, 1980
Mr. Walter Fallon, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Colby Chandler, President
343 State Street
Gentlemen:
Enclosed is a petition authorized by the Wisconsin Pro-
fessional Photographers Association, to be circulated among
its members and members of other photography associa-
tions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota.
We as members of these organizations feel that the seri-
ousness of the matter should be brought to your attention,
in the form of this petition.
In addition to this petition, many of those signing, indi-
cated the desire for Eastman Kodak to produce a PRO-
FESSIONAL color paper for final prints. Current paper is
OK for proofs. A professional paper should be as stable as
Kodachrome when stored in the dark, and at least 10 times
as stable as current EKTACOLOR 74 RC, WHEN ON PER-
MANENT DISPLAY.
Most persons quizzed, gave the opinion that they would
be interested in paying more for a more durable product, if
it meant the permanence would last over a greater period
of time.
Thanking you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Bernice Fehrenbach
Committee on Faded and Cracked Photographs
Bernice Fehrenbach, Chairman
Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association
229 N. Walnut Street
Reedsburg, Wisconsin 53959
(Text of petition signed by approximately 275 profes-
sional photographers and sent by the Committee on
Faded and Cracked Photographs of the Wisconsin Pro-
fessional Photographers Association to Eastman Kodak
Company.)
November 1, 1979
Eastman Kodak Co.
Rochester, New York
Gentlemen:
We as Professional Photographers and members of the
Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association are con-
fronted with a serious problem with cracked and faded
photographs. Our customers do not understand why this
has happened and obviously we are blamed for the prob-
lem.
We are aware of the disclaimer on any color perma-
nency now made by Eastman Kodak. Nevertheless we
must bear the onslaught of irate customers who parade
through our doors, demanding their photographs be re-
placed. We are bearing not only the costs but also the
damaged reputation, the failure of the materials have caused.
To soothe our wounds, we feel Eastman Kodak should com-
pensate the photographer and color labs, so we can re-
place the faded and cracked prints, without charge.
Also, we would like the public to become more informed
on what can happen to their photographs. Therefore we
would like you to issue a statement on color permanency,
so we can pass this information on to our customers. We
feel it is time we educate the consuming public about color
photography.
Sincerely,
Committee on Faded
and Cracked Photographs
Bernice Fehrenbach, Chairman
Note:
The above letter has been approved by the Board of
Directors of WPPA, to be sent to Eastman Kodak. The
Committee would appreciate your support for this effort by
signing the attached petition.
Thank You
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Appendix 8.2 Petition Sent to the Professional Photographers
of America by Members of the Texas Professional
Photographers Association
Petition
July, 1980
To: Board of Directors, Professional Photographers of America, Inc.
We, the undersigned, are members of the Texas Professional Photographers
Association, Inc., or other professional photographers in attendance at the Texas
PPA summer seminar in Kerrville, Texas, July 58, 1980, and are all practicing
professionals who sell to the public, or, are engaged in photography in industrial
departments.
While it is recognized that color dyes will, in time fade, we believe that the
manufacturers of color sensitized materials have inadequately informed the con-
sumers of the United States as to the impermanence of color materials now being
manufactured. The consumer has been led to believe that color materials have a
long life both in color stability and in physical structure. While manufacturers
specifically refuse to warrant their products, even for short periods of time, consum-
ers are not fully informed of this policy and expect long life from the materials,
whether amateur products, or professional products produced by professional pho-
tographers.
Many professional photographers are bearing the brunt of these inadequacies,
and are having to replace photographs that have deteriorated, causing a financial
burden on members of this association and other professional photographers, due to
no fault of their own, and in some cases the reputations of photographers have been
severely damaged.
We are asking the Board of Directors to use the good offices of the Profes-
sional Photographers of America to consult with the manufacturers of sensitized
materials, advising them of the displeasure of professional photographers, and spe-
cifically negotiating an advertising policy that will properly inform the public of the
true expected life of color materials, and to publicly absolve professional photogra-
phers of blame in the fading of color materials available to them.
If such negotiations with manufacturers should fail, or, statements from manu-
facturers are inadequate, then it is requested that the Professional Photographers
of America, Inc. introduce a plan that will inform the public as to the limits of color
materials, and defending the professional photographers from undue blame placed
on them.
[signature sheets attached]
Texas Professional Photographers Association, Inc.
Drawer 828
Temple, Texas 76501
Telephone: 817-778-3232
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Appendix 8.3 Recommendations Concerning Color Film
and Print Fading Issued by the Professional
Photographers of America for Its Members
Professional Photographers of America, Inc.
1090 Executive Way
Des Plaines, Illinois 60018
Suggestions and Recommendations
On Color Changes in Prints and Films
From the PP of A Education Committee
January, 1981
I. Suggestions:
A. The breakthrough in color films and printing materials
is providing us with photographs that are aesthetic,
true to life and provide pleasure and satisfaction.
B. Color negatives and transparencies may in time not be
suitable for reproduction.
C. Color prints may fade and deteriorate.
D. Consideration must be given to the role and responsi-
bilities of the professional photographer in using the
materials.
1. The use of the photograph.
2. It is imperative that the manufacturers process-
ing and storage recommendations are followed.
3. Suggestions to the customer should be made in
accordance with the instructions from manufac-
turer in regard to displaying the photograph.
E. Suggested procedures to follow in the photographer/
customer relationship:
1. Explain briefly the nature of the products now
available for use.
2. Explain alternatives Black and White, Sepia, Oil
or Dye Transfer.
3. Explain negative retention practice followed by
your studio.
4. Determine your charges for reprinting or converting
to an alternative.
5. Post these charges it should be OK to use per-
centages of current re-order prices.
II. Additional protection and suggestions:
A. Photographers should urge manufacturers to continue
research and development of better materials to im-
prove dye stability of film and prints. Manufacturers of
photographic materials should be encouraged to include
specific statements regarding the problem of print and
film fade in their advertising and promotional materials.
B. Encourage national and local associations to cooper-
ate with manufacturers in making available materials
to be used for customer education.
C. PP of A members may wish to replace deteriorated
photographs. If so, they should consider retaining nega-
tives or films ordered as long as the photographer making
the original exposure remains in business and the films
are printable.
D. Reasonable care should be taken to properly store and
identify these original films following recommendations
supplied by the material manufacturers.
E. All films and prints may in time deteriorate, lose color
saturation and image fidelity. Storage conditions, dis-
play and other factors (heat, humidity, UV exposure,
etc.) will determine how long a film or print will last.
Advise your customers to consult their professional
photographer for recommendations on ways of extend-
ing the life of their photographs.
III. Recommendations:
A. Explanation cards should be displayed in your studio.
B. The subject of deterioration of the photographic image
and materials should be part of the initial contact with
the customer.
C. The following PP of A disclaimer is offered for your
consideration and possible use. Although this has been
developed by PP of A Legal Counsel, we suggest you
review the disclaimer with your legal counsel before
actual use.
This studio and/or photographer assumes no re-
sponsibility or liability for defects or shortcomings
including color changes or instability of the material
used and processed in accordance with the manu-
facturers specifications. Accordingly, for color film
and color prints, the studio and/or photographer dis-
claims the implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose. For all photographs,
whether black and white or color, we also disclaim
liability for any consequential or special damages
you may suffer, and in no event shall our liability,
whether in tort or negligence, in contract or other-
wise exceed the actual cost of the material used.
A Photograph is a Treasured Possession
And Should Provide Satisfaction and
Pleasure for Many Years
[Dated December 17, 1980. Some 15,000 copies of this statement
were printed and copies were sent to all PP of A members.]
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Appendix 8.4 Text of Brochure Explaining the Problems
of Color Print Fading Supplied to Customers by
Krider Studios of Lawrenceburg, Indiana
Krider Studios, Inc. has been in business in Lawrenceburg
since May, 1947. We are now photographing our second
generation of weddings, and our second and third genera-
tions of babies, plus grandparents and great grandparents.
It is because of the many close friendships that we have
developed over the years, that we feel we have to be com-
pletely honest with our customers about the fading and
changing of color of direct color portraits. We can foresee
a lost generation of photographs, and we feel it is our obli-
gation to do what we can to preserve as much of our heri-
tage as possible, through photography, for future genera-
tions. Portraits are meant to be treasured keepsakes.
Webster defines a photograph as, A picture made by
photography, and photography as, The art or process of
producing images of objects upon a surface sensitive to the
chemical action of light etc. We, at Krider Studios, prefer
to define a photograph as the recording of an instant from
life. These instants from life are recorded for many rea-
sons, but in the case of portraits, because we want to re-
member, or be remembered. Portraits are meant to be
treasured keepsakes.
Because Krider Studios respects your right to know be-
fore you buy, we are supplying the following information.
We are finding that most materials that are available to
professional photographers for taking and printing direct
color, are subject to fading and changing of color. The
degree of change depends on many variables. We think
you should be aware of this, and are offering these alterna-
tives for your consideration.
Since we can print black and white portraits from color
negatives, but we cannot print direct color portraits from
black and white negatives, your portrait has been taken on
color film, unless otherwise specified, for those of you who
wish all or a portion of your order printed in direct color.
For those of you who wish a more permanent photograph,
we can make black and white, brown tone, or oil colored
portraits from either color or black and white negatives.
We urge you to discuss this with our staff. The decision
will be yours.
We retain all of our negatives, and all photographs taken
by Krider Studios are covered by a Limited Warranty that
states, The dyes used in color films and prints, like other
dyes, may in time change. Neither film nor prints there-
fore will be warranted against any change in color. If any
time, any photographs taken by Krider Studios, Inc. should
in any way become lost, stolen or destroyed, the print, or
prints, will be replaced to the original purchaser, by Krider
Studios, Inc., 215 Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, at
75% of the current reorder price, providing the original
negatives are available and in a printable condition. This
replacement order will be complete in 60 days.
Damaged or faded photographs must be returned to
Krider Studios, Inc. and the charges for reprinting the pho-
tographs must be paid in advance. This Limited Warranty
is not subject to arbitration, and is provided as a service
without legal recourse and extends no further than the
terms as they are written.
May we suggest that if you have any treasured photo-
graphs that are deteriorating, that now is the time to have
them copied and restored before excessive fading occurs.
Bring your photographs to Krider Studios, Inc. now for a
no obligation evaluation.
Krider Studios, Inc.
215 Walnut Street
Lawrenceburg, Indiana 47025
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Appendix 8.5 Text of 1990 Letter from H&H Color Lab, Inc. to Its
Customers Announcing the Change from Ektacolor
Portra Paper to Fujicolor Professional Paper
Dear Customer,
In 1990 Kodak introduced the Ektacolor Portra Profes-
sional paper and high speed RA-4 chemical process as the
new industry standard, and H&H switched to this paper
and process in February 1990. Since that time it has been
our opinion, as well as many of our customers, that al-
though the chemical process was improved, overall print
quality actually declined. Therefore, we began a search for
a better product consistent with the H&H objectives of
quality, service, and price.
This search led us to a new RA-4 compatible paper manu-
factured by Fuji, Fujicolor Professional Paper Super FA.
We thoroughly tested this paper for many months and in
September, mailed test results and sample prints [matched
sets of prints made with both the Kodak and Fuji papers]
to many of you requesting your opinion. Over 50% of those
polled responded to our questionnaire, and the results are
as follows:
93.9% of the 263 photographers responding voted YES
that H&H should pursue the best quality product regard-
less of the manufacturer.
An overwhelming majority were pleased with the ex-
tended display permanence of the Fuji product (nearly twice
as long) and felt the time long overdue to address this
important issue.
H&H production employees were unanimous in their
positive support for the Fuji paper. They enjoyed the ease
with which they could produce accurate color and pre-
ferred the overall quality look of the Fuji paper.
Based on our research, our test results, and your yes
responses, we will be converting at least 85% of our pro-
duction facilities to the new Fujicolor Super FA paper dur-
ing January of 1991.
In our questionnaire we welcomed any special comments
or observations you wanted to express. Some commented
that Kodak has provided support to the professional pho-
tographer over the years. We discussed this concern with
representatives of Fuji Film USA and they have committed
to increasing their support to the professional photogra-
pher including increased educational programs and schol-
arship grants.
Some also expressed a desire to buy American. Ko-
dak will continue to be a major supplier to H&H. We buy
many products from Kodak in the areas of black and white
materials, color paper, film, production hardware, and com-
puter software. The channels of communication with our
good friends at Kodak are better than ever. We believe
they will listen to the demands of the marketplace, and we
will see competitive changes in the future!
We all know good and fair competition is healthy for the
marketplace. We are witnessing this principle of the American
free enterprise system working and benefiting you, the in-
dependent studio photographer, and your customer. The
lab and the photographer now have both Fuji USA and
Kodak working hard to win our business and help us im-
prove our industry.
To those who took the time to study the information and
respond in such high numbers, thank you! We especially
appreciate the kind words you expressed about H&H. We
feel flattered and even more dedicated to provide the finest
product in the industry. You have given us a mandate to
pursue quality wherever we find it. With Fujicolor Profes-
sional Super FA paper, your customers will receive their
photographs printed on the best and longest lasting color
negative paper available in the world today, and H&H can
continue to pursue and provide you with the best balance
of quality, service, and price.
Sincerely yours,
Wayne B. Haub, President
December 29, 1990
H&H Color Lab, Inc.
8906 East 67th Street
Raytown, Missouri 64133
Telephone: 816-358-6677
Toll Free: 800-821-1305
Fax: 816-356-7950
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9. The Permanent Preservation of Color Motion Pictures
Low-Temperature, Humidity-Controlled Storage of Original Camera Negatives, Color
Reversal Originals, Laboratory Intermediates, and Release Prints Is the Only Viable Way
to Keep Color Motion Pictures Unchanged for Many Hundreds or Even Thousands of Years
Nothing really lasts outside the world of art. Most
societies are not remembered for their politics or their
commerce, but for their composers and artists. America
will be remembered for its movies.
1
Michael Eisner, chairman
Walt Disney Company April 16, 1982
For a medium that gives every promise of living for-
ever, the cinema is actually among the most fragile of art
forms. Its commonly believed that at least half of all the-
atrical films made before 1950 have vanished forever. For
the silent period (roughly 1893 to 1930), the ratio of lost
films may climb to 75 percent or higher.
Remodeling Her Husband (1920), the only film directed
by Lillian Gish, is lost. So is The Divine Woman (1928),
starring Greta Garbo. The Rogue Song (1930), a Techni-
color feature directed by Lionel Barrymore and featuring
Laurel and Hardy, has disappeared with hardly a trace.
And so has that snappy, racy, pre-Code comedy Conven-
tion City (1933), starring Joan Blondell. D. W. Griffiths
That Royal Girl (1926) with W. C. Fields is among the
missing, as are London After Midnight (1927) with Lon
Chaney, Cleopatra (1917) with Theda Bara, Legion of the
Condemned (1928) with Gary Cooper and Fay Wray, and
hundreds upon hundreds of mouth-watering titles from the
relatively recent past.
2
Frank Thompson
American Film August 1991
I dont know if its worth trying to prevent further dete-
rioration with most of these films because they are usually
in such poor condition when they arrive here.
3
Stanley Yates, curator
The American Archives
of the Factual Film 1979
We are presently presenting the only 35mm print in
service of the 1963 Academy Award winner, Tom Jones,
Color by DeLuxe. The vivid greens that were so vital to
the marvelous photography of this film, that remain in the
memory of those of us who saw it in 1963, are now just that:
a memory. The whole damn thing has turned fire engine
red. Tom Jones is now romping across a red countryside
under pink skies. Thank you Eastman Kodak.
4
Jack Tillmany
Gateway Cinema, San Francisco
April 23, 1980
The visual record of twentieth century America is fad-
ing faster than our memories.
5
Frank Hodsoll, chairman
National Endowment for the Arts
January 14, 1983
The movie companies are like oil producers. Their
backlog, or film libraries, are worth more money in the
future, like oil and gas reserves.
6
Robert Lenzner
The Boston Globe March 1, 1981
[Not] many people recognized how valuable film libraries
would be prior to the commercial success of television dur-
ing the 1950s and 60s. That created an enormous market
for syndicating films. The same process was repeated with
the rapid spread of VCRs and laser disk players around
the world during the 1980s. Today, there are many new
channels of distribution for television programming in the
U.S. and in other parts of the world. The privatization of
television industries in many countries is creating a de-
mand for more programming. During the remaining
1990s, we anticipate the opening of new markets in devel-
oping countries. There are many people all over the world
who have never seen thousands of movies and TV pro-
grams produced in the Western world.
This doesnt begin to address the future needs of HDTV.
As we start to see an increase in the numbers of HDTV
sets, VCRs and laser disk players during the 1990s, there
will be a demand for software with strong entertainment
and production values. The value of assets currently stored
in Hollywoods film, videotape and magnetic sound librar-
ies is incalculable. We think it is important for us to assist
in protecting those assets.
7
Joerg D. Agin, vice president
Motion Picture and Television Imaging Division
Hollywood, California May 1992
. . . Disney home video is awash in profits. In 1992 the
division will have revenue of $1.1 billion. The arithmetic is
simple but remarkable: The Beauty and the Beast video-
cassette carries a suggested retail price of $24.99 and whole-
sales for about $13.50. With [a record] 20 million units, the
revenue to the company will be $270 million. Each video-
cassette costs about $2 to manufacture and perhaps $2 to
market. So Disneys profit is $200 million in the U.S. alone.
8
Richard Turner
The Wall Street Journal
December 24, 1992
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The Permanent Preservation of Color Motion Pictures Chapter 9 300
The color film storage vault in the Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive, located on the Paramount studio lot on
Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. The color film vault, one of nine vaults in the high-security building, is maintained
at 40F (4.4C) and 25% RH. The Paramount archive, which was Hollywoods first adequate preservation facility for color
motion pictures, went into operation in June 1990. Shown here working in the color film vault, which is equipped with
movable shelving to conserve space, is Robert McCracken, a supervisor in Archive Operations. McCracken and Bill Weber,
director of Operations Resources at Paramount, manage the operation of the multi-million dollar, 40,000-square-foot facility.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, Warner Bros. was the only other Hollywood studio to have adequate cold
storage facilities for its motion picture library (the new Warner Bros. film archive is described later in this chapter).
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Under [the] agreement, Turner keeps only MGMs 3,000-
film library. In effect, Turner is paying $1.2 billion for the
library. . . . The company has said it intends to use the
MGM films in programming its WTBS station and a pos-
sible new cable television network. Ted Turner, chairman
and chief executive officer, has said he expects revenue
from the MGM library to provide the company with cash
flow of about $100 million a year.
9
Michael Cieply and John Helyar
The Wall Street Journal
June 6, 1986
The problem of color fading in film has reached a crisis
point and can no longer be ignored. The instability of
Kodak color stock is causing irreparable damage to our
films and the films we have made in the past are deterio-
rating drastically or are irretrievably lost. We must find
the solution to this problem, not only to eliminate this threat
to present films, but to salvage those made in the past that
are not beyond help. Since Eastman Kodak is the single
largest manufacturer of color film in the world, and the
chief source for motion picture film stock, your company
must be held accountable for the color instability flaws
inherent in the stock. . . . This existing flaw is destroying
our work.
10
Martin Scorsese, film director
Petition sent to Eastman Kodak and signed
by hundreds of film directors and others
in the movie industry June 12, 1980
Dyes fade, colors fade, but our motion picture heritage
is not necessarily threatened by this fact.
11
Henry Kaska, spokesman
April 17, 1981
. . . after only five years the blue is leaving the waters of
Jaws while the blood spurting from Robert Shaws mouth
gets redder and redder.
12
Steven Spielberg, film director
November 26, 1979
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particularly important to immediately place in low-temperature stor-
age films that already show evidence of fading, as well as all films
that are known to have inherently poor stability. This includes nearly
all color films manufactured before 198286, as well as some current
products. See Chapter 20 for discussion of cold storage facilities.
Moderate-temperature, humidity-controlled storage at about 40F
(4.4C) and 2540% RH is satisfactory for preserving unfaded mate-
rials made on the comparatively stable film stocks recommended
above for periods of perhaps 300 years. The Records Center of
Kansas City and National Underground Storage, Inc. of Boyers, Penn-
sylvania currently offer high-security storage at moderate cost that
meets these temperature and humidity requirements. Eastman Ko-
dak will offer rental storage space in its new Hollywood film preserva-
tion vaults beginning in 1993; two storage temperatures will be avail-
able: 45F (7.2C) and 25% RH, and 32F (0C) and 25% RH. Other
commercial storage facilities are expected to offer similar services in
the future. Paramount Pictures constructed a film archive in Holly-
wood in 1990 in which all of Paramounts color negatives and inter-
mediates are preserved at 40F (4.4C) and 25% RH. Warner Bros.
opened a large cold storage facility in 1992 which includes color film
storage vaults maintained at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH.
Packaging films for long-term storage in humidity-controlled
cold storage facilities: Color and black-and-white motion picture
films should be placed in vented plastic cans (e.g., the vented
polypropylene film cans available from the Plastic Reel Corporation
of America in Lyndhurst, New Jersey) or in high-quality, vapor-per-
meable cardboard containers. Because storage in standard metal
and plastic film cans (taped or untaped), vapor-proof bags, and other
sealed or semi-sealed containers will increase the rates of both dye
fading and film-base deterioration with acetate-base films, such con-
tainers are not recommended for the long-term storage of motion
picture films. To prevent contamination of films stored in vented
film cans, it is necessary that the air in the storage area be filtered so
as to be completely free of dust, lint, or other particulate matter.
Storage of film packaged in vapor-proof bags in refrigerated
vaults with uncontrolled humidity conditions is not recommended.
Not only could the film be damaged or destroyed because of a small
puncture or seal failure that may go unnoticed for years, but the cost
of bags, pre-conditioning equipment, and the substantially increased
labor required by this approach will in the end cost far more than
controlling the humidity in the storage area. In addition, sealed or
semi-sealed containers will increase the rates of dye fading and film-
base deterioration with acetate-base films.
Motion picture films should be stored in a horizontal position,
with not more than eight cans stacked one on top of another.
Black-and-white separations (YCMs) are not recommended for
the long-term preservation of color motion pictures. Compared
with low-temperature storage of original color negatives, intermedi-
ates, and prints, separations are extremely costly, entail potentially
large losses of image quality, do not provide a visual reference for
density and color balance, will become difficult or even impossible to
print satisfactorily in the future when current film stocks are obsolete,
and, when stored along with the originals, require four times the
storage space of the originals alone. Further, because of the inher-
ently unstable nature of silver images coupled with the limited life of
the cellulose triacetate base of most motion picture separation films
stored in typical room-temperature conditions, separations will not
last nearly as long as original color materials in low-temperature,
humidity-controlled storage.
Motion Picture Camera Negative Films
Recommended as the Longest Lasting:
Eastman Color Negative Film 7291
Eastman EXR 500T Color Negative Film 5296 and 7296
Laboratory Intermediate Films
Fujicolor Intermediate Film 8213 and 8223
Should Be Avoided (Very Poor Dye Stability):
Eastman Color Reversal Intermediate
Film 5249 and 7249 (CRI film)
Motion Picture Color Print Films
Fujicolor Positive Film LP 8816 and 8826
Secondary Recommendations:
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 and 7384
Eastman Color LC Print Film 5380 and 7380
Should Be Avoided (Very Poor Dye Stability):
Agfa Print CP1 Color Print Film
Agfa Print CP10 Color Print Film
Preservation of Original Camera Negatives,
Color Reversal Originals and Duplicates,
Laboratory Intermediates, and Release Prints
Low-temperature, humidity-controlled storage is the only
viable method of permanently preserving color motion
pictures. A temperature of 0F (18C) or lower and a relative
humidity of 30% are recommended for the long-term storage of
all valuable camera color negatives, color reversal originals
and duplicates, laboratory intermediates, and release prints.
Extrapolations from accelerated aging tests indicate that color
films stored under these conditions may be expected to last for
more than a thousand years essentially forever with negli-
gible change. Institutions preserving film with humidity-con-
trolled storage at 0F (18C) include the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) in Houston, Texas (color
motion picture film and still photographs made during space
flights), the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston (color
motion pictures and still photographs made during the Ken-
nedy years), and the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, Georgia
(color motion pictures and still photographs related to the Carter
presidency). The advanced motion picture preservation facility
to be completed in 1996 in Gatineau, Quebec by the National
Archives of Canadas Moving Image, Data and Audio Conserva-
tion Division will also operate at 0F (18C) and 25% RH. It is
Recommendations
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If black-and-white separations are made, Eastman Panchro-
matic Separation Film SO-202 (polyester-base) is recommended.
Under normal storage conditions, the polyester base of SO-202
film will last much longer than the cellulose triacetate base of
Eastman Panchromatic Separation Film 5235 (which for many years
has been the only separation film used by the major studios). In
addition to superior permanence, polyester-base films also have
much better dimensional stability than triacetate-base films. This
is an important consideration because separations must remain in
exact registration if color fringing and loss of image sharpness are
to be avoided in future printings.
Existing black-and-white separations made from older films
are very valuable, however, because the original color negatives
from which they were made almost certainly have faded signifi-
cantly during storage under typical film-industry conditions. To
preserve separations, they should be placed in humidity-controlled
(2030% RH), moderate- or low-temperature storage. Normal room-
temperature storage is not satisfactory for long-term storage of
cellulose triacetate separations (especially if the relative humidity
is above 40% for long periods of time). Pending further investiga-
tion, treatment of black-and-white separation films with polysulfide
toner, selenium toner, gold chloride toner, or other image-protec-
tive treatment could not be recommended at the time this book
went to press in 1992.
No matter how faded a particular film might be, it should
never be written off as a total loss. However, additional fading
must be prevented in order to take best advantage of future digital
image enhancement, grain reduction, and color restoration tech-
niques. When severe fading has occurred, computer-aided color-
ization can be done, using the degraded magenta dye image that
still survives in most faded motion picture color films as the basis
for reconstruction of the color image. (Spectrophotometric analy-
sis of maximum-density, minimum-density, and other parts of even
a severely faded color image might yield significant information
about the colors that originally were present.)
To take full advantage of the improved image quality offered
by each new advance in video recording technology and tele-
vision transmission systems (digital video recording and analog
and digital HDTV high-definition television are only the latest
examples in a field that has witnessed almost constant technologi-
cal change since the invention of video recording in 1956), one will
have to go back to the photographic original for making video
transfers each and every time an improved technology appears.
With the widespread commercialization of HDTV during the late
1990s, the entire holdings of film libraries worldwide will once
again have to be transferred to tape (and/or optical disk). Image
quality demands will be higher than ever, and to deliver the best-
quality product at the lowest possible cost, it is essential that
negatives, film intermediates, and release prints be preserved in
essentially unchanged condition.
For now and for the foreseeable future (probably the far
distant future), analog and digital videotapes, optical disks, digi-
tal image data tapes (whether or not linked to high-resolution
digital film systems), and other digital or analog electronic image-
storage systems cannot be considered to be viable alternatives to
the long-term preservation of color photographic originals.
For the permanent preservation of productions originated on
videotape, the videotapes should be transferred to color negative
film, and prints of the best possible quality should be made. The
color negative, at least two prints, and the original videotape itself
should be placed in low-temperature storage.
To prevent total loss of valuable films in the event of
earthquake, fire, flood, tornado, theft, damage during trans-
portation or laboratory handling, or other disaster, the
various film elements made during the course of a production
should be divided between low-temperature, humidity-controlled
facilities at two different geographic locations. For example,
one facility should be selected to store the original conformed
color negative, duplicate color negative or CRI, sound cut nega-
tive and/or magnetic master, any important outtakes, and at
least one mint-condition release print (as well as a copy of each
foreign-version release print). This facility would serve as a
high-security dead storage that would not normally need to
be accessed; it would be the ultimate backup should a film
element in the second facility be lost or damaged. The second
storage facility should be close to production and laboratory
operations; it is the film elements in this facility that would
normally be accessed for television transmission, videocas-
sette and videodisc production, or theatrical re-release. This
approach has been followed by NASA for permanent preserva-
tion of the color photographs made during the first manned
mission to the surface of the moon in 1969, as well as other still
photographs and color motion pictures documenting the U.S.
space program.
Preservation in low-temperature storage of at least two
release prints of every version of a film (i.e., two prints each
of both domestic and foreign versions) should be the central
focus of all film preservation programs. One print can be used
to produce videotape masters directly, and it can also serve as
a timing reference print for assessing color balance and density
when making new prints or video transfers from duplicate nega-
tives. At some point in the future, because of changes in the
characteristics of film stocks or the abandonment of film alto-
gether, it may not be possible to make prints directly from the
negatives now in film archives, and the availability of release
prints in good condition will become crucial. The other preser-
vation print should be kept in dead storage at a separate geo-
graphic location and not touched unless absolutely necessary
(i.e., should the other print be damaged or destroyed).
Motion pictures in museums, archives, and film libraries
should never, ever be projected. Likewise, prints should not
be routinely viewed on Steenbecks or similar equipment. These
films must be preserved saved so they can serve as printing
masters for whatever film and electronic reproduction media
emerge in the future. The current practice of some of the
leading film archives and other collecting institutions around
the world of screening original color and black-and-white prints
must stop. Original prints are not expendable films to be viewed
and thereby damaged for the pleasure of curators and filmgoing
audiences who like to see the real thing.
For viewing and study purposes, videotape copies should
be made from prints; for projection, duplicate prints should
be made from a color internegative (Eastman Color Internega-
tive Film 5272 is suitable for this purpose).
The American Film Institute, in conjunction with the Li-
brary of Congress, should administer carefully designed, low-
temperature, humidity-controlled storage facilities at two sepa-
rate geographic locations for the long-term preservation of color
and black-and-white motion pictures and videotapes. Separate
areas, isolated from other storage buildings, should be pro-
vided for Technicolor nitrate prints and negatives and other
nitrate motion pictures. The high-security facilities should offer
low-cost storage services for commercial studios, motion pic-
ture and videotape libraries, museums, and archives.
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amateurs, the wildly popular video camcorder has made
8mm home movies a thing of the past. Now, many people
are having all of their old 8mm home movies transferred to
videotape so they can view them on their television screens.
Kodak sells most of the motion picture film used in the
United States industry observers estimate that the com-
pany currently has more than 75% of the domestic market.
However, Fuji of Japan has been gaining an increasing
share of the theatrical and television market in North America
and sells a substantial amount of film in Asia and Europe.
Agfa-Gevaert is the only other significant producer of color
motion picture film in the Western world.
Making Movies Is Costly, But the
Earnings Can Be Immense
Major theatrical films cost a great deal to make the
average production cost for a feature film in 1991 was a
little over $26 million, with perhaps an additional $1015
million to cover advertising and distribution expenses. Some
recent films have cost much more: Arnold Schwarzeneggers
1991 science-fiction action movie Terminator 2 (a Carolco
production released by TriStar, a unit of Columbia Pic-
tures, which is in turn owned by Sony Pictures Entertain-
ment) had a record-breaking production cost of around $95
million; the film had grossed more than $200 million in
North America by the end of 1991. Of that amount, more
than $112 million went back to the studio in rental fees.
The most successful movies can earn a staggering amount:
by the end of 1991, Steven Spielbergs 1982 film E.T. The
Extra-Terrestrial had grossed an estimated $360 million in
the U.S. and Canada alone, with many millions more com-
ing in from foreign markets.
By the end of 1991, according to the entertainment pub-
lication Variety, ten other movies in addition to E.T. had
grossed more than $200 million from theater ticket sales in
domestic markets:
15
Star Wars (Fox, 1977) with $323 mil-
lion gross and earning $194 million in theater rental fees;
Home Alone (Fox, 1990) with $282 million gross and earn-
ing $140 million, which makes the film the top-grossing
comedy of all time; Return of the Jedi (Fox, 1983) with $264
million gross and earning $168 million; Batman (Warner
Brothers, 1989) with $251 million gross and earning $151
million; Raiders of the Lost Ark (Paramount, 1981) with
$242 million gross and earning $116 million; Beverly Hills
Cop (Paramount, 1984) with $235 million gross and earning
$108 million; The Empire Strikes Back (Fox, 1980) with
$223 million gross and earning $142 million; Ghost (Para-
mount, 1990) with $217 million gross and earning $98 mil-
lion; Ghostbusters (Columbia, 1984) with $214 million gross
and earning $133 million; and Terminator 2 (TriStar/Co-
lumbia, 1991) with $204 million gross and earning $112 mil-
lion in theater rental fees.
Other films from 1991 that did very well at the box office
included Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Warner Bros.)
$86 million in rentals at the end of 1991; City Slickers (Co-
lumbia) $61 million in rentals; the Academy Award winner
The Silence of the Lambs (Orion) $60 million; The Addams
Family (Paramount) $55 million; Sleeping With the Enemy
(Fox) $46 million; Cape Fear (Universal) $32 million; Star
Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount) $32 mil-
lion; Boyz N the Hood (Columbia) $27 million; New Jack
Only In Recent Years Has the Long-Term Value
of Film Libraries Begun to Be Understood
It has been only since the mid-1970s, with the advent of
large-scale re-release of movies on videocassette, video-
disc, cable and satellite TV, and regular network televi-
sion, that the entertainment film industry has developed a
genuine appreciation of the cultural significance and,
much more important to the film studios, the monetary
value of the motion pictures in their film libraries.
In 1991, the U.S. motion picture industry grossed $4.8
billion from the almost one billion movie theater tickets
sold in the United States,
13
with additional billions of dol-
lars coming from foreign distribution, licensing to TV, vid-
eocassette, video games, and other non-theatrical revenue.
More than 400 feature films released in the U.S. in 1991,
not including movies made for television (among the 1991
releases, 150 were from the major studios and 23 films
were reissues of earlier productions). There were more
than 23,000 motion picture screens in the country, the larg-
est total ever; more than half show first-run features. A
typical feature film requires over 8 million feet of color
negative and print film, and a major release may require
more than twice that much.
According to the entertainment weekly Variety, the re-
tail home video market in the U.S. brought in an estimated
$3.8 billion to the motion picture studios and other suppli-
ers in 1991.
14
The homevideo business has grown explo-
sively during the past decade; with more than 60,000 out-
lets in the U.S. that sell or rent videotapes, the gross rev-
enue of the homevideo business is now more than twice
that taken in by movie theater ticket sales. About 300
million pre-recorded video cassettes were manufactured
in 1991.
The majority of the programs on prime-time television
are still originated on film. An average one-hour action-
adventure television program involves 80,000 feet of color
negative and print film; there are about 800 such shows
produced each year.
Most motion pictures are now made with color negative
films, such as Eastman EXR Color Negative Film 5245,
Fujicolor Color Negative Film F-125, and Agfa XT 100 Colour
Negative Film, which are in key respects similar to still-
camera color negative films such as Kodak Gold and Ektar
films, Fujicolor Super HG, and Agfacolor XRS films.
For distribution and projection, the negatives are printed
on motion picture print films such as Eastman Color
Print Film 5384 and similar print films made by Fuji and
Agfa. Or, in the case of much of the filming now being done
for television, the original camera negative is transferred
to videotape for editing and other post-production work
and subsequent broadcast.
With video having replaced motion picture film in most
commercial, industrial, and educational applications, the
market for reversal motion picture films has shrunk sub-
stantially in recent years and is now mostly limited to 16mm
and 8mm films requiring only a single copy for viewing or a
small number of copies for distribution.
Not long ago, a major market for 16mm color reversal
motion picture films was television news and documentary
production; since the late 1970s, however, virtually all tele-
vision news footage has been originated on videotape. Among
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City (Warner Bros.) $22 million; Thelma & Louise (MGM/
UA) $20 million; The Fisher King (TriStar/Columbia) $18
million; and JFK (Warner Bros.) $14 million in rentals at
the end of 1991.
Walt Disney estimated that following the 1987 re-release
of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film had earned
more than $62 million. This was the seventh re-release of
the then 50-year-old animated film; Disney has been re-
releasing many of its cartoon features on a 7-year cycle
(figuring that a new generation of children would be ready
to see them) since they were made. Another Disney ani-
mated film, 101 Dalmatians, has earned Disney more than
$68 million in theater rental fees since it was first released
in 1961, making it the most successful animated film of all
time. Many millions of dollars more were earned from
videocassette sales.
In a Variety story about Disneys 1991 animated feature
Beauty and the Beast, Charles Fleming reported:
When Beauty and the Beast stops earning
money at the box office, it will probably be the
industrys most profitable movie of the year.
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The Video Shack store near Times Square in New York
City is one of the largest videocassette rental and sales
outlets in the world. In 1987, for the first time, nationwide
revenue from videocassette rentals and sales exceeded
that of theater ticket receipts in the United States.
With the great majority of the households in the United States now having videocassette recorders (VCRs), the videocassette
business has underscored the need to properly preserve color and black-and-white films. Practically every film of note, and
many of lesser distinction, have been released on videocassette. Cable and satellite TV have further fueled the demand for
old movies. When high-definition television broadcasting, cable, VCRs, and videodisc players become commonplace in the
late 1990s, producers will have to go back to their film originals to make new full-frame, high-resolution video transfers; to
take full advantage of each major improvement in TV technology, the film-to-tape transfer process will have to be repeated.
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ready been irretrievably lost due to decay and
neglect. Under present conditions, most of the
remaining half will not survive this century.
Of the 11,000 American feature films pro-
duced before 1930, less than one in five have
escaped fire, decay, or destruction by other
means.
American films and American television have
shaped, influenced, and substantially contrib-
uted to American Culture. Many believe that
film is perhaps our most significant and most
distinctive contribution to international art and
culture.
It is virtually impossible to conceive of a
film that does not instruct us in the art, the
social perspectives, and the history of a par-
ticular period. Every film is a time capsule
which tells us how we saw ourselves, and how
others saw us, at a point in our past. The dis-
appearance of a film or videotape is therefore
not only a loss of an artistic object, it is also
partial obliteration of our nations history.
17
For More Than 30 Years, Eastman Color Films
Suffered from Very Unstable Color Images
In 1950, almost simultaneously with the introduction of
cellulose triacetate safety base film as a replacement for
the hazardous cellulose nitrate film then being used by the
motion picture industry throughout the world, Eastman
Kodak launched the first of the Eastman Color Negative
and Eastman Color Print films. These films quickly led the
way to the mass conversion from black-and-white to color
cinematography.
With that change came the demise of the essentially
permanent Technicolor imbibition printing process (see
Chapter 10) leaving the industry with Eastman Color
negative and print films, which under typical storage con-
ditions had a far shorter life than films made by the Tech-
nicolor process.
The color fading problem was made worse by the fact
that neither the movie studios nor film archivists had any
clear idea of what they were dealing with and how the film
had to be stored to preserve it for the future the fading
characteristics of the color films they were using and col-
lecting were a closely held secret of Kodak and the other
film manufacturers.
This sad state of affairs continued until the mid-1970s,
when a series of events began that ultimately forced Kodak
to abandon its policy of secrecy regarding color stability
and to announce, in August 1980, that it would release in-
formation on light fading and dark-storage stability of its
current and future color products. This in turn, for the
first time, introduced competition in the area of color im-
age stability among Eastman Kodak, Fuji of Japan, and
Agfa-Gevaert of Germany, the major producers of color
motion picture stocks in the Western world, and has al-
ready led to substantial improvements in the stability of
both Kodak and Fuji motion picture print films as well as
certain of their color negative products.
An important influence was a major article on the fad-
ing of color motion pictures by Bill OConnell that appeared
After an estimated production cost of $25 mil-
lion, and advertising and release costs of an-
other $10 to $15 million, the film will wind up
with box office totals of $120 million. That leaves
the studio with cash profits, before ancillary
markets are taken into account, of about $30
million. When videocassette sales are figured
in, and unit sales exceed 10 million, add an-
other $100 million in revenue to [Disney].
16
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Fox) has earned over
$37 million in rentals from its almost continuous midnight
showings around the U.S. since its release in 1976.
Most films, of course, do not earn as much as the box
office hits, but following or even simultaneous with theater
release, expanding aftermarkets such as videocassettes,
cable TV, satellite TV, and videodiscs give most major fea-
tures a very long potential market life. The most popular
movies, such as Casablanca and Gone With the Wind,
probably will have an indefinite appeal.
Motion Picture Films Generally
Are Stored Under Poor Conditions
Considering the cost of making and marketing a major
feature and its potential earnings over the years it is
often astonishing to see how poorly most films are cared
for. It is difficult to think of another industry that does so
little to protect its most valuable assets. Although the
major studios generally make black-and-white separation
positives (YCMs) from the original color negatives of their
most valuable features, only Paramount Pictures and War-
ner Bros. had adequate cold storage facilities for their film
libraries at the time this book went to press in 1992. With
only a few exceptions, separations have not been made for
television productions, and cold storage is almost never
provided for such films.
The great majority of films whether made for docu-
mentary, educational, advertising, scientific, or television
news purposes are stored at normal room-temperature
conditions or worse, and their eventual life will be dictated
by the dye stability characteristics of the particular film
stocks on which they were made.
Since 1894, when Thomas Edison, using cellulose ni-
trate film supplied by the Eastman Kodak Company, launched
the commercial motion picture industry, the story of film
preservation has been characterized by incredible neglect
on the part of the moviemakers and general disregard for
the importance of film-base and color-image stability on
the part of Kodak and other manufacturers.
Institutional film archives in the United States which,
like those in most other countries, are ill-equipped and
seriously underfunded have generally done a poor job
preserving nitrate film and have lost countless valuable
movies through fires and failure to provide proper low-
temperature, humidity-controlled storage.
Frank Hodsoll, a former chairman of the National En-
dowment for the Arts, gave a grim assessment of the situa-
tion in the United States:
I was appalled to learn that one-half of the
theatrical films produced before 1952 have al-
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in the SeptemberOctober 1978 issue of Film Comment
magazine. OConnell began:
The house lights dim, a hush comes over the
expectant audience, and a beam from the pro-
jection booth hits the screen. But the old film,
so clear in a buffs memory, looks to have dete-
riorated before his eyes and memory is not
at fault. What was once a color film is now a
jarring mixture of faded dyes in a spectrum
that runs from dull, muddy pink to deep, garish
purple. The sunny, windswept fields of Okla-
homa! have turned an eerie, strident pink.
Marilyn Monroe looks jaundiced. The florid
gold and pastel palace in The King and I is
now a drab, dusky rose.
. . . Color fading threatens all films, and
there is a growing awareness that it has not
only reached epidemic proportions but has
passed all other problems of film preservation.
18
The following month, in another important article that
appeared in American Film magazine, Paul Spehr of the
Library of Congress wrote:
Whatever the aesthetic importance of this
basic change in moviemaking [the shift from
black-and-white to color], potentially it is a
tragedy.
Why? Because the color dyes used in todays
movies are so impermanent that there is little
hope that the quality of color we are experienc-
ing today will be passed on to the next genera-
tion. The hard, harsh fact is that most of the
color films made since the mid-fifties will fade
to indistinguishable or at least undistinguished
shadows of their former glory.

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Martin Scorsese, a leader in the
drive to preserve color motion
pictures, has directed Mean
Streets (1973); Alice Doesnt Live
Here Anymore (1975); Taxi Driver
(1976); New York, New York
(1977); Raging Bull (1980); The
King of Comedy (1983); The
Color of Money (1986); The Last
Temptation of Christ (1988);
Goodfellas (1990); Cape Fear
(1991); and The Age of Inno-
cence (1993).
Even the precious negatives from which the
films are printed have a limited life expectancy.
Under the storage conditions generally in use
today, many of these negatives will fade to use-
lessness within the lifetimes of most of us.
19
Both the American Film and Film Comment articles
included a brief account of the Technicolor dye imbibition
process and showed unfaded Technicolor frames along with
severely faded frames from Eastman Color prints.
Film Director Martin Scorsese Alerts the
Entire Film Industry to the Fading Problem
After reading Bill OConnells article in Film Comment,
film director Martin Scorsese wrote a letter to the maga-
zine which said, in part:
How can we sit back and allow a classic film,
2001: A Space Odyssey, to fade to magenta?
My own work has been severely affected, in
that New York, New York was made to look like
a Technicolor imbibition film. Within five years,
its color will have faded beyond any recogni-
tion of the original concept, and the film will
suffer for that loss. My present film, Raging
Bull, was shot in black-and-white to avoid the
color problem entirely.
. . . I believe that directors, film students,
and the Academy must form a unified front to
combat the problem. Through benefits, fund-
raising, publicity, demonstration of the prob-
lem, and if need be, militant action, we must
band together to face the issue and solve the
problem. I personally offer my services, time,
and finances to this cause, in an effort to moti-
vate my colleagues and friends to action.
20
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In early 1980, Scorsese, with the assistance of Mark del
Costello and Donna Gigliotti of his staff and Scorseses
long-time film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, started circu-
lating a petition asking Kodak to make permanent color
motion picture film. The petition was sent to directors,
actors, actresses, cinematographers, film archivists, and
others in the field. Scorsese had a number of ideas for
promoting the preservation of films and to pressure Kodak
and other manufacturers to make more stable films (see
Appendix 9.1 on pages 343344 at the end of this chapter).
Scorsese, the well-known director of Mean Streets (Warner
Bros., 1973); Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore (Warner
Bros., 1975); Taxi Driver (Columbia, 1976); New York, New
York (United Artists, 1977); Raging Bull (United Artists,
1980); The King of Comedy (Fox, 1983); The Color Of Money
(Touchstone, 1986); The Last Temptation of Christ (Uni-
versal, 1988); Goodfellas (Warner Bros., 1990); Cape Fear
(Universal, 1991); and The Age of Innocence (Columbia,
1993), has many friends in the movie business and the
response to his appeal was immediate and overwhelming.
More than 200 people associated with the theatrical mo-
tion picture industry signed the petition, including Saul
Bass, Bernardo Bertolucci, Peter Bogdanovich, Stan
Brakhage, Kevin Brownlow, Ellen Burstyn, Vincent Canby,
John Cassavetes, Michael Cimino, Jill Clayburgh, Francis
Ford Coppola, Judith Crist, George Cukor, Robert DeNiro,
Brian DePalma, Mia Farrow, Federico Fellini, Jane Fonda,
Milos Forman, Jodie Foster, Ben Gazzara, Jean-Luc Godard,
Elia Kazan, Sergio Leone, George and Marcia Lucas, Sidney
Lumet, Leonard Maltin, Malcolm McDowell, Liza Minelli,
and Paul Newman.
Also signing were Jack Nicholson, Joseph Papp, Arthur
Penn, Sydney Pollack, Otto Preminger, Burt Reynolds, Gina
Rowlands, Telly Savalas, Thelma Schoonmaker, Paul
Schrader, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Barbra
Streisand, Lily Tomlin, Francois Truffaut, King Vidor, Lina
Wertmuller, Irwin Winkler, William Wyler, and many other
directors, producers, actors, actresses, and film critics.
A letter written by Scorsese accompanied the petition:
To My Friends and Colleagues:
RE: Our Films
Everything We Are Doing Now Means Nothing!
All of our agonizing labor and creative effort is
for nothing because our films are vanishing. I am
not referring to the terrible problem of black and
white film deterioration with which many of you
are already familiar, but to something more im-
mediate FADING COLOR. . . . Working with
film stock that is guaranteed to deteriorate in a
matter of months is insulting and insane. . . .
Eastman Kodak, through their total monopoly
in the United States and many other parts of the
world, will be responsible for the destruction of
our past and current work. They are betraying us
and will have to account for the conscious perver-
sion of the future history of cinema. . . .
The most practical preservation and economic
solution is developing a COLOR STABLE FILM.
So, if you care about your work and its future,
then, for its sake, please lend your name and sup-
port. Attached is a letter to Eastman Kodak, peti-
tioning them to take immediate action to rectify
the deplorable state of the color film they supply.
. . . As a first step, please join us in signing.
21
Accompanying the petition, which was sent to Kodak in
June 1980, was a Request for Information, which is printed
in full below.
22
This 2-page document had a major impact
at Kodak and spurred the company to re-evaluate the im-
portance of good image stability in the design of its color
motion picture films.
Scorseses militant approach and sometimes strident
language made many curators and archivists uneasy. Some
curators had never really come to grips with color motion
pictures from an aesthetic point of view instead prefer-
The July 9, 1980 edition of Variety,
the entertainment industry publica-
tion, featured a front-page story by
Harlan Jacobson on the color film
fading crisis. The Variety story, as
well as many others that appeared
in newspapers, magazines, and on
television worldwide, was inspired
by Martin Scorseses campaign.
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reach a density loss of .10 from an original density of 1.0
when the film is stored in the dark at 75F and 40%
relative humidity for all present and past Eastman Ko-
dak products, including camera negative stock, inter-
mediate film stock and all release print stock.
This information is needed if we (filmmakers, stu-
dios, distributors) are to be able to determine the proper
storage conditions (temperature and relative humid-
ity) necessary to preserve each of these materials.
Further, the dark fading stability information is nec-
essary if one is to make an intelligent choice among
currently available products as to which film stocks
and systems will result in the best long term keeping.
Finally, precise stability data is needed for all film
stocks, especially the older materials which are no longer
manufactured, in order to convince the studios and film
archives of the urgent need to install cold storage vaults.
Intelligent decisions about cold storage CANNOT be
made unless the stability characteristics of each prod-
uct are known.

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ring the black-and-white films going back into the silent
film era. Most had only a superficial understanding of the
fading problem, how it came about, Kodaks part in creat-
ing the situation, and what might be done to solve the
crisis. Some who refused to sign the petition even
feared that associating with the Scorsese effort might hinder
fund-raising efforts or alienate the film studios that were
potential donors of films, money, or both, to their collec-
tions. Scorseses Request for Information follows:
June 12, 1980
To: Mr. Walter Fallon, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Colby Chandler, President
343 State Street
Request for Information
1. We would like to have the estimated time of dark stor-
age required for one or more of the color image dyes to
Pressing his demands that Kodak improve the stability of its color motion picture products and release stability data for all
of its color films, director Martin Scorsese and his assistants, Mark del Costello and Donna Gigliotti, met in Scorseses New
York City apartment on July 14, 1980 with Ken Mason and Tony Bruno of Kodaks motion picture division. Scorsese, with
the aid of his staff and his long-time film editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, were the leaders in a film-industry effort to force
Kodak to address these issues. One month after the meeting, Kodak announced that it would make stability data public. In
October 1981, Kodak announced that it was abandoning all of its existing motion picture color print films and replacing
them with Eastman Color Print Film 5384 (35mm) and 7384 (16mm). These new films, supplied at no additional cost, were
approximately ten times more stable than the films that they replaced. Fuji soon followed with its improved color print film.
In 1987, Kodak presented Scorsese with its Career Achievement Award, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as
a director and screenwriter.
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film costs would cause the company to lose a significant
amount of the market to Fuji or Agfa-Gevaert. This was
especially true in the highly competitive print film market.
Kodak was well aware of the lack of concern about long-
term permanence on the part of many movie producers
and believed that many studios and labs would choose the
cheapest product that produced acceptable images on the
screen regardless of who made it.
Scorseses campaign received a tremendous amount of
publicity in the press, with articles appearing in more than
300 newspapers and magazines in the United States and
other countries. A front-page story in the July 9, 1980
entertainment industry weekly Variety was headlined: Old
Pix Dont Die, They Fade Away Scorsese Helms Indus-
try Plea to Kodak. While all the complaints about Kodaks
films probably did not cause the company to lose any busi-
ness, and Kodak repeatedly denied that there really was
any problem if negatives were stored as recommended,
Kodak was certainly uneasy about the withering criticisms
being leveled at the company and was sensitive to accusa-
tions that it was responsible for the loss of much of the
worlds film heritage.
Despite the fact that some of the charges against Kodak
by Scorsese and others which appeared in the press were
rather exaggerated and in some cases actually incor-
rect the thrust of the criticisms was valid:
(a) the stability of Eastman color motion print films was
wholly inadequate;
(b) instead of being expendable, as Kodak maintained,
prints were generally the only form in which films were
being collected by archives around the world;
(c) the rapid fading of prints was causing moviemakers
a lot of trouble and extra expense and was resulting in
many very faded films being shown on television (since it
was too expensive to make new prints from faded nega-
tives or from separations in the few instances where
they were available if the new prints would also fade
away in a few years);
(d) the dye stability of camera negative and laboratory
films was also inadequate, and, since few films would ever
be stored under refrigerated conditions, this would result
in the loss of the films in only a few more decades (with
early Eastman color negatives already being seriously de-
teriorated);
(e) Kodak attached relatively little importance to long-
term color stability of its motion picture films;
(f) Kodak was doing little to alert the industry to the
need for better storage conditions (indeed, Kodak could
not even talk about the subject meaningfully because it
was keeping stability data secret and would not reveal the
fading rate of any particular film at various temperatures
and relative humidities).
Kodak Announces a Much Longer Lasting
Color Print Film Fuji Soon Follows
In October 1981, only a little more than a year after
Kodak had received the Scorsese petition, the company
suddenly announced that it was going to abandon all of its
existing print films and would replace them with a new
product, Eastman Color Print Film 5384 (35mm) and 7384
2. How quickly can a PERMANENT color release print
stock be produced, with quality and stability character-
istics equal to or better than Technicolor Imbibition
prints? A crash program in research and development
will be needed, yet we believe that a color stable re-
lease print stock is achievable through current tech-
nology. The new LF print films, though a welcome
improvement, are not stable enough to be acceptable.
3. How much research and development will Eastman Kodak
invest into development of color stable pre-print mate-
rial? For the present, we want all color pre-print mate-
rial at the dark keeping stability level of E-6 Ektachrome
films.
Kodak Officially Abandons Its
Color Stability Secrecy Policy
Along with the petition and its signatories, the above
document was probably the single most important factor
forcing Kodak two months later to abandon its historic
policy of secrecy regarding color stability. (The company,
however, continued to keep stability data for its older color
films secret, probably because the accumulated informa-
tion would have made it plain that Kodak had devoted little
attention to improving the stability of its products since
Eastman color motion picture films were introduced in
1950 in some cases later products were even less stable
than the ones they replaced.)
Kodak also accelerated its efforts to develop new color
couplers that would produce more stable dyes in its nega-
tive and print films, while at the same time avoiding any
significant increase in manufacturing costs or any ma-
jor change in processing chemicals. This was important to
Kodak since the company feared that even a slight rise in
Reacting to the outcry over the poor stability of Eastman
Color motion picture films, the personnel at the Eastman
Kodak booth during the 1980 annual conference of the
SMPTE in New York City offered suggestions for proper
storage of film and advocated making black-and-white
separations.
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(16mm), which, according to Kodak, had an approximately
ten-fold improvement in dye stability. The new print film
came into general use in 198283.
In the course of the Scorsese campaign, Kodak also
adopted a new attitude about the importance of print sta-
bility especially in terms of the newly emerging video-
cassette and cable and satellite TV markets where only
one print in good condition is needed for broadcast or cas-
sette production. In the past, Kodak had maintained that
prints were not intended to last long most were physi-
cally worn out after 6 months or a year of theater projec-
tion. Kodak was persuaded that long print life was, after
all, an important consideration in film design.
A brochure distributed by Kodak at the time the film
was announced read, in part:
5384. A longer print life for your lifes work.
Whatever you do in motion pictures whether
youre involved in producing or distributing
5384 will mean a longer print life for your lifes
work.
Prints stored at normal room temperature
. . . at about 40-percent relative humidity . . .
will provide excellent color pictures that will
last for decades. Tests indicate that storage at
a lower temperature, such as 55F [12.8C], could
increase the useful life of your films by as much
as five times.
5384. Created so the films in which you in-
vest so much of yourself can live on.
5384. Eastmans continuing commitment to
the motion picture industry.
Eastman Kodak Company has always appre-
ciated the cultural value of motion pictures.
We know what they mean, in America and around
the world.
So while 5384 is new our commitment
to the preservation of motion pictures is long-
standing.
Weve devoted years to the improvement of
color dye stability. All the while weve invested
in research. Made recommendations for proper
film storage. Developed technical publications
and information programs. Maintained a con-
tinual dialogue with those who share our com-
mitment: the archivists, the technical societ-
ies, and professional associations.
23
A full-page ad appearing in American Cinematographer
in July 1983 was entitled Our Descendants Will See Their
Ancestors as We Really Were and read:
Throughout this ever-changing world, a film-
maker wants a production to last decades into
the future. You want audiences fifty or more
years from now to see your film as it looked
originally.
Eastman color print film 5384/7384 makes it
possible with its exceptional color reproduc-
tion and retention. It is the color release print
film intended to last up to a century even
when stored at normal room temperature (ap-
proximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 40-per-
cent relative humidity). In fact, when 5384 is
carefully stored under recommended conditions
(40 degrees Fahrenheit and 40-percent relative
humidity), it can last much, much longer.
It is the print film whose color images can
look the best and last the longest.
Our new Eastman color print films unique
color images will last for decades so our de-
scendants will see their ancestors as we really
were. Just say, Print mine on Eastman film.
Eastman film. Its looking better all the time.
24
Another ad for 5384, appearing in the January 1984 is-
sue of American Cinematographer, read, in part:
Whether youre involved in production or dis-
tribution, youll be pleased to know that the film
in which you have invested your time and talent
can enjoy longer runs and wider audiences.
Decades from now it can still have the crisp,
bright colors of its world premiere exhibition.
Order it by name Eastman film.
25
The new film, and the above ads nothing like them
had ever appeared before in the motion picture industry
ushered in a new era of concern about color film stability
and started, for the first time, genuine competition on im-
age stability among Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa-Gevaert.
A copy of Scorseses petition was also sent to Fuji, and
his appeal reportedly spurred the rapid development of
new color couplers that would produce significant improve-
ments in the dye stability of Fujicolor negative film (Fuji-
color Negative Film A 8511/8521 and Fujicolor High Speed
Negative Film AX 8512/8522) along with a new print film,
Fujicolor Positive LP Film 8816. Fuji introduced the new
films in 1983; many additional improved-stability films have
followed since that year.
In 1990 Scorsese, together with noted film directors Woody
Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas,
Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg, es-
tablished The Film Foundation, an organization for pro-
moting and coordinating motion picture preservation and
restoration projects.
26
A Brief History of Eastman Color
Motion Picture Films
Eastman color motion picture films, which were intro-
duced in 1950, trace their beginnings to the Kodacolor amateur
still negative and print processes introduced in 1942 (see
Chapter 1). Kodak very early realized the practical advan-
tages of a color negative film instead of a reversal trans-
parency film for the camera original, and then using the
negative to make prints for viewing (paper prints in the
case of the Kodacolor system, or prints on transparent
film for motion picture projection). The negative can be
designed for optimum performance in the camera; for ex-
ample, color negatives are made with low-contrast, multi-
layer emulsions that have both high-speed and slow-speed
layers within the cyan, magenta, and yellow dye-forming
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Rolls of the original Eastman Color Negative Film, Type
5247 from Royal Journey. In 1996, the negative will be
moved to the National Archives new facility in Gatineau,
Quebec and will be preserved at 0F (18C) and 25% RH.
Black-and-white separation positives were made from the
original color negative, and a new intermediate color
negative for producing prints or video transfers can be
made from the separations, but at great expense.
Arnold Schieman of the National Film Board of Canada in Montreal, Quebec, with the original camera negative of the 1951
production Royal Journey, a film documenting Princess Elizabeths tour of Canada. The film was the first feature-length
production made on the then-new Eastman Color negative film and print film. When these photographs were taken in 1980,
the negative was still being stored under non-refrigerated conditions at the National Film Board. In 1989, the color negative
was moved to the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, and it is now stored at 28F (2.2C) and 28% RH.
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layers. This gives color negatives much wider exposure
latitude than color reversal films (which have a high-con-
trast emulsion so that slides have the proper visual ap-
pearance when projected on a screen in a darkened room).
With color negatives, extensive corrections can be made
for exposure errors and deviations in color balance when
color intermediates and prints are made. Modern color
negative films have considerable latitude in this respect,
and moviemakers put this to good advantage in creating
the proper color balance and mood for a scene when the
film is timed (i.e., when prints are adjusted for color bal-
ance and density).
Although the exposure latitude of the early Kodacolor
system made it suitable for the ordinary box camera
Kodak knew a wide-latitude color film was needed in order
to enter the mass market for amateur snapshots made
with non-adjustable cameras the color reproduction of
the prints was poor and not adequate to compete with es-
tablished motion picture processes such as the Techni-
color three-strip camera and imbibition color print system.
The image stability of Kodacolor negatives and prints
was also very poor all of the Kodacolor prints made from
1942 until around 1953 have turned orange and faded to
various degrees, whether or not they were exposed to light
on display. Although the orange-staining problems were
significantly reduced in 1953, the dye-image stability diffi-
culties inherent in the early Kodacolor process were car-
ried directly into the Eastman motion picture color nega-
tive and print films.
When Kodak perfected the colored-coupler masking
method of color correction in negatives, it was finally able
to make a negative-positive system with color and tone
reproduction good enough to compete with the Techni-
color process. Colored-coupler masking was first included
in a commercial product by Kodak in the Ektacolor still
camera film introduced in 1947; the technology was applied
to Kodacolor amateur negative films soon thereafter. Ex-
perience gained with the still color negative films was es-
sential in developing the color negative motion picture film
introduced by Kodak in 1950 and the many films that have
followed (see film listing in Table 9.1 on the following page).
Eastman Color Print Film, also introduced in 1950, was
closely related to the Ektacolor print film put on the mar-
ket in 1947 at the same time as Ektacolor negative film.
With the introduction of Eastman color negative and
print films, it was evident that Kodak was focusing its ef-
forts on essentially the same negative-positive chromoge-
nic processes for both motion picture and still photogra-
phy; this allowed a concentration of research efforts which
benefited both lines of products. As an example, DIR (de-
veloper inhibitor releasing) couplers and other improve-
ments in emulsion design which allowed much sharper
and finer-grain images than previously possible with color
negative films were incorporated into Eastman Color Negative
II Film 5247, and into Kodacolor II Film for still cameras,
both introduced in 1972.
Although they use different processing chemicals, the
current Kodak still and motion picture color negative films
are otherwise so similar that some photographers use the
motion picture film in their still cameras, printing the im-
ages on conventional Ektacolor paper (a practice not rec-
ommended by this author).
Causes of Color Motion Picture Fading
Even after repeated projections, the fading of the dye
images in motion picture print films is almost entirely a
dark fading reaction. Since each frame is exposed to
light for only a small fraction of a second during each pro-
jection, the total light exposure even after hundreds of
projections is so small as to be almost inconsequential.
Dark fading rates are a function of the inherent stability
of the organic dye images in a particular film, the tempera-
ture of storage, and, usually to a lesser extent, the relative
humidity of the storage area. Improper processing and
washing can also reduce the stability of a negative or print
film in some cases deviations from recommended pro-
cessing may result in drastic losses in image stability.
Research disclosed by Eastman Kodak in late 1992 showed
that storing films in sealed or semi-sealed containers such
as standard taped or untaped metal or plastic film cans (or
vapor-proof bags) could significantly increase the rates of
both dye fading and film-base deterioration compared with
storage in ventilated containers surrounded by circulating
air. In a rather controversial recommendation on how to
deal with this problem, Kodak suggested packaging films
in taped film cans containing a substance that strongly
absorbs moisture and acetic acid vapors. This subject is
discussed later in this chapter.
When a color negative fades in dark storage, the fading
is roughly proportional throughout the full density range of
the image. That is, if a 20% loss of density occurs in a low
density area of an image (for example, blue density drops
from an original density of 1.20 to 0.96), approximately the
same percentage will be lost in the maximum density parts
of the image (for example, blue density drops from an original
density of 2.40 to 1.92). This results in a loss of contrast of
the blue record (yellow dye image) of the image. While it is
possible to correct the overall density of a print made from
a faded negative, and to achieve a balanced flesh tone or
some other selected color by re-timing the negative for
printing, it is not possible to correct for the contrast imbal-
ance with normal equipment and procedures.
As the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes in all current
color negative films fade at significantly different rates,
severely faded negatives exhibit contrast imbalances that
result in off-colored shadows and highlights. With early
Eastman Color negatives that have poor-stability cyan and
yellow dyes, for example, images generally will print with
blue shadows and yellow highlights if the negatives are re-
timed to print correctly balanced midtones.
How noticeable negative fading is not only depends on
the degree of fading and the resulting contrast imbalance
among the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes, but can also be
very scene-dependent. When a print is made from a faded
negative, the changes in some scenes are usually more
noticeable than are others. The changes in image color
balance especially in detailed highlight and shadow ar-
eas can be particularly distracting as a film cuts from
one scene to another.
Re-timing and printing problems are exacerbated when
faded film stocks are intercut (e.g., when camera negative
film is intercut with a different type of film used for special
effects) because different types of film generally have dif-
ferent fading characteristics.
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Eastman Color Internegative Safety Film, Type 5243 1952
(35mm only)
Eastman Color Internegative Film, Type 5245 1953
(35mm only)
Eastman Color Internegative Film, 1956
Type 5270 and 7270
Eastman Color Intermediate Film, 1956
Type 5253 and 7253
Eastman Color Internegative Film, 1968
Type 5271 and 7271
Eastman Color Reversal Intermediate 1968
Film 5249 and 7249
Eastman Color Intermediate II Film 5243 and 7243 1978
Eastman Color Internegative II Film 7272 1980
(16mm only)
Eastman Color Intermediate Film 5243 and 7243 1986
Improved
Eastman EXR Color Intermediate Film 5244 and 1992
7244 (triacetate); 2244 (polyester)
Color Print Films
Eastman Color Print Safety Film, Type 5381 and 7381 1950
Eastman Color Print Film, Type 5382 and 7382 1953
Eastman Color Print Film, Type 7383 (16mm only) 1959
Eastman Color Print Film, Type 7380 1968
(8mm and Super 8mm only)
Eastman Color Print Film, Type 7381 1970
(8mm and Super 8mm only)
Eastman Color SP Print Film, Type 5383 and 7383 1974
Eastman Color LF Print Film 5378 and 7378 1979
(7378 was little used; 5378 saw virtually no use)
Eastman Color LFSP Print Film 5379 and 7379 1979
(7379 was little used; 5379 saw virtually no use)
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 and 7384 1982
Eastman Color LC Print Film 5380 and 7380 1983
(low-contrast version of 5384 for TV applications)
Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5248 1952
(35mm only)
(35mm only)
(35mm only)
(35mm only)
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 1972
(35mm only) [1st version]
(16mm only)
(35mm only) [2nd version]
(35mm only) [3rd version]
Eastman Color High Speed Negative Film 5293 1982
(35mm only)
Eastman Color Negative Film 7291 1982
(16mm only)
Eastman Color High Speed 1983
Negative Film 5294 and 7294
Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 1985
(35mm only)
(name change only; same as 1980 version of 5247)
Eastman Color High Speed Negative Film 7292 1986
(16mm only)
Eastman Color High Speed SA Negative Film 5295 1986
(35mm only)
Eastman Color High Speed Daylight 1986
Eastman EXR Color Negative Film 5245 and 7245 1989
Eastman EXR 500T Color Negative 1989
Film 5296 and 7296
Table 9.1 Eastman Color Negative, Laboratory Intermediate,
and Color Print Films for Motion Pictures
Boldface Type indicates a film that was commercially available when this book went to press in 1992; the other
products listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials. Under Eastman Kodaks system
of film designation, Type 52 films are 35mm or wider camera and laboratory films; Type 72 films are 16mm or
narrower camera and laboratory films; Type 53 films are 35mm or wider color print films (printed from color
negatives or internegatives); and Type 73 films are 16mm or narrower color print films.
Year of Year of
Camera Negative Films Introduction Laboratory Intermediate Films Introduction
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decision about how long the film could conceivably be of
value and how much image deterioration could be toler-
ated during that time.
Image-life predictions for a specific type of film stored
under various temperature and relative humidity condi-
tions are obtained with the complex, multi-temperature
Arrhenius accelerated dark fading test specified in ANSI
IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Imaging Media
Stability of Color Photographic Images Methods for
Measuring.
28
The Arrhenius test method is discussed in
Chapter 2 and Chapter 5 of this book.
Kodak has released fading-rate data for many of its films,
and this information can be used to compute the predicted
image-life of the films in storage at normal room tempera-
ture (see Table 9.2) or at some other temperature. Esti-
mates can also be made concerning the effect of relative
humidity on the rate of dye fading. Note that the image-life
estimates given in this book for Eastman, Fuji, and Agfa
films are based on Arrhenius tests with free-hanging film
samples surrounded by rapidly circulating air. As will be
discussed later, such tests may considerably overstate the
actual stability of a film when it is stored in the closed
environment of a standard film can or other sealed or semi-
sealed container.
The image-life estimates given in this book for motion
picture films are probably reasonably accurate when films
are stored in vented plastic film cans or in permeable
cardboard boxes, as recommended by this author.
Thus far, Kodak has refused to make public stability
data for its earlier motion picture films; however, it is known
that all of these films have very poor image stability. The
fading characteristics of Eastman Color Negative II Film
7247 can be considered representative of early Eastman
color negative films, and Eastman Color SP Print Film
5383 is probably typical of the earlier print films.
For this book, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. has furnished
estimates for a 10% loss of the least stable dye for its
motion picture films, and these are given in Table 9.3. Fuji
prefers to evaluate color negative films in terms of the loss
in image contrast of the least stable image dye. According
to Fuji, its accelerated tests indicate that current Fuji F-
series color negative films could be stored for approxi-
mately 180 years at 75F (24C) and 40% RH before a 10%
loss in image contrast of the least stable dye would occur.
While one can argue that, because of changes in colored
coupler masking densities that can occur with color nega-
tives in dark storage and because of density and color cor-
rections that can be made during printing, loss of image
contrast is a better approach for the evaluation of color
negative deterioration than is using simple dye loss data.
The contrast loss method, however, is not specified in
the current ANSI color stability standard.
After repeated requests, Agfa-Gevaert somewhat reluc-
tantly agreed to provide accelerated test data for its color
motion picture films for this book, and 10% dye loss esti-
mates are given in Table 9.4. Agfa said that its research
has indicated that there can be considerable uncertainty in
the predictions obtained in Arrhenius tests. Nevertheless,
this author believes that the Agfa image-life estimates are
useful. They suggest, for example, that Agfa XT 100, im-
proved-type Agfa XT 320, and Agfa XTS 400 color negative
films have image stability that is as good or better than
The Original Eastman Color Negative
of Spartacus Has Faded Beyond Use
When film archivist Robert A. Harris and his associate
James Katz became involved with MCA/Universal in the
project to restore the epic 1960 film Spartacus for its re-
release in 1991, it was found that the original Eastman
Color negative had faded beyond use:
Universal took very, very good care of it, but
it was thirty years old. The yellow layer was
gone; we made some tests with the camera nega-
tive and ended up with blue shadows and yel-
low facial highlights.
27
Directed by Stanley Kubrick and produced by and star-
ring Kirk Douglas, Spartacus was made with a budget ex-
ceeding $12 million and employed more than 10,000 people.
The film won an Academy Award for color cinematogra-
phy. At the time it was made, Spartacus was the most
expensive film ever produced in Hollywood. Writing about
the film in the May 1991 issue of American Cinematogra-
pher, Frank Thompson said audiences who experienced
the dazzling Super Technirama 70 [wide-format] images
and brilliant six-track sound have never forgotten the films
impact.
In the restoration of Spartacus, Robert A. Harris, who
was also the person behind the 1988 restoration of the 1962
classic Lawrence of Arabia, not only had to deal with the
problem of the fading of the original color negative, but
also had to rebuild the complex six-track soundtrack and
reinsert scenes that were snipped by order of the cen-
sors in 1960. The restored Spartacus had a number of
theater engagements around the country in 1991, was shown
on television, and has been released on videocassette and
videodisc.
Fortunately, the black-and-white separations (YCMs)
made from the original color negative of Spartacus in 1960
still existed in good condition, and they were successfully
used to reconstruct an intermediate color negative which
in turn was used to make new prints (the existing prints
from the 1960s are now severely faded). Except for major
theatrical features, separations were never made for most
of the movies shot on Eastman Color and similar motion
picture color negative film during the past four decades.
Good-quality prints can no longer be struck from many of
these negatives.
This worldwide cultural and financial tragedy, which
grows worse with each day that the films continue to sit in
non-refrigerated storage on archive and film library shelves,
could easily have been averted entirely by simply providing
humidity-controlled cold storage. For Spartacus, the cost
of refrigerated storage for the original color negative dur-
ing the 30 years dating from when it was made in 1960 until
it was re-released in 1991 would have been insignificant
compared to what was spent for making and storing sepa-
rations and in the recent restoration of the film.
The Profound Influence of Storage
Temperature on Color Film Fading Rates
To determine the proper storage temperature for a par-
ticular motion picture film, it is first necessary to reach a
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Table 9.2 Unofficial Kodak Estimates for Number of Years Required for the Least
Stable Image Dye of Motion Picture Films to Fade 10% from an Original
Density of 1.0 When Stored at Room Temperature (75F / 24C)*
Boldface Type indicates a film that was commercially available when this book went to press in 1992; the
other products listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Years of Years of
Storage Storage
Camera Negative Films at 40% RH* at 60% RH*
Years of Years of
Storage Storage
Laboratory Intermediate Films at 40% RH* at 60% RH*
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 6 (Y) 3 (Y)
(1974 version)
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 12 (C) NA
(1976 version)
(1980 version)
Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 28 (Y) 14 (Y)
(1985 name change)
Eastman Color High Speed (not disclosed)
Negative Film 5294
Eastman Color High Speed SA (not disclosed)
Negative Film 5295
Eastman Color High Speed Daylight (not disclosed)
Negative Film 5297
(19721983)
Eastman Color Negative Film 7291 50 (M) NA
Negative Film 7294
Negative Film 7292
Negative Film 7297
Eastman EXR Color 22 (Y) 11 (Y)
(1989 )
Eastman EXR Color 30 (Y) 15 (Y)
(1989 )
Eastman EXR Color (not disclosed)
(1992 )
Eastman EXR 500T Color 50 (Y) 25 (Y)
(1989 )
Eastman Color Internegative Film, 5 (Y) 3 (Y)
Type 5271 and 7271
Eastman Color Internegative Film, 23 (C) NA
Type 7272
Eastman Color Reversal 8 (Y) 4 (Y)
Intermediate Film 5249 and 7249
Eastman Color Intermediate II 22 (C) NA
Film 5243 and 7243
Eastman Color Intermediate (not disclosed)
Film 5243 and 7243 Improved
Eastman EXR Color Intermediate (not disclosed)
Film 5244 and 7244 (triacetate);
2244 (polyester) (1992 )
Color Print Films
Eastman Color Print 5 (C) NA
Film 5381 and 7381
Eastman Color SP Print 5 (C) NA
Film 5383 and 7383
Eastman Color Print 45 (Y) 23 (Y)
Film 5384 and 7384
Eastman Color LC Print 45 (Y) 23 (Y)
Film 5380 and 7380
(low-contrast version
of 5384 for TV applications)
*Notes: The estimates given here should serve only as general guidelines.
Estimated times for storage at 75F (24C) have been derived by this
author from data in Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman Motion
Picture Films (data sheets), Kodak Publications DS-100-1 through DS-
100-9, May 29, 1981; G. L. Kennel, R. C. Sehlin, F. R. Reinking, S. W.
Spakowsky, and G. L. Whittier, Eastman Color High-Speed Negative
Film 5293, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 91, No. 10, October 1982, pp. 922930;
K. J. Carl, J. W. Erwin, S. J. Powell, F. R. Reinking, R. C. Sehlin, S. W.
Spakowsky, W. A. Szafranski, and R. W. Wien, Eastman Color Print Film
5384, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 91, No. 12, December 1982, pp. 11611170;
R. C. Sehlin, F. R. Reinking, S. W. Spakowsky, D. L. Clifford, G. L.
Whittier, and W. A. Szafranski, Eastman Color Negative Film 7291,
SMPTE Journal, Vol. 92, No. 12, December 1983, pp. 13021309; and
other sources.
The estimates for 60% RH storage are based on Kodak research that
showed that the fading rate of typical yellow dyes in Kodak films approxi-
mately doubles when the relative humidity is increased from 40% to 60%.
Furthermore, the dye stability data given here were based on Arrhenius
tests conducted with free-hanging film samples exposed to circulating
air. Research disclosed by Eastman Kodak in late 1992 showed that
storing films in sealed or semi-sealed containers (e.g., vapor-proof bags
and standard taped or untaped metal and plastic motion picture film
cans) could substantially increase the rates of dye fading and film-base
deterioration. Therefore, the estimates given here for color motion pic-
ture films probably considerably overstate the actual stabilities of the
films when they are stored in standard film cans under the listed tempera-
ture and humidity conditions. (See: A. Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin,
S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and P. Miller [Eastman Kodak Company],
The Effects and Prevention of Vinegar Syndrome, presented at the
1992 Annual Conference of the Association of Moving Image Archi-
vists, San Francisco, California, December 10, 1992.)
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Table 9.3 Official Fuji Estimates for Number of
Years Required for the Least Stable
Image Dye of Motion Picture Films
to Fade 10% from an Original Density
of 1.0 When Stored at Room
Temperature (75F / 24C)
Boldface Type indicates a film that was commercially avail-
able when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer
materials. Under Fujis old system of film designation, type
851 films were 35mm camera color negative films and type
852 films were 16mm equivalents. Under the current desig-
nation system, adopted in 1988, type 85 are 35mm camera
color negative films and type 86 are 16mm equivalents. Type
881 films are 35mm color print films (printed from color nega-
tives or internegatives); type 882 films are 16mm equivalents.
Years of Years of
Storage Storage
Camera Negative Films at 40% RH at 60% RH
Fujicolor Negative Film A 40 (C) (C)
8517 and 8527
Fujicolor Negative Film A 100 (Y) (Y)
8511 and 8521
Fujicolor Negative Film A250 40 (C) (C)
Type 8518 and 8528
Fujicolor High-Speed Negative 100 (Y) (Y)
Film AX, 8512 and 8522
Fujicolor High-Speed Negative 100 (Y) (Y)
Film AX, 8514 and 8524
Fujicolor Negative Film F-500 100 (Y) (Y)
8514 and 8524
8510 and 8610
Fujicolor Negative Film F-64D 100 (Y) (Y)
8520 and 8620
8530 and 8630
8550 and 8650
Fujicolor Negative Film F-250D 100 (Y) (Y)
8560 and 8660
8570 and 8670
Fujicolor Intermediate Film, 100 (Y) (Y)
8213 and 8223
Color Print Films
Fujicolor Positive Film HP, 9 (C) 8 (C)
8814 and 8824
Fujicolor Positive Film LP, >50 (Y) 50 (Y)
8816 and 8826
Table 9.4 Official Agfa-Gevaert Estimates
for Number of Years Required for
the Least Stable Image Dye of Motion
Picture Films to Fade 10% from an
Original Density of 1.0 When Stored
at Room Temperature (75F / 24C)
Boldface Type indicates a film that was commercially avail-
able when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer
materials
Years of Years of
Storage Storage
Camera Negative Films at 40% RH at 60% RH
Agfa XT 125 Colour 10 (C) (C)
Negative Film
Agfa XT 100 Colour 35 (Y) (Y)
Negative Film
Agfa XT 320 High Speed 10 (C) (C)
Colour Negative Film
(original type)
Agfa XT 320 High Speed 35 (Y) (Y)
Agfa XTS 400 High Speed 35 (Y) (Y)
(1993 )
Color Print Films
Gevacolor Print Film 982 5 (C) (C)
(original type)
Gevacolor Print Film 982 5 (C) (C)
(improved type)
Agfa Print CP1 Colour Print Film 5 (C) (C)
(triacetate or polyester base)
Agfa Print CP10 Colour Print Film 5 (C) (C)
(polyester base)
(a triacetate base version of CP10
was planned for introduction in 1993)
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With low-temperature, 0F (18C) storage, color fading
ceases for all practical purposes. With most collections,
the money and aggravation this will save will in the long
run far exceed the costs of cold storage. The older these
like new motion pictures get, the more valuable they will
become.
If one could draw an analogy to the costly process of
colorizing old black-and-white films,
29
it is much easier
and far less expensive to prevent color films from fading in
the first place than it is to restore or to otherwise at-
tempt to put back the color in a faded film.
Most Older Color Films in Collections
Have Already Faded Much More Than 10%
Probably the most compelling reason for adopting a very
tight limit for acceptable dye fading in deciding what
temperature is required in a long-term cold storage facility
is that most films found in film libraries and archives today
have already suffered more than a 10% dye loss. With
many films, the amount of fading will far exceed a 10% dye
loss. The reader can appreciate that letting such films
fade an additional 20 or 30% on top of the fading that has
already taken place simply cannot be tolerated. In such
situations, no additional fading is acceptable. Depending
on the degree of fading that has taken place in a particular
film, the additional dye loss could very well push the film
past the limit where acceptable prints can be made.
With seriously faded films, the additional dye loss could
also prevent successful restoration using film-resolution
digital intermediate systems or computer-based image-en-
hancement techniques. When fading passes a certain point,
there simply is not enough color information left for ad-
equate separation of the red, green, and blue densities that
represent the cyan, magenta, and yellow dye images.
The realization that color motion picture films can be
preserved essentially forever at moderate cost has con-
vinced an increasing number of film studios, archives, mu-
seums, and other collecting institutions to construct hu-
midity-controlled cold storage vaults to protect their hold-
ings. Some of these facilities are discussed in this chapter
(also see Chapter 20, Large-Scale, Humidity-Controlled
Cold Storage Facilities for the Permanent Preservation of
Color Films, Prints, and Motion Pictures).
The Influence of Relative Humidity
on Color Film Fading
The image dyes in different films vary in their sensitiv-
ity to relative humidity; Kodak has indicated that the rates
of fading of some of the yellow dyes in its products approxi-
mately double when the relative humidity is increased from
40% to 60%. If yellow is the least stable of the three dyes in
a particular film, the life of the film will be correspondingly
reduced if the film is stored in a higher relative humidity.
As discussed below, high relative humidity also has a very
detrimental effect on cellulose triacetate, cellulose nitrate,
and other cellulose ester films.
ANSI IT9.11-1991, American National Standard for Im-
aging Media Processed Safety Photographic Film Stor-
age specifies a relative humidity level of 2030% for ex-
tended-term storage of both color and black-and-white films.
30
that of most Eastman color negative films. The Agfa im-
age-life estimates also indicate that the dye stability of
Agfa print films continues to be very poor compared with
that of Fuji and Eastman color print films.
Image-Life Predictions for Long-Term,
Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage
Image-life predictions for storage at temperatures lower
than 75F (24C) are based on research by Eastman Kodak
indicating that, compared with room-temperature storage
at 75F (24C), the fading rates of chromogenic image dyes
in typical Kodak films are reduced by a factor of approxi-
mately 4.5X when the storage temperature is reduced to
55F (12.8C), by a factor of 20X when the temperature is
reduced to 35F (1.7C), and by a factor of 340X when the
temperature is reduced to 0F (18C). As can be seen in
Table 9.5, low-temperature storage affords a tremendous
increase in the useful life of color motion picture film. Low-
temperature storage not only preserves the dye image it-
self, it also preserves the film base and the gelatin emul-
sion. Humidity-controlled cold storage also totally elimi-
nates the possibility of fungus growths on films.
A 10% Loss of the Least Stable Dye
Is the Most Fading That Should Be Tolerated
The image-life predictions given here are based on the
number of years that it will take for the least stable of the
cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes in a film to fade 10%
(e.g., for the least stable dye to lose 0.10 density from an
initial density of 1.0). A 10% dye loss is a useful yardstick
for comparing the stability of one film with another, and is
a good figure to work with when selecting the appropriate
cold storage vault temperature for the long-term preserva-
tion of valuable motion picture films.
A 10% dye loss in a color negative is not a great deal of
fading, and such a dye loss can generally be corrected by
re-timing a negative for printing or producing a new inter-
mediate negative. While one could argue that it is possible
to satisfactorily correct for a greater amount of fading in a
color negative, this author believes that in a serious pres-
ervation program, it is better to take a conservative stance
and opt for the least possible change over time. Especially
when different film stocks are intercut (e.g., two or more
types of camera negative films, special effects films, etc.)
each of which may have a different amount of fading and
a different degree or direction of color shift it is much
easier to make a new print that is close to the density and
color values of the original production when negative fad-
ing is held to an absolute minimum.
In long-term preservation programs, little or no fading
should be tolerated in motion picture prints as well. Pull-
ing a print from cold storage and making a videotape or
optical disc transfer is a simple task if one has an assur-
ance that color and density are absolutely unchanged from
the original, and that there has been no increase in d-min
stain level. The color will be brilliant, the highlights clean,
and the shadows deep and neutral. As television moves
toward fully digital high-definition systems, the demands
for image quality will correspondingly increase. What passes
as acceptable today will not be adequate in the future.
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Table 9.5 Estimates for Number of Years Required for the Least Stable Image Dye
of Eastman Motion Picture Films to Fade 10% from an Original Density
of 1.0 in Storage at Various Temperatures and 40% RH*
Boldface Type indicates a film that was commercially available when this book went to press in 1992; the
other products listed had been either discontinued or replaced with newer materials.
Years of Storage at 40% RH:*
75F 55F 35F 0F
Camera Negative Films (24C) (12.8C) (1.7C) (18C)
Years of Storage at 40% RH:*
75F 55F 35F 0F
Laboratory Intermediate Films (24C) (12.8C) (1.7C) (18C)
Eastman Color Negative II 6 27 120 2,000
Film 5247 (1974 version)
Eastman Color Negative 28 125 560 9,500
Film 5247 (1985 name change)
Negative Film 5293
Negative Film 5294
SA Negative Film 5295
Daylight Negative Film 5297
Eastman Color 6 27 120 2,000
Negative II Film 7247
(197483)
Eastman Color 50 225 1,000 17,000
Negative Film 7291
Negative Film 7294
Negative Film 7292
Daylight Negative Film 7297
Eastman EXR Color Negative 22 100 440 7,500
Film 5245 and 7245
(1989 )
Film 5248 and 7248
(1989 )
Eastman EXR Color Negative (not disclosed)
Film 5293 and 7293
(1992 )
Eastman EXR 500T Color 50 225 1,000 17,000
(1989 )
Eastman Color Internegative 5 23 100 1,700
Film, Type 5271 and 7271
Internegative Film 7272
Eastman Color Reversal 8 36 160 2,500
Eastman Color Intermediate II 22 100 440 7,500
Film 5243 and 7243
Eastman Color Intermediate (not disclosed)
Film 5243 and 7243 Improved
Eastman EXR Color Intermediate (not disclosed)
Film 5244 and 7244
Color Print Films
Print Film 5381 and 7381
Eastman Color SP 5 23 100 1,700
Eastman Color LF 20 90 400 6,800
Eastman Color LFSP 20 90 400 6,800
Eastman Color 45 200 900 15,000
Eastman Color LC 45 200 900 15,000
*Notes: The estimates given here should serve only as general
guidelines. The predicted times for storage at 75F (24C) have
been derived by this author from data in Dye Stability of Kodak
and Eastman Motion Picture Films (data sheets), Kodak Publica-
tions DS-100-1 through DS-100-9, May 29, 1981, and other sources
(see note in Table 9.2). Predictions for storage at temperatures
lower than 75F (24C) are based on research by Kodak indicating
that, compared with room-temperature storage at 75F (24C), the
fading rates of image dyes in typical Kodak films are reduced by a
factor of approximately 4.5X when the storage temperature is re-
duced to 55F (12.8C), by a factor of 20X when the temperature is
reduced to 35F (1.7C), and by a factor of 340X when the tempera-
ture is reduced to 0F (18C).
Research disclosed by Eastman Kodak in late 1992 showed that
storing films in sealed or semi-sealed containers (e.g., vapor-proof bags
and standard taped or untaped metal and plastic motion picture film
cans) could substantially increase the rates of dye fading and film-base
deterioration. Therefore, the estimates given here for color motion
picture films probably considerably overstate the actual stabilities of the
films when they are stored in standard film cans under the listed
temperature and humidity conditions. (See: A. Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R.
Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and P. Miller [Eastman Kodak
Company], The Effects and Prevention of Vinegar Syndrome, presen-
ted at the 1992 Annual Conference of the Association of Moving
Image Archivists, San Francisco, California, December 10, 1992.)
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Extended-term storage conditions are defined as Storage
conditions suitable for the preservation of record informa-
tion having permanent value. (Extended-term storage
was formerly known as archival storage; beginning in 1991,
the word archival was being deleted from all ANSI stan-
dards as they were revised.) For medium-term storage
(storage for a minimum of 10 years), ANSI IT9.11-1991
specifies 2030% RH for color films and 2050% RH for
black-and-white films.
Kodak has chosen 40% RH for reporting image stability
data for most of its color materials. In most geographic
locations, higher average humidity levels are common, and
this is especially true in the warmer parts of the world. In
addition to 40% RH data, Fuji has also furnished data using
a more representative 60% RH storage condition for Fuji-
color print films (see Table 9.3).
It is interesting to note that unlike most chromogenic
yellow dyes, the yellow dye in Fujicolor LP print film shows
very little increase in its fading rate when stored at 60%
RH compared with storage at 40% RH, according to the
Fuji data.
The Influence of Temperature and
Relative Humidity on Film-Base Deterioration
The focus of efforts to preserve color motion picture
films has rightly been on the fading of dye images them-
selves, with film-base stability generally being of much
less concern. It has been a question of the weakest link,
and, since the introduction of Eastman Color negative and
print films in 1950, dye fading unquestionably has been the
weakest link.
This is not to say that film-base stability is unimportant.
Film-base stability generally is the most critical factor in
the deterioration of black-and-white separations (YCMs)
which, because of poor dye stability and inadequate stor-
age of virtually all older original color negatives, must now
be relied upon for the long-term preservation of many the-
atrical features.
Also affected are the camera separation negatives made
with Technicolor 3-strip cameras, separation interpositives
and duplicate negatives made from the original 3-strip nega-
tives, and, of course, those few but priceless full-color Tech-
These rolls of Agfa, DuPont, and Gevaert cellulose acetate safety-base microfilm from the 1950s have deteriorated to
uselessness. The films are so brittle that they crumble to the touch, and the images on the films are beyond recovery. The
decomposing film base smells strongly of vinegar (acetic acid). These films have been stored in Venezuela under semi-
tropical temperature and humidity conditions; although the warmth and humidity hastened the decomposition of the films,
all cellulose acetate-base microfilms eventually will suffer the same fate unless humidity-controlled cold storage is provided
to preserve them. Polyester-base films are expected to last far longer than cellulose triacetate-base films and should be
used for all motion picture separations (YCMs) and black-and-white and color microfilms.
1
9
8
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nicolor dye-imbibition prints that still exist. (Unlike the
comparatively unstable dye images in Eastman Color and
other chromogenic motion picture films, the color images
in Technicolor imbibition prints are essentially permanent
in dark storage see Chapter 10.)
With further improvements in the dye stability of East-
man Color, Fujicolor, and Agfa color motion picture films,
it is possible that the stability of the film base could be-
come of concern for these films as well.
Beginning around 1950, when highly flammable cellu-
lose nitrate motion picture film was replaced with cellu-
lose triacetate film, almost everyone in the film industry
felt that the long-standing film base problem had been
finally solved. The many assurances by Eastman Kodak,
other manufacturers, and the U.S. National Bureau of Stan-
dards that cellulose acetate film base was essentially per-
manent were based on aging studies dating back a number
of years.
Typical was a 1936 study of the comparative aging sta-
bility of cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate films that
concluded, based on rather simplistic accelerated aging
tests at very high temperatures, that cellulose acetate films
were far more stable than cellulose nitrate films:
The best evidence of the high stability of ac-
etate film is furnished by results of viscosity mea-
surements. When heated for 72 hours at 100C,
the specific viscosity decreased about 2 percent,
and after 30 days of aging only 9 percent. With
nitrate film, the decrease was 35 percent in 72
hours and 95 percent in 30 days of aging.
While it is not possible to predict the life of
acetate film from these results, the data show
that chemical stability of the film, with respect to
oven-aging, is greater than that of papers of
maximum purity for permanent records.
31
Unfortunately, with the passage of not too many years,
cellulose triacetate and other types of cellulose acetate
safety-base films kept under normal storage conditions proved
in some cases to be no more stable than cellulose nitrate
film, and nowhere near as stable as papers of maximum
purity. Within 10 years after Kodaks introduction of cel-
lulose triacetate film, the company received its first field
report of the deterioration of this new permanent film
base material. This film, from the Government of India,
had been stored in a hot, humid climate. Subsequent trade
complaints were also from locations where adverse stor-
age conditions could be encountered.
32
As the years went by, serious deterioration of cellulose
acetate safety films was seen in more and more collec-
tions; motion picture films, microfilms, and still-camera
films were all affected. By the mid-1980s there was seri-
ous concern about the problem in the museum and archive
fields. The problem became known as the vinegar syn-
drome, in reference to the pungent odor of acetic acid
present in storage areas and film cans that contain decom-
posing cellulose acetate-base film (acetic acid, which has a
strong and distinct odor, is the principal acidic component
in vinegar).
In 1987, David Horvath of the University of Kentucky
published a landmark survey of film deterioration in vari-
ous institutions around the country,
33
and this report con-
firmed the worst fears of many in the archive community:
that is, under commonly encountered storage conditions,
cellulose acetate film base could have a far shorter life
than previously believed. In short, modern cellulose triac-
etate film wasnt permanent after all.
This realization, which caused alarm and dismay among
those entrusted with microfilm and motion picture collec-
tions, prompted a flurry of studies and technical papers by
Michele Edge and Norman Allen working at Manchester
Polytechnic in England; Eastman Kodak; Agfa-Gevaert; and
the Image Permanence Institute in Rochester, New York.
The reader is referred to the many research reports
and other publications on the subject by these organiza-
tions; particularly valuable is the two-part series of ar-
ticles by Peter Z. Adelstein, James M. Reilly, and co-work-
ers at the Image Permanence Institute published in the
May 1992 issue of the SMPTE Journal.
34,35
The articles
discuss the findings of the Image Permanence Institutes
groundbreaking research on the permanence of cellulose
acetate and cellulose nitrate film base, and the influence of
temperature and humidity on rates of deterioration. The
articles also include relevant references to the work of
other researchers in this area.
Among the conclusions of the Image Permanence
Institutes research were:
36
1. The chemical stability of different cellulose ester base
films is generally quite similar. There have been re-
ported cases where films from a particular manufac-
turer, or which were made during a certain time pe-
riod, have poorer stability. However, there is no evi-
dence to suggest that diacetate, triacetate, or mixed
esters have inherently different stabilities because of
their chemical differences. The often-repeated state-
ment that the obsolete diacetate films are less stable
than more recent films is not supported by this study.
2. The stability of cellulose nitrate base film can be of the
same order of magnitude as cellulose triacetate base
films. More work is required to establish whether this
is characteristic of most nitrate films now in storage.
However, it has been established that cellulose nitrate
film in storage will not necessarily degrade faster than
other cellulose ester base films.
3. Film archivists should give highest priority for duplica-
tion to the film that shows some incipient signs of deg-
radation, regardless of base type. Decisions should not
be based solely on the chemical composition of the film
base. However, it is recognized that priority should be
given to cellulose nitrate films when safety (i.e., flam-
mability) is a concern.
4. The superior chemical stability of polyester base films
supports the conclusions of earlier studies.
5. A very significant increase in film life is possible when
the storage humidity is lowered below 50% RH. This
study is the basis for the recent ANSI recommendation
of 20 to 30% RH where extended life of films is desired.
6. The temperature coefficient of improved chemical sta-
bility with decreased storage temperature is similar
for all cellulose ester films and for all the basic film
properties. The use of cold-storage facilities should be
considered in order to prolong the chemical stability of
valuable and unique photographic films.
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James M. Reilly, director of the Image Permanence Insti-
tute, checking one of the ovens used to conduct the Arrhe-
nius multi-temperature accelerated aging tests with film-
base specimens. The ovens, which have precise tempera-
ture and humidity controls, can also be used for acceler-
ated tests with color materials. More than 15,000 measure-
ments were made of the physical properties of the test
specimens during the course of the IPI film-base study.
Some of the many hundreds of film-base specimens tested
by the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Insti-
tute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Groups of film
specimens were moisture-conditioned to 20, 50, 60, and
80% RH in a humidity-controlled room prior to being sealed
in vapor-proof packages and placed in accelerated aging
ovens. Incubations were made at temperatures of 50, 70,
80, 90 and 100C.
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sealed containers such as standard taped or untaped metal
or plastic film cans (or vapor-proof bags) could signifi-
cantly increase the rates of both dye fading and film-base
deterioration compared with films stored in the open and
surrounded by circulating air.
37
It was demonstrated that
storage of motion picture films in humid environments was
particularly harmful.
There have been a number of reports in recent years
pointing to the fact that sealing cellulose acetate and cellu-
lose nitrate films in film cans or other closed containers
can accelerate the degradation process by retaining acetic
acid vapors and other deterioration by-products which con-
tribute to an autocatalytic acetate film-base deterioration
process. But the investigations by Ram and his co-workers
at Kodak were the first to show that film-base deteriora-
tion by-products could also increase rates of dye fading.
The principal mechanism involved is the evolution of
acetic acid vapors from slowly deteriorating cellulose ac-
etate film base which, over time, lowers the pH of the emulsion
and that this in turn increases the fading rates of many
chromogenic dyes, with the pH-sensitive yellow dyes used
in many films being particularly affected. The result, ac-
cording to Ram and his co-workers, is that the image dyes
in color motion picture films packaged in standard metal
or plastic film cans or other sealed or semi-sealed contain-
ers can fade more rapidly in some cases, much more
rapidly than is predicted by accelerated dark storage
tests with free-hanging specimens using the test proce-
dures specified in ANSI IT9.9-1990 (see Chapter 2).
To avoid this problem with acetate-base films, Ram and
his co-workers recommend packaging films in taped cans
with a sodium aluminum silicate molecular sieve
38
to
absorb moisture, acetic acid vapors, and other gases that
could potentially affect dye and film-base stability. Placing
an amount of the sodium aluminum silicate molecular sieve
7. The beneficial effects of low-temperature and low-hu-
midity storage are additive. The combination of low
temperature and low relative humidity represents the
optimum storage condition for cellulose ester base films.
Adelstein, Reilly, and co-workers showed that for typi-
cal cellulose ester-base films stored at a given tempera-
ture, lowering the relative humidity from 50% to 20% will
increase the life of the film 3 to 4 times. Film stored at 80%
RH will have only about one-quarter of the life of film stored
at 50% RH. The benefit offered by low-temperature stor-
age can be much greater. Lowering the storage tempera-
ture from 80F (26.7C) to 30F (1.1C) will increase the life
of a film approximately 32 times. Lowering the tempera-
ture to 0F (18C) is predicted to increase the life of a film
more than 200 times over storage at 80F (26.7C)!
While reducing the storage relative humidity to the rec-
ommended 2030% level is very beneficial in and of itself,
low humidity should not be thought of as a substitute for
humidity-controlled cold storage. Preserving cellulose ac-
etate and cellulose nitrate film indefinitely requires cold
storage. Humidity control alone is perhaps more appropri-
ate for film collections that are financially unable to con-
struct (or rent) cold storage facilities. It will generally be
possible to install dry-desiccant dehumidifiers in existing
buildings at moderate cost to achieve year-round low hu-
midity (see Chapter 16).
Storage of Acetate-Base Motion Picture Films
in Standard Film Cans Will Increase the Rates
of Both Dye Fading and Film-Base Deterioration
In a very important disclosure in late 1992 by A. Tulsi
Ram and his co-workers at Eastman Kodak, it was re-
ported that storing acetate-base films in sealed or semi-
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equal to about 2-percent of the weight of the film in the can
was recommended. The molecular sieve, which is con-
tained in a tubular Tyvek package that is wrapped around
the outside of the film roll (which has been wrapped with a
sheet of polyethylene), should be replaced about every 2 to
3 years when the film is stored at room temperature, and
every 10 to 15 years if the storage condition is maintained
at 35F (1.7C) and 2030% RH. If the relative humidity of
the storage area is not maintained at a low level (e.g., 30%
RH), the cans should be taped during storage.
Pending the outcome of further studies of the proposed
molecular sieve film-storage method including the costs,
labor requirements, and the long-term physical effects on
various types of films it is believed by this author that
the increase in the life of color motion picture films that
will be obtained with the use of molecular sieves in sealed
film cans can be achieved at lower cost and with less labor
by storing films in vented plastic film cans
39
(or in high-
quality, vapor-permeable cardboard boxes
40
) and lowering
the storage temperature an appropriate amount.
This author does, however, highly recommend the mo-
lecular sieve method to greatly extend the life of B&W
separation films (YCMs), sound negatives, microfilms, and
other types of B&W and color motion picture films (includ-
ing nitrate films and Technicolor nitrate-base IB prints)
that are stored under non-refrigerated conditions.
Film vaults used to store film packaged in vented film
cans or permeable cardboard boxes should be equipped
with activated charcoal filtration systems to remove acetic
acid vapors and other potentially harmful by-products of
film-base deterioration. In addition, air filters should be
provided to remove dust, lint, and other particulate matter
from the airstream that over time could contaminate films
stored in vented film cans.
Nitrate Film Buried and Abandoned in
Yukon Permafrost Preserved for 50 Years
In a dramatic example of the benefits of cold storage (in
this case with no humidity control whatsoever), over 500
cellulose nitrate motion pictures were buried in the frozen
ground of Dawson City in the Yukon Territory in the north-
west part of Canada in 1929. When the films were found
and dug out of the permafrost in 1978, they were for the
most part still in fairly good condition. The discovery was
described in the movie business publication Variety in 1988:
The cache included one-reelers, serials, and
news films dating from 1903 to 1929. It included
some films by famous people and some by people
never mentioned in film histories.
All on 35mm nitrate stock, these movies had
found their way to the Yukon during the gold
rush that started in 1896.
When the gold fever subsided, the reels of
film were left behind in the basement of the
local Carnegie Library. Then, in 1929, they were
used as fill for an open-air swimming pool the
town had decided to get rid of.
They remained there until 1978 when work-
men found them while breaking ground for a
new recreation center.
41
The recovery and restoration of the films was super-
vised by Sam Kula of the National Archives of Canada, and
the films, many of which exist nowhere else, are now part
of the Archives motion picture collection.
Low-Temperature, Humidity-Controlled
Storage versus Black-and-White Separations
At present there are only two approaches to the long-
term preservation of color motion picture films. One method
is to make black-and-white silver separations (also called
YCMs or Protection Masters) from the original camera
color negative and to then rely on these separations for
future reconstructions of the color image. The other ap-
proach to long-term preservation is to store the original
color negative (or reversal film), color intermediates, mag-
netic masters, sound negatives, and release prints in hu-
midity-controlled cold storage (i.e., 0F [18C] at 30% RH).
When low-temperature storage is used, the making of
expensive black-and-white separations is completely un-
necessary; in fact, accelerated aging data and years of
experience with black-and-white films show conclusively
that color originals stored at low temperatures will last far
longer than silver separations kept in normal air-condi-
tioned room storage.
The availability of color release prints in perfect condi-
tion is one of the most valuable aspects of the low-tempera-
ture approach to film preservation. A print can be readily
accessed for transfer to videotape for television transmis-
sion and videodisc production, or for future forms of elec-
tronic theatrical release and other applications where only
a single top-quality print is required. There will be no
laboratory costs for color correcting a faded print, or for
making a new composite print from separations or from
faded original color negatives or intermediates.
In the event of future theatrical film release, a pre-
served print can be used as a visual guide for the proper
timing (adjustment of overall density and color balance) of
new print production. Without a well-preserved original
print, there will probably be no way to time new printings
or video transfers to closely match the way the origi-
nal film looked when it was made.
Separations Have Been Recommended Since
the Early Days of Color Motion Pictures
The making of black-and-white separations has long been
recommended as the best way or even the only way to
preserve color motion picture images for long periods of
time. Graham, Adelstein, and West, writing in the Journal
of the SMPTE in 1970, said that This method is the ulti-
mate for long-time preservation of color photographic records
although the cost of making black-and-white separations is
high.
42
The widespread use of color separations in the
motion picture industry had its start with the introduction
of the 3-strip Technicolor camera in 1934; this complex
camera used three rolls of black-and-white film to make
direct separations of moving scenes. The separations were
used to prepare gelatin-relief matrix films for printing by
the Technicolor dye-imbibition process (see Chapter 10).
Later, separation negatives were prepared in the
laboratory from original Kodachrome and Anscocolor mo-
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tion picture films as a step in making prints by the Techni-
color process. Unfortunately, prior to 1950, virtually all the
film stocks supplied to the professional motion picture in-
dustry were made on cellulose nitrate supports. Because
of dimensional instability, separations made using these
older films generally print out of registration unless spe-
cial equipment is used to register the separations on a
scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame basis (the use of
original cellulose nitrate camera separation negatives in
recent restorations of Gone With the Wind and other Tech-
nicolor dye-imbibition movies is discussed in Chapter 10).
When Eastman Kodak introduced chromogenic East-
man Color Negative Film in 1950, separation positives were
used for the preparation of duplicate negatives for volume
printing on Eastman Color Print Film; initially, no color
intermediate films were available from Kodak, so this was
the only way duplicate color negatives could be made.
Separation positives have come to be known as YCMs
in reference to the fact that one separation is a record of
the yellow dye layer of the color negative, the second is the
record of the cyan dye layer, and the third is a record of the
magenta dye layer. YCMs generally are printed from the
original color negative. YCMs are usually timed during
printing (after a trial answer print has been made). Some,
however, are printed with only one light. Separations are
sometimes made from fully-timed color interpositives; in
such cases, the separations have negative images and prop-
erly are called separation negatives or RGB separations.
The Technicolor Corporation made separations from
Eastman Color Negative films as a step in making dye
imbibition release prints until the process was phased out
by the firm in favor of the chromogenic Eastman color
print process in the mid-1970s.
After Eastman Color Negative Film came into wide use
in the 1960s, it was common practice to make separation
positives (YCMs) for major theatrical productions; this
was done both to have assurance that a new, duplicate
color negative could be prepared for making prints when
the original color negative had faded to an unacceptable
degree, and to provide an immediate back up for the origi-
nal negative should it be physically damaged during labo-
ratory printing operations. However, because of the great
expense involved in making separations, they have only
rarely been made for films other than major theatrical re-
leases in the United States and Europe.
Eastman Panchromatic Separation Film 5235, which has
been used for many years by the entertainment film indus-
try for making separations (YCMs), has always been manu-
factured with a cellulose triacetate base. A polyester-base
version of 5235 is available as Eastman Panchromatic Sepa-
ration Film SO-202; this film, which is far superior to 5235
because of its much better permanence and dimensional
stability, has been available since around 1990 and is now
supplied by Kodak as a stock item.
One of the unfortunate results of the continued reliance
of the major film studios on separations for long-term pres-
ervation has been to discourage the construction of low-
temperature, humidity-controlled film storage facilities.
43
Since it was believed that in most cases the major films
had been preserved, for most studios there has been little
incentive to worry about the general state of motion pic-
ture preservation.
The Now-Discontinued NASA Separation
Negative Project for Spaceflight Color Films
In 1976, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration (NASA) instituted a major project to produce
separation negatives for the off-site backup preservation
of color transparency films made during manned space
flights starting with the first suborbital flight by astronaut
Alan Shepard on May 5, 1961, and continuing through the
joint Russian-American Apollo-Soyuz mission which took
place in July 1975. Other than in the theatrical motion
picture industry, the NASA separation project is probably
the only large-scale attempt in the U.S. to use separations
for backup preservation purposes.
The NASA separation program is described here not to
encourage the making of separations. Rather, it is to illus-
trate just how involved and expensive such procedures can
become if one wants to have an assurance that the separa-
tions will be usable for high-quality color image recon-
structions in the distant future when current film stocks
are no longer available.
By 1980, the NASA collection of color films taken during
space flights and the historic 1969 landing on the surface of
the moon NASA refers to such films as flight films
consisted of about 20,000 feet of 16mm film, about 3,000 feet
of 35mm film, 15,000 feet of 70mm film, and about 5,000 feet
of 5-inch film. These films included both still and motion
picture footage. Black-and-white separations had been made
of the bulk of the 19611975 footage by the end of 1979.
NASA considers the original space flight films to have
extraordinary historical value, and separations were made
from the 19611975 films as backups should anything hap-
pen to the original color transparencies. NASA had kept
the original films in moderate-temperature cold storage at
about 55F (12.8C) and 50% RH during the years following
the original space flights. However, upon the realization
that much lower storage temperatures were necessary to
permanently preserve the films, a new vault was completed
in 1982 which is maintained at 0F (18C) and 20% RH.
According to Noel Lamar, formerly with NASAs Image
Sciences Division, the decision to make black-and-white
separations instead of originally storing the color originals
at low temperatures was made for several reasons.
44
Two
reasons were that making separations for long-term keep-
ing was the usual recommendation given in the literature
dealing with this subject, and it was also the recommenda-
tion given by Eastman Kodak Company at that time.
An additional consideration was that there was no cer-
tainty that the original films would always be kept in cold
storage during future years. For example, at the time the
separation project was planned, the U.S. National Archives
did not have a cold storage facility for color films, and if the
space flight originals were handed over to the National
Archives, they would have ended up being stored under
inadequate conditions. (Regrettably, the National Archives
did not include a 0F [18C] storage vault in its new build-
ing in College Park, Maryland which is scheduled to open
in December 1993.)
Because of the extreme historical importance of the
manned space flight photographs, Lamar said that mor-
ally we felt we should make separations to assure the
preservation of the images. NASA also transferred video-
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Figure 9.2 The flow chart used by NASA for preparation of black-and-white separation negatives from color reversal
spaceflight originals. NASA employed an elaborate series of quality control checks to ensure that the density and gamma of
the separation negatives were correct and that the films were properly processed and washed.
Figure 9.1 NASAs tentative procedure for
reconstructing color images from the black-
and-white separation negatives that were
made from spaceflight reversal originals in
NASAs now-discontinued separation nega-
tive program. Because the original color
films are stored at 0F (18C), it is unlikely
that the polyester-base separation negatives
NASA has made will ever be needed. They
were produced as an off-site backup for the
irreplaceable originals at a time when sepa-
rations were recommended to protect the
images of valuable color originals. Except
for test samples, separation positives have
not been prepared from the separation nega-
tives because the sensitometric character-
istics of future film stocks are unknown.
(From: Black-and-White Separations of
Spacecraft Original Film, Technical Report,
by Lincoln Perry, Photographic Technology
Division, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center, Houston, Texas, 1975.)
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Until 1982, original spaceflight films were stored at NASA in a room maintained at 55F (12.8C) and 50% RH. When
densitometric measurements of step wedges in the headers of the specially-coated polyester-base Ektachrome EF and MS
films revealed that the color images were slowly fading in the 55F environment, the entire preservation program was re-
evaluated and three new 0F (18C), 20% RH vaults were constructed to halt further fading of these priceless records.
when a separation is made from a color negative, the basic
difficulties of reconstructing accurate color images from
black-and-white separations with future color films of un-
known sensitometric characteristics remain.
After the completion of a 0F (18C) and 20% RH cold
storage vault 1982, NASA concluded that making black-
and-white separations was no longer necessary, and the
separation negative project was discontinued. With two
off-site backup sets of duplicates also kept at 0F (18C),
NASA now relies on low-temperature storage for the per-
manent preservation of original spaceflight color films.
Potential Long-Term Problems with
Black-and-White Separations (YCMs)
As current film stocks become obsolete and are replaced
with new materials of different sensitometric characteris-
tics, it may be a difficult and costly process to print exist-
ing negatives or separations without significant losses in
image quality. As an example even if differential shrink-
age were not a factor separations made with the obso-
lete Technicolor 3-strip cameras may be incorrectly matched
to current color film stocks:
Making new prints of a film photographed by
means of the Technicolor three-strip process in-
volves a number of unique problems stemming
from the fact that separation elements for such
tapes generated during the Apollo missions to color film,
and separations were then made from these films.
NASA developed a complex two-stage separation proce-
dure which consists of making separation negatives from
the color originals and then, at a later date, making gamma-
adjusted separation positives from the separation nega-
tives.
45
This procedure avoids the problem of not knowing
what gamma and reproduction characteristics of a future
reconstruction process will be. The general process is
outlined in Figure 9.1. The entire reproduction procedure
was tested with a number of test examples; however, for
most films, only the first stage of the process the sepa-
ration negatives was completed. The remaining steps
need not be done until some future time when there may
be a reason to reconstruct the color images from separa-
tions instead of making duplicates from the color originals.
The separations were made on polyester-base roll films
of the same width as the originals; the separation film
emulsion is similar to that used in Kodak Panatomic-X
still-camera film. NASA used an elaborate quality control
program for the making of separations in which process
quality, residual chemicals, and registration were care-
fully checked the procedures are outlined in Figure 9.2.
The NASA procedures were more exacting and far more
costly than the methods used by the theatrical motion
picture industry. While most of NASAs separations were
made from reversal originals, thus producing a separation
negative instead of the separation positive which results
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The original Ektachrome EF and MS films used by the astronauts for photography on the historic Apollo mission to the moon
on July 1624, 1969, together with original color still photographs and motion pictures from other space missions, are
permanently preserved at 0F (18C) and 20% RH at NASA headquarters in Houston, Texas. Shown here are NASA staff
members Frank Zehentner (left) and Terry Slezak preparing to remove an aluminum case containing uncut rolls of color film
originals. As part of the most sophisticated color film preservation effort in the world, a complete set of duplicates is stored
in a second 0F (20% RH) facility in Houston, and a third set is kept in a 0F (20% RH) vault at White Sands, New Mexico.
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(
3
)
Cans of cataloged rolls of color spaceflight films from the Apollo missions to the moon were placed in waterproof aluminum
cases for storage in the Houston vault. Included are the original 70mm Ektachrome color transparencies photographed by
astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. after they landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Because these films
were actually on the surface of the moon, no duplicates or high-resolution digitized copies no matter how perfect can
ever approach the value of the originals as historic objects. Now stored at 0F (18C) and 20% RH, NASA intends to
preserve these films in essentially unchanged condition forever. A plaque left on the moon by the astronauts is engraved:
Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.
Temperature and relative humidity conditions inside
the vault are constantly monitored; alarms will sound
to alert NASA staff if preset limits are exceeded.
Signs on the NASA storage vault door warn of the potentially
life-threatening carbon dioxide fire extinguishing system. Be-
cause the original spaceflight films are never used for routine
printing (color internegatives and duplicate transparency printing
masters were made from uncut rolls shortly after processing),
this is a dead storage vault and is entered only infrequently.
NASA operates a sophisticated color processing laboratory in
the building where the vault is located, so the original space-
flight films need never leave the high-security facility.
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Table 9.6 Estimated Cost of Cold Storage
Rental Per Year for Motion Picture
Film (0F [18C] and 30% RH)*
Conformed original color negative 9 cans $ 36.00
(if A and B rolls: 18 cans @ $ 72.00)
Color interpositive (5243 or 5244) 9 cans $ 36.00
Color internegative (5243 or 5244) $ 36.00
or CRI (5249) 9 cans
Magnetic master 9 cans $ 36.00
Sound negative 9 cans $ 36.00
Release or answer print (5384) 9 cans $ 36.00
Total Per Year: $ 216.00
* 9,000 feet of 35mm film in nine 1,000-foot cans;
$30.00 rental per cubic foot per year (7.4 cans per cu. ft.)
Table 9.7 Cost of Film Elements to Be Put
in Cold Storage (9,000-Foot 35mm
Feature Film)
1) Original color negative none*
(A rolls or A and B rolls)
2) Color interpositive and none*
internegative (5243 or 5244)
(also called color master positive
and color duplicate negative)
3) Release print (5384) @ $0.22/ft. $ 1,980
(new, non-projected print; part
of initial print order)
Total: $ 1,980
* Costs of original camera negative, color intermediates,
magnetic master, and sound negative already covered
as a normal expense of film production.
rior to 5235 for separations because of its much better
permanence and dimensional stability.
Costs of B&W Separations versus
Cold Storage for Long-Term Preservation
When one compares the high cost of making separa-
tions with the relatively low costs of keeping films in low-
temperature cold storage, there would appear to be little
justification for the continued use of separations for pres-
ervation purposes. Using a base rental figure of $30 per
year per cubic foot of humidity-controlled 0F (18C) cold
storage space in a commercial facility,
47
it would be pos-
sible to store all the important elements of a typical 9,000-
foot theatrical motion picture for about $216 per year (see
Table 9.6). As all the elements of a film, except an addi-
tional release print, are normally made during the course
of production, there is little additional expenditure for the
materials to be placed in cold storage (Table 9.7).
The costs of producing B&W separation interpositives
(YCMs or Protection Masters) and a comparison with
the costs of cold storage are given in Table 9.8 and Table
9.9. Black-and-white separation interpositive costs, new
color internegative, answer print, and other costs were
based on prices quoted by Technicolor, Inc. (Hollywood) in
September 1992 and were typical of the prices charged for
these services by major motion picture laboratories in Hol-
lywood and New York at the time this book went to press.
In Table 9.2, which was discussed earlier in this chap-
ter, estimates based on published Kodak data for a visually
detectable dye loss of 10% for many current Kodak motion
picture color negative and color print films stored at 75F
(24C) are given. In Table 9.5, corresponding estimates
for a 10% dye loss are given for the same films stored at
a Technicolor picture were tailored not only to
the requirements of the Technicolor system, but
also quite often were modified for the specific
production. The net result is that the contrast
or density of the separations may be inappropri-
ate for printing directly onto current Eastman
color stocks. If the contrast of a separation is
too high the net result will be that the new color
negative will yield contrasty prints which com-
pare unfavorably with a well-preserved imbibi-
tion print of the same subject. Duping the sepa-
rations and adjusting the gamma and density in
the process before making the color negative may
alleviate the contrast problem, but it will involve
other compromises in the image quality which
may or may not be considered less desirable.
46
Other potential problems of silver separations are dif-
ferential shrinkage of the cellulose triacetate film base
(which would cause the images to be printed slightly out of
registration) and fading or discoloration of the silver im-
age. Even slight silver image irregularities which occur as
a result of fading or staining will result in uneven color
reproduction when the separations are printed in future
years; such irregularities would likely be difficult or even
impossible to correct.
Further, in light of the discussion concerning cellulose
triacetate film base degradation earlier in this chapter, it
should be noted that the separation film normally used for
motion picture work, Eastman Panchromatic Separation
Film 5235, is supplied by Kodak on a cellulose triacetate
base. An Estar polyester-base version of 5235 is available
as Eastman Panchromatic Separation Film SO-202; this
film is supplied by Kodak as a stock item and is far supe-
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Table 9.8 Cost of Motion Picture Film
Elements for Preservation by
B&W Separation Procedure
(9,000-Foot Feature Film)
Set of three B&W separation interpositives $ 33,390
(YCMs) (SO-202 or 5235) @ $3.71/ft.
(additional costs if A and B roll original)
Additional costs to obtain
new print from B&W separations:
Internegative from separations (YCMs) $ 42,300
(5243 or 5244) @ $4.70/ft.
Color print from internegative (5384) $ 15,030
@ $1.67/ft. (fully timed answer print)
Total Cost: $ 90,720
Note: Additional prints (5384) $ 13,680
@ $1.52/ft. may be required
for timing purposes.
Second color internegative may be $ 42,300
required if large numbers of prints
are needed for theatrical release.
Table 9.9 Comparison of Costs for
Cold Storage and B&W Separation
Approaches to the Preservation
of Color Motion Picture Films
Cold Storage Approach:
Annual cold storage for release print only $ 36
Annual cold storage for all elements $ 216
of a feature film
Cost of additional release print $ 1,980
for cold storage
B&W Separation Approach:
Cost of making three B&W $ 33,390*
separation interpositives (YCMs)
Cost of making new internegative $ 57,330
and single answer print from B&W
separation interpositives (YCMs)
* Does not include cost of storage for separations,
magnetic master, and sound negative.
for seamless intercutting of original negatives the Ko-
dak Cineon system could conceivably be used to produce
film-resolution digital tapes or optical disks of full-length
color motion pictures. (For an overview of practical appli-
cations of digital technology in the motion picture industry,
the reader is referred to an article by Bob Fisher entitled
The Dawning of the Digital Age, which appeared in the
April 1992 issue of American Cinematographer.
48
)
Working with the Kodak Cineon system is an expensive
proposition. Scanning costs about $6 per frame and writ-
ing digital images back to film is an additional $8 per frame.
Cineon workstations cost from $250,000 to over $1 million
(prices do not include film scanner and film recorder hard-
ware these services must be contracted from Kodak).
Rental of a Cineon facility can cost up to $1,500 per hour.
With approximately 40 megabytes of non-compressed
digital data per frame (2,600 lines x 3,600 pixels),
49
the file
size for 1 second (24 frames) of 35mm Academy aperture
color film exceeds 1 gigabyte (one-billion bytes).
50
A one-hour D-1 videocassette holds about 72 Gbytes
of digital data; therefore, a full D-1 videocassette can store
film-resolution data for only about 1 minute of film!
Even if a film-resolution digital preservation system
for full-length motion pictures eventually becomes a cost-
effective alternative to storage of film itself, significant
problems remain. Aside from uncertainties about the long-
term stability of the various forms of digital magnetic tapes
and optical disks in this rapidly changing industry, there is
the much more serious problem of hardware and software
55F (12.8C), 45F (7.2C), and 0F (18C).
In Table 9.10, estimates are given for the number of
years various original color film elements could be stored
for the cost of making separations, and reconstructing new
prints from the separations and sound negatives.
Optical Disk, Magnetic Tape, and Other Digital
Image Storage Systems Are Not Satisfactory
Substitutes for Preservation of Film Originals
Many film archivists have long held a dream that some-
day a perfect film preservation system would be devised
to allow transfer of color motion picture images onto some
sort of extremely high-resolution and essentially perma-
nent digital medium that could be stored under ordinary
room-temperature and humidity conditions forever. Such
a system, it has been hoped, would give quick access to
each and every film stored in huge collections and would
be able to produce perfect film-resolution transfers or
videotape and laserdisc copies of the films on demand
and at low cost.
With the commercial introduction of the Kodak Cineon
Digital Film System in 1993, and other film-resolution
digital intermediate systems, the interest in such a fully
digital preservation system is certain to increase.
Although intended for special effects, scene salvage (elimi-
nation of scratches), restoration of damaged frames, and
image compositing with the capability of writing the
edited digital file on a color photographic intermediate film
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Table 9.10 Number of Years That a Motion
Picture Film Can Be Kept in Cold
Storage for Cost Equal to That of
Making B&W Separations and
Other Film Elements
a) All elements in cold storage 155 years
for cost of separations
b) All elements in cold storage 420 years
for cost of separations plus new
color internegative and new print
c) Original negative in cold storage 930 years
for cost of separations
d) Original negative in cold storage 2,100 years
for cost of separations plus new
color internegative
e) Print only in cold storage for 925 years
cost of separations
f ) Print only in cold storage for 2,520 years
cost of separations plus new
color internegative and new print
could occur as a result of earthquakes, equipment failure,
fire, theft, or damage during transportation or laboratory
handling, the various film elements made during the course
of a production should be divided between low-tempera-
ture, humidity-controlled cold storage facilities at two dif-
ferent geographic locations.
For example, one cold storage installation should be
used to store the original conformed color negative, mas-
ter positive, duplicate color negative or CRI, sound cut
negative and/or magnetic master, and two mint-condition
release prints, including a copy of each foreign-version
release print (as many as 250 rolls of pre-print elements
may be involved in a major production; some classic films
have more than 1,000). This remote facility would be used
as a high-security dead storage area which would not nor-
mally need to be accessed; it would serve as the ultimate
backup should a film element in the second facility become
lost or damaged.
The second low-temperature storage installation should
be close to production and laboratory facilities; it is the
color film and sound elements in this facility that would
normally be used for videocassette and videodisc produc-
tion, television transmission, and theatrical re-release.
In the long run, a perfectly preserved release print
which has integral, synchronized sound tracks and the ex-
act scene-by-scene density and color balance called for by
the films director may prove to be the only readily us-
able element from current film productions. As digital
high-definition television systems evolve in coming years,
it will always be desirable and in many cases absolutely
necessary to go back to the color photographic original
in order to obtain the maximum image quality of which
each of these new electronic systems will be capable.
Illustrated on the following pages are the color film cold
storage facilities at Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros.,
Turner Entertainment Co. (at the Records Center of Kan-
sas City), the Library of Congress, and the National Ar-
chives of Canada. These and other cold storage facilities
are also described in Chapter 20, Large-Scale, Humidity-
Controlled Cold Storage Facilities for the Permanent
Preservaton of Color Films, Prints, and Motion Pictures.
In 1996, the National Archives of Canada
Will Open the Worlds Most Advanced
Color Motion Picture Storage Facility
In 1996 the National Archives of Canada plans to open a
new film preservation facility near Ottawa in Gatineau,
Quebec that will include a large color film storage vault
maintained at 0F (18C) and 25% RH for the permanent
preservation of the Archives vast collection of color mo-
tion pictures and still-camera photographs.
56
The new in-
stallation, which will be operated by the Moving Image,
Data and Audio Conservation Division of the National Ar-
chives of Canada, will replace a current color film storage
vault kept at 28F (2.2C) and 28% RH (see pages 337338).
The new vault will include a sophisticated air-filtration system
to remove acetic acid vapors, oxidizing gases, dust, and
other contaminants which could harm motion picture film.
The National Archives is the designated repository for
films produced by the National Film Board of Canada and
other government agencies.
obsolescence.
51, 52
One need only to look at the large num-
ber of incompatible videotape formats that have been in
existence since video recording was commercialized in 1956
by the California-based Ampex Corporation to realize just
how serious such problems have become. The reader is
referred to two sobering articles on this subject by John C.
Mallinson, formerly the manager of research at the Ampex
Corporation: Archiving Human and Machine Readable
Records for the Millenia,
53
and Magnetic Tape Record-
ing: History, Evolution, and Archival Considerations.
54
Like color films, videotapes, digital data tapes, and opti-
cal disks can probably be preserved for extended periods
in low-temperature, humidity-controlled storage. However,
the necessary playback equipment cannot be maintained
in working order indefinitely. Further complicating the
long-term digital data preservation picture is the fact that
current and near-future digital data compression-decom-
pression software/hardware systems likely will not be sup-
ported in future years as improved systems are developed.
55
Despite the appeal of digital recording systems which
offer the hope of almost limitless re-recording without gen-
erational image-quality losses the industry is nowhere
near the time when one could even consider abandoning
color originals and color release prints as the primary pres-
ervation medium for film-originated productions.
Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage
Facilities for the Permanent Preservation
of Valuable Color Motion Picture Films
When it is important to protect major productions and
other very valuable footage from catastrophic loss which
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The color film storage vault in the Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive, located on the Paramount studio lot on
Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. The color film vault, one of nine vaults in the high-security building, is maintained
at 40F (4.4C) and 25% RH. The multi-million dollar facility went into operation in 1990. Shown here in the color film vault,
which is equipped with movable shelving to conserve space, is Robert McCracken, a supervisor in Archive Operations.
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The Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive:
Hollywoods First Modern Humidity-Controlled
Cold Storage Facility for Color Film Preservation
In 1990, Paramount Pictures opened a new cold storage
facility in Hollywood for preservation of its vast film and
video collection. Consisting of nine vaults, which operate
at different temperature and relative humidity conditions
depending on the film or video elements stored in them,
the facility currently houses more than 270,000 rolls of mo-
tion picture film, as well as a large amount of videotape
from the studios television productions. The facility, which
was built at the behest of former Paramount studio head
Frank Mancuso, was designed with enough space to ac-
commodate Paramounts expected film and video produc-
tion for the next 20 years.
Like most other Hollywood studios, Paramount has a
strict policy of dividing the various pre-print elements for a
given film between two or more geographic locations. In
recent years the Hollywood studios have become acutely
aware of the potential for catastrophic loss of their entire
collections because of fires, earthquakes, or other disas-
ters. Paramount has been making sets of separations (YCMs)
for its feature films since the 1930s, and these are stored
in a high-security underground facility in Pennsylvania.
Facing a Hollywood-style re-creation of a New York City
street, the front wall of the Film and Tape Archive is
covered with a facade of a row of red brick townhouses.
The back of the high-security building is covered with
Paramounts landmark blue-sky backdrop that has been
used in the filming of many movies. Hidden from view
within the Archive structure is the refrigeration and air-
filtration equipment. The fire- and earthquake-resistant
building has its own backup generating system which
can supply electrical power for the entire building for an
indefinite period in case of a power outage.
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Specially designed shelves hold each roll of film in a separate slot, which simplifies locating a specific roll and avoids the
handling difficulties that can occur when rolls are stacked. Paramount has inaugurated a program to repackage films in
special, alkaline-buffered cardboard boxes to prevent the gradual accumulation of acetic acid vapors that can occur in regular
film cans as a result of acetate film-base decomposition (the vinegar syndrome). If acetic acid vapors are not vented or
otherwise removed, both dye fading and film-base deterioration can be accelerated. The air in the vault is filtered to remove
acid vapors and other contaminants. McCracken is shown here pulling a can containing a roll of the original camera negative
from Francis Ford Coppolas 1974 classic, The Godfather, Part II. The film, which won six Academy Awards, including Best
Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, starred Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Al Pacino.
Each roll of film and videotape is bar-coded and tracked
with a sophisticated computer-based inventory system.
The location of a particular roll can be quickly deter-
mined by its slot, rack, row, and vault number. When
rolls of film are removed for lab work, the vacated slots
are reassigned to incoming rolls by the computer system.
Paramount Pictures has an extensive television output,
including Entertainment Tonight (the show has more than
100,000 interview and show tapes) and the Star Trek
series. Shown here is the main videotape vault. Since
1987, all of Paramounts feature films and television pro-
ductions have been transferred to digital videotape.
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The Sophisticated Warner Bros. Cold Storage
Facility for Color and B&W Motion Picture Films
Warner Bros. opened a new humidity-controlled cold
storage facility on its Burbank studio lot in October 1992.
One of the three vaults is for color film and is maintained
at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH. A second vault is used for
separations (YCMs) and other black-and-white films and
is kept at 45F (7.2C) and 25% RH. The third vault is used
to store less-critical duplicate film elements and circulat-
ing materials and is maintained at 50F (10C) and 45% RH.
An advanced air-filtration system is provided to remove
acetic acid vapors and other gases resulting from film deg-
radation and from Los Angeles air pollution.
Warner Bros. is a part of Time Warner Inc. which, with
Home Box Office (HBO), a far-flung cable TV system, and
extensive publishing operations, is the worlds largest en-
tertainment company. In mid-1992 Time Warner inaugu-
rated an experimental 150-channel interactive cable TV
service in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to broadcasting
a large number of movie titles around the clock, the new
system is potentially capable of sending pay-per-view mov-
ies to individual subscribers homes upon request. When
such expanded systems are installed on a large scale, it is
expected that there will be a tremendous increase in the
demand for movie titles and other programming.
The high-security building has only one entrance so that all
incoming and outgoing shipments can be carefully checked.
One of the three film storage vaults in the new Warner Bros. high-security motion picture cold storage building on the Warner
Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California. The color film vault, which is maintained at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH, and the other
vaults were operating and in the final phase of testing when this photograph was taken on October 8, 1992. Warner Bros.
began moving its film collection into the vaults a few weeks later. Shown here in the larger black-and-white film vault, which,
like the two other vaults in the building, is equipped with movable shelving that permits high-density film loading, are John
Belknap, manager of Film Vaults/Assets, and Bill Hartman, manager of Asset Inventory Management and Research in
Corporate Film Video Services at Warner Bros. The $9-million cold storage facility was designed under the direction of Peter
R. Gardiner, vice president of Operations in Corporate Film Video Services at Warner Bros.
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Prior to moving films into the new facility, Warner Bros.
instituted a massive program to re-can all of its film in
new bar-coded vented plastic film cans to prevent the
vinegar syndrome the accumulation of acetic acid
vapors and other harmful acetate film-base deterioration
by-products within the film cans. The building is equipped
with a redundant activated charcoal air-filtration system
to remove acetic acid vapors, peroxides, formaldehyde,
and other potentially harmful substances from the air.
The new facility has a sophisticated air-quality monitor-
ing system to detect the presence of acetic acid vapors,
oxidizing gases, and other potentially harmful substances.
Air samples are periodically withdrawn from the vaults
through small Teflon tubes that are connected to an auto-
mated gas-analysis unit. Shown here at a terminal con-
nected to the buildings systems-control computer is Ed
Cunningham, an engineer with Turner Construction Com-
pany, the general contractor for the new facility.
The refrigeration machinery room. To avoid cooling and
dehumidification failures, all systems are fully redundant.
Cargocaire continuous desiccant dehumidifiers and other
air-handling equipment for one of the film storage vaults.
The building is equipped with an advanced fire-detection
and intrusion alarm system. Access to film vault areas is
electronically restricted to certain key personnel.
Haylon gas fire-suppression systems are provided for each
of the film vaults in the fire- and earthquake-resistant
building. Security systems are monitored 24 hours a day.
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Original camera color negatives, color interpositives, YCMs, sound negatives, and other pre-print elements in the Turner
Entertainment Co. Film Library are stored in the high-security underground facility operated by the Records Center of Kansas
City, located in the rural outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. Turner Entertainment, which purchased the film library in 1986 at
a cost of more than $1 billion, and the major Hollywood studios routinely store backup elements of all their films in remote,
high-security facilities to avoid the possibility of a catastrophic loss of their entire collections due to fire, earthquake,
tornado, sabotage, civil disturbance, or nuclear attack. When this photograph was taken in 1987, Turner had over 50,000
cans of film in storage in the Kansas City facility. With film, videotape, and computer tape storage vaults kept at 38F (3.3C)
and 40% RH, the Records Center of Kansas City offers some of the best storage conditions available in a rental facility.
The Turner Entertainment Co. Backup Film
Library at the Records Center of Kansas City
Located in a high-security complex constructed 175 feet
below ground in a worked-out section of a huge limestone
mine in Kansas City, the Records Center of Kansas Citys
large refrigerated rental facility is maintained at 38F (3.3C)
and 40% RH.
Among the materials stored in the underground vault
are original color negatives, interpositives, and other color
pre-print elements for films in the Turner Entertainment
Co. Film Library that was acquired when Ted Turners
Atlanta, Georgia based Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
purchased MGM/UA in 1986 for about $1.5 billion (included
in the library were most pre-1950 Warner Bros. films, which
MGM/UA had acquired in a previous purchase). Turner
subsequently sold the MGM Metrocolor film lab and most
of the other assets acquired in the purchase; MGM Com-
munications now operates as an independent company.
As the operator of CNN (the worldwide Cable News Net-
work) and WTBS television, a superstation that broad-
casts nationwide by satellite and over cable systems, Turner
was primarily interested in acquiring the more than 2,200
movies in the MGM Film Library. By purchasing the MGM
library, such film classics as Gone With the Wind, Casablanca,
The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Ben Hur
became available to Turner for broadcast, sale on video-
cassette and videodisc, and worldwide syndication to other
television broadcasters.
The Turner Entertainment Co. film library has since
been enlarged and now includes the RKO domestic market
film library. In all, Turner now owns more than 3,300 fea-
ture films. The pre-print film elements stored in Kansas
serve as a high-security, refrigerated backup for Turner
Entertainments main film library at the companys head-
quarters in Los Angeles, California. (At the time this book
went to press in 1992, Turner did not have cold storage
facilities for its film library in Los Angeles.)
The Records Center of Kansas City is a division of Un-
derground Vaults and Storage, Inc., which also operates a
deep underground, non-refrigerated film storage rental fa-
cility in Hutchinson, Kansas, where Turner Entertainment
stores YCMs and other black-and-white film elements.
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Boxes containing cans of various pre-print film elements stored in the underground Kansas City vault provide a refriger-
ated, high-security backup for color films kept at the Turner Entertainment Co. headquarters facility in Los Angeles,
California. At the time this photograph was taken in 1987, Turner was storing a number of films for United Artists (e.g., West
Side Story and Exodus) under a distribution agreement; these films have since been returned to United Artists.
The loading dock and entrance to the high-security Records Center of Kansas
City facility, constructed against the side of one of the many massive lime-
stone pillars that were left during mining operations to support the limestone
roof of the mine. The Records Center is in the Hunt Midwest Underground
complex, which has its own security force and fire department.
Safety-base duplicate black-and-white
separations for Gone With the Wind.
The classic 1939 Technicolor 3-strip film
has often been called the crown jewel
of the Turner Entertainment collection.
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The cold storage vault at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. The facility was constructed in 1986 and is maintained
at 28F (2.2C) and 28% RH. Shown here working in the vault, which is used to preserve the Archives collection of release
prints of Canadian feature films and other color motion pictures, is William OFarrell, chief of Film Conservation and
Custody. OFarrell wears gloves and a winter coat for protection from the cold. A new, much larger humidity-controlled
cold storage installation will be completed in late 1996 near Ottawa in Gatineau, Quebec; the color film storage vault in the
new facility will operate at 0F (18C) and 25% RH. This will be the most advanced facility of its kind in the world.
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phisticated air-filtration system will keep acetic acid va-
pors, oxidizing gases, dust, and other airborne contami-
nants at low levels in all storage areas.
The National Archives serves as a centralized collec-
tion for all Canadian government agencies, including the
National Film Board of Canada (which does not have its
own cold storage facility). The Archives also has a pur-
chase program for Canadian theatrical feature films. Re-
lease prints normally are supplied, but producers increas-
ingly are asking the Archives to store pre-print elements
for safekeeping. The majority of the color films now in the
cold storage vault were acquired through this program.
The National Archives collection includes a sizeable
amount of video material in a wide variety of tape formats.
Audio materials, including phonograph records, tapes, and
CDs, as well as computer tapes, floppy disks, and optical
disks are also collected in ever-increasing quantities.
The Archives humidity-controlled 0F (18C) facility
that will open in 1996 will establish new standards for color
and black-and-white motion picture preservation in film
libraries, archives, and museums worldwide.
The Advanced Film and Video Preservation
Program at the National Archives of Canada
In late 1996, the Moving Image, Data and Audio Conser-
vation Division (Roger Easton, director) of the National
Archives of Canada will open a new installation, near Ot-
tawa in Gatineau, Quebec, that will include the worlds
most advanced large-scale motion picture and color pho-
tography preservation facilities. A large vault maintained
at 0F (18C) and 25% RH will be provided for the Ar-
chives vast collection of color and black-and-white motion
pictures; the vault will also be used for still photographic
materials and to preserve selected paper documents.
Other temperature- and humidity-controlled vaults in
the new facility will be provided for storage of audio mate-
rials, videotapes, and computer tapes, disks, and other EDP
records. A separate storage area maintained at 65.5F
(18C) and 50% RH will be used to store oil paintings. In
all, the new building will have eight separate controlled-
environment zones, each of which will meet specific re-
quirements for temperature and relative humidity. A so-
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Continuous dry-desiccant dehumidifiers manufactured by
Munters Cargocaire (a subsidiary of the Munters Group
in Sollentuna, Sweden) are used to maintain 28% RH in
the color film vault. Most of the cold storage vaults in the
U.S. and Canada use similar Cargocaire dehumidifiers.
Senior film conservator Dennis Waugh with a bar-code
reader entering inspection data into a Hewlett-Packard
mini-computer terminal. The metal cans of incoming
films are replaced with color-coded plastic cans; recently,
the Archives has started using vented plastic film cans.
Unlike most film archives, the National Archives of Canada operates a video conservation laboratory equipped with
extensive video and film-to-tape transfer equipment. Because of the range of video materials in the Archives collections,
the lab has become what amounts to a museum of video tape recorders, ranging from the Ampex 2-inch quadruplex
machines of the late-1950s to the latest digital D-1 and D-2 video tape recorders. Satellite downlinks are provided for
around-the-clock taping of television broadcasts from the CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and CTV (the
Caldwell Television Network) for the National Archives collections.
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The Library of Congress color film storage facility located in Landover, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. The
humidity-controlled vault is maintained at 37F (2.8C) and 25% RH. Shown here in the vault is David Parker, assistant head
of the curatorial section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress. Still-
camera color photographs, including the color materials in the valuable Look magazine collection, are also stored in the
color vault. Several larger vaults for storing black-and-white motion pictures are kept at 55F (12.8C) and 25% RH.
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The Library of Congress Cold Storage Facility
for Color and Black-and-White Motion Pictures
As the registrar of U.S. copyrights, the Library of Congress
receives a release print of virtually every U.S. entertainment
film production at no cost. In addition, the Librarys collection
includes many films from the American Film Institute, which
does not maintain its own storage facilities. As a result, the
Library now holds the most complete entertainment film col-
lection in the country. (U.S. government film and video produc-
tions, including Defense Department materials, are preserved
by the National Archives see description on page 719.)
Because of budget and space constraints, not every film and
video production that is registered for copyright is retained by
the Library for its research and study collection. Although
most theatrical and documentary films are kept, the Library is
more selective about television productions, educational films,
and religious material. At the time this book went to press in
1992, the Library had about 136,000 cans of black-and-white and
color film in storage at its Landover, Maryland cold storage
facility, which opened in 1978. Another 197,000 cans of safety-
base film were being stored at various non-refrigerated loca-
tions. In addition, 117,000 cans of cellulose nitrate film were
being stored at 50F (10C) and 30% RH in vaults near the
Librarys preservation facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base in Ohio (see Appendix 19.1 on page 675).
Preserved at the Librarys nitrate film storage facility at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is
this rare nitrate-base Technicolor imbibition print of the
1944 MGM production Meet Me in St. Louis, which was
directed by Vincente Minnelli and starred Judy Garland.
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The availability of video releases of most films in recent
years has lessened considerably the demand to view mo-
tion picture prints in the Librarys collection. If a requested
title has not been released on video, the Library makes a
videotape reference copy. Films are transferred to tape
with a Rank Cintel machine (shown in the picture at the left
with audio and video lab engineer Paul V. Chrisman). In
the picture above, Chrisman and Parker study the color
balance of a scene as a tape transfer is being made. After
transfer, films are placed in cold storage.
Until around 1970, the Library did not consider preservation to be a primary goal; rather, the films were treated as a
reference collection. All of the Librarys Eastman Color prints and films made on similarly unstable Gevacolor, Fujicolor,
and Ansco Color stocks from the 1950s through the 1970s were not refrigerated, and most have become severely faded.
Even today, as pictured here in a storage room in the Librarys motion picture division on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.,
thousands of rolls of color motion pictures continue to be stored under room temperature conditions; with new films arriving
every day, budget constraints preclude providing cold storage for all of this material.
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Note: This chapter had its origins in a presentation by this author entitled A
Cost-Effective Approach to the Long-Term Preservation of Color Motion
Pictures, at the 123rd Technical Conference and Equipment Ex-
hibit of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers,
Los Angeles, California, October 28, 1981. The use of low-temperature,
humidity-controlled cold storage to preserve color motion pictures and
cellulose nitrate films was further discussed by this author in Color
Photographs and Color Motion Pictures in the Library: For Preservation
or Destruction?, a chapter in Conserving and Preserving Materials
in Nonbook Formats, (Kathryn Luther Henderson and William T.
Henderson, editors), pp. 105111, 1991. The book contains the papers
presented at the Allerton Park Institute, sponsored by the University
of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science, held
November 69, 1988 at the Chancellor Hotel and Convention Center,
Champaign, Illinois. Published by the University of Illinois Graduate
School of Library and Information Science, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
1. Ben Stein, A Studio Head With a Human Face, The Wall Street
Journal, April 16, 1982, p. 16.
2. Frank Thompson, Fade Out What's Being Done to Save Our Motion-
Picture Heritage?, American Film, Vol. XVI, No. 8, August 1991, pp.
3438, 46. See also in the same issue: Wolf Schneider, Film Preserva-
tion Whose Responsibility Should it Be?, p. 2.
3. Stanley Yates, curator, The American Archives of the Factual Film, Iowa
State University, Ames, Iowa, interview with this author, 1979.
4. Jack Tillmany, letter to Martin Scorsese, April 23, 1980.
5. Frank Hodsoll, Film Preservation: A Large Piece of Americana Is Fad-
ing Away, Daily Variety, January 14, 1983, p. 28.
6. Robert Lenzner, Hollywood Mystique, The Boston Globe, March 1,
1981.
7. Eastman Kodak Company, excerpts from an interview with Joerg D.
Agin, vice president and general manager of the Motion Picture and
Television Imaging Division of Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Press
Release ES592149-bNR, May 1992, p. 4.
8. Richard Turner, Disney Leads Shift From Rentals to Sales in Videocas-
settes, The Wall Street Journal, December 24, 1992, p. 1.
9. Michael Cieply and John Helyar, Turner Pact to Sell MGM Assets
Boosts Prospects of Broadcaster and 2 Buyers, The Wall Street
Journal, June 6, 1986, p. 6.
10. Martin Scorsese, cover letter for a petition sent to Walter Fallon, chair-
man of the board, and Colby Chandler, president, Eastman Kodak
Company, June 12, 1980. The letter and petition were accompanied by
a list of demands, including that Kodak make more stable motion
picture film and that the company make its secret color stability data
public. The petition was signed by hundreds of well-known film direc-
tors, actors and actresses, producers, film critics, and film curators.
11. Linda Gross, Any Solution to Film Color Fading Away?, Los Angeles
Times, April 17, 1981, Part VI, p. 1.
12. Steven Spielberg, letter to Martin Scorsese, November 26, 1979.
13. Claudia Eller and John Evan Frook, 91 B.O. Down, Spirits Up at
Confab, Variety, Vol. 346, No. 6, February 24, 1992, p. 5.
14. Marc Berman, Rentals Reap Bulk of 1991 Vid Harvest, Variety, Vol.
345, No. 12, January 6, 1992, p. 22.
15. Gerald Putzer, Terminator 2 Takes Ring in $200 Mil Year, Variety,
Vol. 345, No. 12, January 6, 1992, p. 5.
16. Charles Fleming, Studios Walking the Bottom Line, Variety, Vol. 345,
No. 12, January 6, 1992, p. 105.
17. Frank Hodsoll, see Note No. 4.
18. Bill OConnell, Fade Out, Film Comment, Vol. 15, No. 5, September
October 1979, pp. 1118.
19. Paul C. Spehr, Fading, Fading, Faded The Color Film Crisis, American
Film, Vol. V, No. 2, November 1979, pp. 5661.
20. Martin Scorsese, Letter to the Editor, Film Comment, JanuaryFeb-
ruary 1980.
21. Martin Scorsese, letter To My Friends and Colleagues, April 5, 1980.
22. Beginning in April 1980, this author served as a voluntary technical
advisor on the stability of color motion picture film to Martin Scorsese
and his staff during Scorseses campaign against fading and helped
formulate Scorseses Request for Information sent to Kodak along
with the petition on June 12, 1980. This author was to attend a meeting
on July 14, 1980 in Scorseses New York City apartment with Ken
Mason and Tony Bruno of Eastman Kodak and Scorsese and his staff.
Shortly before the meeting was to take place Kodak informed Scorsese
that if this author was present, Kodak would not attend. As a result of
Kodaks threat to cancel the meeting, this author went to Scorseses
office and did not attend the gathering. At the meeting, Ken Mason of
Kodak indicated that Scorseses demand that Kodak make public its
secret color film stability data would be met by the company.
See: Harlan Jacobson, Old Pix Dont Die, They Fade Away
Scorsese Helms Industry Plea to Kodak, Variety, Vol. 299, No. 10, July
9, 1980, pp. 1, 2829. This was a major article on the poor image
stability of Kodak motion picture color negative and print films; the
writer described film director Martin Scorseses campaign to pressure
Kodak into producing improved film stocks. See also: Signers of No
Fade Petition to Kodak Span All Industry Ranks, Variety, Vol. 299, No.
10, July 9, 1980, p. 29. See also: Robert Lindsey, Martin Scorseses
Campaign to Save a Film Heritage, The New York Times, October 5,
1980, pp. 19ff. See also: Patricia OBrian [Knight News Service], Mov-
ies (and Snapshots) Are Losing Their Color, San Francisco Chronicle,
May 11, 1980. This article also appeared under various titles in many
other newspapers.
See also: Jack Garner, Films Fade Director Protests; Kodaks
Working on It, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, May
13, 1980, pp. 1C, 2C. See also: Richard Harrington, Old Movies Never
Die Theyre Just Fading Away, The Washington Post, July 20, 1980.
23. Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Color Print Film 5384 The
Film to Take You Into the Future, Eastman Kodak Brochure V3-351,
October 1981.
24. Eastman Kodak Company, Our Descendants Will See Their Ancestors
as We Really Were, advertisement in American Cinematographer,
Vol. 64, No. 7, July 1983, inside back cover.
25. Eastman Kodak Company, Simply Beautiful . . . Beautifully Simple,
advertisement in American Cinematographer, Vol. 65, No. 1, January
1984, pp. 89.
26. The Film Foundation, 7th Floor, 445 Park Avenue, New York, New York
10022; telephone: 212-906-8800 (Fax: 212-906-8891).
27. Frank Thompson, Spartacus: A Spectacle Revisited, American Cin-
ematographer, Vol. 72, No. 5, May 1991, pp. 3540.
28. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI IT9.9-1990, Ameri-
can National Standard for Imaging Media Stability of Color
Photographic Images Methods for Measuring, American National
Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; tele-
phone: 212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-398-0023).
29. See, for example: Lelise Bennetts, Colorizing Film Classics: A Boon
or a Bane?, The New York Times, August 5, 1986, pp. 1 and 21;
Directors Fight Copyrighting of Tinted Old Films, (Associated Press),
The Des Moines Register, October 16, 1986, p. 3A; Susan Linfield,
The Color of Money, American Film, Vol. XII, No. 4, JanuaryFebru-
ary, 1987, pp. 29ff; and, in a comprehensive review of the technology of
the colorization process, Mark A. Fischetti, The Silver Screen Blos-
soms Into Color, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 24, No. 8, August 1987, pp. 50
55 (published by The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
345 East 47th Street, New York, New York 10017; telephone: 212-705-
7555). The cost of colorizing a movie may run from $2,000 to $3,000
per minute of film, or a total cost of $200,000 to $300,000 for a typical
feature film. During 1990 Turner had 36 films scheduled for colorization
at an estimated cost of $9 million; in 1989, 37 films were colorized by
Turner, up from 27 in 1988. In addition, Turner planned to spend $1.5
million in 1990 to recolorize 25 already colorized films using en-
hanced computer technology. At the present state of technology,
colorization is practical only for video transfers although it is ex-
pected that in the future, with film-resolution digital intermediate sys-
tems and more sophisticated image-processing software, the colori-
zation process could also be used to create high-resolution transfers
on color motion picture film that are suitable for theatrical projection.
can National Standard for Imaging Media Processed Safety
Photographic Film Storage, American National Standards Institute,
Inc., New York, New York, 1991. Copies of the Standard may be
purchased from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11
West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900
(Fax: 212-398-0023).
31. John G. Bradley, Stability of Motion Picture Film, Journal of the
Society of Motion Picture Engineers, December 1936.
32. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland, Stabil-
ity of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic Film: Part I Laboratory
Testing Procedures, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 5, May 1992, pp.
336346.
33. David G. Horvath, The Acetate Negative Survey: Final Report, Uni-
versity of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 1987. The project was funded
by the University of Louisville and the National Museum Act. Copies of
the 91-page report may be purchased for $8 (which includes first class
postage) from: University of Louisville, Photographic Archives, Ekstrom
Library, Louisville, Kentucky 40292; telephone: 502-588-6752.
34. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland, Stabil-
ity of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic Film: Part I Laboratory
Testing Procedures, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 5, May 1992, pp.
336346; and P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J.
Erbland, Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic Film: Part II
Practical Storage Considerations, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 5,
May 1992, pp. 347353. See also: Karel A. H. Brems [Agfa-Gevaert],
The Archival Quality of Film Bases, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 97, No. 12,
December 1988, pp. 991993. In the article, Brems discussed the
degradation of cellulose triacetate film base and the vinegar syn-
drome. Among his recommendations for storage, Brems included:
In film archives, cellulose nitrate-based materials must be stored
separately from other materials. Film should be conditioned at 25 to
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51. P. Z. Adelstein, Status of Permanence Standards of Imaging Materi-
als, Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, Vol. 36, No. 1,
JanuaryFebruary 1992, pp. 3741.
52. National Archives and Records Service, Strategic Technology Con-
siderations Relative to the Preservation and Storage of Human
and Machine Readable Records (White Paper prepared for the Na-
tional Archives and Records Service by Subcommittee C of the Commit-
tee on Preservation), July 1984.
53. John C. Mallinson, Archiving Human and Machine Readable Records
for the Millenia, Second International Symposium: The Stability
and Preservation of Photographic Images (Printing of Transcript
Summaries), the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers,
Springfield, Virginia, pp. 388403, 1985. (The symposium was held
August 2528, 1985 in Ottawa at the National Archives of Canada.) See
also: John C. Mallinson, Preserving Machine-Readable Archival Records
for the Millenia, Archivaria, No. 22, Summer 1986, pp. 147152. See
also: John C. Mallinson, On the Preservation of Human- and Machine-
Readable Records, Information Technology and Libraries, Vol. 7,
No. 1, March 1988, pp. 1923.
54. John C. Mallinson, Magnetic Tape Recording: History, Evolution and
Archival Considerations, chapter in Proceedings of the International
Symposium: Conservation in Archives, pp. 181190. The sympo-
sium was held May 1012, 1988 in Ottawa and was sponsored by the
National Archives of Canada and the International Council on Archives.
The proceedings were published by the National Archives of Canada,
1989. Copies of the proceedings are available from the International
Council on Archives, 60, rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75003 Paris, France.
55. W. Stackhouse (chairman), Report of the Task Force on Digital Image
Architecture, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 12, December 1992, pp.
855891. (Note especially the discussion in Sec. 7.4 Compression
Quality Level, pp. 886887, and in Sec. 7.9 Audio Quality, p. 889.)
56. The 0F (18C) and 25% RH conditions that will be maintained in the
new color film storage facility scheduled to open in late 1996 were
recommended by Klaus B. Hendriks, director of the Conservation Re-
search Division of the National Archives of Canada.
Eileen Bowser and John Kuiper, eds., A Handbook for Film Archives,
Federation Internationale des Archives du Film, Brussels, Belgium, 1980.
Eastman Kodak Company, The Book of Film Care, Kodak Pub. No. H-23,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, June 1983.
European Broadcasting Union, Storage of Magnetic Tapes and Cinefilms,
Tech. 3202-E, Technical Centre of the European Broadcasting Union,
Brussels, Belgium, August 1974.
FIAF, FIAT, and IASA, Archiving the Audio-Visual Heritage A Joint
Technical Symposium, held May 2022, 1987 in Berlin, Germany. Spon-
sored by the Federation Internationale des Archives du Film, the Federa-
tion Internationale des Archives de Television, and the International
Association of Sound Archives, published by Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek,
Berlin, Germany, 1988.
FIAF, The Preservation and Restoration of Colour and Sound in Films,
Federation Internationale des Archives du Film, Brussels, Belgium, 1981.
Peter Hay, MGM: When the Lion Roars, Turner Publishing, Inc. (a division
of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., the parent company of Turner
Entertainment Co.), One CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30348), 1991.
Lawrence F. Karr, ed., Proceedings Conference on the Cold Storage of
Motion Picture Films, American Film Institute and Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C., April 2123, 1980.
Gert Koshofer, Farb Fotografie, (Books 1, 2, and 3), Verlag Laterna magica,
Munich, Germany, 1981.
Gert Koshofer, Color Die Farben Des Films, Wissenschaftverlag Volker
Spiess GmbH, Berlin, Germany, 1988.
Joseph McBride, Par Dusting Off Its Heritage, Daily Variety, Vol. 277, No.
38, April 27, 1990.
Daniel McKinny, Networks Keep Pace in Post Race, American Cinema-
tographer, Vol. 73, No. 9, September 1992, pp. 4452.
Munters Cargocaire, The Dehumidification Handbook Second Edition,
1990. Cargocaire Engineering Corporation, 79 Monroe Street, P.O. Box
640, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913-0640; telephone: 508-388-0600
(toll-free: 800-843-5360); Fax: 508-388-4556.
Patricia OBrian, Treasures Lost as Color Film Fades, Des Moines Sun-
day Register, May 18, 1980, p. 6/H.
Richard Patterson, The Preservation of Color Films Part I, American
Cinematographer, Vol. 62, No. 7, July 1981, pp. 694ff; and Richard
Patterson, The Preservation of Color Films Part II, American Cin-
ematographer, Vol. 62, No. 8, August 1981, pp. 792ff.
Roderick T. Ryan, A History of Motion Picture Colour Technology, The
Focal Press, London, England, 1977.
Curt Sanburn, The Race to Save Americas Film Heritage Of the 21,000
Movies Made Before 1951, More than Half Are Missing, Life, Vol. 8, No.
8, July 1985, pp. 6880.
Ralph N. Sargent, Preserving the Moving Image, The Corporation for
Public Broadcasting and The National Endowment for the Arts, Wash-
ington, D.C., 1974.
30% RH at room temperature, sealed air-tight, and stored at as low a
temperature as possible, preferably 18C [0F].
The literature concludes that triacetate film base, if not contami-
nated by other layers or products and if stored under the proper condi-
tions, will last for at least a few hundred years. Recent practical
experience in the archival world indicates, however, that in certain
circumstances, which cannot be considered extreme, a risk for hydroly-
sis exists. Therefore, polyethylene terephthalate [polyester] is believed
to be a safer choice as a support for film material that will be archived.
35. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland, see
Note No. 32, pp. 336346.
36. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland, see
Note No. 34, p. 353.
37. A. Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and
P. Miller [Eastman Kodak Company], The Effects and Prevention of
the Association of Moving Image Archivists, San Francisco, Califor-
nia, December 10, 1992.
38. Sodium aluminum silicate is available from W. R. Grace & Company,
Davison Chemical Division, P.O. Box 2117, Baltimore, Maryland 21203-
2117; telephone: 410-659-9000. The material is also available from the
Union Carbide Corporation.
39. Vented polypropylene film cans are available from the Plastic Reel
Corporation of America, Brisbin Avenue, Lyndhurst, New Jersey 07071
(telephone: 201-933-5100). Also: Plastican Corporation, 10 Park Place,
P.O. Box 58, Butler, New Jersey 07405 (telephone: 201-838-4363).
40. Suppliers of custom-made, high-quality cardboard film-storage boxes
include: Conservation Resources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place,
Springfield, Virginia 22151 (telephone: 703-321-7730); The Hollinger
Corporation, 4410 Overview Drive, P.O. Box 8360, Fredericksburg, Vir-
ginia 22404 (telephone: 703-898-7300); and Light Impressions Corpora-
tion, 439 Monroe Avenue, P.O. Box 940, Rochester, New York 14607-
0940 (telephone: 716-271-8960).
41. Earl Green, Canada Restoring 500 Pix Frozen Since 1929, Variety,
Vol. 331, No. 6, June 1, 1988, p. 48.
42. Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West, Preservation
of Motion-Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value, Journal of the
SMPTE, Vol. 79, No. 11, November 1970, pp. 10111018.
43. Archives for Advanced Media, Inc., 838 N. Seward Street, Hollywood,
California 90038 (telephone: 213-466-2454). In 1982 the company at-
tempted to interest clients in the Hollywood area in low-temperature
storage (e.g., 0F [18C] at 30% RH); however, the company did not
think there was enough potential business to proceed with the con-
struction of such a facility. Archives for Advanced Media offers film and
magnetic media storage at about 55F (12.8C) and 50% RH. At the time
this book went to press in late 1992, to this authors knowledge, there
was no commercially available humidity-controlled, low-temperature
(0F [18C] and 25% to 35% RH) film storage rental space available
anywhere in the world.
44. Noel Lamar, Photographic Technology Division, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, telephone discussion with this author, 1977.
45. Lincoln Perry, Black-and-White Separations of Spacecraft Original
Film, Technical Report (Contract NASA 911500, Task Order HT133),
Photographic Technology Div., National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, 1975.
46. Richard Patterson, The Preservation of Color Films, American Cin-
ematographer, Vol. 62, No. 8, August 1981, pp. 792ff.
47. In October 1981, Jack B. Goldman, at the time with Iron Mountain
Group, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, gave this author an estimated
commercial storage cost of $18 per year per cubic foot of space for 0F
(18C) 30% RH motion picture film storage; this estimate has been
increased to $30 per year per cubic foot by this author as an adjustment
for inflation. Goldman had conducted a cold storage feasibility study
for Iron Mountain Group, Inc. and gave a presentation entitled A Com-
mercial Service for Low Temperature Color Film Storage at the 123rd
Conference and Equipment Exhibit of the Society of Motion Picture and
Television Engineers, Los Angeles, California, October 28, 1981. Be-
cause no commercial facility offering 0F (18C), 30% RH storage was
in operation at the time of this writing, this author has used the $30 per
cubic foot cost as the best available estimate. The actual cost would
depend on among other factors the size of the facility; a very large
facility would have much lower unit costs than a small installation. At
the time of this writing, Iron Mountain Group had not constructed a low-
temperature facility. Along with Bill Lawler, Goldman left the company
to start Archives for Advanced Media, Inc. in Hollywood (see Note No.
43 above).
48. Bob Fisher, The Dawning of the Digital Age, American Cinematogra-
pher, Vol. 73, No. 4, April 1992, pp. 7086.
49. Glenn Kennel, manager of product development, advanced technology
products, Motion Picture and Television Imaging Division, Eastman
Kodak Company, Hollywood, California, telephone discussion with this
author, December 9, 1992.
50. B. Hunt, G. Kennel, L. DeMarsh, and S. Kristy [Eastman Kodak], High-
Resolution Electronic Intermediate System for Motion-Picture Film,
SMPTE Journal, Vol. 100, No. 3, March 1991, pp. 156161.
(See Appendix 9.1 on following pages . . .)
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An Introductory Word:
This outline for a Color Preservation Strategy comes as
a result of watching and loving films for the past 36 years.
In that time I have witnessed the deterioration and some-
times the destruction of most films I have seen. With the
introduction of Eastman Kodak color film in 1950, any hope
for color stability vanished. All films made in the Eastman
color process are about to deteriorate beyond repair. Some
have already done so. Methods of restoration are so costly
that if a film is not considered important, it is left to die.
The problem of color stability is inherent to the film
stock. Eastman Kodak is the worlds largest film manufac-
turer although they are not entirely to blame in this
issue. Other film companies must share responsibility,
and filmmakers and filmgoers must recognize the problem
and take action to solve it.
The Problem is not simple, but it can be simply stated:
1. Unstable film stock.
2. Deterioration of existing films (prints and negatives).
3. A need for research and development of a new print
stock equal to or better than Technicolor Imbibition.
4. Research and development of new methods of film res-
toration.
5. Research and development of new methods of film storage
(storage data and more compact film storage).
The Solution starts with an understanding of film and our
responsibility. We all agree that film is the twentieth cen-
tury art form the American art form. But, it is also the
immediate reflection of world culture and history. Film
must be preserved for mans heritage.
Not only theatrical films, but anthropological and his-
torical still photographs and video for they record, re-
flect and shape history. The future will know and judge the
past from these records of living time. They must be kept
intact. This is the responsibility not only of those who
record the past, but of those who furnish the means to do
it.
Advancement in technology is so fast that the gap of
silence between those who make the images, express ideas
or objectively record events and those who have control
over the knowledge and status of preserving these materi-
als must be closed. An open dialogue must be established
between all members of the industry. Film deterioration is
not some esoteric problem of formulas, emulsions, tem-
perature and profit curves. It is a perverse method of
cultural and historical suicide. Weve got to fight for the
past, for the future.
No Value Judgments: All films must be saved. No com-
mittees should decide which film lives or dies, whether or
not TV commercials are less important than movie trail-
ers. Preserving only commercially successful films, or Acad-
emy Award winners and nominees or film festival winners,
is a step in the right direction, but far from enough. Very
often, as in the case of The Magnificent Ambersons or The
Searchers, it is only time itself which lets a films true value
shine through.
Creation and Purpose of a New Organization: A new
organization should be composed of representatives of ev-
ery group in the industry: from studios, producers and ac-
tors to museums, archives and universities; from film pres-
ervation experts and film manufacturers to experts in ad-
vanced technologies. It is important that the group not be
affiliated or obligated to any branch of the industry.
The new organization would be a clearing house for
the diverse branches of the media which:
1. Will establish and sustain an exchange of new ideas.
2. Will learn about the best new technological advance-
ments and educate those concerned about them.
3. Will, with proper counseling and discussion by its ex-
pert members, encourage new methods of research and
development.
4. Will, through this research and development, begin to
work on the color preservation problem and on the
deplorable condition of black and white films old and
new.
5. Will explore new methods of film restoration for those
nitrate, black and white, imbibition and other films in
danger of being lost and discover new forms of materi-
als on which to transfer film elements (negatives, sound-
tracks, CRIs, YCMs, etc.) which are in danger of de-
struction. This research will lead also to proper stor-
age of these film elements.
6. Will encourage building of new cold storage vaults, sus-
taining those that already exist, and establishing the
norm for the preservation of film elements.
7. We are already aware that most studios and archives
have storage facilities that function with varying de-
grees of efficiency. A norm would insure that every
Appendix 9.1 Outline for a Preservation Strategy,
Written by Film Director Martin Scorsese
and His Staff in 1980
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method of storage functions with an equal degree a
maximum degree of efficiency.
8. Will act as a clearing house for paper materials related
to film. These materials, (posters, scripts) can be ei-
ther stored in a new archive built by the industry, or
collected together to form a traveling archive for stu-
dents.
Perseverance: The goals outlined in this proposal may
seem hopelessly idealistic. Just on the basis of todays
advancing technology we know, on the contrary, that they
are an attainable reality. But equally important elements
are: 1) Our own perseverance. The determination to achieve
the best we can, and when we do, not to be content, but to
continue to develop new ideas resulting in more sensible,
economical and permanent preservation methods and
2) Unity All branches of the industry must put aside
disagreements and unite in this one common cause, which
is, after all, a common interest. We must unite to preserve.
Obstacles: In the course of taking action we will undoubt-
edly run into many obstacles which have helped establish
this crisis.
Ignorance and Apathy: There is never any time for de-
tails. When we do find the time, the details are too compli-
cated. So, apathy sets in Whats the use, If its good,
itll survive. The matter is not whether it is good or bad,
what great talents we may all be. The matter is knowledge
and the survival of these materials themselves. This is not
a crusade for self-importance.
Judging from the response we have received from so
many branches of the industry it seems that at least a
dialogue has begun among us and that indeed, we can all
work past self-interest toward a common goal.
Economics: Its cheaper to keep the situation the same.
The monetary pressures on the studios and distributors
which eventually affect the filmmaker through budget and
recoup force them to be concerned only with the short
term goal: get it on the screen with the best quality in the
fastest and cheapest way. From a business point of view,
what happens after is unimportant. This can mean that if a
film is not successful, there is even less chance of its pres-
ervation.
If a film is a hit, new Eastman prints will be struck for
its re-release. They will look good for a while, but, as in the
case of 2001: A Space Odyssey, only for a while. By 1978,
the print revived at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City
was pink as a boiled shrimp. It was unwatchable.
It must be understood that whatever the precautions
taken by studios and distributors, all films, recent ones and
classics, profitable and unprofitable, are obviously in se-
vere danger.
Technological advances are re-shaping and renewing
the industry. Digital printing, laser transfers, cable out-
lets, satellite stations, tapes, videodiscs, all will continue to
open new areas where an incredible demand for product
new and old will be needed. How will the product
especially the older product be preserved for use? Why
ignore preservation and destroy assets?
Support and Funding: Some initial ideas.
1. Individual Initiative. We can insist on the latest and
best methods of preservation contractually. We can
also volunteer one percent of our salaries and profits
from the film were working on to insure that our work
is preserved in the way we want. All should contribute:
directors and studios, actors, distributors, writers and
cameramen.
2. Studios. A certain percentage of each films budget
should be used for preservation.
3. Government Support. Especially in the case of films
where restoration is of most importance, or where rights
are in question.
4. Congressional Action. Film and its related materials
should be declared national archive material to be pro-
tected.
Meetings: An industry-wide symposium is being planned
for the fall of this year [1980] in Los Angeles. Many other
meetings will take place before that and the results will be
reported to everyone. As a first step, here is a list of
questions for Eastman Kodak. We should very much
appreciate and anticipate direct and honest answers.
[Scorseses Request for Information to Kodak is reprinted
on pages 308309.]
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He notes that the negative used to make
existing prints in circulation had worn out [faded].
That negative dates back to the early 50s
when United Artists acquired the films distri-
bution rights from Warner Bros. in the pur-
chase of the old WB library. Four years ago we
at MGM/UA went back to the three-strip Tech-
nicolor materials to make a new internegative
and now have excellent printing materials. All
it takes is a phone call to our lab to make new
prints, he says.
3
Lawrence Cohn
Turner Eyes 38 Robin Hood Redux
Variety July 25, 1990
The 45-Year Era of Permanent
Technicolor Motion Pictures
With the introduction in 1932 of the Technicolor Motion
Picture Corporation three-strip beam-splitter camera, which
simultaneously filmed separation negatives in register
through red, green, and blue filters on three separate reels
of black-and-white film, and the companion Technicolor
dye-imbibition printer to make full-color prints from the
separation negatives, the entertainment film industry in
the United States began a 45-year era of color motion pic-
tures with essentially permanent images. Under normal
room-temperature storage conditions, the images of Tech-
nicolor dye-imbibition motion pictures will probably last
for hundreds of years without perceptible changes in color
balance, density, or stain level.
According to accelerated dark fading tests conducted
by this author, the image stability of triacetate-base Tech-
nicolor imbibition prints is vastly superior to that of the
improved Eastman Color Print Film 5384 and similar low-
fade Fuji and Agfa-Gevaert color print films which en-
tered the market in 19821985. Previous films, such as
Eastman Color Print Film 5381 and 5383, and Fujicolor
Positive Film HP 8814, had extremely poor image stability
a fact that becomes painfully clear with a visit to any
film archive.
Historically, dye-imbibition color images of all types have
had extremely good stability when stored in the dark under
normal room-temperature and humidity conditions. Light
fading is not usually an important factor in the deteriora-
tion of motion picture images since the accumulated light
exposure on each frame of film even after hundreds of
projections is not enough to cause significant fading
with most types of color films.
The life of a Technicolor dye-imbibition motion picture
is limited by the cellulose nitrate or cellulose triacetate
base upon which it is made the color image is far more
permanent than is either type of film-base material!
Except for archival showings, Gone With the
Wind hasnt looked good theatrically since the
last Technicolor prints were struck in 1954; the
1961 reissue was in crummy Eastman Color
(the prints faded), and 1967s washed-out
widescreen version was an abomination.
1
Mike Clark
Movies Pretty as a Picture
USA Today October 15, 1987
In 1939, it was the most technically sophisti-
cated color film ever made, but by 1987 Gone
With the Wind looked more like Confederates
from Mars. Scarlett and Rhett had grown green
and blue, a result of unstable film stocks and
generations of badly duplicated prints. Hair
styles and costumes, once marvels of spectral
subtlety, looked as though captured in Crayola,
not Technicolor.
Not anymore. Turner Broadcasting System,
owner of the film, spent two years and $250,000
restoring David O. Selznicks four-hour classic,
in time for the films 50th anniversary this year.
For the restoration of Gone With the Wind,
Richard May, director of film services at Turner,
returned to the original and highly flammable
nitrate negatives, stored specially at East-
man House in Rochester.
Using as a guide a 1954 Technicolor print
approved by the late Mr. Selznick, work began
on rephotographing the negatives in early 1987
at YCM Laboratories in Burbank, California.
2
Max Alexander
Once More, the Old South
in All Its Glory
The New York Times January 29, 1989
While three Hollywood companies rush to
produce a new Robin Hood film in head-to-head
competition, Turner Entertainment Company
stands ready to bring back the definitive film of
the saga, Warner Bros. 1938 Technicolor hit
The Adventures Of Robin Hood.
Dick May, v.p. of entertainment and film ser-
vices at Turner Entertainment, says Give me
10 or 12 substantial bookings and well go ahead
striking new prints and reissuing the film.
10. The Extraordinarily Stable Technicolor
Dye-Imbibition Motion Picture
Color Print Process (19321978)
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The Extraordinarily Stable Technicolor Dye-Imbibition Motion Picture Color Print Process Chapter 10 346
Technicolor three-strip cameras on location in Eureka, California filming the Warner Bros. 1938 feature Valley of the
Giants. The wide film magazines on the cameras carried three rolls of black-and-white separation negative film. Brilliant
color prints were made from the negatives by the dye-imbibition (dye transfer) process in Technicolors laboratories.
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Recommendations
The dye-imbibition color images of both early and more
recent Technicolor films are so stable, in fact, that, had
they been printed on modern polyester-base film stock in-
stead of the cellulose nitrate or cellulose triacetate film
bases available at the time, Technicolor movies would have
joined UltraStable Permanent Color Prints, Ilford Ilfochrome
(called Cibachrome, 196391), Kodak Dye Transfer, Fuji
Dyecolor, polyester-base black-and-white films and fiber-
base prints that have been treated with a protective toner,
and the few other modern photographic materials that are
essentially permanent when stored in the dark under nor-
mal temperature and humidity conditions.
If cellulose nitrate Technicolor films are properly cared
for and not physically scratched and abraded by repeated
projection, the useful life of these early films is limited only
by the instability of the nitrate film upon which they were
printed (nitrate film was used throughout the film industry
for both black-and-white and color movies until 195052).
The useful life of both cellulose nitrate film and modern
cellulose triacetate film is influenced by the temperature
and relative humidity of storage, and, to a lesser extent, by
how the film is packaged. The lower the temperature and
relative humidity, the longer the film will last.
At any given storage temperature, the color images of
early Technicolor films are much more stable than the film
base itself. Under adverse storage conditions, some ni-
trate films became unusable after only 20 or 25 years; oth-
ers remain in very good condition today, more than 50
years after they were made.
Cellulose nitrate motion picture films still in good con-
dition can easily be preserved almost indefinitely in low-
cost explosion-proof freezers (a subject discussed in Ap-
pendix 19.1 at the end of Chapter 19), or in larger, specially
designed humidity-controlled 0F (18C) storage vaults.
In 195052, the motion picture industry converted from
highly flammable cellulose nitrate-base film stock to less
Preservation of Technicolor Dye-Imbibition
Motion Picture Prints and Separation Negatives
Surviving Technicolor imbibition prints, made on either
nitrate or cellulose triacetate safety film, are irreplace-
able historical artifacts and must be treated as such.
Technicolor imbibition prints should never be projected
or routinely viewed on Steenbecks or similar equip-
ment.
For viewing and study purposes, a videotape master
and duplicate user tapes should be made from Techni-
color imbibition prints. Duplicate motion picture prints
should be prepared from a color internegative made
from the imbibition prints; Eastman Color Internegative
Film 5272 (special order in 35mm) is suitable for this
purpose. The internegative can also be used to make
videotapes.
Cellulose triacetate-base imbibition prints, separation
negatives, and other preprint materials should be stored
in the dark with low relative humidity (2030% RH) and
a temperature of 40F (4.4C) or lower. Ideally, triac-
etate-base materials should be stored at 0F (18C) or
lower. Film in tin-plated or painted steel cans should
be transferred to plastic or aluminum cans.
Nitrate-base Technicolor imbibition prints should be
wound on cores and stored in untaped film cans in
vaults specially designed for nitrate film storage, at a
temperature of 0F (18C) or lower and with a relative
humidity of about 30%. Nitrate camera separation nega-
tives, master positives, soundtracks, and other preprint
materials should be preserved in the same manner.
Film in steel cans should be transferred to plastic or
aluminum cans.
If humidity-controlled, low-temperature (i.e., 0F [18C])
storage cannot be provided, nitrate-base imbibition prints
should be wound on cores, conditioned to a relative
humidity of about 40%, placed in taped plastic or alumi-
num cans, double-sealed in vapor-proof paper/poly-
ethylene/aluminum-foil bags, and stored in explosion-
proof freezers at a temperature of 0F (18C) or lower
(for further information on nitrate film preservation,
see Appendix 19.1 at the end of Chapter 19). Nitrate
camera separation negatives, master positives,
soundtracks, and other preprint materials should be
preserved in the same manner.
With proper handling and storage, original nitrate and
cellulose triacetate Technicolor imbibition prints still in
good condition can be preserved for hundreds and
possibly thousands of years. Technicolor imbibition
prints are not expendable films to be viewed and abused
for the pleasure of filmgoing audiences who would like
to see the real thing. These films must be preserved
in their original form saved so that they can serve as
printing masters for whatever film and electronic re-
production media emerge in the future. The current
practice of some of the major film archives and other
collecting institutions around the world of screening
original Technicolor imbibition prints must stop.
The American Film Institute, in conjunction with the
Library of Congress, should administer carefully de-
signed, low-temperature, humidity-controlled storage
facilities at two separate geographic locations for the
long-term preservation of color and black-and-white
motion pictures and videotapes. Original materials
should be stored at one location, with back-up dupli-
cates kept at the other. Separate areas, isolated from
other storage buildings, should be provided for Tech-
nicolor nitrate prints and negatives and other nitrate
films. The high-security facilities should offer low-cost
storage services for commercial studios, motion pic-
ture and videotape libraries, museums, archives, and
individuals (for further discussion of motion picture
preservation, see Chapter 9 and Chapter 20).
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hazardous cellulose triacetate safety-base film. Triac-
etate film was long believed to be much more stable in
storage than cellulose nitrate film, but recent research at
the Image Permanence Institute
4
and elsewhere has indi-
cated that cellulose nitrate and cellulose triacetate films
have generally similar aging characteristics: triacetate film
has a shorter life than once supposed, and cellulose nitrate
film can last longer than commonly believed. Low-tem-
perature and low-humidity storage will vastly extend the
life of both types of film (see Chapter 9).
Color Image Formation with the
Technicolor Dye-Imbibition Process
The Technicolor dye-imbibition process produced color
images with preformed acidic cyan, magenta, and yellow
dyes in a manner very similar to todays Kodak Dye Trans-
fer (introduced in 1946) and Fuji Dyecolor (introduced in
Japan in 1947) print processes for still photography. How-
ever, the Technicolor process required complex machin-
ery to print in register all three dye images on complete
reels of motion picture film. Technicolor dye-imbibition
motion picture prints have sometimes been called dye transfer
prints, or IB prints (IB stands for the I.B. Corporation of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, which constructed the electri-
cally controlled transfer machines designed by Malcolm H.
Mack Ames of Technicolor).
The term imbibition refers to the absorption and transfer
of image dyes from three gelatin relief matrix films to a
print film. Matrix films printed from the three Technicolor
camera separation negatives were developed with a tan-
ning developer which selectively hardened gelatin adja-
cent to the developing silver grains within the emulsion.
Following development and chemical bleaching of the sil-
ver image, a hot water wash-off (at about 130F [54.5C])
removed unhardened gelatin, forming gelatin relief images
which varied in thickness according to the densities of the
different areas of the image. Fixing and drying completed
the process. When immersed in a dye bath, the amount of
dye absorbed by the matrix film is a function of the gelatin
thickness at any given point in the image. Imbibition print-
ing is not a light-sensitive process; the printing procedures
are normally carried out in brightly lighted rooms.
Matrices can also be printed directly from Eastman Color
and similar chromogenic negatives, as well as from sepa-
ration negatives printed from Kodachrome and other re-
versal motion picture color films; this in turn allows pro-
duction of imbibition prints. Beginning in the early 1950s,
Technicolor imbibition release prints were made for many
hundreds of motion pictures shot on color negative film.
To make a print, the cyan, magenta, and yellow dyed
matrix films were successively placed in brief contact (in
exact register) with the emulsion of an unsensitized print
film (called a blank film), and the gelatin coating on the
film absorbed (imbibed, or drank-up ) dyes from each of
the matrix films. After the introduction of sound films, the
blank film used by Technicolor was an inexpensive, con-
tact-speed black-and-white film printed with the sound track
and developed and fixed in conventional chemicals prior to
imbibition printing. The completed full-color motion pic-
ture contained both a silver sound track and a dye color
image (most early Technicolor prints also contained a low-
density silver key image to add depth to the shadows).
Kodak had been closely involved with Technicolor al-
most from the beginning and produced the separation nega-
tive films and matrix films needed in the imbibition pro-
cess. Prior to about 1940, Kodak Super-XX negative film
was used in the camera to film the separation negatives;
after that year, Kodak produced a number of special films
for Technicolor, and until 1976 Kodak Ltd. of England pro-
duced the matrix films for the Technicolor plants in En-
gland and Italy. Most of the Technicolor print film was
supplied by Eastman Kodak Company.
The 45-Year Era of Permanent
Color Motion Pictures Comes to an End
In February 1975, the Technicolor imbibition plant in
Hollywood, California was closed and the printing equip-
ment dismantled. Technicolors overseas imbibition plant
in Rome was shut down on June 1, 1978, and the London
facility the last Technicolor imbibition plant ceased
operation on June 14, 1978. Color by Technicolor lives
on, however. With laboratories in Hollywood, New York
City, London, and Rome,
5
the company is now owned by
Carlton Communications P.L.C., a British firm that in 1988
purchased Technicolor from its previous owner, MacAndrews
& Forbes Group, for $780 million (MacAndrews & Forbes
acquired Technicolor in 1983 for $100 million). At the time
it was purchased by Carlton Communications, Technicolor
was not only the largest motion picture processor in the
world but was also the worlds largest duplicator of video
cassettes for the home video market.
6
With the its dye-imbibition laboratories closed, Techni-
color now processes Eastman, Fuji, and Agfa-Gevaert chro-
mogenic color negative and print films for television and
theatrical film producers. The slogan Color by Techni-
color, which for many years has appeared in the title frames
of most of the theatrical and television release prints pro-
duced by the Technicolor Corporation, simply means that
Technicolor laboratories made the prints (and in most cases,
also processed the negatives). Color by Technicolor no
longer refers to any particular motion picture film stock or
process; the Technicolor name is protected by trade-
mark registration in 84 countries.
At the time of the Technicolor imbibition plant closings,
few people in the film industry were aware of the extraor-
dinary image stability of Technicolor dye-imbibition prints.
For that matter, not many knew very much about the com-
paratively poor image stability of Eastman Color prints
until 1979, when a series of articles on color stability began
appearing in motion picture publications. By then the Tech-
nicolor imbibition plants had been dismantled and Techni-
color had no interest in reviving the process. This abruptly
ended the era of permanent color motion pictures in the
United States and Europe.
Technicolor Builds a New Imbibition
Printing Plant in China
Ironically, almost simultaneously with the loss of per-
manent color motion picture production in the Western
world, the Peoples Republic of China gained the capabil-
ity. In 1974 the Chinese government contracted with Tech-
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nicolor Ltd. in England to have a complete motion picture
imbibition printing plant constructed in China. Operation
of the plant began in late 1978. The original three-strip
Technicolor cameras (discussed later in this chapter) have
been abandoned; Chinese films are shot with Eastman Color
and other color negative films, and imbibition matrices are
prepared from the color negatives.
A delegation of members of the U.S. Society of Motion
Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) visiting China
in 1979 commented on the new imbibition plant:
The group was impressed by the extreme
cleanliness of this facility. . . . A number of
reels of the prints were projected for us and we
were greatly impressed with the screen color
quality. Here was a very new plant, a compli-
cated process, operating correctly and efficiently,
and producing a quality product.
. . . Some may wonder why the imbibition or
Technicolor process is important in China. It
is not used in the United States today, having
gradually declined as the use of colorpositive
materials increased; so why would the PRC adopt
the imbibition system which is virtually obso-
lete in the United States? We asked this ques-
tion of our Chinese hosts and the answer makes
sense. With the Beijing and Shanghai labora-
tories now making release prints to be shown
throughout all of China, large numbers of
prints are made of each subject. Our Chinese
friends told us that the print costs on a dye
imbibition process in the single subject quanti-
ties in which they are made are considerably
less than for conventional color positive mate-
rials and that the color quality is comparable
for both systems.
7
Most of the equipment supplied to China was new and
specially constructed by Technicolor Ltd. to meet Chinese
requirements. It has been reported that the equipment is
an advanced modification of previous Technicolor printing
equipment.
8
The imbibition motion picture process is at
its best economic advantage when large numbers of re-
lease prints are required and when skilled labor is avail-
able at low cost; both of these conditions now exist in China.
The normal print run for the Beijing imbibition plant is
said to be about 250 35mm copies, with up to 500 copies
being made for very popular films; in addition, the lab makes
about 1,0002,000 16mm prints and about the same number
of 8.75mm (35mm blank stock slit into four strips) copies
for showing in rural areas.
9
China, with an estimated popu-
lation in excess of one billion people, is a huge market for
movies and video productions.
The Chinese now manufacture their own blank stock
and matrix film for making release prints in their imbibi-
tion plants. Kodak supplies considerable quantities of color
negative and intermediate print stocks to China
10
and is
said to have supplied matrix stocks before the Chinese
started producing their own.
Another large imbibition film laboratory located in Shang-
hai is equipped with two rotary imbibition transfer ma-
chines installed in 1968.
11
These machines, which were
designed and built in Russia, have a large dye-transfer
wheel about 40 inches (1 meter) in diameter instead of the
stainless steel belt found in the Technicolor equipment.
The Russian machines require three passes of each film to
transfer the cyan, magenta, and yellow dye images.
12
The
Soviet Union for many years printed some of its color mo-
tion pictures with imbibition transfer machines of this ba-
sic design.
The Beginnings of Technicolor
The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation was founded
in 1915 in Boston, Massachusetts by Dr. Herbert T. Kalmus,
Dr. Daniel F. Comstock, and W. Burton Westcott, with fi-
nancial backing from Boston attorney William Coolidge and
his partner C. A. Hight. Kalmus and Comstock were class-
mates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.)
and in 1912 formed the engineering company of Kalmus,
Comstock & Westcott, Inc. The Tech in the Technicolor
name was chosen as a tribute to M.I.T.
The first Technicolor processing plants, research labo-
ratories, and equipment shop were built in Boston, but in
1924 Technicolor opened a processing and imbibition printing
plant in Hollywood, California. This was followed by the
Technicolor Ltd. plant in England in 1937 and the Techni-
color Italiana S.p.A. facility in Rome in 1955. Technicolor
also operated a plant in Joinville, France (near Paris) for a
few years beginning in 1955; the French division was known
as Societe Technicolor.
The companys first film, The Gulf Between, was pro-
duced in 1917 in Florida using a two-color additive process;
this was the only film Technicolor made with the additive
process. To make the film, Technicolor outfitted a railroad
car with a complete processing laboratory and took the car
from Boston to Jacksonville, Florida for the production. A
single-lens beam-splitter camera was used to shoot the
film. The projector for this film had two apertures with red
and green filters in front. The two image components on
the single piece of nitrate film had to be kept in precise
register by the theater projectionist, and difficulties with
registration soon caused the process to be abandoned by
Technicolor. Kalmus has described the problems that oc-
curred at one of the first public demonstrations of the two-
color additive process:
I was invited by the American Institute of
Mining Engineers to give an exhibition of the
revolutionary Technicolor process at Aeolian
Hall in New York City. We were photographing
a picture called The Gulf Between in Florida.
The audience included Mr. Coolidge, Mr. Hight
and about 150 others, many of whom were in-
terested in financing the growth of Technicolor.
After my enthusiastic preliminary remarks the
picture began to appear, and behold there were
the most glaring color fringes anyone had ever
seen on the screen. The projectionist had failed
to register the picture at the outset. This and
some further experiences in the theatre with
the difficulties of registration in the projection
brought about the first deep depression for the
then very young company.
13
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The Cemented-Film Two-Color Process
Developed in 1919, a new method of making color prints
consisted of two cellulose nitrate gelatin relief films (simi-
lar to the later matrix films for transferring dyes to a
blank film) cemented together, back-to-back. The relief
films were individually dyed with subtractive colors by floating
the film on dye baths. This was still a two-color process
and as such was quite deficient in color reproduction. The
first two-color subtractive motion picture was a Metro Pic-
tures release, The Toll of the Sea; the film starred Anna
May Wong and was filmed by Technicolor in Hollywood.
The first showing of the film was at the Rialto Theater in
New York City in November 1922. Public demand for the
film quickly exceeded the limited capacity of Technicolors
small laboratory, and the film was not widely distributed
until the following year.
Prints of Toll of the Sea were manufactured at the origi-
nal Technicolor pilot plant on Brookline Avenue in Boston;
prints cost about $0.27 per foot, which was substantially
more than black-and-white prints in those days. The film
was quite successful and grossed more than $250,000, of
which Technicolor received about $165,000. Even though
Metro Pictures distributed the film, Technicolor had acted
as producer. In 1923 Technicolor built a second Boston
plant with a capacity of about one million feet of release
prints per month. In 1924 Metro Pictures became Metro
Goldwyn Mayer better known as MGM and with the
acquisition of United Artists in 1981, the firm became the
MGM/UA Entertainment Company.
In 1986 MGM/UA was purchased for about $1.5 billion by
Ted Turners Atlanta, Georgia based Turner Broadcasting
System, Inc. As the operator of CNN (the worldwide Cable
News Network) and WTBS television, a superstation that
broadcasts nationwide by satellite and cable systems, Turner
was primarily interested in acquiring the more than 2,200
movies in the MGM Film Library (which, by a previous
purchase, included most pre-1950 Warner Bros. films). By
purchasing MGM, such film classics as Gone With the Wind,
Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey,
and Ben Hur became available to Turner for broadcast,
sale on videocassette and videodisc, and worldwide syndi-
cation to other television broadcasters. Once MGM/UA
was in hand, Turner promptly broke up the company and
sold off the MGM movie production unit, the United Artists
division (which kept the UA Film Library), the MGM
Metrocolor film lab (which was eventually acquired by Tech-
nicolor, Inc.), the 44-acre MGM studio lot in Culver City,
California, and a number of other MGM/UA assets in order
to reduce the massive debt resulting from the purchase.
In the end, Turner Broadcasting, through its Turner
Entertainment Co. division, retained only the MGM Film
Library, now known as the Turner Entertainment Co. Film
Library, at a cost of almost $1.3 billion! (The library has
since been enlarged and now includes the RKO domestic
market film library. In all, Turner now owns more than
3,300 feature films.)
14
Almost immediately after acquiring the MGM Film Li-
brary, Turner became involved in a heated controversy
with film directors over Turners plans to artificially colorize
over 200 black-and-white film classics, including Casablanca,
The Maltese Falcon, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and The Post-
man Always Rings Twice. Colorization is a computer-
ized video process whereby artists add color on a frame-
by-frame basis to a videotape transfer of a black-and-white
film. Based on intuition, and perhaps a bit of historical
research, the artists decide what colors are appropriate
for the background, props, actors and actresses clothes,
hair, eyes, skin, etc.
15
The resulting color videotape is
used for television and videocassette release, with the original
black-and-white film sent unharmed back to the film vault.
It is likely that except for a few of the classics such as
Casablanca, black-and-white video versions of colorized
films generally will cease to be available.
No Original Print of Toll of the Sea
Is Known to Exist Today
Incredibly, it appears that not a single complete print of
Toll of the Sea has been retained anywhere in the world.
In late 1985 the UCLA Film, Television and Radio Archives
at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), working
with YCM Laboratories in Burbank, California, completed
a major project to make a new print of Toll of the Sea on
Eastman Color Print Film 5384. Fortunately, the original
camera negatives for most of the film had survived. The
missing section the final 300 feet of the film was re-
created, using as a guide a written scenario for the film
which had been located in the Library of Congress. Ac-
cording to Peter Comandini of YCM Laboratories:
. . . the scenario told us what the last three or
four title cards were supposed to have said and
we had an artist, working from a blow-up frame
of an original title card, reproduce the back-
grounds and the lettering. We shot the title
cards on film and we got some shots of some
rocks at Malibu that matched frame enlarge-
ments of the rocks and the surf in the show. We
shot some footage of that two ways. For
expediencys sake, we initially shot it on East-
man Color, but it was shot on a second shoot
with an original Technicolor two-color camera.
We effectively re-created the Technicolor two-
color ending with actual two-color Technicolor
footage of the waves breaking on the rocks.
16
Technicolor Opens Its First Lab In Hollywood
In 1924 the first Technicolor laboratory and camera unit
were established on North Cole Avenue in Hollywood. It
was necessary to set up this processing operation to sup-
ply rush prints to Hollywood filmmakers. Hollywood had
become the center of the motion picture industry in the
U.S. because the mild climate permitted year-round loca-
tion filming and because of the tremendous variety of natu-
ral scenery (mountains, deserts, forests, an ocean, urban
locations, etc.) within a relatively short distance of Holly-
wood. Another major factor in the early migration of the
filmmaking companies to Hollywood was that being in Cali-
fornia far away from the East Coast made it much
easier to evade the Motion Picture Patents Company; this
organization, founded in the late 1800s by Thomas Edison,
attempted to control all filmmaking companies on the ba-
sis of patent rights claimed by Edisons companies.
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Toll of the Sea was followed in 1924 by the Famous
Players-Lasky Corporation production of The Wanderer of
the Wasteland and by Ben Hur, released in 1925 by MGM.
One of the most famous two-color films made with the
relief films cemented back-to-back was The Black Pirate,
with Douglas Fairbanks, released by United Artists in 1925.
Kalmus has written that at the time this film was made
there was considerable skepticism about the desirability of
color in motion pictures but that Douglas Fairbanks felt
that color would be a great asset in The Black Pirate:
The argument has been that it would tire
and distract the eye, take attention from act-
ing, and facial expression, blur and confuse the
action. In short it has been felt that it would
militate against the simplicity and directness
which motion pictures derived from the
unobtrusive black and white. These conven-
tional doubts have been entertained, I think,
because no one has taken the trouble to dissi-
pate them . . . . Personally I could not imagine
piracy without color.
17
In deciding the type of color reproduction to be used in
the picture, Technicolor made test prints for Fairbanks at
six different color levels, from slightly more color than
black-and-white to the most garish rendering of which the
Technicolor process was then capable. The level of color
saturation could be reduced at will by changing the filters
on the beam-splitter prisms in the two-color cameras. Color
saturation and contrast could also be adjusted by altering
the development of the separations, or by changing the
composition of the printing dye baths. Controls of this type
are possible with any imbibition process, including the Ko-
dak Dye Transfer process for still photography.
The Black Pirate cost over one million dollars to make,
a considerable sum for a motion picture in 1925, but it was
an immediate critical and financial success.
The cemented-film two-color subtractive process elimi-
nated the projection registration problems that plagued
the previous two-color additive process; however, the new
process had difficulties of its own. The cemented films
were easily scratched during projection, and Kalmus de-
scribed another serious problem:
As you know, motion picture film, as a result
of passing through the heat of the projector
and cooling off again, curls or buckles because
it has gelatin emulsion on one side and plain
celluloid on the other. But with double coated
film, with gelatin emulsion on both sides, the
direction of this buckling changes from time to
time and with each change the picture jumps
out of focus during projection in the theatre.
And so it became necessary to have men trav-
elling about the country replacing these prints
and returning them to our laboratory in Boston
where they were put through a debuckling pro-
cess and reshipped. While we, with special at-
tention, could operate in this manner for a pic-
ture or two obviously it was not a commercial
process and Technicolor entered into the depths
of its second depression.
18
The Technicolor Two-Color
Dye-Imbibition Process
In late 1927 the cemented film system was replaced by a
two-color imbibition process in which separate printing
matrices were made from the original camera negatives.
These relief matrices were soaked in acid dyes, rinsed, and
the dyes transferred to a single gelatin-coated blank film
which had been treated with a dye mordant.
Technicolor developed rapid-transfer dye and mordant
systems that permitted relatively high-speed printing and
minimized losses in image resolution caused by lateral
diffusion of dyes in the gelatin coating of the print stock. In
later years Technicolor achieved a dye transfer time of
about 1820 seconds per dye; the transfers were quickened
by heating the print film while it was in contact with the
matrix films. Several methods of heating the print film and
matrix film to speed dye transfer were tried by Techni-
color, including radiant heating, hot-air circulation, steam,
and electrical induction. By comparison, the transfer time
at room temperature is from 2 to 5 minutes for each dye
with the current Kodak Dye Transfer process for still prints.
Equipment was designed to hold the Technicolor ma-
trix films in exact register with the positive print film dur-
ing the dye transfer steps. The print film and dyed matri-
ces were brought together in a warm water bath to elimi-
nate air bubbles between the two films; the films remained
under water for about 1 second at the beginning of each of
the transfers. The matrix films were held on 35mm-wide
stainless steel belts which were just over 205 feet (about 63
meters) long; the belts had coin-silver pins to engage each
sprocket hole.
During the transfer steps, the film was placed over the
pins in contact with the dyed matrix films; this system
enabled exact registration during each of the three trans-
fers and also prevented the matrix film from stretching in
the course of repeated printings. One set of matrices could
produce many hundreds of release prints before wearing
out. A single set of matrices made on the polyester-base
matrix film that became available in the late 1960s was
capable of producing more than 1,000 release prints. After
a dye transfer was completed, the matrix film was washed
and dried prior to dyeing for a transfer to another print
film; the process was repeated over and over. Technicolors
first transfer machine operated at about 15 feet per minute;
by 1975, when the Hollywood laboratory was shut down,
improved machines were operating at 330 feet per minute.
Orange-red and blue-green dyes were used in the two-
color processes; these subtractive colors produced fairly
pleasing reproduction of flesh tones and gave reasonable
results with indoor studio filming where costume and set
decoration colors could be carefully selected. However,
many colors found in natural scenes were not well repro-
duced, and the deficiencies were obvious in most scenes
filmed outdoors. Reds were reproduced as too pinkish and
blues were too greenish. Kalmus once said that only girls
and music in the films helped make the lack of good color
reproduction unobtrusive.
It was known from the beginning, of course, that three
subtractive colors cyan, magenta, and yellow were
necessary for proper color reproduction, but the construc-
tion of a three-strip camera was far more complicated than
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the two-color camera in which a beam splitter exposed two
successive frames simultaneously on a single strip of film.
Because the camera mechanism pulled down two frames
at a time, this two-color camera has sometimes been incor-
rectly called a two-strip camera. Two printing matrices
were prepared from alternate frames of the original cam-
era negative, and because of this the two-color imbibition
process is often called the two-strip process. It was not too
difficult to adapt the two-color imbibition printing process
to a three-color process once the three-strip (three-color)
camera was perfected.
Other Early Color Motion Picture Processes
That Competed with Technicolor
During the 1930s and 1940s a number of other color
motion picture processes were introduced by a variety of
companies in the U.S. and Europe. Most of these were
two-color systems and several, including Magnacolor,
Trucolor, and Cinecolor, enjoyed significant popularity during
the 1940s and even into the early 1950s. Trucolor was a
two-color process when it was introduced in 1948; prints
were made from bipack or successive frame separations
on Eastman Two-Color Print Safety Film, Type 5380, an
unusual color-blind incorporated-coupler chromogenic film
with an emulsion containing magenta and yellow couplers
coated on one side of the film and an emulsion containing
cyan couplers coated on the other side. About 3 years
later, Trucolor was changed to a three-color process em-
ploying DuPont Color Positive Film, Type 275. A few years
after that, Trucolor was changed again, and this time used
Eastman Color Print Film, Type 5382.
All three versions of Trucolor were processed by Con-
solidated Film Industries in Hollywood; the process was
discontinued about 1958. Consolidated is still a major Hol-
lywood lab and at present processes Eastman, Fuji, and
Agfa-Gevaert motion picture films. Many of the Roy Rogers
western features released by Republic Pictures (the par-
ent company of Consolidated) were made with the Trucolor
process.
Cinecolor was a two-color process used by the Cinecolor
Corporation to make release prints for a great number of
features and cartoons released by MGM, Paramount, Co-
lumbia, United Artists, Universal, and others. In the early
1950s Cinecolor became a three-color process known as
Supercinecolor (shot on standard Eastman Color Negative
Film), and the Cinecolor Corporation changed its name to
the Color Corporation of America; Supercinecolor was aban-
doned about 1954.
These processes were serious competition for the Tech-
nicolor Corporation during the late 1940s. This author is
not aware of any stability data on any of these non-Techni-
color processes. As with Technicolor, all 35mm movies
shot with Cinecolor, Trucolor, and other motion picture
processes before about 1951 were made on unstable cellu-
lose nitrate-base film.
It is interesting to note that Technicolor was also in-
volved in research with various other color photography
systems, including integral tripack films. Certain elements
of U.S. Patent 1,808,584 (applied for in 1921 and issued in
1931), granted to Dr. L. T. Troland of Technicolor, were
incorporated in Kodachrome film introduced by Kodak in
1935. Kodak paid Technicolor royalties, which ultimately
amounted to millions of dollars, for rights to certain parts
of the Troland patent. Technicolor itself never produced
an integral tripack film, although for some productions the
company made dye-imbibition prints from a low-contrast
version of Kodachrome film, called Monopack film, dis-
cussed later in this chapter.
Technicolor Sound Films Appear
After the introduction of the two-color imbibition pro-
cess, Technicolor began to produce sound films in which a
silver sound track was developed on ordinary black-and-
white motion picture print film. The film was then fixed,
washed, and treated with a basic 5% chrome-alum solution
prior to transferring the three image dyes by imbibition.
Silver sound tracks give better sound reproduction than
dye sound tracks because silver has a uniform absorption
of the wavelengths of light and infrared radiation to which
the photocells in traditional projectors are sensitive.
The Viking, released in 1928, was the first Technicolor
motion picture with music and sound effects. The first all
talking picture with live sound throughout, in addition
to music, was On With the Show, released by Warner Bros.
in 1929; the film featured an all-star cast and sparked tre-
mendous public interest in color films.
Between the years 1929 and 1935, more than 50 films
were produced by the two-color imbibition process; these
included The Mystery of the Wax Museum, a 1933 Warner
Bros. release starring Lionel Atwill, and the Samuel Goldwyn-
Florenz Ziegfield production Whoopee, starring Eddie Cantor.
Kalmus has said that these two films may have reached
the ultimate color quality possible with the inherently lim-
ited two-color process.
Despite the early successes with the two-color imbibi-
tion process, Technicolor soon found itself with declining
business and renewed financial problems. In 1955, looking
back on the two-color period, Kalmus wrote:
The Technicolor three-strip camera employed a glass
prism beam-splitter to expose a green-sensitive negative
at one aperture and a bipack consisting of a red-sensitive
and blue-sensitive film placed emulsion-to-emulsion. This
complex arrangement allowed the simultaneous filming
through a single lens of three separation negatives in
exact register.
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The Disney storage vaults, which are not refrigerated, house the original Technicolor three-strip camera separation
negatives from Disneys live-action films, and sequential-frame separation negatives for the studios cartoons and animated
features. All of the nitrate separations have been duplicated on cellulose triacetate black-and-white film and are stored at a
separate location.
Storage vaults for nitrate separation negatives and other
preprint film elements on the Walt Disney lot in Burbank,
California next to Hollywood.
But after all this was only a two component
process which was an attempt to create all shades
of colors from two component colors. As every-
one knows, to do a good job of this kind three
components are necessary. But with sufficient
care in the choice of materials, in the choice of
colors placed before the cameras, with the make-
up, with the amount of sky showing in the scene,
etc., etc., it was possible to make wonderful
pictures even with this two component method.
But when the rush was on and every producer
was clamoring to turn his black and white pic-
tures into Technicolor no such care was em-
ployed. Some producers spoiled what opportu-
nity they had by insisting upon more and more
garish colors in however bad taste. They were
out for more color and they wanted plenty of it.
And in the rush to meet the demand other de-
fects crept in such as excessive graininess. And
so after awhile Technicolor was in its third deep
depression. Once the tide set against us we
constantly heard producers say the public
doesnt want color, it detracts from the story,
it hurts the eyes, it is too expensive, etc.
Something had to be done and again Techni-
color research and development must come to
the rescue. This premature rush to color was
doomed to failure simply because Technicolor
was then a two color process.
19
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Original nitrate successive-frame separation negatives from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the classic Disney
animated feature released in 1937. The film has been released many times since and earned millions of dollars more for
Disney in the 1987 re-release, the films 50th anniversary.
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The Complex Three-Strip (Three-Color)
Technicolor Motion Picture Camera
In May 1932, construction of a complex three-strip cam-
era was completed under the direction of J. A. Ball. Cost-
ing about $25,000, the camera simultaneously filmed three
black-and-white separation negatives through a single lens
using a beam splitter in combination with a separable bipack
and a single film;
20
the cellulose nitrate-base separation
negative films were made for Technicolor by Eastman Kodak.
Technicolor rented the cameras to film studios for specific
productions; in 1935 the rental fee was about $90 per week.
Technicolor also supplied crews trained in the operation of
the cameras to help with the filming.
With the development of the three-strip camera, the
two-color imbibition printers were modified for three-color
printing with newly developed cyan, magenta, and yellow
dyes. A fourth neutral-gray key developed-silver image
made from the green record (magenta) separation nega-
tive was included with most of the three-color imbibition
prints until the early 1940s. This silver key image, known
as the gray image in Europe, added density and contrast
to the shadow areas of the film and increased apparent
image resolution (in a manner similar to the black printer
in book and magazine color printing), and formed frame
lines around each frame.
This silver image was discontinued about 1946 because
improvements in the matrix film, blank stock, and the ma-
genta, cyan, and yellow dyes made additional shadow den-
sity unnecessary. Concurrent with the elimination of the
silver image, Bell & Howell (BH) film perforations were
changed to Kodak Standard (KS) perforations, which in-
creased projection life of the release prints. In early film
clips examined recently by this author, the silver key
image still appeared to be in very good condition, with no
visual indications of sulfiding or other deterioration.
The three-color process gave excellent color and tone
reproduction, and was met with immediate enthusiasm.
During the years that followed, the image resolution and
color reproduction of the process were continually improved.
The dyes in the Technicolor imbibition process have better
spectral characteristics than dyes available for current nega-
tive-positive processes. This gave the prints somewhat
better color saturation with lower image contrast.
Technicolor developed a method of controlling the den-
sity and color balance of the color image while a film was
being printed by means of what the firm called the wash-
back system. Initially, the degree of dye removal was con-
trolled by variation of the time or temperature of the water
bath; beginning in the late 1940s, an improved water-spray
method was perfected. After dyeing, the matrix films were
rinsed with water from spray-jets; the amount of dye re-
moved from the film prior to transfer could be precisely
controlled by adjusting the number of spray-jets activated.
When a completed section of film came out of the dryer
following the final dye transfer, it was fed directly into a
special projector before being wound on a reel. An opera-
tor carefully monitored the projected picture (often with a
reference print projected on an adjacent screen) and, over
direct-wired telephones, notified machine operators work-
ing along individual sections of the processing machines if
slight dye density corrections were needed. This allowed
accurate control of the color balance of the film and was
said to minimize the number of rejected prints.
The First Full-Color Technicolor Films
The first motion picture produced with the Technicolor
three-color process was a Walt Disney cartoon short called
Flowers and Trees; this film was released in 1932 as part of
the Disney Silly Symphonies series. Disney had completed
nearly half of Flowers and Trees in black-and-white when
Technicolor showed him samples of the new three-color
process. Disney became so enthusiastic about the idea of
a full-color cartoon that he abandoned the black-and-white
version and had his animation artists start all over in color.
Technicolor made the prints of Flowers and Trees in
Hollywood, using two-color imbibition equipment modified
for three-color printing which had been brought to Holly-
wood from its Boston laboratories in 1931. The cartoon
was a great success and was followed in September 1932 by
King Neptune and in December 1932 by the Disney cartoon
Santas Workshop. These were followed in 1933 by, among
others, Three Little Pigs and in 1934 by Funny Little Bun-
nies and Big Bad Wolf. Disney was so pleased with the
color cartoons that the process was used for all the new
Silly Symphonies and after The Band Concert in 1935
for the ever-popular Mickey Mouse series.
21
At first, the three-strip camera was used to film car-
toons directly from the original art. However, beginning in
1934, Disney Studios started filming cartoons with a spe-
cially designed successive-frame camera which exposed three
film frames in a row through red, green, and blue filters,
respectively. A successive-frame camera is simpler to op-
erate and much less expensive than the Technicolor three-
strip camera; an ordinary single-strip camera is suitable
for this type of filming. The matrix films are prepared by
exposing them to each third frame; for example, the ma-
genta dye matrix is exposed only with the green-filter frames.
Most black-and-white negative films will not produce the
same contrast with the three color records when all three
color record films are given the same development; how-
ever, the contrast mismatch of the original successive frame
negative can be compensated for by adjusting the expo-
sure and development of the individual matrix films.
At the time of this writing, Disney Studios still had single-
strip cameras for shooting successive-frame black-and-white
negatives of cartoons; however, instead of making imbibi-
tion prints, the successive-frame negatives are now used
to make color negatives for printing on conventional mo-
tion picture print film. The single-strip successive-frame
technique is suitable only for static scenes (cartoons are
made by photographing large numbers of still drawings, or
cels). To avoid color fringing when filming moving scenes,
all three color records must be exposed at exactly the same
time, and it was for this reason that the complex three-
strip camera was necessary for general filming.
The first motion picture to include live action filmed by
a three-strip camera was the 1934 film The House of
Rothschild, a black-and-white feature produced by Twenti-
eth Century Pictures, which used three-strip Technicolor
for the closing sequence. Also released in 1934, and shot
entirely in three-strip Technicolor, was La Cucaracha, a
famous short film produced by Pioneer Pictures.
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A production scene from Becky Sharp. The RKO feature, released in 1935, was the first feature film shot with the Technicolor
three-strip cameras. Despite the artistic and historical significance of the film, not a single complete Technicolor imbibition
print has survived from the 448 prints made in 1935. In 1984 the UCLA Film, Television and Radio Archives, working with YCM
Laboratories in California, reconstructed the film with various negative and print elements gathered from all over the world.
New separations were made, and prints were produced on Eastman Color Print Film 5384 via a color master positive.
The 1935 Production of Becky Sharp
The first full-length three-strip color film was the 1935
Pioneer Pictures production Becky Sharp, based on Wil-
liam Makepeace Thackerays 1848 novel Vanity Fair and
starring Alan Mowbray and Miriam Hopkins. Released by
RKO, the film cost almost one million dollars to make. Rouben
Mamoulian, who directed Becky Sharp, said this about the
use of color in motion pictures:
For more than 20 years cinematographers
have varied their key lighting in photographing
black-and-white pictures to make the visual im-
pression enhance the emotional mood of the
action. We have become accustomed to a defi-
nite language of lighting: low-key effects, with
sombre, heavy shadows, express a somberly
dramatic mood; high-key effects, with brilliant
lighting and sparkling definition, suggest a lighter
mood; harsh contrasts, with velvety shadows
and strong lights, strike a melodramatic note.
[Now] we have color a new medium, basi-
cally different in many ways from any dramatic
medium previously known, whether the stage
or previous black-and-white pictures. And in
color we have not only a new dimension of real-
ism but also a tremendously powerful means of
expressing dramatic emotion.
22
Reflecting the excitement of the advent of full-color movies,
a reviewer in the June 14, 1935 New York Times commented:
Science and art, the handmaidens of the cin-
ema, have joined hands to endow the screen
with a miraculous new element in Becky Sharp.
. . . Although its faults are too numerous to
earn it distinction as a screen drama, it pro-
duces in the spectator all the excitement of
standing on a peak in Darien and glimpsing a
strange, beautiful and unexpected new world.
As an experiment, it is a momentous event,
and it may be that in a few years it will be
regarded as the equal in historical importance
of the first crude and wretched talking pictures.
Although it is dramatically tedious, it is a gal-
lant and distinguished outpost in an almost un-
charted domain.
23
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the glories of the original until the three-year restoration
effort by Mr. Gitt and Richard Dayton was put on view.
25
A fascinating article by Gitt and Dayton describing the
reconstruction of Becky Sharp was published in American
Cinematographer in November 1984. Since publication of
the article, additional footage from an incomplete, frequently
spliced, and badly scratched imbibition print was obtained
from the Cineteca Nazionale in Rome, Italy, and this has
subsequently been used to improve parts of the UCLA re-
construction of Becky Sharp:
. . . a representative from the UCLA Archives
flew to Rome to examine the print, carrying
along a letter from Rouben Mamoulian, the films
director. As a result, Dr. Guido Cincotti, head
of the Cineteca archives, lent UCLA the Italian
copy of Becky Sharp. With the assistance of
the Library of Congress, arrangements were
made to ship the nitrate print by military trans-
port from Rome to the United States.
The fragile and badly worn film was a dubbed
version, a real advantage because the images
were free of subtitles and could be used to supple-
ment the restoration. UCLA has now integrated
the usable sections of the previously missing
Technicolor footage into its version. This has
allowed fine-tuning of the films color balance
and significant improvement of the color qual-
ity of the last reel.
The best news is that this updated version of
Becky Sharp is expected to be released both
theatrically and on videotape during the upcom-
ing months. After decades of being available
only on truncated 16mm black-and-white tele-
vision prints, or much inferior two-color prints,
we will finally have opportunity to once again
appreciate the films rich Technicolor look.
26
More recently, one reel of an original print was found in
New Jersey, and parts of this were utilized to improve
sections of the soundtrack of the reconstructed film.
In a 1984 interview with Mamoulian about the restora-
tion of Becky Sharp, the 85-year-old director commented:
As Miriam Hopkins and Sir Cedric Hardwicke
glide around the ballroom, among the 400 bit
players are two young women looking on. One
was a sophomore putting herself through the
University of Southern California. Her name
was Thelma Ryan but she became better
known as Patricia Nixon [the wife of former
U.S. President Richard Nixon].
27
Between 1935 and 1938, a number of well-known films
were shot with the three-strip cameras. These included: A
Star is Born, Janet Gaynor and Fredric March (Selznick
International Pictures); Adventures of Robin Hood, Errol
Flynn, Olivia de Havilland (Warner Bros.); and Garden of
Allah, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone,
Joseph Schildkraut (Selznick International/United Artists).
By 1936 Technicolor was producing about 2,750,000 feet
(838,000 meters) of three-color release prints per month.
The Resurrection of Becky Sharp in 1984
Throughout its history, much of the film industry has
been astonishingly lax about the care of its films after pro-
duction and release. There have been some exceptions, of
course, and some producers have devoted considerable
effort to assure the survival of their movies Walt Disney
Studios being the most obvious example but as a whole,
the industry has concentrated its attention on current and
future productions, adopting a policy of benign neglect
for everything else. In many instances, the lack of care
went beyond simply not providing storage with reasonable
temperature and humidity conditions. Almost unbeliev-
ably, for many films not a single print or intact negative (or
other preprint materials) can be found today. Neither the
producers nor collecting archives have managed to retain
even one copy!
Becky Sharp, which for the second time in 50 years is
being called one of the most important films in the history
of American cinema, is a case in point. It was left to Robert
Gitt of the UCLA Film, Television and Radio Archives and
Richard Dayton of YCM Laboratories to resurrect Becky
Sharp in 1984 by recombining various negative and print
elements of the film collected from all over the world. They
discussed the fate of the original prints:
In May of 1935, Technicolor manufactured a
total of 448 release prints of the film, 259 for
domestic use and 189 for foreign release. As
far as can be ascertained, not one of those original
nitrate prints has survived. The Technicolor
Company, itself, retained a print of only the
first ten minute reel for color timing purposes.
In 1943, the Whitneys and their company, Pio-
neer Pictures, sold all rights in Becky Sharp to
Film Classics, Inc., and at the same time turned
over all printing materials on the film. Prob-
ably for budgetary reasons, Film Classics de-
cided to reissue the film, not in Technicolor,
but in the cheaper to manufacture, two-color,
Cinecolor process. Thus, 16mm prints, for non-
theatrical purposes, were released of the full-
length 84-minute version, while 35mm prints
were cut to 66 minutes. In shortening the film,
Film Classics removed and junked sections from
the magenta and cyan negatives and from the
soundtrack negatives. When Film Classics went
out of existence in the early Fifties, the film
changed hands several times, and by 1958, when
television prints were first made, Becky Sharp
was only available in a black-and-white, 16mm
cut version. Since then, miscellaneous reels of
the surviving 35mm negative have been lost.
24
Becky Sharp is once again getting rave reviews. Tom
Collins, writing in March 1985 in The Wall Street Journal,
said: UCLA unveiled a dazzling new version of Becky Sharp,
Rouben Mamoulians witty rendition of Vanity Fair. . . .
Over the years, the original sparkle had been lost, not be-
cause of the fading that plagues all color pictures today,
but by a ghastly transformation into a pallid, washed-out
process called Cinecolor. This reduction gave little hint of
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Separation negative masters for Gone With the Wind and other color films in the Turner Entertainment Film Library
(operated by Turner Entertainment Company, a unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.) are stored in the high-security
underground facility operated by the Records Center of Kansas City, near Kansas City, Missouri. Film storage areas are
maintained at 38F (3.3C) and 40% RH. Only safety base film is accepted for storage at the underground facility.
In 1934, when Disney announced his inten-
tion of making the first feature-length animated
cartoon perhaps costing as much as $250,000
his sincerest well-wishers told him he was
crazy. In the first place, there was a Hollywood
truism that fantasies were failures at the box
office. In the second place, the public wouldnt
sit through so long a cartoon. In the third place,
an adult audience wouldnt ever go to see a
fairy tale. And in the fourth place, the juvenile
audience wasnt large enough to pay for the
cost of production.
Disney, who always said that self-confidence
was the most important element of success,
listened politely and made the feature anyway
at a final cost of $1.5 million in mostly bor-
rowed dollars. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
had its premiere in Hollywood on Dec. 21, 1937,
and promptly grossed $8 million in its first re-
lease at the time the most money a film had
ever made. It played in 41 countries and soon
had soundtracks in 10 different languages.
28
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Released
for the Eighth Time in 1987, 50 Years After
the Film Premiered in 1937
Walt Disneys classic animated Technicolor feature Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released for the eighth
time on July 17, 1987, simultaneously opening in 60 coun-
tries including the U.S., China, and the U.S.S.R. The Walt
Disney Company believes that by the end of 1987 the film
had been seen by more than 500 million moviegoers since
its premiere in 1939; this, according to Disney, makes Snow
White the most popular American film of all time. To
enhance this latest re-release, Disney reworked the
soundtrack for Dolby Stereo.
Based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Snow White was
filmed with the successive-frame Technicolor camera and
contains images of more than 250,000 drawings, selected
from the more than one million drawings that were made
for the project. Snow White originally cost $1.5 million to
make, which was far over budget and at the time a huge
sum for making a movie. Writing in The New York Times
about the movie on the occasion of its 50th anniversary re-
release in 1987, film critic John Culhane recounted the
films early history:
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A box of cellulose triacetate separation negative masters
from Gone With the Wind; the negatives which are du-
plicates of the original nitrate negatives shot with Techni-
color 3-strip cameras, are stored in the refrigerated high-
security underground vault at the Records Center of Kan-
sas City. The originals are now part of the collection of
the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman
House in Rochester, New York, having been donated by
MGM to Eastman House some years ago. The storage
conditions provided by the museum for the original cam-
era separations are less than adequate. On the occasion
of the films 50th anniversary in 1989, Turner made new
prints from a newly reconstructed internegative printed
from the original nitrate camera separations which were
made available to Turner by George Eastman House.
To preserve Snow White, the original sequential-frame
black-and-white cellulose nitrate camera negatives have
been duplicated with cellulose triacetate film; for safekeeping,
a set of duplicate separation negatives from Snow White,
together with back-ups of most of Disneys other films, are
in the high-security, atomic bomb-proof Underground Vaults
& Storage, Inc. facility located more than 600 feet under-
ground in an abandoned section of a salt mine in Hutchinson,
Kansas.
Originally imbibition printed by Technicolor, theatrical
prints for the latest re-release of Snow White were made
with conventional chromogenic motion picture print film,
printed from duplicate color negatives produced from the
black-and-white successive-frame separations.
Disney has traditionally re-released Snow White and its
other classic animated films every 5 to 7 years counting
on a huge new worldwide audience with every successive
generation of children. In only 2 months after the 1987 re-
release, the film grossed another $45 million giving it a
total gross to date of about $375 million! The next re-
release of Snow White is expected to take place around
1993. Disney expects revenues in the coming centuries to
be enormous.
The Preservation of Gone With the Wind
Probably the most famous of all the films made with the
Technicolor three-strip cameras is the 1939 David O. Selznick
production of Gone With the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh
and Clark Gable. Winner of the first Academy Award for
Color Cinematography, the film cost more than $4 million
to make far more than any previous motion picture. At
the completion of filming with the Technicolor three-strip
cameras, more than one-half million feet of black-and-white
separation negative film had been shot. This was edited to
a running time of over 3
1
2 hours, quite long by Hollywood
standards. Gone With the Wind is still the inflation-ad-
justed top money-making movie of all time, and even in
non-inflation-adjusted dollars, the film was the top-gross-
ing movie in history until the 1977 release of George
Lucass Star Wars.
In the years since 1939, Gone With the Wind has been
re-released many times, earning MGM untold millions of
dollars (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., as mentioned
previously, purchased the MGM/UA Entertainment Com-
pany in 1986, and became the owner of theatrical rights to
Gone With the Wind along with theatrical and television
rights to the more than 2,200 other films in the MGM Film
Library). Initially shown on television on the NBC net-
work, the film earned NBC the highest viewer rating ever
for a theatrical release when it was aired in 1976. Later,
Gone With the Wind was licensed to CBS television for 10
years for $37 million. In 1987 Turner Broadcasting ac-
quired television rights to the film from CBS in exchange
for an undisclosed amount of cash and a license for some
future airings of The Wizard of Oz. In 1985 MGM released
Gone With the Wind on videocassette and videodisc, with
the sound track digitally enhanced to create a simulated
stereo track.
Beginning in 1966, MGM stopped having Technicolor
produce imbibition prints of Gone With the Wind; instead,
MGM made release prints on Eastman Color Print Film
from a new color internegative. This was somewhat less
expensive than making prints with the Technicolor imbibi-
tion process and also allowed the production of a 65mm
internegative which was used to print the special 70mm
prints for one of the re-releases of Gone With the Wind.
MGM made the Eastman color internegatives for Gone
With the Wind from an Eastman color interpositive which
had been printed by separate exposures from the original
nitrate camera separation negatives. (MGM Labs, Inc.,
also known as Metrocolor Film Laboratories, was sold when
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. broke up the MGM/UA
Entertainment Company in 1986.)
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At the same time MGM made the new color internega-
tives, MGM made master positives and duplicate separa-
tions from the original nitrate separations with Eastman
cellulose triacetate black-and-white film in order to have
stable copies of the original black-and-white camera sepa-
rations for use in future years. The duplicate separations
also provided a protection copy in the event of damage to
the original separations during subsequent printing opera-
tions when the color internegative was made.
The 1988 Reprinting of Gone With the Wind
from the Original Nitrate Camera Separations
For the 50th anniversary re-release of Gone With the
Wind, Turner planned to make new prints from the dupli-
cate separations made by MGM in 1966 from the original
nitrate camera separations. But the print quality obtained
was often unsatisfactory, so Turner borrowed the original
nitrate camera separations from the International Mu-
seum of Photography at George Eastman House in Roch-
ester, New York and used these to make a new color
interpositive positive which in turn was used to make new
duplicate color negatives for release printing. In addition,
a new set of duplicate black-and-white separations was
made. MGM had donated the original nitrate separations
to Eastman House after they were duplicated in 1966.
An advertisement for the newly restored Gone With the
Wind, which appeared in The New York Times, Sunday,
January 22, 1989.
In an article about the 1988 restoration in The New York
Times, Max Alexander reported:
[Turner Entertainment Company] initially
planned to restore only the original title se-
quence in which the words Gone With the Wind
sweep across the screen. (Later prints used a
simpler block title.) Seeing the quality of the
restored title made us hungry for the rest of
it, says Mr. Richard May [director of film ser-
vices at Turner]. We decided to go with the
whole picture.
Using as a guide a 1954 Technicolor print
approved by the late Mr. Selznick, work began
on rephotographing the negatives in early 1987
at YCM Laboratories in Burbank, Calif.
According to Mr. May, It had long been
thought that the original negatives had shrunk
at different rates; in fact the problem was not
shrinkage but maladjustment of the prism in
the Technicolor camera when it was photo-
graphed.
The worst problem came during the Twelve
Oaks smoking-room scene early in the film, where
the men discuss the impending Civil War. Rhett
has on a tie thats supposed to be a black-and-
white check, but it appears as a yellow-cyan
and magenta check, says Mr. May, cringing at
the thought.
In another scene, he says, Ashley [Leslie
Howard] and Scarlett were silhouetted in front
of a window, and he had three noses differ-
ent colors.
Correcting the problems was largely trial
and error, sighs Mr. May: Rephotographing
the original at a slightly different relationship
to the sprocket holes, hoping that it comes out
the same as the other two strips. Youre deal-
ing with ten-thousandths of an inch.
29
The once-again reprinted Gone With the Wind opened
January 30, 1989 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City
at a gala celebration to honor the World Premiere of the
Classic Masterpiece Restored to Its Original Technicolor
Splendor. The premiere was co-sponsored by the Mu-
seum of Modern Art. During the year, the film was shown
in theaters in 41 American cities. Restoration and public-
ity costs for the 1989 re-release reportedly amounted to
about $350,000; the film earned $2.5 million at the box office
and sold 220,000 copies of a special 50th anniversary edi-
tion videocassette for a total profit of about $7 million.
30
Turner Entertainment Company Keeps Back-Up
Film Elements in a High-Security Underground
Refrigerated Storage Vault in Kansas City
For safekeeping, Turner Entertainment Company stores
duplicate three-strip camera separation negatives and
color interpositives and internegatives made from the origi-
nal Gone With the Wind in the high-security, refrigerated
underground vault operated by the Records Center of Kan-
sas City, Missouri (a division of Underground Vaults &
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Storage, Inc.). Located in a leased area of an abandoned
section of an underground limestone mine operated by Texas
billionaire Lamar Hunt, the Kansas City vault is main-
tained at 38F (3.3C) and 40% RH. The Records Center of
Kansas City rents space to a variety of private and govern-
mental clients; the vaults are intended to provide security
for valuable films, magnetic media, microfilms, and paper
records in the event of tornadoes, floods, civil strife, and
even nearby atomic attack.
The original nitrate camera separation negatives from
Gone With the Wind are in the motion picture collection of
the International Museum of Photography at George East-
man House in Rochester, New York. On a hot summer day
in 1978 there was a disastrous fire, attributed to spontane-
ous combustion, in a nitrate film storage facility on the
grounds of George Eastman House; 327 features and short
films, plus a number of early cartoons, were destroyed.
The films were being stored in a building that had no tem-
perature or relative humidity control, no fire detection or
fire control equipment, nor any of the other provisions which
are generally accepted as necessary for even short-term
storage of cellulose nitrate motion picture film.
Fortunately, the Gone With the Wind separations were
not among the films destroyed in the fire. After the fire,
the separations, along with a large number of other nitrate
films, were moved to rented space in storage vaults at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. The
priceless Gone With the Wind separations were returned
to George Eastman House in 1990 where, at the time this
book went to press in October 1992, they were being stored
under less than ideal temperature and humidity conditions.
Cellulose Nitrate Motion Picture Film
Unfortunately, the camera separation negative films,
the master positives printed from the original negatives to
allow duplicate separations to be made in case the original
separations were damaged, and the matrix films produced
prior to 19481950 were all made on cellulose nitrate base
(nitrate films are sometimes called celluloid films). The
imbibition color release films were also made on nitrate
base film during this period. After 1951 all Technicolor
camera negatives, master positives, matrices, and release
prints were made on cellulose triacetate safety film.
Despite the stability problems associated with cellulose
nitrate film and the poor storage conditions in which ap-
parently all of the original Technicolor separation nega-
tives and master positives have been kept, many of those
that can still be found are usable for making new duplicate
negatives and color prints.
Other than suffering from scratches and other physical
abuse, many surviving nitrate imbibition prints are also
still in good condition. Thomas Tarr, formerly of Techni-
color, has said that it appears to him that the life of cellu-
lose nitrate films with which the early Technicolor movies
were made increased as a result of treatment with the
acidic dye solutions and/or the mordants used in the pro-
cess. Tarr reports that many nitrate imbibition prints dat-
ing back to the early 1930s remain in excellent condition
today, while black-and-white films made during the same
period on the same type of nitrate support have suffered
more deterioration.
31
Peter Comandini of YCM Laborato-
ries says that in his experience, nitrate films made by DuPont
generally have deteriorated much more than Eastman ni-
trate films stored under similar conditions.
32
Technicolor normally disposed of cellulose nitrate and
later cellulose triacetate printing matrices within 5 or 6
years of the initial printing; new matrices were prepared
from the original separation negatives or the original color
negative in cases where additional release prints were re-
quired after the original matrices had been discarded. Be-
ginning in the 1960s, Technicolor adopted polyester-sup-
port matrix films which substantially increased the num-
ber of release prints that could be made from a set of
matrices; polyester matrix films should remain usable for
a great many years to come because the material has ex-
cellent dimensional stability during long-term keeping.
The professional motion picture industry was the last
branch of photography to abandon highly flammable cellu-
lose nitrate films. Kodak did not even introduce cellulose
triacetate safety films for the motion picture industry
until 1948, and the new films did not come into common use
until 1949. Kodak continued to produce 35mm nitrate mo-
tion picture film until 1951.
Kodak introduced cellulose acetate safety roll film for
still cameras in 1908 and has produced cellulose acetate
films for the amateur home movie field since 1923. From
the very beginning, all Kodak 16mm and 8mm motion pic-
ture films have been made on a cellulose acetate safety
base because Kodak considered cellulose nitrate film to be
too hazardous for home movie use.
The Hollywood motion picture industry preferred work-
ing with cellulose nitrate films and Kodak and other
manufacturers continued to produce them because, com-
pared with early cellulose acetate film, nitrate film had
high tensile strength, good flexibility, and good dimensional
stability after immersion in processing solutions.
In film industry terminology, films made on cellulose
diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate propionate,
and polyester supports are often referred to simply as safety
films. The term safety indicates that the films will not
burn rapidly; the fire hazards of safety films are approxi-
mately the same as of ordinary paper of the same thick-
ness and packaged in the same manner.
If ignited, cellulose nitrate films burn extremely rap-
idly. Under certain conditions, large quantities of cellulose
nitrate film stored without ventilation can spontaneously
ignite when sustained temperatures in the storage areas
are as low as 120F (49C).
It is by no means impossible, however, to preserve cel-
lulose nitrate films that are still in good condition. At a
given relative humidity of storage, the rate of deteriora-
tion of cellulose nitrate film is approximately halved for
each 10F drop in temperature; if the film still is in good
condition, it can be preserved almost indefinitely in stor-
age at 0F (18C) or lower. For information on the long-
term preservation of cellulose nitrate films in low-cost
explosion-proof freezers, see Appendix 19.1 at the end of
Chapter 19.
To keep matters in perspective, it should be pointed out
that under typical storage conditions cellulose nitrate film
is considerably more stable than the color images of films
such as Eastman Color Print Film 5381 and 5383 which
were in use worldwide as late as 1983.
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release prints by the imbibition process; these have always
been printed on Eastman Color Print Film or similar chro-
mogenic films. Technicolor printed large numbers of 16mm
and 8mm release prints by the imbibition process; these
prints were normally made on a safety-film stock, although
16mm prints slit from 35mm cellulose nitrate film stock
were produced for the armed forces during 194344.
The Demise of the Technicolor
Imbibition Motion Picture Process
When dimensionally stable cellulose triacetate films be-
came available, the Technicolor three-strip direct separa-
tion system was nearly ideal for making an accurate color
record that could be kept for extended periods without the
need for cold storage. However, the three-strip camera
was a very bulky device and the system was difficult and
expensive to operate compared to filming with Eastman
Color Negative films and other integral tripack color films
in conventional motion picture cameras.
The introduction of Eastman Color Negative Film, Type
5247, a daylight-balanced colored-coupler masked integral
tripack, in late 1950 (the film was announced in late 1949)
led to a rapid decline in use of the three-strip cameras over
the next few years. The last major film shot with Techni-
color three-strip cameras was the Ealing Studios produc-
tion The Lady Killers, filmed in 1954 and released in 1955.
The separation negatives and printing matrices were pro-
cessed by Technicolor Ltd. in England; duplicate matrices
were shipped to Technicolor in Hollywood for making re-
lease prints for U.S. distribution. The last American fea-
ture filmed with the three-strip cameras was Foxfire, star-
ring Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler, also released in 1955.
At the same time Kodak began producing its color nega-
tive film, the company also introduced Eastman Color Print
Safety Film, Type 5281 for printing dailies and release prints
from the color negatives. In terms of tone and color repro-
duction, the Eastman Color prints were somewhat inferior
to imbibition prints made from camera separation nega-
tives and also to imbibition prints made from Eastman
Color Negative Film originals. However, release prints
made on Eastman Color Print Film were less costly than
Technicolor imbibition prints when relatively small num-
bers of prints were required.
In the mid-1950s, Eastman Color Print Film was ca-
pable of significantly higher image resolution than the then-
available Technicolor imbibition prints. The better image
resolution of the Eastman prints was a decided advantage
when large magnifications were needed for wide-screen
theater projection and proved to be crucial when laterally
squeezed anamorphic wide-screen optical systems came
into common use. The quality of color and tone reproduc-
tion of Eastman Color Prints was considered adequate by
the movie-going public, and the Eastman Color negative-
positive system rapidly led to the almost universal adop-
tion of color photography in motion pictures.
Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5247 (not to be con-
fused with the current Eastman Color Negative Film 5247)
and its associated duplicating and print films came into
significant use in the general film industry beginning in
late 1952. The Royal Journey, a 1951 film made by the
National Film Board of Canada about the visit to Canada of
Identification of Technicolor Imbibition Prints
Technicolor dye-imbibition prints are generally referred
to as IB prints or occasionally as dye transfer prints. Tech-
nicolor imbibition release prints are not marked to distin-
guish them from the companys prints on Eastman Color
and other chromogenic materials; however, all Technicolor
release prints made from 1928 to about 1955 were made
with the imbibition process. All release prints made by
Technicolor on nitrate-base films were printed by the imbi-
bition process. By 1949 Technicolor was reportedly print-
ing about one million feet of imbibition release prints per
day. By 1954, the company had produced over four billion
feet of imbibition release prints since its founding in 1915
(most of this footage is no longer in existence).
Beginning in the mid-1950s, Technicolor started pro-
ducing some release prints on Eastman Color Print Film
(by about 1952, dailies from Eastman Color negatives were
printed on Eastman Color Print Film), and by mid-1975 all
release prints by Technicolor in the U.S. were made on this
or similar chromogenic films. In 1977 Technicolor was
said to be the largest single commercial customer of East-
man Kodak color motion picture films in the world.
It is sometimes difficult to differentiate Technicolor im-
bibition prints from Eastman Color Print Films or from
other chromogenic color print films such as those made by
Ansco, Fuji, Agfa-Gevaert, and Ferrania. Technicolor im-
bibition prints may also occasionally be confused with prints
made by some of the less common color print processes of
the 19301950s era, such as Supercinecolor or Trucolor
(which used DuPont Color Film, Type 275).
Both Eastman Color prints and Technicolor imbibition
prints have a slight physical relief image on the surface of
the emulsion which corresponds to the optical density.
However, the relief image is more pronounced with East-
man Color prints. Older Eastman Color prints have faded
and suffered significant red or magenta color shifts unless
the prints have been stored at low temperatures. Even
the oldest Technicolor three-color imbibition prints, dating
as far back as the early 1930s, show little if any color
deterioration.
Nearly all the three-color prints until about 1946 have a
fourth developed-silver key image to add density and
contrast to the shadow areas, and these films will exhibit a
microscopic grain structure in the middle- and high-den-
sity areas. The films usually exhibit a silver neutral-gray
area adjacent to the image area of each frame.
Most Technicolor imbibition prints were made on Kodak
film stocks and have Eastman Kodak Nitrate Film edge-
printed in silver on the film (the words Eastman and
Kodak and Nitrate Film were normally spaced about
2
1
2 inches [6.4 cm] apart). Safety film made by Eastman
Kodak is silver edge-printed with Eastman Safety Film or
Kodak Safety Film.
The 3M Company and possibly other manufacturers
also made blank print stocks for Technicolor during
the last years of the imbibition process. If a Technicolor
35mm imbibition print is edge-printed with the Safety Film
designation, it is certain that it was produced after 1948.
All Technicolor imbibition prints with optical soundtracks
have neutral developed-silver soundtracks which do not
contain any image dyes. Technicolor never produced 70mm
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any of its other superior characteristics. This
work progressed on an emergency basis through
a period of about two years until early in May,
1955 I saw on a 50-foot screen in Hollywood a
demonstration of AN IMPROVED NEW TECH-
NICOLOR PROCESS. The 35mm print used for
this demonstration embodied all the changes
in the imbibition process that Technicolor has
been striving for since the advent of Eastman
and Ansco color type negative and the advent
of large screens in theatres. The result was
the most wonderful picture in color made by
any process that I have ever seen on the screen
from all technical points of view, including
sharpness or definition and especially color
rendition.
33
The image resolution of dye-imbibition prints is usually
less than the resolution of the printing matrix image be-
cause of slight lateral diffusion of the image dyes during
the transfer step prior to drying. This type of lateral dye
diffusion also takes place with the Kodak Dye Transfer and
Fuji Dyecolor processes for still photographs; however, it
is not so serious with reflection prints because they are
generally viewed without magnification. Close examina-
tion of a Kodak Dye Transfer print will reveal the loss of
definition caused by dye diffusion; the losses will be obvi-
ous if the print is compared with an image of the same
original printed on Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) or on Kodak
Ektacolor Paper.
Technicolor continued successful marketing of the im-
proved imbibition process until the late 1960s, when popu-
larity of the process started to decline in favor of the gen-
erally lower-cost Eastman Color Print Film and similar
chromogenic release-print films made by Fuji and Agfa-
Gevaert. During this period there was little discussion in
motion picture circles of the relative stability characteris-
tics of the various types of print films; because Kodak was
still keeping the stability characteristics of its films a se-
cret, and Technicolor decided not to make public what little
information it had on the stability of its imbibition prints,
the subject did not become a matter of concern at the time.
Thomas Tarr, now retired from Technicolor, says that
the introduction of Eastman Color Reversal Intermediate
Film, Type 5249 in 1968 (the film was used on a test basis in
some labs, including Technicolor, a year or two before 1968)
was the crucial factor that led to the end of the imbibition
process.
34
Eastman Color Reversal Intermediate Film (CRI
film) is a colored-coupler masked reversal film which pro-
duces a high-quality duplicate color negative in one opera-
tion; before the introduction of this film, labs had to make a
duplicate color negative by first producing a color interpositive
and then printing the positive on another film to make a
duplicate negative. This additional operation was an added
expense and, at the time, often resulted in unacceptable
losses in reproduction quality.
Major motion pictures are not printed directly from the
original camera negative because the negative cannot be
replaced if it is damaged by repeated printing operations.
For this reason, and to allow for the inclusion of special
effects at an intermediate stage, duplicate color negatives
are almost always required. Major studios also often make
Princess Elizabeth, was the first full-length feature pro-
duced with the new Eastman Color negative-positive films.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Ansco Color
gained popularity, particularly at MGM, and this process
became serious competition for Technicolor. Ansco Color
was a chromogenic reversal process with a low-contrast
camera film and a print film of the proper gamma to pro-
duce the higher contrast needed for projection. In 1953
Ansco introduced a negative-positive motion picture pro-
cess. Partially because the Ansco films did not have the
colored-coupler masking system used in the Eastman color
films to reduce color degradation during successive print-
ing operations, the Ansco system was inferior in color re-
production, and the process failed in the market some years
later.
Eastman Color Negative Film, Type 5248, a tungsten-
balanced film introduced in 1953, had better image resolu-
tion and finer grain than Type 5247. This new negative
film, soon joined by various color intermediate and separa-
tion films from Kodak and by the improved Eastman Color
Print Film, Type 5382, resulted in a complete color motion
picture system with higher image resolution and generally
lower production costs than the Technicolor imbibition pro-
cess. This led to further economic distress for the Techni-
color Corporation. In 1955 Kalmus said:
But about 1953 came another development
which heralded the fourth serious depression
which was to overtake the Technicolor busi-
ness. I refer to the advent of a new method of
photography employing negative of Eastman
color negative type which largely superseded
the use of Technicolor special 3-strip cameras.
And I also refer to the advent of large screen
theaters and increased area negatives. The
fourth Technicolor process which took care of
a very substantial part of the motion picture
requirements from 1934 to 1953 was tailored to
make prints in the laboratory from Technicolor
special 3-strip negative and to be projected on
screens not larger than 30 or 35 feet in width.
Beginning about 1953 both of these conditions
changed and again Technicolor research and
development departments had to do something
to meet the new demands. And hence we come,
in 1955, to the announcement of a fifth Techni-
color process, The Improved New Technicolor
Process.
Making Technicolor imbibition prints from
Eastman Kodak type negative involved new and
special laboratory problems. Continuing to op-
erate with Technicolor Process number 4 re-
sulted in Technicolor imbibition prints with the
usual fine characteristic tone scale and color
rendering but which lacked something in defi-
nition, or visibility. This became increasingly
apparent when the industry began generally to
use larger area screens in the theatres.
So beginning around 19523 the objective of
the Research and Development Departments
of Technicolor became to improve the defini-
tion of its imbibition prints without the loss of
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black-and-white separation positives from the original color
negative of major features for protection in the event the
original is damaged or fades during storage.
The introduction of the Eastman CRI film made it pos-
sible to produce low-cost release prints on improved East-
man Color Print Film that were nearly equal in color and
tone reproduction to Technicolor imbibition prints and
that sealed the fate of the imbibition process in the U.S.
and Europe. In 1969 Eastman Kodak Company won an
Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci-
ences for the new reversal intermediate film.
With the 1979 introduction of Eastman Color Intermedi-
ate II Film 5243, an improved version of Eastman Color
Intermediate Film 5253, designed to make color interposi-
tives and duplicate negatives, many studios are no longer
using the CRI film for duplicate negatives from 35mm originals
(5249 is still used extensively for 16mm productions). The
interpositive duplication method with 5243 is said to give
better results than with the CRI film. A further drawback
with 5249 is that it fades much more rapidly than 5243 film.
In fact, 5249, which has not been significantly improved in
terms of stability since its introduction in 1968, is by far the
least stable of all current Eastman Color motion picture
films.
Technicolor Imbibition Prints
from Color Reversal Films
Release printing by the imbibition method is not re-
stricted to films originally photographed with the three-
strip camera or color negative films; the printing method
can also be used with color reversal originals by making
black-and-white separation negatives.
In 1941 Eastman Kodak manufactured a special low-
contrast Kodachrome process film as a camera original
reversal film for Technicolor; Technicolor called this prod-
uct Monopack film. Separation negatives were made from
the Monopack original and these were printed by the imbi-
bition process. Monopack could be shot at low cost with
conventional cameras, but the color reproduction obtained
from the film was inferior to the three-strip camera pro-
cess. Monopack was first used for outdoor sequences of
Lassie Come Home (1943), a United Artists release. The
first full-length feature shot with Monopack film was Thun-
derhead Son of Flicka, released by 20th Century Fox in
1945. It was also used for Walt Disneys True Life Adven-
ture series. Monopack film was discontinued by Kodak
about 1952.
From the late 1940s and continuing through the 1960s,
conventional Kodachrome films often served as camera
originals for the imbibition process. The 1953 full-length
documentary Conquest of Everest and the 1958 film Antarc-
tic Crossing were both photographed with 16mm Kodachrome.
Ansco Color reversal films were also used as original cam-
era films from about 1946 to 1950. Many other types of
reversal and negative films were printed by the Techni-
color imbibition process; these included Agfacolor,
Ferraniacolor, Gevacolor, Ektachrome, etc. Technicolor
in England made prints from Russian Sovcolor color nega-
tive film for the motion picture Othello (1956) and later
from the negative of the Russian 70mm production The
Story of the Flaming Years (1961).
Technicolor Imbibition Prints
Made from Color Negatives
With the decline in popularity of the three-strip camera
in the early 1950s, most full-length feature movies printed
by the Technicolor imbibition process were filmed on East-
man Color Negative films. Initially, Technicolor made sepa-
ration positives (YCM masters) from the original color nega-
tive; the separation positives were then contact-printed to
make separation negatives, and it was from these that the
matrix films were printed.
Beginning in 1953, however, printing matrices were pre-
pared from the color negatives with panchromatic matrix
film in a manner similar to the printing of still color nega-
tives directly on Kodak Pan Matrix Film in the Kodak Dye
Transfer process. Soon after the introduction of the East-
man color negative and print films, Technicolor installed
facilities for processing these films. During the early 1950s,
Eastman prints were produced only for color dailies that
were supplied to the filmmakers; Technicolor continued to
make release prints with the imbibition process.
Agfa in Germany had introduced a color negative and
color print film for motion pictures in late 1939; the films
were used for a number of German productions during the
war years. The early Agfacolor negative films did not con-
tain color-correcting masks Agfa did not begin to pro-
duce films with integral masking until about 1953, and at
that time it was only a single silver mask.
Kodak did not attempt to enter the professional motion
picture field with a negative-positive system until the com-
pany perfected its now almost universally adopted colored-
coupler masking system in the late 1940s. This masking
system was first incorporated in Kodak Ektacolor color
negative film introduced in 1947 for still cameras and shortly
thereafter in Kodacolor film for amateur photographers;
with modifications, Kodaks masking system is now used
with nearly all the still and motion picture color negative
films in the world today.
One reason Kodak delayed introduction of a chromoge-
nic negative-positive motion picture process was that prior
to the development of the colored-coupler masking system,
it was not possible to produce release prints that could
compete in terms of color and tone scale reproduction with
the Technicolor imbibition process. And Kodak was also
selling Technicolor most of the film stocks for its produc-
tions, so there was limited financial incentive to offer an
inferior alternative product.
Following the appearance of Eastman Color Negative
Film, Type 5247 in 1950, and Type 5248 in 1953, Technicolor
began making large numbers of imbibition release prints
from color negatives. The first full-length film printed from
Eastman Color Negative Film was The Lion and the Horse,
released by Warner Bros. in 1952. This process was also
used with the first CinemaScope wide-screen film The Robe,
released in 1953 by 20th Century Fox.
More recently, Technicolor printed such films as West
Side Story (1961), My Fair Lady (1964), Bonnie and Clyde
(1967), the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967),
The Godfather (1972), and The Godfather Part II (1974)
from color negatives with the imbibition process for 35mm
release prints; when wide-screen 70mm prints were re-
quired, they were produced on Eastman Color Print Film.
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A non-color-corrected reproduction of an original frame
from a cellulose nitrate release print of Becky Sharp is
reproduced in Chapter 1. The film was imbibition-printed
in 1935; still in excellent condition when this book went to
press in 1992, the nitrate film was more than half a century
old. The film clip had been stored with a large number of
other film clips, all about 5 inches long and loosely packed
in a metal film can. Because nitric oxides and other de-
composition products can more easily escape from loosely
packed films, such films may be expected to last longer
than films wound tightly on a large reel in a can. In recent
years, reproductions of a number of original, unfaded frames
from old Technicolor imbibition-printed motion pictures
have been reproduced in film periodicals in the United
States and abroad.
35,36,37
Based on the many Technicolor imbibition prints he has
examined in recent years, Robert Gitt of the UCLA film
archives had this to say about the image stability of the
process:
If you took a Technicolor dye imbibition print
and you projected it many times at a drive-in
theater and put a lot of light through it, the
dyes do fade a little bit particularly the cyan
although not that badly. But if you are care-
ful with Technicolor imbibition prints, and keep
them in the dark and dont show them a lot,
they dont seem to fade at all. Ive never seen
one that has faded if properly cared for. It is a
remarkably good process. Technicolor imbibi-
tion on triacetate base is very, very good.
38
This author has conducted accelerated dark fading tests
with frames from Technicolor imbibition prints made on
Eastman cellulose triacetate film; based on density loss
and stain formation of other color motion picture films and
still materials tested under the same conditions, it could
be predicted that Technicolor imbibition images will prob-
ably survive hundreds of years with only negligible fading
and with essentially no staining when stored in the
dark. The stability of the imbibition images is far better
than the high-stability chromogenic print films introduced
since 1984, including Eastman Color Print Film 5384 and
Fujicolor Positive Film LP 8816. The stability of the Tech-
nicolor imbibition images is also far superior to that of
Agfa-Gevaerts Agfa Print CP1 and CP10 Colour Print Films.
1. Mike Clark, Movies Pretty as a Picture, USA Today, October 15,
1987, p. 4D.
2. Max Alexander, Once More, the Old South in All Its Glory, The
New York Times, January 29, 1989, p. H13.
3. Lawrence Cohn, Turner Eyes 38 Robin Hood Redux, Variety, Vol.
340, No. 3, July 25, 1990, p. 10.
4. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland,
Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic Film: Part I Labora-
tory Testing Procedures, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 5, May
1992, pp. 336346; and P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura,
and C. J. Erbland, Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic
Film: Part II Practical Storage Considerations, SMPTE Journal,
Vol. 101, No. 5, May 1992, pp. 347353. See also: James M. Reilly,
Peter Z. Adelstein, and Douglas W. Nishimura, Preservation of
Safety Film Final Report to the Office of Preservation, Na-
tional Endowment for the Humanities (Grant # PS-20159-88),
More than 1,000 imbibition prints amounting to over
eight million feet of film were made of the James Bond
film On Her Majestys Secret Service, released in 1969.
The Godfather Part II (1974) was the last film made in
the U.S. to be imbibition-printed by Technicolor for its ini-
tial release. Tarr reports that the last film reprinted by the
imbibition process in Hollywood before the plant was closed
was the 1975 re-release of Swiss Family Robinson (Disney,
1960); the prints for the new release were produced from
previously made matrix films. The Hollywood plant was
closed and dismantled in February 1975; the London and
Rome plants were both closed in June 1978.
Tarr reports that Francis Ford Coppola, who directed
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, had planned to
have European 35mm release prints of his 1979 epic about
the war in Vietnam, Apocalypse Now, imbibition-printed by
Technicolor in Rome. However, due to production delays,
the film was not completed until after the last of the Tech-
nicolor imbibition plants had closed. Coppola is said to
have preferred the color and tone reproduction of Techni-
color imbibition prints over Eastman Color prints.
When Technicolor closed its imbibition operation in En-
gland in 1978, it opened a large new plant to expand its
capacity to process and print Eastman negative-positive
films. At the end, Technicolor believed that its imbibition
process was no longer economically competitive with re-
lease prints made on chromogenic films such as Eastman
Color, Fujicolor, and Gevacolor (Agfacolor) print films; the
superior stability of the imbibition prints was not consid-
ered to be a worthwhile market advantage.
The Outstanding Image Stability
of Technicolor Imbibition Prints
In the 1960s and 1970s, it was not uncommon for re-
lease prints of a given motion picture to be made both by
the Technicolor imbibition process and with Eastman Color
Print Film. The instability of Eastman prints can be dra-
matically illustrated by comparing them with Technicolor
imbibition prints of the same film. After 10 to 20 years of
storage, the Eastman prints exhibit severe cyan dye loss
and have a pronounced red or magenta appearance; the
Technicolor imbibition prints appear as perfect in color
fidelity as the day they were made.
In 1977, at the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation
office in Hollywood, this author examined original film
clips from a large number of early Technicolor imbibition
motion pictures made on nitrate film base dating back to
the 1935 release Becky Sharp. Without exception, the ni-
trate-base films were in excellent condition and showed
none of the yellowing and physical deformation character-
istic of the early stages of decomposition in nitrate film.
Although original densitometric data are not available for
comparison purposes, the dye images of the films appeared
to be in uniformly excellent condition, with no obvious color
shift or loss of density. The film had been kept in metal
cans under normal room-temperature and humidity con-
ditions at the former Technicolor office at 6311 Romaine
Street in Hollywood, California. In recent years this office
has been air-conditioned to maintain a temperature of about
70F (21C).
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have seriously faded their deterioration is in no way characteristic
of Technicolor imbibition prints of the same motion pictures.
24. Robert Gitt and Richard Dayton, Restoring Becky Sharp, Ameri-
can Cinematographer, Vol. 65, No. 10, November 1984, pp. 99
106. Dayton is with YCM Laboratories (a division of 3-Strip, Inc.),
2312 West Burbank Blvd., Burbank, California 91506-1236; telephone:
818-843-5300. YCM specializes in reproduction from two-color and
three-color separation negatives, contrast and balance modification
of color films, and reproduction of early optical sound tracks.
25. Tom Collins, The Reel Thing: Resurrecting Lost Films, The Wall
Street Journal, March 12, 1985, p. 28; see also: Colour Revived,
British Journal of Photography, Vol. 132, No. 6498, February 15,
1985, p. 177.
26. Gregory Lukow, Lookin Sharp, American Film, Vol. X, No. 9,
JulyAugust 1985, p. 9.
27. Peter B. Flint, Mamoulians Color Classic Restored Director Tells
of Filming Becky Sharp, The New York Times, September 26,
1984.
28. John Culhane, Snow White at 50: Undimmed Magic, The New
York Times, July 12, 1987, p. H19.
29. Max Alexander, see Note No. 2.
30. Larry Rohter, New Profits (and Prestige) from Old Films, The New
York Times, April 25, 1991, p. B1.
31. Thomas Tarr, see Note No. 8.
32. Peter Comandini, YCM Laboratories, telephone discussion with this
author, September 1985.
33. Herbert T. Kalmus, see Note No. 13.
34. Thomas Tarr, see Note No. 8.
35. Bill OConnell, Fade Out, Film Comment, Vol. 15, No. 5, Septem-
berOctober 1979, pp. 1117.
36. Paul C. Spehr, Fading, Fading, Faded: The Color Film Crisis, American
Film, Vol. 5, No. 2, November 1979, pp. 5661.
37. Fade to Pink, Premier, Vol. 2, No. 3, December 1980, page 7.
38. Robert Gitt, telephone discussions with this author, June 7, 1985
and April 15, 1991.
Adrian Cornwall-Clyne, Colour Photography, third edition, Chapman
and Hall, London, England, 1951.
Walter R. Greene, 30 Years of Technicolor, American Cinematogra-
pher, November 1947, pp. 392393, 410411.
L. B. K. Happe, The Technicolor Process, British Kinematography,
Vol. 35, No. 1, July 1959, pp. 49.
Harlan Jacobson, Old Pix Dont Die, They Fade Away Scorsese Helms
Industry Plea to Kodak, Variety, July 9, 1980, pp. 1ff.
Gert Koshofer, 50 Years of Technicolor Motion Pictures, British Jour-
nal of Photography, December 29, 1967, pp. 11251129.
William Poe, Preservation of Research Sources: Film and Videotape,
Humanities Report, Vol. 3, No. 10, October 1981, pp. 1317.
W. E. Pohl, The Manufacture of 8mm Prints at Technicolor, Journal of
the SMPTE, Vol. 70, August 1961, pp. 606607.
Roderick T. Ryan, Color in the Motion-Picture Industry, SMPTE Jour-
nal, Vol. 85, No. 7, July 1976, pp. 496504.
Roderick T. Ryan, A History of Motion Picture Color Technology,
Focal Press, London, England and New York, New York, 1977.
Wolf Schneider, Film Preservation Whose Responsibility Should It
Be? [editorial], American Film, Vol. XVI, No. 8, August 1991, p. 2.
Frank Thompson, Fade Out Whats Being Done to Save Our Motion
Picture Heritage? American Film, Vol. XVI, No. 8, August 1991, pp.
3438 and 46.
Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, Technicolor News & Views,
Vol. 17, No. 1, April 1955, and other issues.
March 28, 1991, Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
Technology, Frank E. Gannett Memorial Building, P.O. Box 9887,
Rochester, New York 14623-0887; telephone: 716-475-5199; Fax:
716-475-7230.
5. In 1992 Technicolor, Inc. was operating four major motion picture
film processing laboratories: Technicolor, Inc., 4050 Lankershim
Blvd., North Hollywood, California 91608; telephone: 818-769-8500;
Technicolor East Coast, Inc., 321 West 44th Street, New York, New
York 10036; telephone: 212-582-7310; Technicolor, Ltd., Bath Road,
West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 ODB, England; telephone: (081) 759-
5432; Technicolor, S.p.A., Via Tiburtina, 1138, 00156 Rome, Italy;
telephone: (06) 411-8881.
6. Geraldine Fabrikant, Technicolor Purchase Is Set by Carlton Com-
munications, The New York Times, September 10, 1988, p. Y17.
See also: Steve Lohr, A British Star in TVs Back Room, The New
York Times, July 3, 1989, p. Y21.
7. William D. Hedden, Frederick M. Remley, Jr., and Robert M. Smith,
Motion-Picture and Television Technology in the Peoples Republic
of China: A Report, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 88, No. 9, September
1979, pp. 610618.
8. Thomas Tarr, Technicolor Corporation, letters to this author and
telephone discussions with this author, 19771978.
9. D. W. Samuelson, Filming in China, American Cinematographer,
Vol. 64, No. 5, May 1983, pp. 2531.
10. James Manilla, Manilla in Motion, Industrial Photography, Vol.
32, No. 1, January 1983, pp. 8, 4243.
11. D. W. Samuelson, see Note No. 9.
12. William D. Hedden et al., see Note No. 7.
13. Herbert T. Kalmus, Your Company Through the Years, Techni-
color Motion Picture Corporation (pamphlet prepared for the direc-
tors of the company), 1955.
14. Peter Hay, MGM: When the Lion Roars, Turner Publishing, Inc. (a
division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., One CNN Center, At-
lanta, Georgia 30348), 1991, pp. 325327.
15. See, for example: Lelise Bennetts, Colorizing Film Classics: A
Boon or a Bane? , The New York Times, August 5, 1986, p. 1 and
21; Directors Fight Copyrighting of Tinted Old Films, (Associated
Press), The Des Moines Register, October 16, 1986, p. 3A; Susan
Linfield, The Color of Money, American Film, Vol. XII, No. 4,
JanuaryFebruary, 1987, pp. 29ff; and, in a comprehensive review of
the technology of the colorization process, Mark A. Fischetti, The
Silver Screen Blossoms Into Color, IEEE Spectrum, Vol. 24, No. 8,
August 1987, pp. 5055 (published by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers, 345 East 47th Street, New York, New York
10017; telephone: 212-705-7555). The cost of colorizing a movie
may run from $2,000 to $3,000 per minute of film, or a total cost of
$200,000 to $300,000 for a typical feature film. During 1990 Turner
had 36 films scheduled for colorization at an estimated cost of $9
million; in 1989, 37 films were colorized by Turner, up from 27 in
1988. In addition, Turner planned to spend $1.5 million in 1990 to
recolorize 25 already colorized films using enhanced computer
technology. At the present state of technology, colorization is
practical only for video transfers, although it is expected that in the
future, with the aid of more powerful computers and more sophisti-
cated image-processing software, the colorization process also will
be used to create high-resolution transfers on color motion picture
film that will be suitable for theatrical projection.
16. Peter Comandini, YCM Laboratories, telephone discussion with this
author, December 11, 1985.
17. Herbert T. Kalmus, Technicolor Adventures in Cinemaland, Jour-
nal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Vol. 36, No. 6,
December 1938, pp. 564585. This classic article was reprinted in
the SMPTE Journal, March 1991, pp. 182190.
20. J. A. Ball, The Technicolor Process of Three-Color Cinematogra-
phy, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Vol.
25, No. 2, August 1935, pp. 127138.
21. David R. Smith, archivist, Walt Disney Archives, Burbank, California,
letter to this author, October 8, 1979.
22. Alice Evans Field, Hollywood, USA, Vantage Press, New York, New
York, 1952, p. 188
23. Fred E. Basten, Glorious Technicolor The Movies Magic Rain-
bow, A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc., South Brunswick, New Jersey
and New York, New York, 1980, p. 56 (quotation from The New York
Times, June 14, 1935). Most of the color reproductions from vari-
ous Technicolor features in Bastens book are not from original
Technicolor dye-imbibition film clips; rather they are from Anscochrome
or Ektachrome studio publicity stills (or Anscochrome or Ektachrome
duplicates made from the originals). Many of these transparencies
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Print Mounting
One of the current controversies in the conservation
field is the practice of dry mounting or otherwise perma-
nently attaching a print to a mount board. Before discuss-
ing the various issues involved, it will be helpful to con-
sider four separate groups of photographs:
1. Prints that are inherently extremely stable both during
prolonged exposure to light on display and during long-
term dark storage under normal temperature and hu-
midity conditions. This group includes correctly pro-
cessed black-and-white fiber-base prints (both untoned
prints and prints treated with selenium or sulfur ton-
ers) as well as those relatively few color pigment prints
made with the UltraStable Permanent Color process or
the Polaroid Permanent-Color process. (Although not
as stable as UltraStable or Polaroid Permanent-Color
prints, Fresson Quadrichromie prints could also be in-
cluded in this group.)
2. Prints that are essentially permanent in long-term dark
storage but that are subject to light fading or other
deterioration during prolonged display. These include
glossy, polyester-base Ilford Ilfochrome prints (called
Cibachrome prints, 19631991), Kodak Dye Transfer
prints, and Fuji Dyecolor prints. Although Ilfochrome
RC prints are not physically as stable as glossy, polyes-
ter-base Ilfochrome prints, especially in long-term dis-
play, the RC prints can be included in this group. De-
pending on the particular type of black-and-white RC
paper, RC prints treated with selenium or sulfur ton-
ers, along with some untoned RC prints, could be in-
cluded in this group if storage conditions are good and
relative humidity is low and without major fluctuations.
3. Chromogenic color prints that are subject to light fad-
ing on display but that have fairly good resistance to
fading and staining when kept in the dark. Among this
group are color prints on Fujicolor SFA3 papers, Fuji-
chrome Type 34 and Type 35 papers for printing trans-
parencies, and Konica Color QA Paper Type A5. Also
included are Polaroid Polacolor ER peel-apart instant
prints. Ektacolor Portra II, Supra, Ultra, and Edge
papers, and Ektacolor Professional and Plus papers;
Agfacolor Type 8 and Type 9 papers; and Konica Color
QA Type A3, Type X2, and Konica Color Type SR papers
also belong to this group, although these papers de-
velop objectionable yellowish stain in dark storage much
more rapidly than Fujicolor SFA3, Fujichrome Type 34
and Type 35, and Konica QA Type A5 papers. Either
because of fading or staining (or both), this group is not
nearly as stable in dark storage as groups 1 and 2 but is
substantially better than group 4.
Mounting, retouching, lacquering, and other postpro-
cessing treatments can be just as important as fixing and
washing in determining the eventual life of a photograph.
For example, if properly cared for, a correctly processed
fiber-base black-and-white print that has been treated with
selenium or sulfur toners to protect the silver image should
last many hundreds of years and perhaps even longer
than a thousand years. The same print, however, can be
seriously damaged in just a few years if mounted with rub-
ber cement. Prints mounted with contact cement of the
kind used to fasten Formica plastic tabletops can suffer
serious fading and discoloration of the image in less than a
week. Similarly, a heavy rubber-stamp ink impression on
the back of a print can transfer to the emulsion of another
print, thereby ruining it. Also, the polyethylene layer be-
neath the emulsion of an RC print can soften and blister if
heated too hot in a dry mounting press.
Although a photograph can be ruined because of a single
mistake in handling, more often there are a great number
of factors involved in the deterioration and eventual de-
struction of a photograph. With Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica
Color, Agfacolor, and other chromogenic color prints, the
inherent light fading and dark fading stability of the par-
ticular brand of print material is the most important con-
sideration. But processing and washing are also impor-
tant, as are the kind of retouching colors used on a print,
whether and how a lacquer is applied, the display light
level, and the storage temperature and relative humidity.
With black-and-white prints, the relationship between
the many factors involved in sliver image oxidation or sul-
fiding (fading and discoloration) can be complex; one con-
dition usually influences several others. For example, the
rate of print fading caused by residual thiosulfate (fixer)
due to inadequate washing as well as the effects of poor-
quality mounting materials are both greatly influenced by
ambient relative humidity. Also significant are storage
relative humidity and temperature, environmental pollut-
ants, contaminants from poor-quality storage materials,
whether the print was treated with a selenium or sulfur
toner, whether a print-flattening solution was used, and so
forth. And there are important but as yet poorly under-
stood stability differences between black-and-white fi-
ber-base and RC prints, and even between the RC papers
produced by different manufacturers.
There is usually no simple answer to such questions as:
If I choose a cheap mount board instead of a 100% cotton
fiber museum board, how much will this shorten the life of
a black-and-white print? Still, if one is aware of the most
important factors affecting print life, selects good-quality
materials, and exercises reasonable care, making beauti-
ful and long-lasting photographs is relatively simple.
11. Print Mounting Adhesives and Techniques,
Tapes, Rubber Stamps, Pencils, Inks, and
Spotting Methods for Color and B&W Prints
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Dry Mounting, Tapes, Rubber Stamps, Pencils, Inks, and Spotting Methods Chapter 11 368
must not cause or contribute to fading, staining, or physi-
cal deterioration of the prints during the years of display
and storage. A mounting adhesive must also maintain the
bond between the print and mount board during hundreds
of years of fluctuating temperature and relative humidity.
These requirements place very stringent demands on a
mounting material; none of the products currently on the
market were designed with such extremely long-term con-
siderations in mind. Some may in fact be suitable, but at
the moment we do not know which are.
Although not nearly as stable as UltraStable Permanent
Color, Polaroid Permanent-Color, Ilford Ilfochrome (Ciba-
chrome), and Kodak Dye Transfer prints in dark storage,
the color print materials listed in group 3 will probably
remain in reasonably good condition for 50 years or more
when kept in the dark. Therefore, only high-quality mate-
rials should be chosen for mounting and storing such prints.
Following are some of the concerns and unresolved ques-
tions about mounting materials and practices:
1. At present there is little published information avail-
able on the effects of dry mounting products on the
long-term stability of any of the various types of color
and black-and-white photographs now being produced.
1
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8
A 1978 exhibition by documentary photographer Lewis Hine (18741940) at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachu-
setts. Most photographs in museum collections have been processed, spotted, signed, stamped, and, frequently, mounted
by the photographer often years before the prints are acquired by an institution. Improperly done, any of these
postprocessing steps can cause eventual deterioration of the image or the support; if damage does occur, it frequently is
impossible to repair.
4. Prints that fade and/or stain fairly rapidly when kept
under normal temperature and humidity conditions,
whether or not they are exposed to light on display. In
this group are virtually all pre-1984 chromogenic color
prints, including prints made with Kodak Ektacolor 37,
78, and 74 RC papers. Also included are most types of
pre-1991 Ektachrome reversal prints; Polaroid Spectra
prints (called Image prints in Europe), Polaroid 600
Plus and SX-70 prints; and Fuji FI-10 and 800 instant
color prints. Unless storage conditions and pollutant
levels are carefully controlled, and depending on the
brand and type of RC paper, untoned black-and-white
RC prints could belong in this group.
Potential Drawbacks of Dry Mounting
The concern about dry mounting centers on the types of
prints included in group 1 and, if they are kept in the dark
except for short periods of display under low light levels,
on the prints in group 2. Under proper conditions, the
materials in groups 1 and 2 have a very long potential life
many hundreds and possibly even thousands of years. Dry
mounting tissues, mount boards, and other materials for
storing such prints must have an equally long life, and they
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RC and polyester-base prints are dimensionally stable
and change very little with fluctuations in relative hu-
midity, whereas the mount board may expand or con-
tract enough to produce significant force; this can place
great stress on the adhesive bond. In addition, the
polyethylene back of RC prints and the gelatin anti-curl
back coating on Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints,
UltraStable Permanent Color prints, and Polaroid Per-
manent-Color prints are more difficult to bond to mount
board than is the porous paper base of a fiber-base
print. If a print should become partially unstuck due to
stresses over many years of storage, it likely will be
very difficult to correct the condition.
Meaningful information is also lacking concerning the
stability of currently available mount boards during long-
term contact with photographs. Dry mounting a photo-
graph adds a significant unknown to the many factors
affecting image stability.
2. No meaningful information is available on the long-
term stability and adhesion characteristics of any cur-
rently available mounting adhesive. It is not known for
how long and under what storage conditions an adhe-
sive will maintain the bond between the photograph
and the mount board or other mounting material. The
adhesive bond is subject to stresses every time the
relative humidity changes in a storage or display area.
Tape are comparatively stable products that are be-
lieved to be satisfactory for use in proximity to photo-
graphs. If a pressure-sensitive tape must be applied
directly to a photograph, Filmoplast P-90 tape, or the
widely available 3M No. 810 Scotch Magic Tape (sold in
the familiar green plaid dispensers), is suggested.
Rubber stamps: Valuable prints should not be rubber
stamped. If fiber-base prints must be stamped, a light
impression with a conventional black felt-pad ink is
suggested. Pre-inked porous-plastic stamp pads and
pre-inked rubber stamps should be avoided. For RC
and polyester-base prints, Photomark inks and pre-inked
Mark II stamp pads supplied by Jackson Marking Prod-
ucts Co. are tentatively recommended.
Marking: Ordinary lead pencils are recommended for
writing on the backs (along the borders) of fiber-base
prints. For negatives, the backsides of RC prints and
polyester-base prints, and the emulsions of all types of
prints, black India ink is recommended (Koh-I-Noor Black
Rapidomat Ink No. 3074F in a hollow-point technical
pen is particularly satisfactory; applied to a variety of
photographs, this ink has performed very well in accel-
erated light fading and dark storage tests). Felt-tip
pens and porous-tip markers are not recommended. If
one is determined to use a porous-tip pen, a black Pilot
Photographic Marker is suggested.
Spotting and retouching colors: For black-and-white
prints, Spotone dye solutions are suggested (with the
realization that they are subject to gradual light fading).
For Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, and Agfacolor
prints, Kodak Liquid Retouching Colors are recommended
(Kodak Dry Retouching Colors should be used only in
the dry mode). Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints,
should be spotted only with Ilfochrome Retouching Colors.
Kodak Dye Transfer prints and Fuji Dyecolor prints should
be spotted with the same dyes used to make the prints.
manent-Color prints should be spotted only with the
same pigments used to make the prints.
Film cleaning solutions: Pending further information,
only Kodak Film Cleaner is recommended.
Borders: Regardless of how a print will be displayed or
stored, it should be made with wide borders (1 to 2
inches). If possible, print borders should be left untrimmed.
Dry mounting: Prints in museum and archive collec-
tions should not be dry mounted. Likewise, valuable
prints purchased by private collectors should not be
dry mounted. Expendable Ektacolor portraits, wedding
pictures, and other color prints intended for long-term
display (where they are destined to slowly fade and
stain because of exposure to light) may be dry mounted.
No black-and-white or color print intended for reproduc-
tion should be dry mounted because this will make it im-
possible to wrap the print around a laser-scanner drum
for making color separations, duotones, or halftones.
Corner mounting: Mounting corners made with the
appropriate materials are recommended for attaching
prints to mounts (see discussion in Chapter 12).
Mounting adhesives: If a print must be permanently
attached to a mount, Seal Colormount dry mounting
tissue is recommended for both fiber-base and RC prints.
It is fervently hoped that Kodak will re-introduce the
original Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue discontinued
in 1974 which this author considers the finest dry
mounting tissue ever made for fiber-base prints. For
mounting fiber-base prints, the original pre-1974 type
of Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue is much superior to the
present Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2.
3M Scotch No. 568 Positionable Mounting Adhesive
is recommended for polyester-base prints such as Il-
ford Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome prints, 1963
1991), Fujiflex SFA prints, Kodak Duraflex RA prints,
and other polyester-base prints. No. 568 is also suit-
able for mounting RC prints (but not fiber-base prints).
Mounting adhesives to avoid: Rubber cement, con-
tact cement, glues, pastes, mucilage, Kodak Rapid Mount-
ing Cement, self-stick magnetic album pages, and
most double-sided tapes.
Tapes: In general, no type of tape (or hinge) should be
applied directly to a valuable photograph. Gummed
fabric tape and 3M Scotch No. 810 Magic Transparent
Recommendations
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3. With rotary-drum laser scanners, color separations can-
not be made from dry mounted color prints wrap-
ping a dry mounted print around a scanner drum would
crack the print and the mount. Likewise, laser-scanned
duotones or halftones cannot be made from dry mounted
black-and-white prints. As rotary-drum laser scanners
have come into widespread use only during the last 15
years, this is a relatively recent objection to dry mount-
ing. It should, however, be a very serious consider-
ation for museums, archives, historical societies, and
anyone else who may have occasion to publish photo-
graphs. Scanned high-resolution color separations are
also required for making facsimile reproductions with
the UltraStable Permanent Color process.
Virtually all color separations are now produced with
rotary-drum laser scanners. Many printers and sepa-
ration firms no longer have the skills or equipment
necessary to make color separations using a flat-bed
process camera furthermore, even at their best, camera
separations do not equal the quality of good laser-scanned
separations. Flat-bed electronic color scanners may in
the future replace rotary-drum scanners in the graphic
arts field, but for now, dry-mounting poses serious prob-
lems when top-quality color separations must be made.
Most high-quality black-and-white duotones are pro-
duced with either flat-bed or rotary drum scanners (e.g.,
1
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7
The advent of laser scanners presents a strong argument against dry mounting photographs. The scanners require that prints
be wrapped around a rotating drum a procedure that would crack and ruin a dry mounted print. Laser scanners such as
this German-made Hell Chromagraph CP 341, shown above (and below) being set up by operator Ronald Anderson at Pepco
Litho in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are now almost universally used to make color separations and high-quality black-and-white
duotones for book and magazine reproduction. (All of the photographs in this book were separated with laser scanners.)
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frigerator or humidity-controlled, low-temperature stor-
age vault. Corner-mounted prints, on the other hand,
can easily be removed for refrigerated storage. With
prints removed, mounts and overmats can be stored
safely at room temperature for future exhibition or other
purposes. Mounts and overmats are bulky and should
not occupy refrigerator space that otherwise could be
used for storing photographs.
6. When storage humidity conditions fluctuate from very
dry to humid, dry mounted prints are more likely than
unmounted prints to suffer emulsion cracks.
1
These
cracks are induced by expansion and contraction of the
mount board as a result of changes in relative humid-
ity. In this authors experience, stress-induced cracks
of this type are more likely to occur with RC prints than
with fiber-base prints; displayed RC prints are espe-
cially prone to stress-cracking because fluctuations in
relative humidity produce less dimensional change in
the print than in the mount board (these dissimilar
expansion characteristics can cause severe stress on a
mounted RC print) and because of embrittlement of the
emulsion-side polyethylene layer resulting from expo-
Yosemite and the Range of Light and subsequent books
by Ansel Adams), and it is probable that in the future
most single-impression halftones will also be made with
scanners.
4. A wide, untrimmed border on a print affords significant
protection to the image from physical and chemical
damage. If a print is trimmed to the image area before
dry mounting, the edges of the image can easily be
chipped or abraded during mounting and handling.
Examination of both mounted and unmounted histori-
cal photographs clearly shows that chemical attack of
the image by airborne pollutants tends to be concen-
trated near the absorbent edges of a print, and if no
borders are present, the image itself will be attacked.
Trimming the borders from prints is one of the most
damaging practices of traditional dry mounting; the
simple solution is to make prints with wide borders (1
to 2 inches) and to leave the protective borders intact
when mounting (see Chapter 12).
5. Dry mounted prints cannot be removed from their mounts
(and overmats) for compact storage in a frost-free re-
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For aesthetic reasons, Ansel Adams (19021984) preferred to dry mount his photographs; the prints were trimmed to the
edge of the image before being mounted on oversize boards. This dry mounted 1978 print of Moonrise, photographed in
Hernandez, New Mexico about 1941, suffered catastrophic cracking across the image area when the mounted print was
flexed during shipping. Moonrise was one of Adamss best-known photographs, and more than 500 prints in various sizes
were made during his lifetime; large prints have sold for more than $100,000.
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sure to light on display. Fiber-base prints, on the other
hand, are not nearly so affected by light on display and
have a coefficient of humidity-related expansion simi-
lar to that of mount board, which tends to minimize
stress.
7. A dry mounted print is likely to crack if its mount board
is seriously bent or twisted during shipping or han-
dling. However, in historical collections examined by
this author, dry mounted prints were usually in better
physical condition than unmounted prints; as a group,
mounted prints had a much lower incidence of cracked
emulsions and damaged corners than did unmounted
prints. There is also evidence that dry mounting can
help protect the silver image of a fiber-base print from
the effects of air pollutants by keeping contaminated
air away from the back of the print.
8. The back of a dry mounted print cannot be examined
for the photographers signature if, in fact, it was
signed on the back of the print or to see possible
markings, edition numbers, rubber-stamp impressions,
caption information, etc. When contemporary prints
are dry mounted, however, the photographer can sign
the mount and put other information either on the front
or back of the mount board.
9. Prints are frequently dry mounted to boards of irregu-
lar and non-standard sizes. Many museums and collec-
tors find it difficult to mat such prints using materials,
mat sizes, and board tones standardized for their col-
lections (which enables a uniform presentation of exhi-
bitions see Chapter 12).
10. At some future time, it might be determined that a dry
mounted black-and-white print was fixed or washed in-
correctly, or it may be necessary to treat the print with
a selenium or sulfiding toner, or some other as-yet-
undiscovered image-protective treatment. Better types
of photographic mount boards are certain to become
available, and a caretaker may wish to remount prints
with the improved board. In addition, as commonly
happens, the corners of a mount may become bent or
cracked, although the dry mounted print itself may re-
main in good condition. All these situations would be
simple to deal with were it possible to easily replace
the mount.
It is one of the tenets of good conservation that a
mounting adhesive be removable, or reversible.
Once a print is dry mounted, however, it is difficult to
remove it from the mount and to remove all traces of
mounting adhesive from the print without harming
the photograph. This objection to dry mounting can be
partially countered with the observation that of the count-
less photographs produced, only a tiny fraction will ever
attain sufficient importance for unmounting to be
seriously contemplated; if necessary, a mount can be
removed with solvents or by carefully cutting it away
from the back of the print (unmounting a valuable print
should be done only by an experienced conservator).
An alternative to dry mounting is to attach a print to
the mount with paper corners (see Chapter 12); it is
then a simple matter to remove the print and place it
on a new mount.
How Some Curators and Photographers
Regard Dry Mounting
When Minor White established an Archival Photographic
Collection at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1968, he required that prints purchased for the collec-
tion be unmounted. This was probably the first instance of
an institution asking that photographers not dry mount
their prints. A statement issued at the time read: For its
permanent collection, M.I.T. will buy only unmounted,
untrimmed, unbacked prints which have been given archi-
val processing.
2
The first prints acquired for the collec-
tion were selected from the 100 prints in the Light 7 exhibi-
A corner of the mount board was also damaged. Had the
print been corner-mounted, it would have been a simple
process to remove it and install it in a new mount.
A close-up of a deep crack passing near the moon in the
Ansel Adams picture. Had the print not been dry mounted,
it might have escaped without damage.
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tion, for which photographers had submitted about 3,000
prints.
Many photographers dry mount their prints for aesthetic
reasons. They like the perfectly smooth print surface which
can be achieved in no other way with fiber-base papers.
The late photographer Ansel Adams preferred dry mount-
ing with the print trimmed to the edge of the image
for a number of reasons, both practical and aesthetic. Not-
ing that some museums and archives favor corner-mounting
because it allows the print to be readily removed from the
mount, Adams said:
. . . I find this method gives me a sense of
uncertainty, as the edges of the image are not
precisely defined, but are imposed by the en-
larger easel or by the window of the overmat.
In addition, the print is loose, with both sur-
faces exposed to the atmosphere, and a signa-
ture on the overmat is not permanently affixed
to the image or its immediate support.
3
Of the available means of mounting, Adams stated, I
consider dry mounting by all odds the best method. It is
clean, dependable, and most unlikely to cause damage to
the print.
4
In Carol Browers 1982 survey on the care and presenta-
tion of photographic prints (see Chapter 12), photographers
and curators expressed a number of different views on dry
mounting. Many of those who responded to the survey
indicated that at one time they had dry mounted their work,
but for various reasons abandoned the practice. Photogra-
pher Ralph Gibson said, Years ago, in the 60s it was
thought to be good now I prefer a window mat. Miles
Barth, curator of photography at the International Center
for Photography in New York City, replied, Yes, in the
past but no longer. Speaking for the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City, Susan Kismaric remarked, From
what we understand the controversy surrounding dry mount-
ing has not been resolved. At this moment in time we
prefer to overmat work. Grant Romer, conservator at the
International Museum of Photography at George Eastman
House in Rochester, New York, said that he does not dry
mount photographs because he does not want to tie the
life of the print to other materials.
Arnold Newman, the well-known portrait photographer
who has for many years dry mounted his photographs, had
this to say: I have prints I mounted back as far as 193839
and on there has been no damage. When dry mounted
and trimmed to the edge of the image, the print is subject
to edge damage unless matted. It is better to print with a
wide enough white border to sign on, and then overmat.
Requirements for Mounting Adhesives
Intended for Long-Term Applications
In this authors view, the most serious concern with dry
mounting is that we currently have no assurance that any
dry mounting adhesives or mount boards are suitable for
long-term use with photographs. ANSI PH4.211989, Ameri-
can National Standard for Photography (Film) Ther-
mally Activated Dry-Mounting Adhesive Systems for Mounting
Photographs Specifications offers no guidance in terms
of the stability requirements of a dry mounting product,
saying only that the Standard does not address the archi-
val nature of these mountings, since pertinent data are not
available at this time.
5
None of the manufacturers contacted by this author could
supply data from meaningful accelerated aging tests (such
as an extended version of the Photographic Activity Test
described in ANSI IT9.2-1991)
6
done with their products in
contact with the various types of common black-and-white
and color photographic materials. The long-term effects of
light on the adhesives also must be evaluated because a
significant amount of light passes through the base of most
papers during display. Furthermore, none of the manufac-
turers indicated that they had performed Arrhenius-type
tests to evaluate the long-term stability, bond-retention,
and stain characteristics of their products (this is a sepa-
rate question from how a mounting adhesive or mount board
might affect a photograph).
The 3M Company, in a statement that must be com-
mended for its candor, said this about its mounting prod-
ucts:
3Ms tapes and adhesives form a physical
bond to surfaces to which they are applied and
are not soluble in water. The bonds that they
form can be loosened with solvents or can be
reversed with heat but these methods are not
without the risk of damage to the art work or
surface involved. These methods also leave
adhesive residue which must be removed with
a solvent.
It is an accepted fact that the application of
any adhesive to valuable material will reduce
the value of that material. This is true of any
valuable, collectible item. It should retain as
much of its original form or condition as pos-
sible.
. . . We know that most of our adhesive prod-
ucts have an indefinite age life by virtue of our
accelerated aging tests and natural aging ex-
perience. However, we do not have a test that
can accurately predict how a product will hold
up after 50 to 100 years, for instance. In other
words, we cannot recommend our products for
archival applications.
These products are designed for general pur-
pose use in bonding applications on items of
limited value where the bonds should be long
aging and permanent. They are not recommended
for use on art of significant value and consid-
ered an investment because (1) the use of full
mounting techniques will reduce the value, and
(2) the resulting bond may not reverse [be re-
movable] without causing physical damage to
the item.
7
Accelerated Testing of
Dry Mounting Tissues
In 1989, Kimberly Scheneck and Constance McCabe pub-
lished a preliminary study of a variety of adhesives used in
photograph conservation. A number of different test meth-
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ods, including the Photographic Activity Test outlined in
ANSI IT9.2-1988, were employed to evaluate the adhe-
sives. Seal MT5 was the only dry mounting tissue included
in the study, and the authors concluded that this product
might be damaging to photographs.
8
In 1991 Nancy Reinhold published an article entitled
An Investigation of Commercially Available Dry Mount
Tissues
9
in which Seal ColorMount, MT5, ArchivalMount
Plus, and Fusion 4000 Plus dry mounting tissues were evalu-
ated using: (1) the fade and stain detectors specified in the
ANSI IT9.2-1988 Photographic Activity Test, (2) a peel
strength test using a modified version of the test described
in ASTM D-903-49, and (3) an accelerated dark aging test to
assess the discoloration and yellowing characteristics of
the dry mounting tissues.
After analyzing the test data, Reinhold concluded that
Although the dry mount tissues failed the strict criteria
for passing outlined by ANSI IT9.2-1988, the results of this
investigation indicate that there is little evidence to sug-
gest that contact between dry mount tissue and black and
white gelatin photographs would be harmful. (See Chap-
ter 13 for discussion of the ANSI Photographic Activity
Test and its limitations.) Reinhold also found that there
were significant differences in the dark-aging yellowing
behavior of the four Seal products, with Seal ArchivalMount
Plus tissue yellowing much more than ColorMount, MT5
Plus, or Fusion 4000 Plus (all four of these Seal products
will be discussed later in this chapter).
More Testing Is Needed
As discussed in Chapter 13, it appears that among cur-
rently available museum-quality mount boards, quite a few
are probably both sufficiently stable and nonreactive with
photographic images to be suitable for long-term use. But
even among the best and most expensive 100% cotton fiber
museum boards, there are some that may be unaccept-
able. James Reilly, who has done considerable research
on factors affecting the stability of black-and-white prints,
has indicated that some high-quality mount boards are re-
active when tested with the ANSI IT9.2-1991 Photographic
Activity Test, causing fading and/or staining of black-and-
white prints.
Although Reilly has declined to reveal the identity of the
mount boards that proved unacceptable, his findings are
cause for serious concern and underscore the need for
more comprehensive tests of available products. The ex-
tremely long potential life of toned black-and-white fiber-
base prints, UltraStable Permanent Color and Polaroid
Permanent-Color prints, and dark-stable color materials
such as Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints and Kodak
Dye Transfer prints places very stringent demands on mount-
ing materials.
The situation can be stated simply: Of currently avail-
able mount boards and dry mounting adhesives, there are
probably at least a few products that satisfy all known
requirements for long-term use with photographs. At the
time this book went to press in 1992, however, the suitable
products had not been identified, so we have no choice but
to rely on mounting materials that have been used for a
number of years without any observed problems as well as
on practical experience with products for mounting vari-
ous types of prints. This is an unfortunate state of affairs.
Because the necessary tests are not difficult to perform
meaningful tests with mount boards and mounting ad-
hesives could probably be completed in 2 or 3 years it is
anticipated that the current impasse eventually will be re-
solved. Both Arrhenius-type dark aging tests and extended
versions of the ANSI IT9.2-1991 Photography Activity Test
used with representative color and black-and-white print
materials should be employed.
Dry Mounting Should Be Avoided
in Museum and Archive Collections
When dry mounting products and mount boards of proven
stability become available, many of the objections to dry
mounting will no longer apply. If prints are mounted with
borders intact, this author believes that dry mounting with
approved materials would be acceptable, and in many in-
stances probably even desirable. Museums and archives,
however, should continue to refrain from dry mounting
photographs either already in their collections or acquired
unmounted in the future.
If a valuable photograph is mounted with dry mounting
tissue or other adhesive, it would be worthwhile to mark
the back of the mount with the date and name of the prod-
uct; this information will be invaluable to anyone needing
to unmount the print at some future time. This is espe-
cially important now because of the great variety of mount-
ing tissues and pressure-sensitive adhesives on the mar-
ket, with new products being introduced frequently.
Improved dry mounting tissues could probably be made
with polyamide or polyvinyl acetate (PVA) thermoplastic
adhesives coated on a stable, high-alpha-cellulose tissue-
paper core. Both of these adhesives can satisfactorily be
removed with solvents. A paper core is necessary because
coreless dry mounting tissues are difficult to handle and
to trim precisely.
Separate types of mounting tissue will probably be needed
for fiber-base prints, conventional RC prints, and gelatin
back-coated RC and polyester-base prints. Tissues for fi-
ber-base papers should have sufficient hot-tack (that is,
maintain high bond strength and not become mushy while
hot) to prevent edge-lift of the mounted print when it is
removed from the press. RC papers, on the other hand,
must be mounted with a low-temperature adhesive to avoid
melting the polyethylene coatings on both sides of the pa-
per support. RC prints generally do not have edge-lift
problems, and the bond strength of the adhesive when heated
in the mounting press can be much less than that required
for fiber-base papers.
Eastman Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue
The first Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue was marketed
from 1906 to 1934. In August 1934 Kodak introduced an
improved product with better adhesion and requiring less
heat; this version of Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue continued
in more or less the same form until 1974, when it was
abruptly taken off the market and replaced with Kodak Dry
Mounting Tissue, Type 2, which was intended only for RC
papers. For nearly a year, until the introduction of Kodak
Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2 [Improved] in late 1975, Ko-
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To obtain an adequate bond with RC papers, the pre-
1974 Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue had to be applied in a
narrow temperature range between 210 and 230F (99 to
110C); this is dangerously close to the melting tempera-
ture of the polyethylene coatings on RC papers. Because
mounting presses available in the early 1970s had poor
temperature regulation, and were not equipped with dial
thermometers to check the setting of the thermostat, pho-
tographers often had difficulty using the tissue with RC
papers. Damaged prints or prints that eventually peeled
off their mounts because of poor bonds were common.
With current Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2, Kodak
recommends a press temperature between 180 and 210F
(82 and 98C); mounting RC prints in this lower tempera-
ture range greatly reduces the likelihood of softening or
melting the polyethylene layers.
Kodak did not want to market separate mounting prod-
ucts for RC and fiber-base papers and, apparently believ-
ing that fiber-base papers would in due time be withdrawn
from the marketplace, simply discontinued Kodak Dry Mount-
ing Tissue in 1974. Sources at Kodak have indicated that
its pre-1974 dry mounting tissue had been extensively tested
for possible deleterious effects on silver-gelatin prints and
was considered safe for long-term use even under adverse
storage conditions. Kodak has declined to comment on
why the product was withdrawn; a spokesman for the com-
pany would say only, There were internal considerations
which Im not at liberty to discuss.
10
It is believed that Kodak has performed photographic
activity tests with its dry mounting tissues in contact with
common types of color and black-and-white prints. In ad-
dition, it is believed that Kodak has conducted other types
of accelerated aging tests to assess the adhesion charac-
teristics of the tissues. On inquiry to the company, Kodak
declined to discuss the subject, saying only that a publica-
tion on the subject would be issued in the future.
11
In a 1984 publication, however, Kodak stated:
For conservation applications, we have evalu-
ated the Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2,
using the recommended mounting procedure.
This material and procedure produces no ad-
verse dye-stability effects with prints made on
Kodak Ektacolor Paper. The temperature of
the press platen is important in the correct use
of dry mounting tissue; too high a temperature
can cause serious image degradation. The platen
should be kept between 82 and 98C (180 and
210F) with regular checks for temperature con-
sistency over time and from point-to-point on
the heated surface. A convenient method for
doing this is with temperature-sensitive strips
that are commercially available.
12
The performance of Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2
in the conservation mounting of Ektacolor prints is not
particularly meaningful because the Ektacolor RC papers
available at the time Kodak made this statement had in-
herently poor image stability, both on display and when
stored in the dark. Adhesives for mounting Ektacolor prints
do not have to meet stringent stability requirements be-
cause the useful life of these prints is limited.
dak did not even sell a dry mounting material for fiber-base
prints. Type 2 [Improved] remains the current Kodak dry
mounting tissue, and, according to Kodak, is intended for
both fiber-base and RC prints; the Improved designation
on product packages and instruction sheets has now been
dropped.
When used with fiber-base papers, Kodaks current mount-
ing tissue is, in this authors opinion, distinctly inferior to
the Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue marketed until 1974. If the
mounting temperature is high enough to obtain a good,
overall bond with Type 2, fiber-base prints have a tendency
to pull away at the edges immediately after the print is
removed from a hot mounting press. This so-called edge-
lift affects only the outer
1
16 inch or less and results in
slightly elevated edges on the print; this not only is aes-
thetically objectionable but also makes the edge of the print
more vulnerable to emulsion chipping and other damage.
In this authors experience, edge-lift is more likely to
occur in papers with a strong tendency to curl, such as
Agfa Brovira, than it is with Kodak papers such as Polyfiber
Paper or Elite Fine-Art Paper, although it is still a problem
with these products. The earlier Kodak dry mounting tis-
sue had a sufficiently tacky bond while hot to prevent edge-
lift in fiber-base prints. Because of the edge-lift problem,
this author believes that Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type
2 fails to meet the adhesion requirements for fiber-base
paper as specified in ANSI PH4.211989, Sec. 3.1.2.
Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type 2 is made of a glass-
ine paper sheet coated on both sides with what appears to
be a wax-based adhesive. Glassine paper is not considered
a high-stability material and its contact with photographs
is specifically advised against in ANSI IT9.21991. The
presence of glassine paper may or may not be important in
the context of a dry mounting tissue. Only accelerated
aging tests can properly evaluate the overall stability of
this product; meaningful test data for Type 2 tissue are not
presently available. Kodak has declined to reveal the com-
position of either the adhesive or core material of its cur-
rent or previous dry mounting tissues. The adhesive of
Type 2 tissue is soluble in toluene; the adhesive of the pre-
1974 type of Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue is readily soluble
in methylene chloride.
For mounting fiber-base papers, Kodaks pre-1974 Dry
Mounting Tissue had, in this authors opinion, the best
adhesion characteristics of any dry mounting tissue ever
marketed and this is a view shared by many knowledge-
able photographers. The tissue had wide temperature and
mounting-time tolerances; consistent mounting results with
fiber-base prints were much easier to obtain than is now
the case with Type 2 tissue. Kodak recommended a mounting
temperature from 200 to 275F (93 to 135C); many pho-
tographers found that about 240F (115C), with a 1-minute
press time, worked best. The adhesive nature of the tissue
was such that sheets in a package even had a tendency to
stick together (block) during storage at normal room
temperature; to prevent this, Kodak interleaved the sheets
with thin, pink tissue paper.
Current Ademco dry mounting tissues, discussed later,
are interleaved for the same reason. Like a number of
other photographers, this author still has a small supply of
the pre-1974 Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue reserved for mount-
ing special prints.
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Seal Products Incorporated ColorMount
Dry Mounting Tissue is Recommended
Seal Products Incorporated was founded in 1936, and
the Connecticut-based company is now the worlds largest
manufacturer of dry mounting presses and dry mounting
materials.
13
Seal acquired Ademco Drimount Ltd. in En-
gland in 1987 and, in 1990, the combined firms were pur-
chased by Hunt Manufacturing Company, headquartered
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Despite now being owned
by the same parent company, Ademco now called Ademco-
Seal Ltd.
14
and Seal continue to market separate prod-
uct lines. With the exception of Ademco-Seal's heavy, hardbed
dry mounting presses, Ademco-Seal products generally are
not available in the United States.
Seal currently has a number of dry mounting products
available, including Seal ColorMount, MT5 Plus, Fusion
4000 Plus, Fusion Ultra, MultiMount, and ArchivalMount
Plus. Seal also markets a low-temperature, wax-base dry
mounting tissue called Fotoflat that is easily removable
when heated; it is not recommended for long-term applica-
tions with photographs.
Seal MT5 Dry Mounting Tissue on the market since
1955 and, with a minor formulation change, now called MT5
Plus is probably the most popular tissue in the United
States for mounting fiber-base prints. The MT5 name was
derived from the 5-second mounting advertising slogan
when the product was first marketed. MT5 has been rec-
ommended for fiber-base papers by Popular Photography
magazine writer David Vestal and many others.
Asked about tests the company had done to determine
possible long-term effects of its products on photographs,
Maurice Wilkinson, technical development manager for Seal,
replied, We have not done any serious tests on them. All
we would do normally is test the adhesive and the paper
for pH. Wilkinson added, We have had a lot of difficulty
about how to test this and generally, when we talk to people
about this, we get back about 27,000 different ways to test
these things. We have not set up any testing program
ourselves. Wilkinson said MT5 Plus is currently made by
coating a wax modified rubber-base adhesive with a pH
of 7.0 on both sides of a thin, white glassine core sheet.
15
Seal ColorMount tissue has the same adhesive as MT5
Plus coated on a conventional porous paper core (said by
Seal to have a pH of 6.9). Seal says the low air-permeabil-
ity of the glassine core of MT5 Plus tissue prevents it from
properly dissipating air bubbles when mounting nonporous
polyethylene-coated RC prints, so ColorMount was devel-
oped to correct this problem. When ColorMount was origi-
nally introduced in 1973, it was made with a different type
of wax-based adhesive and was recommended for RC prints
only. After ColorMount was modified in 1975, Seal began to
recommend it for both RC and fiber-base prints.
Many photographers continue to believe that ColorMount
is intended only for RC color prints because it was initially
advertised as being exclusively for RC papers and because
it has color in the name (most color papers are made on
an RC base). Since both ColorMount and MT5 Plus are
made with the same adhesive, and ColorMount is at least
as good and probably better than MT5 Plus for mounting
fiber-base prints, it is unclear why Seal continues to pro-
duce MT5 Plus.
Ansel Adams began using ColorMount mounting tissue
after he could no longer obtain the pre-1974 type of Kodak
Dry Mounting Tissue and found the Kodak Type 2 tissue to
be unacceptable. Adams continued to mount his prints
with ColorMount until his death in 1984.
In 1977 Seal introduced Fusion 4000 mounting adhesive,
a thin sheet of EVA-modified polyethylene made without a
paper or glassine core. Seal has advertised Fusion 4000 as
an archival dry mounting product, basing this claim on
the fact that the material does not have a paper core, has a
pH of 7.0, and therefore is acid-free (all the Seal products
discussed here have an adhesive pH of 7.0, according to
the company). This author does not recommend the prod-
uct and agrees with David Vestal, who said, I find paperless
dry mounting tissue hard to use cleanly.
16
In 1986 Fusion
4000 was modified and renamed Fusion 4000 Plus dry mount-
ing adhesive.
In 1984 Seal ArchivalMount Archival-Quality Dry Mount
Tissue was introduced; prior to its being marketed, Seal
spokesman Wilkinson said, It will incorporate whatever
qualities the company can identify as contributing to long-
term stability. ArchivalMount Plus is made by coating
both sides of an alkaline-buffered tissue paper core with
the same EVA-modified polyethylene adhesive used in present
Fusion 4000 Plus.
The Archival-Quality designation appears to be based
on two things: (a) the product is made with a neutral-pH
adhesive coated on a acid-free paper core that is buff-
ered with calcium carbonate, and: (b) a print mounted
with ArchivalMount can be detached by reheating and pull-
ing the print off the mount while hot; most of the adhesive
remaining on the back of the print can, according to Seal,
be removed by repeatedly re-mounting the print on sheets
of expendable paper and immediately pulling it off while
still hot. This author advises against such hot methods
of unmounting important photographs.
In 1984 Seal ran an advertisement that showed an Ed-
ward Weston print ready for preservation-mounting with
ArchivalMount between photo and substrate. The ad said:
An Edward Weston photograph is too valu-
able to trust to an ordinary dry mount tissue, it
requires extra protection against acid contami-
nation. Now theres ArchivalMount, specially
formulated for the preservation-mounting of pho-
tographs (including RCs), lithographs, docu-
ments, drawings, fabrics and more. . . . Its
absolutely acid-free. In fact, because its buff-
ered, it actually counteracts the time-damaging
acids in paper, substrates and the atmosphere.
ArchivalMount is the only archival-quality dry
mounting tissue. . . .
17
Despite what seems to have been a sincere attempt on
the part of Seal to create an improved product with
ArchivalMount Plus, the product appears to have no worth-
while advantages over Colormount. In fact, in the previ-
ously discussed accelerated aging tests conducted by Nancy
Reinhold, ArchivalMount Plus suffered significantly greater
yellowing than did either ColorMount or MT5 Plus.
This author presently believes that, overall, Seal Color-
Mount is the most satisfactory of the current Seal products
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for mounting either fiber-base or RC prints. Because the
use of glassine paper in contact with photographs is ad-
vised against in ANSI IT9.21991, this author believes that
ColorMount is preferable to MT5 Plus. Furthermore, dur-
ing mounting, ColorMount is less likely to entrap air bubbles
under RC prints than is MT5 Plus. In Europe, Seal Color-
Mount is marketed as Ademco-Seal ColourMount.
Cold Mount Pressure-Sensitive
Print Mounting Products
Another basic type of dry mounting tissue is the pres-
sure-sensitive adhesive sheet applied without heat. Adhe-
sion occurs on contact at room temperature in a manner
similar to that of common pressure-sensitive materials such
as Scotch tape. These products are often referred to as
cold mounting adhesives, a term made popular by Coda
Inc., of Midland Park, New Jersey, which was one of the
first manufacturers to enter this field with its Cold-Mount
products in the early 1970s.
18
There are now many suppli-
ers of pressure-sensitive mounting materials in the U.S.
and other countries.
3M Company, maker of Scotch Brand No. 568 Positionable
Mounting Adhesive (PMA) as well as a number of spray
adhesives and a heat-activated product for use with dry
mounting presses, reported that it has conducted some
stability tests with No. 568 and that no harmful effects to
either color or black-and-white photographs were observed.
19
Few details concerning the tests have been released. In
ongoing tests, according to Roger Jentink of the 3M Com-
pany, samples of the adhesive were aged for over 5 years in
ovens set at a temperature of 120F without any evidence
of bond failure. At worst, a slight yellowing of the adhesive
occurred.
20
This author considers the tests to be encour-
aging but inconclusive.
3M stated that the adhesive in No. 568 in no way is
similar to the rubber-resin types of adhesives that have
earned a bad reputation in the past. They include rubber
cement, masking tape and cellophane tape. The No. 568
adhesive, a blend of synthetic polymers, has a pH of 5.4, as
determined by a boiling water distillation method. What
significance this low pH has for photographs under normal
conditions has not been determined. 3Ms other products
for mounting photographs have adhesive pH values be-
tween 6.7 and 7.1; No. 810 Magic Transparent Tape has a
stated pH of 6.8.
21
One theoretical advantage of No. 568 is that after the
carrier sheet is stripped off, only a very thin layer of adhe-
sive remains on the print. This eliminates concern about
possible adverse affects on photographs of a carrier paper
or tissue core. No. 568 PMA, sold in rolls and intended to
be applied with the 3M C35 Applicator (a hand-operated,
two-roller cold press), is the same material as the now-
discontinued No. 567 Positionable Mounting Adhesive, which
was supplied in pre-cut sheets.
Despite the limited accelerated aging tests performed
by 3M and the absence of independent test results, this
author tentatively recommends No. 568 Positionable Mounting
Adhesive for mounting black-and-white and color RC prints
and polyester-base prints, but only when a pressure-sensi-
tive adhesive is required. It is also recommended for mount-
ing photographs that have gelatin back-coatings, such as
Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome), UltraStable Permanent
Color, and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints. No. 568 adhe-
sive can be removed with solvents. This author does not
recommend No. 568 for mounting fiber-base prints.
No. 568 Positionable Mounting Adhesive is the only product
this author currently recommends for mounting potentially
heat-sensitive instant black-and-white prints such as Pola-
roid Type 107, 107C, 667, Type 52, etc., and instant color
materials including Polaroid Spectra prints (Image prints
in Europe), Polaroid 600 Plus, and SX70 prints, Polaroid
Polacolor 2 and Polacolor ER peel-apart prints, and Fuji
Instant Color prints. It is also convenient in home applica-
tions, such as for mounting snapshots in albums.
3M Scotch brand No. 6094 Photomount Spray Adhesive
and other aerosol-spray mounting adhesives are not rec-
ommended for general applications. The fumes are toxic
and the sprays are often messy. Unless one is very careful,
spray particles can accidentally fall on the emulsion side of
prints, contaminate mount boards, soil hands, etc.
None of the other manufacturers of pressure-sensitive
mounting materials could provide this author with mean-
ingful information on accelerated tests with their prod-
ucts; the companies contacted included Morgan Adhesives
Company (maker of MACtac Permacolor products, includ-
ing Permaprint pressure-sensitive mounting adhesive), Seal
Products Incorporated (supplier of Sealeze Print Mount
products), Coda, Inc., and others.
Dry Mounting Equipment and Techniques
Dry mounting employs a heat-set tissue instead of the
water-based pastes or shellac common in the early days of
photography. A more descriptive name for dry mounting
that is sometimes used is hot mounting, a term which
also serves to differentiate it from cold mounting with
the increasingly popular pressure-sensitive adhesives that
are applied at room temperature.
To hot-mount a print, a piece of tissue the exact size of a
print is placed between the print and the mount board and
heated for about a minute in a dry mounting press. The
heat softens the wax or thermoplastic adhesive, causing it
to bond the print to the mount board. Dry mounting is
justifiably popular because (1) it is a relatively simple and
quick process, (2) solvents are not released into the air,
(3) there is no waiting for adhesives to dry, (4) the print is
uniformly bonded over its entire surface, and (5) there is
no warping or wrinkling such as can occur with water-
based adhesives.
Fiber-base prints are usually somewhat curled or wavy
after drying, particularly along the print edges. The pres-
sure and heat of dry mounting will usually flatten the print
perfectly, producing an aesthetically pleasing result; this
is one of the principal advantages of dry mounting. Also,
dry mounting tissue can slow, but not prevent, migration of
harmful substances from low-quality mount board to a print.
Other than the initial cost of a dry mounting press, it is the
least expensive of all mounting methods; dry mounting
tissue is much less costly than pressure-sensitive print-
mounting adhesives.
Dry mounting presses are available from a number of
manufacturers, including Seal Products Incorporated, Bogen
Photo Corporation, and Ademco-Seal Ltd. (Ademco equip-
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ment is not widely available in the U.S.).
22
The Technal
presses sold by Bogen are comparatively inexpensive. For
serious work, a press should be equipped with an accurate
built-in dial thermometer and a thermostat capable of closely
controlling the press temperature.
It is possible to dry mount photographs with an ordinary
household iron adjusted to the synthetic fabric setting.
This author does not recommend this method for any but
quick jobs on snapshot-size fiber-base black-and- white
prints. It is almost impossible for an iron to produce uni-
form adhesion for larger prints; the print may appear to be
properly mounted, but in time sections of the print may
bubble or pull away from the mount. There is also a dan-
ger of scorching the print if the iron becomes too hot.
Make Prints with Wide Borders
Traditional dry mounting practice involves attaching the
mounting tissue to the back of the print with a tacking iron
and then trimming the entire border off the print, leaving
only the image area. The print is then attached to the
mount board with a dry mounting press. The edge of a
print mounted in this fashion is vulnerable to chipping as
well as to discoloration and fading caused by atmospheric
pollutants (the effects of which are often most pronounced
near the edges of a print). It is much better to make prints
with a protective border at least
3
4 inch wide, with 1 to 2
inches recommended and to leave the border intact when
dry mounting. Special four-bladed enlarging easels avail-
able from Saunders, Omega/Arkay (Kostiner easels), and
other manufacturers allow easy and precise centering of
the image when making wide-bordered prints.
23
To avoid
later difficulty when overmatting a mounted print, it is
vitally important that the image be square, that is, have
parallel sides and perpendicular corners. A high-quality
easel with precisely parallel blades is necessary to obtain
accurate image positioning and cropping.
After mounting, the print should be overmatted as in-
structed in Chapter 12. The overmat window can be cut so
that it slightly overlaps the edges of the image, thereby
completely covering the print border, or the overmat win-
dow can be cut somewhat larger so the image floats, with
a portion of the paper border surrounding the image area
of the print.
Use a Cover Sheet When Mounting Prints
A cover sheet should always be placed between the
print and the hot press platen to absorb moisture from the
print, to prevent the emulsion from sticking, and to keep
specks of mounting tissue adhesive off the platen. Cover
sheets should have a smooth, absorbent, uncoated surface.
Twoply or 4ply 100% cotton fiber mount board is excel-
lent for the purpose; a high-quality, heavy artists paper
can also be used. (This author finds mount board or heavy
paper cover sheets to be more satisfactory than the sili-
cone-impregnated release paper supplied by Seal and
other companies. While release papers have a nonstick
surface so that adhesive from improperly trimmed prints
will not adhere to them, they have no moisture-absorption
capacity, and if the humidity is high this can result in an
alteration of surface gloss of the print emulsion during
mounting.) At the beginning of each mounting session,
before any prints are placed in the press, it is good prac-
tice to pre-dry the paper or mount board cover sheets by
heating them in the press for two or three 30-second peri-
ods with the press alternately opened and closed.
Cover sheets should be replaced when even slightly soiled,
or if they become contaminated with adhesive from im-
properly trimmed prints. Particles of adhesive or other
dirt on the platen (or the cover sheet) will make tiny inden-
tations in the surface of the print emulsion which are im-
possible to repair.
Keep Press, Prints, Boards,
and Mounting Area Clean
If a cover sheet is always used, the press platen will
remain free of bits of adhesive from incorrectly trimmed
prints. If tissue adhesive gets on the platen, it can be
removed by wiping the platen with a paper towel moist-
ened with an organic solvent such as acetone. This should
be done on a cool press with adequate ventilation sol-
vent fumes are toxic. Teflon-coated platens are much easier
to clean than uncoated platens. Never try to scrape par-
ticles off a platen as this will almost certainly scratch the
soft aluminum surface.
The mounting area should be as clean as possible to
avoid sandwiching bits of mount board, mounting tissue, or
other grit between the print and mount. These particles
will cause small but extremely disconcerting surface bumps
on the mounted print. The emulsion over these high points
is easily abraded during handling, which can result in white
spots on the print. Boards should always be dusted off
after cutting and again before mounting the print. The
need for cleanliness and care when dry mounting prints
cannot be overemphasized. The paper cutter and mount-
ing table should be cleaned with a moistened sponge be-
fore each mounting session. Formica and similar decora-
tive laminates make excellent table tops these materi-
als are smooth and easily cleaned and will not melt if a hot
tacking iron should touch the surface.
Occasionally, small concentrations of fiber actually oc-
cur within a fiber-base photograph itself. Prints should be
closely examined from different angles before mounting
because a lump will become more noticeable after the
affected print is mounted.
How to Determine the Ideal
Mounting Temperature
As previously discussed, Seal ColorMount is recommended
as the most suitable currently available dry mounting tis-
sue for fiber-base and RC papers. For mounting fiber-base
prints, ColorMount should be applied with a press tem-
perature of about 215F (102C).
Most older mounting presses have poorly calibrated ther-
mostats, and the press temperature may also fluctuate
over a wide range at any given thermostat setting. Cur-
rent Seal and Ademco presses are available with built-in
thermometers and have reasonably accurate temperature
controls. Press temperature can be checked with Seal
Temperature Indicator Strips, Tempilstiks,
24
and similar
products, or with an accurate surface-reading thermom-
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eter. A press that is not hot enough will produce a bond
with inadequate adhesion (a weak bond is usually not im-
mediately apparent); a press that is too hot can cause print
edge-lift, bubbles between the print and mount, and dam-
age to the print and/or mount board.
The peak temperature reached by the mounting adhe-
sive during dry mounting is influenced by several factors,
in addition to the press temperature itself (which also var-
ies between the minimum temperature heater-on and
maximum temperature heater-off range of the thermo-
stat that controls the presss electrical heating elements).
The thickness of the paper or board cover sheet and the
thickness of the print mount board both affect the rate of
heat transmission to the dry mounting tissue. The length
of time that the print is in the press is another critical
factor. The temperature of the print and mount board rise
rapidly when the press is closed, but if the mounting time
is short 15 seconds, for example the print, and mount-
ing tissue behind it, will not have an opportunity to reach
the temperature of the press platen.
Some people try to speed up mounting by choosing a
very high press temperature coupled with short mounting
times. The theory is that, if the print is removed from the
press at just the right moment, the rapidly rising tempera-
ture of the tissue interface between the print and mount
board will have reached the level necessary to effect a
good bond but will not yet have become so high that the
print is damaged. This is a very risky approach to mount-
ing, especially with RC prints, and is likely to produce er-
ratic results from print to print.
In this authors experience, the most consistent results
are obtained by setting the press to the temperature that
(1) produces a strong bond with the particular dry mount-
ing tissue, (2) avoids edge-lift, and (3) is safe for the print.
The press time should be long enough for the cover sheet,
print, and mount board to reach equilibrium with the press
temperature. Depending on the size of the mounting press
and the thickness of the cover sheets and mount board, a
time between 1 and 3 minutes is required. Times less than
1 minute should not be used, even if it appears that bond-
ing is satisfactory after a shorter period. Ansel Adams
recommended a 3-minute press time for mounting with
Seal ColorMount. His Seal Masterpiece 500T mounting
press was set at 210 to 225F (99 to 107C), and the print,
tacked to its mount board, was placed between two over-
size 4ply mount boards and inserted into the press.
The best way to determine the proper press tempera-
ture is to mount a scrap print. Preheat the mounting press
for about 20 minutes before the test to allow the tempera-
ture to stabilize. Attach the dry mounting tissue to the
scrap print so that the tissue does not cover the outer 1
1
2
inches on two opposite sides of the print (e.g., center an
11x11-inch sheet of tissue on an 11x14-inch print). Both 14-
inch sides of the print should be trimmed so that the tissue
reaches all the way to the edge of the print.
Then tack the print to a mount board that is somewhat
larger than the print, place between two preheated 4ply
cover sheets, and insert into the press. The print should
be kept in the press for the customary mounting time (not
less than 1 minute). After removing the print from the
press, place it face up on a table, without weights, and
allow it to cool completely.
Examine the edges on the long (14-inch) sides of the
print to see if there is edge-lift. Then, grasping an unat-
tached end of the print (where there was no tissue), at-
tempt to pull the print from the mount. With a fiber-base
print, either the print or mount board paper fibers should
tear away, leaving the mounting tissue largely concealed.
With an RC print, the tissue should remain attached to the
print, and the top layer of paper fibers of the mount board
should be torn away. If the print should separate from the
tissue, or if the print and tissue separate cleanly from the
mount board, the press temperature is not high enough
or, as this author has found to be the case with Ademco
Archival Dry Mounting Tissue and some other products,
the tissue simply is not capable of adequate adhesion re-
gardless of what temperature is selected.
The test should be repeated several times, with press
temperatures both higher and lower than the initial set-
ting, to observe the effects. Be sure to allow the tempera-
ture to stabilize each time the setting is changed. When
mounting RC prints with Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, Type
2, the best mounting temperature is about 20F (11C) higher
than the lowest temperature that produces adequate bond-
ing. With fiber-base prints the ideal mounting tempera-
ture is usually about 35F (20C) higher than the lowest
test temperature at which the adhesive bond is still ad-
equate.
Once the proper mounting temperature is established,
and procedures are consistently followed (i.e., use the same
temperature, mounting tissue, and type of cover and bot-
tom sheets; allow sufficient preheating time for the press
temperature to stabilize; and use exactly the same press
times), adhesion should be uniformly excellent.
Step-by-Step Procedures for Mounting Prints
1. Maintain the relative humidity in the mounting room
(and in the areas where prints and mount boards are
stored) at 4050%, if possible, both to prevent emulsion
damage during mounting and to reduce warping of
mounted prints. Avoid mounting on particularly humid
days. A room dehumidifier operated in conjunction
with an air conditioner will help control humidity.
2. Preheat the mounting press until the temperature has
stabilized typically about 20 minutes. Be certain the
temperature is correct for the type of tissue selected.
3. After the press has reached operating temperature,
preheat two sheets of clean, high-quality, 2 or 4ply
mount board, which are slightly larger than the platen
of the press. Alternately open and close the press for
several 15-second periods to properly preheat and dry
the boards. The two pieces of board will serve as cover
and bottom sheets for flattening fiber-base prints (see
Step 5) and to protect a print and its attached mount
board while they are in the press. When a heated press
is idle, leave it open.
4. To avoid fingerprints, wear clean, thin cotton gloves at
all times when handling, trimming, and mounting prints.
Kodak Cotton Gloves, available in small and large sizes,
are suitable.
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5. (Skip this step for RC prints.) Flatten a fiber-base print
by pressing it between the preheated cover and bottom
sheets for about 30 seconds. Remove the print, place it
emulsion side down on a clean sheet of mount board,
and let it cool. This operation not only helps to remove
waves and wrinkles from the print but also shrinks the
emulsion and base (by drying them to a low moisture
content), which helps to avoid a small strip of dry mount-
ing tissue extending past the edge of the print after
mounting. Flattening a print in the press immediately
before mounting also helps to reduce warping of the
print/mountboard assemblage after mounting. The cover
and bottom sheets should remain in the press, with the
press open, after the print is flattened.
6. Examine the back of the print to be certain that it is
free of dust. Then, place the print face down on a clean
surface and attach a sheet of dry mounting tissue to
the print with a tacking iron (units with Teflon-coated,
non-stick surfaces, such as those made by Seal, are
best). The tissue should be at least as large as the
print, so that it reaches or extends beyond all four edges
of the print. Tack the tissue in position by gently
placing the tacking iron on the center of the tissue and
moving it, successively, toward each of the four print
edges. Do not go all the way to the edges, however, to
expedite later tacking of the tissue (with the attached
print) to the mount board. Be careful not to produce
wrinkles when tacking the tissue to the print; always
draw the tacking iron away from the center of the print.
To avoid creases or indentations on the print, be sure
the tacking iron lies flat on the tissue, and do not apply
too much pressure. Placing a silicone- or Teflon-im-
pregnated release sheet on top of the tissue while
tacking it in place can make proper application easier.
7. With a high-quality rotary- or straight-blade paper cut-
ter, trim off all excess mounting tissue. The print should
be image-side up while trimming to avoid scratching
the emulsion. If the paper cutter is not equipped with a
hold-down bar, a perfectly straight length of wood,
with a piece of mount board glued along the bottom
edge, should be pressed on top of the print close to the
blade of the paper cutter during trimming. This will
help assure a smooth and accurate cut and minimize
the chance of any tissue protruding beyond the edges
of the print. This author finds it best to carefully trim
about
1
8 inch from the print border on all four edges,
along with the tissue; by trimming them together, there
is less chance of tissue extending beyond the edges of
the print, and the final result has a neater appearance.
Unless a print has wide borders and is to be overmat-
ted, it is generally unacceptable for even a tiny sliver of
tissue to be visible after mounting. With practice and
care while trimming (and humidity control, if neces-
sary), good results are not difficult to obtain.
8. Preheat the board on which the print will be mounted
by placing it between the cover and bottom sheets al-
ready in the press. After about 30 seconds, remove the
board and allow it to cool. Preheat only one board at a
time, and attach the print to it as soon as possible after
it has cooled. With some mount boards (or under con-
ditions of low humidity), this step may be skipped. Which-
ever method results in the least warpage of the mounted
print is preferable experience will be a guide.
9. Precisely position the print on the mount board. Place
a weight, such as a 4x4x8-inch block of wood, to which a
facing of mount board has been glued, on the center of
the print to hold it in position. Lifting one corner of the
print at a time, tack the mounting tissue to the mount
board by gently touching the tissue with the tacking
iron and drawing the tacking iron away from the center
of the print. Tack the tissue to the board at the two
corners nearest you and at one of the opposite corners;
this will keep the print in exact position during mount-
ing. Do not let the tacking iron slide off the tissue and
onto the mount board; if this happens it will leave a
permanent, shiny deposit of adhesive on the board.
10. Partially withdraw the cover and bottom sheets from
the press, lift the cover sheet, and carefully insert the
mount board with attached print face up. Lower the
cover sheet. Holding the cover sheet and bottom sheet
together, slide them back into the press.
11. Close the press for exactly 1 minute (or longer if neces-
sary see text above). Do not guess about the time. If
possible, use an interval timer, such as an enlarger
timer. If you have to rely on a clock or watch, lower the
press handle when the second hand is in the 12 posi-
tion, so you will not forget when you started.
12. When the press time is completed, open the press, par-
tially withdraw the cover and bottom sheets, lift the
cover sheet, and remove the mounted print. Lay it on a
table, face up, and immediately place an oversize sheet
of clean 4ply mount board on top of the print. Place a
weight (such as a Light Impressions Flat Plate) on top
of the cover board for a few minutes, until the print has
completely cooled this will help minimize warpage of
the print and mount during cooling. If, after cooling,
the mounted print has an objectionable warp, place it
between the cover and bottom sheets with the concave
side up (i.e., with the edges of the warped board higher
than the center) and reheat it in the press for about 20
seconds. Remove from the press, cover, and cool un-
der weight.
If narrow slivers of mounting tissue protrude beyond
the edges of mounted prints (this is not of great concern if
the print borders will be covered by an overmat), the fol-
lowing procedure suggested by Seal should solve the prob-
lem: Before mounting, pre-dry the print (if fiber-base). Tack
the tissue to the back of the print and trim off excess tissue
(but do not trim any of the print border). Place the print
face down on a sheet of clean paper and cover with a sheet
of Seal silicone-impregnated release paper or similar prod-
uct. Be certain that the release paper is larger than the
print and overhangs all edges. Lay a large sheet of paper
or mount board on top of the release paper and place the
assemblage in the press for about 30 seconds this will
bond the tissue over the entire print surface. Remove, let
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cool, and lift off the release sheet. Then, trim the outer
1
8
inch from all four edges of the print. To tack the print in
position on the mount board, place a sheet of heavy paper
over the center of the print and lightly press the wide, flat
portion of the tacking iron on the cover paper. Leave the
tacking iron in one spot and do not slide it on the print.
Counter-Mounting Prints Back-to-Back
to Sheets of Photographic Paper
In some applications, counter-mounting prints to photo-
graphic paper has advantages over dry mounting on mount
board. Mounting with correctly processed and washed pho-
tographic paper eliminates concern about potentially harmful
effects of mount board. Print warping or curling will be
minimized or eliminated because the print and backing
sheet will exert approximately equal curling forces in op-
posite directions, thus neutralizing any tendency to curl.
The emulsion coating on the backing sheet of photographic
paper serves the same function as the gelatin anti-curl
layer on the backs of sheet films, Ilfochrome (Cibachrome)
prints, etc.
A counter-mounted print is thinner than a print mounted
on mount board, thus conserving space; this may be espe-
cially advantageous if the prints are intended for packag-
ing in a portfolio case. Counter-mounted prints are sur-
prisingly stiff and have the rigidity one might associate
with a sheet of hard plastic of equal thickness. The
photographers portrait, historical data, or other informa-
tion may be photographically printed on the backing sheet;
this provides a simple and safe method for attaching con-
siderable supplementary information to the print.
When made with wide borders, a counter-mounted print
can easily be attached inside a mat with paper mounting
corners (see Chapter 12); the counter-mounted print will
stay flat when overmatted and framed. By carefully posi-
tioning images, some photographers have made books of
counter-mounted prints, with the prints themselves mounted
back-to-back without separate backing sheets.
It is recommended, however, that valuable prints not be
counter-mounted until a stable and properly tested dry
mounting tissue becomes available; once a print is mounted
in this fashion, it is almost impossible to unmount. Counter-
mounting should be considered only by the photographer
who made the print, and it should never be done by mu-
seum or archives personnel to prints in their collections.
To further minimize the possibility of curl or warping in
counter-mounted prints, prints and backing sheets should
be made of the same type of photographic paper prefer-
ably from the same box or emulsion batch. The paper
grain of both the print and backing sheet should be in the
same direction (e.g., an 11x14-inch print should be backed
with an 11x14-inch sheet running in the same direction,
even if the print is later to be trimmed to a smaller size,
such as 8x10 inches). Double-weight paper should always
be backed with double-weight paper, and single-weight prints
should be backed with single-weight paper.
Backing sheets should not be exposed to light prior to
processing (unless text or other information is printed on
them). They should receive the same processing (includ-
ing immersion in the developer) and washing as the prints;
if no image is printed on the backing sheets, however, there
is no need to include Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner or other
image-protecting treatment.
Fiber-base prints and backing sheets should be pre-
heated and flattened in a dry mounting press prior to mount-
ing. To keep curl to a minimum, it is essential that both
sheets be thoroughly pre-dried immediately before mount-
ing. Avoid counter-mounting fiber-base prints on humid
days. RC prints do not need to be preheated. A sheet of
dry mounting tissue should be tacked in place on the print
and excess tissue trimmed off. Position the print back-to-
back on the backing sheet so that all edges are aligned.
With the print covered by a clean piece of heavy paper,
attach the print to the backing sheet by lightly pressing the
flat portion of the tacking iron on the center of the cover
paper. Cover the print with an oversize sheet of release
paper and place the assemblage in the mounting press for
about 30 seconds. Remove the print and place between
two sheets of mount board. When cool, trim the outer
1
8
inch from all four borders of the print and put it back in the
press, between two sheets of 4ply mount board, for 1 minute.
Remove the print, place it between two sheets of mount
board, and cool it under weight. If the print has an objec-
tionable curl after cooling, try reheating (between two sheets
of mount board) in the press for about 15 seconds, with the
convex side of the curl facing the press platen. Remove the
print and cool it as previously instructed.
Mounting Adhesives to Avoid
Among products which should never be considered for
mounting photographs are rubber cement, contact cement,
and most pressure-sensitive mounting materials and tapes.
Rubber cement contains sulfur or other chemicals which
will cause fading or discoloration of black-and-white prints.
Solvents in the cement may cause staining by transferring
dyes in mounting materials to the print; the stains pro-
duced are often pink. Contact cement, made by a number
of firms, can cause rapid fading of photographs; this is the
most harmful adhesive likely to be encountered. Also to be
avoided are starch pastes and animal glues.
Kodak Rapid Mounting Cement should be avoided be-
cause it contains nitrocellulose (cellulose nitrate), which
could decompose over time and damage photographs.
A number of authorities have suggested liquid polyvinyl
acetate (PVA) adhesives for use with fiber-base prints as
well as with such products as paper envelopes for film and
prints. This author has little information on possible long-
term physical and chemical effects of these adhesives on
black-and-white and color photographs; at present, neither
a particular type nor brand can be recommended. As a
general rule, however, water-containing adhesives of all
types should be avoided with photographs.
Adhesive Tapes for Use with Photographs
This author suggests that no adhesive tape be applied
directly to a photograph because staining, fading, deforma-
tion, and physical damage may result. Tapes applied to
the emulsion side of a photograph are a particular danger.
Ordinary cellophane tape and masking tape (both of which
have a rubber-base adhesive with poor aging characteris-
tics), gaffers tape, and virtually all other common tapes
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should be avoided. Adhesives on these tapes will gradually
deteriorate and discolor, become gooey, and soak into pa-
per fibers and photographic emulsions. The tapes can
cause typewriting and other inks to bleed. Citing a study
by Feller and Encke, Merrily Smith et al of the Library of
Congress describe the eventual result:
The adhesive, having permeated the paper,
continues to oxidize, and gradually loses its ad-
hesive properties. The carrier may fall off, and
the adhesive residues crosslink, becoming hard,
brittle, and highly discolored. Once it has reached
this condition, the adhesive residue and the stain
it has created are very difficult, sometimes im-
possible, to remove.
25
Some situations may require using adhesive tape in prox-
imity to photographs, such as attaching overmats to mount
boards, paper corners to mount boards, caption informa-
tion to film envelopes, etc. For these and similar applica-
tions this author currently recommends two types of tape:
high-quality gummed cloth tape,
26
occasionally referred to
as cambric tape (gummed cloth tape with a shiny, coated
or glazed backing sometimes called Holland tape
should be avoided), and 3M Scotch No. 810 Magic Trans-
parent Tape.
Gummed fabric tape which must be wet when applied
(wet with a clean sponge and clean water; licking the tape
is not advised because saliva may contain harmful sub-
stances) is particularly suited for attaching 4ply overmats
to backing boards. Once in place and dry, the gummed
tape remains firmly attached and is therefore a good choice
for making flexible hinges. In general, gummed cloth tape
should not be applied directly to a fiber-base photograph
because the wet gum will, in most cases, cause the print to
deform locally and to wrinkle, and because the adhesive,
which is likely to be somewhat hygroscopic, may acceler-
ate localized discoloration. This type of tape does have the
advantage that it can be removed by soaking it with water.
Gummed cloth tape is available in various widths (the most
common width being 1 inch) from several companies. See
Chapter 12 for more information.
This author believes that Scotch No. 810 Magic Trans-
parent Tape,
27
a cellulose acetate-base tape with a very
stable pressure-sensitive adhesive, is suitable for use in
proximity to but not directly on photographs. The
tape is available from office supply stores, drugstores, and
other outlets. A roll of the tape can be distinguished from
other 3M Scotch tapes by its matte-surface and somewhat
milky, translucent appearance. Scotch No. 810 tape is pack-
aged in green plaid boxes and dispensers. Scotch No. 811
Magic Plus Removable Transparent Tape, introduced in
1984, should be avoided for photographic applications.
In some cases, caption sheets or other data must be
attached directly to the backs of prints. From what little
information is available, No. 810 tape appears to be the
most suitable tape for this purpose with both RC and fiber-
base prints. There is no doubt that this tape is better than
rubber cement, cellophane tape, and pastes which have
been used on photographs in the past. It must be empha-
sized, however, that only limited information is available
on the long-term effects of this tape on color and black-
and-white photographs. Once applied, the tape is difficult
or impossible to remove from paper or photographs. It
cannot be removed with water, and the adhesive is not
soluble in any of the common solvents.
28
Scotch No. 810
tape recently applied to the back of an RC print can usually
be removed by pulling the tape off; however, residues of
the adhesive are likely to remain. If tape of any type must
be removed from a valuable photograph, a qualified photo-
graphic conservator should be consulted.
The 3M Company has supplied the following informa-
tion about Scotch No. 810 tape. Although not dealing with
the long-term effects of the tape on photographs (3M said
such tests have not been conducted), the information does
suggest that the tape itself has a long life in most applica-
tions.
3M Company Scotch No. 810
Magic Transparent Tape
3M No. 810 Magic Transparent Tape is in no
way related to cellophane tape, which over the
years has been misused for long-aging applica-
tions. Cellophane tape has a rubber-resin ad-
hesive which will start to deteriorate within a
couple of years and cause the paper staining
and discoloration that many people have expe-
rienced. No. 810 tape, on the other hand, was
originally developed to fulfill the long term ap-
plications in which cellophane tape had failed.
No. 810 consists of a cellulose acetate back-
ing and a homogeneous, synthetic acrylic poly-
mer adhesive. Both components are relatively
inert and will not discolor or dry out with age.
No. 810 also does not contain any fugitive in-
gredients which will leach into paper. The pH
of the tape is 7.0.
The aging properties of No. 810 are some-
what dependent on the surface to which it is
applied. If adhered to paper which is in good
physical condition and does not contain unstable
components, it should last indefinitely.
We have conducted natural aging tests for
the 20-plus years that the product has been on
the market. Lengthy accelerated aging tests
were also run in artificial sunlight and elevated
temperatures. None of the tests have indicated
that No. 810 will deteriorate or discolor any
faster than the paper substrate to which it is
adhered.
29
According to Smith et al, however, the adhesive of No.
810 tape can penetrate paper: The adhesive mass does
not typically soak into the paper as rubber-based adhe-
sives do. The acrylic adhesive is, however, subject to cold
flow and will penetrate to the degree that paper porosity
allows.
30
Two pressure-sensitive tapes that have been recom-
mended by some conservators for use near photographs
are Filmoplast P90, a paper-backed tape, and Filmoplast
SH, a cloth-backed tape, both made by the German firm of
Hans Neschen, and available in the U.S. from several sup-
pliers.
31
Another tape of this type is the paper-backed
Archival Aids Document Repair Tape, sold by the Archival
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Aids division of Ademco-Seal Ltd. These tapes, all of which
have stable acrylic adhesives, are marketed primarily for
book and document repair; no information on possible ef-
fects of such tapes on photographs during long-term stor-
age is currently available. Hans Neschen also produces a
line of double-sided pressure-sensitive tapes, and a trans-
fer adhesive, under the Gudy O name, which is applied in a
manner similar to that described for 3M No. 568 Position-
able Mounting Adhesive. Pending availability of meaning-
ful test data, Gudy O products are not recommended for
use in contact with photographs.
Marking and Other Identification
After processing and drying, photographs are often marked
to identify the photographer and to indicate the date, loca-
tion, title, and other information. It is helpful to mark a
print with a finding key or file number of the original nega-
tive or transparency. Some photographers use a serial
number that includes the year, month, and day the photo-
graph was taken, in addition to the roll and frame number.
Photographs of historical importance should be marked
with as much relevant information as possible; separate
caption sheets are sometimes included for this purpose. A
caption sheet should be given an identification number
which positively identifies it as belonging to a print marked
with the same number. Because caption sheets are usu-
ally stored with photographs, they should be prepared with
high-quality paper that will not harm the photographs (see
Chapter 13).
Newspaper clippings should never be stored near or in
contact with a photograph. Newsprint has a short life; if
the information in a clipping must be retained it should be
copied with a plain-paper copier, such as a Xerox machine,
and the copy filed next to the non-emulsion side of the
photograph, with the printed side of the copy placed away
from the negative or print. A high-quality paper, such as
100% cotton fiber bond paper or Xerox Image Elite Paper
(Xerox No. 3R1950), should be used in the copying ma-
chine. Plain-paper copying machines employ a thermo-
plastic powder containing carbon black as a pigment, which
is heat-fused to the paper. This author does not have any
information about the long-term effects of Xerox images
or those produced by other brands of copiers stored in
contact with photographs, but they probably will not cause
any harm if stored as recommended in this paragraph.
Caption information on old mounts or negative enve-
lopes which are being discarded can also be copied on a
plain-paper copying machine. A better, but more time-
consuming, method of copying caption information is to
photograph it and store this supplementary photograph
with the original print. Any copy photograph must be prop-
erly processed and washed; stabilization prints and Pola-
roid prints are not acceptable for this purpose.
Pressure-sensitive labels, 3M Scotch Brand Post-it self-
adhesive note paper, and similar items should never be
attached to either the back or emulsion side of photographs.
Although 3M Post-it note sheets are designed to be readily
removable, they can leave permanent adhesive deposits on
photographs and other paper materials if they remain at-
tached for more than a few weeks.
32
(On hot days, a resi-
due can be deposited almost immediately!)
Pencils and Pens for Marking Photographs
The only media for marking photographs that this au-
thor can recommend at this time are water-base India ink,
applied with a technical or fountain pen, and the common
lead pencil. Pencils have traditionally been made of graph-
ite and carbon black powder mixed with a clay binder.
Pencil markings are extremely stable, and in the great
many years that pencils have been used to write on photo-
graphs, they have not, to this authors knowledge, been
reported to cause image deterioration. During the black-
and-white era of portraiture, graphite pencils were popu-
lar for retouching prints made on the then-common matte-
surface papers.
Pencil impressions are not water soluble, so prints marked
with pencil can be reprocessed or rewashed with no dan-
ger of the writing bleeding or transferring to other prints.
One of the great advantages of pencils over rubber-stamp
markers and all inks including so-called waterproof
India ink is that there is no danger of pencil lines bleed-
ing or partially (and permanently) transferring to adjacent
photographs should they accidentally become water-soaked
as a result of broken pipes, floods, etc.
Care should be exercised when writing on the backs of
fiber-base prints to avoid producing a physical impression
that can be seen on the emulsion side of the print. Before
writing, the print should be placed on a smooth, hard, and
flat surface. (Mount board is not a suitable writing surface
because it is too soft.) Apply light pressure with a medium-
hard lead pencil that is not sharpened to a point. A stan-
dard No. 2
1
2 pencil will suffice; however, a drafting pencil
with an HB, H, or 2H lead would be better because softer
leads are more likely to create graphite dust, which, al-
though erasable, smudges easily and can transfer to adja-
cent paper. Medium-hard lead pencils can be purchased at
art supply stores.
Writing on the backs of prints should be restricted to
the border areas, if possible, to prevent potential damage
to the image area. Keep in mind that all markings will
normally be covered if the print is mounted. Serial num-
bers, captions, and other information should be transcribed
to the back of the mount before the print is mounted.
Older RC papers, from 1968 to about 1981, are almost
impossible to write on with pencils. Most current RC pa-
pers have specially treated back-coatings which more readily
accept pencil markings; however, it is still difficult to write
on RC papers with pencils, and the pressure required to
obtain a sufficiently dark line may cause an impression
that is visible on the front of the print. India ink in a
technical or fountain pen is probably more satisfactory for
writing on the backs of RC prints but be sure to allow
adequate drying time before stacking them.
India ink is also recommended for writing on the fronts
of prints because most pencil leads will not adhere to the
smooth or glossy emulsions currently available.
India Ink
India ink (also known as Chinese ink when in dry, stick
form) has traditionally been made of carbon black with
gum arabic as a binder and water as a solvent. The origi-
nal formulas of India ink were not waterproof; they would
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time must be allowed for any applied ink to dry before
handling. It is a good practice to gently blot rubber-stamp
impressions on Ilfochrome prints with an absorbent paper
towel or, preferably, smooth blotting paper.
Water-base India ink, such as Faber-Castell Higgins Wa-
terproof India Ink (No. 4415), has often been recommended
as acceptable for writing on photographic materials. Other
suitable inks for writing on the backs of RC prints are Koh-
I-Noor Rapidomat Ink No. 3074F and Koh-I-Noor Univer-
sal Waterproof Black Drawing Ink No. 3080F, although
this author has no information on their long-term effects
on photographic images. When a graphite pencil is not
appropriate, this author prefers the above inks particu-
larly Koh-I-Noor Rapidomat Ink to the recently popular
felt-tip photographic markers.
Felt-Tip Pens and Markers
Felt-tip pens and markers are made in two basic types:
felt-tip pens with odorless, water-base inks that remain
water-soluble after drying, and felt-tip markers which have
rapid-drying, waterproof inks consisting of dyes dissolved
in volatile solvents.
Felt-tip pens with water-base inks are often substituted
for pencils, ballpoint pens, and fountain pens for general
writing applications. More accurately described as po-
rous-tip pens, these increasingly common pens are in-
tended for writing on paper; the porous surface of paper
readily absorbs the ink, allowing it to quickly dry to avoid
smearing. The water-base ink solvent actually evaporates
Ansel Adams signed his prints lightly with a pencil on the mount board under the lower right corner of the photograph.
smear when damp and could be washed from paper with
water. Most of the commercially available India inks in
recent years have been formulated to be waterproof once
they have dried. There are no published studies establish-
ing the safety of modern India inks on the many types of
photographic materials currently available, and formulas
vary with different manufacturers. However, this type of
ink has been used on photographs for many years and this
author has not observed any instances in which it has caused
fading or staining.
Many photographers prefer India ink for marking nega-
tives because the dense black image of the ink prints clearly
on contact sheets. India ink adheres to the emulsions of
most prints and negatives and to the backs of most current
RC papers. The ink does not soak into emulsions and RC
coatings (as it does into fiber-base papers); it is necessary,
therefore, to allow sufficient drying time to guard against
any smearing. Because most of the ink remains on the
emulsion or RC surface, and despite being waterproof when
dry, some of it will come off if the print is washed.
India ink markings on the back of a fiber-base print may
bleed or show though to the front; if these prints must be
marked with ink, apply it only at the margins. Lead pencils
are preferred for writing on the backs of fiber-base prints.
The back side of Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) print
materials including Ilfochrome RC materials is coated
with a matte-textured gelatin anti-curl layer which readily
accepts pencil, India ink, and light rubber-stamp impres-
sions. The polyester or RC base materials of Ilfochrome
prints will prevent any bleed-through of inks, but enough
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A rubber stamp on the back of an Ansel Adams print. The inscription was applied with India ink.
rather slowly, enabling the pens to function after relatively
long periods of inactivity with the cap off. These inks are
not suitable for writing on photographs; in particular, the
nonabsorbent backs of RC prints should not be marked
with felt-tip pens because smearing and transfer of ink to
adjacent prints will inevitably result. The water-base inks
of most felt-tip pens have very poor light fading stability.
Fine-point, porous-tip markers with volatile-solvent-base
inks, such as Pilots Photographic Marker and SCUF
Ultra Fine Point Permanent Marker (Pilot pens are made
in Japan and widely available in the U.S.) and Sanfords
Sharpie Extra Fine Point Marker, are becoming increas-
ingly popular for writing on photographs, especially on the
backs of RC prints. The inks dry rapidly, even on nonpo-
rous RC paper and smooth plastic surfaces, and are water-
proof when dry.
These markers usually have black ink, but red, green,
blue, and other colors are also available. They are often
referred to as permanent markers by their manufactur-
ers because the inks are waterproof and, in general, have
light fading stability that is considerably better than the
water-base inks in felt-tip pens.
Pending study of the long-term migration and transfer
characteristics of the inks in porous-tip markers, and their
potential effects on black-and-white and color photographic
images, this author advises that they not be used on any
valuable photographs, particularly fiber-base prints. Pilot
Photographic Markers are better, however, for writing on
RC prints than either ballpoint pens or pencils, and if India
ink is deemed impractical or too time-consuming in a par-
ticular application, a Pilot Marker is probably the better
choice.
Pilot Photographic Markers and similar markers are
recommended for writing on polyester, polypropylene, and
high-density polyethylene sleeves and other plastic enclo-
sures provided the ink is on the outside of the enclosure, in
a position where it cannot directly contact a film or print.
Over long periods of time, especially in conditions of
high relative humidity, the ink from such markers may
partially transfer from an enclosure or the back of a print
or enclosure to another print when they are stacked to-
gether.
With porous fiber-base prints, the inks may migrate
through a print from the back and into the emulsion. In
this authors library there is an example of ink migration
through two sheets of paper, leaving a visible impression
on a third sheet; the migration took place over a period of
about 8 years. The polyethylene layers of RC prints will
probably impede ink migration through an RC print, but
the danger of transfer from the back of a print to the emul-
sion of another remains.
This author has seen an example of severe image fading
caused by volatile-solvent marker ink applied to the edges
of some black-and-white prints made in the mid-1960s; the
brand of marker that caused the problem is not known.
Wide-tip volatile-solvent-base ink markers, such as the
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William Christenberry has stamped the backs of his Ekta-
color RC Prints with the word EKTAPRO (a reference to
Ektacolor Professional Paper) to indicate that they were
made on post-1985 Ektacolor papers, which are consid-
erably more stable in dark storage than Ektacolor papers
marketed before 1985.
Stamp and signature appearing on the back of a black-
and-white print by photographer O. Winston Link.
Magic Marker, Marks-A-Lot, and El Marko, are intended
for writing on both porous and nonporous surfaces. The
odor of the ink solvent is usually quite strong. Available in
a variety of colors, these markers are handy for addressing
packages, making temporary signs, and similar applica-
tions; they are unacceptable for marking photographs or
film and print enclosures.
Ballpoint Pens
Never use ballpoint pens on photographs because the
ink may smear and transfer to other prints and films; this
is especially likely to happen when the ink has been freshly
applied and/or the relative humidity is high. Ballpoint ink
is a particular hazard on the backs of RC prints.
Wax Pencils
Wax pencils which are made in red, orange, black,
and other colors and are commonly known as grease pen-
cils are often used to indicate cropping lines, to circle
images on contact prints for printing, and to give other
printing instructions. Wax pencils are not suitable for writing
on contact sheets or other photographs intended for long-
term keeping.
Ideally, no photographs should be marked with wax pencils
because in practice the wax will smear, will get on hands
or cotton gloves, negatives, transparencies, and enclosures,
and generally will make a mess of working areas. The wax
markings never dry and can smear and transfer to other
prints for years after their original application.
Retouching Dyes Used as Inks
Spotting dyes, such as undiluted Spotone, may be used
in a fountain or technical pen to write on print and film
emulsions. Do not blot, but be sure to allow sufficient
drying time before handling. As discussed later, Spotone
retouching dyes are subject to light fading, and for this
reason India ink is preferred.
Rubber Stamps
Rubber stamps are convenient for marking the backs of
prints with a photographers name and address, an agency
name, a copyright notice, etc. The long-term effects of
common rubber-stamp inks on photographic images are
not known; however, this author has seen a great many old
fiber-base prints that have been rubber-stamped with no
apparent ill effects unless the print accidentally became
wet. If a rubber-stamped print or one that has been
marked with a ballpoint pen does get wet, however, the
results are usually catastrophic ink will transfer to the
emulsions of adjacent prints and can migrate through the
base of a fiber-base print and stain the emulsion. These
ink impressions and stains may be impossible to remove.
Transfers of rubber-stamp ink can also occur at very
high relative humidities, especially if prints have been treated
with hygroscopic glossing or flattening agents such as Ko-
dak Print Flattener. Interleaving or placing prints in poly-
ester sleeves will prevent ink transfer.
This author discourages the use of rubber stamps on
fiber-base and RC prints intended for long-term keeping.
If rubber stamps cannot be avoided despite the possible
hazards, impressions should be made with standard inks
dispensed from cloth-covered felt stamp pads. The re-
cently introduced self-inking stamps and porous plastic
stamp pads are undesirable because the inks in these prod-
ucts tend to bleed and print through photographs. This
author suggests black ink since it is usually the most per-
manent color and its opaque quality requires less ink to
produce an adequate impression. The less ink needed, the
less chance there is of bleeding, print-through, and trans-
fer to another print. Pending further information, regular
black stamp-pad ink is recommended over so-called ar-
chival inks which may be difficult or even impossible to
chemically remove from emulsions should the ink transfer
from adjacent prints or diffuse through a print after be-
coming wet. A good procedure to follow when stamping
prints is:

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Some stamp-pad inks, such as Sanfords Indelible Black
No. 488C,
34
employ a volatile-solvent dye carrier and may
be safely applied to polyethylene-coated papers. Sanford
suggests a plain cloth stamp pad for this ink. The stamp
pad should be kept closed between applications to prevent
solvent loss; small amounts of denatured alcohol can be
added to the pad should it become too dry. For stamping
polyethylene-coated RC papers, Kodak has recommended
the fast-drying ink supplied with Bunnys Miracle Kit, a
$18 outfit consisting of a bottle of ink, ink remover, stamp
pad, and rubber stamp with the word Original, available
from BWS Enterprises in San Marino, California.
35
Robert E. Mayer, writing in Photomethods magazine,
recommended the Mark II RC1000 Stamp Pad System sup-
plied by Wess Plastic, Inc. (a well-known manufacturer of
plastic slide mounts).
36
Mayer also suggested the fast-
drying Rexton Series3 stamp-pad ink supplied by Rexton
International.
37
The fast-drying Photomark stamp-pad inks and Photomark
pre-inked Mark II air-tight stamp pads supplied in a vari-
ety of colors by Jackson Marking Products Co. in Mt. Vernon,
Illinois
38
were recommended for RC prints by Bill Hurter
in an article in Petersens Photographic magazine.
No test data have been published on the long-term ef-
fects on color or black-and-white prints of any of the above-
mentioned products. Until more information becomes avail-
able, this author tentatively recommends the Photomark
stamp-pad inks and pre-inked Mark II stamp pads supplied
by Jackson Marking Products Co. (Jackson also supplies
custom-made and standard rubber stamps for photogra-
phers in a vast variety of configurations).
Stamp-pad inks may fade as a result of light passing
through the print support material while the print is on
display. The red ink used in Kodak photofinishing labs to
mark the backs of color prints with the Kodak name and
the month and year of processing has very poor light fad-
ing stability; this author has seen examples which have
nearly disappeared after only a few years of display.
Film Cleaning and Problems with Scratches
Prints will usually have some small white specks in the
image area resulting from dust and lint on the negative.
The dirt particles block the printing light, resulting in a
white or low-density spot. This is a particular problem
with high-magnification enlargements. Keeping the dark-
room areas clean and free of dust will help reduce the
problem, but even the most careful worker will encounter
some dust spots. Negatives should be carefully cleaned
with a soft brush or can of compressed air or other gas.
Unless absolutely necessary, avoid wiping the negative with
a cloth or paper towel even one moistened with liquid
negative cleaner because of the danger of scratching
the negative. The negative can be examined for dust by
holding it in the negative carrier under the light beam of
the enlarger lens. If a large number of prints will be made
from a negative, it is helpful to make a test print to deter-
mine the location of individual dust particles missed in the
initial cleaning. Effort spent in cleaning negatives is usu-
ally amply repaid in time saved in spotting prints.
A number of devices are available to clean negatives,
including cans of compressed Freon or other gases, brushes,
Ink the rubber stamp by pressing it on the
pad. Then, make an impression on a piece of
scrap paper and, without re-inking the stamp,
make an impression on the print. Repeat this
procedure for each print. This will help avoid
excessive inking.
Rubber stamps usually become clogged with dust, lint,
and old ink after a period of use. Most rubber stamps can
be cleaned simply by rinsing them under a flow of warm
water from a faucet. Stubborn cases may require applying
a liquid dishwashing detergent directly from the bottle and
brushing the stamp with a toothbrush to remove adhered
dirt. Kodak Photo-Flo solution or a similar photographic
wetting agent can take the place of liquid dishwashing de-
tergent. After treating with any detergent, the rubber stamp
should be rinsed with running water and dried by blotting
with a paper towel.
Excess base rubber outside the type area may produce
unwanted marks when stamping; these extraneous sec-
tions can be trimmed away with a razor blade.
So that slight optical print-through will not be visually
apparent, prints should be stamped in the border areas or
behind dark areas of the image. Be sure to allow ample
time for the ink to be absorbed by the paper before stack-
ing prints. Interleaving papers should be placed on top of
each print as an extra precaution when stacking.
If a print is mounted, the back of the mount board can
be stamped; as long as the stamp impression is not too
heavy, and another print is not placed against the back of
the mount without an interleaving tissue or sheet of poly-
ester between them, there should be no problems. Ansel
Adams for many years used rubber stamps on the backs of
his mounted prints (insofar as this author is aware, Adams
never sold unmounted prints):
I strongly urge full identification and label-
ing of all prints. I recommend having a large
rubber stamp made up to be impressed on the
back of every print mount. The stamp should
give full name and address, and also provide
spaces for the title of the photograph, the nega-
tive date, the printing date, and a statement of
reproduction limitation or copyright, if any.
Additional stamps can provide copyright no-
tice, return shipment request, intended use (e.g.,
for reproduction only), etc.
33
Stamp-Pad Inks for RC Prints
Normal stamp-pad inks consist of dyes dissolved in a
water/glycol solution (or other chemicals similar in func-
tion to the glycols). As the ink is absorbed into the paper,
the dyes mordant to the paper fibers; the carrier solution
is dispersed into the bulk of the paper. Some of the carrier
components may gradually evaporate.
Traditional stamp-pad inks have been formulated so that
stamps pads will not rapidly dry out. These inks cannot be
applied to the backs of RC prints because smearing or ink
transfer will occur. The polyethylene layer on RC papers
prevents the nondrying ink from being absorbed, and the
stamp ink remains on the surface in a wet state.
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and brushes containing an ionizing radioactive element to
neutralize static electricity which attracts and holds dust.
Gas in high-pressure cans, such as Omit and Dust-Off, is
fairly effective in removing dust and lint. Staticmaster
brushes, made by NRD, Inc.,
39
are the most common radio-
active brushes; this author has found them to be only mod-
erately effective in removing dust, however. Much more
effective and more expensive are the static-neutraliz-
ing dust-removal devices available from the 3M Company,
Cumming Corporation, Kinetronics Corporation, and a num-
ber of other companies.
40
A very effective device is the
Model 520 Masterwipe film cleaner sold by the 3M Com-
pany. This unit has a slightly sticky nonwoven fabric to
pick up dust and incorporates a radioactive strip to ionize
the air and remove static charges from the film as it passes
through the machine.
Films and prints should be handled by the edges to
prevent fingerprints on the image areas. Fingerprints not
only show up during printing but may also contribute to
long-term chemical deterioration of films and prints. Hands
should be washed frequently and, if possible, soft cotton
gloves should be worn when handling negatives, transpar-
encies, and prints. Suitable gloves are available from Kodak
and other suppliers; they are often worn by motion picture
editors to prevent fingerprinting.
Liquid film cleaners can remove some types of adhered
dirt, including fingerprints; when such cleaners are abso-
lutely necessary, Kodak Film Cleaner is recommended.
However, this author does not suggest liquid cleaners for
removing dust since the application of the fluid often adds
more dust than is eliminated. This author advises against
anti-static liquid cleaners because the long-term effects of
the static-neutralizer residues that remain on the film af-
ter application are not known. Many anti-static agents are
hygroscopic and create elevated surface-moisture levels;
this could cause sticking to enclosure materials and other
films, and could increase rates of fading and staining.
Films should never be rubbed with fingers in an attempt
to remove dirt because films are easily scratched; in addi-
tion, oils, acids, and salts from the skin may cause future
damage to the image.
Negatives, especially old black-and-white films and all
color films, should not be washed to remove dirt except in
the most severe cases. Most color films other than Kodak
Kodachrome are treated with a stabilizer as a final pro-
cessing step, and the effectiveness of the stabilizer in slow-
ing image-dye fading and staining can be impaired by washing.
Old films may develop emulsion blisters or other problems
if washed. Cellulose nitrate films should never be washed
in solutions containing water because the emulsion may
separate from the film base.
Most 35mm films do not have a gelatin coating on the
non-emulsion side, and dust, which often preferentially clings
to the uncoated surface, may be effectively removed in
stubborn cases by lightly wiping the non-emulsion side with
a clean photographic sponge that has been slightly damp-
ened with water. The sponge should be soaked under run-
ning water and then squeezed until reaching the proper
dampness. Rinse the sponge between each use to remove
accumulated dirt and squeeze it dry. Avoid getting excess
water on the negative, and allow any water droplets on the
surface of the film to dry before closing the negative car-
rier. This procedure cannot be done on some 35mm films,
such as Kodak Type 2475 and Type 2485 Recording Films,
nor on any sheet or roll film larger than 35mm, because
they all have a gelatin anti-curl backing which will soften
when damp and cause dirt and sponge particles to adhere.
Black-and-white films with minor surface scratches that
have not penetrated the image layer of the emulsion can be
treated with Edwal No-Scratch, available from camera stores
or directly by mail from Edwal Scientific Products Corpo-
ration.
41
This solution, which has approximately the same
index of refraction as plastic film base, fills in the scratches
during printing. Minor scratch marks can be totally elimi-
nated in most cases. The solution should be applied in a
heavy coat over the entire negative.
After printing, the negative and the negative carrier
should be washed in a strong solution of a wetting agent,
such as Kodak Photo-Flo, to remove the No-Scratch and
then rinsed in plain water. Allow the negative to dry on its
own, but dry the negative carrier with a paper towel. (Liq-
uid dishwashing detergent is also effective in removing
No-Scratch from the negative carrier, but it should not be
used on films.) Under no circumstances should No-Scratch
be allowed to dry on the film, nor should the film be placed
in a negative envelope or stored without first being washed
and dried.
No-Scratch is not suitable for color films because wash-
ing the films after using the product may impair the action
of the stabilizer in the processed film, leading to acceler-
ated staining and dye fading. Edwal supplies rather inad-
equate instructions for this product.
Minor surface scratches on negatives and transparen-
cies are much more apparent on prints made with con-
denser enlargers than with diffusion enlargers, or on con-
tact prints made with diffuse light sources. For this and
other reasons, most photographers will find diffusion en-
largers to be more satisfactory for general printing than
the more common condenser enlargers. If purchase of a
new enlarger is being contemplated, serious consideration
should be given to obtaining a diffusion color-head enlarger,
which not only serves for color printing but also is excel-
lent for black-and-white printing. In addition, the color-
head filters can replace external filters for variable-con-
trast black-and-white printing.
Scratches may be effectively reduced by using a liquid-
immersion film carrier such as those marketed by Carlwen
Industries.
42
These special carriers come in a number of
different models to fit different enlargers and to accommo-
date a variety of film sizes. Carlwen supplies a solution
called Decalin, made by Eastman Chemical Products, Inc.,
for use with the film carriers. This solution has a refrac-
tive index similar to that of film base. Liquid-immersion
film carriers are similar in theory of operation to wet-gate
motion picture printers.
Carlwen could not offer any meaningful information on
the long-term effects of Decalin on color or black-and-white
films; however, the fluid appears to evaporate completely
from the film, leaving no residue. Carlwen has reported no
problems with the fluid to date. Some professional color
processing laboratories routinely use liquid-immersion film
carriers when making color separations for Dye Transfer
printing or when making internegatives for mural-size en-
largements.
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may serve as a starting point for flaking and other emul-
sion damage. Another method of removing dark spots is to
chemically bleach them with products such as Retouch
Methods Spot-Off; however, the entire print must be refixed,
treated with a washing-aid, and washed after any bleach-
ing treatment. It may be difficult or impossible to bleach
spots on toned prints or prints treated with image-protec-
tive solutions.
This author is not aware of any accelerated test evalua-
tions of the long-term effects of spotting solutions on black-
and-white photographs; however, to date this author has
not observed any damage that could be attributed to spot-
ting solutions.
Tests conducted by this author with Spotone No. 3 dye,
the neutral black dye similar in tone to most current black-
and-white papers, indicate that the dye does not have good
light fading stability (see Figure 11.1). In fact, after 60
days of exposure to high-intensity fluorescent light, the
No. 3 dye had faded more than color images on Ektacolor
Professional Paper tested for the same period. However,
the Spotone dye maintained reasonably good neutrality as
it faded, which made the loss of density much less notice-
able than it would have been had it shifted in color. In the
tests, Spotone retouching dye was brushed on fixed and
washed sheets of fiber-base Kodak Polycontrast Paper; sev-
eral different densities of the dye were prepared. Because
correctly processed and toned black-and-white prints are
essentially unaffected by exposure to light on display, the
original spots on the prints may start to reappear as the
dye gradually fades. Retouch Methods reports that the
companys basic formulations have remained the same for
over 40 years and claims that it has never received a com-
plaint that its products have caused fading or staining.
46
It
is of course possible that the fading characteristics of the
dyes could be improved by use of more stable dyestuffs.
If spotted prints are reprocessed or rewashed, most of
the spotting dyes will be removed, thus requiring respotting
Dyes for Dust-Spotting Prints
Despite diligent efforts to clean negatives, some dust
spots will inevitably appear on prints. These spots may be
covered and blended in with the rest of the image with
dust-spotting dyes, such as Spotone, made by Retouch Meth-
ods Company.
43
In spotting, as differentiated from re-
touching, only marks due to dust, lint, scratches, and other
negative defects are removed from a print. Retouching, on
the other hand, usually implies a major alteration of the
image itself, such as removing wrinkles from a persons
face, covering up telephone poles, adding clouds, etc. Re-
touching black-and-white negatives prior to printing has
been a common practice in portrait photography. Photo-
graphs of products in catalogs and advertisements are also
often retouched or airbrushed (spray-painted with a tiny
air- or gas-powered sprayer) to remove unwanted reflec-
tions or background details and to emphasize certain de-
tails for commercial purposes. Historical photographs should
not, however, be retouched or undergo other major types
of image alteration, although spotting, color correction,
and minor dodging and burning to make up for photographic
deficiencies are usually acceptable.
Spotone and other types of liquid dye spotting solutions
have become popular because they are easy to apply and
do not appreciably change the surface gloss or texture of
prints. The dye is absorbed into the emulsion, leaving
little or no apparent residue on the print surface. Spotone
is available in a number of colors or off-neutral tones
to match various types of paper. Neutral black No. 3 is
suitable for most modern neutral or near-neutral papers.
The dyes are usually applied with a very fine watercolor
brush. Dark areas can be spotted with the concentrated
solution directly from the bottle; the dye can be diluted for
application on lighter areas by first dipping the brush in
the dye directly from the bottle and then briefly dipping it
in a container of water. The density can be checked by
brushing a few short lines on a piece of scrap paper. Re-
peated water dips may be required to obtain very light
tones.
When the desired tone is reached, the dye may be ap-
plied to the print. With medium to light tones, it is best to
choose a dye solution less dense than the surrounding print
area so that the spot density can be built up by repeated
dabs with the brush. If excessive dye is applied by acci-
dent, much of it can be removed by rubbing the affected
area lightly with a small piece of a clean photographic
sponge moistened with clean water. Reserve a special
sponge for this purpose. Never use any sponge that might
contain chemicals or dirt that could harm the print. Spot-
ting is something of a craft if you are not experienced
with the procedure, you should practice on some expend-
able prints before working on prints you want to save. Good
descriptions of print-spotting techniques are contained in
David Vestals book The Art of Black-and-White Enlarg-
ing
44
and in the Ansel Adams book The Print.
45
Opaque spotting colors, such as Kodak Spotting Colors,
are suitable for covering dark spots on prints, but these
pigmented colors will alter the surface gloss and texture
where they are applied to the print. The practice of knife-
etching to remove dark spots on prints is not recommended,
particularly for RC prints, because it pits the emulsion and
Figure 11.1 Retouch Methods Company Spotone No. 3
dye applied to a white area of a print and subjected to an
accelerated light fading test. The silver images of black-
and-white fiber-base prints are essentially unaffected by
exposure to light, so as the spotting dye on a print gradu-
ally fades during long-term display, spots will gradually
reappear. Spotting dyes may also undergo an objection-
able color shift after prolonged exposure to light.
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problem with Ektacolor 74 RC print discoloration caused
by Kodak Retouching Colors (dry). The rapid image dete-
rioration produced by these dyes was an issue in two law-
suits filed against Kodak; it has also been the subject of
numerous complaints by portrait and wedding photogra-
phers (see Chapter 8).
For many years Kodak has sold a set of dry retouching
colors that can be applied both in the dry mode for lightly
coloring large areas of color prints and in the wet-brush
mode mixed with a solution of water and Ektaprint 3 Stabi-
lizer for correction of blemishes and dust spots. The Kodak
Retouching Colors were formulated during the era of fiber-
base Ektacolor Professional Paper (not to be confused with
the RC-base Ektacolor Professional Paper introduced in
1985), which was marketed before the introduction of Ekta-
color RC papers in 1968. Because of changes in the design
of the paper and/or processing or perhaps simply as a
result of the change from fiber-base to an RC support
the dry retouching colors in the wet-brush mode have often
been associated with severe localized fading and staining
on Ektacolor RC prints, which develop a disconcerting or-
ange-red color in areas where the retouching has been
done. This appears to result from a near-total bleaching of
the cyan dye layer where the retouching colors have been
applied in sufficient concentration to penetrate the emul-
sions layers. In this authors accelerated dark fading tests,
dry Kodak Retouching Colors used in the wet mode caused
rapid cyan-dye fading in Ektacolor 74 RC prints, both when
the dyes were moistened with a solution consisting of one
part water and one part Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer (working
solution) and when moistened with just plain water.
In January 1978 Kodak recommended in some of its
technical publications that wet-mode application of its dry
retouching colors be discontinued:
We have received reports of customers hav-
ing difficulties after using Kodak Retouching
Colors on prints made on Kodak Ektacolor 37
and 74 RC Papers. This difficulty has been in
the form of a red-orange staining in areas re-
touched by the wet-brush technique as outlined
in E70, Retouching Ektacolor Prints.
. . . since all reports have involved the wet-
brush retouching technique, we are suggesting
that the use of the wet-brush technique be dis-
continued with Kodak Retouching Colors.
48
In November 1978 the company announced that, with a
modification of the previous wet-brush procedure, Kodak
Retouching Colors were safe:
Tests now indicate that the Kodak Retouch-
ing Colors may be used successfully in a wet
form if the dyes are diluted with a solution of 30
mL of Kodak Rapid Fixer, Part B [the acid hard-
ener] to 970 mL of water. Note: The working
solution should be changed daily.
49
In late 1981 the company introduced Kodak Liquid Re-
touching Colors, which can be applied with the wet-brush
technique without adverse effects on Ektacolor RC images.
This authors accelerated tests appear to confirm Kodaks
after the print is dry. If spotting dye is spilled on a print, or
if an area is darkened too much by accident, the print
should be rewashed to remove the dye. Most photogra-
phers who dry mount prints prefer to spot the prints after
they are mounted because the moisture released from the
print and mount board when heated during mounting may
cause further absorption of the dye into the emulsion and
therefore slightly change the apparent dye density. Of
course, a mounted print cannot be rewashed in the event of
an overapplication of dye or other accident during spot-
ting. Make sure you have an uncluttered work area for
spotting and place the dye bottle and water container in a
safe place on the upper right side of the print if you are
right-handed, on the upper left side if left-handed where
they are not likely to be knocked over.
Spotting and Retouching Color Prints
Color prints must be spotted with dyes of the appropri-
ate colors, and because the density as well as the color
must be matched, the work is much more difficult than
black-and-white spotting. Color spotting and retouching
dyes are sold by Kodak, Ilford, and a number of other com-
panies.
Ideally, spotting and retouching colors should have the
same light fading and dark-storage stability characteris-
tics as the color print material on which they are applied;
in addition, the dyes should not adversely affect image
dyes. The colors must be transparent and easy to apply.
They should also closely match the spectral characteris-
tics of the image dyes to avoid difficulties when color sepa-
rations are made for photomechanical printing; the colors
may look the same to the human eye, but may separate
differently.
An excellent book on retouching is The Fuji Professional
Retouching Guide, by long-time retouching expert Vilia Reed.
The book, which was published in 1992 by Fuji Photo Film
U.S.A. Inc.,
47
covers retouching techniques for color nega-
tives, color prints, transparencies, and black-and-white films.
Instructional videos on retouching are also available.
Retouching and spotting Dye Transfer prints have tra-
ditionally been done with the same dyes used to make the
prints; this avoids any problems with stability or spectral
differences between image and spotting colors. With Ekta-
color prints and similar chromogenic products, however,
the same dyes that form the image are not suitable for
spotting, and, as might be expected, there are significant
differences in the stability characteristics and other prop-
erties of the dye sets. Apparently, most of the chromoge-
nic dyes in color photographs have very poor stability when
dissolved in solutions and applied to emulsions, and this
has forced the manufacturers to develop other types of
dyes as retouching colors. Kodak Liquid Retouching Col-
ors and Kodak Retouching Colors (dry) are said to be simi-
lar to Dye Transfer dyes and to have light fading charac-
teristics somewhat similar to Ektacolor print images. The
dark fading stability of the retouching colors is believed to
be considerably better than that of Ektacolor image dyes.
Retouching dyes may have adverse effects on color print
images; that is, contact with retouching colors may cause
image dyes to fade or discolor much faster than they other-
wise would. In recent years there has been a significant
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statements that the liquid colors do not harm Ektacolor
images. However, the dry Kodak Retouching Colors are
still available for dry-dye retouching.
This author recommends only Kodak Liquid Retouch-
ing Colors for wet-brush retouching and spotting; other
brands should not be used on Kodak Ektacolor or Ekta-
chrome papers because there is no published information
on their effects on image-dye stability. When having Ekta-
color prints made at a commercial lab, be certain that
spotting and retouching are done with the Kodak liquid
dyes. Kodak took a rather low-key approach in publicizing
the potential problems of its dry colors, and it is likely that
not all photographers and retouchers have heard about the
problems and may be continuing to use the dry colors in
the old wet-brush mode. Kodaks 1987 book Photographic
Retouching, a detailed and generally well-written publica-
tion, is vague on this point.
50
This author also tentatively recommends Kodak Liquid
Retouching Colors for Fujicolor, Konica Color, and Agfa-
color papers, as well as for reversal papers such as Fuji-
chrome Type 35 paper, Agfachrome paper, and Ektachrome
Radiance paper. Kodak Dye Transfer prints should be
spotted and retouched only with the same dyes with which
the prints themselves were made.
Spotting color prints made from transparencies presents
a special problem because dust, lint, scratches, and other
defects reproduce as dark colors or black, instead of as
white or light colors when prints are made from color nega-
tives. To correct defects on prints made from transparen-
cies, opaque colors must be applied. As an alternative, the
spot can be bleached and then the proper color built up
with color dyes.
For retouching Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) print ma-
terials, Ilford supplies a set of transparent Ilfochrome Re-
touching Colors; these are said to have stability character-
istics similar to those of Ilfochrome images. Other re-
touching dyes, such as the Kodak products, should not be
used with Ilfochrome, nor should the Ilfochrome colors be
used with other types of color prints. On request, Ilford
will supply instructions for selective bleaching of the dyes
in Ilfochrome prints for color control or for subsequent
spotting with transparent dyes.
Because of the difficulty in spotting color prints made
from transparencies, special effort should be made to clean
the transparencies before printing. The previously described
liquid-immersion negative carriers can be very helpful in
reducing the effects of scratches. Transparencies should
never be lacquered or coated with other protective sub-
stances unless this is done with materials approved by the
films manufacturer and as a part of original processing in
a properly equipped lab. Unless extreme precautions are
taken, application of lacquer, 3M Photogard, or other coat-
ings will permanently bond dust and lint to the film (see
Chapter 4).
T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F40, Eastman Kodak Com-
2. Jacob Deschin, M.I.T. Starts Archival Photographic Collection, The
New York Times, April 7, 1968, Sec. II, p. 31. Minor White estab-
lished the Creative Photography Laboratory at M.I.T. in 1965. The
Laboratory was abolished by M.I.T. in 1983, at which time the Archi-
val Photography Collection was turned over to the Department of
Architecture. In a statement issued at the opening of the collection,
White said, Until the present time, photographs have been sold to
and collected by private individuals and museums, mounted and
trimmed, packed and stored with interleaving, more or less carefully,
and everyone has been more or less satisfied. Contemporary inves-
tigations of the subject of photographic permanence have made it
clear that the delicate and sulphur-sensitive photographic emulsion
requires special processing and rather elaborate presentation and
storage precautions in order to last. The statement continued,
According to the minimum requirements of the new collection,
photographs must be fully developed, rinsed in acetic acid stop
bath, immersed in two hypo-washes of not more than five minutes
each, selenium-toned for protection, washed for up to six hours
(when using a wash-shortening preparation, triple the wash time
recommended on the bottle), and dried on freshly washed plastic
screens. . . . The prints are to be mounted by a narrow paper hinge,
top or side, on all-rag stock, such as Strathmore Illustration (light
weight) or Bainbridge Museum Stock; finished with a cut-out over-
mat, also of all-rag stock (no dry mounting) and, to prevent curling, a
second fixed and archivally washed piece of unexposed photographic
paper should be pasted onto the back of the print with library paste.
. . . When prints are offered for the collection, M.I.T. will ask for
validated assurance by the photographer that archival processing
has been done.
3. Ansel Adams, The Print, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Mas-
sachusetts, 1983, p. 145.
4. Ansel Adams, see Note No. 3, p. 148.
5. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH4.211989,
American National Standard for Photography (Film) Ther-
mally Activated Dry-Mounting Adhesive Systems for Mounting
Photographs Specifications, American National Standards In-
stitute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; tele-
phone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286.
National Standard for Photography (Processing) Processed
Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and Containers
for Storage, American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West
42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900;
Fax: 212-302-1286.
7. 3M Company, Product Information Scotch Brand Adhesives
and Tapes Aging Properties, 3M Publication XPISA, Professional
and Commercial Products Department, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minne-
sota 55144.
8. Kimberly Scheneck and Constance McCabe, Preliminary Testing of
Adhesives Used in Photographic Conservation, Topics in Photo-
graphic Preservation Volume Three (compiled by Robin E.
Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for
Conservation, 1989, pp. 5261. Available from the American Insti-
tute for Conservation, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636; Fax: 202-232-6630.
9. Nancy Reinhold, An Investigation of Commercially Available Dry
Mount Tissues, Topics in Photographic Preservation Volume
Four (compiled by Robin E. Siegel), Photographic Materials Group
of the American Institute for Conservation, 1991, pp. 1430. Avail-
able from the American Institute for Conservation, Suite 340, 1400
16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636;
Fax: 202-232-6630.
10. Henry Kaska, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, letter
to this author, January 19, 1983.
11. Henry Kaska, see Note No. 10.
12. Eastman Kodak Company, Post-Processing Treatment of Kodak
Ektacolor Papers, Kodak Publication No. E176 (Reference Infor-
mation from Kodak), Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, July 1984, p. 5.
13. Seal Products Incorporated, 550 Spring Street, Naugatuck, Con-
necticut 06770-9985; telephone: 203-729-5201; Fax: 203-729-5639.
14. Ademco-Seal mounting and laminating products are manufactured
by Ademco-Seal Ltd., Chester Hall Lane, Basildon, Essex SS14 3BG,
England; telephone: 011-44-268-287-650.
15. Maurice A. Wilkinson, Technical Development Manager, Seal Prod-
ucts Incorporated, telephone discussions with this author, August
26, 1983 and October 3, 1991.
16. David Vestal, The Art of Black-and-White Enlarging, Harper &
Row, New York, New York, 1984, p. 188. This is an excellent book on
making top-quality black-and-white fiber-base and RC prints.
17. Seal Products Incorporated, advertisement entitled Edward Weston
Preserved, Art Business News, July 1984. The ad showed a print
of Edward Westons Two Shells ready for mounting with Archival-
Mount dry mounting tissue.
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18. Coda Inc., 194 Greenwood Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey 07432;
telephone: 201-244-7755.
19. Robert E. McCumber, 3M Company, letter to this author, March 24,
1975.
20. Roger Jentink, telephone discussion with Carol Brower, May 16,
1985.
21. 3M Company, see Note No. 7.
22. Seal dry mounting presses are manufactured by Seal Products In-
corporated, 550 Spring Street, Naugatuck, Connecticut 06770-9985;
telephone: 203-729-5201; Fax: 203-729-5639. Ademco dry mounting
presses are manufactured by Ademco-Seal Ltd., Chester Hall Lane,
Basildon, Essex SS14 3BG, England; telephone: 011-44-268-287-
650. Bogen dry mounting presses are distributed by Bogen Photo
Corporation, 565 East Crescent Avenue, Box 506, Ramsey, New
Jersey 07446-0506; telephone: 201-818-9500.
23. Precision four-bladed enlarging easels are available from The Saunders
Group, Inc., 21 Jet View Drive, Rochester, New York 14624; tele-
phone: 716-328-7800 (800-828-6214); and from the Kostiner Division
of Omega/Arkay, 191 Shaeffer Avenue, P.O. Box 2078, Wesminister,
Maryland 21158; telephone: 410-857-6353 (800-777-6634).
24. Tempil Division, Big Three Industries, Inc., Hamilton Boulevard, South
Plainfield, New Jersey 07080; telephone: 908-757-8300.
25. Merrily A. Smith, Norvell M. M. Jones, II, Susan L. Page, and Marian
Peck Dirda, Pressure-Sensitive Tape and Techniques for Its Re-
moval From Paper, Journal of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Vol. 23, No. 2, Spring 1984, p. 103. The authors cited:
Robert L. Feller and David B. Encke, Stages in Deterioration: The
Examples of Rubber Cement and Transparent Mending Tape, Sci-
ence and Technology in the Service of Conservation: Preprints
of the Contributions to the Washington Congress, 39 Septem-
ber 1982, London, IIC, 1982, pp. 1923.
26. Suitable gummed cloth tape is available from several sources, in-
cluding: Talas Inc., Ninth Floor, 213 West 35th Street, New York,
New York 10001-1996; telephone: 212-736-7744; and Light Impres-
sions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-
3717; telephone: 716-271-8960 (toll-free outside New York: 800-828-
6216; toll-free inside New York: 800-828-9629).
27. 3M Company, Professional & Commercial Products Dept., 3M Cen-
ter, St. Paul, Minnesota 55144; telephone: 612-733-1110; toll-free
outside Minnesota: 800-328-1600.
28. Merrily A. Smith et al, see Note No. 25, p. 105.
29. David S. Lindsey, 3M Company, letter to this author, March 1975.
30. Merrily A. Smith et al, see Note No. 25, p. 103.
31. Filmoplast and Gudy O products are manufactured by Hans Neschen,
P.O.B. 1340, D4967 Buckeburg, Germany. In the U.S., the products
are distributed by Filmolux (U.S.A.), Inc., 39 Comet Avenue, Buffalo,
New York 14216; telephone: 716-873-3480. The products are sold at
retail by: Talas Inc., Ninth Floor, 213 West 35th Street, New York,
New York 10001-1996; telephone: 212-736-7744; and by: Light Im-
pressions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York
14607-3717; telephone: 716-271-8960 (toll-free outside New York:
800-828-6216; toll-free inside New York: 800-828-9629).
32. Robin Siegel, Conservation Implications of Yellow Sticky Tabs,
Topics in Photographic Preservation Volume Three (com-
piled by Robin E. Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the American
Institute for Conservation, 1989, pp. 6668. Available from the American
Institute for Conservation, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Wash-
ington, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636; Fax: 202-232-6630.
34. Sanford Corporation, 2711 Washington Blvd., Bellwood, Illinois 60104;
telephone: 708-547-6650.
35. Fast-drying stamp-pad inks and ink remover for RC papers may be
obtained from Bunny West Shepherd, BWS Enterprises, 924 Hun-
tington Drive, San Marino, California 91108; telephone: 818-570-
1011. Another ink recommended by Kodak is Kodak No. 85 Ink
(Black) and solvent for Eastman Visible Edge Numbering Machine,
14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
36. The Mark II RC1000 Stamp Pad System is available in any of four
colors for about $30 from Wess Plastic, Inc., 70 Commerce Drive,
Hauppauge, New York 11788-3936; telephone: 516-231-6300; Fax:
516-231-0608.
37. Rexton Series3 stamp-pad ink for RC prints, which is said to dry in
about 3 seconds at room temperature, is available from Rexton
International, P.O. Box 412, Collingswood, New Jersey 08108; tele-
phone: 215-533-5148.
38. Jackson Photomark fast-drying stamp-pad inks for RC papers, ink
solvent (serves as ink remover and stamp-pad re-activator), and
special pre-inked Mark II air-tight stamp pads ($16), rubber stamps,
and related supplies are available from Jackson Marking Products
Co., Brownsville Road, Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864; telephone: 618-
242-1334; toll-free outside Illinois: 800-851-4945. Six Photomark ink
colors are available: black, red, blue, green, purple, and brown (this
author recommends black ink). On request, Jackson will send a
catalog.
39. Staticmaster products, NRD, Inc., Staticmaster Division, 2937 Alp
Blvd., Grand Island, New York 14072; telephone: 716-773-7634.
40. 3M Company, Static Control Systems Division, 6801 Riverpace Blvd.,
Austin, Texas 78726-9000; telephone: 512-984-1200; Cumming Cor-
poration, 9620 Topanga Canyon Place, Chatsworth, California 91311;
telephone: 818-882-0551; Kinetronics Corporation, P.O. Box 6178,
Sarasota, Florida 43278; telephone: 813-388-2432; toll-free outside
Florida: 800-624-3204.
41. Edwal Scientific Products Division of Falcon Safety Products, Inc.,
1065 Bristol Road, P.O. Box 1129, Mountainside, New Jersey 07092;
telephone: 201-233-5000.
42. Carlwen Industries, Inc., 11008 Fawsett Road, Potomac, Maryland
20854; telephone: 301-469-6671.
43. Retouch Methods Company, Inc., P.O. Box 345, Chatham, New Jer-
sey 07928; telephone: 201-377-1184.
44. David Vestal, see Note No. 16.
45. Ansel Adams, see Note No. 3.
46. Retouch Methods Company, Inc., telephone discussion with this
author, 1976.
47. Vilia Reed, The Fuji Professional Retouching Guide, Fuji Photo
Film U.S.A. Inc., 1992. Instructional videos which cover retouching
color negatives and color prints are also available for use in con-
junction with the book. Available from Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc.,
555 Taxter Road, Elmsford, New York 10523; telephone: 914-789-
8201 (toll-free: 800-755-3854).
48. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Tips, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, JanuaryFebruary 1978, p. 12.
49. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Tips, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, November 1978, p. 5.
50. Vilia Reed, Photographic Retouching, Kodak Publication No. E
97, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, August 1987,
pp. 4855.
W. J. Barrow, Migration of Impurities in Paper, Archivum, Vol. 3, 1953,
pp. 105108.
T. J. Collings, Archival Care of Still Photographs, Society of Archivists
Information Leaflet No. 2, Society of Archivists, 56 Ellin Street, Sheffield
S1 4PL, England, 1986.
Laurence E. Keefe, Jr. and Dennis Inch, The Life of a Photograph,
second edition, Focal Press, Boston, Massachusetts and London,
England, 1990.
Eastman Kodak Company, Quality Enlarging with Kodak B/W Papers,
Kodak Publication No. G1, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,
New York, May 1982.
Eastman Kodak Company, Retouching Black-and-White Negatives
and Prints, Kodak Publication No. O10, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, March 1983.
Raymond H. Lafontaine, The Lightfastness of Felt-Tip Pens, Journal of
the International Institute of Conservation, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1979,
pp. 916.
Library of Congress, Procedures for Marking Manuscripts, Preserva-
tion Leaflet Series, Office of the Assistant Director for Preservation,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., July 1, 1976.
Thomas Maffeo, How to Dry Mount, Texturize, and Protect with Seal,
Seal Products Incorporated, Naugatuck, Connecticut, 1981.
Polaroid Corporation, Storing, Handling, and Preserving Polaroid
Photographs: A Guide, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts, 1983.
James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic
Prints, Kodak Publication No. G2S, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, 1986.
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Introduction
The survival of original photographs requires a solid
appreciation of their value. This begins with the photo-
graphic manufacturers, who must produce inherently stable
color and black-and-white materials. It is then the photo-
graphers responsibility to select the most stable materials
available and to process them correctly. Thereafter, proper
display and storage, and careful handling, will be required
throughout a photographs existence to prevent otherwise
inevitable damage and deterioration.
Making top-quality photographic prints is an exacting
process. This chapter is concerned with the intimate physical
care of such prints: It tells why it is necessary to provide
individual physical protection for valued photographs and
illustrates how conservation matting can make an impor-
tant contribution to both their preservation and presenta-
tion. The text is divided into four sections which deal with
Attitudes and Practices, Aesthetic Considerations,
Mount Boards, and Mat Construction.
Although general recommendations can be made for
the handling, mounting, display, and storage of artistic and
historical works on any type of paper, photographic papers
require special consideration because of their unique physical
characteristics. For example, most photographs cannot be
flexed without risking damage to the emulsion, and finger-
prints leave their mark more readily on photographs than
on most other kinds of paper. Photographic images are
very sensitive to contamination by certain kinds of chemi-
cals; therefore, the materials that will come into contact
with photographs, or will be used in their vicinity, must be
selected very carefully.
Photographic conservation is a relatively new field, and
because of the many unanswered questions about the in-
teractions between the various types of photographic ma-
terials and mount boards, papers, adhesives, tapes, polyes-
ters, and so forth, few absolute statements can be made as
to which materials and practices are best. Sufficient infor-
mation is available, however, to allow certain recommen-
dations which, when followed with an ever-vigilant attitude
of care and caution, can contribute much to preserving
photographs.
This chapter is addressed to a wide range of people
active in fine art, historical, and professional photography
fields; this includes the manufacturers and distributors of
the many products used by photographers and those who
collect and care for photographs. Unless otherwise noted,
quotes are taken from among the 65 individuals who re-
sponded in full to this authors survey, The Care and Pre-
Photographs in this chapter were taken
by Carol Brower, except where noted.
12. The Handling, Presentation, and
Conservation Matting of Photographs
By Carol Brower
sentation of Photographic Prints (see Appendix 12.1).
Although many outside references are cited, this chapter
draws chiefly on this authors experience during the past
21 years in providing conservation matting for a colorful
segment of the photographic art community centered in
New York City.
1
Section One: Attitudes and Practices
Regarding the Care of Photographs
To a great extent, the value of an object, whether artis-
tic or historical, depends on its physical condition. Obvi-
ously, historical photographs are more valuable when in
perfect condition, but it is usually possible to obtain from
them the desired information despite cracked emulsions,
scratches, or fingerprints. With a work of art, however,
deterioration changes its very essence, and defects of con-
dition cannot be overlooked.
This authors experiences with fine art photographers,
curators, collectors, and dealers have, with some excep-
tions, revealed a high level of concern about the physical
condition of photographic prints and their proper care. More
than three out of four respondents to this authors survey
said that print condition is usually very important when
they are purchasing photographs; another 20% replied that
it is very important sometimes. Only 3 individuals (less
than 5%) wrote that it is not very important; those 3 were
photographers. Writing in the June 1986 issue of American
Photographer, Bonnie Barrett Stretch noted the connec-
tion between rising prices, print connoisseurship, and
increased concern regarding photographic preservation in
the photography art market: Top dealers are no longer
satisfied to get a great image; they want a print to be
exceptionally well made, in excellent condition.
2
In response to another survey question, a significant
majority felt that all people who are involved with histori-
cal and artistic photographs have a responsibility for their
preservation. About 10% said that collectors and museums
alone should bear this responsibility. Peter MacGill, Di-
rector of the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York City and a
dealer with experience in many areas related to fine art
photography, said, Each time a photograph changes hands,
the responsibility for its preservation is passed along with
it. All of our photographs receive the best possible care,
and every major photograph we sell is accompanied by a
written evaluation of its condition, prepared for us by one
of the foremost experts in paper conservation, Betty Fiske.
Important works must be preserved, otherwise were not
doing our jobs.
3
Unfortunately, the eventual importance of a photograph
or other artwork is usually not evident when it is made.
Artist Peter Wilsey commented, In Leonardos case, he
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phers have become aware that among available color print
materials some products are much longer lasting than oth-
ers and that there are significant differences in light fading
and dark fading stability. For example, it is well documented
that color photographs printed on Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC
Paper can fade perceptibly if displayed under common con-
ditions in as little as 3 or 4 years; worse, they suffer signifi-
cant cyan dye loss and start to shift toward red in less than
10 years even when stored in the dark at room tempera-
tures. (Ektacolor 74 RC Paper was replaced in 1985 with
Ektacolor Professional Paper, a product that has signifi-
cantly better stability in dark storage, but only marginally
improved light fading stability see Chapters 3 and 5.)
It has also been noted that Polaroid Spectra instant
prints (called Image prints in Europe), SX-70 prints, Pola-
color 2, and Polacolor ER prints have comparatively poor
image stability when exposed to light on display.
In recent years many articles in the photographic press
have helped publicize the previously little-known fact that
Cibachrome (renamed Ilfochrome in 1991) and Kodak Dye
Transfer prints are essentially permanent in room-tem-
perature dark storage, and that it is not true, as some
people think, that all color photographs fade. UltraStable
People of all ages, walks of life, and nationalities visit The Edward Steichen Photography Center at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City. The exhibition above, William Rau and the Railroad, was on view from July 2 to September 29, 1987.
As was the case with this exhibit, most photographs displayed in museums are conservation matted and framed under glass
or Plexiglas acrylic sheet.
The Handling, Presentation, and Conservation Matting of Photographs Chapter 12 394
probably didnt know that people would still be amazed by
The Last Supper 500 years after his death. . . . [Also,]
sometimes things which were created casually become im-
portant later on.
Growing Concern About the Conservation
of Photographs
Photographers alive today benefit from the fact that
many people, including photographic manufacturers, are
showing increased concern for the stability and preserva-
tion of photographs. Museums have become aware of the
special procedures necessary to preserve color photographs
and some farsighted institutions, including the John F. Ken-
nedy Library, the Jimmy Carter Library, the Art Institute
of Chicago, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Mu-
seum of Modern Art in New York City, and the National
Gallery of Canada, have installed cold storage facilities to
assure the long-term survival of the ever-increasing num-
bers of color photographs in their collections.
For the first time in history, significant information is
now available regarding the long-term stability character-
istics of most photographic materials, and many photogra-
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Permanent Color Prints and Polaroid Permanent-Color
Prints, both of which employ extremely stable pigments
instead of the organic dyes used in most other color pro-
cesses, may be displayed for hundreds of years under typi-
cal conditions without noticeable fading.
When individuals were asked in the survey, In general,
do you feel that a photographer should be informed in ad-
vance about the stability aspects of the materials he or she
intends to use (e.g., potential problems with black-and-
white RC papers; potential fading of colored mat boards)?
more than 90% said yes. All 10 individuals representing
the conservation field said yes. All 65 respondents had an
opinion on the subject, including such written comments
as Of course! and Always! Arnold Newman, the well-
known portrait photographer, wrote Absolutely!
These feelings were elaborated by Susan Harder, a print
curator, dealer, and former Director of the Susan Harder
Gallery in New York City, who wrote, I feel strongly that
manufacturers must inform accurately (or bear the conse-
quences of misinformation) the purchasers of their prod-
ucts, and give them information as to archival qualities. I
also feel strongly that artists, dealers and collectors must
inform potential buyers, or recipients, about the archival
qualities of the pictures, their chemical history, so to say.
Peter Wilsey pointed out, I think we all wish that Leonardo
had painted The Last Supper on canvas instead of a wall,
but he didnt know what would eventually happen to it.
Henry Wilhelm voiced his conviction that it is vitally
important for photographers to be informed of stability
factors in advance, but added:
Aesthetic considerations are very important
too. If Vericolor III negatives printed on Fuji-
color paper give the kind of luminous color and
long-scale tone reproduction the photographer
wants, then these materials are probably what
should be used. Fujichrome, Ektachrome, or
Kodachrome transparencies printed on Ciba-
chrome [Ilfochrome] afford more stable images,
but the visual result may not be what the pho-
tographer prefers. The photographer should
make the final decision as to which materials
to use, but it should be an informed decision.
4
Among photographers the degree of concern about sta-
bility varies considerably. According to photographer and
Professor of Art Thomas Barrow,
5
information about the
stability characteristics of the materials used by photogra-
phers does not make much difference to many of them.
Miles Barth, Curator of Archives and Collections at the
International Center of Photography in New York City, wrote,
Artists and photographers can be stubborn, even when
informed. Three-quarters of the people questioned said
they know photographers who are not concerned with the
quality of mats and other aspects of presentation. All pho-
tographers participating in the survey, however, said that
they wanted to be informed of stability characteristics of
the materials they select to use.
Artist Don Rodan shared his thoughts on the subject:
It is first the artists responsibility to con-
sider the most permanent materials available
and to store, conserve, and present his or her
prints in the most protective manner possible.
If the artist takes these concerns seriously, prob-
ably his dealer and possibly his collectors will.
It has been my experience that many collec-
tors are more concerned with edition size than
with the permanence of the image while more
recently more (or at least a few) art dealers
are encouraging their artists to print on more
permanent materials when using color. These
issues are related to both business and poster-
ity in varying degrees to each concerned.
Writer, curator, and collector Pepe Karmel expressed
similar thoughts:
As long as a photographer works in a stable
medium and follows archival processing proce-
dures, he or she should be free to create with-
out constraints. The collector or curator should
try to follow the artists desires regarding pre-
sentation as far as possible and archivally pref-
erable. I think photographers should, however,
give more forethought than they perhaps do to
the question of unstable media. They have a
responsibility both to themselves and to mu-
seums and collectors to create images that
are worth preserving and also capable of being
preserved.
Handling Photographs
After a print has been made, the quality of its presenta-
tion and the prospect for its long-term survival ultimately
depend on the attitudes of its caretakers. The best and
worst of attitudes, as well as ignorance, are reflected in the
ways in which photographs are handled.
For example, only 6% of the surveys respondents ob-
served that most people viewing historical and artistic pho-
tographs always wash their hands before handling prints.
This 6% represented major institutions and galleries whose
curatorial policies require staff and visitors to do so when
using their collections. Unfortunately, most people do not
independently elect to wash their hands or to put on gloves
before touching photographs. Therefore, where such a
curatorial policy exists, it must be actively enforced to be
effective. Nearly 80% of survey respondents said that they
thought most people were not even conscious of the way
they hold photographic prints, matted or unmatted.
Fingerprints, creases, cracks, and scratches are among
the most commonly seen forms of physical damage to pho-
tographs. Nearly all of these could be prevented by con-
servation matting, or by enclosing the prints in polyester
sleeves, and by always handling them very carefully and
only with freshly washed hands. Clean, well-fitting gloves
should also be available at all times.
Unfortunately, only five surveyed individuals said that
in their experience most people usually wear gloves while
handling unprotected prints. Roy L. Perkinson, Conserva-
tor at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, offered an expla-
nation: People often feel that gloves make it difficult to
handle prints, to study them, and to write information down
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Physical Damage
Cracked and Torn Print. Front and back views of an unmounted double-weight, fiber-base black-and-white
print by Tod Papageorge that was damaged inside a standard print drawer in a gallery.

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Cracked Emulsion. Detail of a double-weight,
fiber-base black-and-white print by Lee Friedlander
that was damaged in transit when one gallery loaned
the unmatted, unmounted print to another gallery.

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Semicircular Thumb-crease. Detail of an 8x10-
inch, double-weight, fiber-base black-and-white print
by Harry Callahan that was handled improperly.
Photographers spend painstaking energy and enormous amounts of time making fine prints. When a finished
print is damaged through careless handling or improper packaging, the photographer suffers regardless of who
owns the print. The most common forms of damage include fingerprints, cracked corners, and creases. The all-
too-familiar semicircular thumb-crease is caused by holding a print in the wrong place with only one hand or with
too much force; single-weight, fiber-base prints and RC prints are particularly vulnerable to this form of damage.
at the same time.
6
Perkinson reported that visitors to the
Museum are instructed in advance on the proper handling
of prints. More than 95% of the photography collection is
overmatted, and no print may be handled directly if it is not
overmatted. The Museum uses polyester enclosures for
temporary storage of its photographic prints and for per-
manent housing of a small percentage of the collection.
The habit and skill of wearing properly fitted gloves
while handling photographs can be learned and should be
a normal procedure in institutions, particularly when work-
ing in files where prints are not physically protected by
polyester sleeves or mats. Henry Wilhelm said:
Many people hate to wear these gloves. . . .
You have to consider how many times the pho-
tograph may be handled if it is going to be kept
for the next 500 years. All of the damage adds
up very slowly, but eventually it will severely
harm the photograph. Unfortunately, the pho-
tographs that get handled the most are the most
valuable ones, the ones people want to see and
use the most.
7
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Causes and Prevention of Print Damage
When individuals were asked about their experiences
with the causes and prevention of print damage, problems
arising from improper handling were significant. For ex-
ample, Peter Wilsey, artist and a former Light Gallery as-
sociate, noted that customers at Light rendered several
prints unsaleable because of their improper handling (No
names!) and impatience when viewing. Victor Schrager,
photographer and a former director of Light Gallery, said,
People hold prints improperly. . . by the corners, and with
one hand. Photographer and educator Harold Jones
8
em-
phasized: People should always use two hands to handle
all photographs.
Ignorance was considered the greatest potential threat
to photographs after improper processing and improper storage
conditions. People generally do not know how to handle
prints plain and simple, wrote artists representative
Rick Wester. Curator Marvin Heiferman advocates giv-
ing people specific instructions before allowing them to
handle prints,
9
and photographer Allen Schill believes that
a good approach to preventing damage involves establish-
ing environments (galleries, conservation studios, etc.)
wherein proper care is the rule, expected of everyone.
This attitude is shared by many people, but, unfortu-
nately, such expectations and rules are still unstated or
unenforced in most situations. Sculptor, painter, and pho-
tographer William Christenberry said, Insensitivity in han-
dling on the part of most people who deal with photographs
causes print damage. I have had less problems with fellow
photographers than with curators, dealers, etc. An ex-
treme example of carelessness was cited by publisher
Caldecot Chubb: Someone sat on a Dye Transfer print in
my sight in a gallery.
10
The making of a fine print is a painstaking experience
for many photographers, but they too can be guilty of mis-
handling photographs. Photographer Ani Rivera remarked,
As soon as the photographic paper is taken out of its box
for exposure under the enlarger, creases, bends, finger-
prints, and cracks can occur. After completing prints to
their satisfaction, some photographers, such as Dorothea
von Haeften and Marie-Claire Montanari, arrange to have
the work conservation matted before any other person may
handle it. Unfortunately, most people are not as conscien-
tious, and few photographs are in perfect condition by the
time they are matted. The vast majority of prints, both old
and new, are marred in some way, whether they come from
photographers, printers, dealers, or collectors.
Damage to Prints Sent Out for Publication
In response to one survey question, Helen Levitt re-
plied that when some of her prints were loaned to publish-
ers for reproduction, they came back to her with cracked
emulsions but that when the prints were matted before-
hand they were returned in their original good condition,
although some of the mats were damaged. Harry Callahan
indicated that magazines had damaged some of his prints.
Other photographers shared similar experiences.
Andy Grundberg, writer and a photography critic for
The New York Times, recognizes the potential hazards of
loaning and borrowing prints; for reproduction purposes
he makes copy prints and transparencies. Grundberg said,
At Modern Photography where I was picture editor for
eleven years, we sometimes had problems with prints sent
out for reproduction. Once a batch of originals borrowed
from a gallery was ruined when a photostat house made
notations on each print with a ballpoint pen. Other prints
suffered physical damage from printers, who seemed gen-
erally unaware of the value of photographic originals. In
recent years I have avoided these problems by not repro-
ducing originals. Quality may suffer but the prints dont.
11
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to use copies.
For example, book publishers often prefer to make half-
tones and separations directly from original prints. In 1977
and 1978, Michael Hoffman and Carole Kismaric, acting on
behalf of the Paul Strand Estate and Aperture, Inc., sent
both vintage and modern Paul Strand photographs to this
author to be conservation matted before they were sent
out to have halftones made for publication. It was believed
that the mats would probably be damaged and need replac-
ing but that conservation matting should be done in the
usual manner in order to protect the prints from direct
handling and potential damage.
Fine art consultant and writer Peter C. Jones pointed
out, in addition to the above concerns, that a great many
pictures are damaged in shipment, which is the most vul-
nerable time for any work of art.
Since highly valued photographs will probably be handled
frequently and can also be expected to travel, the expense
involved in protecting them is a necessary and worthwhile
investment. Use of a collection generally contributes to a
greater appreciation of it, but handling and traveling will
decrease its value when prints are damaged. Even if they
have been duplicated, original prints must be safeguarded
at all times because of the loss of image quality and the
physical changes inherent in any duplication process. The
long-term effects of handling must be considered well in
advance, and every collector and institution should protect
their valued holdings against the hazards of use.
Conservation Matting as One Way
To Protect Prints
Conservation matting is often a good initial step in the
overall plan for protecting valuable prints from direct han-
dling and also from some of the consequences of cycling
relative humidity, such as print curling and warping. When
a collection contains thousands of prints that have not been
collected with the primary intention of exhibiting them,
however, matting is not practical. Gary Albright, Conser-
vator at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in
Andover, Massachusetts, noted, Mats are only one stor-
age possibility. For many institutions mats are financially
out of the question as well as unfeasible for other reasons
(large amounts of space required, etc.). As an alternative
to matting, institutions may prefer polyester enclosures
which are more economical in terms of cost and space.
Even for temporary and infrequent display of selected
prints and documents from within such an archive, how-
ever, conservation matting will sometimes be necessary.
Every collecting institution should have a conservation
matting and framing department or enlist the services of
qualified people who can help care for its collection and for
prints it has obtained on loan.
12
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The Individual Collector
The individual or private collector may elect to have
many, if not all, prints matted since the collection will be
handled, displayed, loaned, and sold without the restraints
common in institutions. For example, the owner may show
photographs to guests on a moments notice, change the
selection of framed images displayed on walls in the home
or office, lend prints to a curator for exhibition, submit
prints to an auction for sale, or supply original and irre-
placeable material for publication. In all situations, the
collector needs to protect his or her property.
Matting prints, compared with other methods of physi-
cal protection, such as enclosing them in polyester, is par-
ticularly desirable for the individual collector. Matting can
enhance the joy of ownership by encouraging the intimate
visual study of the print as a physical object: the prints
surface texture and finish, its tones, and its image details
may be appreciated without the inevitable loss of clarity
caused by polyester enclosures, by the milky translucence
of polyethylene bags, or by the normally reflective cover-
ing of glass or Plexiglas that is necessary in frames. The
viewing of prints is a sensual experience for many people,
and mats permit easy visual access to the print while also
providing physical protection.
For some people, however, even an open mat hinders
full enjoyment. For them, unobstructed viewing must in-
clude unobstructed handling, and neither conservation
matting nor any other form of physical protection is appro-
priate. For example, although well-known collector Samuel
Wagstaff admitted being more comfortable holding a print
protected by a mat or a polyester sleeve than he was hold-
ing an unprotected print, he remarked that its much more
fun the naked way. Many people share his view that pho-
tographs require tactile as well as visual appreciation.
Every manner of intimate handling is, of course, a privi-
lege which carries with it a responsibility to safeguard the
condition of the print. A good approach to satisfying col-
lectors, whose feelings are similar to Wagstaffs, as well as
their prints need for physical protection, is to design and
construct mats or enclosures in ways which facilitate the
safe removal and replacement of prints.
Matting and Framing a Personal Collection
Ideally, a print should already be conservation matted
at the time it is purchased or borrowed, and more than
three-quarters of the surveys respondents who buy photo-
graphs said they wanted to receive their prints in mats at
the time of purchase.
It cannot be assumed, however, that every professional
framer is familiar with the materials or methods required
for the proper mounting of photographs, or that framers
will always know when mounting is correct and when it is
potentially dangerous. In fact, even in museums and gal-
leries, the people responsible for matting and framing can
be equally uninformed, or may not be able to apply their
expertise in every situation. For example, several private
collectors who lend their prints to museums for public dis-
play remarked that their conservation mats were discarded
and replaced with new but poorly constructed mats by
borrowers who set out to standardize the presentation of
their exhibitions.
Significant time and money are often spent by institu-
tions in well-intentioned efforts to care for prints on loan.
However, deadlines, difficulty obtaining proper materials,
special requirements, inadequate facilities, and insufficient
funding, as well as ignorance, will contribute to poor-qual-
ity matting and framing. Furthermore, when there is a
high turnover of works, staffs may not be able to correctly
mat and frame every print. For example, the following
statement appeared in an exhibition and auction announce-
ment distributed by the Milwaukee Center for Photogra-
phy: Photographs are sold in the mats in which they exist.
MCP does not take any responsibility for the appearance of
the mats or for their conformity to proper standards of
conservation.
13
In the general marketplace, countless fine prints have
been entrusted to well-meaning framers who have sealed
the prints in attractive but unintentionally (and invisibly)
destructive units constructed of harmful glues, tapes, and
groundwood or other high-lignin-content papers that have
led to the works deterioration, discoloration, or disfigure-
ment. Many framers, gallery personnel, and others have
also damaged prints by trimming photographic paper and
Most major museums today have
conservation departments staffed
by individuals who provide matting
and framing for the institutions hold-
ings and for prints obtained on loan
for exhibition purposes. Pictured
right is James Iska, Preparator for
the Department of Photography at
the Art Institute of Chicago, dem-
onstrating archival matcutting in the
photographic conservation lab.
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#127
73%
Home of the Jedermann Collection . . .
original mounts that contained historical information, be-
ing tempted for economic reasons to fit prints into existing
frames. Damage can also result if hinges are applied to
photographs incorrectly or when they are inappropriate.
To better judge whether a print has been mounted and
overmatted properly, it should be inspected before it is
framed.
Fortunately, framers are becoming increasingly aware
of the need for conservation materials and methods. Most
professional framers are willing to discuss their approach
to conservation mounting and framing, and will offer their
customers a choice from a variety of materials and meth-
ods that might be used to mount photographs. The follow-
ing thoughts were expressed by Thomas Barrow:
Every artist should have a good knowledge
of how his work can be prepared for exhibition.
This is particularly true for those in the area of
works on paper. The next best thing is to have
someone. . . [who] can be trusted implicitly to
take the work and make it ready for exhibition.
I am certain this will have to be the direction of
the future failing this a great deal of art will
be lost to the masking tape-chipboard framers.
And the sad thing about that is that the private
collector is the biggest loser the one area
that artists really need to have their works thrive,
since they support living art more strongly than
any institution.
Private Collections: Two Approaches
Various approaches have been taken to caring for pho-
tographic art. The owners of the Jedermann Collection
have demonstrated exceptional care for their photographs
by matting and framing every print individually, with con-
cern for overall aesthetics as well as for conservation, af-
ter studying each photographers history and intentions.
Their house has become a private museum for their photo-
graphs, which are carefully integrated with other works of
art, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics, and
rare books. The collection is displayed in a combination of
controlled incandescent tungsten and UV-filtered indirect
daylight illumination. In addition, their house is equipped
with elaborate temperature, humidity, and dust controls.
In a different approach, another family of collectors,
who also wish to remain anonymous, have conservation
matted their large collection of historical and contempo-
rary photographs in nearly all standard sizes. This en-
ables them to keep a minimum number of frames and fa-
cilitates the exchange of prints on display for prints in
storage. It also encourages the owners to lend their prints
frequently to museum curators for public exhibition. Their
system ensures that their prints are not only well pro-
tected, but are also easily stored, quickly accessed, and
promptly displayed when desired creating, in the rooms
of their house, numerous galleries of ever-changing ex-
hibits. In their words: We would like to simplify our sys-
tem even more. If it were possible to mat and frame every
print in one suitable standard size, we would do so.
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is made. Just as a watercolor painting of a pear will be
different from an oil painting of the same pear, so too will
the pear look different if it has been photographed with
color negative film and printed on Ektacolor paper or pho-
tographed with a transparency film and printed on Ilfo-
chrome. A Polaroid instant color print will produce yet
another rendition of the pear. Finally, whatever the se-
lected print material, it will have a different appearance
when overmatted, framed, and displayed on a museum wall
than when mounted in a photograph album.
Perhaps this should not be the case, but life is full of
visually persuasive factors that are introduced intention-
ally and unintentionally by creators and caretakers
and affect people both consciously and subconsciously. With-
out discussing all the various ways in which we are influ-
enced, it should suffice to point out that the manner and
form in which a created work is presented preconditions
how (and how well) the viewer perceives the image and, to
some extent, reshapes the original meaning. In addition,
interest in any photograph can be sustained, increased, or
diminished depending on how frequently it is viewed. It
makes no difference whether it is a privately or publicly
held work of art, a historical document, a journalistic pho-
tograph, or a family portrait. One has only to ask the
following questions to measure the value of a given picture
at a given time: Is the work displayed, or is it in storage?
What is its physical condition? Who sees it? How often?
Does anyone know where it is or that it even still exists?
In short, if a work is carefully presented, it is more
likely to receive proper attention. The attitudes of photog-
raphers, curators, and caretakers, therefore, profoundly
affect how faithfully preserved are the photographers original
intentions, how a photograph is perceived and received by
its audience, and, ultimately, how long a print will remain
in satisfactory condition.
The Photographers Intent
and Curatorial Decisions
Before any specific measures are taken to preserve in-
dividual fine art photographs, the photographers inten-
tions about the presentation of his or her work should be
understood. Photographers often have specific ideas on
the subject of mounting, and these ideas should be fol-
lowed whenever possible particularly because matting
and other aspects of presentation may vary considerably
when the decisions are left to curators or collectors, among
whom a print will change hands many times during its
existence.
In addition, because aesthetics and conservation are
often interdependent, the photographer who is informed
about the stability aspects of different mounting materials
and procedures, as well as the stability characteristics of
the print materials themselves, would naturally be the pre-
ferred final judge regarding both the preservation and the
presentation of his work. Michelangelo and his cohorts
knew a great deal about materials it is part of an artists
craft. It does not have to hinder creativity or invention,
writer Irene Borger reminds us.
Unfortunately, most photographers are not well enough
informed to make aesthetic decisions that will also pro-
mote the long-term preservation of their work. Product
. . . Johanna in the hallway.
Section Two: Aesthetic Considerations
and Conservation Requirements
The Function of Presentation
Respect for a photograph is nowhere more evident than
in its presentation. To a significant extent, presentation
influences the viewers perception of a picture. Poor pre-
sentation can undermine proper appreciation of a photo-
graph as well as of the photographers intent. In fact,
sometimes a picture may not even be noticed or an exhibi-
tion may not be viewed in its entirety if the presentation is
not carefully planned and skillfully executed. In addition,
the kind and degree of attention that a photograph re-
ceives often depends on how and where the viewer encoun-
ters it. The taking of a photograph is conditioned by the
environment in which the photographer lives and works;
similarly, an audiences perception of a photograph is af-
fected by the viewing environment. For example, lighting
may be inadequate, the pictures may be hung too low on
the wall for most viewers, the mats and frames may appear
too large, or the pictures may be spaced too closely or too
far apart. The glass may be greenish, the mats may have
discolored, and the frames may fail to complement the
pictures or simply overwhelm them.
Ideas, information, and expressions of beauty that are
communicated through the photographic medium are also
shaped by the particular process by which the photograph
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manufacturers are largely responsible for this because of
the frequent absence of accurate and complete informa-
tion about the stability characteristics of their products.
In addition, many people fail to communicate what they
know about preservation to others. For example, curators
and conservators who safeguard prints and prepare exhi-
bitions are usually aware of a number of suitable mounting
methods. They often, however unintentionally, impose their
own highly defined values on the mounting by not discuss-
ing alternative approaches with the photographer. Not
even the photographer can know in advance without care-
ful consideration what will look best and be best for a print.
Information about conservation practices and procedures,
stability data, available types and sizes of mount boards and
frames, restrictions imposed in an exhibition area, finan-
cial considerations, and so on should be made available to
exhibiting photographers. Collaboration gives everyone
an opportunity to share his and/or her particular expertise
and can be of value to all. After a plan for mounting,
matting, and framing a work has been agreed upon, it should
not be altered by anyone without further consultation.
Once in a great while, a curator will create a situation
for which the rules have to be rewritten. One such person
is Doris C. ONeil, Director of Vintage Prints and former
Chief of the Life Picture Collection. Starting in 1979 with
LIFE: The First Decade, ONeil began organizing museum
exhibitions of photographs carefully selected from the many
outstanding images taken on assignment for LIFE maga-
zine since its beginning in 1936. By having these pictures
matted, framed, and displayed in a manner previously re-
served for fine art, ONeil succeeded not only in returning
the images to the public and reviving interest in them but
also in creating a new audience and a fresh perspective.
Collaboration
There are many viewpoints regarding the photographers
responsibility toward the presentation of his or her work.
Harold Jones remarked, He or she [the photographer]
should be the person to make the decisions. It is the curators
or directors job to work it out from there. Susan Harder
felt strongly that the presentation is the ultimate concern
of the owner. Another dealer said, The artist has to be
able to release his work to the care and responsibility of
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View of the Laurence Miller Gallery in New York City as visitors began to arrive to preview the group exhibition Exposed
and Enveloped, curated by Matthew Postal, in June 1987. Laurence Miller, Director of the gallery, said, This space was
designed to be inviting and to enhance the art I show. Exhibitions such as Exposed and Enveloped give us the
opportunity to explore the many ways in which a photograph can be used for meaningful expression . . . works that range
from the journalistic for example, Larry Burrowss color photographs of the Vietnam War to the manipulated and
fabricated, such as Gary Brotmeyers one-of-a-kind photographic collages. This diversity of work and the personalities of
the artists that make it are what give me the greatest pleasure in running the gallery.
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others who know their business. This is my gallery and I
want to hang exhibitions without interference. Im not
here to be the artists servant. (This statement was not
made in the survey.)
Photographer and photography historian Beaumont
Newhall wrote on the subject:
Edward Weston preferred to present his work
simply mounted on good quality board, and when
we exhibited them at The Museum of Modern
Art they were framed without mats. Our Stieglitz
collection was originally in the very frames that
Stieglitz designed. I built clothlined boxes in
which to store them. I think it is the curators
responsibility to respect the artists judgment.
I know how upset Alfred Stieglitz was [some 45
years ago] when the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts put all his photographs under uniform size
mounts. The very size of a mount was always
specified by Paul Strand, down to the millime-
ter. On the other hand, Cartier-Bresson pre-
fers unmounted prints, and his archive in the
DeMenil Foundation in Houston preserves them
in this form.
14
(Curators and conservators currently associated with the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston informed this author that
the Museums Stieglitz collection is, and has been for at
least 20 years, given the individual attention that Stieglitz
demanded.)
Portfolios
If the photographer is directly involved in the produc-
tion of his or her work, the various elements of a portfolio
including the case, the mounts, the overmats, the inter-
leaving paper, the text, and so forth become an authentic
extension of the work contained within. Emily Aronson of
DEP Editions in New York City recognized this and let the
photographers make nearly all decisions regarding the de-
sign and format of their own portfolios. For example, in
late 1982, she produced the Trilogy Portfolio by Ralph Gibson
according to the photographers wishes. It consisted of
three individual portfolios of pictures selected from Gib-
While the Mark Klett exhibition of Kodak Dye Transfer, Ektacolor, and black-and-white prints was still hanging at New Yorks
Pace/MacGill Gallery in June 1987, Director Peter MacGill and his staff started planning the next show of Dye Transfer and
Ektacolor prints by photographer Joe Maloney. Exhibitions here and at most New York galleries typically run for about one
month. MacGill (right) lays out each exhibit at least three times before the actual hanging begins, saying: We want to
arrange the pictures so that theres a visual continuity but not a visual passivity. There shouldnt be a lull in the viewing. The
grouping should have impact, like the way Muhammad Ali used to box. He is absolutely my inspiration for hanging shows.
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sons three books: The Somnambulist (1970), Deja-Vu (1973),
and Days at Sea (1975). Gibson made all the aesthetic
decisions, including the selection of fabric in three differ-
ent colors to cover the portfolios. The titles were printed
on the spine of the cases as if they, too, were books.
In another example of collaboration, a compromise was
reached between photographer Larry Fink, publisher Sidney
Singer, and this author regarding the mounting of Finks
portfolio, Social Graces.
15
Most of the image sizes are
about 14x14 inches on 16x20-inch photographic paper. Be-
cause the weight, thickness, and size of each individual
portfolio was a critical factor, everyone agreed that the
size of the mounts should not exceed 16x20 inches and that
the prints would be dry mounted on 16x20-inch pieces of 4-
ply 100% cotton fiber board without overmatting. This au-
thor recommended that the photographic paper be trimmed
approximately
1
2 inch on each side before dry mounting to
provide a recess from the edges of the mount board, thereby
protecting the edges of the photographic paper.
Both Fink and Singer objected to the look. Singer
preferred the dry mounting format used by Ansel Adams,
Bill Brandt, Edward Weston, and a great many other pho-
tographers, so he would have liked Finks prints mounted
in the same manner. This traditional style of dry mounting
involves trimming off all the blank borders so that only the
image area remains, and then mounting the print in the
desired position on a piece of board. The result can be
very attractive; however, it exposes the edges of the image
and makes them much more vulnerable to damage.
Larry Fink did not accept either format. He disliked the
frame created by the board around the edges of the pho-
tographic paper, and also said that his placement of the
image on the photographic paper was important. To re-
move more than
1
4 inch of the blank photographic pa-
per, which has a unique surface and is also an integral part
of the print, would violate his overall aesthetics.
We all compromised. The prints were trimmed approxi-
mately
1
8 inch for the following reasons: (1) to match the
size of the photographic paper and the dry mounting tissue
(manufacturers standard sizes often vary slightly); (2) to
prevent the photographic paper from extending beyond
the edges of the mounts; and (3) to help prevent damage to
the edges of the photographic paper.
This style of mounting created more work for Fink be-
cause, inevitably, the wide borders surrounding the im-
ages of some prints had slight stains, creases, or scratches.
Fewer prints would have needed reprinting if they had
been trimmed to the edges of the image. It also created
more work for Arnon Ben-David and Ani Rivera who did
the trimming and mounting, because the narrower the bor-
der, the more difficult it is to evenly align all the edges.
Fortunately, Singer approaches art with concern for its
survival and with the attitude that artists intentions should
be respected and followed whenever possible and, in
Singers words, Sometimes when impossible.
Clearly, many people in addition to the artist are usually
needed to bring about a project of lasting value.
Presentation Design and Format
Presentation design and format reflect an individuals,
a communitys, or a cultures aesthetic preferences at a
given time and, like other fashions, are subject to change.
For example, before 1970 most displayed artistic photo-
graphs were unframed and mounted on card stock or thick
hardboards, such as those in Edward Steichens exhibit,
The Family of Man, which was shown at the Museum of
Modern Art in 1955. During that same period, however,
exhibitions at Helen Gees Limelight gallery also reflected
the ideas of individual photographers as well as Gees own
approach to displaying prints. For example, when Gee
designed the installation for an exhibition of Ansel Adamss
photographs in 1956, the prints were overmatted and dis-
played under glass, according to Adamss usual practice.
Since the mid-1970s, most photographs in museums and
galleries have been exhibited in undecorated cotton fiber
board overmats (usually white or off-white) within rela-
tively simple metal or wood frames. In addition, most dry
mounted photographs are displayed in the same style frames
with overmats or with fillets, which help prevent contact
between the prints and the glazing when overmatting is
not possible or desired. However, far too many prints con-
tinue to be placed directly under glazing without mats or
fillets, which is usually the result of a lack of knowledge
rather than artistic preference.
Arbiters of matting style have debated thin borders
around the image versus wide borders, floating the image
versus covering the edges of the image, showing a signa-
ture versus covering it, bulky mats versus no mats versus
delicate mats, single-window mats versus multiple-window
mats, white mats versus toned mats, textured mats, tiered
mats, ornate mats, and so on and the variations con-
tinue. Even the oval picture in an oval mat and oval frame
reappears periodically. As time passes, artists prefer-
ences may also change regarding their earlier mounting
formats, or an artist may concede to the style of a period.
For example, W. Eugene Smith traditionally preferred his
photographs dry mounted to black or dark grey illustration
boards, but in the 1970s he followed the advice of gallery
director Lee Witkin and allowed his prints to be mounted
and overmatted with white museum board.
Philip Katcher wrote that the design of a mat can give a
good clue to the age of an image,
16
and William Adair made
the following comment on the significance of frames:
Picture frames may be seen to reflect not
only the unique attributes and preferences of
individual carvers and, in some instances, indi-
vidual painters, but the prevailing artistic trends
of the period. In so doing, frames merit study
for their own sake as a barometer of artistic
taste and form, providing a further means to
recreate and appreciate the past.
17
The Practice of Dry Mounting
The practice of dry mounting is also subject to changing
fashions and ideas influenced by concerns both for aes-
thetic effect and longevity. Respondents to this authors
survey were divided between those who liked the way dry
mounting looks (23%), those who did not (28%), those who
liked it sometimes (43%), and those who had no opinion
(5%). Over half thought that dry mounted prints are more
vulnerable to damage, whereas 28% thought they are less
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vulnerable and 21% had no opinion. Those active in the
field of photographic conservation were as divided on this
issue as were photographers, curators, collectors, dealers,
and others.
Several individuals who had dry mounted their photo-
graphs in the past said that they no longer do. The consen-
sus was that dry mounted prints are more difficult to take
care of and that dry mounting obscures many of the physi-
cal qualities which distinguish the different print materials
(such as paper thickness and flexibility). Dry mounting is
generally discouraged by photographic conservators, in part
because most dry mounting adhesives are not easily re-
versible and little is currently known about their long-term
effects upon photographs. In addition, dry mounted prints
cannot be wrapped around laser scanner drums to make
halftones, duotones, and color separations for publications
printing a serious consideration in museum or other
important collections. Since laser scanners have come
into widespread use only during the last decade, this is a
new drawback to dry mounting. (See Chapter 11.)
There were, however, many comments in favor of dry
mounting. Laurence G. Miller, Director of the Laurence
Miller Gallery in New York City, said, Dry mounting works,
such as Ray Metzkers 1966 composite Nude [Flashed]
Torso, which is composed of 140 separate prints mounted
to a Plexiglas panel, is an excellent way to combine parts
into a whole. Peter Wilsey made this remark with regard
to edge control: When cropping is really crucial, it helps to
dry mount and float, rather than risk losing
1
16th of an
inch behind the mat. The dry mounting format of Arnold
Newmans photographs is familiar to people who know his
work firsthand. Newman said, I have prints I mounted
back as far as 193839 and on there has been no damage.
When dry mounted and trimmed to the edge of the image,
the print is subject to edge damage unless matted; better
to print with a wide enough white border to sign on and
then overmat. Photographer and writer David Vestal wrote,
Ive had no bad experiences with dry mounting in . . .
thirty years.
18
In this authors opinion, a dry mounted print usually
requires a mat to help protect the edges of the photo-
graphic paper from chipping. Matting is especially impor-
tant if the print is trimmed to the edge of the image. In
addition to protecting the edges, a mat minimizes the pos-
sibility of surface abrasion and fingerprints, can prevent
the emulsion on the raised print from ferrotyping and even
adhering to the glass in a frame, and protects the mount
itself from damage.
Whatever method of mounting is selected, it will change
the appearance of a finished print and affect practical deci-
sions made by the photographer. For instance, prints that
are properly dry mounted remain flatter than prints that
are not dry mounted. This may be one reason that dry
mounted prints are signed on the front more often than
unmounted prints.
The Signature
A signature is generally regarded as an artists ap-
proval of the final product, and as an indication of authen-
ticity. I only sign things as they leave my hands so that I
may edit freely up to that point, said Peter Wilsey.
Although in recent years more photographers have be-
gun to place their signatures directly on the image (e.g.,
Mark Klett), the majority of photographs are signed just
below the image on the blank border, or on the back. In
general, it can be assumed that a photographer who signs
his or her prints on the front intends the signature to be
seen along with the print. Signatures on photographs are
often treated differently, however, than signatures on other
kinds of art works on paper. For example, when a signa-
ture is prominent, such as those of photographers Bill Brandt,
Larry Fink, Barbara Morgan, and Edward Weston, cura-
tors and collectors frequently cover it with a mat, prefer-
ring to see only the photographic image. This seldom hap-
pens to a lithograph or a drawing because those media are
generally thought to be more compatible with signatures.
A photographers bold signature can affect the composi-
tion of a photograph and often shifts the viewers focus
from the image or adorns it without the photographer hav-
ing intended to do so. On the other hand, many people find
some dominant signatures attractive. For example, pho-
The edges of dry mounted photographs are especially vulner-
able to damage. This 1934 black-and-white fiber-base print by
Imogen Cunningham has been overmatted to prevent addi-
tional chipping of the emulsion. When the photographic paper
is trimmed to the edges of the image, it is usually better to float
the print within the overmats window rather than cover the
edges. This print is floating approximately
1
4 inch to prevent
putting pressure on the already damaged edges and to show
the photographers signature.

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tographer and collector Susan Unterberg said that she pre-
fers, when given the choice, to see a photograph without a
visible signature, unless the signature goes well with the
image (i.e., Bill Brandt).
Ansel Adamss small, lightly drawn signature which ap-
pears directly below his large-format photographs of monu-
mental landscapes does not stand out and so it is rarely
covered by an overmat. The same is true for Arnold
Newmans photographs. Newman, who is best known for
his photographic portraits, often dry mounts his black-and-
white fiber-base prints on 2- or 4-ply 100% cotton fiber board
and then carefully signs them in ink or with a graphite
pencil directly below the image on the blank, untrimmed
photographic paper, or on the mount board if the paper is
trimmed to the edge of the image. Newman places his
signature on the right side and the name of the subject and
year the photograph was taken on the left. The writing is
usually shown when his prints are matted both because it
is small and attractive and because it frequently identifies
portraits of famous people.
The personal stamps and seals of photographers are
often regarded much as signatures. Hans Namuths seal
(applied with white, black, gold, or silver ink) appears ei-
ther upon or just below the image of his color and black-
and-white prints and is adjacent to his signature, which is
also upon or directly below the image. In general, Namuth
preferred to show these identifying marks; in a situation
where the stamp was very close to the edge of the photo-
graphic paper, however, he allowed it to be covered in
order to protect the edges of the print. Most of Namuths
color work was printed by Michael Wilder on the high-
gloss, polyester-base version of professional Cibachrome
II, Process P-3 (renamed Ilfochrome in 1990).
Photographers may have strong feelings about whether
their signatures should be visible when their prints are
exhibited. Photographer Louis Faurer commented:
Dependent on esthetic factors and on the
artists script, some signatures flow beautifully
and some are ugly. Placing a signature on a
photograph and or mat is crucial and impor-
tant. For example, india ink I found on the
white portion beneath the image often is dis-
tracting and spoils the entire image. Soft pen-
cil on the photograph or beneath and or on the
mat often works. Grey ink could be experi-
mented with. These suggestions indicate (to
me) the vast differences between paintings and
photographs.
Beaumont Newhall wrote, The matter of the signing of
prints is most interesting. I agree with [Faurer] that if a
print is to be signed, it should be done with a hard pencil
that will leave a very light grey impression.
19
Newhalls interest in this area is also evident in his
Aperture monograph Frederick H. Evans, in which Evanss
great concern with presentation is discussed at length.
Most of Evanss prints were mounted on multiple layers of
toned or colored drawing papers, which were bordered with
carefully ruled lines of light, sepia-colored ink or water-
color. In 1903, when Alfred Stieglitz expressed his disap-
pointment with a shipment of Evanss unmounted prints,
Evans replied, When you come to see them trimmed, all
the white margins off, and the picture in a sympathetic
colour mount, you will think better of them.
20
The signa-
ture and title often appear below the picture within these
borders, sometimes accompanied by Evanss familiar im-
pressed monogram.
In such cases, no part of the design which the photogra-
pher intended to be seen should be omitted. However,

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Some photographers print their pictures with narrow black borders surrounding the image. Such prints can be matted in a
variety of ways: (1) float the entire image and black borders to show a narrow, moderate, or wide portion of the white
photographic paper; (2) cut the overmat window so that its inner borders are flush with the outer edges of the black
borders; (3) cover the black borders with the overmat. When the prints are signed, showing or covering the signature
becomes the first consideration. The examples show a black-and-white fiber-base print by Henri Cartier-Bresson overmat-
ted to a standard size with the signature and black border covered (left) and with the signature showing (right).
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when a monogram appears isolated on the supporting pa-
per away from the signature and outside the ruled borders,
or when a monogram is located in an area that is visually
distant from the print (such as those that were mounted on
single-weight white weave paper after Evanss death),
the monogram may be covered without violating the
photographers intentions, unless originally stated other-
wise by the photographer.
Signatures are sometimes covered for consistency when
matting prints made by different photographers whose works
will be exhibited side by side. For example, one museum
curator decided to cover Edward Westons signature when
preparing an exhibition in which none of the other prints
were signed on the front. Individual wall labels provided
the necessary information.
In general, historians and curators view signatures some-
what differently than dealers. Most historians and cura-
tors questioned in this authors survey, said that they wanted
to see the photographers signature when looking at prints
in a study collection, although they did not object to the
covering of signatures when prints are exhibited. Dealers,
however, commonly prefer to show the signatures of prints
they display for sale, particularly those of well-known pho-
tographers. Marthe M. Smith, former Director of the LIFE
Gallery of Photography in New York City, encouraged pho-
tographers to sign the photographs she exhibited, most of
which were famous images that appeared on the pages of
LIFE magazine in decades past, thereby giving the pho-
tographer due recognition.
Beaumont Newhall wrote, Personally, as a photogra-
pher, I sign my prints only at the request of the client if
they are offered for sale. All my exhibition prints are un-
signed because it seems to be redundant to appear over
and over in one man exhibitions.
21
Newhall also com-
mented, Occasionally for historical purposes. . . a mat can
have one window for the image and one window for the
signature. We at George Eastman House did this with the
vintage print of H. P. Robinsons Fading Away. Beneath
the photograph, about six inches or so below it, someone,
presumably the photographer himself, had transcribed a
poem by Shelley and this of course was an important part
of his presentation.
22
Some photographers pictures are accompanied by writ-
ten material which should never be covered. For example,
the titles and texts that Duane Michals creates for (or
before?) many of his photographs are not supplementary.
They are each, words and picture, an integral part of the
other; the writing sometimes even occupies more space
than the photographic image. When presenting these pic-
tures, the entire object should be shown.
Before signing (especially if there is uncertainty as to
how and where to sign), photographers should give some
consideration to how a print will look when matted and
framed, especially if it is important that the signature be
seen at all times. For example, if a signature is very large,
the window opening may need to be made larger than ideal,
which sometimes requires an increase in the desired over-
all size of the mat to allow for adequate borders. This
affects the composition of the mounted work and may even
disrupt a sequence of prints displayed together on a wall.
In addition, if a photograph is not printed with perfect
90 angles at all four corners, it is especially difficult to cut
a mat window with parallel borders all around the image;
this may necessitate covering a signature that would oth-
erwise be shown. When the photographer insists on show-
ing a large signature on a dry mounted print, it may be
better to frame the work in a fillet frame without a mat.
However, this may require altering the original or pre-
ferred mounting procedure. (See Chapter 11 for a discus-
sion of print markers.)
The decision to show or to cover a signature should be
made by the photographer who would ideally be advised
by a curator or conservator beforehand of potential prob-
lems in matting and framing. This author often recom-
mends opening the mat window to show both the signa-
ture and the four edges of the photographic image.
Image Cropping
Image cropping should be initiated and done by the pho-
tographer only. The reason for this is obvious. The very
act of taking a photograph involves cropping through the
lens. While image format is predetermined by the camera,
the photographer decides just what to include and what to
omit in the frame. After that, a full-frame negative may be
cropped in a variety of ways if the photographer wants to
further refine the composition of the picture; it can be done
at the time of printing, by trimming the finished print (e.g.,
when dry mounting), and by covering a portion of the im-
age with an overmat.
Every detail of mounting, matting, and framing affects
the visual impression of a picture. Cropping, however,
actually changes a pictures composition and content. Un-
fortunately, cropping by people other than the photogra-
pher is common practice. For instance, framers are some-
times careless about measuring the windows in overmats.
Publishers often prefer to print only a portion of a picture.
Damaged and faded borders are frequently covered by
overmats at the instructions of curators and collectors,
and sometimes such borders are actually trimmed off.
Prints made for exhibition or publication have also been
cropped to conform to prevailing moral attitudes. For ex-
ample, more than 50 years after its exhibition at the Mu-
seum of Modern Art, there continued to be controversy
over an Andre Kertesz photograph of a nude woman in
which the pubic area was cropped out. Writing in 1982 in
The Wall Street Journal, Raymond Sokolov said, In Paris
in 1933, [Kertesz] experimented with purposely distorted
female nudes, surreal masterpieces with a mysteriously
erotic charge. Beaumont Newhall would not exhibit one of
them at New Yorks Museum of Modern Art in 1937 until he
had bowdlerized it with some depilatory cropping. He
mutilated my work, says Kertesz.
23
Kertesz often recalled the story. Questioned by this
author in 1983, Kertesz gave the following details:
24
In 1936
he and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to New York City from
Paris, where his reputation as an artist was well estab-
lished. A few months after their arrival, they were visited
at their hotel by Beaumont Newhall, Curator of Photogra-
phy at the Museum of Modern Art at the time, who wanted
to exhibit some of Kerteszs photographs. Kertesz replied,
Very natural. Take your choice. Newhall selected sev-
eral photographs, among which was Distortion #172. I
wanted long before to exhibit in America. But it was diffi-
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cult to find the possibility. Newhall made the possibility. I
said, I am very glad you are choosing them. In Paris,
Germany, and Central Europe they like the Distortions. I
hope America likes, too. In Kerteszs words, Newhall
then asked, Can I cut down the pornographic parts?
25
Kertesz told this author he was confused by Newhalls ques-
tion and said that cropping out the pubic area violated the
picture as much as it would to crop out the womans head
or hands. The womans form is sculptural, stated the
artist. Newhall continued to express his wish to exhibit
the print. After more than an hour of discussion, Kertesz
agreed to provide the museum with a cropped version of
Distortion #172. Recalling his feelings during the meeting
with Newhall, Kertesz said, The representative of the big
Museum of Modern Art in America talking this way? What
can I do? In Paris I was accepted not 100 percent but 1000
percent. But this is America. I feel that I am cutting down
my whole possibility here if I say no.
Sources familiar with the situation indicated that the
cropping of the Kertesz print was the result of the Museum
of Modern Arts policy in the 1930s which prohibited the
exhibition of photographs that depicted pubic hair. Ac-
cording to one source who wishes to remain anonymous,
the policy was initiated by the trustees of the Museum and
was understood by the curators although it may not have
existed in written form. Richard Oldenburg, present Di-
rector of the Museum, declined to comment on the matter.
John Szarkowski, Director of the Department of Photogra-
phy at the Museum, said, I was 11 years old, going on
twelve, when Beaumont Newhall allegedly mutilated one
of Andre Kerteszs photographs, and it is pointless for me
to speculate as to what really happened. I am confident
that Newhall would not have changed the cropping of the
photograph without Kerteszs permission.
26
Asked about the incident, Beaumont Newhall said, As
to what you call the cropping of the Andre Kertesz photo-
graph is something I know nothing about. I have no recol-
lection whatsoever of having mutilated one of his prints.
There is no way I can prove this, but I can certainly assure
you that had such an action been taken in protest I would
certainly have recollected it. . .
27
Newhall went on to say:
I hardly know a single photographer who does
not object to the random cropping of his prints in
publications, or for that matter in exhibitions.
Cropping by the photographer himself, however,
is a different matter. You probably know that
Alfred Stieglitz actually advised photographers to
crop their prints, and his famous photograph Winter
on Fifth Avenue of 1893 shows hardly one-third of
the original negative image. . . I feel about crop-
ping just as I do about mounting and framing. It
is all important.
28
Kerteszs Distortion #172 continues to exist in both
cropped and uncropped versions; at the time of this writing
(1983), according to print dealer Susan Harder, both were
available for sale and for exhibition. Some of Kerteszs
other negatives, such as Distortions #2, #6, and #76, were
also cropped to create more than one variation, and each

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Distortion #172 by Andre Kertesz in its original composition (left) and a cropped version (right).
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tracting attention to itself. In the case of Frederick Evans,
however, he chose to embellish his work. As mentioned
earlier, presentation was of great concern to Evans, who
imbued every nuance of it with his attention. For example,
he decided to mount one of his portraits of Aubrey Beardsley
within a decorative border that Beardsley had drawn for
the book Le Morte dArthur.
34
In his book Frederick H.
Evans, Beaumont Newhall pointed to Evanss involvement
in exhibition design:
The vertical division of the walls into panels
was shocking at a time when little thought was
given to the arrangement of photographs on
exhibition beyond fitting as many as possible
on the allotted wall space. [Ward] Muir was
greatly impressed: The amount of trouble he
has taken over the hanging alone is hardly cred-
ible. Each picture had to be considered in rela-
tion to the others. Its tint, its size, its frame, its
mount, its subject all these were kept in view.
Again and again a frame was tried in a certain
spot, only to be rejected because the eye of the
designer adjudged it to be unsatisfactory. In
consequence of this extreme fastidiousness in
grouping, every picture has an equal chance to
look effective. Not a few of the photographs
show up better on the Salon walls than they did
when received one by one on selection day. This
means that a master-brain has been at work.
Each section of the wall is itself a sermon in
massing and composition.
35
Sometimes overstated presentation design can have a
negative effect on a viewer. Referring to pioneering im-
ages in the 1987 exhibition Gordon Parks: A Retrospective,
Andy Grundberg wrote in The New York Times:
The show commits. . . crimes in the name of
art. Perhaps to make the black-and-white pic-
tures from Life look more imposing, many have
been enlarged to 20-by-30 inches, surrounded by
black mat board and signed on the image in sil-
ver ink. To try to inflate the images to esthetic
proportions in this way misses what made them
interesting as photographs in the first place, and
seriously distorts their original meanings.
36
When it is not part of the photographers creation,
presentation design and format should be understated. In
any case, it should not compete with a print. That is to say,
for example, that a mat and frame are most successful
when they are barely noticed unless the photographer
wants them to be noticed. Good presentation requires a
sensitivity to the individual image and the photographers
intentions, to the print material and the mounting materi-
als, and to the fine details of each as well as to the compat-
ible or incompatible relationships between the various tones,
finishes, textures, proportions, and overall composition.
Naturally, personal taste is always an important factor.
Also, what is noticed at one time or in one place may not be
noticed at another time or somewhere else. Furthermore,
the exhibition or viewing environment will have a signifi-
of these three images appears in two different composi-
tions among the 126 photographs in Kerteszs book Distor-
tions.
29
Distortion #172 appears only once in the book,
however, in its uncropped version.
In November 1983, the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York
City mounted an exhibition of Kerteszs Distortions. The
show consisted of vintage prints, modern prints made spe-
cifically for the exhibit (some newly cropped by Kertesz as
recently as September 1983), and of full-frame contact prints
which were marked by Kertesz to indicate how they should
be cropped. Also included was a modern print of the
uncropped version of Distortion #172. Peter MacGill, Di-
rector of the Gallery, described the show as a celebration
of Kerteszs joy in working with his Distortions over half a
century.
30
Cropping a picture not only changes its content and
alters it aesthetically but, when done by someone other
than the artist, it can even legally invalidate a picture. In
August 1983, New York State passed a law giving an artist
the right to object to the alteration of his or her work and to
legally disclaim authorship.
31
The bill stated that:
. . . no person other than the artist or person
acting with the artists consent shall knowingly
display in a place accessible to the public or pub-
lish a work of fine art of that artist or a reproduc-
tion thereof in an altered, defaced, mutilated or
modified form if the work is displayed, published
or reproduced as being the work of the artist. . . .
32
Josh Barbanel reported in The New York Times:
Some experts said the legislation could result
in litigation over how a work is framed, how an
exhibition is set up and how works are reproduced
in a catalog. . . . The law was opposed by the
major New York museums, including the Metro-
politan Museum of Art and the Museum of Mod-
ern Art. It was supported by artists, some of whom
complained that it did not go far enough.
33
Clearly, the right to crop belongs only to the photogra-
pher who may, as Kertesz showed us, exercise that right
more than once for a given picture and at any time in his
life. While a photographer may be influenced or inspired
by others throughout the process of making, re-making, or
mounting a print and that includes cropping the pho-
tographer should always feel that he or she has made the
decisions that put the work into its final form.
Preparing Prints for Mounting
Aesthetic Considerations
Mounting materials should be selected not only for cor-
rect chemical and material composition but also for their
aesthetic qualities. In addition to providing physical pro-
tection for the prints, the design and construction of the
mounts should be visually harmonizing.
Carefully planned and well-designed presentation con-
tributes to the appreciation of photographic prints, as it
does for other media. In general, good presentation design
enhances an image without embellishing it, and draws a
viewers attention to the content of the work without at-
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cant effect on every other decision. Finally, it is important
to remember that there are no absolutes when it comes to
the presentation of art.
The following paragraphs illustrate how visual sensitiv-
ity to the presentation of photographs can be expressed in
the matting and mounting.
Many of Helen Levitts black-and-white photographs are
printed on Agfa Portriga-Rapid Paper. The rich, warm
tones and fine details in these prints, qualities that are
particularly evident in the dark areas of the images, are
enhanced in modest-sized overmats (about 3-inch borders)
that are made with a warm-white or beige-toned board
which has a smooth, matte finish. A narrow bevel at the
edges of the windows that is, about a 60 bevel cut into a
thin board such as 2-ply, or a medium board such as 4-ply,
rather than a thick bevel cut into 8-ply board lessens the
contrast between the mat and the image. (The primary
function of the bevelled edge is to avoid casting shadows
on the photograph where the edges of the image meet the
mat. The highlight or shadow on the bevel itself may be
narrow or wide depending on the thickness of the board,
the angle of the bevel, and the angle of the lighting.)
Ralph Gibsons black-and-white prints made on Agfa
Brovira Paper, on the other hand, are often complemented
by oversized (borders 4 inches or wider), bright white, smooth-
surfaced mats which reflect Gibsons aesthetics. The bev-
eled edges in 4-ply or thicker mats do not conflict with the
high-contrast black and white areas that predominate in
many of these prints, and, in this authors opinion, provide
a better visual balance than 2-ply mats.
Eikoh Hosoes high-contrast black-and-white photographs
are also complemented when matted with a bright white,
minimally textured board. Many of his prints, composed of
crystalline details between solid expanses of striking blacks
and whites, are effectively presented when seen within
moderate-size borders in well-crafted window mats.
Two-ply board in a light, warm tone is often the most
suitable choice for matting Emmet Gowins 8x10-inch, con-
tact-printed, toned black-and-white silver-gelatin prints. Four-
ply is sometimes too heavy visually, and bright white looks
harsh beside the hushed tones in his fine prints. Here
again, as with the majority of photographic prints, the mount
board should have a smooth, matte finish.
Gowin has strong feelings about what are the correct
proportions for mounting his prints and decides just when
to deviate from a standard format. For example, many of
his prints which look attractive in standard 14x17-inch mats
look even better in non-standard mats that are 14x15
1
2
inches. Gowin exercises control in this area both by mak-
ing many of his own mats and by carefully instructing oth-
ers who do the matting.
An example of photographs that were successfully pre-
sented in a deliberately decorative style, tipped by hand
onto mounts of colored card and Japanese tissue, were the
facsimile reproductions contained in Alfred Stieglitzs quar-
terly publication Camera Work (190317).
When finished prints are not mounted or individually
housed in any way, and the photographer or another
person who understands and is intimately involved with
the work is not available, decisions regarding mats, mounts,
print cases, and so on will need to be made by other people,
who should try to learn the intentions of the photographer.
For example, print dealers might seek the advice of histo-
rians and conservators. It is often helpful to study the
materials that the photographer had been known to use
and to compare them with artists papers and boards that
are currently available.
Sometimes a dealer or curator will go so far as to try to
recreate a historical paper. Such was the case when Susan
Harder called upon papermakers at Dieu Donne Press &
Paper in New York City to prepare an antique vellum for
mounting the Andre Kertesz contact-printed photographs
in the 1982 portfolio published by Harder and the Orminda
Corporation.
Selecting a Board Texture
When preparing artistic photographs for display, it is
important to be aware of the surface textures and finishes
(e.g., high gloss, semi-gloss, matte, rough, or smooth) of
both print materials and mount boards. In general, papers
and boards for mounting most photographs should have
minimal or subtle surface texture or texture that is not
noticeable for both aesthetic and conservation reasons.
The surfaces of most photographs are smooth, and a
smooth-surfaced mount board is usually more harmonious
visually. In fact, most respondents to this authors survey,
who notice the surface texture of boards, prefer smooth-
textured board for matting and mounting photographs.
37
However, contrasting textures may be exactly what a pho-
tographer wants. For example, high-gloss surfaces of print
materials such as Ilfochrome polyester-base are simulta-
neously accentuated by and conflict with a rough-surfaced
board. Also, many 19th-century prints are complemented
in highly textured mats.
Another factor should be considered when selecting board
texture: Smooth-surfaced boards are less likely to scratch
or physically alter the surfaces of print materials. Exag-
gerated board texture can even interfere with the proper
mounting of prints, particularly total-surface mounting.
The surface textures of 100% cotton fiber board are gen-
erally smooth but vary somewhat among different manu-
facturers. An experienced worker can often identify a
manufacturers board by its texture alone; it is common,
however, for a particular board from the same manufac-
turer to change slightly from batch to batch. Occasionally,
some boards vary significantly from batch to batch.
The visual characteristics of nonbuffered 100% cotton
fiber mount boards are comparable to alkaline-buffered
100% cotton fiber mount boards. Generally speaking, for
example, the surface textures of nonbuffered and alkaline-
buffered Rising Museum Mounting Boards are the same,
whereas their texture is usually slightly smoother than the
very lightly textured Process Materials Archivart Museum
Board and Archivart Photographic Board, both buffered
and nonbuffered.
Chemically processed acid-free wood pulp board (e.g.,
Conservation Board, Conservamat) usually differs very little
visually from manufacturer to manufacturer unless it
belongs to one of the lines of composite or markedly tex-
tured boards such as Bainbridge Alphamount and Andrews/
Nelson/Whitehead Phase 7 (which was discontinued when
the company merged with Crestwood Paper Company to
become ANW-Crestwood). So-called conservation board is
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or colors that surround it. Ansel Adams said, The prob-
lem is not necessarily to match the color and value of the
print, but to select a mount of harmonizing or complemen-
tary tonality.
40
In 1965, in preparing his prints for exhibi-
tion at Huntington Hartfords Gallery of Modern Art in
New York City, Irving Penn examined every type of mat
board available on the market and found that none met his
standards for correct color; so all the mats were covered
with a white gesso of Penns choice.
41
(See Chapter 13 for
a discussion of the color stability of white, toned, and col-
ored mount boards.)
In general, photographs are not enhanced by brightly
colored mount boards. The neutral tones of white, off-
white, ivory, beige, and gray are much preferred, although
there may be occasions when photographers and even mu-
seum curators are attracted to highly colored mount boards
for their exhibitions. On the other hand, snapshots and
personal photos are often enhanced by lively colored mats
and frames.
Most white and neutral tones have some color. For
example, off-white can look slightly yellow or slightly pink.
An antique-toned board, such as Risings, can be pinkish,
or, in the case of Parsons antique board, it can be green-
ish. A gray can look greenish, bluish, purplish, red-
dish, and so on. The exact tone selected to mount a par-
ticular print usually depends on personal preference. A
few general guidelines, however, should be noted. For
example, untoned black-and-white silver-gelatin prints of-
ten appear to take on a blue or green tone when mounted
on cream-colored boards. Such boards can also muddle
the highlights in black-and-white prints.
Many modern black-and-white prints need a bright white
board such as the following cotton fiber boards: Parsons
Brite White Photographic; Archivart White Photographic;
Rising White Photomount; ANW-Crestwood Lenox; James
River White; Archivart Extra White; or Strathmore White.
Other black-and-white prints look better mounted on neu-
tral gray board, or on a slightly off-white board such as
ANW-Crestwood Gemini; Archivart Off-white Photographic
Board; Miller Shell White; Rising Warm White; or Strath-
more Natural. (Note: All the above boards are alkaline-
buffered except the four printed in italics, which are non-
buffered.)
Fresson Quadrichromie prints are characterized by their
muted colors and low-resolution, soft-focus images. An
off-white board normally complements their colors whereas
a stark white can be noticeably in contrast to them.
When asked what tone of board was preferred for mat-
ting and mounting most photographic prints, conservator
Mary Kay Porter said that it would depend on the degree of
highlight yellowing of the print. This is an important con-
sideration. If the highlight areas of a print are already
yellow or will yellow with the passage of time, an off-white
or darker board will look better than a bright white board.
For example, unlike Dye Transfer and Ilfochrome prints,
Ektacolor and Polaroid prints will yellow to varying de-
grees as they age. In addition, the highlight areas of newly
processed Ektacolor prints are not as white as the high-
light areas of most Dye Transfer prints.
Color perception by the human eye varies with the type
and intensity of lighting. The colors of a print will look
brighter as the light intensity increases; in addition, the
usually quite smooth with a matte finish that may have a
slight sheen. Light Impressions Exeter Conservation Board
has a more pronounced texture with a lustrous finish.
Neither 100% cotton fiber mount board nor purified wood
pulp board manufactured in this country is shiny (as are
some high surface bristol boards). However, Atlantis Pa-
per Company in England distributes a specially designed
nonbuffered museum board which has a surface closer to a
plate-finish bristol.
Several composite boards on the market offer a wide
range of textures, most of which are similar to pastel pa-
pers; Bainbridge Alphamat and Crescent Rag Mat are ex-
amples. Canson Fine Art boards are surfaced with pastel
and drawing papers imported from France, and available
in the United States from ANW-Crestwood, Morilla Com-
pany, Winsor & Newton, Inc., and others.
You will see texture most clearly defined by holding a
piece of board perpendicular to a directional light source
(at least 4 inches away) so that shadows are cast by the
surface formations on the board. Turn the board three
times in order to see the texture from four directions. Then
inspect the reverse side to see whether the texture looks
different. This method of examination exaggerates the
texture and facilitates comparisons between different boards.
Selecting a Board Tone or Color
As discussed in Chapter 13, research indicates that some
photographs may be harmed by an alkaline environment.
Although this author recommends that nonbuffered boards
of neutral pH be used with most photographs, nonbuffered
board is not yet manufactured in enough sizes, thicknesses,
and tones to satisfy the various requirements of all the
people involved in the care and presentation of photographs
and certainly not enough to satisfy photographers.
For example, Roy L. Perkinson, Conservator at the Mu-
seum of Fine Arts in Boston, said, The off-white tone of
nonbuffered board is not suitable for everything. We are
back to the problem faced by artists and curators when
there was only one color of museum board available. The
Museum uses nonbuffered board for its color prints (less
than 5% of the total collection) and wherever off-white is
suitable.
38
(Process Materials Archivart Photographic Board
was available only in off-white in 1982. Since then, several
nonbuffered boards have been introduced in white and/or
antique tones by Archivart, Parsons, Rising, and other com-
panies.)
Andre Kertesz also stated the challenge clearly: Pure
white is not good for everything. Pure white is too strong
for many pictures. Pictures should go out of the frame, not
stay in the frame imprisoned in the white.
39
Nonbuffered boards must be available in a greater vari-
ety of tones and thicknesses if they are to be used more
widely to mount photographs. Aesthetic concerns frequently
overwhelm concerns for preservation, and buffered boards
(and even low-quality boards) are often selected because
they provide the desired visual effect. When time and money
allow, mats may be lined with thin polyester sheets, as
discussed later in this chapter, or the prints themselves
may be enclosed in polyester sheets to separate them from
potentially harmful board.
The colors and tones of a print are affected by the tones
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tics of the print itself. For example, with an unstable print
material the finest matting materials may not be neces-
sary unless plans are made to replace the displayed print
with a duplicate when it has faded or otherwise deterio-
rated significantly. Unfortunately, in the case of many
color photographs, the mounting materials are likely to
outlast the useful life of the prints.
Section Three: The Composition,
Marketing, and Use of Mount Boards
The mounting and enclosure papers,
42
plastics, and ad-
hesives that are in contact with photographs during stor-
age and display should be selected with many consider-
ations in mind. From a conservation point of view, the
long-term effects of a material on a given photographic
material are most important. In addition, knowledge of the
composition of each material is essential. Following these,
the physical characteristics of the enclosure and mounting
materials (such as size, weight, strength, stiffness, and so
on) should be evaluated with regard to the individual physical
requirements of the print.
Other factors to consider when selecting enclosure and
mounting materials and the most appropriate form of physical
protection for photographs are:
1. Intended use of the prints (e.g., museum and public
exhibition, private display, study collection, traveling
exhibition, storage, sale)
2. Short-term vs. long-term conditions (e.g., temporary dis-
play vs. permanent display)
3. Available funds
4. Inherent stability characteristics of the photographic
material(s)
5. Desired life expectancy of the photographs
6. Aesthetic preferences
7. Estimated frequency of handling
8. Size and location of the display area
9. Available storage space
10. Anticipated expansion of the collection
Not enough is presently known about how most mount-
ing materials affect photographic images, emulsions, and
support materials, and it is difficult therefore to know how
to best choose from among the many products available.
That a mount board or enclosure paper is well made ac-
cording to the highest standards of the paper industry does
not automatically qualify it for safeguarding photographs.
In addition, the few existing standards that do apply to the
manufacture of papers used with photographs
43
have been
subject to debate by conservators and photographic scien-
tists. For example, questions remain about what pH value
is optimal for mount boards and enclosure papers for the
many different color and black-and-white photographic
materials. (See Chapter 13.)
colors will look different under tungsten, fluorescent, or
daylight illumination. Colors and tones may also differ if
they are viewed with the light source directly in front, from
an oblique side angle, directly from above, or by indirect
illumination.
Boards and papers which contain fluorescent brighten-
ers will look different under different lighting conditions in
comparison to materials that do not have such brighten-
ers. (Most current photographic papers contain fluores-
cent brighteners, whereas most cotton fiber museum boards
do not.) Under tungsten illumination, however, fluores-
cent brighteners have very little effect. When photographs
themselves contain fluorescent brighteners as all mod-
ern black-and-white prints do it is more difficult to se-
lect the proper tone of mount board.
It is always best to view mounting materials alongside
the print to be mounted and, whenever possible, together
under the same lighting conditions in which the print will
be displayed. (See Chapter 17.)
Another consideration when selecting the most appro-
priate tone of board is the translucence of the print mate-
rial. Albumen prints, photogravures on Japanese tissue,
and other lightweight prints should be mounted on a back-
ing of very white, smooth board to maximize the bright-
ness of the prints and to enhance the degree to which the
details and various tones are visible. An ivory or gray-
toned board will make a slightly translucent print appear
dull, diminish highlights, and obscure subtle details. How-
ever, if writing or printing exists on the back of the print
and shows through when the print is placed on white board,
the print should usually be mounted on a darker board.
Unfortunately, common framing glass casts a slight green
tint and Plexiglas UF-3 (an ultra-violet filtering grade) casts
a pale yellow tint over the print and mat. Normal grades of
Plexiglas are water-clear without a tint. (See Chapter 15.)
In addition to textures and tones, the tactile qualities,
such as structural behavior and responses, tensile and bend-
ing strength, further define the character of a given paper
or board.
Becoming Acquainted with a Variety
Of Mount Boards and Artists Papers
Mount boards and artists papers (for interleaving, making
mounting corners, etc.) can be purchased from art supply
stores and mail-order companies (see Suppliers List:
High-Quality Boards and Papers at the end of this chap-
ter). One may become acquainted with the variety of avail-
able products and their different weights, thicknesses, sur-
face textures, tones, and colors by obtaining samples and
sample booklets. Samples are rarely large enough, how-
ever, to make an accurate judgment before mounting an
individual print or body of work. Whenever possible, boards
and papers should be seen, studied, and touched and
compared directly with the work to be mounted before a
final decision is made. As previously discussed, every de-
cision made by the photographer becomes a part of the
total work and, if the materials chosen are long-lasting, the
mat and/or mount may accompany the photograph through-
out its existence.
The quality and selection of mounting materials should
be determined at least in part by the stability characteris-
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Board Composition
Cotton Fiber And Wood Fiber
Most high-quality mount boards that are specifically in-
tended for photographs are distinguished from other high-
quality mount boards only by the absence of alkaline-buff-
ering agents (calcium carbonate and/or magnesium car-
bonate). These boards are made from the same raw mate-
rials as are other solid (i.e., not composite) high-quality
mount boards, of which there are two primary types: mu-
seum board and conservation board.
44
Museum board
is made from 100% cotton fiber pulp, which usually con-
sists of cotton linters fibers but may be made of rags or of a
combination of both (see Chapter 13, page 468).
Conservation board is made from wood fiber pulp which
has been cooked, bleached, washed, and extensively re-
fined to remove lignin and other impurities. There are
currently no standards defining what is a conservation board.
Some composite boards, such as Bainbridge Alphamat,
Cardcrafts Astromat, Crescent Rag Mat, and Miller Ultimat,
which are alkaline-buffered and made with at least three
different papers each, are also referred to in the market-
place as conservation boards.
Physical Requirements and
Other Considerations
Board for mounting pictures should meet the following
physical requirements:
1. Be rigid enough to support its own weight without bending
(e.g., standing on any of its four edges against a wall)
2. Have adequate strength to support the selected print(s)
without bowing more than slightly when held with two
hands at opposite edges
3. Have both the required and desired degree of surface
smoothness
4. Have a compact density which favors smooth cutting
and sharp, clean bevelling
5. Be reasonably resistant to impact without breaking
6. Be free from warpage
Depending on size, ply, and the intended application,
most high-quality mount boards made of rags, cotton lint-
ers, and wood pulp usually meet these requirements. Closer
examination is required, therefore, to make meaningful
comparisons. The best 100% cotton fiber papers and boards
are strong yet flexible, whereas the best wood pulp boards
are usually less so. (In the case of mount boards, however,
superior flexible strength is not as critical as are such
factors as chemical inertness, hardness, and smoothness.)
45
Most currently available conservation boards made of
chemically purified wood cellulose are usually quite stiff
and can adequately support most prints. These boards,
however, do not withstand pressure as well as most 100%
cotton fiber boards. During handling and shipping, the
corners of conservation boards are somewhat more vul-
nerable to being crushed on impact. When they are, the
damaged area loses all stiffness. Of course, 100% cotton
fiber boards are also vulnerable to crushing, but in gen-
eral, wood pulp board lacks the resilient strength of board
made from cotton.
Boards made of chemically purified wood pulp cost ap-
proximately
1
3 less than cotton fiber boards; generally,
conservation boards can provide the necessary physical
protection for many collections and are quite suitable for
mounting unstable types of photographs such as most poly-
ethylene-resin-coated (RC) color prints intended for dis-
play. For longer-lasting prints, such as correctly processed
black-and-white fiber-base prints, cotton fiber boards are
recommended.
Descriptive Terms
Learning the material composition of a mount board
and deciding its most appropriate application can be diffi-
cult, particularly on the consumer level, because boards
are described by many different terms, such as museum
board, rag board, mount board, and conservation
board. Chi C. Chen, former Technical Director of Rising
Paper Company, ascribed the variety of terms and names
for artists papers and boards in part to the manufacturers
attempts to describe the intended use or a suitable use of a
product by naming it, for example, museum mounting board.
Still, it is often difficult to know what one is purchasing
because descriptive names are sometimes not accurate.
For instance, James River Ragmount was not made from
rags during its last several years on the market. Light
Impressions incorrectly describes its mount board by la-
beling it Museum Quality 100% Rag Board when, in fact,
the board is made from cotton linters. In another example,
Crescent Cardboard Company calls its 100% cotton fiber
board, which is made from cotton linters, Rag Mat 100.
Employing the term rag to describe a product that does
not contain any rags is misleading.
Addressing this concern, Alden W. Hamilton, former
Manager of Commercial Development for James River Cor-
poration, remarked that his company did not maintain that
its Ragmount was always made from rags. The company
simply continued to use the name by which its first 100%
cotton fiber mount board became known (when it was made
from cotton rags).
46
For several years, until 1985 when the
company discontinued marketing boards under its own
name, James River Ragmount was made from 100% cotton
linters fibers without any rag content.
Contrary to the widespread industry practice of using
cotton linters fibers to make museum mount boards, Bain-
bridge has claimed to be using rags:
If you prefer working with rag board, then
Alpharag board is for you. These archival boards
are made with Cotton Rag materials. They are
carefully manufactured to an alkaline pH to pro-
vide maximum conservation protection. The
100% Cotton Rag composition of Alpharag board
is carefully controlled to ensure the greatest
strength and cleanest appearance. This board
is unique in its use of a high percentage of
actual cotton rags, rather than cotton linters.
47
Is Alpharag board made from 100% cotton rags or a high
percentage of 100% cotton rags? According to Bainbridge
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Product Manager, Kate McCarthy, Alpharag specifications
require 100% cotton rags, but that when suitable rags are
in short supply a small percentage of cotton linters may be
used. McCarthy said, We prefer rags to linters because,
in our minds, a rag paper is a better product. It is stronger
and more durable. The rags used to make our board are
purified to the point that there are no dangerous residual
chemicals in the final product.
48
While board made from rags can be superior, because
of the additional processing required when rags are used,
this author doubts that currently available cotton rags are
better than linters in the manufacture of museum boards
for photographic applications.
Cotton and Rag Content
Each company has its own standards regarding board
composition, which may change because of normal limita-
tions in the industry. For example, many paper companies
state that their sources of cotton fiber vary and that they
depend on the supply available at a particular time. It is
possible, in other words, for a given paper product to be
made in January from paper pulps that differ from those
used in July. When this author asked paper manufactur-
ers if their cotton sources vary, some said yes and some
said no (see Chapter 13, Appendix 2: Letter to Paper Com-
panies). Speaking for Rising Paper Company, Chi C. Chen
helped to clarify this matter:
Our suppliers do not vary. Their sources,
however, vary. We use the same suppliers ev-
ery time we order cotton. There are a limited
number of suppliers also called jobbers
for the paper manufacturing industry and these
suppliers go to the same market for their mate-
rials. One month they may buy North Carolina
cotton, the next time they may buy Texas cot-
ton. Availability of cotton depends upon nu-
merous factors in the market. Nearly all 100%
cotton fiber mount boards have been made at
some time from combinations of cotton rags
and cotton linters fibers although most, if not
all, are now made from linters only. The grades
of rags and cotton linters can and do vary. For
instance, rags come from numerous sources:
textile mills, clothing manufacturers, and waste
dealers including sources outside the United
States. In Africa, rags are collected today by
peddlers similar to those with horse drawn wag-
ons in the 19th century that traveled from house
to house asking for old clothes. When enough
rags and old clothes have been gathered, they
are brought to a warehouse where they are
sorted and then shipped to various places, in-
cluding European and United States markets,
for use in the paper industry. . . .
If you think papermaking is purely science,
its not. Papermaking is still a great art. There
are variables that change every day, every sea-
son, every year. The availability and quality of
materials, technical information, equipment, skill,
economic conditions, environmental factors,
market supply and demand, amount of control
over these conditions and factors, aesthetics,
time, and inspiration all affect the quality of
the final product.
49
Kurt R. Schaefer, former Manager of Product Develop-
ment for Strathmore Products Group of the Strathmore
Paper Company, remarked: All Strathmore Museum Mount-
ing Boards and papers are manufactured, tested, and in-
spected in Strathmore Paper Company Mills. . . . Occasion-
ally our cotton fiber sources vary. . . . Strathmore main-
tains strict standards for the quality of cotton to be used in
its papers, and uses only the best available.
50
According
to Marketing and Product Development Manager David
Pottenger,
51
Strathmore once processed its own rags. It
now purchases cotton rags and cotton linters from the same
primary sources as other paper mills. Pottenger explained
that cotton rags are rarely used exclusively because they
are in such short supply and are generally supplementary
to other forms of cotton fibers in paper manufacturing. He
said that Strathmore Museum Mounting Board is currently
made from 100% cotton linters fibers. Although both cot-
ton rags and cotton linters are used by the company, Strath-
more does not use the word rag to describe any of its
products in its advertising literature. Even Strathmore
Bristol, which is always made of cotton rags (because, as
Pottenger explained, it is not possible to produce bristol
with the same physical characteristics when other forms
of cotton are used), is described in its product literature as
100% cotton paper.
52
The American Paper Institute (API) concurs with the
term 100% cotton fiber for describing papers made en-
tirely from cellulose derived from cotton regardless of the
cottons origin (e.g., linters, textile waste, rags).
53
It is
certainly better to use the term 100% cotton fiber when
describing any all cotton fiber paper even one that is
made from cotton rags than to call a 100% cotton linters
paper all rag; however, API contributes to the termino-
logical confusion by also sanctioning the term rag to
describe papers made from cotton linters fibers.
54,55
The World Print Council draws attention to the problem
of terminology regarding cotton fiber paper. It defined
rag content as:
A term describing the amount of cotton fi-
ber relative to the total amount of material used
in the making of certain kinds of paper. It is
expressed as a percentage, such as 100% rag
content or 80% rag content. The term, though
popular, is losing its meaning since more and
more high quality paper is made, not from rag,
but from linters.
56
Except in this last source, use of the term rag to de-
scribe papers made with non-rag forms of cotton fibers is
used throughout the published literature reviewed by this
author. With respect to its former place in papermaking
terminology, however, the term is archaic. The time has
come for paper manufacturers, distributors, and consum-
ers to abandon the term rag except for papers actually
and consistently made from rags.
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Proprietary Labeling
Given the terminological confusion and variations in raw
materials, the solution to the problem of knowing what
constitutes a particular product and what effect that
product can be expected to have on photographs might
seem to be simply to contact the manufacturers and ask
them how and with what their boards are made. Unfortu-
nately, the manufacturer may be difficult to identify or
reluctant to provide information. For example, many pa-
per companies purchase a particular paper product made
by one or more mills and then label it with a name not
associated with the true manufacturer(s). This practice,
known as private labeling, is common.
Some convertor-distributors imply in their advertise-
ments that they make board, although in fact they do not.
While several distributors produce board by assigning
specifications (specs) to a manufacturer, other compa-
nies simply purchase board ready-made and sell it as their
own; often the same board is given different names by
different distributors. At times it is impossible to know
with certainty what board is being sold and of what materi-
als the board is composed. Many distributors and retail
outlets sell a given type of board made by more than one
manufacturer, and when it is cut to small sizes and re-
wrapped in plain brown paper, it may even be impossible
for them to know which board is what.
Rising Paper Company has a policy of not selling board
to distributors who would obscure the Rising label by re-
naming, or de-naming, it. According to Dennis OConnor,
former Marketing Manager of the company, Rising does
not sell board to any convertors or distributors who pri-
vate label the product or sell it under their own name. If
the carton doesnt say Rising then its not.
57
This policy
may be difficult to enforce. For example, samples of board
examined by this author showed that Hurlock Company
and Miller Cardboard Corporation have both offered Ris-
ing boards under their own names, in addition to selling
other boards made by other manufacturers. (Hurlock and
Miller are convertors and so some of the composite boards
they market are their own products in that the combina-
tions are unique.)
The conversion of papers and boards into composite
products and the shared distribution of one companys product
are legitimate activities. The unavailability of accurate
product information from the many different companies,
however, creates confusion in the marketplace, particu-
larly among photographers and conservators, and those
doing research in conservation, who need to know exactly
what product they are using, where it is available, and
under what name or names.
None of the manufacturers (i.e., Beckett, James River,
Monadnock, Parsons, Rising, and Strathmore) were will-
ing to provide this author with information about the dis-
tributing companies that market their mount boards un-
der proprietary brand names. Speaking for James River,
Alden Hamilton explained that although his company is
concerned with needs on the consumer level, as a major
manufacturer that operates many mills and produces many
paper products, it is primarily merchant-oriented and must,
necessarily, protect its customers. In other words, its market
The Museum Board Manufacturing Industry
This authors research revealed that there are only five
companies in the United States that manufacture museum
mount board. They are: Parsons Paper Company, Rising
Paper Company, Strathmore Paper Company, Monadnock
Paper Mills, and James River Corporation.
(Note: Until November 1989, coinciding with the merger
of Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead and Crestwood Paper Com-
pany, Beckett Paper Company also was a manufacturer of
mount board. In 1990, Process Materials Corporation be-
came known as Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.
and, in April 1991, James River mount board and art papers
division came under the control of Custom Papers Group,
Inc. The bulk of the writing of this chapter was done in
1983, and references to A/N/W, Beckett, Crestwood, James
River, and Process Materials in the following discussion are
for the most part left unchanged.)
Of the five manufacturers, only Parsons, Rising, and
Strathmore distribute mount board under their own names.
James River and Monadnock operate mills but market their
products only through major distributors, who in turn sell
to smaller distributors and retailers. It is startling to dis-
cover that all of the hundreds of other companies in the
mount board business operating as convertors, distribu-
tors, or retailers sell board produced by one or more of
these five manufacturers. Rising and Strathmore are the
only two companies among the five whose products are
widely recognized by name within the consumer market.
In addition to the five manufacturers, there are several
major distributors who label mount board and who are
mistakenly thought to be manufacturers. These include:
Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead-Crestwood; Archivart Division
of Heller & Usdan, Inc.; Cardcrafts, Inc.; The Columbia
Corporation; Crescent Cardboard Company; Hurlock Com-
pany, Inc.; Light Impressions Corporation; Miller Card-
board Corporation; Morilla, Inc.; Nielsen & Bainbridge;
Rupaco Paper Corporation; and University Products, Inc.
Three of the manufacturers (Parsons, Rising, and Strath-
more) and four of the major distributors (ANW-Crestwood,
Process Materials [Archivart], Light Impressions, and Uni-
versity Products) sell their boards primarily to the mu-
seum and fine art markets. Nielsen & Bainbridge, Cardcrafts,
Columbia, Crescent, Hurlock, Miller, Morilla, and Rupaco
also sell their boards in the museum marketplace but sell
more of their products to high-volume framing shops, re-
tail stores, and interior design establishments; these eight
distributors are also convertors, which means that they
purchase base board from one or more paper manufactur-
ers and then convert it into another product, such as a
textured composite mat board, by laminating fabric or pa-
per to the two sides of the base board.
There are other companies, such as Howard Paper Mills,
Inc. and Mohawk Paper Company, that do not sell boards
but manufacture a variety of papers, some of which are
laminated to base boards to create matboards and some
that are used in conservation work. The importance of
knowing which company makes what product becomes more
apparent when papers and mount boards are routinely tested
to determine their suitability for long-term use with photo-
graphs, and the results of the tests are published.
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cording to each companys specifications, by Parsons in
Holyoke, Massachusetts, while Bainbridge Alphamount has
been made by James River in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Composite boards are frequently assembled from prod-
ucts made by two or more manufacturers. The base boards
(core) and surface papers are commonly made at different
mills, while the backing papers may be made at yet an-
other mill. The convertor then laminates the three prod-
ucts together, or assigns the task to an outside laminating
company. Informed sources reported that James River
has manufactured the high-quality white core board for
Bainbridge Alphamat, Cardcrafts Astromat, and Miller
Ultimat, while Parsons has made the cotton fiber core board
for Crescent Rag Mat. This author did not learn who manu-
factures the surface and backing papers for these boards,
but believes the high-stability surface papers on Bainbridge
Alphamat and Crescent Rag Mat are made by Strathmore.
There are, meanwhile, different degrees of obfuscation
in the area of proprietary labeling. For example, some
companies such as A/N/W openly stated that they did not
operate paper mills and were, in fact, distributors for pa-
pers and boards, some of which were manufactured ac-
cording to their specifications. Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead
distributed many artists and specialty papers, both do-
mestic and imported, and in nearly every case the papers
retained their original names and labels, and their paper
samples were accompanied by a listing of over 65 paper
mills and manufacturers, titled Heralding Our Mills. Among
the exceptions, unfortunately, were its mount boards and
the A/N/W Interleaving Paper.
Looking back, Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead was the first
paper company to develop a 100% cotton fiber mount board.
In 1928, the company gave their first set of specifications to
the Valley Paper Company, which manufactured the board
until the late 1960s. For several years after that, the 100%
cotton fiber mount boards known as Gemini and W & A
were made at the Rising paper mill. When demand for
mount board increased in the early 1970s, Rising Paper
Company discontinued making board for Andrews/Nelson/
Whitehead and focused on producing its own line of mu-
seum boards. Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead retained both
the names and the formulas for the two boards which
have, at various times, been made by Beckett Paper Com-
pany, James River Corporation, and Monadnock Paper
Mills. A/N/W said that their museum board was consistent
in quality and composition, and that there were no alter-
ations of the formulas, regardless of the fact that they
worked with more than one paper mill, because, according
to the company, each mill adheres strictly to the Andrews/
Nelson/Whitehead specifications.
60
Crestwood Paper Company (which merged with A/N/W
in 1989) sells museum, photographic, and conservation boards
made by Rising and identifies the boards as such. It also
sells other museum-quality boards under the Crestwood
brand name. Asked about their board, Vice President Michael
S. Ginsburg replied that Parsons was the manufacturer of
Crestwood-labeled boards, and said that if customers re-
quested such information, he would provide it: Im inter-
ested in the customer relationship not only the sale
and in building a reputation as someone who can be trusted
for information about the products I sell.
61
consists almost entirely of convertors and authorized dis-
tributors who may and do label, with industry approval, the
paper products as their own without identifying the manu-
facturer. Similar statements were made by spokespersons
for the other manufacturers in the United States.
All distributors expressed concern about the publica-
tion of such information. One feared that customers would
contact the manufacturers directly, thereby cutting into
their business. Another worried that customers might doubt
the quality of their products. Although these are valid
concerns, such information would not displace the tradi-
tional and valuable position that distributors maintain in
the marketing of boards to retailers.
Although proprietary information could not be obtained
from the manufacturers, industry sources revealed that
this is a volatile market and one in which many distribu-
tors not only put their own labels on mount boards but also
readily change mills or employ various mills for the manu-
facture of a particular paper product without notifying
customers depending on which company offers the low-
est bid, can meet delivery schedules, and can satisfy prod-
uct specifications at a given time.
Dennis Inch, who has headed the development of archi-
val products at Light Impressions Corporation since 1975,
spoke on behalf of his and other companies that engage
different mills: It is necessary to change mills at times
because rising prices create competition. In addition, if we
stay with one supplier, we have no back-up when the need
arises.
58
At various times, therefore, the same board
will have been made by different manufacturers. Although
the basic formula and the applied standards for manufac-
ture may remain the same, when the manufacturing com-
pany is different, it is inevitable that there will be some
variation in the final product caused by the different ma-
chinery, water supply, and other factors.
Until approximately January 1985, the nonbuffered off-
white photographic boards sold by both Process Materials
(now Archivart) and Light Impressions were made for the
two companies by James River. This author believes that
Strathmore began to make Process Materials nonbuffered
boards some time in 1985; Strathmore had been the manu-
facturer of Process Materials solid-color museum boards
for many years.
In the Light Impressions 1985 catalog, the company no
longer listed the off-white photographic board; instead, two
Non-Buffered 100% Rag Boards (Bright White and Cream)
were offered. Examination of a sample of the Bright White
board in June 1985 indicated that it was made by either
Parsons or Rising, although the company would neither
confirm nor deny this. In 1986, the board appeared to be
manufactured by Parsons. Industry sources indicated that
some of Light Impressions mount boards were not even
bought from manufacturers, but rather from other distribu-
tors. Ron Emerson, Technical Assistant and Accounts Man-
ager for Light Impressions, explained the predicament:
We are not trying to hide information from our customers.
We are simply unwilling to make a commitment in a situa-
tion that is constantly changing.
59
Other examples of proprietary labeling: the 100% cotton
fiber mount boards distributed by Nielsen & Bainbridge
and by Crescent Cardboard Company have been made, ac-
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distributor follow the example set by Atlantis Paper Com-
pany in England and identify not only the particular paper
mill and the converting company (if any) but also provide a
list of the products contents, manufacturing specifications
(including a clearly identifiable lot number), and photo-
graphic reactivity tests. The list should be included with
every package. This is discussed at length in Chapter 13.
Section Four: Constructing a
Conservation Mat
Conservation mounting
63
is distinguished from other
types of mounting in that its primary purpose is to help
preserve the photograph it supports. A conservation mount
usually requires an overmat to fulfill this purpose. The
unit consisting of the overmat and the mount is called a
conservation mat. This flat enclosure can be opened like
a book and contains one or more properly mounted prints;
it is made of carefully selected materials including stable,
nonreactive adhesives and two or more pieces of high-
quality mount board or artists paper in which one or more
windows have been cut to facilitate viewing of the enclosed
print or prints.
The making of a conservation mat requires knowledge,
attention, skill, and taste in the areas of (1) materials, (2)
construction, (3) design, and (4) craftsmanship.
1. The materials should be chosen first for their composi-
tion, which should promote the long-term preservation
of the photograph; the boards and adhesives for mount-
ing a print cannot properly be selected until the spe-
cific physical, chemical, and aesthetic requirements of
the individual print are known.
2. The construction of a mat should be determined by the
print materials specific structural requirements, so that
adequate physical support and protection will be pro-
vided during handling, storage, display, and transpor-
tation; in addition, the construction should facilitate
handling without being cumbersome.
3. The design of the mounting should enhance the picture
without altering it or being decorative unless this is
part of the photographers intention; in addition, the
design should separate the photograph from (or, in some
It is possible that different mills may be manufacturing
the above distributors boards by the time this book has
gone to press in late 1992, and that there will continue to be
changes afterward.
In contrast to this, there are a few companies, such as
Talas (Division of Technical Library Service, Inc.), that do
not assign proprietary names to any boards they carry.
Talas, an important resource for information about materi-
als and people involved in museum and library conserva-
tion work, and the long-time supplier of many related prod-
ucts, sells mount boards made by Parsons and Rising pa-
per companies and identifies the boards as such.
Arno Roessler, President of Paper Technologies, Inc.,
believes that the consumer should be informed of a boards
ingredients and expected performance, but he feels that it
is more important to know with what and how a board is
made than it is to know who made it. He also pointed out
that not only can a distributor change mills and formulas
without notifying the consumer, but that mills can also
make significant changes within their own range of vary-
ing conditions without notifying the distributors. Roessler
stressed that experience, expertise, and maximum control
over the many stages of papermaking are most important
from setting the specifications to determining composi-
tion and special techniques, which may have to be em-
ployed to meet all of the requirements for the intended end
use. Roessler, who is well-known for his service to the
museum and archive community, commented that inde-
pendent producers such as his company and Process Ma-
terials (Archivart) usually have more latitude than manu-
facturers in setting up specifications and in designing prod-
ucts for specialty markets such as the field of photographic
conservation.
62
Operations in the paper industry are obviously complex
and, in some cases, it may be difficult to denounce the
practice of private labeling, particularly when the labeled
product is unique and not available from any other com-
pany under any other name. Proprietary labeling at its
worst, however, is a form of deception that usually springs
from a fear of competition. Companies should concern
themselves less with maintaining exclusivity in the mar-
ketplace and concentrate on providing a consistently high
quality of services, products, and information and with es-
tablishing a credible market for the good of the whole in-
dustry. Private labeling in the paper industry as well as
in other industries does not benefit the consumer and,
in the long run, may actually cause considerable harm.
Knowing the specific composition of a paper product is
required by those doing conservation research if they are
to understand the mechanisms by which a product affects
a photographic material. For example, if a particular lami-
nating adhesive proves to be harmful to certain kinds of
photographs, it would be essential to know which boards
contain that adhesive. In addition, the manufacturer must
be identifiable because the information obtained in testing
a distributors board is almost useless if the distributor
changes mills. Finally, when complete product informa-
tion is provided, a photographer is better able to set exact-
ing standards for the materials used in his or her work.
This author recommends, in the case of high-quality
mount boards and papers, that every manufacturer and
A print held in a conservation mat with mounting corners.
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sheets depending on size, ply (thickness), and tone. In the
United States, the most common full-sheet sizes of mount
board are 32x40 inches and 40x60 inches. Full-sheet sizes
are generally determined by the manufacturer or distribu-
tor, although in special situations board can be made in
sizes specified by the customer. The most common thick-
nesses available are 2-ply and 4-ply, although some compa-
nies offer 1-ply, 6-ply, and 8-ply. One-ply museum board is
usually about 12.5 points, or approximately
1
80
1
64 inch
thick.
64
The exact thickness measurement of 1-ply varies
between different boards and different manufacturers (see
Appendix 12.2: Mount Board Thickness).
Ordering Board Cut to Size
Mount board is most often sold in full sheets which have
to be cut into smaller pieces for use. The term sheet
refers to full, uncut board or paper as it arrives from the
manufacturer or sheeter (one who cuts board and paper
into industry standard or specified sizes directly from the
roll or web). The term piece refers to sections of board
extracted from full sheets.
Archivart, Light Impressions, Paper Technologies, Uni-
versity Products, and some other distributors sell pack-
ages of pre-cut board in standard sizes. Most distributors
and mail-order companies have equipment to cut sheets
into pieces of requested sizes for a fee based on either
quantity or weight of the total order. This service is valu-
able to users who do not have the capability to cut large
sheets or large quantities of board. The quality of their
cutting is usually superior to that done by the user. It is
not uncommon, however, to receive board that is
1
16 inch
larger or smaller in one or both directions and that is cut at
an angle which deviates slightly from the 90 standard.
Even so, precise cutting of this type is still more likely
done by a machine than by hand.
Mount board commonly expands and shrinks in vari-
able-humidity environments, so the cutter may or may not
cases, deliberately connect it to) the surrounding envi-
ronment. In general, a mat is visually most successful
when it is barely noticed.
4. Finally, the quality of the craftsmanship should ex-
press the feelings and the respect that the photogra-
pher and caretaker have for the work.
Although the selection of materials and the construc-
tion of a conservation mat are often primarily determined
by the need for image preservation and physical protec-
tion, and although design and craftsmanship are usually
primarily related to presentation aesthetics, all four areas
are interdependent.
Purchasing Mount Board
Mount board can be purchased from art supply stores,
mail-order companies, and wholesale paper distributors.
Board purchased by the individual sheet may cost twice as
much or more as that purchased by the carton but, unless
the customer is representing an institution or business
and purchases a large quantity (average minimum: 2550
sheets, or one carton), a wholesale distributor is unlikely
to accept an order.
Prices are normally discounted according to the quan-
tity ordered. Customers requiring fewer than 25 sheets
may purchase board through retail art supply stores and
mail-order companies such as Conservation Resources In-
ternational, Inc., Light Impressions Corporation, Talas, Inc.,
and University Products, Inc. These companies also ac-
cept orders for large quantities of boards and, for some
products, may require a minimum order. Manufacturers
can supply a list of wholesale distributors (and sometimes
of retailers) that sell their products in a particular geo-
graphic area. Distributors can provide lists of local retail-
ers. (See Suppliers List at the end of this chapter.)
Full cartons of mount board contain 10, 25, 50, or 100
M
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1
9
8
8
Mario Santiago of Crestwood
Paper Company (New York/New
Jersey) operates one of the
companys two large comput-
erized paper cutting machines.
Most major paper distributors
have at least one such machine
to cut down large sheets and/
or thick stacks of mount board
and paper to customers re-
quired sizes. (In October 1989,
Crestwood merged with An-
drews/Nelson/Whitehead to
become ANW-Crestwood Paper
Company.)
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14 x 17 14 x 17
14 x 18 14 x 18
8 x 10
W
a
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t
e
W
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e
11 x 14
11 x 14
20 x 24 20 x 24
(grain long) (grain long)
(grain long)
(grain long)
(grain long)
(grain long) (grain long)
(grain long)
(grain short)
be responsible for dimensional errors. When requesting
the cutting of board to size, state that the board pieces
should be square and exact and well-wrapped.
Also specify at the time of ordering that you want the
off-cuts, which are sometimes referred to as waste. Large
off-cuts (e.g., 8x20 inches, 10x40 inches) are excellent tabletop
protectors and better suited as a cutting surface than most
materials. (For example, Masonite is too hard and dense,
and chipboard is too soft. One of the keys to consistently
clean, sharp cutting is to cut into the same material that is
being cut through.) Small off-cuts are useful as blotter
surfaces upon which binding tape can be moistened. Some
off-cuts may be large enough to be made into small mats.
If more off-cuts (and window cut-outs) accumulate than
can be used, contact a local school or an organization such
as Materials for the Arts in New York City. Materials for
the Arts welcomes all kinds of supplies and distributes the
donations to nonprofit educational and cultural organiza-
tions that in turn give the materials to children, students,
and artists.
65
Whether your surplus is small or large, pass
it along to someone who can use it.
Cutting Board to Size
When planning a cutting map (see Figure 12.1) and
before marking measurements on a full sheet, confirm the
overall size of the board. Board may deviate from its des-
ignated size by as much as
1
4 inch and occasionally more.
It is particularly important to check the exact width and
length at all four corners not only in the middle when
cutting a full sheet into equal-sized pieces, such as when
dividing one 32x40-inch sheet in half twice to make four
16x20-inch pieces. Planning ahead can prevent unneces-
sary work and expense later.
Board Grain
It is sometimes possible to draw up a cutting map that
takes grain direction into account. It is widely known that
it is easier to cut, tear, and fold paper along its grain than
to do so against (across) its grain. The reason for consid-
ering grain direction in matmaking, however, is that a
boards flexibility is usually greater in one direction, and
this will help determine the overall strength of the mount
and/or mat. The degree of flexibility for a given piece of
board depends on the direction of the grain relative to the
boards size and proportions, as well as on the boards
thickness, density, and material composition. (High-humidity
environments will cause boards to bend more easily.)
Until recently most full sheets of high-quality boards
were cut grain long by the manufacturer. This means
that the grain runs parallel to the longer side. A board that
has been cut grain long will bend and warp less than the
same board with its grain running parallel to the shorter
side. In this authors experience, the grain direction of full
sheets of 32x40-inch mount board has usually been parallel
to the 40-inch side, while the grain direction of 40x60-inch
mount board has been consistently parallel to the 60-inch
side.
66
Check with the distributor or manufacturer to con-
firm this, each time board is ordered.
In general, whenever possible, the longer sides of the
cut-out board pieces should be parallel to the grain. Con-
sideration of grain direction is especially important when
cutting large mats and mats with narrow borders. Some-
times, the strongest construction requires a combination
of grain directions, with the backing being grain long and
the overmat grain short. This depends on the shape of
the mat, the thickness and density of the board, the width
of the borders, the placement of the window, as well as the
physical characteristics of the print. Unfortunately, in
most institutions and frame shops, grain direction cannot
usually be taken into account when cutting board to size.
Standard Sizes
Standard sizes are those that are used most frequently
and are most commonly available. In time, some standard
sizes may change as dictated both by aesthetics and by
economic considerations in the marketplace.
Knowledge of standard sizes is helpful for a variety of
reasons. Standardization simplifies storing, packaging,
shipping, and display requirements, and usually reduces
costs and waste. In addition, standard sizes can play an
important role in presentation. For example, it is gener-
Figure 12.1: An example of a board map made prior to
cutting a sheet of 40x60-inch board. Small pencil marks
should be made in two locations for each cut, and not full
length lines as pictured above.
Waste Waste
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ally easier to study a series of related prints that are the
same or nearly the same size than it is to study prints of a
combination of markedly different sizes and proportions.
Claude Minotto, Chief of the Archives Division of the Ar-
chives Nationales du Quebec in Montreal, wrote:
Through careful design and interpretation,
an exhibition or a publication can offer the inti-
macy, the integrity, and the exclusivity of well-
selected photographs. Into the Silent Land
thus proved an amazingly successful journey.
Another feature, however, may have accounted
partly for the success of that early western pho-
tography exhibition: coherence and continuity
of image and frame sizes a standardization
of format well understood now by cinematogra-
phy and television.
67
On the other hand, some people do not believe that
standard sizes are as desirable. Photographer Victor
Schrager made the following remark:
In general, I think it is an excellent thing
that care and intelligence contribute to more
sensitive and knowledgeable presentation and
preservation of photographs. However, there
has been a tendency for a standard presenta-
tion of pictures from printing and size deci-
sions to matting to exhibition design and con-
ception which is unimaginative. . . . Preser-
vation does not have to be conservative.
Checking Board Shipments
Board should be inspected when it arrives to assure
that it is in good condition and that it is exactly what was
ordered. Board with serious manufacturing defects dis-
covered later will almost always be accepted for exchange,
but returns of stock that has been damaged by improper
handling will most likely not be accepted by a distributor
more than a week or so after delivery.
The same type and brand of board will be slightly differ-
ent each time it is purchased (if it has been made at differ-
ent times) because of minor inconsistencies inherent in
the paper manufacturing process. There will be subtle
variations in surface texture and finish, color, tone, den-
sity, flexibility, thickness, and so forth. The differences,
however, should not be significant. When absolute consis-
tency is necessary (e.g., portfolio mounting), the entire
amount of board needed for a project should be purchased
at one time; specify that the board should all come from
the same manufactured lot not according to the dis-
tributors lot. Distributors lots often consist of more than
one manufactured lot.
When purchasing board at full retail prices, each sheet
should be nearly perfect. When buying board on the whole-
sale level, expect 15% of the stock to have some notice-
able handling flaws such as minor surface impressions,
dents, scratches, clamp marks, fingerprints, occasional stains,
and other imperfections caused during handling, cutting to
size, packaging, and shipping. Boards with these type of
defects are usually the first and last ones in the packages.
In addition, there will occasionally be manufacturing
defects, which can include splinters, insects, discoloration,
separation of plies, defective lamination, structural warp-
ing, flaking, feathering, lumps or flocculation (i.e., high-
density areas), air pockets, fissures, uneven dye or pig-
ment distribution, and extreme color variations from batch
to batch. When more than 1015% (i.e., 15 or more sheets
out of 100) of a shipment is seriously flawed handling
damages and manufacturing defects combined the en-
tire shipment should be returned to the distributor as soon
as possible for exchange or credit. Flawed board should
not be used because it compromises the quality of the fin-
ished work, whether it shows or not.
What Sizes Are Standard for Photography?
The standard sizes of mats, frames, and storage
cases for photographic prints evolved from the sizes
that have long been used in museums for collections
of drawings, watercolors, lithographs, and so forth. It
was not until the 1970s that widespread consideration
was given to the particular sizes and proportions of
photographic prints. The standard size of 16x22 inches,
which continues to be used by many museums prima-
rily for works of art other than photographs, has been
nearly replaced by photographers, curators of photo-
graphic collections, and photography dealers with the
size of 16x20 inches. Another museum standard size,
14x18 inches, continues to be used to mat and mount
photographs, particularly those made from full-frame
35mm negatives and transparencies. In the mid-1970s,
14x17 inches, a size which was not common before
1970, was often requested and is now a common size
for matting 8x10-inch contact prints in particular. The
20x24-inch size is usually substituted for the museum
standard size of 19x24 inches.
The most frequently used standard sizes for mounting
and framing photographic prints are the following:
68
8x10 inches
11x14 inches
14x17 inches
14x18 inches
16x20 inches
20x24 inches
22x26 inches
22x28 inches
24x30 inches
30x40 inches
40x60 inches
The following standard sizes are used less frequently:
9x12 inches
12x14
1
2 inches
13x15 inches
16x22 inches
18x22 inches
18x24 inches
19x24 inches
20x26 inches
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Paper companies generally appreciate customers com-
ments, both favorable and critical, because discussing the
problems helps them to provide better quality control, bet-
ter products, and better service. Chi C. Chen, former Tech-
nical Director of Rising Paper Company, said, Comments,
criticism and recommendations from our customers help
us to produce mount board that can better satisfy the con-
sumers needs. The more customers understand about
paper, the more comfortable they will feel about using it.
69
Opening Packages of Board
If the outside of a newly received package of board is
damaged, remove the wrapping entirely. If the board has
been significantly damaged, rewrap it in the original wrap-
ping and return it. If the board is not damaged, thoroughly
wash your hands and remove at least two sheets or pieces
of board from the middle of the package to check its condi-
tion, to identify the front and back sides, and to confirm the
size, ply, finish, texture, and tone. Then inspect the two
outside sheets. Compare the surfaces of sheets in differ-
ent packages for consistency.
Board should be held to a light source to examine color
and clarity (absence or presence of insects, bubbles, etc.).
Foreign matter trapped between plies is usually found only
when the board is cut through at the defect or if light is
projected through the board. A large light box or light
table is excellent for finding flaws before cutting. Defects
will also show up immediately if one holds a board perpen-
dicular and very close to the open side of a Luxor or similar
lamp containing a 100-watt bulb.
Marking Board to Assure Correct Alignment
When Assembling Mats
If the board has passed its first examination, return it to
its original position in the package. (Other defects will
become evident when the board is selected for use, at which
time another inspection should be done. Soiled or dam-
aged wrappings should always be replaced with clean pa-
per.) Using a drafting pencil with a medium-hard lead (i.e.,
H or 2H is best) that does not have a sharp point, press
lightly while drawing a straight line along one side of the
open package of board, marking only the outside edge of
every piece from the top to the bottom in the same loca-
tion, which should be either to the left or to the right of the
center, or near one corner. Each package of board within a
given type, tone, and size should be marked at a slightly
different location (but not in the center).
The line serves as a guide in matching the overmat
board to the backing when the two pieces are taken from
the same package. This is often necessary because board
is rarely cut with perfect 90 angles at the four corners; a
difference between two boards is instantly noticeable when
one piece is reversed or after the binding tape has been
applied and the mat is closed. When board is pre-cut to
size, a mat should ideally be made of two consecutive pieces
from one package. In portfolios, it is important to match
the front and back boards closely for the sake of appear-
ance, to speed the process of alignment, and to eliminate
potential problems of fitting the mounted prints into cases
and frames. One must also make certain that each mat
matches every other mat in size as closely as possible, and
no two mats in the same portfolio case should vary in size
by more than
1
16 inch.
For general purposes, the refinement of matching fronts
and backs in a single mat is not essential provided that the
difference between the two boards is not instantly notice-
able, or does not exceed
1
16 inch. Also, larger size differ-
ences between the overmat and backing board should not
exist in mats intended for framing unless those mats fit
properly into the frames and the overmat and backing are
aligned along the bottom edge of the mat. Individuals with
exacting standards, however, will not tolerate more than a
1
32-inch difference between the overmat and the backing
in any case, both for aesthetic reasons and because the
construction may be compromised, risking damage to cer-
tain types of prints in certain situations.
Labeling Board
Packages of board should be identified on the wrapping
paper or on a shelf label. The label should carry a date
(e.g., order date or delivery date), the corresponding
distributors invoice number, the manufacturers lot num-
ber, if known, and should identify the manufacturer and
distributor as well as the type, size, ply, and color of the
board (see Figure 12.2: Diagram of Board Label).
When board is removed from its packaging, it should be
protected in closed cabinets on shelving made of a non-
reactive material such as steel with a baked-enamel coat-
ing, and its label should appear on its shelf or door. Do not
stack boards of different sizes directly on top of each other
because surface impressions or bowing may result.
This authors preferred grouping is as follows: First
separate board according to type (e.g., alkaline-buffered
100% cotton fiber board, nonbuffered photographic board,
conservation board, etc.). Each type should then be sepa-
rated into tones and colors. Within each tone or color,
different sizes should be grouped together and then, within
each size, different thicknesses should be separated. If
more than one manufacturer is represented, that distinc-
tion should be clearly indicated.
All packages of paper and board (whether for printing,
mounting, hinging, interleaving, or other purposes) should
be stored horizontally on a flat surface at least 2 inches
from the floor to keep the packages clean and safe from
accidental spills or flooding and to reduce moisture ab-
sorption and warping. When horizontal storage is not pos-
sible for large cartons of board (32x40 inches and larger), it
is recommended that the cartons stand so that the grain
runs vertically; to minimize warping, the cartons should be
rotated at least every 3 months so that the sides facing the
supporting wall are turned around to face outward.
6/16/92 #312A-CW / Rising Photomount 20x24 4-W
Figure 12.2: Sample diagram of a board label. It is
helpful in many stages of working to use abbreviations
and symbols for identification. For example, the desig-
nation 4-W refers to 4-ply white. Off-white board can
be designated OW.
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The Working Environment
It is important to separate the two activities of matting
and framing since they involve two different and incompat-
ible work environments. Dry mounting is another activity
that should be done in its own meticulously clean area.
Most paper and board dust created when mats are made
does not present a serious threat to photographs since it is
not inherently abrasive and is usually easy to remove. (Pho-
tographs to be matted or framed should be covered at all
times except when they are being inspected, measured,
mounted, and installed.) This dust interferes, however,
when it clings to glass or Plexiglas during the cleaning and
assembling of frames, and during dry mounting procedures.
Frames should be constructed in a well-ventilated and
spacious area away from prints and mounting materials.
The wood, aluminum, plastic, and glass dust, splinters, and
chips that are created when frames are made are extremely
harmful to the surfaces of photographic prints, which are
very easily scratched. Mount board is also easily damaged
in a framing environment. Frames and prints should not
be brought together until the frames are completely cleaned,
partially assembled, and ready to receive the properly
mounted and/or matted prints.
The areas in which matting and framing are done and
where materials are stored should be vacuumed every work-
ing day. Ideally, they should have a controlled tempera-
ture of about 70F (21C) with the relative humidity main-
tained at about 50%. Prints and mounts can warp when
they are displayed or stored in an environment with rela-
tive humidity that is either higher or lower than the one in
which the prints were mounted and framed. The same can
occur when prints are mounted and then framed under two
different environments.
In 1984, Bark Frameworks, Inc. in New York City in-
stalled a climate-controlling system to help maintain mod-
erate temperature and relative humidity levels in its work-
shop. In 1986, A.P.F., Inc. moved to a new 78,000 square
foot facility in the Bronx, New York, which was equipped
with environmental controls in the finishing and fitting de-
partments.
70
Work areas should be well illuminated. If possible, both
fluorescent lighting and tungsten incandescent lighting should
be available to more accurately determine how each mounted
print will look in its intended display environment. Smok-
ing, drinking, and eating in the mounting and framing vi-
cinities should be prohibited at all times.
Making a Conservation Mat
To make a conservation mat, you will need:
1. A clean, well-lighted area
2. The appropriate boards and papers
3. The appropriate adhesives and tapes
4. A flat, sturdy table or counter
5. Tabletop protection (e.g., expendable mount board)
6. A heavy-gauge, stainless-steel straightedge or T-square
7. A thin, very finely incremented plastic or stainless-steel
ruler (preferably Gaebel Model 1057)
71
8. One or more cutting instruments with sharp blades
9. Extra blades
10. Sharp scissors
11. Drafting pencils with 2H and H leads
12. A pencil sharpener
13. Clean erasers (such as Eberhard Faber Kneaded
Rubber and Faber Castell Magic Rub 1954)
72
14. Clean, soft, undyed, lint-free, cotton wiping cloths or
white paper towels
15. An undyed cellulose sponge
16. Clean water in a shallow glass bowl
17. A burnisher
18. A paperweight
19. Interleaving paper
20. Polyethylene bags and packaging materials,
73
or storage case
21. An open mind so that inventions can develop naturally
with the work
74
The Basic Steps
1. Wash hands
2. Apply a fresh, tabletop protector
3. Sharpen pencils and clean tools
4. Clean blades with a disposable paper towel
5. Wash hands again
6. Select the mount board, paper, and tape
7. Inspect the mount board for flaws
8. Measure the print
9. Apply the measurements to the board with a pencil
10. Remove the print from the work area
11. Cut the outer dimensions, if necessary
12. Cut the window in the overmat
13. Erase all measurement markings
14. Burnish all edges, inside and outside, front and back
15. Compare the window with the print for mistakes
16. If necessary, repeat steps 5 through 15
17. Bind the overmat to the backing with the proper tape
18. Copy all information appearing on the back of the print
19. Position the print inside the mat
20. Close the mat to double-check the prints position
21. Place a protective paper on top of the print
22. Place a suitable weight on top of the protective paper
23. Install the print with mounting corners and/or hinges
24. Trim the mounting corners, if necessary
25. Write down the date and what materials were used
26. Either frame the mounted print, or insert interleaving
paper between the print and the overmat and place it
into a polyethylene bag, a storage case, or a drawer
27. Clean up
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Board Size and Thickness:
2-Ply versus 4-Ply, or More
The size, thickness, weight, and flexibility of a print
determine the necessary size, thickness, weight, and stiff-
ness of the materials needed to mount and mat it. Also
included among the many factors to be considered in se-
lecting board thickness are:
1. The print condition
2. The boards ability to properly support a print either as
a mount or as an overmat combined with a mount
3. Intended use of the mounted print
4. Available funds
5. Aesthetic preferences
6. Available storage space
7. Overall storing, carrying, and shipping weight
In every case of matting an unmounted print, the back-
ing or support section of the mat should be stiffer and
larger than the print material. That is, the mount should
be rigid enough when held at its outer edges with two
hands to hold the print without bending under the weight
of the print; the mount should also be rigid enough to sup-
port the overmat. In addition, the overmat and mount
should always be large enough so that the edges of the
print material are not exposed and subject to handling.
For identification purposes, a print on paper that is 8x10
inches to 16x20 inches is considered medium-size and a
print on paper with measurements outside that range is
considered large or small. (Mats that are 11x14 inches to
20x24 inches are considered medium-size.)
Photographic prints larger than 16x20 inches should not
be matted with 2-ply board. Prints that are 16x20 inches
should usually be matted with 4-ply board; however, a 2-ply
overmat attached to a 4-ply backing on the long side is
usually secure and unyielding to most sorts of bending
which could harm the print. Warped prints of any size
should not be matted with 2-ply board on either side.
Many people want a 4-ply overmat because they like the
way it looks but try to save money and/or space by using 2-
ply board for the backing. A 4-ply overmat should not be
attached to a 2-ply backing for any size print because the
backing will bend under the weight of the print because it is
attached to a stiffer and heavier overmat even during
careful handling and preclude proper support, possibly
causing damage to the print inside. In certain situations,
however, such as when a print is dry mounted to a board
that is the same size as the mat and the three boards will
be framed together, a 2-ply backing with a 4-ply overmat
may be acceptable.
Most prints that are loaned or sent out on traveling
exhibition should be overmatted and backed with 4-ply boards,
although sometimes 2-ply overmats attached to 4-ply backings
are adequate. A 4-ply overmat is nearly always preferred if
a print is to be framed. The thicker overmat will lessen the
chance of the print surface contacting, and possibly ferro-
typing, or sticking to, the framing glass. Also, the thicker
the mat the greater its effectiveness in minimizing print
curl which can result with fiber-base prints over a period of
years as a consequence of cycling relative humidity.
Lightweight Mats
Lightweight mats made with 1- or 2-ply board are often
desired for economic, practical, or aesthetic reasons. Board
that is 2-ply costs about half as much and is half as thick as
the same board which is 4-ply, and it requires less storage
space. Lightweight mats may be preferred when weight is
a critical factor; they are particularly desirable in cased
portfolios and in very large collections.
Sometimes small prints can be matted with a variety of
heavyweight artists papers, which also have the advan-
tage of being available in a very wide range of surface
finishes, textures, and tones.
Designing a Mat
Many measurements must be taken in the course of
designing a mat. Before the overall size of the mat can be
determined, the following dimensions must be known:
1. The size of the photographic paper
2. The size of the image on the photographic paper
Given these minimal constraints that the mat will be
larger than the photographic paper and that the mat win-
dow will be either smaller, the same size, or larger than
the image there is much room in which to exercise
judgment and to express personal taste.
It is important to keep in mind that the composition of a
picture can be affected by the design of the mat. There-
fore, before any additional measuring is done, the follow-
ing factors should be considered:
1. The composition of the picture
2. The proportion of the print (e.g., square, square-hori-
zontal, long-horizontal, vertical)
3. Showing or covering the signature
4. Covering the edges of the image, floating the image, or
floating the entire sheet of photographic paper
5. If the print will float, the width of the float considered
in relation to the composition of the picture and to all
vertical and horizontal bars in the image (such as
poles, doors, stripes, lines, and so forth) as well as to
the mat borders
6. If the print will float, whether the print is perfectly
square at its four corners
7. The possible overall sizes of the mat
8. The possible mat proportions and directions
(i.e., horizontal mat, vertical mat, or square mat)
9. The potential placement of the print (e.g., horizontal
print on horizontal mat, horizontal print on vertical mat)
10. The window size relative to the possible mat sizes
(e.g., small window in large mat)
11. The potential width of the right and left side borders
(which should be equal to each other for mats that have
only one window) relative to the potential top and bot-
tom borders
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Don Rodans Polaroid SX-70 color photograph Cerberus (of Leo and Toiny Castellis beloved dalmation, Patrick) was matted
twice to better judge the effect of each design. The version on the left is a standard 8x10-inch size, while the version on the right
is a 10x10-inch square conforming to the proportions of the original print. (Photograph from The Greek Myths [197678])
Placement of the Window
After the overall size of the mat has been decided, the
location of the window will need to be determined. The
border of the mat below the picture will usually appear to
be slightly narrower than the top and side borders if all
borders are equal in width. To establish a visual balance,
therefore, the bottom border should be somewhat wider
than the top border. Some people always make the bottom
border
1
2 inch wider than the top border. A perfect bal-
ance cannot, however, be set by such rules.
Precise placement always depends on the individual pic-
ture image, the already-mentioned considerations, and the
ideas of the person(s) involved with the mounting. In addi-
tion, two entirely or somewhat different designs may be
equally pleasing. For example, some people prefer verti-
cal mats regardless of whether the print is vertical, square,
or horizontal. (Paul Strands horizontal prints are almost
always mounted on vertical boards.) No formulas can pre-
scribe invariably ideal placement or perfect design. There
may, however, be an existing condition that predetermines
or partially controls the design.
For example, a photograph printed on paper that is the
same or nearly the same size as the mat predetermines
the location of the window. This is always the case if trim-
ming the photographic paper is to be avoided. For this and
other reasons, placement of the image on the photographic
paper at the time of printing should be determined very
carefully.
This is especially important when the photographs have
been printed on artists papers that have distinctive edges.
For example, the owners of a portfolio of Edward Steichen
Selecting a Mat Size
If a standard mat size is desired, the print should be
viewed on the three or four most likely standard sizes. For
example, an 8x10-inch print could be placed on 11x14-,
14x17-, and 16x20-inch pieces of board. Simply center the
print on each of the pieces and see what looks best to you.
If the mat can be a custom size (that is, determined by
the unique composition of the particular photographic im-
age and by the personal preferences of the photographer
or caretaker), place the print on a board that is about four
times larger than the print. Move the print from side to
side and from top to bottom to determine the ideal border
widths. For the inexperienced eye, it can be difficult to
judge the effect, particularly if some part of the photo-
graphic paper or image is to be covered in the final design.
L-shaped pieces of board, a few inches wide and several
inches long, are sometimes helpful as guides.
Another approach is to place the print on the closest
best standard size board and then make the desired al-
terations.
When not predetermined by a factor such as an existing
frame, the size of the mat is usually a matter of personal
taste. Even when selecting from among standard sizes,
the photographer or caretaker may prefer narrow borders
or ample borders, tall, slender mats or short, wide mats,
square mats or vertical mats, and so on.
As indicated, mat size and proportion can affect the
composition of an image, and it is possible to maintain the
overall balance of a picture, unbalance it, or change the
balance simply by increasing or decreasing overall mat
size and/or increasing or decreasing individual borders.
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photographs, printed by the gravure process on Rives BFK
paper with deckled edges, requested that the prints be
matted for physical protection. The size of the paper var-
ied from 15
5
8x19
3
4 inches to 15
5
8x19
7
8 inches. Image sizes
varied from small to large, and they were both vertical and
horizontal in direction. This author decided to mat the
prints with 16x20-inch 4-ply Rising Warm White museum
board.
75
It was possible to mat the prints in a standard
size close to the paper sizes because all the images were
printed in a precise and straight position on the paper.
Print Borders
When a photograph has not been positioned properly on
the paper at the time of printing, it may be possible to
compensate for the error when matting. For example, the
image can be raised or lowered or straightened in its mat if
the photographic paper is smaller than the mat or if trim-
ming of the photographic paper is permitted.
In general, the trimming of print borders should be dis-
couraged.
76
This author recommends that photographers
print their pictures so that moderate paper borders of ap-
proximately 13 inches, and not less than
3
4 inch, surround
the image area. For example, 8x10-inch images should be
printed on 11x14-inch paper. On the other hand, excessive
borders such as, borders wider than 6 inches for large
prints should be avoided. One reason for this is that the
larger the paper, the more difficult it is to handle safely. In
addition, matting prints which have very large borders of-
ten requires trimming off the excess, an operation that
risks damaging the print. Dye Transfer prints, however,
should have borders that are at least 2 inches wide be-
cause approximately
1
2 inch usually needs to be trimmed
off to remove warped edges. (See further discussion of
borders in the section on Mounting Corner Design.)
Photographs that are to be matted should ideally be
printed on paper which is at least
1
2 inch smaller all around
than the mat to prevent it from extending outside the mat
and to provide space inside the mat for taping down mounting
corners. For example, an 11x14-inch image printed on
16x20-inch paper, which will have a 16x20-inch mat will
require trimming to safely mat it. Trimming off only
1
8
inch is sometimes sufficient; however, a 1- to 2-inch mar-
gin of space between the edges of the print paper and the
edges of the mat is much better.
Most enlarging easels have limited or no capability for
printing images precisely centered on a sheet of photo-
graphic paper; suitable easels which have fully adjustable
margins on all four sides of the paper are available from
The Saunders Group and Omega/Arkay (Kostiner Div.).
77
In addition to centering photographs, extra care should
be taken to assure that the four corners of the print are
perfectly square. This is especially important if the print
will float in the overmat window or if a minimal amount of
cropping is desired.
Positioning and Measuring the Print
A good ruler is essential for measuring prints. It should
be made of stainless steel or plastic, be very thin (shallow
depth), have rounded corners, and have finely marked, ex-
act increments. In addition, the ruler should have a small
space to the left and right sides of the calibrated scale to
facilitate placing and lifting it. An excellent ruler for mea-
suring most window mats is the 24-inch Gaebel Model 1057.
(See Suppliers List at the end of this chapter.)

1
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Thomas Walthers abstraction was photographed in the streets of
London and printed by the Fresson Quadrichromie pigment color
process. Walther considered two different formats for the print, which
was matted to the standard size of 16x20 inches. The horizontal mat
emphasizes the images horizontal composition, while the vertical
mat emphasizes the vertical directions of the forms. In one viewers
opinion, the image in the horizontal format appears content to just
sit, while the image in the vertical format appears
to be more restless and ready to move.
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Place the front of the board face down in a horizontal
or vertical direction depending on which way the mat will
be viewed. Then position the print on the board, either
horizontally or vertically. Do not rest the ruler on the
surface of the image but rather place it so that its edge will
be alongside an outside edge of the image. Now measure
the width of the image from the left to the right both at
the top of the print and at the bottom. If any additional
area around the print should be visible within the overmat
window, add this to the measurements. Subtract the width
of the window from the width of the mat. Divide the sum
by two. The resulting figure is the width of the right and
the left mat borders, which should be equal.
For example, an 8x10-inch horizontal image in a 14x17-
inch horizontal mat will have 3
1
2-inch borders at the right
and left sides, plus whatever is to be cropped out at the
edges of the image (or minus whatever is desired for a
float around the image). If the image will not float and the
least amount of cropping is desired, about
1
32 to
1
16 inch
should be subtracted from the window size that is,
1
64
to
1
32 inch will be taken off each of the four sides of the
image (and added to the mat borders) when all four cor-
ners are at perfect right angles. It may be necessary to
crop out more of the image when corners of the print are
not square.
The next measurements, based on the height of the
window, are more difficult to determine, as the top and
bottom borders should rarely be equal.
78
Place the print
on the board again. Move the print slightly above center
and compare the two side borders with the top and bottom
borders. Does the top border appear narrow or wide?
Does the bottom border appear narrow or wide? Ideally no
border should appear narrow or wide, either considered
alone or in relation to the other three sides. When matting
a square print in a vertical mat, however, the bottom bor-
der of the mat should obviously be wide, but it should not
be disproportionate to the size of the picture or the other
three mat borders. When the top and side borders are
correctly proportioned in relation to the print and to the
wider bottom border, the overall composition should ap-
pear balanced. The above-described 8x10-inch horizontal
image will have a top border of approximately 2
3
4 inches
and a bottom border of approximately 3
1
4 inches.
Marking Measurements
It is usually necessary to use pencil marks as a guide
for cutting.
79
All measurements should be marked on the
back of the overmat. Cutting the window should also be
done from the back. A 2H lead (available, in both wooden
pencils or in individual leads for lead holders, where art-
ists and drafting supplies are sold) is good because it
maintains a sharp point without being too hard or too soft.
A sharp point is essential when marking measurements
on board because the broad line made by a rounded lead
is not an accurate guide for the cutting blade. Soft leads,
such as B and softer, do not maintain a point, smear easily,
and may leave graphite dust on the board which can be
The visual impression of a picture can be changed by the matting. Harry Callahans photograph of his wife Eleanor can look
delicate, low-key, and light, or strong, bold, and full of contrast, due simply to covering or showing the black borders
around the image. A totally black border or a very narrow black border would create two other impressions.

1
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An excellent ruler for measuring most prints and mats is
the 24-inch Gaebel Model 1057 (formerly #608), which is
made of stainless steel, is very thin, and has finely marked
increments, rounded corners, and the recommended ex-
tensions for handling. To take full advantage of this rulers
features, use a mechanical pencil with a very sharp lead.
Never rest an instrument on the surface of a photograph.
When measuring a print, place the ruler alongside with-
out touching the outer edges of the image. A small
extension on each side of the calibrated scale facilitates
placing and lifting the ruler.
While getting acquainted with the tools, wasted materi-
als can be minimized by cutting single strokes into narrow
scraps of 100% cotton fiber board that is 2- or 4-ply thick
(whichever ply you intend to use). When practicing the
cutting of windows, start with a piece of board that is at
least 16x20 inches. In the center of the board, mark the
four corner measurements of a very small window (e.g.,
1x4 inches) and cut it. Gradually increase the size of the
window by cutting around the previous window in succes-
sive
1
2- or 1-inch increments (e.g., 3x6 inches, 4x7 inches,
5x8 inches, 6x9 inches, 7x10 inches, etc.). Replace the cut-
out piece each time so that the cutting instrument will
have an even surface upon which to travel.
Because every board responds differently to pressure
and to cutting, practice cutting into board that is identical
to the one which will be used in making an actual mat. In
general, cotton fiber board is more difficult to cut through
than wood pulp board. In addition, cutting against (i.e.,
across) the grain of a board requires more effort than cut-
ting in the direction of the grain. A boards density and
thickness also determine the ease of cutting. It is often
more difficult to achieve a perfect cut in board which is
dehydrated (more common in winter months) or somewhat
hydrated (due to storage in a damp environment).
The Blade
Perhaps the single most important item required to pro-
duce a perfectly smooth cut is a sharp blade. Regardless
of what cutting instrument is chosen, a dull or broken blade
will produce ragged edges, an incomplete incision, an un-
even cut, frilling, or tearing or a combination of these.
The useful life of a blade is determined by many factors,
including:
1. Its position in the cutting instrument
2. The density and material content of the board being cut
3. The thickness of the board being cut
4. The amount of pressure exerted in the act of cutting
transferred to fingers and prints. In this authors experi-
ence, it is easier to maintain a consistent point with a 2H
lead in a mechanical pencil, such as Koh-I-Noor Techni-
graph 5611 and A.W. Faber Castell Locktite 9500, that are
sharpened with a sharpener designed for these pencils.
Do not press too hard when marking the board. All mea-
surements should be erased and all eraser crumbs should
be brushed off the mat and counter after cutting and be-
fore installing the print.
Cutting the Window
However true it may be that a fine instrument can work
well only in the hands of an expert, it is equally true that
even an expert cannot perfect his or her craft using infe-
rior tools. To be an expert matmaker, one not only must be
patient, exacting, and skilled but also must have well-made
and properly maintained equipment, however simple or
elaborate.
There are numerous mat cutting instruments and ma-
chines on the market. Specific instructions for different
cutters are supplied by the respective manufacturers. Some
distributors provide individual assistance in setting up
elaborate and costly equipment. Unfortunately, it is be-
yond the scope of this chapter to do a comparative analysis
of the many different instruments and machines. The fol-
lowing pages contain practical and detailed information
that can be applied in most matting situations. This author
bases this writing on extensive experience with the Dexter
Mat Cutter and limited experience with a C&H Mat Cutter.
A hand-held mat cutter, such as the Dexter, can cost as
little as $15, whereas a mat cutting machine can cost well
over $1,000. With an inexpensive cutter such as the Dexter,
it is possible to cut excellent mats which can be as good or
better than those cut with a more expensive machine. For
the individual who wants to make mats on a regular but
limited basis with a minimum amount of equipment, the
principal investment will be the time and the materials
needed to learn the skill.
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5. The composition, density, and hardness of the counter-
top or table surface
6. The degree of the matmakers skill
7. The boards moisture content, which is determined by
the relative humidity of the environments in which the
board is transported, stored, and cut
8. The sizes of the window openings
9. The manufacturing specifications of the blade
Fresh blades, which are usually coated with a film of oil,
should be cleaned before use by wiping them with a soft,
dry cloth or paper towel. After positioning the wiped blade
in the cutter, slowly and carefully pierce a piece of scrap
board to remove residual oil and dirt. (If a blade is not
cleaned before its first use, the oil and dirt will transfer to
the first corner of the mat window and may stain the print
resting underneath.) Then test the blade in the scrap board
by pushing the cutter several inches both to see how it cuts
and to remove any remaining oil. If a properly positioned
blade does not make a smooth cut after three runs, discard
it. Some new blades are not correctly sharpened and it is
impossible to cut perfect mats with them. Hands should be
washed immediately after handling a new blade.
Although it is possible to make over 50 windows with
just one blade, a blade can be damaged before completing
the cutting of just one window. The tip of a blade most
commonly breaks because it has been too quickly inserted
into the board, or because it hits a hard-surfaced tabletop
such as wood, Masonite, or Formica, after cutting through
the mount board. As mentioned earlier, mount board off-
cuts provide the ideal cutting surface.
80
Cotton fiber boards
are usually quite dense, however, and the tip of a blade
may break the instant it touches the board if it is not in-
serted at the correct angle. Therefore, it is important to
insert the blade gently and slowly and in the direction in
which it is pointed.
Care or lack of care in positioning a blade greatly af-
fects its useful life. The best way to calculate protrusion of
the blade beyond the thickness of the board before cutting
it is to place the cutting instrument, or the cutting section
of the equipment, along (outside) one edge of the board.
The tip of the blade should extend
1
64 to
1
32 inch beyond
the thickness of the board it is intended to cut through. If
the cutting surface is not absolutely firm and flat,
1
32 inch
will not be sufficient. For example, the tabletop may yield
to pressure moving up and down changing the rela-
tionships between the blade in the cutter and the board,
and between the board and the tabletop; as a result, the
blade will not cut entirely through the board. If the table-
top is expected to yield to pressure, the blade must be
positioned to protrude more than the ideal distance. (This
concern does not apply in the case of cutting instruments
and machines that have their own attached bases, such as
those made by Alto, Art Mate, C & H, Esterly, Fletcher,
Holdfast, Logan, Starr-Springfield, and others.)
On the other hand, if a blade extends too far, it either
will prevent the mount board from resting evenly on the
table or will too deeply penetrate the cutting board under
the mat; in the latter case, the tip of the blade may break or
it may jam, causing the cutting instrument to jump ahead
or swerve away from the marked measurement. It is nearly
impossible to direct the movement of a blade when it is
held too firmly and too deeply in the cutting board; it is also
extremely difficult to control the cutting and to hold a board
in place when the board is not lying perfectly flat on the
table. The mount board should be cut through and the
cutting board underneath should be only slightly scored.
(Avoid cutting into grooves in the cutting surface that have
been made previously because they can prevent the blade
from cutting a sharp and straight edge in the mat.) When
the blade does not completely cut through the mount board,
readjust the blade depth extending it an additional
1
64
inch or farther and try to reinsert it exactly as before
into the mats groove. Then re-cut the mat, moving the
cutter along the full length of each partially cut side.
There is a precise point at which the blade should meet
the pencil marks both at the beginning and at the end of
the cutting. This location varies with each cutting instru-
ment even within a single manufacturers model and
also depends on the thickness of a board. When cutting
into 4-ply board, the blade of a hand-held cutting instru-
ment should not be inserted exactly where the two lines of
the corner meet, but rather approximately
1
32 inch in front
of (before) the line which is perpendicular to the line about
to be cut along. Do not stop cutting when you meet the
marked corner but go beyond it approximately
1
16 inch.
(Two-ply board requires about half these allowances at
both ends.) On the last of four sides, the cutting instru-
ment should be stopped precisely when the tip of the blade
enters the starting point of the first cut. A sensitive hand
will feel this immediately. Because it can be difficult to
know exactly where to stop without underestimating or
overestimating the location, it is faster to rely on feeling,
aided by observation, while cutting than to try to calculate
it in advance.
When an incision is incomplete, some practitioners rec-
ommend using a single- or double-edged razor to open it;
this is done by turning the board over and working on the
front of the overmat.
81
When such working over is neces-
sary, this author prefers to repeat the entire incision start-
ing at the corner and using the original cutting instrument.
The Metal Straightedge
In addition to sharp blades, a good straightedge is es-
sential to cut mats properly. It should be made of stainless
steel, not aluminum or plastic, and it should be longer than
most of the mats that will be cut. This author recommends
a 36-inch heavy-gauge straightedge (available through most
art supply stores) which is relatively easy to handle and
control when making mats in a variety of sizes. When it is
not lined on the bottom with a thin layer of cork, apply two
parallel, full-length strips of tape such as Filmoplast P90 to
the underside to help prevent it from skidding.
The straightedge must be placed perfectly parallel to
the marked measurements. Care, steadiness, and skill are
needed to prevent it from sliding during the cutting. Push
the cutter gently along the straightedge; proceed slowly at
first to avoid changing the direction of the cut. One can
maximize control over both the movement of the cutter
and the stationary position of the straightedge by pushing
them against each other while moving the cutter forward.
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horizontal. Square mats may be connected either at the
top or along the left side, depending on their size and the
grain direction of the board. The tape should be slightly
shorter than the length of the mat: the smaller the mat, the
more closely the tape should match the mat length. When
the mat is larger, the tape should not match the length of
the mat as closely. For example, an 8x10-inch mat should
have a binding hinge that is approximately 9
3
4 inches long.
A 16x20-inch mat should be bound by tape that is approxi-
mately 19 to 19
1
2 inches long. A 22x28-inch mat requires a
binding hinge that is approximately 26 to 27 inches long.
During repeated opening and closing of large mats,
greater stress is placed on the ends of the tape where the
two boards are connected. If the binding covers the entire
length of a large mat, the tape will likely become loose or
detached at either or both ends. When a large mat is
opened frequently, it may be necessary to apply a 2- or 3-
inch strip of tape perpendicular to and over each of the two
sides of the joint to prevent the binding tape from coming
apart. A mat bound along the short side or bound by a
hinge that is too short will not maintain its alignment and
may also become detached from the backing. Alignment is
critically important when matting dry mounted prints that
are trimmed to the edges of the image, particularly when
the edges are showing in the window area.
This author primarily uses gummed cambric cloth tape
(sometimes called linen tape, or Holland tape) for the
bindings of 4-ply mats, and Filmoplast P90 tape for the
bindings of 2-ply mats.
Moistening and Applying Gummed Cloth Tape
In the beginning, learning to apply water-activated tape
involves learning how to activate the adhesive, how to con-
trol the various stages of accretion, and how to determine
the strength of the bond. It is also learning how to touch
and how to feel. Every adhesive responds differently in
different situations with different materials. For example,
various batches of a given brand of gummed cloth tape
may react differently to water. The adhesive layer may be
slightly thinner or thicker, the threads of the cloth may be
more or less tightly woven, and the cloth may have slightly
more or less sizing. Every variation in the manufacture of
a material affects its working behavior. It is easier to
master the craft by working consistently with one specific
brand of tape; however, experience with one tape and the
acquired knowledge of its behavioral characteristics can-
not automatically be assumed to apply to other similar
tapes used in the same situation.
The most common high-quality tape for binding 4-ply
museum board mats is gummed cloth tape which requires
moistening with water. Moistening is regulated by the
quantity and temperature of water in the applicator (e.g., a
sponge) and by the amount of pressure applied. The per-
fect amount is best determined by touch. Freshly moist-
ened tape should be tacky and should adhere within a few
seconds after applying water. At the precise moment it
becomes tacky, the tape should grab the board as it is
placed. It is important to evenly moisten only the surface
of the adhesive; the water will then combine with the adhe-
sive layer and activate it without greatly diluting it. The
cloth side should not be allowed to get wet. If the tape is
Maintain contact between the cutter and the straightedge
at all times and do not lift the cutter off the board
until the cut is completed.
82
When an instrument is operated by pushing it forward
(e.g., Dexter Mat Cutter) rather than pulling it, the cutting
should proceed clockwise for right-handed people. When
pulling (e.g., C & H), the cutting direction is counter-clock-
wise for right-handed people. The Dexter Mini mat cutter,
the Dahle Cube Cutter, and the Japanese Olfa mat cutter
are small, hand-held bi-directional cutters that can be used
by both left- and right-handed people; the Cube and the
Olfa can be pushed and pulled because the Cube is square
and the Olfa has double-edged V-type blades. Many cut-
ters with attached bases and/or straightedges require pull-
ing of the blade, which this author has found to be some-
what more difficult than the pushing required with instru-
ments such as the Dexter.
83
However, those machines
usually have metal bars which hold the mat board in place
and control the course of the blade; they are usually equipped
with two different cutting heads one for beveled cuts
and one for straight right-angle cuts.
The angle of the bevel (commonly 45 or 60) is usually
predetermined by the cutting instrument. Some machines
are adjustable to achieve two different bevels. In the Dexter
Mat Cutter, the 60 bevel changes slightly with the thick-
ness of the mount board (the thicker the board, the wider
and less acute is the bevel) and may also vary very slightly
from instrument to instrument.
The Binding of a Mat
The tape which connects the front of a mat (the over-
mat) to the back of the mat (the backing) is usually called
the binding or binding hinge. In most circumstances, the
overmat should be attached to the backing along the full
length of one side with a hinge that folds so that the mat
can be opened and closed like a book. Methods which trap
a print by adhering the overmat to the backing should be
avoided in most cases.
The binding should be on the long side of the mat. The
side on the viewers left should be connected if the mat is
vertical, or the top side should be connected if the mat is
A Dexter Mat Cutter rests alongside a stainless steel straight-
edge between sides during the cutting of a mat window.
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Learning to apply gummed tape requires familiarity with
its appearance and feel before, during, and after it has
been moistened.
Overly moistened tape.
moistened too much, the tape will become limp and the
adhesive may be absorbed by the sponge and/or board;
tape which is too wet can cause mount boards to warp or
deform. If the tape is moistened too little, the adhesive
will not combine properly with the water and will not be-
come adherent. The ease or difficulty with which tape
adheres is also affected by the temperature and moisture
content of the board and the temperature and relative hu-
midity of the working environment.
Before starting to tape, you will need the following:
1. Clean water, preferably distilled; room-temperature or
tepid, not cold, water is best for activating the adhesive
2. A shallow, heavy, glass bowl to hold the water (about
1
1
2 inches deep) with sides perpendicular to a flat bot-
tom so that it will not tip over
3. A triangular section of sterile, undyed cellulose sponge
that is approximately 50% wider at the base than the
width of the tape
4. A clean, dry surface upon which to wet the tape
5. A clean, lint-free, cotton cloth, or sturdy, white
paper towel
6. A pointed burnisher
When everything is ready, proceed as follows:
1. With the adhesive side face up and the cloth side face
down, place the tape upon a clean surface, at least 1
foot away from the open mat. Some people prefer to
moisten tape on a water-resistant surface such as glass,
Formica, or Plexiglas; this author prefers small 4-ply
mount board off-cuts because they absorb excess wa-
ter. If right-handed, hold the tape down by placing one
finger of the left hand about 1 inch from the top edge of
the tape. Squeeze the wet sponge over the bowl to
release excess water. Press the sponge upon the top
inch of tape. Then lift and pull the tape by its moist-
ened tip, holding the sponge against the tape with mod-
erate pressure to moisten the entire length in one con-
tinuous movement. To do this efficiently, pull the tape
upward and away from the sponge with one hand while
the other hand is pushing the sponge down against the
tape. If the pressure varies while the tape is being
pulled through, the amount of moisture on the tape will
vary, which will prevent it from adhering evenly to the
mat. It is usually necessary to immediately remoisten
the entire tape, both to add water to sections where the
tape is dry and to absorb excess droplets of water be-
fore they have diluted the adhesive. A piece of tape
that has been moistened so much that the edges of the
cloth side are dampened should be discarded. Practic-
ing with one specific type and brand of tape over a
period of time will help to develop a better understand-
ing of the skill.
2. The two boards should be positioned side by side, touching,
with their inner surfaces facing up and ready to receive
the tape at the moment the wet sponge completes its
final stroke. Weights can be used to keep the boards in
place. With two fingers of each hand, quickly place the
Dry, unmoistened tape.
Properly moistened tape.
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tape lengthwise over the edges where the two boards
meet, checking to make sure the width of the tape is
equally divided between the two boards. The fingers of
the right hand should hold the tape close to the right
corner and the fingers of the left hand should hold the
tape close to the left corner so that they are diagonally
across from each other. Use the visible sections of
board which extend at the top and bottom beyond the
length of the tape as a guide to correct and parallel
placement. As the tape is put down, a slight pull in
opposite directions will help to ensure a flat placement
and smooth adherence. If the tape is not put down
quickly, it may twist, fold, and warp, which will prevent
a proper parallel placement.
3. A lintless wiping cloth, such as cotton gauze or S&W
Catalog No. 1900 cloth, or a sturdy, white paper towel
(such as Bounty or ScotTowel) should be available to
immediately apply a firm and even pressure along the
length of the tape twice before applying the burnisher.
Do not burnish or stroke the tape with your hands.
4. While closing the mat, press the point of the burnishing
tool against the center of the binding, running it along
the inside to help crease the tape. Then check the
alignment of the two boards. It is important to com-
plete this operation before the tape dries.
Alignment of the Overmat and Backing Board
The alignment of the overmat and backing board cannot
be changed after the tape sets without weakening the
mats binding. A weak binding can cause damage to the
print inside the mat in a number of ways. If the print is on
very thin paper, the overmat will slide against the print
and may cause it to fold or crease at its edges or in the
middle. If the print is held in the mat with tab hinges, the
shifting overmat may detach the print from its mount. If a
fiber-base print is dry mounted and floating within the win-
dow, the inside edges of the window may touch the edges
of the print and chip the delicate photographic emulsion.
If the overmat and backing boards have not come from
the same package of pre-cut board, or when the two pieces
are not exactly the same size, it is usually necessary to
adjust their relative positions before applying tape. Make
certain that the overmat and backing are evenly matched
along the bottom side that is, the side upon which the
mat would rest if it were framed.
When the larger of the two boards is at least
1
16 inch
larger than the correct size, the excess should be trimmed
off. If the matted print is to be framed and the smaller of
the two boards is less than the designated frame size by
more than
1
16 inch, and the larger board is the correct size,
the larger board should not be trimmed to match the size
of the smaller board because the mat might then be free to
move inside the frame. In addition, if the larger board is
trimmed, the mat may not fill the entire area that is visible
through the glass of the frame.
After aligning the connected boards and before any nec-
essary trimming is done, burnish the outside edges where
the mat is hinged both on the front and on the back with a
burnisher such as a printmakers polished agate or
metal burnisher or with the rounded top edge of a Dexter
Mat Cutter. Next, if necessary, trim the uneven border(s).
Then burnish the three unhinged outer edges of the mat
on the front and on the back, inside and outside.
It is also necessary to burnish the four inside and four
outside edges of the window because slight ridges are cre-
ated there during the cutting. Some people like the edges
of the window to be rounded; this can be accomplished
either by gentle sanding, which results in a flat, soft
finish, or by strong burnishing, which may cause the rim to
be shiny. Care must be taken not to burnish too forcefully
if a shiny edge is not desired.
Bindings as They Relate to Board Thickness
It is best to apply gummed cloth tape to only 4-ply or
thicker mount boards because thinner boards usually re-
spond to water-activated tapes by warping. Mats made
with lightweight boards may be joined with a high-quality
pressure-sensitive tape such as Neschen Filmoplast P90.
Make certain there is no space between the boards when
they are placed side by side. When connecting or binding a
2-ply overmat to a 4-ply backing, compensate for the differ-
ence by resting the 2-ply board upon another piece of 2-ply
board to assure an even horizontal plane and to enable the
edge of the 2-ply board to rest directly against the higher
edge of the 4-ply board. Otherwise, when the mat is closed,
a strip of the tape will be exposed which will accumulate
dust particles. Pressure-sensitive tapes must be completely
and evenly burnished with an instrument after they are
placed or they will not adhere properly to the board. Never
burnish tape with your fingers.
Compensating for differences in board thickness when
attaching two pieces of board is necessary regardless of
what tape is used. If compensation is not made, the bind-
ing will be loose and the overmat may move upon the sur-
face of the mounted print.
When binding the overmat to the backing, hold each end
of the moist tape by its corners (upper left corner with the
left hand, lower right corner with the right hand, or re-
versed) and give it a slight tug in opposite directions to
ensure smooth adherence. Use the visible sections of
board that extend beyond the tape ends as guides to
parallel placement.
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The Middle-Mat
When matting a print which is pre-mounted on a piece
of 4-ply board that is all around smaller than the mat, a 4-
ply middle-mat is required to compensate for the size
difference. If the overmat and the middle-mat are both
attached to the backing with full-length binding hinges, the
hinge of the middle-mat should be applied on the side which
is opposite the overmats hinge; in other words, if the mat
is vertical, the overmats hinge to the backing is on the left
and the middle-mats hinge to the backing is on the right.
This construction allows the two windows (overmat and
middle-mat) to have a complementary closure (i.e., \__/)
rather than a book-format closure. Remember to allow
enough space for the middle-mat filling before taping the
overmat to the backing. The middle-mat should be the
same size as the overmat less approximately
1
32 inch near
the overmats binding to assure a secure closure of the
entire mat. If the middle-mat is completely adhered to the
backing (i.e., to form a sink mat), it should match the size
of the overmat; the overmat may then be hinged directly to
the sink mat rather than to the backing.
The Sink Mat
If the prints mount is 4-ply or thicker (greater than
1
16
inch), it is usually necessary to construct a sink mat.
The term sink refers to the recess in which the print will
rest, which is surrounded by board attached to the back-
ing. This recessed space is made by cutting an opening in
one or more pieces of board, or by applying board strips
around the four sides of the print. The depth of the space
created should be slightly more than the thickness of the
pre-mounted print. The overmats binding hinge should be
attached to the top surface of the sink, which should be
exactly the same overall size as the overmat and backing.
Some prints may be installed into a sink mat with
pendant hinges that are connected to the backing under
the middle-mat, sink mat, or sectional filler, to permit
lifting of the print to view the reverse side. When measur-
ing the overall size of the pre-mounted print, allow an addi-
tional space above the print where the hinges will be at-
tached. This space should be at least
1
16 inch wider than
the thickness of the print mount. For example, if a vertical
print is 5x7 inches and is mounted on a vertical 8x10-inch 4-
ply board, the sink should be approximately 8
1
8x10
1
8 inches;
that provides a
1
8-inch allowance at the top and a
1
16-inch
allowance at both the right and left sides. The bottom edge
of the print mount should rest evenly on the bottom edge of
the sink, which should be cut 90 to the surface of the
board and then burnished smooth and slightly rounded.
The top, right, and left inner edges of the sink should be
beveled, burnished smooth, and rounded to prevent the
edges of the mount from catching, particularly when the
print emulsion layer is exposed on the sides (as in the case
of flush-mounted prints) and to allow the print to be lifted
without resistance at the top edge of the sink where the
hinges are located. A small inlet may be cut at the bottom
edge of the sink to more easily lift the pre-mounted print.
Sometimes a thin ribbon can be attached to the backing to
run under the print and through the inlet to allow the print
to be lifted without touching its edge.
Close-up of a 4-
ply mat with a
spaced binding
accommodating
a pre-mounted
print.
Spaced Bindings for Pre-Mounted Prints
Pre-mounted prints (such as those dry mounted to 4-ply
board) require specially constructed mats. First of all, an
overmat should not be attached directly to the prints mount,
unless it is the photographers wish to do so. Taping an
overmat to the prints mount rather than to a backing board
spoils the front of the mount. A backing board also serves
to protect the back of the prints mount.
When a pre-mounted print is to be matted the same size
as the prints mount a decision normally made for the
sake of maintaining the original proportions it will be
necessary to leave space equal to the thickness of the mount
between the two boards when connecting them. For ex-
ample, Ansel Adamss black-and-white prints are usually
dry mounted on standard-size pieces of 4-ply 100% cotton
fiber board (e.g., 14x18, 16x20, 22x28 inches), and the mats
for Adamss prints are usually matched, as he recommended,
to the sizes of the mounts.
84
To assure that a print dry mounted to a piece of 4-ply
board will fit into a mat that is the same size, the overmat
and the backing must be separated by a space of approxi-
mately
1
16 inch before the binding tape is applied (about
1
64 inch more than the thickness of the mount to allow for
the tape). This enables the mat to open and close without
stress and creates a flat three-level tier when the mounted
print is inside the closed mat. To prevent the mat from
sliding toward the edges of the dry mounted print, it is
essential that the space provided at the joint (binding) not
be any wider than necessary.
Pressure-sensitive tapes are not suitable for making
spaced-bindings because dust particles and dirt will be-
come attached to the exposed section.
Sectional Fillers
When a mat must be a standard size and the print is
pre-mounted on 4-ply or thicker board which matches the
mat size in one direction only (e.g., a 13x20-inch mount to
be placed in a 16x20-inch mat), a sectional filler must be
placed between the overmat and the backing to compen-
sate for the empty space. The binding tape should be
applied to the side where the filler is attached to the back-
ing, preferably one of the longer sides, and should be ap-
plied to the top of the filler. Sectional fillers may be at-
tached to the backing( before taping) with a variety of ma-
terials including Scotch Brand No. 415 tape (a double-sided,
pressure-sensitive polyester tape), 3M Positionable Mounting
Adhesive No. 568 (also pressure sensitive), or with a stable
liquid PVA (polyvinyl acetate) adhesive.
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Burnishers are necessary both to blunt sharp edges in cut board that can damage delicate print emulsions and to improve
the appearance of the finished mat. Pictured above are two examples of printmakers burnishers: curved, rounded, and
polished agate (left) and curved, pointed, and polished metal (right). Bone burnishers are not recommended because they
create more friction during movement than either polished agate or metal.
Paperweights
Before a print is mounted onto the backing, it must be
correctly positioned beneath the overmat. When a print is
to be corner-mounted, position the print by viewing it through
the closed window. Then place a protective piece of 2-ply
board or heavy paper with one of its corners folded up
on top of the print; this protective board or paper should be
about
1
2 inch smaller all around than the window opening
so that the overmat can be lifted up without removing it.
Now place a clean and smooth weight on top of the protec-
tive paper to hold it and the print in place. The weight
should have no sharp edges. It should be easy to lift and
move, being neither too large nor too heavy (1 to 2 pounds,
depending on size). Metal paperweights should be covered
with thick, soft, undyed cloth.
Some people use stainless-steel positioning clasps to
hold prints in place. Clasps of this type are commonly sold
in office supply stores. Although clasps are recommended
by some, this author strongly advises against their use
because they can easily scratch delicate emulsion surfaces.
Fragile prints can be creased, marked, and even folded by
these clasps. Those sold by Light Impressions Corpora-
tion have well-rounded corners but they can still cause
damage if one is not very experienced in using them.
Installing a Print into a Mat
A photographic print must be held securely in its mat.
Traditional methods of securing prints include total-sur-
face adhesion (dry mounting, cold mounting, wet mount-
ing), partial or local attachment (hinges, double-sided tapes,
glue), and free attachment (mounting corners, Frame
Strips, polyester slings, or folders). Every method has its
proper application, depending on a multitude of factors.
In the fine art field, many paper conservators recom-
mend hinges to secure a work to the backing of a conserva-
tion mat. These are frequently suitable for watercolor paint-
ings, lithographs, pastel and graphite drawings, and some
photographic prints on fiber-base paper. The RC (polyeth-
ylene-resin-coated) paper or polyester support upon which
many photographs are printed, however, cannot be ap-
proached in the same manner as other works of art on
paper; many water-activated adhesives and tapes may not
properly adhere to these types of photographs.
This author recommends, whenever possible, that pho-
tographic prints be installed into conservation mats by a
method that does not adhere the print, either partially or
totally, to the mount or backing board. While this author
has not seen examples of carefully done dry mounting that
has harmed photographs, it is not generally recommended
by photographic conservators. In addition, dry mounted
prints cannot be laser-scanned for reproduction purposes.
In spite of its shortcomings, however, dry mounting is of-
ten desired by photographers for purely aesthetic reasons.
(See Chapter 11.)
Possible expansion and contraction of mount boards,
combined with the physical responses of different photo-
graphic print materials, should be considered before se-
lecting any mounting method. A photograph may buckle,
bow, stretch, or tear if it is hinged or installed incorrectly;
consideration must also be given to the humidity-induced
dimensional changes characteristic of the print and mounting
materials when kept in most uncontrolled environments.
Corner Mounting
Two methods of installing prints into mats are discussed
in this chapter: corner mounting and hinge mounting. This
authors preferred method of installing most photographic
prints into mats is corner mounting. Among the advan-
tages of corner mounting are that the print is not perma-
nently attached to the mat, the mat can be replaced more
easily if soiled or damaged, the use of adhesives directly on
a print is avoided, prints are less likely to slide, and color
prints can be removed from mats before being placed in
cold storage. Sometimes it is necessary to combine mounting
corners with hinges.
Most mounting corners should not fit the print corners
too tightly but be placed to allow approximately
1
64 to
1
32
inch or more for large prints outside the edges of the
prints for slight expansion and contraction of the prints
and/or mounts. (Polyester-base photographs, such as glossy
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Mounting Corner Design
The appropriate material, design, and size of a set of
mounting corners should be determined by the particular
photographic material, the size of the photographic image,
and the width of the photographic papers border around
the image. In addition, the thicknesses of the overmat and
backing should be taken into account. Any changes in a
prints intended display, circulation, and/or storage condi-
tions may create a new combination of requirements.
One important design feature that distinguishes the con-
servation mounting corner, which this author recommends,
from other mounting corners is the extended base. (Figure
12.3 illustrates the correct design and some faulty designs.)
When the corners are very large or when a photograph is
printed on somewhat translucent paper, or when the im-
age nearly touches the edges of the print material, the
extended base should be shorter than usual. The extended
base, or landing pad, ensures proper entry of the print
into the mounting corner; without it, the corner of the pho-
tograph may slide under the mounting corner. In addition,
absence of an extended base creates two other risks: (1) if
the photograph is printed on fiber-base paper, the emul-
sion and baryta layers may become separated from the
paper base when the print hits the edge of the corner, and
(2) the corners of the print are too easily cracked during
insertion because they usually require more bending.
Most handmade and commercially produced mounting
corners examined by this author do not have extended
bases and/or have a double-thick base created by two over-
lapping flaps. Such corners are not recommended because
of the difficulty reinserting a print after removing it. Those
mounting corners that do have extended bases described
and illustrated in various publications are usually not
well designed in that the two wings, or two sides of the
base, are too long and extend into the area directly behind
or near the image. If a mounting corner is made of thick
paper it may become embossed in the border of the photo-
graphic paper or in the image itself. Because of this, mounting
corners should be made with paper distinctly thinner than
the photographic material, and the corners should not
have double-thick bases.
All mounting corners should be designed with consider-
ation for the bending that occurs when inserting and re-
moving prints, as this is the most serious drawback to
mounting corners. The size and design of the mounting
corner in relation to the size and proportion of the print
will determine the location of the bend and its angle. When
a mounting corner is too large (i.e., more than
1
2 to 1
percent of the area of the photographic paper), the print
may have to be severely bent during removal and re-inser-
tion, thus stressing the various layers of the print. The
bending angle should be as obtuse as possible. Mounting
corners should not, however, be made smaller than they
need to be to properly hold the print. They should be large
enough to hold the print securely but small enough to fa-
cilitate print removal.
For example, a mounting corner made with 1- to 1
1
8-
inch wide strips of paper (resulting in a corner with a side
measurement of approximately 1
1
2 inches, creating a 1
1
2-
inch square with the extended base included) is recom-
mended for most 16x20-inch prints which have a border
Ilfochrome, Polaroid ArchivalColor, and UltraStable prints,
are dimensionally stable and do not change size in response
to changes in relative humidity, but allowances should still
be made for expansion and contraction of mount boards.)
The bottom edges of the two bottom mounting corners,
however, should be closer to the bottom edge of the photo-
graph to prevent the print from sliding down during dis-
play and handling. Relative humidity conditions and the
boards grain direction should also be taken into account.
Mounting corners should be made of high-quality mate-
rials appropriate in composition, pH value, weight, texture,
and tensile strength, and that have been approved for use
as photographic enclosures. (See Chapter 13.) They should
be pH neutral, strong, somewhat moisture resistant, light-
weight, without color, and not alkaline buffered. The cor-
ners should also be designed specifically for the individual
print size and type and should be securely attached to the
backing of the mat with an adhesive or adhesive tape that
also is stable, strong, inert, and has a neutral pH.
Atlantis Silversafe Photostore, available in the United
States from Archivart and from Paper Technologies, Inc.,
is probably the best paper for this purpose.
85
Two other
excellent choices are Archivart Storage Paper and Light
Impressions Renaissance Paper.
86
Howard Paper Mills
alkaline-buffered Permalife papers are not recommended
because of continuing questions about the long-term ef-
fects of alkaline-buffered papers on photographs.
87
Transparent corners made of polyester are occasionally
suitable for floating prints that would otherwise require
hinges. Those distributed by Light Impressions Corpora-
tion are pre-scored for folding, but care must be taken to
assure both an exact and straight 45 folding in the right
direction so that the adhesive is facing out and away from
the print. They are narrow in width (
7
16 inch), and are thus
restricted in use to flat, nonbuckling, small to medium-size
prints that are not lightweight, delicate, or flimsy.
University Products, Inc. sells a nearly identical prod-
uct, See-Thru Archival Mounting Corners, available in three
widths (
1
2 inch,
5
8 inch, and
7
8 inch). The University Prod-
ucts polyester mounting corners are also restricted in their
use to sturdy, flat, medium-weight prints.
Pre-fabricated, easy to use mounting corners named
ClearHold, made of transparent polyester with a high-sta-
bility pressure-sensitive adhesive backing, are available
from Light Impressions.
Frame Strips also hold photographs without applying
any adhesive to the prints. Type 423 (flat) and Type 107 (S
shaped), made of conservation grade clear polyester, is
suitable for mounting lightweight and medium-weight flat
prints that do not travel and are not subject to repeated
handling. Among the advantages of Frame Strips are that
the strips can be cut into very small sizes, they are not
visually obtrusive, and prints are easily removed. Among
the disadvantages are that Type 423 can scratch delicate
print emulsions if one is not extremely careful to avoid do-
ing so, and prints too easily shift position when moved. To
help prevent scratches when using Type 423, place a piece
of thin paper between the Frame Strip and the print emul-
sion when attaching the strips and before removing the
print. Type 107 may be used when mounting prints into 8-
ply or thicker mats.
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Figure 12.3: Examples of Mounting Corners
Correct Design
Incorrect Designs
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at least 1-inch wide all around. Strips of paper that are
3
4-
-inch wide will make mounting corners that form an ap-
proximately 1-inch square, a size recommended for most
prints on 11x14-inch paper. Mounting corners made with
1
2 to
5
8-inch wide strips of paper (forming a
3
4 to
7
8- inch
square) are recommended for prints on 8x10-inch paper.
Polyester prints may require slightly larger corners.
The problem of bending is another reason why photo-
graphs should be printed with ample borders. This author
recommends border areas that are approximately one-quarter
the width and length of the photographic paper for me-
dium-size prints and approximately one-fifth for large prints.
For example, a 1- to 2-inch border is recommended for
each side of a small print made on 8x10-inch paper and a
border of 3 to 4 inches for a large print made on 30x40-inch
paper. Borders of 1
1
2 to 2 inches are recommended for
prints on 11x14-inch paper (a good size paper on which to
make 8x10-inch contact prints). Borders of 2 to 2
1
2 inches
are recommended for prints on 16x20-inch paper.
88,89
In most situations, mounting corners should be attached
to the backing board with small strips of tape (see Figure
12.4). This author most often uses gummed cloth tape for
attaching paper mounting corners to 4-ply mats, and
Filmoplast P90 or other high-quality pressure sensitive tape
foe attaching paper corners to 2-ply mats.
The Tailored Mounting Corner
When the image touches or nearly touches the edges of
the photographic paper, special alterations must be made
in the design of the mounting corner to create what this
author calls a tailored mounting corner (see Figure 12.5).
In other words, a small triangular section is cut out of the
corner to allow a full view. Tape should be applied over the
corner before the cutting out is done, and should be placed
so that it will not be divided by the cutting; at least a small
section of the tape should be continuous and unbroken,
connecting the two sides of the corner. A mounting corner
that has tape attached on the top, rather than on the base,
is stronger and less likely to fall apart. In some situations,
tape should be applied in both places.
Before determining how much of the mounting corners
need to be cut out, remove the print. Bending of the print
can be minimized by removing the first two print corners
from two adjacent mounting corners, thereby enabling the
remaining print corners to slide out without any bending.
Otherwise, three corners must be bent to remove the print.
(Caution: Low relative humidity embrittles print emulsions
and increases the risk of print damage during bending.)
Close the overmat and mark on the sections of the mount-
ing corners that show near the window corners with a
pencil or pin as close as possible to the overmat about
1
32 inch without marring the overmat. One small dot on
each mounting corner is enough. Naturally, in those rare
situations when the print should not be removed from the
corners, a pencil and not a pin must be used to mark
the mounting corners. Be careful not to rest any part of
your hand on the print. It is essential to protect the sur-
face of the print at all times.
Now open the mat, and place a piece of board into the
mounting corner to protect the base during trimming; the
beveled corners of 2-ply window cut-outs are ideal for this
Figure 12.4: Tape placement over mounting corners. To
secure the position of mounting corners in mats, strips of
tape should not be too thin, too short, attached to the
base rather than the top of the corner, nor should they be
divided as shown in Figure 12.5.
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If the mount is thick, or if the print and mount are in
poor condition, and if flexing presents a serious threat to
the print emulsion layer or support as in the case of
varnished or coated prints, Polaroid Spectra prints (called
Image prints in Europe), High Speed 600 prints, and SX-70
prints, or prints dry mounted to an embrittled wood pulp
board and the print must be removed from its corners,
detach two adjacent mounting corners before removing
the print.
In some instances, one or two doors which open and
close (with pressure-sensitive tape) may be cut into the
top mounting corners to facilitate removing the print. It is
also possible to provide additional support at the top or
bottom edge of a pre-mounted or brittle print with a pocket
made of a folded strip of polyester, which is shorter than
the length of the print or mount.
Removing a fragile print from its corners can be avoided
by copying all information that appears on the back onto a
separate piece of paper or onto the mat before the mount-
ing corners are taped down. When possible, make two
double-sided photocopies on high-quality paper of the front
and back of every print. Put one copy in a polyester folder
attached to the back of the mat or frame and keep the other
copy on file.
Hinges
Hinging is a common method of installing pictures into
mats. While this author prefers to corner-mount most pho-
tographs, hinges are sometimes necessary or desired.
For example, when one wants to float a print so that the
edges of the paper are visible in the mat, folded hinges that
are hidden behind the print are often preferable to clear
polyester corners. Also, prints on polyester materials and
large prints often require one or more hinges at the top
edge of the print in addition to two or four mounting cor-
ners, to prevent them from rippling at the bottom corners.
(Michael Wilder, a well-known Ilfochrome [formerly called
Cibachrome] printer, recommends this method when mount-
ing Ilfochrome glossy polyester prints.)
90
Although thorough instructions for applying hinges are
not given here, some considerations are discussed. First,
selection of hinging materials for photographs depends on
purpose. Without pushing it, insert the piece of 2-ply board,
with the bevel-side up, as far into the mounting corner as
possible. Then cut two strokes into the mounting corner
about
1
16 inch outside the mark. This will assure that after
the mounting corner has been trimmed the remaining
section will be hidden under the overmat. Because most
people have more control cutting in one direction (e.g., top
to bottom, or left to right), it is often a good idea to rotate
the mat before trimming the next corner. Use a fresh
protective board each time to reduce the chance of cutting
through and into the back of the mounting corner.
When an image has not been centered on the photo-
graphic paper during printing but an ample border exists
on one to three sides, at least two of the mounting corners
will not need to be tailored. Trim as many mounting cor-
ners as necessary and re-insert the print.
To more safely guide a print into its mounting corners,
a smaller piece of smooth, thin, and somewhat stiff paper
may be placed on top of the corner of the print. The guid-
ing paper should extend beyond the edges of the print
corner by about
1
8 inch, thereby entering the mounting
corner first. With a very light push, the corner of the print
under the guiding paper will slide into place.
When the print paper is the same or nearly the same
size as the mat, and should not be trimmed, the strips of
tape which hold the mounting corners down will need to be
attached to the back of the mat. These strips should be
about twice as long as usual. It is easier to apply the tape if
the backing extends a few inches beyond the edge of the
tabletop; this extension facilitates immediate folding of the
moistened tape around the edge of the board so that it can
be attached to the reverse side without lifting the mat.
Special Procedures with Mounting Corners
When a print is mounted on 4-ply or thicker board, an
extra fold should be made on each flap of the mounting
corner to form a box corner. The thickness of the print
mount determines just where the two extra folds should
be. When tape is applied to attach the box corner to the
backing, the tape should follow the folds of the corner against
the top and two sides, whether or not the mounted print is
flush with the edges of the mat.
Figure 12.5: Examples of tailored mounting corners. These corners are trimmed to permit full viewing of a photograph that
has been printed with narrow borders.
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the individual print material, the print size, and the in-
tended use of the print. Hinges should have good folding
endurance and strength, be thinner than the thickness of
the photograph, be sulfur-free and lignin-free, have a neu-
tral pH, and contain no alkaline-buffering chemicals, dyes,
or other compounds that might react with the print.
Gummed cloth tape is not suitable for hinging most pho-
tographs, most particularly single-weight or other light-
weight photographic papers. Japanese tissue paper such
as Goyu, Mulberry, and Sekishu are commonly used be-
cause they are lightweight and strong. However, these
hinging papers are generally attached with water-activated
adhesives such as wheat-starch paste and methyl cellu-
lose, which must be applied with extra care because most
photographs are physically very sensitive to moisture and,
in this authors experience, they can be easily deformed by
wet adhesives.
In addition, water-activated tapes and pastes may not
properly adhere to polyester and RC prints; special high-
stability, pressure-sensitive tapes are often better suited
to hinging these prints. Although there are currently no
pressure-sensitive tapes or adhesives that have been cer-
tified to meet ANSI standards for use with photographs,
among the most popular better quality pressure-sensitive
tapes are Archival Aids Document Repair Tape, Filmoplast
P90, and Scotch Brand No. 415 Double-Sided Polyester Tape.
Only time and further research will tell whether these tapes
are suitable in long-term photographic applications.
91
Many conservators recommend the use of liquid adhe-
sives (e.g., wheat-starch paste, rice-starch paste, polyvinyl
acetate [PVA], and methyl cellulose) for attaching hinges
to photographs and mount boards. Pending further re-
search on their long-term chemical and physical effects on
photographs, this author has continued to use pressure-
sensitive tapes which, because they are applied without
the use of water, avoid potential problems with localized
physical deformation in the prints.
T. J. Collings has suggested the use of a heat-set acrylic
adhesive to attach paper hinges to prints, thereby avoiding
the problems caused by wet adhesives (this author has not
had an opportunity to evaluate this method).
92
The size, weight, and shape of hinges depend largely on
the size, weight, shape, and grain direction of the print.
Naturally, hinges should be as small as possible to hold the
print properly. Hinges that are long and narrow, as well as
those that are large and wide, should be avoided. Their
shape should be rectangular with no more than one-third
of the hinge attached to the back of the print and no less
than two-thirds attached to the backing board. Folded
hinges should generally be applied vertically at the top of
the print. The grain direction(s) of the mount board and
the photographic paper, relative both to each other and to
the hinges, should be taken into account when making and
applying hinges because the board and print may expand
and contract, causing the hinges and the print to be stressed.
The advantage of folded hinges is that they are not vis-
ible and in most cases they allow easy access to the back of
the print. (Hinges also affix a print to its backing so that
the print cannot readily be removed.) The disadvantages
of folded hinges include:
1. They introduce a double (or triple, if reinforced) layer
behind the print which may cause visible physical de-
formation of the print.
2. They may partially or wholly detach from the print and/
or the backing if the print is lifted incorrectly or hastily,
or if the mat falls, risking damage to the loose print.
3. They may not allow for complete lifting of the print if
they are not properly applied or if the print has warped
edges. (The fold of the hinge should extend about
1
64
inch or less beyond the edge of the print to facilitate
lifting.)
Pendant T-hinges that are adhered correctly are far
more secure than folded hinges but can be applied only
when the overmat covers the edges of the photographic
paper. With a T-hinge there is usually only one layer of
hinge material behind the print; this continues above the
print to where it is fastened by a cross-piece. The cross-
piece should not be more than
1
32 inch away from the print
(unless the print material is at least
1
32 inch thick). When
the cross-piece is farther away, the print is free to move
from side to side; this could cause damage to the edges or
surface of the print as well as weaken the attachment.
To relieve stress on the edge of a photograph at the T-
hinges, 2 small (about
1
8-inch) incisions should be cut into
the cross-piece at each side of the vertical part of the hinge
at the sides closest to the print. It is especially important
to do this when a print has curled edges.
All hinges should be attached to the top of prints unless
the prints are part of a study collection of standard-size
mats that are stored in one direction. For example, if the
collection is mounted in 16x20-inch mats which are stored
standing horizontally (mats resting on the 20-inch sides)
and the prints comprise both horizontal and vertical im-
ages, vertical prints will require hinging on their left sides.
Horizontal prints would be hinged on top as usual.
Hinges should be strategically placed they should be
neither too close to nor too far from the corners of the
print; placement depends on the individual print material,
its physical characteristics, and its condition. They should
be applied first to the back of the print and allowed to set
for a brief period under a smooth weight. The adhesive
should be reversible, which means that the hinge and
adhesive should be removable without physically or chemi-
cally harming the print. Important: A print should not be
hinged to the window section of a mat nor should hinges be
applied to the front of a print except in very special circum-
stances.
For detailed instructions about hinging documents and
works of art on fiber-base papers to mount board, consult
the following publications (see also Additional References):
1. The Hinging and Mounting of Paper Objects (HMS-6),
published by the Office of Museum Programs, Smithso-
nian Institution, 2235 Arts and Industries Building, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20560, June 1976.
2. Conserving Works of Art on Paper, Roy L. Perkinson,
American Association of Museums, 1055 Thomas Jefferson
Street, N.W., Suite 428, Washington, D.C. 20007, 1977.
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Polyester Enclosures and Barriers Inside Mats
Folders and sleeves made of thin uncoated polyester
sheet (e.g., DuPont Mylar D, or ICI Melinex 516) can iso-
late prints in their mats and guard against damage. For
example, a print can be placed in a 2 or 3 mil polyester
folder that is the same size as the print, which may then be
installed into a mat with four mounting corners; the unit
can be removed and replaced with relative ease and re-
duced risk of damage to the print.
Another way of protecting prints that should be isolated
from their mat environment, when mounting corners are
used, is the sandwich method. This involves placing the
print between two thin sheets of uncoated polyester that
are the same size as the print. The polyester sheets and
photographic print should be inserted (and removed) to-
gether into the four mounting corners.
As an alternative to covering the print with a second
sheet of polyester that fits into the mounting corners, the
print can be covered by overlapping the entire area by
1
2
inch or more with a polyester sheet that is attached to the
backing with a continuous hinge across its top edge. The
sheet falls over the print, can easily be lifted, and is held
down by the closed overmat. Or, the overlapping sheet
may be installed with its own set of mounting corners placed
outside the print, thereby facilitating the sheets complete
removal and replacement without handling the print. A
window slightly larger than the mat window (and smaller
than the print) may be cut into the Mylar cover sheet to
create an inner Mylar mat.
An alternative to isolating the print from its mat, is to
isolate the overmat. Before November 1981, when nonbuf-
fered 100% cotton fiber mount boards first became avail-
able, this seemed to be the most suitable way of separating
pH-sensitive color prints from alkaline-buffered boards. In
1980, more than a year before high-quality photographic
mount boards were being manufactured, photographer Mitch
Epsteins concern for the proper care of his low-pH Kodak
Dye Transfer prints prompted him to encourage this au-
thor to devise a method of preventing contact between his
prints and his alkaline-buffered museum board mats. Four
strips of 5 or 3 mil Mylar D were adhered with Scotch
Brand Double-Sided Polyester No. 415 Tape to the inside
surface of the overmat where it rested against the edges of
print. The tape was recessed approximately
1
32-
1
16 inch
from the inside and outside edges of the mat to minimize
the collection of dust particles.
The above methods preventing direct contact between
prints and mats are recommended when using boards
that do not meet the requirements for photographic stor-
age enclosures; this can occur when a board is selected for
purely aesthetic reasons.
Portfolio Matting
In general, the design and format of a portfolio should
be uniform throughout the edition, with a possible excep-
tion for the artists proof prints. Any variance from the
overall plan such as a change of image size or mat size,
a difference in materials, an alteration of mat proportions
or construction design, and so forth may be interpreted
Mounting and Matting Delicate Prints
Many prints must be handled with extra care, both
when they are unprotected and when they are matted. For
example, the paper support of most albumen prints is very
thin and direct handling of these prints should be avoided
because they may be creased even in the most careful hands.
Albumen prints and other similarly delicate prints that
may be subject to curling have been mounted in various
ways. One method of safely installing an unmounted albu-
men print into a conservation mat is to suspend the print
inside a polyester folder or sleeve that has been attached
to the backing of the mat with hinges and/or mounting
corners.
93
Properly done, this method of enclosing the
print without encapsulating it protects the surface, the
support, the edges, the corners, and the image of the print,
and facilitates its removal, if desired.
It is also possible to mount a piece of polyester to the
backing board behind the print, and then attach the prints
four corners by inserting them into small, approximately
1
8-inch sections of Frame Strips, Type 423 or Type 107,
which self-adhere to the polyester backing. When using
Frame Strips, the polyester sheet behind the print should
be larger, the same size, or very slightly smaller (if the
print floats in the mat window) than the print and fully
mounted to the backing with a pressure-sensitive adhe-
sive, such as Gudy O or 3M Positionable Mounting Adhe-
sive. This method is best suited for framed prints that will
not travel; frequently handled prints should not be mounted
this way.
Mounting corners are usually unsuitable for securing
delicate prints into mats, unless the prints are enclosed in
polyester. When such prints are not mounted by total-
surface adhesion, they are often attached to a mat with
small folded or pendant hinges. Extra care must be exer-
cised when mounting delicate prints onto lightweight boards.
For example, the flexibility of 2-ply mounts can present a
problem for very delicate prints (such as albumen prints
and photogravures on thin paper). If the backing of a mat
is not rigid and is allowed to bend against the photograph,
the print may tear in the middle and/or at either or both
hinges; or the print may detach and risk being folded or
crushed when it moves.
Paper conservators usually recommend that a hinging
material not exceed the weight and strength of the paper
being hinged into the mat. This author agrees with that
and believes that a hinge should be as thin and lightweight
as possible, but that a stronger hinge is generally safer
than a weaker one, particularly with photographs. In ei-
ther case, however, no hinging material can prevent dam-
age to a print that is adhered to an unstable, flimsy, or
poorly constructed mount.
When very delicate prints must be attached to light-
weight mounts, they should be hinged or mounted onto an
intermediate support that is somewhat larger than the print
such as 1-ply board, 1 inch larger all around than the
print which will then be secured with mounting corners
onto the lightweight backing of the mat. If the mat is
flexed, it is unlikely that the mounted print will be released
from the corners; more important is that the photograph
will not be stressed.
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consideration whether the edition is large, small, or one-of-
a-kind, such as the carefully arranged selection of prints
that a photographer shows to gallery directors. A bulky,
heavy, oversized presentation can interfere with apprecia-
tion of the photographs by being difficult to handle. On the
other hand, it may increase appreciation by demanding
more attention, as does the 18-photograph portfolio by Larry
Burrows: Vietnam, The American Intervention 19621968,
which weighs over 35 pounds.
96
When matting and mounting prints for portfolios, con-
sistency in the following areas should be maintained:
1. The board should be exactly the same for every set
unless the photographer and publisher have stated oth-
erwise; this means that all board should be ordered at
one time and that the distributor should take all of the
board from the same manufactured lot so that its over-
all texture and tone will not vary even slightly.
2. The mat proportions should be the same for multiple
prints of the same image.
3. The method by which the prints are installed (e.g., folded
hinges, mounting corners) should be the same for all
sets; when a change is necessary, the change should
not occur within one set (case) of prints in the edition.
4. The overmats and mounts should match each other in
size so that they will fit correctly into the portfolio cases.
5. The interior dimensions of cases should be about
1
8 to
1
4 inch larger than the overall size of the mounted prints.
When the cases are the right size, the prints will be
neither difficult to remove nor will they be inclined to
move around inside the cases. The required size of the
space within a print case depends to some extent on the
cases design.
Interleaving Paper
It is necessary to cover prints in storage with interleav-
ing paper when they are unprotected as well as when they
are matted.
97
A proper and clean interleaving paper re-
duces the possibility of grit and other foreign matter set-
tling on the surface of a print and also helps prevent scratches
that can occur when a print and a mount or other print
slide against each other. It is especially important to pro-
vide interleaving for a mounted print that floats and whose
edges are not covered by the borders of a mat. Interleav-
ing paper must be soft and smooth without any abrasive
characteristics, which is why certain types of fine tissue
are highly suitable.
When cutting interleaving paper for matted prints, it is
essential that it be cut to a size that is smaller than the mat
but larger than the mat window. The interleaf should be at
least
1
4 inch smaller on all four sides, but not smaller than
the size of the window opening plus the width of 1
1
2 mat
borders. This prevents the interleaving paper from slip-
ping toward the mat binding and exposing one or more
sides of the print. Ideally, an interleaving paper should be
about 1-inch smaller than the mat all around.
In this authors experience, one of the best interleaving
papers for photographic prints is #40 Manning 600 Tissue
Paper.
98
For years, until 1982, it was available as Troya
Laurence Miller, owner of the Laurence Miller Gallery in
New York City, and his associate Matthew Postal prepare
the Larry Burrows: Vietnam portfolio of Kodak Dye Transfer
prints for a traveling exhibition. (See Note 96.)
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as a mistake or, worse, as lack of care. It is common for
photographers to deviate from a rigid standard of print
consistency when they allow for some subtle variations of
the colors and tones while printing. The publishers of
portfolios, however, are usually expected to be consistent
insofar as the matting and print cases are concerned.
In some respects, portfolio publication can be compared
to limited-edition book publishing, where the quality of the
presentation is sometimes as noteworthy as the contents.
Presentation can enhance a work of art when its function
is considered important or may devalue it when it is viewed
simply as necessary packaging. Addressing the Photo-
graphic Materials Group of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Joan Pedzich said, When a print is carefully
presented, we are expressing an attitude which says we
value this object.
94
Portfolios, like picture books, should permit intimate
viewing and should be mounted to facilitate handling and
turning of the prints which are, after all, intended to be
seen together as a group. Whenever possible, lightweight
mounting materials are recommended because the weight
of the mounts can greatly increase the weight of the en-
semble (see Appendix 12.2).
95
The overall weight of the assemblage is an important
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Another outstanding interleaving paper made in En-
gland and distributed in the U.S. by Archivart and by Paper
Technologies, is Atlantis Silversafe Photostore 100% Cot-
ton Fiber paper, available in 27-lb., 54-lb., and 81-lb. basis
weight. The 27-lb. weight is preferred by this author for
matted prints because it is slightly translucent. The paper
was developed to meet the highest quality standards for
the storage of photography [and] is neutral in pH, unbuf-
fered and sulfur-free.
102
When interleaving unmatted prints,
the 54-lb. or the 81-lb. weights are generally preferable.
Archivart supplies another fine interleaving tissue called
Archivart Photo-Tex Tissue, which is made with 100% cot-
ton fibers, is nonbuffered, and is available in a 40 lb. weight;
the company reports that this paper has passed the ANSI
Photographic Activity Test. Archivart Photographic Stor-
age Paper is also an excellent product suitable as an inter-
leaf in some situations, although the paper is more com-
monly used to make negative and print envelopes and fold-
ers.
103
Most medium-weight or heavyweight interleaving
papers must be handled more carefully because their edges
can more easily scratch delicate print surfaces.
Light Impressions Renaissance Paper (80 lb.) and Re-
naissance Tissue (2.5 mil; 60 g/m
2
) are two excellent pa-
pers also manufactured specifically for use with photo-
graphs and textiles that require a neutral pH without any
alkaline buffers. The companys catalog advertises that
Renaissance Passes [the] Photographic Activities Test.
104
Conservation Resources and University Products also
sell high-quality nonbuffered interleaving papers. See the
Suppliers List at the end of this chapter for the addresses
of the above companies.
Note: ANSI standards related to the storage of photo-
graphs advise against the use of glassine, including so-called
acid-free glassine. (See Chapter 13.)
#40 Tissue Paper from Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead.
99
The
Manning tissue is suitable for interleaving photographs
because it is soft, thin, nonabrasive, flexible, strong, non-
buffered, undyed, and semi-transparent (permitting the
shapes although not the details in photographs to be iden-
tified without lifting the tissue). It is made of cellulose
derived from Manila hemp fiber. According to Frank R.
Hart, former Marketing Representative for Manning Pa-
per Company (a Division of Hammermill Paper Company),
This is a high hemp containing grade, which has a high
degree of purity. Our paper is not alkaline buffered, but is
manufactured in a neutral pH range.
100
In addition to its physical qualities, Troya #40 was rea-
sonable in price. When purchased in a large quantity, each
16x20-inch piece cost less than 25 cents. As with many
products, however, prices varied considerably, depending
on the source from which the paper was purchased and the
costs involved in cutting it.
There are other Manila hemp papers manufactured in
England by Barcham Green & Company, Ltd. One is a very
fine, semi-transparent, lightweight, nonbuffered paper, called
L Tissue, that is particularly desirable for interleaving
collections where it is important to be able to see details
through the interleaf. Distributed in the United States by
Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead, L Tissue has been sold on
the retail level bearing the same name by Light Impres-
sions, and also by Talas under the name of Greens Tis-
sue. L Tissue is similar to Troya #40 except that it is
considerably lighter in weight; because of its tendency to
slip when not held in place, it is better for matted prints
than for loose prints. According to Simon Barcham Green,
L stands for lightweight; his company also makes a
medium-weight version of L Tissue called M Tissue,
which appears to be a suitable replacement for Troya #40.
101
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8
3
Ani Rivera and Arnon Ben-David
placing Troya #40 interleaving tis-
sue over each print in Audrey
Flacks portfolio of twelve Kodak
Dye Transfer photographs pub-
lished by Sidney Singer in 1983.
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Photographer Mitch Epstein and Carol Brower working together and discussing the details of mounting Epsteins Kodak
Dye Transfer prints in 1981 before nonbuffered, neutral pH, museum boards became available.
Recommendations to Photographers
and Caretakers of Photographs
1. Use the most stable photographic materials avail-
able and process them correctly.
2. Print all photographs with wide borders and do
not trim them, unless absolutely necessary.
3. Print photographs in the center of the paper.
4. Use an enlarger that gives precise 90 print cor-
ners with exactly parallel image borders and that
centers the image properly on the paper.
5. Dry all prints carefully to avoid warping.
6. Before signing a print, consider how the print will
look if matted and framed with the signature showing
or covered.
7. Use a graphite pencil or India ink to sign prints.
8. To photographers: Deviate from the above recom-
mendations when it is required by the nature of
your work.
9. Mount and overmat valued photographs as soon
as possible.
10. Whenever possible, use mounting corners rather
than hinges to secure photographs inside mats.
11. Handle all photographs, matted and unmatted, with
clean hands; wear clean cotton gloves, if possible.
12. Interleave all stored prints, whether mounted or
unmounted, to protect their surfaces.
13. Hold unmounted large and easily bending prints
at two corners diagonally opposite from each other,
not along the edges at the center.
14. Hold mats with two hands at the outer edges.
15. Do not touch the front of a photograph or a mat.
16. Never open a mat by lifting the inside edge of the
window.
17. Open and close mats slowly.
18. Do not slide prints or mats against each other.
19. Do not remove a print from its mounting corners
if not experienced in doing so.
20. Do not remove a print from its mount and/or cor-
ners and leave it loose in the mat.
21. Do not store prints in unsafe envelopes or boxes.
22. Store prints and mats flat on a horizontal surface.
23. Store prints and mats according to size.
24. Do not store large prints or mats on top of small
prints or mats.
25. Do not store unmounted and mounted prints to-
gether in the same case or envelope.
26. Do not store unmounted color and black-and-white
prints in the same case or envelope.
27. Request (and regularly update) information from
retailers, distributors, and manufacturers about
the stability characteristics of available photo-
graphic materials and of the materials that will
come in contact with them.
28. Share and discuss such information with those in
the field and other interested people.
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Summary
Every effort must be made to protect valued photographs
from physical and chemical harm. Careful handling and
conservation matting can contribute significantly to pre-
serving the original quality of a print.
Before any mounting procedures are decided upon, the
intentions of the photographer should be learned. It is the
responsibility of curators, caretakers, collectors, and deal-
ers, to preserve and present photographs according to the
photographers wishes. This task always requires the dedi-
cation and cooperation of all people involved, including the
photographer.
Few definitive statements can be made about the long-
term effects of high-quality mount boards and adhesives
on contemporary color and black-and-white photographs.
Mounting and enclosure materials should be at least as
stable as the photograph to be mounted and should not
have any adverse effect on the photographic image, its
emulsion, or its support. Mount boards for prints should
be sulfur-free, lignin-free, have a high alpha-cellulose con-
tent, and, until research shows otherwise, have a neutral
pH value without the presence of alkaline-buffering chemi-
cals. If the recommended boards cannot be used, a neu-
tral barrier should prevent contact between unsuitable mount-
ing materials and the photographs. Much more research
needs to be done and the results published with brand
names identified on the interactions between mounting
materials and the wide variety of photographic materials.
In the United States, at the time this book went to press
in 1992, there were twelve major manufacturers and dis-
tributors marketing high-quality boards made specifically
for mounting photographs: ANW-Crestwood Paper Com-
pany; Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.; Conserva-
tion Resources International, Inc.; Crescent Cardboard Com-
pany; Hurlock Company, Inc.; Light Impressions Corpora-
tion; Paper Technologies, Inc.; Miller Cardboard Company;
Parsons Paper Company; Rising Paper Company; Talas,
Inc.; and University Products, Inc. Regular inquiries should
be made to these and other companies about the manufac-
ture, composition, testing, stability characteristics, and ap-
propriate uses of their products.
Manufacturers and distributors should provide with ev-
ery package or container of paper, board, or other mount-
ing material, a complete list of each products contents and
the manufacturing specifications. Knowing the specific com-
position of a product and who has manufactured it is essen-
tial knowledge for conservators and those doing conserva-
tion research if they are to properly understand the mecha-
nisms by which the product affects photographs. In addi-
tion, when complete information is provided, and a spirit of
openness and cooperation is shared by everyone involved,
photographers will be better able to set lasting standards for
the materials they use and to produce work that will last.
Where quality in objects as in life is to be pre-
served, thoughtful care is necessary to prevent damage
for which there is usually no cure. The photographs prop-
erly taken care of now are the ones which will have a
chance to survive. In this authors experience, careful
handling and conservation matting are two important ways
to provide protection and care for valuable and valued
photographic prints.
Acknowledgments
This author expresses her appreciation and gratitude to
Sharp Lannom IV, John Wolf, and Henry Wilhelm for their
long-standing support in this work.
Introduction and Section One
1. Background: Pratt Institute, School of Art and Design, Department of
Fine Arts, Brooklyn, New York, 19691974 (BFA 1974); first em-
ployed to prepare conservation mats by the H. Shickman Gallery in
New York City (June to September 1971), and by LIGHT Gallery in
New York City (October 1971 to June 1982); associate member of
the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institution for
Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (since 1982), and guild
member of the Professional Picture Framers Association (since 1985).
2. Bonnie Barrett Stretch, State of the Art: Big Deals on 57th Street,
American Photographer, Vol. 16, No. 6, June 1986, p. 22.
3. Peter MacGill, telephone conversation with this author, July 14,
1986.
4. Henry Wilhelm originally outlined his views on the subject in this
authors survey in 1982; further comments were added during sub-
sequent discussions between 1983 and 1986.
5. Thomas Barrow is a photographer, curator, historian, and Professor
of Art at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and a former
Assistant Director of the International Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
6. Roy L. Perkinson, telephone conversation with this author, Decem-
ber 13, 1982.
7. Henry Wilhelm, Preservation of Black and White Photographs,
presentation given at Preserving Your Historical Records: A Sym-
posium, The Olmstead Center of Drake University, Des Moines,
Iowa, October 2021, 1978.
8. Harold Jones is a photographer, dealer, former Associate Curator at
George Eastman House, first Director of LIGHT Gallery, first Director
of the Center for Creative Photography, and Associate Professor and
Director of the Photography Program at the University of Arizona in
Tucson.
9. Marvin Heiferman is a curator, dealer, author, and the former Direc-
tor of Photography at Castelli Graphics (19761982).
10. Caldecot Chubb is a motion picture producer and publisher of lim-
ited-edition photographic books and portfolios.
11. Andy Grundberg, letter to this author, August 30, 1983, and tele-
phone conversation with this author, September 3, 1985.
12. When asked, Do you recall a situation in which the matting or
mounting prevented damage to a photographic print? 84% of the
respondents said yes, 11% said no. Photographer Thomas Barrow,
print dealer Monah Gettner, writer Andy Grundberg, framer Keith
Knight, and gallery directors Peter MacGill and Laurence Miller all
independently commented that they had seen overmats absorb the
shock of falls, leaving the prints inside unharmed. Ive witnessed
photographs, framed, and unframed but matted, fall off walls with
the mats assuming most of the physical damage, wrote Alan B.
Newman, who is Executive Director of Photographic Services at the
Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois (formerly chief photographer at the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, and formerly Assis-
tant Professor of Photography at Pratt Institute and at the New
School for Social Research in New York City).
13. Exhibition and auction guide, June 610, 1983, Milwaukee Center for
Photography, 207 East Buffalo Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
Notes and References Section Two
14. Beaumont Newhall, letter to this author, August 29, 1982. In a
follow-up letter to this author (January 31, 1985), Newhall also wrote:
. . .regarding Stieglitzs disappointment with the framing/mat-
ting of his photographs by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. . . .
Unfortunately I have no documentation to support my recollection of
a conversation with Stieglitz held probably some 45 years ago! I do
know definitely that he insisted that his personal presentation of his
photographs should be preserved. When I was Curator of Photogra-
phy at the Museum of Modern Art I acquired a dozen or so prints
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from Stieglitz which we had him frame, and we had velvet-lined
boxes made for them. . .he was very pleased!
15. The edition consists of 30 portfolios (plus seven artists proofs) with
82 different images in each. The negatives were printed on 16x20-
inch Agfa Portriga-Rapid Paper. Issue of this portfolio of original
prints coincided with the publication of the Aperture book Social
Graces (1983).
Other examples of collaboration between photographers and
publishers in creating portfolios are:
In China by Eve Arnold, with Castelli Graphics (1980).
Desnudo by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, with Acorn Editions (1980).
The Seven Deadly Sins and The Seven Cardinal Virtues by
Don Rodan, with Castelli Graphics (1981).
Twelve Photographs by Stephen Shore, with the Metropolitan
Museum of Art (1976).
Portraits by Andy Warhol, with Bruno Bischofberger (1981).
Surrounded Islands by Christo and photographer Wolfgang
Volz, with Hugh Lauter Levin (1984).
16. Philip Katcher, How to Date an Image from Its Mat, Photographic
Society of America Journal, Vol. 44, No. 8, August 1978, p. 26.
17. William Adair, The Frame in America, 17001900: A Survey of
Fabrication Techniques and Styles, The American Institute of
Architects Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1983.
18. David Vestal, The Art of Black-and-White Enlarging, Harper &
Row, New York, New York, 1984, p. 186.
19. Beaumont Newhall, letter to this author, July 21, 1983.
20. Beaumont Newhall, Frederick H. Evans, Aperture, Inc., Millerton,
New York, 1973, p. 18.
21. Beaumont Newhall, see Note No. 19.
23. Raymond Sokolov, The Wall Street Journal, December 3, 1982, p. 31.
24. Andre Kertesz, telephone conversation with this author, August 24,
1983.
25. This quote, in Kerteszs words for what Newhall said, was also
printed in Janis Bultmans article, The Up and Down Life of Andre
Kertesz, which appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of
Darkroom, Vol. 5, No. 6, pp. 3250.
26. John Szarkowski, letter to this author, July 26, 1983.
29. Andre Kertesz, Distortions, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New
York, 1976.
30. Peter MacGill, telephone conversation with this author, September
1, 1983.
31. At the time of this writing in 1983, France, Germany, Italy, California,
and Massachusetts also recognized the legal rights of artists to
protect the integrity of their works.
32. New York State Assembly Bill No. 5052-C, Artists Authorship Rights
Act, was signed into law by Governor Mario Cuomo on August 13,
1983.
33. Josh Barbanel, New York Law Gives Artists Right to Sue to Protect
Work, The New York Times, August 14, 1983, p. 1.
34. Beaumont Newhall, see Note No. 20, p. 10.
35. Beaumont Newhall, see Note No. 20, p. 17. Ward Muirs quote first
appeared in The Amateur American Photographer, London, Octo-
ber 2, 1902, p. 273.
Newhall continued the discussion of Evanss concern with pre-
sentation: Evans perfected the type of multiple mounting which was
called, inaccurately, the American style because of its popularity
with the members of the New American School. The trimmed print
was first fastened with dabs of paste at its upper corners to a
colored card, usually a subdued gray or tan, hardly more than an
eighth of an inch larger in size than the picture. This in turn was
mounted on a somewhat larger card of contrasting or harmonizing
tint. The process was repeated, sometimes as many as eight times.
The result was a series of borders around the photograph. Evans
said the technique was really an easier way of arriving at the French
method of surrounding a drawing by ruling ink lines and filling up
some of the spaces between them with faint washes of colour. Still
it was exacting work, for each mount had to be of precisely the
proper tint and cut exactly to the right size; it might take from five
minutes to half an hour to get a satisfactory combination. [This
section was footnoted: The Photographic Journal, February 1908,
pp. 99114.] Evans gave a practical course of instruction in mount-
ing in a series of twelve monthly lessons in The Photogram maga-
zine for 1904. In each issue there was a reproduction of a photo-
graph, printed on one side only of a supplementary page. This the
reader was invited to cut out, and to mount, according to Evanss
explicit directions, on the cover paper which was left unprinted on
one side for this purpose. Not all of the cover paper was needed,
and the reader was told to save the unused pieces for future les-
sons. Each months cover was a different tint, so that by December
the reader-student had a stock of mounting material, and was able to
make an elaborate presentation. In 1908 Evans organized an exhibi-
tion of good and bad examples of multiple mounting at the Royal
Photographic Society and gave a demonstration. (Beaumont Newhall,
Frederick H. Evans, Aperture, Inc., Millerton, New York, 1973, p. 17.)
36. Andy Grundberg, A Pioneer Whose Images Range from the Grim to
the Glittery, The New York Times, March 1, 1987, Arts and Lei-
sure, Sec. 2, pp. 35 and 37. The Gordon Parks retrospective exhibi-
tion was shown at The New York Public Library and the Schomburg
Center for Research in Black Culture, both in New York City.
37. Among the 63 respondents who noticed surface texture of mount
boards, 76% preferred smooth-textured board for matting and mounting
photographs. Only 5% preferred rough-textured boards. Approxi-
mately 17% said it depended on the photograph or photographer.
38. Roy L. Perkinson, see Note No. 6.
39. Andre Kertesz, discussion with this author, May 29, 1983.
40. Ansel Adams, Finishing, Mounting, Storage, Display, The Print,
New York Graphic Society, Little, Brown and Company, Boston,
Massachusetts, 1983, pp. 145147.
41. Ralph Baum, Light in the Darkroom: Arranging Exhibits, Industrial
Photography, Vol. 14, No. 8, August 1965, p. 6.
Notes and References Section Three
42. The terms paper and board are sometimes used interchangeably in
this text. Because board is usually made with sheets of paper that
have been laminated together to create greater strength and thick-
ness, board is sometimes referred to as paper.
National Standard for Imaging Media Photographic Processed
for Storage. (This Standard, which replaced ANSI PH1.53-1986,
includes a new version of the Photographic Activity Test which is
based on work done by James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishimura
at the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of
Technology in Rochester, New York.) American National Standards
telephone: 212-642-4900.
44. There is a third type of high-quality board, which is a composite
board made of de-acidified wood pulp or cotton fiber. Faced with
colored papers that have textured or smooth finishes, it is better
suited to matting than mounting. This decorative board is approxi-
mately 4-ply thick and has a bright white core. Bainbridge Alphamat,
Crescent Rag Mat (not Crescent Rag Mat 100 ), and Miller Ultimat
are examples.
45. Alden W. Hamilton, Manager of Commercial Development for James
River Corporation, pointed out that longer cotton fibers and cotton
rags are essential in the manufacture of durable papers for such
products as bank notes, documents, and paper currency. These
papers must be thin, yet have great folding and tearing endurance.
In this authors experience, papers used to make mounting corners
and hinges also require this kind of physical strength, although to a
lesser degree.
46. Alden W. Hamilton, telephone conversation with this author, May 12,
1983. According to Hamilton, James River Ragmount was made
from cotton rags until about 1974.
47. This statement by Charles T. Bainbridges Sons, Inc. (currently Niel-
sen & Bainbridge) appears in literature published by the company
and on folders containing samples of its mount board. Code:1-82-65m.
48. Kate McCarthy, telephone conversation with this author, July 18, 1986.
49. Chi C. Chen, telephone conversation with this author (regarding
letters of June 21 and August 4, 1982), March 11, 1983.
50. Kurt R. Schaefer, follow-up letter to this author, July 14, 1982, after
July 2, 1982, telephone conversation.
51. David Pottenger, telephone conversations with this author, May 11,
1983 and July 17, 1986. Mr. Pottenger was Marketing Manager in
1983.
52. Strathmore Paper Company, Strathmore Artists Paper, 500 Series,
Westfield, Massachusetts, no date, p. 3.
53. This information was confirmed by Emily Vinick of the American
Paper Institute in a telephone conversation with this author, May 12,
1983. American Paper Institute, 260 Madison Avenue, New York,
New York 10016; telephone: 212-340-0600.
54. Cotton Fiber Content Paper. Paper that contains 25% or more
cellulose fibers derived from lint cotton, cotton linters and cotton or
linen cuttings. The term is used interchangeably with rag content
and cotton content papers.
Rag Content. A term used interchangeably with cotton fiber
content which indicates that a paper contains a percentage of cotton
fiber pulp. The cotton fiber content normally used may vary from 25
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69. Chi C. Chen, see Note No. 49.
70. See: Jared Bark, Notes on Framing (1982) and More Notes on
Framing (1985) published by Bark Frameworks, Inc., 85 Grand
Street, New York, New York 10013; telephone: 212-431-9080.
A.P.F., Inc. has relocated to 320 Washington Street, Mt. Vernon,
New York 10053; telephone: 914-665-5400.
71. Gaebel Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 6849, East Syracuse, New York
13217; telephone: 315-463-9261; toll-free: 800-722-0342.
72. See: E. J. Pearlstein, D. Cabelli, A. King, and N. Indictor, Effects of
Eraser Treatment on Paper, Journal of the American Institute for
Conservation, Fall 1982, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 112. This author
prefers kneadable erasers for cleaning mount board because they
create fewer particles, or crumbs.
73. Archivart sells alkaline-buffered wrapping paper: Product Number
CP-101-CP, Archivart Acid-Free Wrapping Paper.
74. Arnon Ben-David, telephone conversation with the author, July 30, 1982.
75. The window was made large enough to show the
1
4 inch border
impression that surrounds the images to create a double-border.
However, impressions or lines in the border area that surrounds a
photographic image may also be covered because the mat window
also creates a frame around the picture.
76. This author was introduced to conservation matting in 1971 by Charles
S. Moffett and Norman Leitman at the H. Shickman Gallery in New
York City, a private establishment dealing in old master prints, draw-
ings, and paintings. The fragility and difficulty of handling the art-
works on paper depended a great deal on whether they had ever
been trimmed and whether they were previously matted. Compari-
son of numerous prints some trimmed long ago, some trimmed
shortly before they reached the gallery, and some never trimmed
helped demonstrate both the reasoning behind and the danger of
trimming artwork. It also clearly showed the importance of conser-
vation matting. The torn edges, fingerprints, stains, adhesive resi-
due, and other evidence of improper handling and/or mounting which
had occurred during past decades and centuries to some rare and
This striking 1920s portrait is unfortunately all the more
dramatic with its torn edges and lost emulsion. Its photog-
rapher and history are a mystery. From a private collection.
to 100%. Dictionary of Paper, fourth edition, American Paper
Institute, Inc., New York, New York, 1980, pp. 116 and 334.
55. Roberts and Etherington gave the following definition for cotton
fiber content papers: Papers which are made from cellulose fibers
derived from COTTON LINTERS, cotton or linen cuttings, and lint
cotton. Flax is also sometimes included in this definition. Also
called rag content paper and cotton content paper. Matt T. Rob-
erts and Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of
Books, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1982, p. 67.
56. Glossary, Paper Art & Technology, The World Print Council, San
Francisco, California, 1979, p. 117.
57. Dennis OConnor, undated letter to this author, received September
8, 1983.
58. Dennis Inch, telephone conversation with this author, September 9,
1983.
59. Ron Emerson, telephone conversation with this author, September
23, 1985.
60. Vera G. Freeman, Manager of the Art Paper Department, and Karen
L. Crisalli, Assistant Manager of the Art Paper Department (A/N/W),
telephone conversations with this author, May and August, 1983.
61. Michael S. Ginsburg, telephone conversation with this author, Janu-
ary 2, 1985.
62. Arno Roessler, telephone conversation with this author, August 20,
1985, and letter to this author, August 28, 1985 in response to
authors letter dated August 21, 1985.
Notes and References Section Four
63. The terms mount and mat are often used interchangeably in this text.
In this authors context, a matted print is always mounted whereas a
mounted print is not always matted. When referring to the mounted
print, the print may or may not be matted. When referring to the
matted print, the print is always mounted onto the backing board,
which is attached to the overmat. (The print may have been pre-
mounted, such as dry mounted, in which case the mount is then
mounted into the mat. If the print is loose, it is attached to the mat
with either corners, hinges, etc.)
For the sake of brevity, prints are more often referred to as being
mounted than either mounted and matted or matted because
mounted prints refers to both mounted and matted prints and to
mounted and unmatted prints. When prints are referred to as
matted, it is to distinguish them from prints that are mounted
without overmats.
Most board in the chapter is called mount board, because this
authors overmats and mounts are nearly always made from the
same board. The term mat board is used only when a board is
specifically intended for making an overmat and is generally unsuit-
able for mounting.
64. A point is a unit used to measure the thickness of paper and
paperboard and is equivalent to
1
1000 inch; for example, a board
which is 55 points thick is
55
1000 inch thick.
65. Contact: Department of Cultural Affairs, Materials for the Arts, 410
West 16th Street, New York, New York 10001; telephone: 212-841-
4100, and 212-555-5924.
66. Pieces of 16x20-inch board are more rigid when the 20-inch sides
are taken from the 40-inch sides of the full sheet, provided the board
is grain long. Four 16x20-inch pieces, all grain long, can be ex-
tracted from a sheet of 32x40-inch board which is grain long.
67. Claude Minotto, Photograph Bibliography, Archivaria, No. 5, 1977
78, p. 138.
68. This authors survey question, In your experience, what are the
most common sizes you have found available for matting and fram-
ing photographic prints? (no sizes were given with the question),
received 49 responses and showed that the most common board
sizes for mounting photographic prints are:
1. 16x20 inches (43)
2. 20x24 inches (30)
3. 11x14 inches (27)
4. 14x18 inches (25)
5. 14x17 inches (23)
6. 22x28 inches (18)
7. 8x10 inches (10)
8. 18x22 inches (8)
8. 24x30 inches (8)
9. 30x40 inches (7)
10. 12x14
1
2 inches (6)
11. 20x26 inches (3)
11. 40x60 inches (3)
Numbers in parentheses represent the number of respondents
who listed that size as standard in their experience.
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valuable old master prints and drawings before they arrived in the
gallery often detracted from the artwork. Some individuals had
responded by trimming off damaged areas. Trimming of artwork is
not allowed in the Shickman Gallery because, as I was told, trimming
a finished print is itself a further mutilation of the work. A freshly cut
edge may appear beautiful, but such beauty is usually short lived,
and subsequent handling, new stains, and fresh tears may encour-
age further trimming. Repeated trimming of artwork brings image
areas increasingly closer to areas that are handled directly and
therefore makes them more susceptible to damage. In the case of
some rare and valuable prints and drawings that had arrived unmat-
ted, it was impossible not to touch the actual art. Conservation
matting for such prints was done immediately.
77. Four-bladed easels are sold by The Saunders Group, Inc., 21 Jet
View Drive, Rochester, New York 14624; telephone: 716-328-7800
(Master and Heavy Duty Professional Easels), and by the Kostiner
Division of Omega/Arkay, 191 Shaeffer Avenue, P.O. Box 2078,
Westminister, Maryland 21158; telephone: 410-857-6353; toll-free:
800-777-6634 (Kostiner Adjustable Universal Easels).
78. An exception to this illustrates the importance of considering com-
position of the image before deciding the mats design. Some of Val
Telbergs photographs such as City Hanging in the Sky Le Acrobate
(1951) which pictures five free-floating figures three dancing women
and two sleeping men, all in different positions are full of move-
ment and without gravity. This photograph may be hung in any
direction, always appearing upside down and right-side up. There-
fore, the picture is most effectively presented with mat borders that
are paired and equal in order to maintain the free-floating feeling.
79. This writer is not experienced in using mat cutting machines, such
as the Esterly Speed-Mat Cutter, that do not require marking mea-
surements on board. When this author observed the Esterly Speed-
Mat Cutter demonstrated at the Frame-o-rama Convention in New
York City in April 1982 and April 1985 by H. F. Esterly, it was
accurate in its measurements when adjusted properly. It is essential
to take into account any possible inconsistency of outside board
dimensions when using such machines and instruments.
80. Cutting mats made of rubber-like self-healing materials are not
recommended for cutting mount board upon. These translucent,
green, or blue semi-hard cutting mats, such as those made by
Arttec, Dahle, and Uchida are excellent for cutting individual sheets
of thin paper (e.g., mounting corners), but mount boards tend to
shift position on them during cutting. If not fastened down, the
cutting mats themselves will move on a smooth tabletop.
81. This approach is usually successful only when opening any of the
eight sides where they meet at the four corners. The open incision
in the middle of the appropriate side serves as a starting point and a
guide for inserting the razor blade and setting the angle before
directing its movement to the corner.
82. If the right hand is pushing the cutting instrument, the left hand is
holding the straightedge. For right-handed individuals, the elbow
and forearm of the right arm, which is moving the hand-held cutter
forward, should rest on the straightedge to assist the left hand,
which is holding the straightedge in place. (Right and left would be
reversed in the case of left-handed individuals.)
83. Two photographers, Rivera Da Cueva and Guta de Carvalho, discov-
ered when purchasing a Dexter Mat Cutter in New York City in
November 1982 that the instrument weighed less than previously
available models. Experienced in cutting mats with an earlier ver-
sion, Da Cueva said that the new Dexter Mat Cutter was more
difficult to control than the earlier model. According to the manufac-
turer, the metal was replaced with a slightly lighter metal, and the
plastic knob on the blade holder was replaced with an aluminum
knob, in the late 1970s. In 1984, Dexter returned to using plastic
knobs because the aluminum ones were difficult to adjust.
85. Process Materials Corporation, Technical Bulletin No. CP-197-PH:
Atlantis Silversafe Photostore Paper 100% Cotton Fiber, May 1983.
This paper was available in 27-lb., 54-lb., and 81-lb. weights. The
54-lb. or 81-lb. papers are suitable for most medium-weight prints.
86. Process Materials Corporation, Technical Bulletin No. CP-195-PH:
Archivart Photographic Storage Paper, 75 lbs. (111 g/m
2
), May 1983;
this paper is also available in 80-lb. weight. Light Impressions
Renaissance Paper is an 80-lb. text-weight paper with a smooth
finish.
87. Howard Paper Mills, the manufacturer of Permalife papers, also
makes nonbuffered papers, including Renaissance Paper distrib-
uted by Light Impressions Corporation. Howard Paper Mills, Inc.,
354 South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard, P.O. Box 982, Dayton, Ohio
45401; telephone: 513-224-1211; toll-free: 800-543-5010.
88. One of the first recommendations about the need for wide borders
on photographic prints was made in 1968, when the Creative Pho-
tography Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
announced that it would collect only archivally processed prints:
Archival prints must be made with a 1 or 2 inch border on all four sides
cropped on the easel, then stored and displayed untrimmed beneath
overmats. Jacob Deschin, M.I.T. Starts Archival Photographic
Collection, The New York Times, April 7, 1968, section 2, p. 31.
89. Eastman Kodak Company has also recommended ample print bor-
ders: Examination of old photographs indicates that those mounted
with wide borders often suffer less from atmospheric deterioration
due to chemical penetrations at the print edges than those with
narrow borders. For this reason, it is desirable to mount prints with
borders about 8 cm (3 inches) wide at the top and sides and about 9
cm (3
1
2 inches) wide at the bottom. Eastman Kodak Company,
Storage and Care of Kodak Color Materials (major revision),
Kodak Pamphlet No. E-30, May 1982, p. 6.
90. Michael Wilder, a top-quality commercial color printer, specializes in
making Ilfochrome (called Cibachrome until 1990) prints, and has
had extensive experience mounting them. Michael Wilder, 3716
Surfwood Road, Malibu, California 90265; telephone: 213-459-0305.
91. See: Merrily A. Smith, Norvell M. M. Jones, II, Susan L. Page, and
Marian Peck Dirda, Pressure-Sensitive Tape and Techniques for Its
Removal from Paper, Journal of the American Institute for Con-
servation, Vol. 23, No. 2, Spring 1984, pp. 101113.
92. T. J. Collings, Archival Care of Still Photographs, Society of
Archivists Information Leaflet No. 2, Society of Archivists, 56 Ellin
Street, Sheffield S1 4PL, England, 1986.
93. James M. Reilly, Director of the Image Permanence Institute at the
Rochester Institute of Technology (established by RIT and the Soci-
ety of Photographic Scientists and Engineers in January 1986), has
been conducting research into the effects of enclosure materials on
albumen prints. His findings suggest that uncoated polyester sheet
is preferable to paper enclosures. See: James M. Reilly, Evaluation
of Storage Enclosure Materials for Photographs Using the ANSI
Photographic Activity Test, (National Museum Act Grant No. FC-
309557), March 1984. See also: James M. Reilly, Care and Identifi-
cation of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication
No. G-2S, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, 1986,
pp. 9297.
94. Carol Joan Pedzich, Chief Archivist of the Photographic Archives of
the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House
in Rochester, New York, addressing the visiting Photographic Mate-
rials Group of the American Institute for Conservation, February 1,
1982.
95. For example, fifteen 11x14-inch double-weight black-and-white prints
matted to the size of 16x20 inches will weigh approximately the
following:
4-ply overmat and backing: 12
3
4 pounds
2-ply overmat and backing: 6
3
4 pounds
2-ply overmat and 4-ply backing: 10 pounds
The same 15 prints, when matted with 2-ply overmats and 4-ply
backings, will be approximately 1
3
4 inches thick on the binding side
and approximately 1
7
16 inches thick on the opposite side (see Ap-
pendix 12.2: Mount Board Thickness). The model for these di-
mensions is the portfolio Robert Doisneau 15 Photographs,
published by Hyperion Press Limited in New York City (1979), mat-
ted with 2-ply overmats and mounted on 4-ply backings. The weight
of the entire portfolio in its case is 15
3
4 pounds.
96. The portfolio Larry Burrows: Vietnam, The American Interven-
tion 19621968 consists of 18 Dye Transfer prints on 16x20-inch
paper, conservation matted with Rising Photomount Museum Board
(4-ply, white) thirteen to the size of 20x24 inches, five to the size of
16x20-inches and presented in a sturdy, hand-made case, elabo-
rately designed to contain the two sizes. The portfolio was pub-
lished in 1985 by the Laurence Miller Gallery in New York City, in
collaboration with the photographers son, Russell Burrows.
97. This authors survey included several questions regarding the use of
interleaving papers. Of those responding to the survey question: In
general, do you feel that interleaving interferes with the viewing of
pictures in galleries or private collections? 44% said yes and 51%
said no. Individuals on both sides commented that interleaving is
necessary to protect the surfaces of prints when they are matted and
when they are not protected by sleeves or in other ways. Peter
MacGills response to the question was, No, not at all; it helps
viewing [because] people learn proper care. Laurence Miller said,
On the contrary it can increase the viewers appreciation for a
print because it requires people to pause before they look. Un-
framed prints in the Laurence Miller Gallery and the Pace/MacGill
Gallery are protected with interleaving papers.
Most people interested in photography are aware of the need to
protect print surfaces. In practice, however, only 53% of those
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responding used interleaving paper between loose prints, 35% used
it sometimes, and 11% did not interleave loose prints. Regarding the
use of interleaving paper over prints inside mats, 54% did, 28% did
sometimes, and 18% did not.
98. #40 Manning 600 Tissue Paper may be ordered from Manning Paper
Company, P.O. Box 328, Troy, New York 12181; telephone: 518-273-
6320. Unfortunately, the minimum order is 5000 pounds. It is hoped
that a distributor can be found for this product. As with most of the
enclosure papers mentioned in this book, #40 Manning 600 (Troya
#40) has not undergone testing with the Photographic Activity Test
in ANSI IT9.2-1991, American National Standard for Imaging
Media Photographic Processed Films, Plates, and Papers
Filing Enclosures and Containers for Storage.
99. In 1984, Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead began to sell an interleaving
paper called Troya #0122, which bears but a slight resemblance to
Troya #40. Troya #0122 is a heavier weight and stiffer paper.
100. Frank R. Hart, letter to this author, August 12, 1983.
101. L Tissue and M Tissue are manufactured by Barcham Green &
Company, Ltd. at the Hayle Mill in Kent, England. ANW-Crestwood
in New York is the distributor in the United States.
102. Process Materials Corporation, see Note No. 85.
103. Process Materials Corporation, see Note No. 86
104. Light Impressions Archival Supplies Catalogs, Fall 1992 and earlier.
Miles Barth, Notes on Conservation and Restoration of Photographs,
Print Collectors Newsletter, May/June 1983, pp. 4850.
Paul N. Banks, Matting and Framing Documents and Art Objects on
Paper, The Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, first published 1968,
revised May 1973 and November 1978.
Doris Bry, An Approach to the Care of Photographs, Sotheby Parke
Bernet, New York, New York, 1976.
Anne F. Clapp, Curatorial Care of Works of Art on Paper, third revised
edition, Intermuseum Conservation Association, The Intermuseum
Laboratory, Oberlin, Ohio, March 1978.
Anne F. Clapp, Curatorial Care of Works of Art on Paper, fourth
revised edition, Nick Lyons Books, New York, 1988.
Francis W. Dolloff and Roy L. Perkinson, How to Care for Works of Art
on Paper, third edition, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachu-
setts, 1979, p. 29.
Eastman Kodak Company, Finishing and Mounting, in Quality Enlarg-
ing with Kodak B/W Papers Art, Technique and Science,
Kodak Publication No. G-1, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,
New York, May 1982.
Eastman Kodak Company, Preservation of Photographs, Kodak Publi-
cation No. F-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
1979.
pany, Rochester, New York, 1985.
Margaret Holben Ellis, Matting Drawings for Storage and Exhibition,
Drawing, Vol. 2, No. 1, May/June 1980, pp. 710.
Margaret Holben Ellis, The Care of Prints and Drawings, American
Association for State and Local History, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987.
Ann Ferguson, Conservation Framing for the Professional Picture
Framer, Windsor Graphics, Galveston, Texas, 1985.
Grace Glueck, Whats in a Frame? Less and Less at the Modern, The
New York Times, July 15, 1984, Section 2, pp. 1 and 6.
Per E. Guldbeck, The Care of Historical Collections, American Asso-
ciation for State and Local History, third printing, Nashville, Tennes-
see, 1979.
Judith Harlan, Hockney Redefines Role of Framer, Art Business News,
May 1986, pp. 1 and 70.
Robert Heller, Photography in American Art Museums: A History, Pic-
turescope, Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall 1981, pp. 8490.
Klaus B. Hendriks, The Preservation and Restoration of Photographic
Materials in Archives and Libraries: A RAMP Study with Guide-
lines, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-
tion (UNESCO), Paris, 1984.
Craig W. Jensen (compiled by), The Book & Paper Group Annual
Volume 2, The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and
Artistic Works, Washington, D. C., 1983.
Klaus B. Kasper and Rudolf Wanka, Chemical Formulations and Re-
quirements of Photographic Paper, Journal of Applied Photo-
graphic Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 3, June 1981, p. 67.
Laurence E. Keefe, Jr. and Dennis Inch, The Life of a Photograph,
Focal Press (Butterworth Publishers), Boston, Massachusetts and
London, England, 1990. The books first edition was published in
1984.
Stuart A. Kohler, Archival Photo Corners of Japanese Tissue, The
Abbey Newsletter, Vol. 6, No. 5, October 1982, pp. 6364.
Stuart A. Kohler, How to Make and Use Wheat Starch Paste, History
News, Vol. 36, No. 7, July 1981, pp. 3839.
Sue Beauman Murphy and Siegfried Rempel, A Study of the Quality of
Japanese Papers Used in Conservation, The Book and Paper
Group Annual, Vol 4, The American Institute for Conservation of
Historic and Artistic Works, Washington, D.C., 1985, pp.6372.
Library of Congress, Preservation Office Research Services, Matting
and Hinging of Works of Art on Paper, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C., 1981, p. 30.
National Gallery of Canada, Restoration and Conservation Laboratory,
The Care of Prints and Drawings with Notes on Matting, Fram-
ing and Storage, revised edition, National Gallery of Canada, Ot-
tawa, Ontario, April 1981.
Laraine Wright OMalley, ed., Mounting Art Work, Basics & Beyond
Series, Commerce Publishing Company, St. Louis, Missouri, 1979.
Joan Pedzich, Balancing Preservation and Research: Some Principles that
Help, PhotographiConservation, Vol. 4, No. 2, June 1982, pp. 67.
Roy L. Perkinson, Conserving Works of Art on Paper, American Asso-
ciation of Museums, Washington, D.C., 1977, p. 4.
Polaroid Corporation, Storing, Handling and Preserving Polaroid Pho-
tographs: A Guide, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachu-
setts, 1983.
Sandra Powers, Why Exhibit? The Risks Versus the Benefits, The
American Archivist, Vol. 41, No. 3, July 1978, p. 297.
Professional Picture Framers Association, PPFA Guild Guidelines for
Framing Works of Art on Paper, Professional Picture Framers
Association, Richmond, Virginia, 1985.
Professional Picture Framers Association, PPFA Guild Guidelines for
Framing Works of Art on Paper (revised edition), Professional
Picture Framers Association, Richmond, Virginia, 1987.
Professional Picture Framers Association, Survey on Mat/Mount Boards,
Richmond, Virginia, March 1986.
Jeanne Schonberg, Questions to ask your framer and answers you
should get, Tamarind Institute, The University of New Mexico, Albu-
querque. Revised by Judith Booth, July 1973.
Gone!!! Which Color Films and Papers Last Longest?, Popular
Photography, June 1990, Vol. 97, No. 6, pp. 3749, 60.
Merrily A. Smith and Margaret R. Brown, Matting and Hinging of Works
of Art on Paper, A National Preservation Program Publication,
National Preservation Program Office, Library of Congress, Wash-
ington, D.C., 1981; and, The Consultant Press, A Division of the
Photographic Arts Center, New York, New York, 1986.
Otha C. Spencer, A Guide to the Enhancement & Presentation of
Photographs, Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1983.
Nathan Stolow, Conservation Standards for Works of Art in Transit
and on Exhibition, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-
tural Organization, Paris, France, 1979.
Marla Strasburg and Vivian Kistler, Floorplans for Galleries and Frame
Shops, Columbia Publishing, Akron, Ohio, 1989.
Susan Garretson Swartzburg, ed., Conservation in the Library A
Handbook of Use and Care of Traditional and Nontraditional
Materials, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 1983.
Time-Life Books, Caring for Photographs Display, Storage, Resto-
ration (revised edition), Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1982.
David Vestal, How David Vestal Mounts and Mats Prints, Popular
Photography, Vol. 90, No. 9, September 1983, pp. 8794.
David Vestal, The Craft of Photography (updated edition), Harper &
Row Publishers, Inc., New York, New York, 1975.
Lee D. Witkin and Barbara London, The Photograph Collectors Guide,
New York Graphic Society, Little, Brown and Company, Boston,
Massachusetts, 1979.
Carl Zigrosser and Christa M. Gaehde, A Guide to the Collecting and
Care of Original Prints, sponsored by the Print Council of America,
Crown Publishers, New York, New York, 1965.
(See Chapter 12 Appendices and Suppliers List on following pages. . .)
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Appendix 12.1: Survey
In August 1982, this author sent out survey forms to 86 individuals actively involved with photography. The survey,
titled The Care and Presentation of Photographic Prints, consisted of 131 questions and was conducted to review
changing attitudes and practices related to the preservation and presentation of photographic prints. Among those
queried were 18 photographers, 14 curators and historians, 13 conservators, 10 print dealers, 6 print collectors, 4 writers,
11 miscellaneous professionals, and 10 multiple role people. Although many individuals were involved in more than
one area, only 10 were classified as having active multiple roles. For example, Harold Jones, who currently teaches at
the University of Arizona, is also well known as a photographer, educator, curator, print dealer, and gallery director.
Of the 72 returned forms, 65 were usable and 7 were unusable (apologies, incomplete). In addition, one person wrote
an informative letter to substitute for the incomplete form, 6 people participated in telephone interviews (2 of these had
returned unusable forms), and 10 people did not respond. Answers to the questions and all additional comments written
in the usable forms were tabulated and yielded an enormous amount of information. Some of the data was used by citing
statistics to illustrate various concerns and some of the written comments have been woven into the chapter. Only those
individuals who completed the survey forms were included in the statistical tabulations. Those who wrote letters and
participated in telephone interviews have been quoted in the text and are referenced at the end of the chapter.
It is hoped that this is only the first of a series of surveys that will be conducted periodically in the coming years. This
author would like to thank the following people who participated in this survey:
Peter MacGill, Pace/MacGill Gallery
Jerald Maddox, Library of Congress
Joyce and Robert Menschel
Ronay and Richard Menschel
Laurence G. Miller, Laurence Miller Gallery
National Film Board of Canada
Weston J. Naef, Metropolitan Museum of Art
(presently Curator of Photography at the
J. Paul Getty Museum)
Hans Namuth
Beaumont Newhall
Alan B. Newman, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(presently Executive Director of Photographic
Services at The Art Institute of Chicago)
Arnold Newman
Debbie Hess Norris
Eugene Ostroff, Smithsonian Institution
Merrily Page, Page Imageworks, Inc.
Roy L. Perkinson, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Mary Kay Porter
Ani Rivera
Don Rodan
John Rohrback, Aperture, Inc.
Grant Romer, International Museum of Photography
Leo Rubinfien
Gerd Sander, Sander Gallery, Inc.
Allen Schill
Victor A. Schrager
Douglas G. Severson, The Art Institute of Chicago
Frederick Sommer
Eve Sonneman
Joel Sternfeld
Alice Swan
Susan Unterberg
Samuel Wagstaff, Jr.
Thomas Walther
Rick Wester
Henry Wilhelm
Peter Wilsey
Ansel Adams
Gary E. Albright, Northeast Document
Conservation Center
Jared Bark, Bark Frameworks, Inc.
Thomas Barrow, University of New Mexico
Miles Barth, International Center for Photography
Arnon Ben-David
Jane and Larry Booth, San Diego Historical Society
Irene Borger
Harry Callahan
Eleanor Caponigro
Pat Marie Caporaso, Castelli Graphics
William Christenberry
Caldecot Chubb
Mitch Epstein
Louis Faurer
David Fahey, G. Ray Hawkins Gallery
Roy Flukinger, Humanities Resource Center,
University of Texas
Frances Fralin, Corcoran Gallery of Art
Helen Gee
Monah and Alan Gettner, Hyperion Press Ltd.
Ralph Gibson
Emmet Gowin
Andy Grundberg
Susan Harder
Marvin Heiferman
Marvin Hoshino
Harold Jones, University of Arizona
Peter C. Jones
Pepe Karmel
Andre Kertesz
Susan Kismaric, Museum of Modern Art
Keith Knight, Knightworks
Patti and Frank Kolodny
David Kolody
Helen Levitt
Robert Littman, Grey Art Gallery (presently
Director of Museo Rufino Tamayo)
Robert Lyons
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Suppliers Appendix 12.2: Mount Board Thickness
Museum mount board is available in 1-, 2-, 4-, 6-,
and 8-ply thicknesses of which 2- and 4-ply are the
most common. One-ply is usually about 12.5 points
thick. A point is a unit for measuring the thickness
of paper and paperboard and is equivalent to
1
1000
inch. A point measurement is more accurate than a
ply measurement because the term ply merely means
layer and not actual thickness. For example, a
piece of 4-ply museum board is usually about
1
16-inch
thick, while a different 4-ply paper product, such as a
bristol board, may be less than
1
32-inch thick. Thick-
ness is not an accurate guide to weight since some
manufacturers boards are denser (and consequently
heavier) than others of the same thickness.
Following are the approximate thicknesses of single
sheets or pieces of museum mount board:
2-ply =
1
32 inch = 2530 points
4-ply =
1
16 inch = 5060 points
The following examples indicate how the thick-
nesses of 1-, 2-, and 4-ply mount boards vary among
different companies and show some other available
thicknesses of mount board (measurements were
supplied by the companies in 1985):
Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead:
1-ply: 1314 points
2-ply: 27 points
4-ply: 54 points
6-ply: 81 points
James River Corporation:
1-ply: 13 points
2-ply: 26 points
4-ply: 56 points
Process Materials Corporation:
2-ply: 2527 points
4-ply: 5055 points
60x104-inch museum board: 60 points
6-ply: 85 points
Rising Paper Company:
1-ply: 15 points
2-ply: 30 points
Conservamat: 55 points
4-ply: 60 points
In March 1986, the Professional Picture Framers
Association in Richmond, Virginia, published its first
Survey on Mat/Mount Boards. This comprehensive
report provides information about numerous boards,
and includes a more extensive list of board thickness
(see above: Additional References).
High-Quality Boards and Papers
A. Manufacturers (museum board)
Barcham Green & Company, Ltd.
Hayle Mill
Maidstone, Kent ME15 6XQ
England
Beckett Paper Company
400 Dayton Street
Hamilton, Ohio 45011
Telephone: 513-863-5641
Custom Papers Group
(formerly James River-Fitchburg, Inc.)
Old Princeton Road
Fitchburg, Massachusetts 01420
Telephone: 617-345-2161
James River Corporation
(see Custom Papers Group)
Lydall-Manning Paper Company
Division of Hammermill Paper Company
P.O. Box 328
Troy, New York 12181
Telephone: 518-273-6320
Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc.
Antrim Road
Bennington, New Hampshire 03442
Telephone: 603-588-3311
Papeteries Canson & Montgolfier
P.O. Box 139
F-07104 Annonay
Cedex, France
Parsons Paper Company
Division of NVF Company
Holyoke, Massachusetts 01040
Telephone: 413-532-3222
Rising Paper Company
Division of Fox River Paper Company
295 Park Street
Housatonic, Massachusetts 01236
Telephone: 413-274-3345
St. Cuthberts Paper Mill
Wells, Somerset BA5 1A6
England
Telephone: 0749-72015
Strathmore Paper Company
South Broad Street
Westfield, Massachusetts 01085
Telephone: 413-568-9111
B. Convertors and Distributors
ANW-Crestwood Paper Co.
Division of Willmann Paper Co.
315 Hudson Street
Telephone: 212-989-2700
Toll-free: 800-525-3196
Atlantis Paper Company Limited
No. 2 St. Andrews Way
London, E3 3PA
England
Telephone: 01-481-3784
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C. Retailers
Charrette Corporation
31 Olympic Avenue
Woburn, Massachusetts 01888
Telephone: 617-935-6000
Toll-free: 800-367-3729
Conservation Materials, Ltd.
1165 Marrietta Way
Sparks, Nevada 89431
Telephone: 702-331-0582
Conservation Resources
International, Inc.
8000-H Forbes Place
Springfield, Virginia 22151
Telephone: 703-321-7730
Toll-free: 800-634-6923
Light Impressions Corporation
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
New York Central Art Supply
62 Third Avenue
Telephone: 212-473-7705
Toll-free: 800-242-2408
Sam Flax, Inc.
39 West 19th Street
Telephone: 212-620-3000
Toll-free: 800-628-9512
Talas, Inc.
213 West 35th Street
New York, New York 10001-1996
Telephone: 212-736-7744
University Products, Inc.
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Toll-free: 800-628-1912
Conservation Materials
A. Distributors
Archivart
Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.
7 Caesar Place
Moonachie, New Jersey 07074
Telephone: 201-933-8100
Toll-free: 800-333-4466
Filmolux (U.S.A.), Inc.
(tapes, adhesives)
4600 Witmer Industrial Estate
Niagra Falls, New York 14305
Telephone: 716-298-1189
Toll-free: 800-873-4839
Paper Technologies, Inc.
929 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
Telephone: 714-366-8799
Seal Products, Inc.
550 Spring Street
Naugatuck, Connecticut 06770
Telephone: 203-729-5201
(Contact Seal for information on Ademco
products and Archival Aids tapes.)
B. Retailers
1165 Marrietta Way
Telephone: 702-331-0582
Conservation Resources
International, Inc.
8000-H Forbes Place
Telephone: 703-321-7730
Toll-free: 800-634-6923
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Lineco Inc.
P.O. Box 2604
Holyoke, MA 01041
Telephone: 413-534-7815
Toll-free: 800-322-7775
Talas, Inc.
Telephone: 212-736-7744
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Toll-free: 800-628-1912
Matting / Framing Supplies
(See also Chapter 15.)
A. Manufacturers
A.P.F., Inc. (frames)
320 Washington Street
Mt. Vernon, New York 10553
Telephone: 914-665-5400
Toll-free: 800-221-9515
The CThru Ruler Company
6 Britton Drive
Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002
Telephone: 203-243-0303
Toll-free: 800-243-8419
Dahle U.S.A., Inc.
6 Benson Road
Oxford, Connecticut 06483
Telephone: 203-264-0505
Toll-free: 800-243-8145
Faber-Castell Corporation
(drafting supplies)
41 Dickerson Street
Newark, New Jersey 07107
Telephone: 201-483-4646
Toll-free: 800-835-8382
Frame Tek (frame fillets)
5120-5 Franklin Boulevard
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Telephone: 503-726-5779
Toll-free: 800-227-9933
Frame Strips, Inc.
(polyester strips for mounting prints)
P. O. Box 1788
Cathedral City, California 92234
Telephone: 619-328-2358
Toll-free: 800-448-1163
High-Quality Boards and Papers
B. Convertors and Distributors
Archivart
7 Caesar Place
Telephone: 201-933-8100
Toll-free: 800-333-4466
The Columbia Corporation
Artists Supplies Division
Route 295
Chatham, New York 12037
Telephone: 518-392-4000
Toll-free: 800-833-1804
Crescent Cardboard Company
100 West Willow Road
Wheeling, Illinois 60090
Telephone: 312-537-3400
Toll-free: 800-323-1055
Hurlock Company, Inc.
144648 W. Hunting Park Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140
Telephone: 215-324-8094
Toll-free: 800-341-0142
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Miller Cardboard Corporation
75 Wooster Street
Telephone: 212-226-0833
Toll-free: 800-888-1662
Morilla Inc.
211 Bowers Street
Telephone: 413-538-9250
Toll-free: 800-628-9283
Nielsen & Bainbridge
Esselte Business Systems, Inc.
40 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
Telephone: 201-368-9191
Toll-free: 800-631-5414
Paper Technologies, Inc.
929 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
Telephone: 714-366-8799
Process Materials Corporation
(see Archivart)
Rupaco Paper Corporation
110 Newfield Avenue
Edison New Jersey 08818
Telephone: 908-417-9266
Toll-free: 800-336-4736
Talas, Inc.
Telephone: 212-736-7744
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Toll-free: 800-628-1912
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Gaebel Enterprises, Inc. (rulers)
P.O. Box 6849
100 Ball Street
East Syracuse, New York 13217
Telephone: 315-463-9261
Toll-free: 800-722-0342
Innerspace (frame fillets)
43 E. Lancaster Avenue
Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301
Telephone: 215-644-9293
Toll-free: 800-327-9348
Koh-I-Noor, Inc.
(pens, drafting supplies)
100 North Street
Bloomsbury, New Jersey 08804
Telephone: 908-479-4124
Toll-free: 800-631-7646
B. Distributors
Larsen-Juhl
3900 Steve Reynolds Blvd.
Norcross, GA 30093
Telephone: 404-279-5319
Toll-free: 800-221-4123
Morilla Inc.
211 Bowers Street
Telephone: 413-538-9250
Toll-free: 800-628-9283
S&W Framing Supplies, Inc.
120 Broadway
P.O. Box 340
Garden City Park, New York 11040
Telephone: 516-746-1000
Toll-free: 800-645-3399
United Manufacturers
Supplies, Inc.
80 Gordon Drive
Syosset, New York 11791
Telephone: 516-496-4430
Toll-free: 800-645-7260
C. Retailers
Charrette Corporation
31 Olympic Avenue
Telephone: 617-935-6000
Toll-free: 800-367-3729
New York Central Art Supply
62 Third Avenue
Telephone: 212-473-7705
Toll-free: 800-242-2408
Sam Flax, Inc.
39 West 19th Street
Telephone: 212-620-3000
Toll-free: 800-628-9512
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Talas, Inc.
Telephone: 212-736-7744
Kutrimmer Cutters
(see Triumph Paper Cutters)
Logan Graphic Products, Inc.
1100 Brown Street
Wauconda, Illinois 60084
Telephone: 708-526-5515
Toll-free: 800-331-6232
Maped S.A.
B.P. 190
4, avenue des Vieux Moulins
74005 Nancy, France
(Maped matcutters are distributed
in North America by Talens C.A.C., Inc.
and sold through fine art material stores in
Canada)
Morilla Inc.
211 Bowers Street
Telephone: 413-538-9250
Toll-free: 800-628-9283
Olfa Corporation
Higashi-Nakamoto 2-11-8
Higashinari-ku, Osaka 537
Japan
Telephone: 06-972-8101/5
(Olfa cutters are sold in the
United States by Charrette
Corporation and Sam Flax, Inc.)
Picture Framing
Equipment Company
5836 North Commerce Plaza
Jackson, Mississippi 39206
Telephone: 601-956-9894
Toll-free: 800-221-8592
Stanley Works
Tool Division
600 Myrtle Street
New Britain, Connecticut 06050
Telephone: 203-225-5111
Starr-Springfield, Inc.
2610 Prancer Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70114
Telephone: 504-392-7905
Talens C.A.C., Inc.
2 Waterman Street
Department AT3
St. Lambert, Quebec J4P 1R8
Canada
Telephone: 514-672-9931
Triumph Paper Cutters
Michael Business Machines Corporation
3290 Ashley Phosphate Road
North Charleston, South Carolina 29418
Telephone: 803-552-2700
Toll-free: 800-552-2974
X-Acto
Subsidiary of Hunt
Manufacturing Corporation
2020 West Front Street
Statesville, North Carolina 28677
Telephone: 704-872-9511
Toll-free: 800-438-0977
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Toll-free: 800-628-1912
Westfall Framing, Inc.
P.O. Box 13524
Tallahassee, Florida 32317
Telephone: 904-878-3546
Toll-free: 800-874-3164
Paper and Mat Cutting
Instruments and Machines
(Contact the following companies for the
names of distributors and retailers.)
Altos EZ/Mat, Inc.
607 West Third Avenue
Ellensburg, Washington 98926
Telephone: 509-962-9212
Carithers International Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 16997
Jackson, Mississippi 39236
Telephone: 601-956-8378
C & H/Bainbridge
Nielsen & Bainbridge
50 Northfield Avenue
Edison, New Jersey 08818
Telephone: 201-225-9100
Toll-free: 800-631-5414
Dahle U.S.A., Inc.
6 Benson Road
Oxford, Connecticut 06483
Telephone: 203-264-0505
Toll-free: 800-243-8145
Dexter Mat Cutters
Russell Harrington Cutlery, Inc.
44 Green River Street
Southbridge, Massachusetts 01550
Telephone: 617-765-0201
H. F. Esterly Company
Box 890, R.R. 3, U.S. Rt. 1
Wiscasset, Maine 04578
Telephone: 207-882-7017
Toll-free: 800-882-7017
The Fletcher-Terry Company
65 Spring Lane
Farmington, Connecticut 06032
Telephone: 203-677-7331
Toll-free: 800-843-3826
General Tools, Inc.
80 White Street
Telephone: 212-431-6100
Grifhold (available from Charrette
Corporation and Sam Flax, Inc.)
Holdfast Mat Cutting
Systems Concept Design
Box 84, RR 5
Cape Elizabeth, Maine 04107
(Distributed by Morilla Inc.)
KeenCut North America
The Saunders Group
21 Jet View Drive
Telephone: 716-328-7800
Toll-free: 800-828-6124
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13. Composition, pH, Testing, and Light Fading
Stability of Mount Boards and Other Paper
Products Used with Photographs
lasting than others, the stability requirements for boards
and papers will vary correspondingly. With color mate-
rials, both the type of print and whether or not it will be
subjected to light fading during prolonged display will
determine the stability requirements of the mount board.
With Ilford Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome prints,
19631991), Kodak Dye Transfer prints, and Fuji Dyecolor
prints which should remain in excellent condition for
many hundreds of years when stored in the dark, but
which will have a much shorter life if displayed the
intended use of a print will strongly influence the sta-
bility requirements of the board chosen to mount it. On
the other hand, UltraStable Permanent Color prints (in-
troduced in 1991) and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints
(introduced in 1989), both of which are made with ex-
tremely stable color pigments instead of the far less
stable organic dyes used with other types of color pho-
tographs, and properly processed fiber-base black-and-
white prints that have been treated with Kodak Rapid
Selenium Toner or a sulfiding toner, can be expected to
have an exceedingly long life either if exposed to light
on display or if kept in the dark. Only the most stable
boards and other materials should be chosen to mount
these prints.
Physical stability requirements include the follow-
ing: a mount board must maintain sufficient strength
and stiffness to properly support and protect a print
throughout its expected life; an interleaving paper must
retain its smoothness and flexibility; and a storage en-
velope must have great folding endurance to withstand
repeated opening and closing without breaking.
3. The brightness and color or tone of a mount board
should not change an objectionable amount during
its co-existence with a photograph. The amount of
visual change that can be tolerated in a mount board
depends on the particular application, and on how criti-
cal were the visual criteria for the board when it was
originally selected.
For example, with a fiber-base black-and-white print
that has been treated with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner
and that may be displayed for many hundreds of years
in a museum collection, the mount board should obvi-
ously have much better visual stability characteristics
than a board for matting a comparatively short-lived
Ektacolor print for display in an office or an Ektacolor
family portrait displayed in a home. Even subtle differ-
Mount boards, paper envelopes, and interleaving sheets
used with black-and-white and color photographs should
meet the following three basic requirements:
1. Mount boards and paper materials should not cause
staining or fading of prints and should not acceler-
ate the rates of deterioration inherent with a given
type of color or black-and-white photograph. The
composition, pH, and other characteristics of mount
boards and paper products should be determined pri-
marily by what is best for the stability of the particular
type of photograph being mounted or stored. For ex-
ample, with the exceptions of recent Fujicolor and Fuji-
chrome papers, prints made with Kodak Ektacolor Por-
tra II, Ektacolor Supra, Ektacolor Professional, and most
other chromogenic papers gradually develop an objec-
tionable overall yellowish stain during normal dark storage
at room temperature, and there is evidence that this
type of stain formation is accelerated by an alkaline
environment. With some of these papers, the dark stor-
age fading rate of the cyan image dye also is acceler-
ated by an alkaline environment (see Chapter 5). Con-
sequently, it is advisable to avoid high-pH, alkaline-buff-
ered, acid-free boards and papers with these and similar
chromogenic color prints.
While there is ample evidence that alkaline buffer-
ing will enhance the longevity of mount boards and most
other paper products, the pH level and the addition of
calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate buffering
should be determined not by what is best for the board
or paper, but rather by what will maximize the life of
the photograph. Pending further study, high-quality
mount boards, enclosure papers, and interleaving pa-
pers that have a near-neutral pH without the presence
of buffering agents are recommended for both color
and black-and-white photographs. High-quality alka-
line-buffered boards and papers are believed suitable
for platinum and palladium prints.
1
2. The long-term physical stability of the mount board
or other paper product should be at least equal to
that of the photograph used with it. Since some types
of photographs are inherently far more stable and long-
By Carol Brower and Henry Wilhelm
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Compostion, pH, Testing, and Light Fading Stability of Boards and Papers Chapter 13 452
John Szarkowski, director emeritus of the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, studies two
photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, both taken in 1935. The print in the foreground remains affixed to the original mount in the original
frame that Stieglitz prepared. The print at Szarkowskis left has been remounted, matted, and framed with contemporary materials.
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ences in board tones can be important in the the mats
of fine art prints; therefore, in museum or fine art col-
lections, mount boards should always have the maxi-
mum color and brightness stability possible. Mount
boards should not, however, contain fluorescent bright-
eners.
In addition, mount boards should have an even greater
resistance to yellowing or other discoloration than the
photographs support material. All black-and-white and
most color print materials have a layer containing a
white pigment (barium sulfate or titanium dioxide) coated
between the emulsion and the support or, in the case of
RC papers, as a top coating of the base paper itself; this
layer can effectively hide yellowing or loss of bright-
ness of the underlying paper support. Because mount
boards do not have such coatings, or anti-yellowing
ingredients, any change in them will be clearly notice-
able.
The visual stability of a board may or may not be
related to a boards physical stability. These charac-
teristics must be evaluated separately. As shown in
Table 13.1, many available high-quality colored mount
boards have poor light fading stability; some actually
fade far more rapidly than Ektacolor and similar chro-
mogenic color prints.
The Choice of Mount Board Is Only One
of Many Factors Affecting the
Useful Life of a Photograph
In any discussion of mount boards, it is important to
keep in perspective the various intrinsic factors that can
limit the useful life of a photograph even before it is mounted.
For example, whether or not a black-and-white print has
been treated with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner or other
protective toner will probably have much more impact on
its life than will the selection of mount board. When a
black-and-white print is intended for long-term display, being
made on fiber-base paper instead of RC paper is of
crucial importance to insure the maximum longevity of the
image. Concern about a safe mount board, therefore, must
not overshadow the need to make prints with inherently
stable materials and to be certain that they are properly
processed.
Of the total number of photographs that are mounted in
the United States each year, the majority are Ektacolor,
Fujicolor, and similar chromogenic prints supplied by pro-
fessional portrait and wedding photographers, many of which
have been retouched and lacquered; most will be framed
and displayed. For these prints, which have a limited use-
ful life on display, the choice of mount board will probably
make little or no difference. Light fading, lacquer-associ-
ated discoloration and fading, and other forms of deterio-
ration will proceed at essentially the same rates regard-
less of whether the print is mounted on inexpensive illus-
tration board, made with a high-lignin-content chipboard
base, or with the best 100% cotton fiber museum board. Of
course, no harm is done to unstable prints by selecting
very high-quality mounting materials. It is better, how-
ever, to spend that money to make prints on more stable
materials in the first place. The focus of attention should
always be on the weakest link among the many factors
Recommendations
Requirements Vary: Some types of photographs are
far more stable than others (e.g., a carefully processed
fiber-base black-and-white print versus a Kodak Ekta-
color print), so mount boards and paper products used
for storing photographs should be selected accord-
ingly. For the most stable and valuable photographs,
the following mount boards and paper are recommended:
Nonbuffered 100% Cotton Fiber Mount Boards:
Atlantis 100% Cotton Museum Board (TG Offwhite)
Parsons Photographic Museum Board (White)
Rising Photomount Museum Board (White)
Colored 100% Cotton Fiber Mount Boards:
When colored or tinted 100% cotton fiber boards are
desired, the following are recommended because their
colorants have superior light fading stability (see Table
13.1) and because the manufacturers are clearly iden-
tified on the packaging. These boards are alkaline
buffered (refer to text in this chapter and Chapter 12
for precautions):
James River Museum Board (Ivory)
Strathmore Museum Board (Brown)
Strathmore Museum Board (Creme)
Strathmore Museum Board (Gray)
Strathmore Museum Board (Green)
Strathmore Museum Board (Natural)
When a black board is required, there should be abso-
lutely no direct contact between the board and the
photograph (see Chapter 12). Only one black board
on the market is recommended with reservations
by the authors:
Strathmore Museum Board (Black)
Envelope or Interleaving Paper:
Atlantis Silversafe Photostore
Truth in Labeling: Until adequate information about
the composition and manufacturer is provided with the
products and in promotional literature, the authors cannot
recommend other high-quality boards and papers on
the market. For example, a number of products sold
by Light Impressions Corporation and the Archivart
Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc. would probably be
recommended were it not for the fact that the name of
the actual manufacturer of each product is unavailable
to the consumer.
Test Methods: For testing the suitability of paper prod-
ucts used with color and black-and-white photographs,
the interim test for nonsilver photographic materials
described under Sec. 5.1 of American National Stan-
dard IT9.2-1991 is recommended. The test should be
modified to have greatly extended test times and be
performed at a more moderate relative humidity than
the 86% RH called for in the Standard. In addition, the
Sec. 5.1 Photographic Activity Test for black-and-white
(silver-gelatin) materials in ANSI IT9.2-1991 should also
be employed. The best method of evaluation is to use
the complex, multi-temperature Arrhenius test described
in ANSI IT9.9-1990, with materials in contact with the
particular types of black-and-white or color photographic
material of interest. The light fading stability of mount
boards should be evaluated with the temperature- and
humidity-controlled 6.0 klux fluorescent lamp test specified
in Sec. 5.7 of ANSI IT9.9-1990.
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8
7
A visitor to the Museum of Modern Art looks at photographs taken by Alfred Stieglitz in 1935 and 1936. The Museum
mounted, matted, and framed the prints with contemporary materials to better protect them during prolonged display. (It
was necessary to replace Stieglitzs original frames because they were not sturdy or deep enough to support the weight and
thickness of the new glazing, two 4-ply museum boards, and backing.) Although Stieglitz personally overmatted some of
his photographs with thin paper mats, the majority of his exhibition prints were mounted in his lifetime on unstable wood-
pulp boards without overmats. It was not until the 1970s that high-quality museum boards became widely available and
conservation matting came to be viewed as necessary and desirable.
Many of the materials used for enclosing or
housing photographic artifacts must be care-
fully selected. These are primarily paper prod-
ucts. . . . Included are mount boards, enve-
lopes, folders, boxes and cartons, interleaves,
file cards, aperture cards. Accessories such as
mounting tissues, adhesives, tapes, and adhe-
sive tissues are all suspect.
It is perhaps difficult to believe that many of
the materials mentioned above can really cause
any deterioration of photographic artifacts. Re-
member first that the photographic artifact it-
self has been thoroughly investigated and de-
signed from the viewpoint of image stability
from manufacture to processing. Then, it is
only reasonable to be equally conscientious in
archives to enclose and store under the best
possible conditions. A very minute amount of
an oxidizing agent released from any material
can initiate the image oxidation reaction. It
may not be apparent, and it may take months
or years before the action of the oxidant be-
comes obvious.
that determine and affect the longevity of a photograph.
In the museum and fine art field, where prints may be
kept for hundreds or thousands of years, long-lasting mount-
ing and enclosure materials are critical. Like the original
copy of the Declaration of Independence of the United States
displayed in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.,
which will be safeguarded forever despite the fact that it
has faded so much during the past 200 years that it is now
virtually unreadable, valuable photographs in museums will
probably be retained indefinitely regardless of how much
their images might deteriorate. It is important, therefore,
that mount boards, envelopes, and interleaving papers for
such photographs be of the highest quality and stability
available.
Potential Problems with Mount Boards
and Other Paper Products
Photographic enclosures and mounting materials have
received a steadily increasing amount of attention during
the past decade. Commenting on the potentially harmful
effects of improper storage materials on black-and-white
photographs, photographic chemist George Eaton said:
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One example of an image-oxidation-controlled
experiment will indicate the insidious nature of
the problem. Carefully measured amounts of
hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) were used in an ex-
perimental chamber in which the effect on sil-
ver could be measured. It was indicated that
only one part of H
2
O
2
in 30 million was required
to initiate silver oxidation.
2
Acknowledging the difficulty of accurately determining
the cause of deterioration in many older mounted prints,
Eastman Kodak said:
During the nineteenth century and well into
the twentieth century, mount boards did not
meet the quality standards of present day prod-
ucts. Because much of the photographic pro-
cessing done during this time was inferior and
left damaging chemicals in the photographs,
the degrading effects of these chemicals over-
shadowed most changes [caused by] the mount
board.
3
Examination of historical photographic collections clearly
indicates that mounting and storage materials frequently
cause or contribute to fading, staining, and other deterio-
ration. Even today, however, with the widespread avail-
ability of information relating to papermaking technology
and paper stability, it is difficult to know which materials,
from among the many products on the market, to choose
for use with photographs. That a mount board or other
paper product is well made according to the highest stan-
dards of the paper industry does not automatically qualify
it for safeguarding photographs. A number of tests have
been suggested for determining which mounting and stor-
age materials are safe with photographs; however, these
tests have not often been applied outside of the photo-
graphic industry, and no study has yet been published which
gives specific brand-name recommendations based on the
results of such tests.
The need for information on the suitability of specific
paper products was emphasized by the findings of a 1984
research project conducted by James M. Reilly at the Roch-
ester Institute of Technology under a grant from the Na-
tional Museum Act. Using the Photographic Activity Test
that was specified in ANSI PH1.53-1984, American Na-
tional Standard for Photography (Processing) Processed
Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and Contain-
ers for Storage
4
to study interactions between albumen prints
and mount boards, paper, and plastic enclosure materials,
Reilly reported that 5 of the 29 archival 100% cotton fiber
boards and 4 of the 16 archival purified wood cellulose
boards in the study caused unacceptably high levels of
fading and/or staining of the albumen test prints.
Albumen prints, widely made between 1850 and about
1890 and frequently found in museum collections today,
have an image consisting of extremely small silver par-
ticles in an egg-albumen coating (instead of the modern
gelatin emulsion coating). Even though the albumen im-
ages are normally gold-toned, these prints have proven to
be very susceptible to deterioration caused by sulfur com-
pounds and oxidants such as peroxides, especially under
conditions of high relative humidity. Reporting on the re-
sults of the tests, Reilly said:
The plastic enclosures, both non-archival and
archival, did very well compared to [paper ma-
terials]. It is apparent from this study that
problems with storage enclosures center on
paper and board products. While there were
some harmful papers, boards had the highest
incidence of harmful reactions. Boards consis-
tently produced more staining than paper prod-
ucts . . . .
In total, 9 of the 45 archival boards were
harmful, 20% of the total. Of these, 4 were
colored (3 black and 1 gray). Since 3 out of 3
black mat boards included in this study were
harmful, it would be prudent to avoid matting
photographs with black mat board until more
information can be gained.
Two archival board products (one an off-white
rag board, one a white conservation board). . .
caused similar and unequalled deterioration,
obliterating 5 steps of the gray scale and caus-
ing extremely heavy staining . . . . The stan-
dard [non-archival] mat boards included in this
study proved themselves to be entirely unsuit-
able for photographic storage, causing heavy
staining and fading.
5
Reilly added, Some of the archival boards seemed to
have an ingredient that was really dreadful it caused
terrible staining and terrible fading of albumen prints. Just
a real devastation. This was the same kind of thing ob-
served with the binders board [an inexpensive single-ply
board made from waste paper and groundwood, used for
the core of hardbound book covers] samples, which was all
out of proportion to the fact that they were loaded with
groundwood. So something else was doing it. Maybe it is
something they put in it to hold it together a laminating
adhesive or binding agent or something similar.
6
In keeping with the Image Permanence Institute's policy
of avoiding product brand name identification in compara-
tive product evaluations, Reilly declined to identify the boards
and papers included in the tests.
Modern silver-gelatin print materials may be expected
to be less sensitive to peroxides and other oxidants than
are albumen prints, and color prints respond altogether
differently than either albumen or modern black-and-white
materials. Nevertheless, Reillys 1984 studies indicated
that there is genuine cause for concern about possible ad-
verse reactions between mount boards and other paper
products and modern black-and-white photographs and, by
implication, color materials.
With the aid of several grants received in 198485,
7
Reilly
continued his research; in 1987 he and co-worker Douglas
W. Nishimura proposed a new accelerated test for paper
enclosure and mounting materials. This new test proce-
dure, which has been adopted as the primary Photographic
Activity Test in ANSI IT9.2-1991, American National Standard
for Imaging Media Photographic Processed Films, Plates,
and Papers Filing Enclosures and Storage Containers,
8
is
discussed below.
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Specifications and Tests for Mount Boards
and Enclosure Materials
Five approaches have been suggested in attempting to
assure the suitability of paper products for long-term stor-
age of photographs:
1. Specify paper ingredients percentage of alpha
cellulose, maximum lignin content, type of sizing,
laminating adhesives, pH, alkaline reserve, etc.
that will, according to current knowledge, make the
paper or board long-lasting and, therefore, by impli-
cation, safe with photographs.
Unfortunately, this common-sense approach does not
go far enough. To be certain that a paper product such
as a mount board or storage envelope is suitable for
photographic applications, all of the ingredients and
contaminants that can contribute to fading or stain-
ing of the many types of photographs must first be iden-
tified. There is currently a lack of knowledge about
exactly how the many different constituents in various
papers might affect different kinds of photographs; there-
fore, this approach has been much more successful in
producing long-lasting paper products than it has been
in guaranteeing that a particular product is safe during
long-term contact with photographs. Although factors
that affect the aging characteristics of papers have been
studied for many years, almost no research on interac-
tions between these products and modern photographic
materials has been published.
2. Test the board or paper product with one of the
silver-tarnishing tests, such as that proposed by
Collings and Young;
9
test the product for reducible
sulfur;
10
and, during accelerated aging, test for low-
level emission of peroxides and other substances
that are known to be harmful to silver images.
Even though these tests can provide helpful infor-
mation, they may not properly indicate how an actual
black-and-white photographic material will react when
stored in contact with the paper product (e.g., the fila-
mentary silver grains embedded in a gelatin emulsion
coating may react quite differently than the polished
silver plates in the Collings and Young test). In addi-
tion, these tests will not indicate the propensity of a
paper or board to cause stains on a photographic mate-
rial, and they also have other limitations, as have been
discussed by Hendriks and Madeley
11
and Reilly.
12
Hen-
driks says: I strongly advise anybody against the Collings
and Young test.
13
These tests are probably of little
significance with respect to the storage of color films
and prints.
3. Employing accelerated aging techniques, test the
board or paper in contact with whatever photographic
materials are of interest to determine whether the
paper product causes, or contributes to, staining or
fading of the photographic images.
While such tests cannot directly indicate which con-
stituent of the paper product has caused fading or staining,
they do take into account the individual sensitivities of
each different type of photographic material and are
applicable to both color and black-and-white photographs.
Such tests can help rank various boards and other stor-
age materials in terms of their potential harm to a par-
ticular type of photograph. The Photographic Activity
Test described in Sec. 5.1 of the now-obsolete ANSI
PH1.53-1986 Standard is a simple test of this type (a
modified version of this procedure is included in the
current ANSI IT9.2-1991 Standard as an interim test
for color prints and films and other nonsilver materi-
als). Accelerated aging tests can also provide informa-
tion about the stability of a mount board or other paper
product, both in and of itself and in comparison with the
stability of the photographic material stored in contact
with it. For color materials in particular, the more
meaningful but more complex and time-consuming
multi-temperature Arrhenius test method included
in ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for
Imaging Media Stability of Color Photographic Im-
ages Methods for Measuring should be undertaken for
this kind of evaluation.
14,15
The Arrhenius test pro-
vides a means of estimating the number of years re-
quired for a specified amount of deterioration to take
place in a given paper product, and in the photographic
material in contact with it, under various storage con-
ditions.
4. Test storage and mounting materials intended for
black-and-white photographs with the colloidal sil-
ver test strips developed by Edith Weyde of Agfa-
Gevaert in 1972.
16
These silver test strips are very sensitive and, placed
in contact with storage or mounting materials, detect
products that evolve substances that could attack the
finely divided silver images of black-and-white photo-
graphs. The test strips are not applicable to color ma-
terials. The procedures published in 1972 for using the
test strips called for room-temperature tests that ex-
tended over a period of months or years; high-tempera-
ture, high-humidity, accelerated tests were not described.
5. Employ the Photographic Activity Test in ANSI IT9.2-
1991 in which Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test strips
are used to detect boards or papers that could cause
fading of the silver images of black-and-white pho-
tographs, and in which fixed and washed fiber-base
photographic paper is used to indicate storage ma-
terials that could cause staining.
Proposed by James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishi-
mura in 1987 as a replacement for the Photographic
Activity Test in ANSI PH1.53-1986, this test can be
thought of as an accelerated version of Weydes 1972
procedure (described above) to indicate materials that
could cause discoloration and fading of the silver im-
ages of black-and-white photographs.
17
The test has
been adopted as the primary Photographic Activity Test
in ANSI IT9.2-1991 (replacing ANSI PH1.53-1986).
Unfortunately, the new test is applicable only to black-
and-white photographs and is restricted to paper stor-
age materials; also, it is not suitable for evaluating storage
and mounting materials used with color photographs,
nor is it recommended for testing pressure-sensitive
adhesives, non-contact storage materials, or plastic en-
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tect the source of the oxidants, test strips were made by
coating layers of extremely finely divided colloidal silver
on polyester film base (the test strips are not a light-sensi-
tive photographic material).
With the help of the test strips, Weyde determined that
the plastic index cards made of phenylene-formaldehyde
were the principal source of the oxidants attacking the
photographs in the Munich archives; the cards had been
used in photograph files in the archives for 14 years, and
the first signs of discoloration and fading had been noted
after about 5 years. The plastic index cards were tested by
placing them in contact with the Agfa test strips; discolora-
tion was noted after periods varying from a few months to
several years. Freshly manufactured index cards caused
discoloration of the test strips much more quickly than did
older index cards taken from the archive files. After ob-
serving the rates of discoloration of the test strips in situa-
tions that had caused photographs to discolor or fade over
long periods of time, Weyde drew the cautious conclu-
sion that the test strips would exhibit discoloration about
10 times sooner than the first visible deterioration of typi-
cal black-and-white photographs.
Since publication of the details of the colloidal silver
test strips and test procedures in 1972, the test strips have
often been cited as a means of testing the atmospheres of
storage areas in museums and archives (in this applica-
tion, the test strips are left freely hanging in the air in
storage rooms see Chapter 16 for further discussion).
Along with the testing of storage materials, this use of the
test strips had also been recommended by Weyde.
The Agfa-Gevaert test strips would certainly have seen
wide application in museums and archives around the world
following Weydes original 1972 publication; but after the
initial supply was exhausted, the strips were no longer
available. Agfa did not resume manufacturing the test
strips until convinced to do so by Reilly in 1986.
Reilly and Nishimura conducted further experiments
with the Agfa test strips in contact with paper envelopes
that were known to have caused severe fading to deter-
mine the optimum temperature, relative humidity, and test
period; 15 days at 158F (70C) and 86% RH was selected.
Reilly and Nishimura originally conducted the tests at three
different relative humidities (75, 86, and 95%), and it is
curious to note that at both 75 and 95% RH the filter paper
control produced a greater density change in the Agfa test
strips than did the known to be harmful envelope paper.
Only at the 86% RH level did the envelope paper prove to be
more harmful than the filter paper. Reilly and Nishimura
concluded that unsatisfactory enclosures may manifest
themselves by causing significantly less fading than the
controls, as well as more. This suggests that further
evaluation of the test with a variety of materials and test
conditions should be done. (It is noteworthy that at the
end of the 15-day test period, the Agfa test strips exhibited
a substantial drop in blue density even when in contact
with inert laboratory filter paper.)
To detect paper storage and mounting materials that
may cause staining (as distinct from fading or discolora-
tion), Reilly and Nishimura suggested that samples be aged
in contact with unexposed, fixed, and washed Kodak Elite
fiber-base photographic paper under the same tempera-
closure materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene,
and polyester.
18
The test, which calls for an incubation
period of 15 days at 158F (70C) and 86% RH, provides
little if any information on the potential life of most
mount boards or other paper products.
The ANSI IT9.2-1991 Photographic Activity Test
Approaches 2 through 5 above are more concerned with
the effects that a paper product might have on a photo-
graphic material than they are with how, or with what, a
paper product is made. ANSI IT9.2-1991, American Na-
tional Standard for Imaging Media Photographic Pro-
cessed Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and
Containers for Storage gives a set of general requirements
for suitable photographic filing enclosures (see below) and
requires that the enclosure or storage material pass a Pho-
tographic Activity Test.
Pointing out that the ANSI PH1.53-1986 Photographic
Activity Test does not function well in discriminating be-
tween marginal and very good materials, and that it is not
sensitive enough for other than screening out the most
harmful materials, James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishi-
mura of the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester
Institute of Technology in 1987 proposed a new test as a
replacement for the existing test.
In a demonstration of the shortcomings of the ANSI
PH1.53-1986 Photographic Activity Test, Reilly and Nishi-
mura obtained a 1960s cardboard microfilm box that dur-
ing long-term storage had caused redox blemishes or
microspots in the microfilm images. The box was cut into
strips and incubated (at the conditions specified in ANSI
PH1.53-1986) in contact with processed Kodak AHU 1460
Imagecapture microfilm. After incubation, the differences
between the microfilms incubated with the box and the
filter paper controls were slight [Whatman Number 1 filter
paper was used]. Redox blemishes were not observed on
the microfilms incubated with the defective box.
19
Reilly and Nishimura experimented with various photo-
graphic materials in search of a detector with sufficient
sensitivity to respond in short-term accelerated tests. Ko-
dak Studio Proof Paper, Polaroid instant slide films, fine-
grain motion picture films, graphic arts films, Polaroid and
conventional black-and-white prints, and other materials
were tried. Among the conventional films and prints tested,
Kodak Professional B/W Duplicating Film 4168 proved to
be by far the most sensitive to contaminants; in this re-
spect, 4168 film was nearly as sensitive as albumen paper.
(In 1990 Kodak replaced 4168 Film with a new product,
Kodak Professional B/W Duplicating Film SO-339, that is
claimed by Kodak to be more stable and much less
sensitive to peroxides and other environmental contami-
nants.)
Also tested were Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test strips,
which had been devised by Edith Weyde of Agfa in the late
1960s in the course of an investigation into the causes of
the sudden and rapid discoloration and fading that had
been discovered among films and paper prints in the gov-
ernment archives in Munich, Germany. At the outset it
was believed that oxidizing gases such as peroxides prob-
ably caused the blemishes and discolorations, and to de-
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ture and humidity conditions recommended for the Agfa
test strips. As with the colloidal silver test strips, filter
paper controls serve for comparison purposes. Following
incubation for 15 days, the samples are evaluated in three
ways: (1) visually, (2) by stain measurement, and (3) by
fade measurement. The criteria for passing the tests are
given in the ANSI Standard.
The Image Permanence Institute markets test kits con-
sisting of the Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test strips, pro-
cessed Kodak Elite photographic paper strips, and instruc-
tions for their use.
20
In Reilly and Nishimuras line of reasoning, the Agfa
test strips have proven to be more sensitive to harmful
substances than any other fine-grain silver detector. Thus,
they argue, if an enclosure paper or other storage material
produces changes in the Agfa test strips that are no differ-
ent from changes observed with inert laboratory filter pa-
per, the storage material should not damage even the most
sensitive fine-grain black-and-white photographs (e.g., al-
bumen prints, POP prints, untoned microfilms, untoned
Kodak 4168 duplicating film, and untoned black-and-white
prints). In this regard the test was a major departure from
the Photographic Activity Test given in the now-obsolete
ANSI PH1.53-1986 Standard, which specified that an en-
closure paper or other storage material be tested in con-
tact with each type of photographic material with which it
will be employed. Therefore, the test was able to cover the
full range of photographic materials, including color films
and prints.
Only further investigation will indicate whether the test
developed by Reilly and Nishimura is superior to a modi-
fied version (with lower levels of relative humidity and
much longer test periods) of the previous ANSI PH1.53-
1986 Photographic Activity Test for mount boards, enclo-
sure papers, and other materials used with modern black-
and-white films and prints. The extremely small particles
of colloidal silver in the Agfa test strips have a very differ-
ent microstructure from the far larger and more stable
filamentary silver grains of modern (developed-out) black-
and-white materials. For this reason, the test strips could
possibly misrank enclosure papers and mount boards in
terms of how they would actually perform in long-term use
under normal conditions with the types of modern black-
and-white photographs that presently coonstitute the bulk
of most collections.
Pending further evaluation, the authors recommend that
for storage materials intended for use with black-and-white
photographs, both types of tests be performed (the ANSI
PH1.53-1986 test should be conducted for much longer pe-
riods than the specified 30 days see below).
The Interim ANSI Photographic Activity
Test for Mount Boards and Other Paper
Products Used with Color Materials
In recognition that there is a need for a photographic
activity test to evaluate paper storage materials and mount
boards used with color photographs, the following was in-
cluded in ANSI IT9.2-1991 as a footnote to the Photo-
graphic Activity Test (Sec. 5.1):
This Photographic Activity Test was devel-
oped for silver photographic images. For non-
silver (e.g., color, diazo) images, a satisfactory
test has not yet been established. In the in-
terim, for enclosures intended for use with non-
silver photographic images, an additional third
detector should be included, consisting of pro-
cessed samples of the type of photograph to be
stored. The general procedures of 5.1.2 and
5.1.3 should be followed, except that evaluation
of image changes upon incubation should be
appropriate for the detector. Image changes
should be no greater than the filter paper con-
trol. The incubation conditions specified in 5.1.2
may cause high levels of staining and fading of
some color images, which in turn may mask
the effects of the enclosure. For chromogenic
color print detectors, a suggested incubation
test is 60C, 86% relative humidity.
21
Except for differences in test temperatures and length
of the incubation period, this interim test for non-silver
materials is similar to the Photographic Activity Test specified
in the now-obsolete ANSI PH1.53-1986 Standard in which
a sample of the paper, mount board, or other storage mate-
rial and a sample of the photographic material with which
it is to be used are placed in contact and subjected to an
accelerated dark-aging test for 30 days at 122F (50C) and
86% RH. For comparison purposes, an identical sample of
the photographic material is aged in contact with a piece of
pure, nonreactive laboratory filter paper (e.g., Whatman
Number 1 filter paper). At the end of this test, no visual
pattern should be transferred from the enclosure material
to the photographic material nor shall the image of the
latter be affected. . . . The changes produced by contact
with the enclosure material should be no greater than that
produced by the film [or print] in contact with a filter paper
control, having a pH between 7.0 and 7.7.
The Photographic Activity Test provided in old ANSI
PH1.53-1986 was criticized on a variety of grounds and a
number of alternative procedures were proposed. The au-
thors, however, believe that the basic concept of the PH1.53
test is sound and that its only serious shortcoming is sim-
ply that the specified test time of 30 days is far too short
periods much longer than 30 days are necessary to obtain
meaningful results with most photographic products. For
example, the 30-day test at 122F (50C) provides little in-
formation about the effects of mounting and storage mate-
rials on current color films and prints. With Ektacolor
Portra II chromogenic color prints, for example, so little
color dye fading will take place during the 30-day test that
the influence of a paper or mount boards pH on dye fading
cannot be meaningfully evaluated.
With black-and-white photographs, the 30-day test pe-
riod is probably useless for detecting all but the most harmful
materials. With the PH1.53 test, the authors tentatively
recommend a minimum test period of 240 days, with longer
times for the more stable photographic materials. To properly
assess the effects of a board or paper on a highly stable
material such as a black-and-white print treated with Ko-
dak Rapid Selenium Toner, the test should be continued
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glassines, and slip sheets. These materials were
obtained from a number of manufacturers and
distributors, and are representative of the kinds
of products that might be used in archival col-
lections in contact with photographs. Also in-
cluded were a number of known good and bad
benchmark materials to put the performance
of the archival products in perspective.
. . . Overall, 29 (44%) of the archival products
passed the PAT [ANSI IT9.2 Photographic Ac-
tivity Test]. The most common cause of prod-
ucts failing the PAT was mottling (uneven blotchy
fading of the colloidal silver detector). Most of
these failed products were 2- or 4-ply boards.
In all, 25 products (38%) failed the mottling cri-
teria. Mottling represents the presence of lo-
cal hot spots of fading and generally indi-
cates inhomogeneity in an enclosure product.
. . . The results of this evaluation of 66 com-
mercially available archival products have an
important lesson for archive managers: not all
enclosures offered in the marketplace are safe
to use with photographs. Vague descriptors,
such as acid free (most of the failed products
were so described), do not guarantee inertness
toward photographs. In some cases, the high
prices paid for archival enclosures are actu-
ally buying materials more harmful than gro-
cery bags or newsprint.
. . . The performance of the 66 archival prod-
ucts can be put into perspective by comparing
them with the behavior of some of the known
good and bad benchmark materials also in-
cluded in this test. This data illustrates that,
by and large, photographic [paper enclosure,
mounting, and storage] materials have come a
long way from the truly dreadful materials that
were so common in the past. For example, two
1930s portrait studio folders (one gray and the
other dark green) were tested. The prints in-
side these folders showed fading and mirroring
where they had been in contact with the over-
mat part of the folder. Both failed all three PAT
criteria by large margins. The fading they caused
was among the worst of all 90 materials. Their
staining was about seven times the maximum
acceptable limit, and they were heavily mottled.
But it is also important to note that the fourth
worst fading performance of all 90 materials
was given by an archival product, a 2-ply white
rag board. Two out of the three Japanese re-
pair tissues tested failed the fading criterion.
There appeared to be no difference in product
performance related to the presence or absence
of carbonate buffering. The interactions be-
tween photographic materials and enclosures
are obviously more complex and varied than
the commonly used archival descriptors, such
as acid free, allow for. An empirical evalua-
tion, such as the PAT, is a vital check for un-
foreseen harmful effects.
until at least some visible change is observed in the filter-
paper control sample, however long that might require.
In a high-temperature test such as this, many color ma-
terials will give anomalous test results at relative humidi-
ties as high as 86%; a lower humidity, 60% for example,
would be a better choice in such cases. A lower humidity is
also necessary when testing plastic materials (at 122F
[50C] and 86% RH, gelatin is above its glass-transition
temperature and emulsions will soften and stick to most
plastic materials).
22
An especially appealing aspect of the obsolete ANSI
PH1.53-1986 Photographic Activity Test is that each dif-
ferent type of color and black-and-white film or print mate-
rial must be tested individually with each enclosure mate-
rial (such as mount board or interleaving paper); adhe-
sives must also be tested. If a particular material passes
the test with a certain black-and-white fiber-base paper,
this does not mean that the material is suitable for color
materials or, for that matter, a chromogenic black-and-
white negative. At the very least, a mount board or enclo-
sure material should be tested with a representative black-
and-white fiber-base paper such as Ilford Multigrade FB
Paper; a black-and-white RC paper such as Kodak Polycon-
trast III RC Paper; chromogenic color print materials such
as Fujicolor Professional Paper SFA3 Type C and Kodak
Ektacolor Portra II Paper; and a representative fine-grain
microfilm.
With suitable modification, the authors believe that the
ANSI PH1.53-1986 Photographic Activity Test is the best
available simple procedure for evaluating mount boards,
paper for interleaves and envelopes, and plastic storage
products used with the wide range of color and black-and-
white photographic materials currently on the market and
found in historical collections. Ideally, of course, the multi-
temperature Arrhenius procedure described in ANSI IT9.9-
1990 should be applied to the PH1.53 Photographic Activ-
ity Test. Carried on long enough, Arrhenius testing not
only will provide valuable information about how a mount
board or storage material can affect a particular type of
photograph, but also will give an indication of the inherent
aging characteristics of the mount board or paper material
itself.
Paper and Mount Board Evaluation
Using the IT9.2 Photographic Activity Test
In a practical application of the ANSI IT9.2 Photographic
Activity Test (PAT), in 1988 Douglas W. Nishimura, James
M. Reilly, and Peter Z. Adelstein at the Image Permanence
Institute used the test to evaluate 90 different mount board,
enclosure, and interleaving papers:
23
This included 66 commercially available
materials that could be considered archival,
not by any strict scientific definition, but be-
cause they were sold by suppliers specializing
in this line of products. The 66 archival materi-
als included 36 rag [cotton fiber] boards, 9 non-
rag boards, and 21 papers, numbering among
them were interleaving tissues, Japanese re-
pair tissues, barrier papers, envelope papers,
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ANSI Removes the Archival
Designation from ANSI Standards
In 1990 ANSI decided to remove the archival designa-
tion from all of the ANSI photographic standards. The
rationale for this is explained in the Foreword to ANSI
IT9.11-1991:
24
The term archival is no longer specified in
American National Standards documents since
it has been interpreted to have many mean-
ings, ranging from preserving information for-
ever to the jargon meaning [especially in the
computer and electronic data storage fields],
temporary storage of actively used information.
It is therefore recommended that the term ar-
chival not be used in standards for stability of
recording materials and systems.
Processed photographic films are now classified according
to the life expectancy or LE designation, when stored
under specified conditions. Terms such as archival pro-
cessing, archival record film, and archival storage materi-
als, all of which have been widely used in the photography
conservation field, are no longer used or endorsed by ANSI.
ANSI Requirements for Paper Products
Used with Photographs
While as yet there is not an ANSI standard that specifi-
cally addresses mount boards, the requirements for enclo-
sure papers given in Sec. 3.2 of ANSI IT9.2-1991 would
generally apply:
25
Paper that is in direct contact with black-
and-white photographic material shall be made
from high alpha cellulose [e.g., cotton fiber],
bleached sulfite, or bleached kraft pulp with an
alkali resistance expressed as R18 value greater
than 87% as determined by the method given in
ISO 699:1982. It shall be free from such highly
lignified fibers as groundwood, as determined
by microscopic analysis and the phloroglucinol
spot test. The pH should be between 7.2 and
9.5, as determined by the method given in TAPPI
T509su-77. The alkali reserve shall be the mo-
lar equivalent to at least 2% CaCO3, as deter-
mined by the alkali reserve test described in
5.2. This alkali reserve should be accomplished
by the incorporation of an alkaline earth car-
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1. Strathmore Paper Company has been manufacturing fine artists papers for nearly a century. The company currently
operates four paper mills in Massachusetts, one of which produces museum board. The above photograph and those that
follow show white museum board being made at Strathmores Woronoco Mill No. 1 in October 1987. The Fourdrinier
machine pictured on the left the wet end is in the foreground is nearly 100 years old and continues to make papers and
boards of outstanding quality.
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#673
55%
2. Dry sheets of 100% cotton linters pulp are stored in
large bales at the mill, ready for making paper and mu-
seum board. Pulp operator Joe Stebbins is separating
bales with a forklift truck to move them to the pulper.
4. In this close-up, the pulper (approximately 10 feet in
diameter) beats the pulp (furnish) into slurry. Most of the
chemical ingredients, such as internal sizing agents, colorants,
and alkaline buffers, are added to the pulp at this stage.
5. Machine tender Bob Hungerford looks over the wire (the
wet end of the machine). A continuous belt made of fine
fiber screen vibrates constantly as it moves forward so that
the pulp fibers will mesh together and the water will drain
away. It is during this stage that the grain direction is
formed as the fibers line up in the direction of the flow.
6. Hungerford inspects the machine and the stock as the
newly formed wet sheet of paper is lifted off the screen
and transferred to a continuously moving felt belt for
drying.
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3. The bales are placed on a slowly moving conveyer belt
which drops the pulp into the pulper.
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12. At the start of a new roll, the machine tender examines
a sample of the 1-ply board before it is sent to the labora-
tory for specification tests (caliper or thickness, basis
weight, color, consistency, strength, etc.). Requiring the
attention of three separate shifts of workers, the machines
run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week producing museum
board and numerous other fine papers. The finished roll
of 1-ply museum board is pictured on the left.
11. The completed roll of 1-ply museum board, weighing
approximately 1,000 pounds, is moved aside during the roll-
change operation to make room for the next roll. The ma-
chines normally produce one roll every 45 to 50 minutes.
9. Marketing and sales manager Thomas Richards looks
over the paper as it comes out of the first set of dryers
and enters a bath containing surface sizing chemicals.
The paper then enters a second set of dryers (right).
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7. This close-up view shows the point at which the stock
becomes paper.
10. The paper leaves the dryers and passes through an idle
calender stack (which, when operating, produces a very smooth
surface on such products as writing papers). A new roll is
started the moment the previous roll is finished. The ma-
chines do not slow down during this operation, so the back
tenders must quickly coordinate the transfer of the continu-
ously running sheet of paper onto another cylinder. Here the
crew members observe the next roll as it begins to wind.
8. The wet sheet of paper (later to become museum
board) enters the first set of drying drums.
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16. To make 2-ply board, one roll of 1-ply board is suspended
above another roll. They unroll together at a rate of about 450
feet per minute. Bodendorf supervises the operation as the
lower roll passes through the pasting applicator (lower right).
15. Pasting operator Kurt Bodendorf removes several
outside layers before the rolls are hoisted onto the past-
ing machine.
13. When the entire run is completed, the rolls are taken
by semitrailers across the Woronoco River to Strathmores
Woronoco Mill No. 2 (above), where they will be pasted
together to make 2- or 4-ply board. The semitrailers are
pictured on the left.
14. David Climo, assistant manager of Woronoco finish-
ing operations, talks with forklift operator Gerald Fillion.
This roll of 1-ply museum board is on its way to the
pasting machine.
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17. Carlos Cruz mixes the sacks of dry starch-based adhe-
sive with water to produce the proper consistency before
the adhesive enters the pasting applicator. Starch paste is
preferable to animal glues or synthetic adhesives for lami-
nating high-quality boards because it is more stable chemi-
cally, does not discolor, and does not contain residual
chemicals and acids, which break down the paper fibers.
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23. Hours later, another shift of workers makes 4-ply
board by guiding the rolls of 2-ply board through the
same pasting machine.
18. The board leaves the applicator (with paste on its
surface) and meets the roll above as they enter a series
of high-pressure stainless steel rollers (center right), which
permanently join the two sheets. The damp 2-ply board
is then rolled up again before it is dried.
21. When the 2-ply board will be made into 4-ply board, the
board passes through the idle cutting machine (left) and is
rolled up once again. Back tender Peter McLaughlin starts a
new roll by quickly attaching the 2-ply board to its core.
20. Kurt Bodendorf (right) and intern Rick Bergstrom
splice the beginning of a recently pasted roll of 2-ply
board to the end of the previous roll, which is stalled
during its passage through the long row of 19 drying
drums (center right).
19. Close-up view of the stainless steel rollers. The two
sheets of 2-ply board can be seen coming together for
the first time on the large roller on the left.
22. McLaughlin moves the previous roll aside to join other
rolls until they can be laminated again. Moisture content
must be carefully controlled during each stage of manufac-
turing, storing, pasting, rolling, drying, re-rolling, and cut-
ting. When the ambient relative humidity is 35 to 50%, the
moisture content of the final sheet is approximately 6%.
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25. The 4-ply board is cut into sheets immediately as it
leaves the dryers. Here the sheets are slightly larger than
the standard size of 32 x 40 inches (by about
1
2 inch) to
allow for trimming before packaging. The sheets land on
a raised skid, which is gradually lowered to floor level by
a hydraulic lift until the stack is full.
27. Forklift operator Francis Hansen takes the museum
board to be weighed. This stack weighs about 1,250 pounds.
Afterward, the board will be trimmed to 32 x 40 inches,
sorted by hand to remove sheets with surface defects,
arranged into groups of 10 or 25 sheets, wrapped in water-
resistant paper, and packaged in corrugated cartons for
storage in the warehouse before it is sent to distributors.
24. Pasting operator Mark Miller checks a roll of 4-ply
board as it enters the dryers. Another recently pasted
roll (left) will follow. Four-ply board takes about twice as
long to dry as 2-ply.
26. Back tender Ron Laporte spot-checks one of the
sheets.
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bonate or the equivalent. (MgCO3 and ZnO are
also being used, which in molar equivalencies
correspond to approximately 1.6% reserve.) A
minimum of sizing chemicals shall be used, the
amount being dictated by the requirements of
the end use (enclosures, overwraps, interleav-
ing, etc.). If sizing is used, neutral or alkaline
sizing chemicals shall be employed. The mate-
rial shall essentially be free from particles of
metal. Surface fibers that might offset onto
photographic layers should not be present. The
paper shall not contain waxes, plasticizers, or
other ingredients that may transfer to the pho-
tographic material during storage. Glassine
envelopes shall not be used. The paper shall
meet the physical tests required for the par-
ticular application. [These include stability (see
TAPPI T453su-70), folding endurance (see ASTM
D2176-69 [1982] and TAPPI T511su-69), and tear
resistance (see TAPPI T414om-82).]
Paper that is in direct contact with processed
diazo or color photographic materials shall have
similar composition to that used for black-and-
white material except that the pH shall be be-
tween 7.0 and 7.5, and the 2% alkaline reserve
requirement shall not apply.
To conduct all of the paper quality tests called for in the
ANSI Standard is a complex, expensive, and time-consum-
ing task requiring experienced personnel and a well-equipped
laboratory. To the authors knowledge, the only time the
complete series of tests has been done on paper enclosure
materials was in 1978 when, at the request of Klaus B.
Hendriks of the National Archives of Canada (then called
the Public Archives of Canada), the Ontario Research Foun-
dation tested seven paper and glassine photographic en-
closure materials under a contract with the Public Archives.
The report has not been published and Hendriks has de-
clined to identify the products included in the tests, but he
has indicated that none of the products (which included an
alkaline-buffered paper envelope popular in museums and
archives) satisfied all of the ANSI requirements.
26
Mount
boards were not included in the tests.
Commenting in 1984 on efforts to better formulate speci-
fications and test procedures for mount boards and other
paper products, James Reilly said:
I think this is an evolutionary situation where
more testing will be done and maybe a nar-
rower definition of requirements will emerge.
If there is one bad sizing or laminating adhe-
sive it will be identified sooner or later. The
worst types of things that might be in a board
28. Warehouseman Dave Galbert, group leader Dave Christian, and marketing and sales manager Thomas Richards check
the inventory of finished products in the Strathmore warehouse. Richards says, Our paper is inspected every step of the
way, from the bales of pulp to the cartons in the warehouse.
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or paper will be identified and a set of specs
that are more comfortable for the paper mills
will emerge.
But I think generally in spite of a few
really bad products the overall level of board
and enclosure paper quality has improved dra-
matically over what was common practice just
a few years ago, when people, even in muse-
ums, would use practically anything. In gen-
eral, we are just vastly better off now.
27
Glassine Paper Not Recommended
Glassine paper is a thin, very smooth translucent paper
used extensively for negative enclosures and sometimes
for interleaving purposes. Glassine is made from wood
pulps that have been mechanically beaten to have a high
degree of hydration, a process which degrades the fibers.
Ethylene glycol or other substances are usually added to
glassine paper to increase its translucency and flexibility.
In 1967 Eugene Ostroff of the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, D.C. advised against storing photographs in
contact with glassine paper, citing its poor stability and
additives that can have a detrimental effect on image sta-
bility of adjacent photographs.
28
Based in part on Ostroffs
observations, ANSI IT9.2-1991 specifically warns against
glassine envelopes. Eastman Kodak also advises that glassine
be avoided, stating in 1985: With age and dry storage this
material tends to become brittle and during subsequent
handling may even shatter; conversely in the presence of
high temperature and high relative humidity (90F [32.2C]
and 90% relative humidity), the transparentizers may ex-
ude, and on coming in contact with the negative surface,
cause ferrotyping.
29
So-called archival or acid-free glassine papers like-
wise are not recommended for storing photographs.
Paper Chemistry: Some Considerations
with Regard to Photographic Materials
Many chemicals and additives used during the paper-
making process may be deliberately present in the final
product, or may exist as residual contaminants. Some of
these substances can interact with photographs, causing
fading and/or staining of the image and possibly deteriora-
tion of the support. For instance, boards and papers may
contain acid or alkaline dyes (in addition to bright colors,
board tones such as off-white, cream, ivory, antique, etc.
are often obtained with dyes), pigments, retention aids,
fillers, aluminum sulfate fixative (papermakers alum),
internal sizing agents, beater adhesives, bleaches, surface
sizing agents, and waxes, as well as metal particles or
other contaminants.
Boards colored with dyes commonly contain mordants
that affix the dyes to the paper fibers and that help prevent
color fading and color migration. Boards colored with pig-
ments, such as Bainbridge Alphamat, have fixatives to hold
the pigment particles in place and prevent bleeding. As
will be discussed in more detail later, alkaline-buffered
boards and papers contain calcium carbonate or magne-
sium carbonate to neutralize acids that may occur from
internal or external sources.
Laminating and Sizing
Unlike most papers, which are manufactured as single
sheets, mount boards usually consist of several layers or
plies of thick paper; composite boards have thin facing
papers laminated to the front and back. Both types of
boards incorporate adhesives which constitute another pos-
sible source of harm to photographs.
Sizing agents are compounds added to paper to reduce
the rate of moisture absorption by the fibers, making them
somewhat water-resistant. For example, sizing is neces-
sary in writing papers to keep inks from bleeding. Nearly
all high-quality papers are sized to some extent (blotter
paper is an obvious exception). Sizing can also modify and
improve the surface finish of a paper, and can increase its
tear-strength.
One reason that ANSI IT9.2-1991 specifies neutral or
alkaline sizing chemicals is to preclude the use of the
common alum-rosin size, introduced to papermaking in the
U.S. about 1830. Rosin is a low-cost by-product resulting
from the distillation of turpentine from resinous pine trees.
Rosin is essentially an organic acid, insoluble in water
until treated with a caustic soda, in a process similar to
soapmaking.
In papermaking, rosin size is precipitated on the paper
fibers by the addition of aluminum sulfate (papermakers
alum), which has the undesirable result of increasing the
acidity of the paper. Rosin in paper also gradually oxidizes
and yellows, a process that is accelerated by iron particles
from paper-manufacturing machinery, and sometimes from
the water used in papermaking.
Lignin in Paper Products
ANSI IT9.2-1991 also states that paper products such
as negative envelope papers and mount boards used for
storing and mounting photographs shall be free of highly
lignified fibers, such as groundwood. After cellulose, lignin
is the principal component of fibrous plant materials. Lig-
nin is the substance that binds plant fibers together and is
largely responsible for the great strength of wood.
When present in paper, lignin yellows on exposure to
light and is also unstable in the dark, releasing decomposi-
tion products such as peroxides and other potentially harmful
substances. This is the main reason why lignin must not
be present in paper products intended for the storage of
photographs.
Many high-quality papers are now advertised as lignin-
free, in recognition that lignin should not be present. Lig-
nin is more or less completely removed in sulfite-processed
wood pulps (bleaching further removes lignin-containing
residues), but little or none is removed from mechanically
ground wood pulps. Newsprint and the gray chipboard
base of many low-cost mount boards contain a high per-
centage of lignin. In addition to lignin, such groundwood
papers usually contain a variety of other potentially harm-
ful substances.
Lignin-containing wood-pulp papers, alum-rosin size, and
fiber-degrading chlorine bleaches have all contributed to
the sharp decline in the stability of most papers made dur-
ing the past 150 years a problem now plaguing libraries
and archives the world over.
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All refining affects the structure of the cellulosic bond
in cotton and wood fibers. For example, the more bleach-
ing required, the weaker a fiber will become. Since both
wood fibers and rags require significant refining and puri-
fication, they are more difficult to manufacture into high-
quality, stable paper products than are pure cotton linters.
Few paper mills still have equipment capable of purifying
rags for papermaking.
In nearly every case, whether coming from linters or
rags, cotton fibers make papers and boards that are physi-
cally more durable and resilient, having better strength
and folding endurance than do products made from refined
wood fibers. However, these qualities are not as crucial in
photographic papers and mount boards (which are not nor-
mally folded or handled as much) as they are, for example,
in a book paper.
It should be possible to make a satisfactory mount board
from refined wood pulp which would be as stable as one
made from cotton fibers.
35
Fiber-base photographic paper
(as well as the paper core of polyethylene-coated RC pa-
pers) is itself now made from purified wood cellulose, al-
though this was not always so. In the early 19th century,
nearly all photographic prints were made on linen and cot-
ton rag papers, selected from artists and writing papers
available at the time. Inexpensive papers made from ground-
wood pulp were introduced around 1840 but, because of
their low quality, were unsuitable for making photographs.
By 1850 at least two companies were manufacturing
papers specifically for making photographs.
36
Rag papers
were sized with starches, albumen, and then gelatin, which
resulted in prints with improved contrast and sharper de-
tail. However, as the science of photography advanced,
the various requirements for photographic papers were
not always met. Problems regarding pulp availability and
contamination, unstable sizing agents, papermaking equip-
ment, paper strength (both wet and dry), and paper perma-
nence challenged papermakers and photographers to cre-
ate better photographic printing papers. According to Ko-
dak, as the demand for paper of all kinds increased, the
supply of suitable rags diminished . . . . Consequently,
much of the rag stock that was available did not meet the
purity standards required for photographic use. In an ef-
fort to solve the problem, Eastman Kodak Company insti-
tuted a program of research and development into the pos-
sibility of making pure paper from wood pulp.
37
George Eaton explained why Kodak needed to develop a
satisfactory wood cellulose paper: George Eastman im-
ported the finest rag papers he could obtain from Europe
until 1914, when World War I prevented further importa-
tion. Eastman Kodak Company then made the highest
quality rag paper using rosin sizing, although, as Eaton
also noted, the company had difficulty manufacturing the
paper and experienced considerable variability in the prod-
uct. It was obvious that a source of more uniform raw
material was necessary, and a ten-year research program
ensued with a paper company to produce a wood cellulose
fiber equal in purity to new grown cotton.
38
By 1926 Kodak was producing photographic base papers
containing 50% cotton fiber and 50% purified wood pulp. In
192627 Kodak substituted a more stable sodium stearate
binder for rosin size. In 1929 a Kodak paper made entirely
from wood pulp was judged by the National Bureau of Stan-
Cotton Fiber Versus Wood Pulp
There are two principal types of high-quality mount boards:
museum board and conservation board.
30
So-called
museum board is made from 100% cotton fiber pulp, which
usually consists of cotton linters fibers but may be made
from cotton rags or a combination of both. Conservation
board is made from wood fiber pulp which has been cooked,
bleached, washed, and extensively refined to remove lignin
and other impurities. Cost and scarcity of cotton pulps
have been important factors in the development of high-
quality mount boards from refined wood pulps. The cost
difference is not great, however, and refined wood pulp
boards typically cost only about 20% less than 100% cotton
fiber boards.
31
(Lower-quality standard boards, made
from wood pulps that are not as highly refined as those
processed for conservation boards, commonly cost less than
half as much as cotton fiber boards.)
With the exception of several nonbuffered, neutral-pH
mount boards intended primarily for photographic applica-
tions, most museum boards and conservation boards have,
since the mid-1970s, been manufactured with the addition
of alkaline buffering agents.
Mount board made from 100% cotton fiber differs physi-
cally, chemically, and visually from board made from chemi-
cally processed wood pulp. First of all, cotton is one of the
purest forms of cellulose occurring in nature, being nearly
99% alpha cellulose, whereas typical hardwoods and soft-
woods are about 50% alpha cellulose.
32,33
The higher the
alpha cellulose content in a given fiber, the greater the
potential strength of the paper made with it. In addition,
the chemical purity of such papers is usually potentially
very high because a minimum of refining, processing, and
bleaching is required, especially in the case of paper made
from cotton linters.
There are two principal types of natural cotton fibers.
The longer ones are known as cotton seed-hair fibers
and the shorter as cotton linters fibers. The longer and
more costly cotton seed-hair fibers are used primarily in
the textile industry. When these longer fibers do go into
making paper, they are usually purchased in the form of
textile cuttings (scraps) or as old rags hence the terms
rag paper and rag board. However, most 100% cotton
fiber papers and mount boards are currently made with
the shorter cotton linters, and so the descriptive term rag
is often inaccurate (see Chapter 12).
Cotton linters are likely to be freer of contaminants than
reprocessed cotton rags because the latter require more
chemical refining. Numerous chemical additives and dye-
stuffs used in the textile industry are often present in cot-
ton rags and must be removed before they can be made
into museum board and other high-quality papers. In addi-
tion, rags must be closely examined to guard against con-
taminating cotton pulp with synthetic materials. In 1967,
Eugene Ostroff wrote that manufacturers find it extremely
difficult to purchase rags which do not contain traces of
synthetic fibers and various additives intended to impart
certain physical attributes, such as added whiteness. Chemi-
cal processing, uninjurious to the rag fibers, cannot suc-
cessfully remove all such foreign matter. In the finished
paperboard their long-range storage effects on photographs
are unknown.
34
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dards to be as permanent as the best quality 100% cotton
fiber paper,
39
based on the rather simplistic paper perma-
nence tests accepted at the time. Since the 1930s, virtu-
ally all Kodak and other fiber-base photographic papers
have been manufactured entirely from wood cellulose.
Cost factors undoubtedly played a major part in the
decision to develop a satisfactory wood cellulose paper,
since such a paper is much less expensive than 100% cot-
ton fiber paper. Over the years, this change has saved
Kodak and other manufacturers untold millions of dollars
in production costs.
In addition to the general desire for long-lasting prints,
the quality of fiber-base photographic paper has tradition-
ally been consistently high because of several requirements
unique to photography. The paper must be free of certain
common paper contaminants, especially copper, iron, and
other metal particles, since these impurities can have ad-
verse effects on the keeping properties of an emulsion prior
to processing.
40
The paper must also have good wet-strength
properties in order to hold up adequately during develop-
ing, fixing, and an hour or more of washing.
With the introduction of polyethylene-coated RC papers
in the late 1960s, most of these constraints which also
tended to insure a long-lasting product no longer ap-
plied. Because of this, stability differences between vari-
ous brands of RC paper appear to be far greater than is the
case with fiber-base papers manufactured during the past
several decades.
Research and development on all kinds of photographic
papers continue in the photographic industry. For example,
in 1984, in response to an expanding market for premium
fiber-base black-and-white papers with high stability and
superior image quality and intense competition from
Ilford, Oriental, and Agfa-Gevaert Kodak introduced Kodak
Elite Fine-Art Paper. Information on the stability of the
many photographic papers presently on the market, as well
as of the relative stability of photographic mount boards
and enclosure papers, will probably become increasingly
available in the future.
Fluorescent Brighteners in Prints
and Mount Boards
Fluorescent brighteners, sometimes called optical
bleaches, are white or colorless compounds added to many
paper products, fabrics, and so forth in order to make them
appear whiter and brighter than they really are. (Most
laundry detergents have added brighteners that mordant
to fabrics during washing.) Fluorescent brighteners ab-
sorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation, causing the brighteners to
fluoresce (emit light) in the visible region, especially in the
blue and green portions of the spectrum. If the illumina-
tion source contains no UV radiation, fluorescent brighten-
ers are not activated and, comparatively speaking, the pa-
per appears dull or subtly lacking in brightness. It is the
amount of UV radiation as a percentage of visible light that
determines the perceived brightening produced by fluo-
rescent brighteners in papers. Therefore, the more UV
radiation present, the brighter the paper will appear.
Among common sources of illumination, indirect day-
light through window glass has the highest relative UV
content. Illumination from glass-filtered fluorescent lamps
and glass-filtered quartz-halogen lamps has a moderate
UV content. Incandescent tungsten illumination has the
lowest relative UV content of any common light source, but
even incandescent lamps emit sufficient UV radiation to
activate fluorescent brighteners. If the light source passes
through an effective UV filter such as Plexiglas UF-3, not
enough UV radiation will be transmitted to affect the bright-
ener. Thus, unfortunately, prints and mount boards with
fluorescent brighteners can appear significantly different
depending on the exact spectral distribution of the light
source.
Because Plexiglas UF-3 absorbs virtually all UV radia-
tion below about 400 nanometers (ordinary glass freely
transmits UV radiation in the 330400 nanometer region of
the spectrum, which excites fluorescent brighteners), the
yellowish tint imparted by a UF-3 sheet covering a photo-
graph is exaggerated if the print or mount board contains a
fluorescent brightener. In other words, assuming that the
illumination contains sufficient UV radiation to noticeably
activate a fluorescent brightener, the yellowing imparted
by UF-3 appears to be comparatively greater than it is with
a similar print or mount board made without a fluorescent
brightener. When photographs covered with glass and with
UF-3 are hung side-by-side, the difference in yellowness is
quite noticeable.
Another drawback of fluorescent brighteners in mount
boards, photographic materials, and artists papers is that
when these products are exposed to light and UV radiation
over time, they gradually lose their ability to fluoresce
in effect, the fluorescent brightener fades. Thus, the
paper gradually becomes faintly yellow and less bright in
appearance. These problems can be avoided simply by not
adding fluorescent brighteners to the paper product in the
first place.
The authors have examined most of the cotton fiber
mount boards currently available in the U.S. and, fortu-
nately, it appears that fluorescent brighteners are seldom
added to them. Boards that did contain significant amounts
of fluorescent brighteners were a 4-ply 100% cotton fiber
board manufactured in Germany by Felix Schoeller, Jr.,
GmbH & Co. KG (Schoeller boards are not widely available
in the U.S., although they were used during the early to
mid-1970s by Ansel Adams for dry mounting his prints)
and several samples of 2-ply and 4-ply 100% cotton fiber
boards sold in 1982 under private label by University Prod-
ucts, Inc., Holyoke, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, virtu-
ally all black-and-white photographic papers now contain
fluorescent brighteners. The authors advise against the
use of mount boards containing fluorescent brighteners
and discourage the practice of adding brighteners to pho-
tographic papers.
The Question of Paper pH
The pH of paper refers to its acidity or alkalinity, mea-
sured on a scale of 0.0 to 14.0, with pH 7.0 being neutral. A
pH of less than 6.5 is considered acidic, and a pH of more
than 7.5 is considered alkaline. Each whole number on the
scale represents a difference in acidity or alkalinity of ten
times the adjacent whole number. Common book and docu-
ment papers usually have a pH value within the range of
about 5.0 to 7.0, while the pH level of alkaline-buffered
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Permalife, initially produced according to Barrows speci-
fications by the Standard Paper Manufacturing Company
of Richmond, Virginia beginning in 1960. Permalife is a
moderately priced bond paper made from refined wood
fibers; the trademark was acquired about 1976 by Howard
Paper Mills, Inc. of Dayton, Ohio.
44
With the introduction of Permalife in the document con-
servation field, archives and museums began storing nega-
tive and print collections in envelopes made of Permalife
and similar papers. The Hollinger Corporation started
producing envelopes of this type in the mid-1970s. Appar-
ently neither the manufacturers nor the customers who
requested Permalife envelopes tested them for possible
adverse effects resulting from their long-term contact with
photographs it was simply assumed that the more stable
an enclosure paper was, the better it was for storing photo-
graphs.
Some people, however, working in photographic conser-
vation questioned the acceptance of alkaline-buffered prod-
ucts without testing. In 1976 Walter Clark, a former chem-
ist at the Eastman Kodak Company and a conservation
consultant at George Eastman House, wrote, Special boxes,
papers and mount boards are now made of nonacid materi-
als, which were developed from research on permanent
papers for books. It is not yet certain that the high degree
of alkalinity in these materials is satisfactory in the long
run for photographs, especially color pictures, but they
offer the best approach at the moment.
45
In 1978 Klaus B. Hendriks, chief conservation chemist
at the Public Archives of Canada (now called the National
Archives of Canada) said, Questions are being asked con-
cerning the most suitable pH of paper envelopes, and it
may well be that different photographic records require
different pH values of the respective paper enclosures in
order to be kept safely.
46
Later in 1978, partially based on
results of an investigation into factors influencing the dark
fading stability of Ektacolor 37 RC prints, Henry Wilhelm
recommended against the use of alkaline-buffered materi-
als with photographs, pending the outcome of further re-
search.
47
In recent years, various advice has been given regard-
ing pH requirements for photographic enclosures. In 1983
Polaroid Corporation said, In general, photographs should
not be subjected to acidic or highly alkaline substances.
Storage envelopes, folders, papers, and so forth, should
have a pH between 7.0 and 8.5 (neutral to slightly alka-
line).
48
In 1979, Eastman Kodak recommended that paper
products for photographs should be free of groundwood,
alum, or alum-rosin size and have a pH of about 6.5.
49
In a
1982 publication, the company stated, To be considered
for color print mounting, a paper product should be free of
ground wood, alum, or alum-rosin size and should have a
pH of 7 to 7.5. (A pH of 7 to 9.5 often is considered accept-
able for black-and-white print mounting.)
50
Referring to
black-and-white photographs, Kodak spokesman Henry Kaska
said, We simply havent studied the matter in any depth.
The feeling is that image stability isnt particularly affected
by the [pH of the] paper that films and prints come in
contact with. The question [about pH] arises from time to
time, but it hasnt been subjected to the kind of study that
would permit us to speak authoritatively on the matter.
51
In the 1985 book Conservation of Photographs, Kodak
papers is usually about 7.5 to 9.5. Papers with a pH of 6.5 or
higher are generally considered to be acid-free.
Throughout the discussion that follows, it must not be
forgotten that pH is only one factor among many which can
affect the stability of a photograph. In fact, research by
Glen Gray of Eastman Kodak has indicated that pH alone
is not even a good indicator of paper stability, particularly
with high-quality papers: Specifications based upon ex-
tractable pH levels only cannot properly rank papers for
permanence nor can useful life be estimated since several
other factors are involved.
41
The current widespread interest in paper pH was gen-
erated chiefly by William Barrow, who conducted research
on the stability of paper during the 30-year period prior to
his death in 1967. He and other investigators demonstrated
that, other factors being equal, papers with a pH below
about 5.0 are generally short-lived, while neutral or alka-
line papers are more likely to have a very long life.
42
This
research led to the manufacture of low-cost, relatively stable
papers that are alkaline-buffered with 2% to 3% calcium
carbonate or magnesium carbonate by weight and with a
resulting pH of about 8.5. One function of the alkaline
buffer is to help neutralize the effects of sulfur dioxide and
other contaminants absorbed by the paper from acidic inks,
polluted air, and other external sources.
Alkaline-buffered papers are becoming common in the
publishing field. For example, this book is printed on a
high-quality, long-life, alkaline-buffered, coated book pa-
per made by the Glatfelter Paper Company and is expected
to survive many hundreds of years. In 1984 the American
National Standards Institute issued ANSI Z39.48-1984, Ameri-
can National Standard for Information Sciences Perma-
nence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, which, among
other requirements, specifies a minimum pH of 7.5 and a
minimum alkaline reserve equivalent to 2% calcium car-
bonate by weight for uncoated paper used in books and
other publications intended for permanent retention (coated
papers, such as that used in this book, were beyond the
scope of this initial standard).
43
Alkaline buffering ap-
pears to be particularly beneficial in increasing the life of
low-quality papers on which most paperback books are
printed.
In recent years there has been a marked trend toward
incorporating alkaline buffering agents into the manufac-
ture of museum mount boards, boxboards, and enclosure
papers. Most conservation-quality products on the market
are alkaline-buffered. These products are referred to as
acid-free, a confusing term heard so frequently that many
consumers have been led to believe that this is the only
requirement for materials used in long-term contact with
films, prints, and other valuable artifacts.
Among early alkaline-buffered paper products were the
microfilm and print storage boxes manufactured by the
Hollinger Corporation. Alkaline buffering was intended to
maintain the stability of the board as it aged, thus lessen-
ing the tendency for the box to generate peroxides, which
even at very low-level concentrations have been shown
to cause discoloration and fading of silver images during
long-term storage. Untoned black-and-white RC prints and
the very-fine-grain images of microfilms are extremely sen-
sitive to peroxides and other such oxidizing gases.
The first widely marketed alkaline-buffered paper was
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Figure 13.1 The effect of emulsion pH on the dark
fading of the cyan dye in Konica Color Paper Type SR.
The prints have been subjected to an accelerated dark-
storage test. The optimum stability of the dye occurs in
the acidic range of pH 3.85.5. While the pH sensitivity of
dyes varies considerably among color photographic prod-
ucts, the behavior of this particular dye is typical of the
cyan dyes in most chromogenic color photographs; this
underscores the concern about storing color prints in
contact with alkaline-buffered mount boards and enve-
lopes, which generally have a pH of 8.5 or higher. (Data
courtesy Konica Corporation)
During dark storage, high emulsion pH also contributes
to yellowish stain formation with Konica Type SR paper
(shown here) as well as Ektacolor and other color nega-
tive print papers. (Data from H. Wilhelm)
dye around the edges of the print can easily be misinter-
preted as a stain.
Porter was aware of Burgis findings but had been told
that some of the stained albumen prints had never been
displayed (an assertion she later came to doubt); she sus-
pected, therefore, that alkaline buffering in the overmat
might be the cause of the discoloration, but she was not
certain of this. Rather, in her report to the AIC group, she
emphasized that materials used by paper conservators were
not necessarily satisfactory for photographs and that much
more consideration should be given to how mount boards
and other paper products react with the silver images of
black-and-white photographs. Porter did not discuss color
prints or their storage requirements in her report.
Most Photographs Are Not Acid-Free
When contemplating the consequences and benefits of
specifying pH in the manufacture of mounting and enclo-
sure materials, it is important to consider the normal pH
values of photographs. Ilford has recommended a near-
neutral pH for storage materials in contact with Cibachrome
prints (renamed Ilfochrome prints in 1991): The dyes uti-
lized in Cibachrome are at maximum stability in the near
neutral range between 6.5 and 6.8 pH. Materials to be
placed in contact with the surface of the photograph for
long-term storage must be of neutral pH.
56
While the 1978 version of ANSI PH1.53 (the predecessor
of the current ANSI IT9.2 Standard) specified buffered pa-
pers with a pH between 7.0 and 9.5 for both color and black-
and-white photographs, this recommendation was changed
in the 1984 and 1986 revisions of the Standard, and sepa-
rate recommendations are now given in ANSI IT9.2 for
color and black-and-white photographs. For color photo-
graphs, nonbuffered paper products with a pH of 7.0 to 7.5
are specified; for black-and-white photographs, the recom-
mendation is essentially the same as in the 1978 version.
Peter Adelstein, chairman of the ANSI subcommittee
which developed the new versions of the Standard, said
that the concern was with the enclosure material lasting
as long as possible. It could also be argued though I
dont think it is a good argument that under any adverse
conditions, when cellulose acetate materials hydrolyze, they
release acid, which, of course, if it were in contact with
recommended a mount board pH value very close to 7.0 or
very slightly higher.
52
Based on an erroneous 1982 ar-
ticle,
53
which incorrectly cited a report by conservator Mary
Kay Porter presented at a meeting of the Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute for Conserva-
tion (AIC), Kodak went on to say:
Even though the pH may be within this range
[7.0 to 9.0] an excessive amount of buffer can
be harmful. One such mountboard contained
10100 times the average concentration. Color
prints stored for only a few months on this ma-
terial showed considerable damage. A test for
total alkalinity could have prevented the loss.
54
Porter had actually reported on the apparent discolora-
tion, or staining, of some 19th-century albumen black-
and-white prints which had recently been overmatted with
an alkaline-buffered board. Color prints were not involved.
Investigations reported in 1982 by conservator Sergio
Burgi, at the time with the International Museum of Pho-
tography at George Eastman House, revealed that this type
of apparent discoloration of overmatted albumen prints is
in reality not a discoloration at all.
55
In the 19th century it
was common practice to lightly tint the albumen layer of
the paper with organic dyes to give bluish-red or yellowish-
red hues to the highlights of the prints. Burgis research
showed that these dyes characteristically have poor light
fading stability, and when an overmatted albumen print is
displayed for sufficient time, the dyes exposed to light in
the cutout area of the overmat fade. The edges of the print
protected from light by the overmat do not fade. With no
record of what the print originally looked like, the unfaded
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Likewise, the long-term effects of pH in terms of gelatin
cracking and brittleness are not known. There is also no
published information available as to how pH of the gelatin
emulsion will be altered when color and black-and-white
photographs are in long-term contact with alkaline-buff-
ered paper.
Examination of Historical Print Collections
Examination of historical print collections indicates that
in general the paper supports of both albumen and silver-
gelatin prints have remained in reasonably good condition,
while the silver images are often significantly deteriorated
as a result of poor processing, improper washing, humid
storage conditions, contact with reactive storage materi-
als, air pollutants, or fungus growths. This suggests that
the focus of attention should be on preservation of the
image and the gelatin emulsion. Assuming an otherwise
high-quality paper stock, the pH should probably be se-
lected to promote maximum stability of the silver or dye
image and gelatin emulsion.
In 1982 James Reilly reported that Permalife paper pro-
moted yellowing of freshly made albumen prints in accel-
erated aging tests, and he advised against storing such
prints with alkaline-buffered papers.
62
Reillys further in-
vestigation of the problem revealed that it was probably
not the calcium carbonate buffering itself that produced
the increased rate of yellowing, but rather it was some
other, as yet unidentified, constituent of Permalife paper.
Pending further research, however, Reilly said he still be-
lieved that, all other characteristics of a particular paper
or board being equal, it is best to avoid alkaline-buffered
products for storage of albumen prints.
63
In general, there is apprehension about the effects of
alkaline-buffered paper on all color photographs, including
chromogenic prints such as Agfacolor, Ektacolor, Fujicolor,
and Konica Color. There is particular concern over its
adverse effects on dye-imbibition prints, including Kodak
Wash-Off Relief prints, Kodak Dye Transfer prints, and
Fuji Dyecolor prints.
In 1985 Konica reported findings from research on the
effects of emulsion pH on the dark fading stability of Konica
color paper: It is well known that acidic pH is the best
condition for keeping prints. When the pH of the print
surface is between 4 and 5, the cyan dye fading is at a
minimum, and yellow stain is limited.
64
As indicated in
Figure 13.1, increasing the pH of the emulsion from 5.0 to
8.8 approximately doubles the amount of cyan dye loss
under the conditions of the Konica tests. Because of inter-
actions between an alkaline-buffered mount board or other
paper product in contact with the emulsion of a color print,
the pH of the emulsion may be expected to gradually rise
to approximately the level of the buffered paper during
long-term storage. Conditions of high humidity will accel-
erate the rate of change.
Accelerated dark fading tests conducted by Henry Wil-
helm indicate that in addition to Konica Color Type SR and
Type EX prints, the dark fading stability of Ektacolor 37
RC, Ektacolor 74 RC, Fujicolor Type 8908, and many other
chromogenic papers is better (i.e., rates of cyan dye fading
and/or yellow stain formation are reduced) when the prints
are in a mildly acidic rather than alkaline condition. For
buffered paper would be good. That is not true with the
polyester materials they dont hydrolyze as easily. How-
ever the primary concern was the stability of the enclosure
paper; studies with books and documents indicated that
these [alkaline-buffered] papers generally would last
longer.
57
Relative to the pH of photographs themselves, George
Eaton made the following statement:
Much has been said and will be said about
the acidity or pH of photographic paper base
with respect to permanence. Kodak raw stocks
for black and white emulsions range in pH from
4.6 to 5.9 but after processing pH increases to a
range of 5.5 to 6.6. The gelatin in the emulsion
layer helps to stabilize paper acidity at these
levels. This slight acidity . . . is not as impor-
tant a variable to permanence as is the use of
highly purified pulp, inert sizing material, and
low levels of metallic impurities.
58
As Eaton pointed out, fiber-base black-and-white prints
typically have a pH in the acid range; a random selection of
prints from the years 1917 to 1982 had pH levels of from 4.8
to 6.5 when tested by Henry Wilhelm.
59
Ektacolor prints
from 1976 to 1982 had pH levels in the 3.54.5 range if the
prints had been treated with Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer after
washing, and about 6.5 if the acidic stabilizer had not been
included, as has been the general practice in recent years.
(Following the 1984 introduction of the Konica Nice Print
washless minilab and associated Konica Super Stabilizer
solution, color print stabilizers that leave the emulsion in a
low-pH condition are becoming popular once again.)
Several samples of fiber-base Kodak Dye Transfer prints
tested by Henry Wilhelm had a pH of about 5.0 on the
emulsion side. In spite of the fact that Dye Transfer prints
have a low pH, accelerated tests and experience over the
last 40 years indicate that the paper support (made from
highly refined wood cellulose), gelatin layers, and image
dyes of the prints are extremely stable. When protected
from light, Dye Transfer prints have the most stable im-
ages of any color film or print material made by Kodak. If
one were to de-acidify a Dye Transfer print by immer-
sion in an alkaline solution, the image dyes would bleed or
even wash from the print.
The isoelectric point of the lime-processed gelatins (of
which photographic emulsions are normally made) is also
in the acid range, typically about pH 5.0.
60
The isoelectric
point, which is characteristic of the kind of gelatin, its
method of preparation, and the impurities present, is the
point at which the gelatin molecule is most tightly coiled
because of the equal number of charge attractions. It is
the condition of acidity or alkalinity at which the gelatin
molecule is least soluble in water.
61
The significance of
this, with respect to the long-term stability of photographs,
is not known, but it has been suggested that gelatin may be
most stable when the pH is near the isoelectric point.
There is no published information on the softening of
gelatin stored at high relative humidities as a function of
pH or whether the rate of penetration of airborne pollut-
ants into gelatin (which would be most pronounced when
storage humidities are high) is influenced by emulsion pH.
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Table 13.1 was compiled from more than 300 mount
and mat boards made in the United States in 1982 and 1983.
(In 1985, Rising Paper Company introduced several new
fade-resistant colored boards to replace those previously
available; the authors repeated the tests for a period of 90
days for these boards. Six tones of museum board intro-
duced in 1985 by Crescent Paper Company were also tested
and included in this table.) The boards are divided into
five types and subdivided into six color-density groups; the
boards are then ranked according to the stability of their
original color.
The five categories of board are:
(1) 100% Cotton Fiber Boards (solid)
(2) Highly Refined Wood Pulp Boards (solid)
(3) 100% Cotton Fiber Boards (composite)
(4) Highly Refined Wood Pulp Boards (composite)
(5) Standard Wood Pulp Boards (composite)
Solid boards are consistent in color and fiber on both
sides and throughout the middle. Composite boards are
faced and backed with separate sheets of paper, usually
white on the back and a toned paper on the top. The top
surface papers frequently have a noticeable texture.
The six color groups are:
(A) Whites and Off-Whites (blue density: 0.030.11)
(B) Ivories (blue density: 0.120.20)
(C) Light Colors (visual density: 0.100.33)
(D) Medium Colors (visual density: 0.340.73)
(E) Dark Colors (visual density: 0.741.18)
(F) Blacks (visual density: 1.301.41)
The color groups are determined by the visual or blue
filters on a densitometer. Two exceptions are noted in
Table 13.1 with an asterisk. (Red, green, and blue densi-
ties vary considerably outside the visual ranges; for ex-
Figure 13.2 The stability of four mount boards subjected
to an accelerated light fading test with 21.5 klux (2,000 fc)
glass-filtered Cool White fluorescent lamps. The Rising
Brownstone color falls into the authors extremely poor
category; Crescent Cardboard Copley Gray has poor
stability; Crescent Cardboard Covert Gray has fair sta-
bility; and Strathmore Brown has good stability. A
Kodak Ektacolor Plus print tested under the same condi-
tions is shown for comparison.
example, with many chromogenic color papers, the rate of
yellow stain formation is drastically reduced when the prints
are treated with Kodak Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer, which low-
ers emulsion pH to less than 4.5. (In spite of the reduced
stain formation and increased cyan dye stability afforded
by Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer, it should not be used with current
color papers see Chapter 2 and Chapter 5.)
Pending further research the authors of this chapter,
Brower and Wilhelm, discourage the use of alkaline-buff-
ered mount boards and papers with all color products.
(Boxboards are not normally in direct contact with photo-
graphic emulsions, and for this reason the authors believe
that there is much less cause for concern about possible
adverse effects of an alkaline buffering in such products.)
As indicated above, different types of photographic materi-
als quite likely have different ideal pH conditions for
storage. As a practical matter, however, it would be cum-
bersome and costly to stock, in every size, thickness, and
color, alkaline-buffered mount boards and papers for black-
and-white photographs, and a separate but equally com-
plete line of nonbuffered boards and papers for color pho-
tographs, to meet the specifications of ANSI IT9.2-1991.
(To meet the requirements of the ANSI Standard, manufac-
turers of paper envelopes also would have to supply two
complete lines of envelopes; at the time of this writing, no
manufacturer had indicated a willingness to do so.) It is
hoped that there will eventually be a single specification
that takes into account all the many factors affecting both
photographic and paper stability, including pH for boards,
envelopes, and other paper products for mounting and storing
all types of important photographs.
Such a specification, however, cannot be formulated in
the immediate future. For example, since it is very diffi-
cult to realistically simulate the long-term effects of air
pollutants on paper products and, in turn, the effects these
materials may have on photographs as they both slowly
deteriorate, conclusive recommendations regarding pH alone
are not expected soon. Until more information is available,
the authors recommend nonbuffered 100% cotton fiber boards
and enclosure papers when long-term keeping is contem-
plated, especially for the display and storage of color prints.
Responding to these concerns, in 1982 the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston, and in 1983 the New Orleans Museum
of Art, began to mount the color prints in their collections
with nonbuffered 100% cotton fiber board. Since then, many
other institutions and individuals have begun to do the
same.
65
Light Fading Stability of Mount Boards
Many mount boards fade or change color during pro-
longed display, and some are even less stable than Ekta-
color and similar color prints when exposed to light. For
example, some mount boards eventually lose all color and
become white, white boards may turn yellow, a gray board
may turn beige, a deep blue board may turn brown, or a
dark green board may become light blue. This presents a
difficult and often hidden problem for artists, framers, and
curators who carefully select the most appropriate and
complementary board when mounting a photograph and
generally assume that the colors of the mount will remain
unchanged.
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ample, Crescent Cardboard Companys Naples Yellow board
has a visual density of 0.15 and a blue density of 0.76.)
In judging the relative stabilities of the boards, the au-
thors observed three types of changes: fading, color shift,
and yellowing (darkening). Since the authors did not feel it
was possible to quantitatively define acceptable amounts
of such changes in this test, each boards relative stability
was ranked as being good, fair, poor, or extremely poor
according to the authors visual assessment. Because of
the even greater difficulty in defining these four stability
categories for white and ivory boards, such boards are
listed as having either good stability or poor stability; only
severely changed boards (i.e., darkened or completely faded)
in these two color groups are described as having extremely
poor stability. White and ivory boards with very slight
changes were considered to have good stability.
As a general guideline, the authors considered colored
boards with less than 10% color losses (measured as losses
in red, green, and/or blue density) to have good stability; a
colored board with a 1020% loss in color was considered to
have fair stability; boards that lost 2040% of their color
were considered to have poor stability; and any board that
lost more than 40% of its color or that actually changed
color was considered extremely unstable. In general, light-
colored and reddish boards achieved lower rankings with
somewhat less than these percentage losses, while dark
and yellow or greenish boards required greater percent-
age losses before they were downgraded.
When selecting a mount board, one cannot judge its
color stability according to the quality of its fiber or its
cost. Many museum boards made of high-quality cotton
fiber have remarkably poor color stability while many of
the less expensive wood pulp boards have extremely good
color stability. Unfortunately, some of the most aestheti-
cally pleasing colored museum boards, such as Crescent
Cardboard Companys Rag Mat 100 Antique Tan and Archi-
val Mist, and Rising Paper Companys Gallery Grey, proved
to have extremely poor color stability.
Some of the best colors for mounting photographs, such
as Crescents Neutral Gray and the various antique tones
offered by most of the represented companies, performed
equally poorly in these tests. Only 43% of the dyed 100%
cotton fiber museum boards (Type 1) had good color stabil-
ity while 49% were rated poor or extremely poor. Highly
refined wood pulp boards (Type 2) fared the worst, with
only 39% having good stability and 53% having poor or
extremely poor stability. For whatever reasons, the solid
museum and conservation boards had inferior color stabil-
ity when compared with the three other types of boards.
All 28 colors of Crescent Cardboard Companys Rag Mat
composite boards (Type 3) had good stability. It was sur-
prising to find that 59% of the lowest-quality, so-called
standard or regular boards (Type 5) had good color stabil-
ity while only 30% had poor or extremely poor color stabil-
ity. Overall, 60% of all the tested boards had good stability,
7% had fair stability, 15% had poor stability, and 18% had
extremely poor stability.
Manufacturers Claims About Color Stability
Are Frequently Meaningless
Manufacturers have been an unreliable source of mean-
ingful information regarding the color stability of their
boards. In the PPFA 1986 Survey on Mat/Mount Boards,
66
most companies cited various lab tests, but the results of
these tests cannot be interpreted or applied by most board
consumers without further information. For example, Niel-
sen & Bainbridge Alphamat boards were listed as being
tested with the Fade resistance Carbon Arc Fade-O-Meter
(80 hr. ASTM G-25). This fact is not meaningful to the
average framer. Did Crescent Cardboard Rag Mat boards
pass, did they fail, or were they simply subjected to the 80-
hour fade? Columbia Corporation provided somewhat more
useful information by stating that its Museum Mounting
Board 100% Rag withstands 80 hours Fade-O-Meter expo-
sure without fading. But how is one to know how well a
particular board color will hold up compared to another?
Some of the manufacturers advertising and promotion
literature is equally uninformative, and even misleading.
Miller Cardboards specifications for the surface papers of
its Ultimat boards included, Direct dye or iron oxide to
ensure bleed and fade resistance, while Rising claimed
that its museum and Conservamat boards are fade resis-
tant. In a letter to the authors (April 25, 1986), Crescent
Cardboard Company wrote, The Crescent Rag Mat Mu-
seum Board . . . high quality surface papers are . . . com-
pletely fade resistant. While it is true that Crescents
faced museum boards proved to have excellent color sta-
bility, the companys Rag Mat 100 museum boards were
shown to be among the least stable. In a product sample
folder, both types of boards are described as fade resis-
tant, while the Regular Mat Board is said to have surface
papers which are highly resistant to fading.
Although only one Alphamat color (Garnet) faded more
than 10% in Carol Browers tests, Bainbridge overstated
the color stability of its Alphamat Board, which it claimed
Offers complete resistance to fade, discoloration, bleed-
ing and deterioration (1984 Framing Colors and Textures
from Bainbridge brochure). Unlike other companies, how-
ever, Bainbridge made no claims regarding the fade resis-
Figure 13.3 Rising Burnt Orange mount board sub-
jected to an accelerated light fading test with 21.5 klux
(2,000 fc) Cool White fluorescent lamps under three dif-
ferent spectral conditions. A Plexiglas UF-3 ultraviolet
filter afforded only marginal improvement. In all cases
the stability of the board was rated extremely poor.
4
7
5
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the heating of the samples, the moisture content can be
assumed to have been very low. The board samples were
covered with window glass to absorb ultraviolet radiation
below about 330 nanometers (the 313 nanometer mercury
emission line radiated by the lamps, which can cause greatly
increased rates of fading in some dyes used to color mount
boards, is completely absorbed by the glass).
Each board was read for density changes in the visual,
red, green, and blue spectrum ranges at intervals of 7, 14,
60, 90, and 120 days. A densitometer was used for this study
instead of a color difference meter so that the results could
be compared to fading data on color photographs. The
densitometer was a Macbeth TR924 equipped with Status
A filters, which were designed for use with color photo-
graphs. Zero density was calibrated on a porcelain plaque
supplied by the manufacturer. The potential error of the
readings was approximately 0.01 for any given measure-
ment; this is of particular importance when judging the
relative stability of white, ivory, and very light-colored boards
as well as when calculating the changes in all low-density
measurements.
Manufacturers Efforts to Meet
Photography Conservation Requirements
All manufacturers (and major distributors) of high-quality
mount boards are aware of at least some of the concerns
related to photographic conservation.
68
(See Appendix
13.1 [Letter to Paper Manufacturers].) At the time of this
writing, however, no paper manufacturer had performed
tests to determine the effects of its products on even the
most common photographic materials nor confirmed that
its products meet the many requirements given in ANSI
PH1.53-1986 (essentially the same requirements are speci-
fied in the current ANSI IT9.2-1991 Standard). Chi C.
Chen, technical director at Rising Paper Company, said
that many paper manufacturers do not believe they have a
responsibility to conduct such tests. In Chens opinion,
people who buy the products, and particularly people working
in the field of photographic conservation, bear the respon-
sibility for testing them and for recommending specifica-
tions to the manufacturer.
Other paper companies concurred with this view. For
example, Joseph B. Fiedor, general manager of Crescent
Cardboard Company, made the following comment about
requests for nonbuffered mount boards:
We supply what people want. Its a question
of demand. For example, our boards were once
made without the addition of alkaline-buffering
agents. The pH was below 7.0. But in recent
years there has been great demand for buff-
ered boards and so we began to add buffering
agents. Now we strive for a pH that is above 7.5
at the time of manufacture as demanded by the
market. The [future] direction we take will be
based first on the research of people such as
James Reilly in Rochester.
69
Speaking for Process Materials Corporation (now the
Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.), marketing man-
ager Robert Stiff said:
tance or light fastness of its Alpharag or Alphamount boards.
Vera G. Freeman, former manager of the Art Paper
Department at Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead, responded to
Carol Browers inquiry on the subject of color stability in a
letter dated July 14, 1982: We do have test data on dye
stability, but since it seems to vary with every making, we
do not publish such findings in order not to misguide the
public.
In promotional literature distributed in 1982 by Process
Materials Corporation (which in 1990 became the Archi-
vart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.), the company an-
nounced: New . . . acid-free mat board in 14 compatible
colors . . . that last. And in 1984: Archivart Museum
Board . . . light-fastness is assured by manufacturing spec-
ifications which yield resistance to fading at least five times
that of other colored mat boards. Arno Roessler, former
president of Process Materials (and currently president of
Paper Technologies, Inc.), said in a panel discussion pub-
lished in the November 1984 Art Business News:
Producing conservation color paper is a com-
plicated process and it depends on the manu-
facturer because to get it in the alkaline range
you use a completely different approach, [you]
are restricted, and cannot simply make every
color as you please. There are different dyes
you can use that lend themselves to making
acid-free boards and color . . . . Most good
quality colored boards are really pigmented.
Kurt R. Schaeffer, former product planner for Strath-
more Paper Company, also responded to inquiry in July
1982: We conduct a test to determine the fade resistance
of our Museum Mounting Board. The test is conducted
with an Enclosed Violet Carbon Arc. The industry wide
standard considers a 20 hour fade test without any fade to
be excellent.
As Table 13.1 shows, stability can vary considerably
within each group even among the best available products,
such as Strathmore Museum Boards. It is apparent that a
new, standardized test for evaluating the light fading sta-
bility of mat and mount boards is required a test that
simulates the spectral distribution of typical indoor illumi-
nation conditions. Different levels of stability need to be
defined, and limits of acceptability need to be set. As a
beginning, the authors recommend adoption of the 6 klux
temperature- and humidity-controlled glass-filtered fluo-
rescent light fading test specified in the new ANSI IT9.9-
1990 color stability test methods Standard.
67
Furthermore,
because information supplied by the paper manufacturers
and distributors is often essentially meaningless to the
consumer, manufacturers are urged to provide more reli-
able (and comprehensible to the average consumer) infor-
mation with the boards they sell.
Test Procedures
In preparing Table 13.1, Carol Brower exposed boards
to high-intensity 21.5 klux (2,000 fc), Philips 40-watt Cool
White Fluorescent Lamps (F40CW) with two lamps per fix-
ture for a total of 120 days. The surface temperature of the
samples was approximately 85F (29.4C) and because of
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Manufacturers have to be told what the pho-
tographic conservation field is looking for. Con-
servators must initiate specifications for new
products We need a product that will do
this. There has to be a consensus of opinion
and then we will try to meet the stated require-
ments. Naturally that involves testing on our
part to know that our products meet those speci-
fications. Its wholly a matter of cooperation
between the manufacturers and those in the
marketplace.
70
Nonbuffered Photographic Storage Paper and
Mount Board Made by Atlantis Paper Company:
An Enlightened Approach to Meeting Users Needs
Of all the paper companies producing high-quality mount
boards and papers for conservation purposes, the Atlantis
Paper Company Limited, located in London, England,
71
appears to be making the greatest effort to address the
specific needs of the photographic conservation field.
Founded in 1978 by Stuart Welch and David Brown, who at
the time were both working artists and teachers in London
art schools, Atlantis initially supplied artists, printmakers,
and students with papers for watercolor, printing, and
drawing.
It is immediately evident from the Atlantis catalog that
the company furnishes its customers with a more com-
plete list of product specifications than is usually given by
other distributors. According to Atlantis, The idea of giv-
ing information about our products is two fold, one to sup-
ply information to the best of our knowledge about the
products to assist the conservator in his or her work, and
to help educate and relate information about paper, and
paper conservation and preservation, to practicing artists
and paper users who otherwise have little or no access to
information on the materials they use.
72
In 1983, in response to needs expressed by British pa-
per and photograph conservators Ian and Angela Moor and
others in the conservation field, Atlantis introduced Silver-
safe Photostore, a very smooth, white, nonbuffered 100%
cotton fiber paper that is probably the first high-quality
paper ever designed specifically for making photographic
storage envelopes and enclosures. Available in four differ-
ent weights, the paper is also intended for interleaving
prints and negatives. The paper is Fourdrinier machine-
made at St. Cuthberts Paper Mill, Somerset, England. The
paper is presently used as a negative enclosure and inter-
leaving paper by a number of museums, including the J.
Paul Getty Museum in Pasadena, California. Atlantis Sil-
versafe Photostore may be ordered directly from Atlantis,
or through the Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.
or Paper Technologies, Inc.
73
Ian and Angela Moor collaborated with Atlantis in de-
veloping the specifications for the paper, which embodies
all of the qualities they could identify as important for the
long-term preservation of photographs. The specifications
for the paper, as given in the 1991 Atlantis catalog, are:
100% cotton fiber from purest cotton linters
Passes Silver Tarnish Tests
Passes ANSI photographic activity test IT9.2
Criterion 1: Fading of colloidal silver detector
Criterion 2: Staining of gelatin/photographic
paper detector
Criterion 3: Mottling of colloidal silver detector
Sized with neutral curing ketene dimer
Reducible sulfur: less than 0.2 parts per million
Qualitative test for chloride negative
Gurley test to assess porosity where airflow
can be beneficial:
40gsm (before calendering) 3.5 sec;
(after calendering) 10 sec;
120 gsm (before calendering) 11 sec;
(after calendering) 55 sec.
The higher the figure the less porous the paper
expressed as sec/100ml/sq. in.
pH: 6 by cold demineralised extract
Ash content: 40 gsm 0.025%
120 gsm 0.019%
No added alkaline buffering agents
Supplied long grain
Smooth surface
Available in four weights
White colour, free from Optical Brightening Agents
Atlantis also supplies a line of 100% cotton fiber mount
boards under the Atlantis 100% Cotton Museum Board name.
In 1985 the company introduced Atlantis 100% Cotton Mu-
seum Board TG Offwhite (initially called Heritage Museum
Board TG Offwhite) for the mounting and conservation of
photographs. In line with current opinion, according to
Atlantis, the board has a pH of about 7.0 at the time of
manufacture and is not buffered. Atlantis 100% Cotton
Museum mount board stock is sized with the same alkyl
ketene dimer sizing agent used in Silversafe Photostore; in
addition, the mount boards are lightly surface-sized with
a modified non-ionic farina starch.
The board plies are laminated with a V.A.E. polymer
adhesive, which contains no plasticizer and is about pH 7.0.
According to Atlantis, selection of the V.A.E. adhesive was
based on the following criteria:
1. Since pH is of primary importance we considered a
V.A.E. polymer better than P.V.A. [polyvinyl acetate]
since they are less susceptible to hydrolysis and re-
lease of acetic acid. As a further precaution the system
is neutralized by a small proportion of
1
2% calcium car-
bonate to absorb any acetic acid should it be formed,
thereby maintaining the neutrality of the glue line. This
should not be considered as a normal buffer as we are
not looking for an alkaline product.
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2. There is a small possibility that any plasticizer present
could migrate and adversely affect the material in con-
tact with the board and hence this is avoided by the
omission of any plasticizers in the formulation of this
adhesive.
3. Chloride and sulfur content should be as low as pos-
sible. After coating a layer of the base paper used for
the Atlantis 100% Cotton Museum Board with a film of
our V.A.E. adhesive, allowing it to dry and then testing
directly against the adhesive for Silver Tarnish using a
standard test, the results were totally satisfactory: i.e.,
no tarnish at all. Included in the formula of this adhe-
sive is less than
1
2% of Ortho Phenyl Phenol which is
included as a preservative to prevent mold growth and
bug attack. This additive has the advantage that it
continues to protect the adhesive from this kind of at-
tack in its dry state after lamination. The formula for
the adhesive was arrived at after lengthy discussions
with both conservators and adhesive chemists.
74
Atlantis, unfortunately, has declined to identify either
the specific adhesive or its manufacturer, citing competi-
tive reasons. However, Stuart Welch, a director of the
company, commented, I should say that if it can be shown
that a better adhesive exists we would have no hesitation
using it. We try to work as closely as possible with conser-
vators and conservation scientists and rely very much on
their advice and help to produce the best possible prod-
ucts. All of our fine art and archival products are in a
constant state of development according to the ever changing
requirements of our customers, and advances in the State
of the Art of paper-making technology.
75
Welch also said that Atlantis would be willing to dis-
close the name of the adhesive manufacturer to institu-
tional conservators if they wrote to Atlantis on their offi-
cial letterhead and are able to persuade Atlantis that this
information is essential in solving a problem in their work.
76
Atlantis claims that Atlantis 100% Cotton Museum boards
are light fast, equal to or better than a Blue Wool Scale
No. 5 rating. (The authors presently do not have the data
necessary to compare the light fading stability of Atlantis
100% Cotton Museum boards with other available white
and near-white boards; however, the fact that Atlantis pub-
lishes such information is noteworthy.)
Atlantis says that its papers and boards intended for
photographic applications are tested with a silver tarnish
test at St. Cuthberts Paper Mill as part of routine quality
control. All Atlantis products intended for museum and
archive applications are made by St. Cuthberts using the
pure water source of the River Axe directly as it leaves the
underground complex of caves at Wookey Hole, in the Mendip
Hills. The pipework throughout the mill is stainless steel
ensuring no rust, oxidization or contamination of the water
source or stock during the manufacturing process.
77
Other Suppliers of High-Quality
Boards and Papers
Process Materials Corporation (now the Archivart Divi-
sion of Heller & Usdan, Inc.) was the first paper company
to respond to reservations in the photographic conserva-
tion field regarding alkaline-buffered boards. In Novem-
ber 1981, as an outcome of discussions between Arno Roessler
(who at the time was president of Process Materials), the
authors, and others, the company introduced Archivart
Photographic Board: This board has been manufactured
specifically for photographic use, for such applications where
the alkaline environment of Archival Quality Matboards is
considered to be undesirable. This board comes in an off-
white color and is manufactured from selected 100% cotton
fiber in the neutral pH range, without any alkaline reserve
78
or buffering.
79,80
According to Archivart, the pH value of
Archivart Photographic Board at the time of manufacture
is between 6.5 and 7.5, which may be expected to drop
somewhat with time as the board is exposed to normal
atmospheric conditions.
Archivart regularly publishes technical bulletins, which,
along with samples of the products, are sent to anyone who
requests them. The company also publishes discussions
in its Paper and Preservation series, invites comments on
its literature and products, and has for many years demon-
strated an interest in educating and working with its cus-
tomers. Unfortunately, Archivart has declined to identify
the manufacturer of its mount board, and for this reason
its use in long-term photographic applications cannot cur-
rently be recommended by the authors. The importance of
identifying the manufacturing mill of a paper product for
conservation purposes is discussed in this chapter and in
Chapter 12.
In 1982 Rising Paper Company introduced a white, non-
buffered 100% cotton fiber board called Rising Museum
Photomount. The company stated, It is for use with pho-
tographic prints where excessive alkalinity should be
avoided.
81
The board is made at the Rising paper mill in
Housatonic, Massachusetts. Rising Museum Photomount
is one of the boards tentatively recommended for photo-
graphic applications by the authors.
Parsons Paper Company introduced a line of 100% cot-
ton fiber mount boards in mid-1983. Among them is a
nonbuffered 4-ply board called Photomounting Board, which
is available in two tones: white and antique. Made at the
Parsons Paper Company mill in Holyoke, Massachusetts,
Photomounting Board is tentatively recommended by the
authors for photographic applications. A/N/W-Crestwood
Paper Company in New York City and University Products,
Inc. in Holyoke sell the Parsons line of museum and photo-
graphic mount boards under their own names.
Process Materials Corporation (now the Archivart Divi-
sion of Heller & Usdan, Inc.) introduced Archivart Photo-
graphic Storage Paper in 1983. Made from wood cellulose,
the paper has an exceptionally smooth finish without being
shiny, is neutral in pH, is nonbuffered, and is claimed to be
sulfur free. Also in 1983, Light Impressions Corporation
introduced a nonbuffered, neutral-pH product called Re-
naissance paper, developed specifically for storing albu-
men and color prints.
82
Both papers are suitable for mak-
ing mounting corners and negative envelopes, and also as
interleaving papers, depending on the selected weight. How-
ever, as neither Archivart nor Light Impressions would
identify the manufacturers, the papers cannot be unequivo-
cally recommended.
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Conservation Resources International, Inc. supplies a
nonbuffered, sulfur-free, high-alpha-cellulose wood-pulp paper
called Lig-free Photographic Enclosure Paper that is rec-
ommended by the company for archival photographic en-
closures.
83
Conservation Resources has declined to iden-
tify the manufacturers of the company's paper and board
products.
In 1985, Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead introduced a smooth-
surfaced, white, nonbuffered 100% cotton fiber board called
Photographic Board, available in 2-ply and 4-ply thicknesses.
The company, however, declined to reveal the name of the
manufacturer(s) of the board. Later that year Process Ma-
terials Archivart Photographic Board became available in
white. A comprehensive list of mount board manufactur-
ers and distributors can be found at the end of Chapter 12.
Summary of Recommendations
Museum and Archive Collections
Given the lack of unbiased information on which mount
boards and papers are most suitable for photographic ap-
plications, and on what pH levels are best, the authors
believe the safest course for museum and archive collec-
tions to follow at present is to choose nonbuffered 100%
cotton fiber boards and enclosure papers for all types of
important photographs. Until the consequences have been
thoroughly investigated, it is probably unwise to subject
photographs to a potentially major alteration of normal
emulsion and support pH levels, which may occur as a
result of prolonged contact with alkaline-buffered materi-
als. It is particularly important to use nonbuffered, neu-
tral-pH boards with color photographs.
Although nonbuffered 100% cotton fiber mount boards
are available from a number of distributors, the authors
currently recommend only Atlantis 100% Cotton Museum
Board TG Offwhite, Parsons Photographic Board (Brite
White and, for some applications, Antique), and Rising
Photomount Museum Board (White). At present, direct
contact between colored boards and photographs should
be avoided if possible, and black boards should not be used.
The authors also recommend Atlantis Silversafe Photo-
store (available directly from Atlantis in England) for in-
terleaving sheets, storage envelopes, and mounting cor-
ners, depending on the selected weight and application.
[Archivart product manager Robert Stiff said his company
supplies a high quality interleaving tissue similar to Silver-
safe called Archivart Photo-Tex Tissue, which is also made
with 100% cotton fibers and is nonbuffered; Stiff said that
this paper has passed the ANSI Photographic Activity Test.]
Photographers, conservators, and other individuals may,
of course, have specific preferences in paper and board
surface characteristics, tone or color, and handling char-
acteristics that will not be met by the recommended prod-
ucts. The user will have to make the final decision about
what is best according to his or her specific requirements
in each individual circumstance.
The recommendations given here are based on a stud-
ied examination of available information (which, unfortu-
nately, includes scant test data that would permit more
conclusive evaluations) and represents the authors best
opinion about which products are most likely to be satis-
factory in long-term preservation. As more information
becomes available, and new papers and mount boards which
meet the strict requirements of photographic conserva-
tion are marketed, the range of thicknesses, surface tex-
tures, and tones will certainly become broader.
Black-and-White Photography
When black-and-white prints have been processed cor-
rectly (treatment with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner or
other protective toner is recommended) and image perma-
nence is an important consideration, nonbuffered 100% cotton
fiber boards and papers are recommended.
It is particularly important to choose good-quality mount
board if prints are to be dry mounted or otherwise perma-
nently attached, because it is highly unlikely that the print
and board will ever be separated. If museum boards are
deemed too expensive, good-quality conservation boards
may be a suitable option. Because Atlantis, Parsons, Ris-
ing, and Strathmore are the only companies to market posi-
tively identifiable boards, the authors tentatively recom-
mend their conservation boards despite the fact that they
are alkaline-buffered.
Low-cost boards with gray chipboard cores (usually with
white facing paper on one side) should be avoided at all
times; these and other groundwood boards with a high
lignin content are not suitable for even short-term contact
with black-and-white photographs. The presence of ground-
wood can easily be detected with the Tri-Test Spot Testing
Kit for Unstable Papers,
84
available from Light Impres-
sions Corporation, the Professional Picture Framers Asso-
ciation, and other suppliers.
With most low-quality mount boards, alkaline buffering
is probably an advantage, both for black-and-white and color
prints. The authors currently believe that the potential for
harm to photographs caused by the alkaline buffer is prob-
ably more than offset by the increased life and reduction in
harmful emissions from low-quality boards afforded by al-
kaline buffering. When colored boards are required, the
most light-stable boards available should be selected (see
Table 13.1). At present, black boards should be avoided.
Color Photography
For most Fujicolor, Ektacolor, Konica Color, and simi-
lar chromogenic color prints intended for display, such as
those produced by portrait and wedding photographers,
the choice of mount board is less important because the
useful life of the prints will be limited by the instability of
their dye images when exposed to light. The mount board
should, of course, maintain adequate stiffness and freedom
from warping. The standard mat boards supplied by
Crescent Cardboard Company, Nielsen & Bainbridge, and
others appear to be satisfactory. If colored mount boards
are needed, however, those with poor light fading stability
should be avoided (see Table 13.1).
When color prints are intended for long-term storage
without extensive display, they should be mounted on high-
stability nonbuffered boards or stored in high-quality enve-
lopes made of nonbuffered paper or uncoated polyester
(see Chapter 14).
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Truth-in-Labeling Recommendations
In the case of high-quality mount boards, artists pa-
pers, and other papers for storing or displaying photographs,
the authors recommend that every manufacturer and dis-
tributor identify the particular paper mill making the prod-
uct and supply relevant information about the composition
and method of manufacture, including any tests done to
assure its suitability for photographic applications.
By manufacturing their respective photographic boards
at only one mill, Atlantis Paper Company, Parsons Paper
Company, and Rising Paper Company avoid a significant
source of product variability that results when distributors
periodically change paper mills. With private label mount
boards and other paper products, consumers usually have
no idea of where, or by whom, they were made. As one
employee at Light Impressions Corporation commented
with regard to the companys products, We jump around
among a lot of suppliers it all depends on price and
availability.
Privately labeled mount boards can have two origins. A
distributor may purchase a ready-made board from a
paper mill and then affix its own label. Thus, the board
may be identical to that sold by other distributors all
under different names. When a distributor changes suppli-
ers, it usually keeps the same private label name for a
different board made by a different manufacturer.
Some distributors have board manufactured according
to their own specifications, but may change mills from time
to time in response to price and other considerations. De-
pending on how detailed the specifications are and how
strictly they are adhered to this may not be much differ-
ent in practice than simply putting a private label on a
ready-made product. In all these cases, the customer
has no way of knowing which mill made the board and will,
in most instances, also be unaware of significant alter-
ations in the specifications, such as a change in laminating
adhesives. Perhaps more important is that test results
cannot be applied to subsequent batches. For example,
when a mount board is subjected to the ANSI IT9.2 Photo-
graphic Activity Test, results may be meaningless if the
same board is, at one time or another, also made at
another mill. The practice of private labeling is discussed
at greater length in Chapter 12.
Parsons Paper Company and Rising Paper Company
are themselves manufacturers of the products that bear
their names. Atlantis Paper Company Limited is a dis-
tributor, not a manufacturer; however, all of the Atlantis
products intended for photographic conservation are made
at the St. Cuthberts Paper Mill, according to specifica-
tions formulated by Atlantis in collaboration with St.
Cuthberts and the products are clearly marked as such.
The practice of private labeling for the purpose of ob-
scuring the real manufacturer in order to create the
impression that the board or paper is available from only
one source is a disservice to customers and makes mean-
ingful independent evaluation, with the ANSI Photographic
Activity Test and other recognized test methods, impos-
sible. The authors strongly disapprove of the marketing of
mount boards and papers for which the actual manufac-
turer, brand name, and complete specifications are not
openly stated.
Information That Should Accompany
Every Package of Paper and Mount Board:
1. Distributing or retailing company
2. Manufacturing company and mill location
3. Date of manufacture and manufacturers lot number
4. Converting company
5. Fiber origin (e.g., cotton fibers, wood fibers)
6. The pH range (including maximum and minimum pH)
7. Percent (reserve) and type of alkaline buffering agent,
if used
8. Level of reducible sulfur compounds
9. Tests conducted, if any, to determine photographic im-
age reactivity with color and black-and-white photographs
10. Types and brands of internal and surface sizing agents
11. Type and brand name of laminating adhesives
12. Light fading stability
13. Types of dyes, pigments, and mordants, if used
14. Types of fluorescent brighteners, if any
15. Tests conducted to determine physical strength (e.g.,
the Mullen test to determine bursting strength, the
Elmendorf test to determine tearing strength)
1. See, for example: Debbie Hess Norris, Platinum Photographs: De-
terioration and Preservation, PhotographiConservation, Vol. 7,
No. 2, June 1985, p. 1.
2. George T. Eaton, Photographic Image Oxidation in Processed Black-
and-White Films, Plates, and Papers, PhotographiConservation,
Vol. 7, No. 1, March 1985, pp. 1, 4.
T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-40, Eastman Kodak Com-
4. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH1.53-1984,
American National Standard For Photography (Processing)
Processed Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and
Containers for Storage, Sec. 5.1, p. 10, American National Stan-
dards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York
10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. This Standard
is now obsolete and has been replaced by ANSI IT9.2-1991 (see
Note No. 8 below). The Photographic Activity Test described in
ANSI PH1.53-1984 is different from the primary test specified in
ANSI IT9.2-1991.
5. James M. Reilly, Evaluation of Storage Enclosure Materials for Pho-
tographs Using the ANSI Photographic Activity Test, Final Narrative
Report of Accomplishment for National Museum Act Grant #FC-
309557 (Administered by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D.C.), March 1984. See also: James M. Reilly, Care and Identifica-
tion of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-
2S, Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, New
York 14650, 1986 (pH and other considerations of mount boards and
other paper products used with albumen prints, cyanotypes,
platinotypes, and other kinds of 19th-century photographs are dis-
cussed on pages 9394).
6. James M. Reilly, Rochester Institute of Technology, telephone dis-
cussion with Henry Wilhelm, September 27, 1984.
7. In continuing support of James Reillys research on improved test
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methods for storage materials, Rochester Institute of Technology
(RIT) received a grant in 1984 of $15,000 from the National Museum
Act (NMA) grant program administered by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion. Also in 1984, RIT accepted a grant for $39,750 from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
for this project. In 1985 RIT received a $72,547 grant from the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for continuation of
the research.
In January 1986 Reilly was appointed director of the newly estab-
lished Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Tech-
nology, a research laboratory initially funded and presently super-
vised primarily by Eastman Kodak, Polaroid Corporation, and other
photographic manufacturers. The Image Permanence Institute, lo-
cated at RIT in Rochester, New York, is jointly sponsored by The
Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T) and the Roches-
ter Institute of Technology.
Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and Storage
Containers, American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West
42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900;
Fax: 212-302-1286.
9. T. J. Collings and F. J. Young, Improvements in Some Tests and
Techniques in Photograph Conservation, Studies in Conserva-
tion, Vol. 21, No. 2, May 1976, pp. 7984. See also: V. Daniels and
S. Ward, A Rapid Test for the Detection of Substances Which Will
Tarnish Silver, Studies in Conservation, Vol. 27, 1982, pp. 5860.
Also: S. H. Ehrlich, Chemiluminescence: A Method for the Determi-
nation of Trace Amounts of Hydrogen Peroxide in Photographic
Plastics, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 28, No. 6,
NovemberDecember 1984, pp. 226232.
10. TAPPI Official Test Method T406om-82, Reducible Sulfur in Paper
and Paperboard, 1982, Technical Association of the Pulp and Pa-
per Industry, P.O. Box 105113, Technology Park/Atlanta, Atlanta,
Georgia 30348; telephone: 404-446-1400.
11. Klaus B. Hendriks and Douglas Madeley [National Archives of Canada],
A Comparison of the Collings-Young Test and ANSI PH1.54-1978
Photographic Activity Test, PMG Newsletter (newsletter of the
Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conser-
vation), No. 3, May 1983, p. 4.
12. James M. Reilly, see Note No. 5, p. 4.
13. R. Scott Williams, Commercial Storage and Filing Enclosures for
Processed Photographic Materials, Second International Sympo-
sium: The Stability and Preservation of Photographic Images,
Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985, (Printing of Transcript Summa-
ries), SPSE, The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003
Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090.
(Hendriks is quoted on page 29 of the article; his remark took place
during a question and answer session following the presentation.)
10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. See also: Charleton
C. Bard, George W. Larson, Howell Hammond, and Clarence Packard,
Predicting Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of
Color Photographic Products from Short-Term Tests, Journal of
Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, pp.
4245.
15. Glen G. Gray, Determination and Significance of Activation Energy
in Permanence Tests, in Preservation of Paper and Textiles of
Historic and Artistic Value, John C. Williams, ed., Advances in
Chemistry Series 164, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.,
1977, pp. 286313. Includes a discussion of an Arrhenius test
method for paper products and its advantages over previous meth-
ods. For application of the Arrhenius test method to black-and-white
photographic materials see: D. F. Kopperl, G. W. Larson, B. A.
Hutchins, and C. C. Bard, A Method to Predict the Effect of Residual
Thiosulfate Content on the Long-Term Image-Stability Characteris-
tics of Radiographic Films, Journal of Applied Photographic
Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1982, pp. 8389. For application of
the Arrhenius test method to plastic film base, see P. Z. Adelstein
and J. L. McCrea, Stability of Processed Polyester Base Photo-
graphic Films, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 7, No. 6, December 1981, pp. 160167.
16. Edith Weyde, A Simple Test to Identify Gases Which Destroy Silver
Images, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 4,
JulyAugust 1972, pp. 283286.
17. James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishimura, Improvements in Test
Methods for Photographic Storage Enclosures, presented at the
SPSE 40th Annual Conference and Symposium on Hybrid Im-
aging Systems, sponsored by SPSE, The Society for Imaging Sci-
ence and Technology, Rochester, New York, May 19, 1987 (see
Advance Printing of Conference Summaries, pp. 150154).
18. Peter Z. Adelstein, Update on National and International Perma-
nence Standards, presentation at the Third International Sympo-
sium on Image Conservation, Rochester, New York, June 18,
1990. The Symposium, which was held at the International Museum
of Photography at George Eastman House, was sponsored by The
Society for Imaging Science and Technology in cooperation with
Manchester Polytechnic (Manchester, U.K.).
19. James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishimura, see Note No. 17, p. 150.
20. The enclosure paper and mount board test kit is available from the
Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Frank
E. Gannett Memorial Building, P.O. Box 9887, Rochester, New York
14623-0887; telephone: 716-475-5199; Fax: 716-475-7230.
22. R. Scott Williams, see Note No. 13, p. 21.
23. W. Nishimura, J. Reilly, and P. Adelstein, Improvements to the
Photographic Activity Test in ANSI Standard IT9.2, Journal of Im-
aging Technology, Vol. 17, No. 6, December 1991, pp. 245252.
For the original version of this article, see: James M. Reilly, Douglas
W. Nishimura, Luis Pavao, and Peter Z. Adelstein, Photo Enclosures
Research and Specifications, Topics in Photographic Preserva-
tion Volume Three (compiled by Robin E. Siegel), Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation, 1989,
pp. 17. Available from the American Institute for Conservation,
Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; tele-
phone: 202-232-6636; Fax: 202-232-6630.
Photographic Film Storage, American National Standards Insti-
phone: 212-264-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286.
25. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI IT9.2-1991, Sec.
3.2, (see Note No. 8). Referenced ASTM test methods can be
obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916
Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103; telephone: 215-299-
5400. TAPPI publications can be obtained from the Technical Asso-
ciation of the Pulp and Paper Industry, P.O. Box 105113, Technology
Park/Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia 30348; telephone: 404-446-1400.
26. Klaus B. Hendriks, Tests of Paper Filing Enclosures According to
the New ANSI Standard, presented at Preservation and Restora-
tion of Photographic Images, a symposium at the Rochester Insti-
tute of Technology, Rochester, New York, March 5, 1979.
27. James M. Reilly, see Note No. 6.
28. Eugene Ostroff, Preservation of Photographs, The Photographic
Journal, Vol. 107, No. 10, October 1967, p. 311. See also: Eugene
Ostroff, Conserving and Restoring Photographic Collections,
American Association of Museums, 1976, pp. 1415.
30. There is a third type of high-quality board, which can be described
as a decorative composite board. This board is made of de-acidified
wood pulp and is faced with colored papers that have textured or
smooth finishes on either side of a bright white core. It is intended
for making overmats and, when its finish is highly textured, it is
unsuitable for mounting or as a backing. This board is usually 50 to
60 points thick (about the thickness of 4-ply board). Bainbridge
Alphamat and Miller Ultimat are examples. The authors advise
against the use of these boards in direct contact with valuable
photographs.
31. For example, the Fall 1992 Light Impressions Corporation Archival
Supplies catalog listed the following prices per sheet of 32x40-inch
4-ply mount board when purchased in 10-sheet packages:
100% Cotton Fiber Boards:
Westminster 100% Rag Board (White, Natural, Ivory): $7.80
Non-Buffered 100% Rag Board (White, Cream): $7.80
Purified Wood Pulp Boards:
Exeter Conservation Board (White): $6.15
32. Roy P. Whitney, Chemistry of Paper, Paper Art & Technology,
The World Print Council, San Francisco, California, 1979, pp. 3644.
33. Cellulose. The chief constituent of the cell walls of all plants and of
many fibrous products, including paper and cloth. Cellulose is by
far the most abundant organic substance found in nature . . . . The
portion of cellulosic material that does not dissolve in a 17.5%
solution of sodium hydroxide [at 20C, under specified conditions] is
termed Alpha Cellulose (p. 49). Because the permanence of paper
depends to some extent on the absence of non-cellulosic materials,
the determination of true cellulose (alpha cellulose) gives an indi-
cation of the stability of the paper, and therefore its permanence
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Junction Legs for Measurements of Paper, Catalog No. 6147-01,
with a Digi-pH-ase pH Meter made by Cole-Parmer Instrument Com-
pany.
60. Thomas Woodlief, Jr., ed., SPSE Handbook of Photographic Sci-
ence and Engineering, John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York,
1973, p. 514.
61. Grant Haist, Modern Photographic Processing, Vol. 1, John Wiley
and Sons, New York, New York, 1979, p. 54.
62. James M. Reilly, Douglas G. Severson, and Constance McCabe,
Image Deterioration in Albumen Photographic Prints, paper pre-
sented at a conference of the International Institute for Conserva-
tion, Washington, D.C., May 1982; William B. Becker, New Life for
Old Photographs, Camera Arts, Vol. 2, No. 2, MarchApril 1982,
pp. 9698, 102; Debbie Hess Norris, The Proper Storage and Dis-
play of a Photographic Collection, Picturescope, Vol. 31, No. 1,
Spring 1983, pp. 410.
63. James M. Reilly, see Note No. 6.
64. M. Kahn and G. Ayers, Elimination of Wash Water in Minilab Opera-
tions, paper presented at the Society of Photographic Scientists
and Engineers (SPSE) Tutorial Symposium on One Hour Lab
Operations and Technologies, Las Vegas, Nevada, March 2627,
1985.
65. According to Carol Browers 1982 survey The Care and Presenta-
tion of Photographic Prints (see Chapter 12), 35 of 65 queried
individuals said that they used nonbuffered, neutral pH boards;
however, 19 of the 35 respondents did not answer the question, If
you use nonbuffered, neutral pH boards, who are the manufactur-
ers? Eight people (out of 65) said they did not use nonbuffered
boards. The following numbers of individuals named the corre-
sponding paper companies as suppliers of the nonbuffered board
they purchase (some people named more than one):
8 Process Materials Corporation
(now the Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.)
7 Rising Paper Company
2 C. T. Bainbridges Sons, Inc.
(now Nielsen & Bainbridge)
2 Light Impressions Corporation
1 Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead
1 Crestwood Paper Company
1 University Products, Inc.
Given that only 18 respondents gave the names of manufactur-
ers and that only Process Materials and Light Impressions were
selling nonbuffered boards in August 1982, the above responses
suggest that most people were still unaware at that time of the
difference between nonbuffered, neutral pH boards and alkaline-
buffered, neutral pH boards.
66. Professional Picture Framers Association, Survey on Mat/Mount
Boards, March 1986. Professional Picture Framers Association,
4305 Sarellen Road, P.O. Box 7655, Richmond, Virginia 23231; tele-
phone: 804-226-0430.
67. American National Standards Institute, Inc., see Note No. 14. The
ANSI IT9.9-1990 Standard includes a 6.0 klux Cool White fluores-
cent accelerated light fading test suitable for use with mount boards.
68. Process Materials Corporation was the first company to develop and
market a line of New Products for Photographic Conservation, the
title of an ad that first appeared in the American Institute for
Conservation Newsletter, August 1983. It represented a major
step forward in the marketing of such products. (In 1990, Process
Materials Corporation, which by then had changed its name to Archi-
vart, was acquired from its then owner, Lindenmeyr Paper Company,
headquartered in New York City, by Heller & Usdan, Inc., 7 Caesar
Place, Moonachie, New Jersey 07074; telephone: 201-933-8100; toll-
free: 800-333-4466.)
69. Joseph B. Fiedor, telephone conversation with Carol Brower, May
18, 1983.
70. Robert Stiff, telephone conversation with Carol Brower, November
25, 1985.
71. Atlantis Paper Company Limited, No. 2 St. Andrews Way, London E3
3PA, England; telephone: 071-537-2727 (to direct-dial from the U.S.:
011-44-071-537-2727); Fax: 071-537-4277 (to direct-dial from the
U.S.: 011-44-071-537-4277).
72. Stuart M. Welch, Atlantis Paper Company Limited, letter to the au-
thors, March 21, 1985.
73. Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc., 7 Caesar Place, Moonachie,
New Jersey 07074; telephone: 201-933-8100 (toll-free: 800-333-4466).
Paper Technologies, Inc., 25801 Obrero, Suite 4, Mission Viejo,
California 92691; telephone: 714-768-7497 and 714-768-7498.
74. Stuart M. Welch, letter to the authors, June 20, 1985.
75. Stuart M. Welch, see Note No. 72.
76. Stuart M. Welch, letter to the authors, September 27, 1985.
77. Atlantis Paper Company Limited, Fine Archival Papers From St.
(p. 8). From: Matt Roberts and Don Etherington, Bookbinding and
the Conservation of Books, Library of Congress, Washington,
D.C., 1982.
34. Eugene Ostroff, see Note No. 28, p. 311.
35. John C. Williams, A Review of Paper Quality and Paper Chemistry,
in Conservation of Library Materials, Gerald Lundeen, ed., Li-
brary Trends, Vol. 30, No. 2, Fall 1981, p. 207.
36. George T. Eaton, Photographic Paper Base, PhotographiCon-
servation, Vol. 4, No. 1, March 1982, p. 1.
37. Eastman Kodak Company, Preservation of Photographs, Kodak
Publication No. F-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, August 1979, p. 4. See also: Conservation of Photographs
[George T. Eaton, editor], Kodak Publication No. F-40, March 1985,
pp. 3739.
38. George T. Eaton, see Note No. 36, pp. 1 and 6.
39. George T. Eaton, see Note No. 36.
40. A. I. Woodward [Wiggins Teape Ltd.], The Evolution of Photographic
Base Papers, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 7, No. 4, August 1981, pp. 117120. See also: Klaus B. Kasper
and Rudolf Wanka [Schoeller Technical Papers, Inc.], Chemical
Formulations and Requirements of Photographic Paper, Journal of
Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 3, June 1981, pp.
6772.
41. Glen G. Gray, see Note No. 15, p. 312.
42. William J. Barrow, Manuscripts and Documents: Their Deteriora-
tion and Restoration, second ed., University of Virginia Press,
Charlottesville, Virginia, 1972.
43. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI Z39.48-1984, Ameri-
can National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, American National Stan-
dards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd St., New York, New York 10036;
telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. To ensure maximum
consistency of test results, it is recommended that suppliers sub-
scribe to some form of comparative test program, such as the CIS-
TAPPI Collaborative Reference Service, Collaborative Testing Ser-
vices, Inc., 8343 A Greensboro Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102 (p. 7).
44. Howard Paper Mills, Inc., 354 South Edwin C. Moses Blvd., P.O. Box
982, Dayton, Ohio 45401; telephone: 513-224-1211. The company
makes Permalife papers and has also made the Renaissance non-
buffered paper intended for photographic storage applications and
sold by Light Impressions Corporation.
45. Walter Clark, Techniques for Conserving Those Old Photographs,
The New York Times, June 13, 1976, Sec. D, p. 40.
46. Klaus B. Hendriks, introductory remarks for the session on Stability
and Preservation of Photographic Records at the 31st Annual Con-
ference of the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers
(SPSE) in Washington, D.C., May 1, 1978.
47. Henry Wilhelm, Preservation of Your Black and White Photographs,
presented at Preserving Your Historical Records: A Symposium,
the Olmsted Center of Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, October
2021, 1978.
48. Polaroid Corporation, Storing, Handling and Preserving Polaroid
Photographs: A Guide, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts, 1983, p. 28.
Materials, Pamphlet No. E-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Roches-
ter, New York, May 1982, p. 7.
51. Henry J. Kaska, director of public information, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, letter to Henry Wilhelm, November 17, 1982.
53. Anonymous, What Are the Speakers From the RIT Seminars Doing
Currently, PhotographiConservation, Vol. 4, No. 2, June 1982, p.
7. (Published by the Technical and Education Center of the Graphic
Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York.)
55. Sergio Burgi, Fading of Dyes Used for Tinting Unsensitized Albu-
men Paper, presented at The Stability and Preservation of Pho-
tographic Images, SPSE International Symposium, the Public Ar-
chives of Canada (renamed the National Archives of Canada in
1987), Ottawa, Ontario, August 30, 1982.
56. Stanton Clay, Stability of Cibachrome Materials, presented at a
conference on The Permanence of Color Technologys Chal-
lenge, The Photographers and Collectors Dilemma at the Inter-
national Center of Photography, New York, New York, May 6, 1978;
Henry Wilhelm, chairman.
57. Peter Z. Adelstein, Eastman Kodak Company, telephone discussion
with Henry Wilhelm, September 3, 1983.
58. George T. Eaton, see Note No. 36, p. 6.
59. The pH levels of the prints were measured by Henry Wilhelm using
an Ingold Electrodes, Inc. Flat Membrane Electrode with Four Liquid
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Cuthberts England (1985 product sample book and catalog), and
1991 catalog.
78. Process Materials Corporation, Paper & Preservation No. 4, Pro-
cess Materials Corporation, Rutherford, New Jersey, February 1983.
79. Process Materials Corporation, Technical Bulletin No. CP-186-MB,
November 1981 (revised February 1983).
80. Introduced in 1974 by Process Materials Corporation, Archivart
Photomount Board, a solid, dark ash-gray board, was described as
an acid-free board, of exceptionally rigid construction, made from
selected chemical pulp, buffered against acid deterioration. Devel-
oped for the mounting and storage of photographs, this board is
also used in picture framing and as a binders board (Process
Materials Corporation, Conservation Products, second edition, 1982,
p. 5). Because of the presence of the alkaline buffering agents and
because of possible confusion with the companys nonbuffered Ar-
chivart Photographic Board, Arno Roessler, then president of the
company, said in August 1983 that this product was renamed Con-
servation Board, and is now available in other tones.
81. This statement appears on mount board sample cards distributed by
Rising Paper Company.
82. The product description for Renaissance Paper in the Light Impres-
sions 1991 Archival Supplies catalog (p. 60) stated that the paper
had passed the ANSI IT9.2 Sec. 5.1 Photographic Activity Test.
83. Conservation Resources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place,
Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730; toll-free: 800-
634-6932. SummerFall 1991 General Catalog, p. 30.
84. Distributed by the Professional Picture Framers Association in Rich-
mond, Virginia, Tri-Test A Spot Testing Kit for Unstable Papers
contains three solutions for detecting the presence of groundwood
and alum, and for distinguishing between acid, neutral, or alkaline
paper or board products. These are qualitative tests which are easy
to perform and will readily identify poor-quality paper products. The
user should be cautioned, however, that a paper product which
appears to be satisfactory on the basis of these tests may in fact be
quite harmful to photographs because of the presence of sulfur
compounds which upon aging produce active oxidants, and of other
substances to which the tests do not respond. Originally called the
Barrow Spot Test Kit, the tests were devised by William J. Barrow
(19041967) of the now defunct W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory in
Richmond, Virginia (see: W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory, Perma-
nence/Durability of the Book: VI. Spot Testing for Unstable
Modern Book and Record Papers, Richmond, Virginia, 1969).
The Tri-Test spot testing kit is available from the Professional
Picture Framers Association, 4305 Sarellen Road, Richmond, Vir-
ginia 23231; telephone: 804-226-0430; toll-free: 800-832-7732. The
kit can also be purchased from Light Impressions Corporation, 439
Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-
271-8960; (toll-free outside New York: 800-828-6216; toll-free inside
New York: 800-828-9629); and Westfall Framing, Inc., P.O. Box 13534,
Tallahassee, Florida 32317; telephone: 904-878-3546 (toll-free out-
side Florida: 800-874-3164).
Helen D. Burgess and Carolyn G. Leckie, Evaluation of Paper Products:
With Special Reference to Use with Photographic Materials, Topics
in Photographic Preservation Volume Four (compiled by Robin
E. Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute
for Conservation, 1991, pp. 96105. Available from the American
Institute for Conservation, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Wash-
ington, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636; Fax: 202-232-6630.
Nancy Reinhold, An Investigation of Commercially Available Dry Mount
Tissues, Topics in Photographic Preservation Volume Four
(compiled by Robin E. Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the
American Institute for Conservation, 1991, pp. 1430.
Kimberly Scheneck and Constance McCabe, Preliminary Testing of
Adhesives Used in Photographic Conservation, Topics in Photo-
graphic Preservation Volume Three (compiled by Robin E.
Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for
Conservation, 1989, pp. 5261.
Appendix 13.1 Letter to Paper Companies
In June 1982, Carol Brower sent letters to 23 paper companies
and distributors asking the following questions:
1. Which paper mills make your mount boards?
2. What is the pH of your museum mount boards?
3. Are your museum mount boards buffered? If so, with what?
4. Do they have an alkaline reserve? If so, how much?
5. What is the raw material content of your mount boards (cotton
fiber, wood cellulose, etc.)?
6. Do your sources of cotton fiber vary?
7. Can you supply information about your laminating adhesives
and sizings?
8. Have accelerated aging tests been conducted with your mount
boards? If so, could you describe the tests and your findings?
9. Do you manufacture or distribute other high-quality boards
and papers that are suitable for use in museums, archives,
institutions, and galleries?
10. Do you know how or to what extent your materials are used in
the photographic fields?
11. Have tests been conducted with your mount boards in contact
with common photographic materials including albumen, sil-
ver-gelatin, Ektacolor, Cibachrome [currently called Ilfochrome],
Dye Transfer, Polacolor, etc. that would indicate what effects
the boards might have in long-term storage?
12. Do you have any test data on the dye stability of your colored
or tinted boards when they are subjected to prolonged light
exposure?
13. Do you have papers which you recommend for interleaving
purposes?
The following 12 companies responded in writing, although
not all of the requested information was provided:
Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead; Conservation Resources Interna-
tional, Inc.; Crescent Cardboard Company; Crestwood Paper Com-
pany; Howard Paper Mills, Inc.; James River Corporation; Light
Impressions Corporation; Process Materials Corporation (now the
Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc.); Rising Paper Com-
pany; Talas, Inc.; Strathmore Paper Company; and University Prod-
ucts, Inc. In 1985 Atlantis Paper Company Limited of London,
England responded in detail to questions from the authors (Atlan-
tis was not sent a copy of the original 1982 letter).
Letters of apology or referral to other companies were sent
by the following 5 companies:
Buntin Gillies and Company, Ltd.; Conservation Materials, Ltd.;
Domtar Fine Papers; Hollinger Corporation; and Rupaco Paper
Corporation. (For example, the Hollinger Corporation no longer
distributes mount boards, and Eric Schiffman of Rupaco Paper
Corporation referred the author to Rising Paper Company for
information regarding the Rising Museum and Conservamat boards
that Rupaco distributes; Buntin Gillies and Company, Ltd. no longer
manufactures mount board.)
Charles T. Bainbridges Sons, Inc. (currently Nielsen & Bain-
bridge) and Miller Cardboard Corporation sent promotional lit-
erature containing some information about pH and fiber content.
Parsons Paper Division of NVF Company sent a sample package
of their Photomounting Board. None of the companies responded
with letters.
The following 3 companies did not respond:
Beckett Paper Company; Hurlock Bros. Company, Inc.; and
Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc. Follow-up telephone calls were made
and copies of the letters were sent to the companies, to no avail.
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Recommendations
Enclosure Materials:
Recommended: Uncoated transparent polyester
(e.g., DuPont Mylar D and ICI Melinex 516). Also
suitable are uncoated polypropylene (e.g., Her-
cules T500 film) and certain nonbuffered 100%
cotton fiber papers (e.g., Atlantis Silversafe Pho-
tostore). Probably satisfactory is high-density
polyethylene (recommended as the best avail-
able low-cost material for amateur photofinishing
applications).
Should be avoided: Low-density polyethylene
(e.g., Print File, Vue-All, and Clear File notebook
pages and sleeves); cellulose acetate (e.g., Kodak
Transparent Sleeves); polyvinyl chloride [PVC]
(e.g., 20th Century Plastics vinyl notebook pages);
surface-treated polypropylene (believed accept-
able for slide pages, however); conventional glass-
ine; acid-free glassine; kraft paper and most other
common types of paper; matte polyester (e.g.,
DuPont Mylar EB-11); and synthetic paper-like
materials (e.g., DuPont Tyvek).
Enclosure Design:
Recommended: Top-flap sleeves (preferably made
of uncoated transparent polyester; as a second
choice, uncoated polypropylene is probably ac-
ceptable). These sleeves allow films and prints
to be inserted and removed without sliding against
the enclosure surfaces, thus avoiding scratches
(available from Talas Inc. and Light Impressions).
Acceptable: High-density polyethylene sleeves
of the types often used in amateur photofinishing
(commonly referred to as sleeving material).
Although they require that negatives slide against
the plastic surfaces during insertion and removal,
high-density polyethylene sleeves appear to have
minimal tendency to cause scratches and have
otherwise proven to be generally satisfactory for
applications that require low-cost enclosures.
For additional protection: All sleeved films and
prints, either singly or in groups, should be stored
in high-quality, top-flap paper envelopes for pro-
tection from dust and physical damage, and to
allow marking with rubber stamps, pens, etc.
Envelopes, sleeves, and other enclosures for long-term
storage of photographs must meet three fundamental re-
quirements:
1. The design of an enclosure and the surface charac-
teristics of the materials used to make it must not
cause scratches and abrasion to films and prints during
storage and use. This requirement is not met by most
currently available photographic enclosures because it
is necessary to slide films and prints against the enclo-
sure material during insertion and removal.
2. Materials and adhesives used to make the enclosures
must not be hygroscopic (attracting moisture from the
surrounding air), nor contain any chemicals that could
cause, or contribute to, fading or staining of black-and-
white or color photographs during the intended storage
period. In museum collections, most photographs will
be kept for hundreds or thousands of years. Unstable
materials, including poor-quality paper, glassine, and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), may over the years produce
harmful decomposition products, stick to emulsions,
exude gooey plasticizers, or cause other types of dam-
age to photographs.
3. To provide adequate physical protection during the life
of a photograph, the materials used to make an enclo-
sure must retain sufficient physical strength and tear
resistance for as many years as the photograph inside
is to be kept. Because a photograph is likely to be
retained even after the image has significantly deterio-
rated, the enclosure material should have aging char-
acteristics which are at least as good as the photographs
paper or plastic support material.
The requirements for enclosure materials suggest that
the relatively few plastics and high-quality nonbuffered pa-
pers suitable for making print and film bases logically could
also be used to make filing enclosures. If the material is
nonreactive and stable enough to be used as a photographic
support material, it should be equally satisfactory as an
enclosure material.
When storing comparatively unstable films, such as color
negatives made with Kodak Kodacolor II and Vericolor II,
pre-1989 Agfacolor XRS and XRG, and pre-1992 3M
ScotchColor films (which are significantly less stable in
dark storage than current Kodak Vericolor III and 400,
Ektar, and Kodak Gold Plus; Fujicolor Super HG, Super G,
Reala, and Fujicolor Professional 400 and 160; and Konica
Super SR, GX, Super DD, and XG films), the permanence
14. Envelopes and Sleeves for Films and Prints
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requirements for the enclosure material are in general
less stringent than they are for the longer-lasting color
films and, of course, for black-and-white negatives.
Likewise, enclosures for older, less stable color prints
such as those made with Ektacolor 37 RC and 74 RC paper,
need not be of the same high quality as is required for
storage of the much longer lasting Konica Color, Ekta-
color, Agfacolor, and Fujicolor papers introduced during
19841985, or for storage of the most stable types of prints,
including Ilford Ilfochrome (called Cibachrome, 19631991),
Kodak Dye Transfer, and Fuji Dyecolor color prints, and
black-and-white prints, which, when kept in the dark, have
the potential to remain in good condition for many hun-
dreds and perhaps even thousands of years. UltraStable
Permanent Color prints and Polaroid Permanent-Color pig-
ment prints, which are extremely stable both on display
and in dark storage, of course also require very long-last-
ing storage enclosures.
But regardless of how good or poor the inherent image
stability of a particular film or print may be, the enclosure
material should not in any way contribute to, or speed up,
the deterioration of the image or of the base material. As a
practical matter, most photographers and collecting insti-
tutions will want to use the same type of enclosure for
everything in their collections and this means that only
the very best, most stable enclosures will suffice.
Avoiding Scratches and Other Damage
Caused by Enclosures
A fundamental requirement in the design of any photo-
graphic enclosure is that a film or print can be inserted or
removed without sliding it against the surfaces of the en-
closure material. Sliding a negative in and out of an enclo-
sure will, over time, almost certainly result in scratches;
the longer a negative or color transparency is kept or
the more valuable it is the more likely it is that it will be
repeatedly accessed and printed. The more it is handled,
the more likely it is to be scratched or otherwise physically
damaged.
Envelopes and Sleeves for Films and Prints Chapter 14 486
Thomas Beecher, a staff member at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and Beverly W. Brannan, curator of
documentary photography in the Prints and Photographs Division of the library, examine color transparencies in the Look
Magazine collection. The Look collection was donated to the library after the magazine ceased publication in 1971. The
transparencies and negatives are still in their original, less-than-ideal sleeves and envelopes, although the films likely will
be put in new, higher-quality enclosures at some point in the future. Films and prints in most institutional and private
collections, however, are destined to remain in their original enclosures for as long as they are kept. To avoid cumulative
damage to photographs caused by unsuitable filing materials, it is essential to use safe and long-lasting enclosures right at
the outset. (Since this photograph was taken in 1979, the color transparencies in the Look collection have been moved to
the librarys cold storage facility in nearby Landover, Maryland.)
1
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sleeves. When made of high-density polyethylene (low-
density polyethylene is not recommended), the sleeves
appear to be reasonably satisfactory if kept in a
photofinishers envelope, standard paper letter enve-
lope, or other enclosure to prevent contamination with
dust and dirt. The naturally slippery and non-cling-
ing surface of high-density polyethylene is much less
likely to cause scratches on films than most other types
of enclosure plastics. High-density polyethylene sleeves
are obviously superior to the open-end yellow paper
folders in which negatives are returned to customers
by Kodalux photofinishing labs; with an entire roll of
negatives cut to random lengths stuffed into each folder,
the Kodak folders offer little protection to individual
negatives.
2. Plastic sleeve with uncemented top flap. Usually
made of transparent uncoated polyester, polypropylene,
or cellulose triacetate, this sleeve can be opened like a
book to allow the film or print to be lifted out, avoiding
the possibility of scratches. Both ends are open and
adhesives are not used. Used in combination with high-
quality top-flap paper envelopes (No. 8 below), this is
the recommended design for most applications. Stable
and chemically inert uncoated polyester is the best
material with which to make these sleeves; matte
surface polyester such as DuPont Mylar EB-11, which
is impregnated with abrasive silicon dioxide, should be
avoided. It is absolutely essential that the sleeve have
very tight and crisp folds to minimize the chances of a
film accidentally sliding out of either end of the closed
sleeve during handling. Top-flap polyester sleeves used
in combination with high-quality top-flap paper enve-
lopes provide the best protection of any currently avail-
able filing system. (See Figure 14.1.)
3. Plastic sleeve heat-sealed around uncut roll films.
Similar in appearance to plastic negative tubes, these
sleeves consist of two transparent plastic strips (most
commonly made of heat-sealable polypropylene) that
are sealed on both edges around uncut roll films with
special heat-sealing equipment; for protection from dust
and scratches during handling in the lab, films are usu-
ally sleeved immediately after processing. The cut ends
of the sleeves are not sealed and remain open. The
sleeves are most commonly used with 120 and 220 roll
films but are also applied to 35mm films when custom-
ers request that a lab return rolls uncut. The roll-
length sleeves with film inside are generally cut with
scissors into lengths of the desired number of frames.
For protection from dust, cut lengths of sleeved film
should be stored in paper envelopes. Once films are
removed from the sleeves, this author recommends that
the sleeves be discarded and films placed in top-flap
polyester or uncoated polypropylene sleeves, also kept
inside of paper envelopes. In recent years, hot-seal
sleeves have become popular in professional process-
ing labs, especially for housing transparency roll films.
Automatic heat-sealing equipment and plastic sleeving
material are supplied by Climax, Ltd. and other firms
(see Suppliers at the end of this chapter). At the time
this book went to press, no information was available
As any photographer knows who has laboriously attempted
to retouch an enlargement printed from a scratched 35mm
negative, every possible precaution should be taken to avoid
even minor surface scratches on negatives. Scratches on
transparencies are especially troublesome because they
will show up on prints as black lines which must be chemi-
cally bleached before they can be retouched with spotting
dyes a time-consuming and difficult task. Although the
enclosure material itself may be soft enough not to scratch
delicate gelatin emulsions, particles of dust and grit inevi-
tably become sandwiched between the enclosure and film
surfaces. As film is dragged across even a tiny particle of
grit, the emulsion or base can be scratched. Stiff plastic
enclosure materials are particularly prone to cause grit-
related scratches. In this authors experience, PVC enclo-
sures are the most likely to cause scratches on films as
they are slid in and out; among plastic materials, high-
density polyethylene appears to have the least tendency to
cause scratches during use.
Charges of static electricity which can develop as a film
or print is inserted and removed from a plastic enclosure
especially in low-humidity conditions cause an attrac-
tion between the film and enclosure, increasing the likeli-
hood of scratches.
An enclosure should be designed so that it can be opened
like a book, allowing a film or print to be lifted out without
touching the enclosure material. This non-sliding require-
ment alone eliminates from consideration most of the en-
velopes, sleeves, and notebook filing pages currently on
the market.
Enclosures for negatives, unmounted transparencies,
and prints are discussed in this chapter. Although infor-
mation on PVC, polypropylene, and other plastics used to
make 35mm slide pages is included in this chapter, discus-
sion of the practical aspects of these products is found in
Chapter 18, Handling and Preservation of Color Slide Col-
lections.
Types of Enclosures
Photographic enclosures have been made with many
different paper and plastic materials, and supplied in a
vast number of configurations. They can be divided into
twelve groups:
1. High-density polyethylene sleeve for automatic nega-
tive sleevers. Many professional labs, photofinishers,
and mini-labs return 35mm negatives in plastic sleeves
which are made with edge-sealed negative compart-
ments side-by-side in a row, with one end of each com-
partment open. Nearly all sleeves of this design are
made of translucent, high-density polyethylene, and
most are manufactured in Japan. Often imprinted with
the name of the photofinisher, the sleeves are now the
most common kind of negative enclosure in the U.S.
alone, many millions are used every week. Negatives
are cut most commonly to 4-frame lengths and
inserted into the sleeves with manually operated or
high-speed automatic machines. With negatives inside,
the sleeves are folded accordion-fashion and placed in
customers print envelopes. Negative strips can also
be cut with scissors and manually inserted into the
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on the long-term effects of these sleeves on stored color
or black-and-white films, but they are believed to be
reasonably safe.
4. Sleeve with cemented top and bottom seams. Gener-
ally made of transparent cellulose triacetate, polypro-
pylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polyester, this type
of sleeve has traditionally been used for roll and sheet
color films. Sometimes referred to as sheaths, Kodak
Transparent Sleeves, made of cellulose triacetate, are
of this design. Because the film or print must slide
against the surfaces of the enclosure each time it is
inserted or removed, there is a significant danger of
scratching. The design is not recommended for either
long- or short-term applications. Some sleeves with
cemented top and bottom seams have one side made of
a matte translucent plastic to serve as a diffuser when
viewing the enclosed transparency or negative. The
translucent portion of such sleeves is usually made of
low-plasticizer-content PVC, with the transparent front
made of either PVC or cellulose acetate. This type of
translucent-back sleeve has most frequently been used
with sheet transparency films, especially those in the
4x5-inch and 8x10-inch format.
5. Notebook page. Once made of glassine, these are now
usually made of low-density polyethylene, plasticized
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene, and, occasion-
ally, cellulose acetate or high-density polyethylene. In-
tended to be stored in a three-ring binder, the pages
are made in a wide variety of configurations, nearly all
of which require that a film or print be slid in and out of
a pocket or open-ended compartment. Some filing pages
are intended to be stored flat, in boxes, and are not
punched with ring-binder holes; others fold up into at-
tached paper wallets (some wallet enclosures are made
of translucent high-density polyethylene). As a matter
of convenience, many photographers expose contact
sheets with negatives in the pages even though this
results in contact images of reduced resolution. With
the exception of polypropylene pages designed for
mounted 35mm slides, none of the currently available
notebook page enclosures are recommended. Plasti-
cized PVC pages in particular should be avoided.
6. Negative tube. Usually made of low-density polyethyl-
ene, these are supplied as flattened tubes in long rolls.
Intended for 35mm and 120/220 roll films, they are cut
to length by the user, leaving both ends open. Because
the plastic tubes require that films slide against the
surfaces of the tube during insertion and removal, they
are not recommended; low-density polyethylene nega-
tive tubes in particular should be avoided.
7. Print and negative wallet. Most amateur prints are
returned to customers in wallets made of paper, plasti-
cized polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or, less commonly, high-
or low-density polyethylene. Wallets are supplied in
many configurations but basically consist of a folded
envelope with a wide, unsecured top flap that frequently
extends to the full depth of the enclosure. Some wallets
have a print and negative storage compartment in the
top flap as well as the bottom of the enclosure; PVC
wallets are generally made with transparent interiors
so that the contents are visible when open. Even though
Kodak has frequently advised that plasticized PVC
should be avoided for storage of photographs, since
1983 Kodak Processing Labs (now Kodalux Processing
Services) have supplied wallets made of this unsafe
material with its premium Magnaprint 35 Service for
oversize 4x6-inch prints from 35mm negatives. Much
safer is the yellow two-compartment, heavy-weight pa-
per envelope that Kodak (now Kodalux) has for many
years supplied with standard-size prints (one compart-
ment accommodates the prints and the other holds a
separate paper folder containing the negatives). This
enclosure has a design that combines certain features
of a paper wallet with the overall concept of a paper
envelope with a protective top flap.
8. Envelope with protective top flap. Usually made of
paper, this is similar in design to the ordinary mailing
envelope. Less common than the envelope without a
protective flap, this design is very effective in keeping
enclosed films or prints free from dust and dirt. Prop-
erly made with narrow and thinly cemented edge seams
on both sides (with the two flaps adhered to the outside
of the envelope), an ungummed top flap, and with a
folded, seamless bottom, this type of envelope is ideal
for use in combination with top-flap polyester sleeves
(No. 2 above). A film or print is first placed in a polyes-
ter sleeve, which is then put in the envelope. The trans-
parent sleeve protects the film or print from finger-
prints and external chemical contamination during ex-
amination, handling, and storage. The paper envelope
protects the sleeve and photograph from dust and abra-
sion and also provides a convenient surface for written
information, filing numbers, and rubber-stamp impres-
sions. Up to 10 films or prints in individual sleeves can
be placed in each envelope. (See Figure 14.2.)
9. Envelope without protective flap. Sometimes known
as a jacket, this is the traditional negative filing en-
closure. Sealed on three sides, with one end left open,
it is usually made of paper, glassine, or high-density
polyethylene. (Flat, low-density polyethylene bags, of-
ten used for storage of both mounted and unmounted
prints, are included in this group.) These envelopes
are often made with a thumb-cut at the top to facilitate
negative removal. The design has a number of draw-
backs and is not recommended for long-term storage
applications; in particular, paper or glassine envelopes
with a glued seam in the center should be avoided. If
for reasons of economy this type of enclosure must be
used, edge-sealed high-density polyethylene envelopes
appear to have the least potential for harm to films and
prints.
10. Folder. Usually made of paper or glassine, some fold-
ers have a glued seam on one end and some are made
with both ends open. Folders are generally made with-
out a top flap. Folders are intended to be placed into
envelopes after films or prints are inserted between the
two sides of the folder. With the exception of Kodak
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ents which can cause discoloration and fading of prints and
negatives stored adjacent to cemented seams; such prob-
lems can be especially severe when the photographs are
stored in humid conditions. Many commonly used glues
are hygroscopic and increase localized moisture content of
the paper as well as of films or prints in the vicinity of
glued envelope seams, accelerating fading and discolora-
tion in these areas.
Although plastic enclosures have many advantages, they
also suffer from a few drawbacks. They are, for example,
difficult to write on; with most types of plastics, only inks
from solvent-dye felt-tip markers such as Sanfords Sharpie
or Pilot Photographic pens will satisfactorily adhere to the
surface. However, if plastic enclosures are inserted into a
paper envelope, negative numbers, caption information,
and rubber-stamp impressions can easily be put on the
outside of the envelope.
Another objection to plastic enclosures is that they tend
to develop static electrical charges, which attract and re-
tain dust and dirt, especially when the relative humidity is
low. During handling, polyester is particularly likely to
develop static charges. This problem can be minimized by
keeping darkrooms and other work areas clean and by storing
the plastic enclosures in paper envelopes or boxes.
Concern has been expressed that moisture may become
trapped in plastic enclosures, and that they are more likely
to cause sticking or areas of irregular surface gloss (often
called ferrotyping) on the emulsions of films and prints,
especially when stored in high humidities. Examination of
many commercial and historical collections containing films
and prints packaged in glossy acetate sleeves as well as
films stored in groups so that the emulsions are in tight
contact with the smooth surfaces of adjacent films sug-
gests to this author that with polyester and cellulose ac-
etate enclosures, this alleged danger has been greatly ex-
aggerated.
When storage temperatures and humidities are reason-
able, and films or prints are not crammed into files or large
boxes (or otherwise stored under pressure), there appears
to be little likelihood of sticking problems with enclosures
made of uncoated polyester, untreated polypropylene, high-
density polyethylene, or cellulose triacetate. If, however,
photographs must be stored for long periods in conditions
of high relative humidity, it is suggested that a sheet of
suitable paper, cut to the same size as the film or print, be
placed between the enclosure and the emulsion side of the
film, or that the film or print be put in a thin paper folder of
proper size before placing in the plastic envelope.
2
This author has observed a number of instances of print
and film emulsions sticking to enclosures made of low-
density polyethylene, surface-treated polypropylene, and
plasticized PVC; for this and other important reasons cited
later, it is recommended that these materials be avoided
for storage of films and prints.
Kodak has pointed out an additional drawback of poly-
ethylene enclosures:
. . . if a fire occurred in the immediate vicin-
ity of the storeroom, heat that would not de-
stroy negatives on acetate film base, nor even
scorch good-quality paper, might melt polyeth-
ylene and thereby damage negatives.
3
(now Kodalux) photofinishing labs, which have for many
years returned cut rolls of negatives in a paper folder
(some made with a top flap and a glued seam on one
end, and others made without a top flap and with both
ends open), this type of enclosure is no longer com-
monly used. Because groups of negatives can easily
fall out of the open top and/or open ends of a folder, and
little protection from dust and dirt is provided, this type
of enclosure is not recommended.
11. Heat-sealable vapor-proof envelope. Supplied in a
variety of sizes by Light Impressions Corporation, Con-
servation Resources International, Inc., and several other
companies, these special envelopes are made of a pa-
per- or plastic/aluminum-foil/polyethylene laminate; they
are similar to the envelopes used by Kodak and other
manufacturers to factory-pack sheet films. Because
paper and plastics are permeable to water vapor, the
aluminum-foil layer is needed to provide a moisture
barrier. Intended for protecting color films and prints
in cold storage with uncontrolled relative humidity, the
envelopes must be replaced each time they are opened.
They are not recommended by this author for other
than cold storage applications (see Chapters 19 and
20). Envelopes of this type in 4x5- and 8x10-inch sizes
were supplied by Eastman Kodak for a number of years;
called Kodak Storage Envelopes for Processed Film,
they were discontinued by Kodak in 1987, apparently
because of lack of demand.
12. Four-flap paper enclosure. This is a specialized de-
sign of paper enclosure, favored by some museums and
archives, especially for storage of glass plates. The
plate or negative is placed in the center of the enclo-
sure and the four flaps, each the size of the negative,
are successively folded over it. The enclosures are pre-
scored for ease of folding. Advantages of the design are
freedom from scratching during insertion and removal
of the negative, and the absence of potentially harmful
glues in the enclosure. Three-flap versions of this en-
closure are not recommended. In this authors view,
four-flap enclosures are not as satisfactory as top-flap
polyester sleeves used in combination with top-flap pa-
per envelopes.
Plastic Enclosure Materials
A great advantage of transparent plastic enclosures over
paper envelopes is that negatives, transparencies, and prints
can be viewed without having to remove them from the
enclosure. This not only speeds up examination of nega-
tive and print files but also helps to avoid fingerprints,
scratches, and other sorts of physical damage. With paper
enclosures, films and prints must be removed every time
they are looked at. During the last decade, the popularity
of plastic enclosures has markedly increased, and in most
branches of photography they have almost entirely dis-
placed paper and glassine enclosures.
Plastic enclosures can be fabricated easily with high-
speed thermal, ultrasonic, or radio-frequency sealing equip-
ment,
1
which eliminates the glues required for paper and
glassine envelopes. Many of these glues contain ingredi-
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Polyester Film and Print Enclosures
Highly Recommended
Uncoated polyester is, because of several unique at-
tributes, the preferred material for photographic enclo-
sures. A glass-clear plastic technically known as polyeth-
ylene terephthalate, polyester is produced by a number of
companies in the U.S. and other countries. In the U.S.,
DuPont Mylar is probably the best-known commercial poly-
ester sheet material (DuPont manufactures over 60 types
of Mylar); Eastman Kodak produces polyester film base
under the Estar name.
6
About 25 years ago, polyester began to replace less ex-
pensive cellulose triacetate as a film base for some prod-
ucts, especially graphic arts films; because polyester is
stiffer than cellulose triacetate of the same thickness, it is
particularly well suited for sheet films and reflection print
materials. Cellulose triacetate continues to be used as the
support material for most 35mm and 120/220 roll films such
as Kodak T-Max 400, Tri-X Pan, Vericolor, Ektar, Kodak
Gold, and Ektachrome. Polyester is the current base for
such products as Kodak Gold Disc film, Kodak Estar Base
black-and-white and color sheet films, Ilford Ilfochrome
(formerly Cibachrome) Micrographic film, and Polaroid
PolaChrome instant color slide film. A special opaque white
Melinex polyester base material made by the British firm
Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. (ICI) is used with Ilfo-
chrome Classic (formerly Cibachrome II) glossy-surface
prints, UltraStable Permanent Color prints, Polaroid Per-
manent-Color prints, and Kodak Duraflex RA Print Mate-
rial. A similar if not identical polyester material is also the
base for Konica Color QA Super Glossy Print Material and
Fujiflex SFA Super-Gloss Printing Material. Polaroid Spectra
prints (called Polaroid Image prints in Europe), Polaroid
600 High Speed prints, and Polaroid SX-70 prints all have
polyester front and backing sheets.
Polyester is an extremely stable and long-lasting plas-
tic. Recently published studies by Kodak indicate that in
dark storage Estar polyester film base is at least six times
more stable than cellulose triacetate film base and that the
physical properties of polyester are predicted to remain
unchanged for several thousand years.
7
The stability
advantages of polyester over cellulose triacetate are even
greater under adverse storage conditions of high relative
humidity. In dark storage, polyester sheet is believed to be
more stable than even the best-quality 100% cotton fiber
paper; polyester will probably last as long as any type of
photograph in existence. Extensive experience with it as a
film base, coupled with accelerated aging tests, indicates
that polyester is essentially nonreactive with black-and-
white and color images, even under extreme temperature
and humidity conditions.
In this authors accelerated dark-storage tests at 144F
(62C) and 45% RH, DuPont Mylar D uncoated polyester
sheet and the polyester base materials of Cibachrome (now
Ilfochrome) prints, UltraStable Permanent Color prints,
and Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) Micrographic Film proved to
be far more stable than the cellulose triacetate base mate-
rials used with Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa 35mm films; the poly-
ester materials were also much more stable than the fiber-
base paper support of Kodak Dye Transfer prints. After
1,000 days (2.7 years) of accelerated aging, the cellulose
In a disastrous 1982 fire at the Design Conspiracy Color
Lab in Oakland, California, many negatives and prints be-
longing to San Francisco area fine art photographers were
destroyed. As salvage efforts revealed, Some negatives in
storage fared reasonably well, although different types of
storage containers withstood heat and water with varying
degrees of success. Most negatives in plastic [low-density
polyethylene and PVC] were lost when the plastic melted
onto the film.
4
The low melting temperature of polyethyl-
ene and plasticized PVC is an additional reason that these
plastics are inferior to polyester for storage enclosures.
Identifying Polyester, Cellulose Triacetate,
and Other Plastic Enclosure Materials
Uncoated polyester and cellulose triacetate are both
glass-clear materials and very similar in appearance. They
can be differentiated by two simple tests:
1. Using just the fingers, it is almost impossible to initiate
a tear in polyester. Cellulose triacetate tears rather
easily. In an equivalent thickness, polyester is much
stiffer than cellulose triacetate. (If an identified sample
is needed for comparison, Kodak Estar Base sheet films
are made of polyester.) Most Kodak black-and-white
and color 35mm and larger roll films are made with
cellulose triacetate.
2. Cellulose triacetate is soluble in certain solvents, such
as methylene chloride. When dipped in methylene chlo-
ride, the material will become sticky and pieces may
become cemented together. Polyester is virtually unaf-
fected by solvents at room temperatures. This test
should be done with adequate ventilation since the sol-
vents are toxic to breathe.
Other common plastics for making photographic stor-
age enclosures are low-density polyethylene, high-density
polyethylene, and polypropylene, none of which is soluble
in methylene chloride. Transparent grades of low-density
polyethylene are slightly milky in appearance, very flex-
ible, and can be stretched considerably without tearing or
breaking; high-density polyethylene is a milk-white trans-
lucent material, somewhat similar in appearance to glass-
ine paper, and stiffer than low-density polyethylene. Polypro-
pylene, which is discussed later, may be hard to distin-
guish from polyester on the basis of simple tests. As with
polyester, it is difficult to initiate a tear in polypropylene.
Both plastics tear fairly easily once a tear has been started
(by making a small cut with a pair of scissors, for example),
but polyester tears with a rough, somewhat jagged edge
whereas polypropylene tears with a much smoother edge.
5
Plasticized PVC is a flexible, glass-clear or translucent
plastic, usually of fairly heavy gauge when used for slide
notebook pages and, less commonly, to hold negative strips.
Heavily plasticized PVC usually has a pronounced odor
when held close to the nose. Thin gauges of low-plasti-
cizer-content PVC (used in some cemented top- and bot-
tom-seam sheet film and roll film sleeves) may be difficult
to distinguish from cellulose acetate or polypropylene.
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triacetate film bases had shrunk, smelled of acetic acid,
and had become grossly deformed, while the polyester ma-
terials appeared totally unaffected.
Uncoated polyester is naturally flexible and contains
no plasticizers which might exude or volatilize over time
and damage films or prints. Polyester is not affected by
most solvents and has a very low rate of moisture trans-
mission, which will partially protect enclosed photographs
from rapid fluctuations in relative humidity.
Polyester has a low permeability to gases and thus af-
fords significant protection to photographs from atmospheric
pollutants and/or harmful chemicals from materials such
as improperly processed photographs or low-quality pa-
per. This feature may be particularly important to muse-
ums and archives because of the great variety of photo-
graphs many of which have not been processed and
washed correctly likely to be in their collections. Harm-
ful chemicals from poor-quality mount board and enve-
lopes, as well as from incorrectly processed photographs
can migrate through adjacent paper envelopes and con-
taminate prints and negatives.
8
Polyester is far superior
to paper as a chemical barrier between adjacent photo-
graphs. Storage in contact with polyester will not alter the
pH of a photographic material, an important consideration
with some color materials.
Polyester is very tough and tear-resistant for the
same degree of physical protection, it can be used in thin-
ner gauges than cellulose triacetate. Unlike thin cellulose
triacetate, polyester sheets lie very flat and do not develop
surface ripples or waves, even in large sizes. Any surface
ripples in a film or print enclosure can rock on the deli-
cate emulsion or base surfaces during storage, producing
surface abrasion which can in some cases cause severe
damage to a photograph. This is most often seen with
sheet film stored in tightly packed vertical files; any dust
or other particles of dirt on the film or acetate enclosures
will exacerbate the problem.
If enclosures are made of uncoated polyester, such as
DuPont Mylar D or ICI Melinex 516, there is assurance
that they will be photographically safe and perform as ex-
pected. Cellulose triacetate, on the other hand, is made in
many grades by a number of manufacturers. Most brands
probably will not harm photographs, but only those types
specifically designed as a film base, such as Kodak Kodacel,
may be assumed to be safe.
Design of Polyester Sleeves
Until recently, polyester was not used extensively to
make photographic enclosures because it is somewhat more
expensive than cellulose triacetate and it cannot be fabri-
cated with conventional solvent cementing techniques.
Polyester also cannot be heat sealed or properly heat folded
with conventional fabricating machinery. In the last few
years, however, ultrasonic heating equipment which per-
mits effective welding and folding of polyester enclosures
has become widely available in the plastics industry. The
first commercially available uncemented top-flap polyes-
ter film and print enclosures were introduced in 1976 by
Talas Inc., in New York City, employing designs suggested
by this author (see Figure 14.1 and Table 14.1).
Similar clear polyester sleeves are sold under the Fold
Table 14.1 Suggested Sizes for Sleeves
Made of Uncoated Polyester
Film or Print Size Sleeve Size
35mm 4-frame strip 1
5
8 x 6
1
4 inches
(4.13 x 15.9 cm)
35mm 5-frame strip 1
5
8 x 7
3
4 inches
(4.13 x 19.7 cm)
35mm 6-frame strip* 1
5
8 x 9
1
4 inches
(4.13 x 23.5 cm)
120/220 3-frame strip* 2
5
8 x 8 inches
(6.7 x 20.3 cm)
4 x 5 sheet film or print 4
1
8 x 5
1
4 inches
(10.2 x 12.7 cm) (10.5 x 13.3 cm)
1
8 x 7
1
4 inches
(12.7 x 17.8 cm) (13 x 18.4 cm)
8x 10 sheet film or print 8
1
4 x 10
3
8 inches
(20.3 x 25.4 cm) (21 x 26.4 cm)
1
4 x 14
3
8 inches
(28 x 35.6 cm) (28.6 x 36.5 cm)
3
8 x 20
3
8 inches
(40.6 x 50.8 cm) (41.6 x 51.8 cm)
Note: DuPont Mylar D and ICI Melinex 516 are acceptable
uncoated polyester materials. For sizes up to 4 x 5
inches, 2 to 4 mil thicknesses of polyester are sug-
gested. For larger sizes, 4 to 6 mil thicknesses are
recommended.
* Will fit in a standard No. 11 letter envelope or in a file
drawer.
Lock name by Light Impressions Corporation. Recent
samples of sleeves from Light Impressions were made with
tighter folds than sleeves generally supplied by Talas a
significant advantage because tight folds tend to prevent
films from slipping out of the ends of the sleeves. Talas
sleeves are made of 4-mil (0.004-inch) Mylar D, which is
about twice as thick as the Mylar D in those supplied by
Light Impressions. This author prefers Light Impressions
clear sleeves in 35mm and 120 roll film sizes (because of
the tight folds), and Talas sleeves in 4x5-inch and larger
print and sheet film sizes (the thicker and more rigid Mylar
D in Talas sleeves is a distinct advantage when handling
large prints).
Photofile, Inc. and some other firms
9
also supply sleeves
made of matte surface frosted polyester, such as DuPont
Mylar Type EB-11, which is claimed to minimize chances
of sticking or ferrotyping. This material contains an incor-
porated silicon dioxide matting agent which, unfortunately,
is a strong abrasive. Tests by this author show that rub-
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Six sleeved 35mm color or black-and-white negative strips,
comprising a full 36-exposure roll, may be safely stored
in a high-quality No. 11 size paper envelope, available
from office supply stores.
An 8x10-inch print being placed in a heavy-gauge top-
flap polyester sleeve supplied by Talas Inc.
Figure 14.1 Design of a top-flap polyester sleeve. The
flap folds over but is not cemented to the main body of
the sleeve; this allows the sleeve to be opened like a
book. To minimize the possibility of a film or print acci-
dentally sliding out of an open end of a polyester sleeve,
it is essential that such sleeves be made with tight folds.
A six-frame 35mm negative strip being inserted into a
top-flap polyester sleeve made by Light Impressions Corp.
Figure 14.2 Design of a top-flap paper envelope, based
on recommendations given in ANSI IT9.2-1991. To avoid
contact between a potentially harmful glued seam and the
emulsion of a film or print, this type of envelope is de-
signed with narrow glued side seams and without a glued
bottom seam.
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bing the material on the emulsion of a film or print with
only slight pressure will severely abrade the surface; frosted
polyester should be avoided. For some years Light Im-
pressions offered folders and top-flap sleeves in both clear
and Mylar EB-11 matte-surface polyester; however, in 1988,
the company discontinued the matte-surface products.
Polyester sleeves in either clear or matte surface and
having both the top and bottom edges sealed, such as those
supplied by Conservation Resources International, Inc. (sold
under the Polyweld name) and Photofile, Inc. are not rec-
ommended because of the danger to films or prints of scratch-
ing during insertion and removal. The L-sealed polyes-
ter and polypropylene sleeves sold by Conservation Re-
sources also are not recommended. L-sealed sleeves, which
are sealed on one short side and one long side (with the
other two sides open and without flaps), are, in this author's
opinion, not as satisfactory as the top-flap polyester sleeves
discussed previously.
Sleeves should be somewhat larger than the photographs
they will contain. Fiber-base prints are particularly likely
to be larger than the indicated size; for example, an 8x10-
inch print may be as large as 8
1
4x10
3
/8 inches. When
fiber-base prints are dried in contact with ferrotype (glaz-
ing) sheets or ferrotyping dryer drums, the size of the print
will be very close to that of the paper when it is expanded
in the wet state. Contact with the ferrotype sheet prevents
the print from contracting during drying, as would nor-
mally be the case.
Especially when handled frequently, large prints can be
protected by inserting a sheet of high-quality 2-ply mount
board behind the print in the sleeve to prevent creases and
kink marks from occurring in the print. It may also be
desirable to tape the top flap to the back of the sleeve after
the print is inserted and the sleeve is closed; a stable,
pressure-sensitive tape such as Scotch Magic Transparent
Tape No. 810, made by the 3M Company, is suitable. This
will prevent the sleeve from accidentally falling open dur-
ing handling and is especially helpful when prints are kept
in public files. For access to the print, the sleeve can be
opened by cutting the tape at the joint where the edge of
the flap meets the back of the sleeve.
For prints that are handled a great deal, such as in
gallery print racks, an effective enclosure can be made by
placing a print on a sheet of mount board cut to the proper
size; a pre-cut sheet of thin polyester (thick polyester sheet
is almost impossible to fold sharply without special equip-
ment) which overlaps all four edges of the mount board is
placed on top and the edges of the polyester are folded and
adhered to the back of the mount board with a stable, pres-
sure-sensitive tape such as Scotch Double-Coated Film Tape
No. 415, made by the 3M Company. Ready-made enclo-
sures of this type are available from Jerry Solomon Gallery
Services, Inc.
10
The polyester L-Velopes supplied by Lineco, Inc. of
Holyoke, Massachusetts are also excellent for storing prints.
The sleeves are sealed on two sides and have overlapping
flaps on the other two sides, thus affording excellent pro-
tection from dust. Once inserted, prints are held securely
in place and cannot slide out. L-Velopes are particularly
useful when prints are subject to frequent handling.
Polyester sleeves are more expensive than most other
types of enclosures; typical prices at the time of this writ-
ing were $0.15 for a sleeve designed to hold a 6-frame strip
of 35mm film, $0.16 for a 4x5-inch sleeve, and $0.45 for an
8x10-inch sleeve. Prices are less when large quantities are
purchased.
Ansel Adams adopted a system of negative storage in
which a polyester folder (without a top flap) is wrapped
around the negative and then placed in a paper envelope of
the appropriate size; negative identification, exposure times,
dodging and burning instructions, and other printing infor-
mation are written on the outside of the envelope.
As yet, no manufacturer has offered a system of filing
enclosures consisting of uncemented top-flap polyester (or
untreated polypropylene) sleeves with matching high-quality
top-flap paper envelopes of the design illustrated in Fig-
ure 14.2; however, it is likely that these will soon be avail-
able.
11
Sizes are needed for 6-frame strips of 35mm film
(which are normally stored with six or seven 6-frame strips
in one paper envelope) through 16x20 inches for both prints
and films.
Cellulose Triacetate Sleeves
Not Recommended
At the time of this writing, cellulose triacetate sleeves
were generally available only in the cemented top- and
bottom-seam sleeve design which requires that films and
prints slide on the enclosure surfaces when they are in-
serted and removed. Unlike polyester sheets, which usu-
ally remain flat and smooth during storage, thin cellulose
triacetate sheets tend to develop wrinkles, waves, and sur-
face cockles during long-term storage. When films or prints
are grouped together in files and boxes, these surface dis-
tortions may produce localized areas of relatively high pres-
sure on the films which, in combination with sliding or
rocking of the triacetate on the front and back surfaces
of the photograph, can cause abrasion especially if par-
ticles of dust or other dirt are present. Distorted sleeves
are also more likely to cause scratches when films and
prints are slid in and out. For these reasons, cellulose
triacetate is distinctly inferior to polyester as an enclosure
material.
At present the only commonly available cellulose triac-
etate sleeves are Kodak Transparent Sleeves, which are
available in several sheet film sizes. They are designed to
be only slightly larger than nominal sheet film sizes, pre-
sumably so that sleeved films will fit into standard sheet
film boxes. Consequently, Kodak sleeves are too small to
properly accommodate most paper prints of the same nominal
size. Kodak introduced its Transparent Sleeves many years
ago; the sleeves are comparatively expensive and appear
to have only limited sales.
For many years, Kleer-Vu Industries, Inc. (now Kleer-
Vu Plastics Corporation) produced a line of acetate sleeves
which included uncemented top-flap designs for 35mm and
roll films. In 1983 the firm converted most of its products
to polypropylene. Both cellulose triacetate and polypro-
pylene are less expensive than polyester.
NegaFile Systems, Inc., best known for the glassine nega-
tive envelopes the company has produced since 1939, also
makes cellulose acetate sleeves in sizes 35mm (strip of 6
frames) through 4x5 inches, all in the slide-through design.
In 1984 Paterson Products Ltd. of England introduced a
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Over time, sleeves made of thin cellulose acetate, such
as Kodak Transparent Sleeves, tend to develop wrinkles
or wave-like deformations that can eventually cause damage
to film surfaces during handling and storage.
A deformed cellulose acetate sleeve caused severe local-
ized abrasion on both sides of this 4x5-inch Ansco color
transparency in the collection of the American Museum
of Natural History in New York City.
formulated hot-melt adhesive, which, at the time of this
writing, had not been subjected to the ANSI IT9.2-1991
Photographic Activity Test. Translucent cellulose acetate
is used for the rear sheet of Pro-Line frosted-back sleeves.
The cemented top-seam sleeves require that films or prints
slide against the plastic during insertion or removal and
are therefore not recommended.
Although this author has had only limited experience
with these new untreated polypropylene products, the
uncemented top-flap sleeves appear to be suitable for long-
term storage of films and prints and can tentatively be
recommended as the only satisfactory alternative to the
more expensive top-flap polyester sleeves. Pro-Line sleeves
are only about one-sixth the cost of similar polyester sleeves.
Light Impressions Corporation also supplies top-flap polypro-
pylene sleeves in 35mm through 5x7-inch film formats un-
der the Fold Lock name; the sleeves cost approximately
one-half as much as Fold Lock polyester sleeves of the
same design.
During 1984 and 1985, a number of companies converted
their sleeve and notebook-page enclosure production from
cellulose acetate and PVC to polypropylene, and the plas-
tic has become the material of choice in the medium price
range (polyester enclosures are the most expensive; poly-
ethylene enclosures are the lowest in cost). Kodak and
NegaFile Systems, Inc. appear to be the only major manu-
facturers in the United States which continue to produce
cellulose triacetate sleeves (Kodak Transparent Sleeves
are available only in sheet film sizes).
Top-flap polypropylene sleeves in uncut roll film sizes
are currently supplied by the Filmguard Corporation of
Escondido, California under the Polyguard name. Polyguard
sleeves for sheet films are supplied in the top-flap design,
and with cemented seams in clear and frosted-back de-
signs. The cemented-seam sleeves are not recommended;
likewise, Polyguard Econo-Matte sleeves with a polypro-
pylene front and frosted PVC back should be avoided.
National Photo Products Company of Cudahy, Califor-
nia markets polypropylene top-flap sleeves under the
line of cellulose acetate notebook-page enclosures that have
been advertised as chemically inert to ensure archival
storage for correctly fixed and washed negatives. Since
the pages require that negatives slide against the thin plastic
surfaces of the pages during insertion and removal, how-
ever, they are not recommended.
Untreated Polypropylene Top-Flap Sleeves
Recommended
In 1983 Kleer-Vu Plastics Corporation introduced an ex-
tensive line of polypropylene sleeves and notebook-page
enclosures marketed under the Pro-Line Protective Enclo-
sures name.
12
Untreated (uncoated) polypropylene is a
relatively low-cost material and appears to be the best
available substitute for polyester. Untreated oriented
polypropylene is almost as transparent as polyester. Polypro-
pylene is considered to be a stable and safe plastic; along
with uncoated polyester and cellulose acetate, it is one of
the plastics recommended in American National Standard
ANSI IT9.2-1991.
13
According to Kleer-Vu, the untreated
polypropylene in Pro-Line sleeves meets the requirements
of ANSI IT9.2-1991
14
and has been tested in contact with a
few black-and-white and color photographic materials us-
ing the ANSI IT9.2 Photographic Activity Test, with no
adverse results.
15
At the time of this writing, Kleer-Vu was supplying 35mm
and other roll film sizes only in pre-cut lengths of 40 and 62
inches, which will accommodate full-roll lengths of 35mm
and 120 films. The sleeves are also available in uncut 667-
foot rolls. Unfortunately, short, pre-cut lengths to accom-
modate 35mm 6-frame strips or 3-frame strips of 120 film
are not available. It is, however, a fairly simple task to cut
the sleeves to short lengths with a paper cutter or scissors.
Pro-Line sleeves for sheet films and prints are available in
sizes ranging from 4x5 to 16x20 inches.
Kleer-Vu Pro-Line polypropylene sleeves are also sup-
plied in cemented top-seam and glued frosted-back con-
figurations. The cement in these sleeves is a specially
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Line offered to replace the enclosure at no charge and
readily acknowledged that sticking has sometimes occurred
with its polypropylene products:
The problem of the photographs sticking and
the diminished clarity can be traced to the same
source. As the polypropylene film is processed
by our supplier, they do add a surface coating.
The coating acts as a slip agent, and as an
anti-static agent. Both properties are impor-
tant to us, since too much, or too little coating
will greatly affect how the material runs [dur-
ing manufacture]. The problem you are expe-
riencing is due to too much of the coating, causing
the surface to become tacky, and the clarity to
be reduced.
By noting a [certain detail of the design], we
were able to identify the sample sheet you sent
in as a product that was run prior to September
1983. Since then, we have become more selec-
tive in the material we will accept, and our sup-
pliers have responded to our needs.
17
The design of notebook-page enclosures requires that
negatives and prints be slid in and out. Because of this
drawback and the potential problem of sticking polypro-
pylene notebook-page enclosures are not recommended for
long-term storage applications, except for mounted slides
(see Chapter 18).
If, in spite of these problems, the decision is made to
use polypropylene notebook page enclosures for negatives
and prints, this author currently recommends C-Line products
over those of other suppliers, especially those selling pages
under their own private label. C-Line actually manufac-
tures its own enclosures and appears to understand the
nature of the sticking problem. The company, working
Over time, surface-treated polypropylene notebook pages
and sleeves may stick to print or film emulsions and are
therefore not recommended for applications other than
storage of mounted slides (slides have recessed mounts
which minimize contact and pressure between the film
and polypropylene).
In this example, a C-Line polypropylene notebook page
stuck to the surface of an 8x10-inch fiber-base black-and-
white print after several years of storage in a New York
City apartment. The areas of adhesion can be seen
clearly when light is reflected off the surface of the page.
The photograph, taken by Victor Schrager in 1979, is of
the late photographer Andre Kertesz and Carol Brower.
Filmguard Plastar Sleeving name. The sleeves are offered
in two thicknesses, which are designated Plastar and Plastar
Plus. The company also makes cemented-seam polypro-
pylene sleeves for sheet films; these sleeves should be
avoided for long-term applications.
Because Kleer-Vu identifies the manufacturer and type
of polypropylene in its sleeves, this author recommends
Kleer-Vu products in preference to those of other suppli-
ers; at the time of this writing, none of the other suppliers
listed in their product literature the type of polypropylene
from which their sleeves were made.
Surface-Treated Polypropylene
Notebook-Page Film and Print Enclosures:
Not Recommended Except for Slide Pages
Polypropylene notebook-page enclosures for slides, strips
of negatives, and prints are available from a number of
companies including C-Line Products, Inc., 20th Century
Plastics, Inc., Light Impressions Corporation, Kleer-Vu Plas-
tics Corporation, and Franklin Distributors Corporation.
These pages are all made of surface-treated polypropylene.
Untreated oriented polypropylene cannot be satisfacto-
rily sealed by heat or ultrasonically, which precludes its
use in pocket-type notebook-page enclosures.
The surface coatings add a presently unknown element
to assessing the suitability of the enclosures. The treated
polypropylene may be prone to ferrotyping or sticking to
film emulsions in a manner similar to that observed with
polyethylene and PVC or present other problems. Indeed,
this author has observed sticking of a black-and-white print
emulsion to the surface of a polypropylene notebook-page
enclosure made by C-Line Products, Inc., which was stored
for about 2 years under normal room temperature and hu-
midity conditions.
16
When contacted about the problem, C-

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recently become widely available in the U.S. High-density
polyethylene sleeves are used by the Fuji photofinishing
laboratory in Anaheim, California and by most other high-
quality photofinishing companies in the U.S.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, Kodalux
photofinishing labs had not yet adopted this type of nega-
tive enclosure; instead, Kodalux was returning customer
negatives in an open-sided yellow paper folder.
Most currently available high-density polyethylene en-
closures are made in Japan or Taiwan and consist of edge-
sealed, side-by-side negative compartments with one end
of each compartment open for insertion of a negative strip.
Sleeving material, as this type of high-density polyethyl-
ene sleeve is often referred to in the photofinishing trade,
is supplied in large rolls. The number of negative compart-
ments necessary to accommodate each roll of film is cut
from the sleeving roll after the negatives have been cut
and inserted by machine; negative strips can also be cut
with scissors and manually inserted into the sleeves. The
sleeving material is available for 110, 126, and 35mm film
widths in 4-, 5-, and 6-frame lengths; sleeving material for
120 film is also available.
Negatives are cut most commonly to 4-frame lengths
and inserted into sleeves with manually operated, semi-
automatic, or high-speed fully automatic machines mar-
keted by Crown Photo Systems, Agfa-Copal, Noritsu, DOI,
Labokey, and a number of other firms (see list of Suppl i -
e r s at the end of this chapter). Cost of the machines ranges
from about $500 for manually operated sleevers to more
than $7,000 for high-speed, microprocessor-controlled models
that automatically feed sleeving material, cut negatives to
the specified frame-length, insert the strips into individual
sleeve compartments, and cut the sleeving after all the
negatives from a roll of film have been inserted.
High-density polyethylene sleeving in rolls is probably
the least expensive of all film enclosures. For example,
Noritsu America Corporation of Buena Park, California sells
a 1,320-foot roll of sleeving material for about $20 with
with the suppliers of its materials, has taken steps to mini-
mize the chances of sticking, and this offers the consumer
a measure of assurance that the products will be consis-
tent from batch to batch and perform satisfactorily in the
future.
Suppliers selling private label polypropylene enclosures,
on the other hand, may change the source of their products
without notice (usually there is no way to determine who
actually made a private label enclosure) and are in a poor
position to monitor the long-term performance of what they
sell. When purchasing private label products, the con-
sumer is at greater risk.
High-Density Polyethylene
the Best Low-Cost Enclosure Material
High-density polyethylene is a translucent material, some-
what similar in appearance to glassine; it does not have
the transparency of polyester, polypropylene, or low-den-
sity polyethylene.
High-density polyethylene is a naturally slippery plas-
tic, with little tendency to cling, and is normally manufac-
tured without the antiblock and slip agents commonly used
in low-density polyethylene.
18
The surface properties of
high-density polyethylene and the absence of antiblock and
slip agents appear to make it much less likely than low-
density polyethylene to stick to or ferrotype photographic
emulsions during long-term storage, especially in humid
conditions. This authors experience to date with high-
density polyethylene enclosures leaves little doubt that they
are superior to conventional low-density polyethylene and
surface-treated polypropylene enclosures.
Of all the plastics used for photographic enclosures,
high-density polyethylene appears to have the least ten-
dency to scratch films and prints when they slide over the
material during insertion and removal. High-density poly-
ethylene enclosures have been popular for a number of
years in Japan and other humid areas in Asia but have only
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This automatic film sleever at Linn Photo, a
large wholesale photofinisher near Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, used rolls of low-cost, high-
density polyethylene sleeving material when
this photograph was made in 1991 Such
protective sleeving is used by most mini-
labs processing color negative film and also
by many large-volume photofinishing labs.
High-density polyethylene sleeves are clearly
superior to sleeves made of low-density
polyethylene. In 1992, Linn Photo was ac-
quired by Qualex Inc., which is a joint ven-
ture between Eastman Kodak and Fuqua
Industries, Inc. Before being acquired by
Qualex, Linn Photo sleeved all negatives
before placing them into envelopes together
with the prints for return to customers.
After Qualex took over, however, sleeving
was discontinued and, at the time this book
went to press in 1992, the negatives were
being stuffed into the envelopes with no
protection, leaving them very vulnerable to
fingerprints, scratches, and other damage.
Qualex is the worlds largest photofinisher.
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shipping additional (the minimum order is two rolls). Each
roll has 6,000 negative sleeves sufficient for more than
660 rolls of 36-exposure 35mm film cut into 4-frame lengths,
for a cost of only about $0.03 per roll of film.
Crown Photo Systems, Inc. supplies sleeving material
which is perforated between negative compartments so
that they may be separated without cutting. The Crown
sleeves have compartments which are about
3
8-inch wider
than most other sleeves and have a white stripe along one
side of each compartment to accommodate written infor-
mation. Crown reports that weekly sales of its sleeving
material are, on average, sufficient to sleeve more than 5
million rolls of film.
Most suppliers of sleeving material offer an imprinting
service for photofinishers and other large-volume users
company names, logos, promotional slogans, and other in-
formation can be printed on each sleeve.
Rolls of high-density polyethylene sleeving are not avail-
able from traditional camera stores and darkroom materi-
als suppliers. Photographers, however, can purchase rolls
of sleeving material directly from one of the suppliers listed
at the end of this chapter. A photographer might, for ex-
ample, want to sleeve a several-year accumulation of
unsleeved color negatives which were processed by Koda-
lux photofinishing laboratories. When ordering rolls of
sleeving, be sure to indicate the number of negative frames
(4, 5, or 6 frames) that will be used with the sleeves in
order to obtain the correct compartment length.
High-density polyethylene is also used for individual
sleeves for negatives and prints. A major distributor in the
United States is Reeves Photo Sales, Inc., which sells a
variety of low-cost envelopes made of the material under
the RPS Plastine Print and Film Preservers name (the
same enclosures are also available from Light Impressions
Corporation under the Polyethylene Thumb-Cut Envelope
name). The envelopes are manufactured in Japan.
Plastine envelopes are edge-sealed on the sides and
bottom, with one end open (usually with a thumb-cut to aid
in removal of films or prints). The envelopes are supplied
in a variety of sheet and roll film sizes, from 2
1
4x2
1
4 inches
to 20x24 inches. Plastine envelope No. S-00610, which holds
a 6-frame strip of 35mm film, and envelope No. S-00620,
which accommodates a 4-frame strip of 120/220 film, are
superior substitutes for comparable glassine envelopes used
by photographers for a great many years. For storage,
Plastine envelopes containing the negatives for each roll
can be placed in a No. 10 or No. 11 letter envelope available
from office supply stores; dates, captions, and other infor-
mation can be written on the outside of the paper envelope.
Plastine high-density polyethylene envelopes are inex-
pensive, costing no more than most paper or glassine en-
closures. For example, Plastine envelopes which hold a 6-
frame strip of 35mm film cost about $45 for a box of 1,000.
Also available from Reeves is a high-density polyethyl-
ene fold-up page with attached paper wallet for 35mm and
120 films. Films and prints must be slid in and out of the
enclosures. Reeves also supplies Plastine notebook page
enclosures made of low-density polyethylene and slide pages
made of plasticized PVC (as discussed later, neither low-
density polyethylene nor PVC enclosures are recommended).
High-density polyethylene enclosures are a low-cost
and superior substitute for common kraft paper, glass-
ine, and low-density polyethylene enclosures, but they are
not as satisfactory as top-flap polyester or untreated polypro-
pylene sleeves.
At the time of this writing, this author has insufficient
accelerated test data and user experience with high-den-
sity polyethylene sleeving material to be able to recom-
mend a particular brand. For the reasons discussed be-
low, however, low-density polyethylene sleeving material
should be avoided. A few suppliers, including NegaFile
Systems, Inc., market sleeving material made of low-den-
sity polyethylene.
Low-Density Polyethylene Enclosures
Not Recommended
Low-density polyethylene enclosures first came into wide-
spread use in the U.S. in the mid-1960s with the introduc-
tion of Print File Archival Preservers, originated by Print
File, Inc. of Schenectady, New York, and now manufac-
tured by Print File, Inc. of Orlando, Florida (a separate
company which up until the end of 1987 called itself Photo
Plastic Products, Inc. the Print File, Inc. located in
Schenectady is still in operation as one of the many dis-
tributors of the enclosures). Low-density polyethylene en-
closures are also made by several other companies, includ-
ing Vue-All, Inc. of Ocala, Florida.
The most common types of low-density polyethylene
enclosures are notebook pages designed to contain an en-
tire roll of film cut into strips. Low-density polyethylene is
sufficiently transparent to permit contact prints to be made
without removing the negatives from the enclosure; how-
ever, there is a significant loss of image sharpness of con-
tact prints made in this manner because of light scatter in
the semi-transparent polyethylene.
The very low cost of low-density polyethylene (it is the
least expensive of all plastics the primary reason it is
used to make garbage bags) and the ease with which it can
be heat sealed into multi-compartment enclosures have
contributed to the popularity of low-density polyethylene
products. However, this authors personal experience and
reports received from many users of Print File and similar
low-density polyethylene enclosures over the past several
years have indicated a serious problem with negative
scratches caused by these enclosures. Films must be slid
in and out of the enclosures, and small particles of dirt
sandwiched between the film and the polyethylene can cause
scratches. The problem appears to be most serious with
35mm films, the majority of which do not have gelatin anti-
curl backings. In addition, this author has observed nega-
tives ferrotyping and sticking to Print File enclosures after
several years of storage in typical storage environments.
A reader of Camera 35 magazine wrote:
Five years ago I changed from glassine en-
velopes to polyethylene preserver pages which
fit into three-ring binders. Now Ive discovered
those early negative strips have become lami-
nated to the preserver page despite storage
in a constant temp/humidity environment.
On further examination, Ive also found that
film will be scratched on the acetate side from
a single insertion into a previously unused
sleeved preserver page.
19
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rics wrapped in polyethylene to yellow during dark stor-
age.
20
The yellowing has been attributed to a complex
reaction involving BHT, moisture, and nitrogen dioxide (a
common air pollutant) or other oxides of nitrogen. BHT
can diffuse out of polyethylene and be absorbed by adja-
cent materials. What implications this has for photographic
films and prints stored for long periods in polyethylene
enclosures is not clear, but it is cause for concern.
The sticking observed with films and prints stored in
low-density polyethylene enclosures is probably related to
the presence of antiblock and slip agents incorporated in
polyethylene during manufacture. The matter is further
complicated by the variety of additives employed by the
resin manufacturers; polyethylene is made in a vast num-
ber of types and grades by manufacturers in many coun-
tries. Pigments or other coloring materials added to the
nontransparent grades may also have adverse effects on
photographs. This author contacted several manufactur-
ers of low-density polyethylene photographic enclosures;
none indicated that testing had been done to determine if
there are any harmful reactions or sticking of their
products with common photographic materials, as deter-
mined by the ANSI IT9.2-1991 Photographic Activity Test.
In a 1978 study undertaken by the Public Archives of
Canada (renamed the National Archives of Canada in 1987),
low-density polyethylene enclosures subjected to the ANSI
PH1.53 Photographic Activity Test adhered to black-and-
white film emulsions and became so tightly bonded to most
of the print materials tested that the emulsions separated
from the paper base when the polyethylene enclosure ma-
terial was pulled off. The applicability of this test for plas-
tic enclosure materials has been questioned, however, as
the 122F (50C) temperature and 86% relative humidity
test conditions could produce ferrotyping and adhesion that
would not occur under more moderate conditions.
Nevertheless, experience over the past 10 years indi-
cates that even under normal conditions, low-density poly-
ethylene enclosures have a pronounced tendency to stick
There is little in the published literature that suggests
pure polyethylene could chemically harm photographs stored
in the dark; polyethylene, along with polyester, polypro-
pylene, and cellulose triacetate, is one of the plastics rec-
ommended in ANSI IT9.2-1991. RC (polyethylene-resin-
coated) prints are made with a paper core coated on both
sides with polyethylene using a hot extrusion process. The
manufacture of RC paper has given the photographic in-
dustry considerable experience with the stability charac-
teristics of polyethylene and the effects it could have on
silver and dye images during long-term aging.
Low-density polyethylene is a naturally flexible mate-
rial and like polyester does not require the addition of plas-
ticizers to impart flexibility. In practice, however, a num-
ber of additives are usually incorporated into the basic
polyethylene resin to improve processing and handling char-
acteristics. These include antioxidants, UV stabilizers,
antiblock agents, slip agents, pigments, flame retardants,
and antistatic additives.
Antiblock agents prevent sheets of polyethylene from
sticking together during manufacture and use. Untreated
polyethylene sheets have a tendency to grab or stick
together in the manner that food wraps such as Saran
Wrap do. Fine-particle silicas are often used as antiblock
agents. Lubricants known as slip agents are added to
improve handling in fabrication machinery; slip agents may
also serve to reduce blocking and static electricity. Slip
agents are incorporated into polyethylene resin during
manufacture and migrate to the surface after extrusion,
forming a thin, invisible layer that lowers the coefficient of
friction. As applied to low-density polyethylene, the term
uncoated is probably meaningless. This author is not
aware of any published research on the long-term physical
and chemical effects of the many additives in low-density
polyethylene on color and black-and-white photographs.
There have, however, been reports that polyethylene
containing BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), an antioxidant
commonly present in polyethylene, has caused white fab-
A close-up view of a Print File low-density polyethylene
notebook-page enclosure. Areas of adhesion between a
Kodak Tri-X negative and the polyethylene enclosure are
clearly evident. This type of adhesion, often referred to as
ferrotyping, is most likely to occur in humid environments.
With the negative removed from its sleeve, damage in
the form of irregular gloss on the emulsion surface is
clearly visible. The sticking occurred after about 5
years of storage under normal conditions in this authors
house in Grinnell, Iowa.
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oily droplets were formed on slides. These were
identified as phthalate plasticizers identical to
those contained in the poly(vinyl chloride) en-
closures. When projected, the droplets on the
slide are visible as disfiguring spots on the im-
age.
In the second case, a waxy film formed on
slides with protective glass covers. Only slides
with glass covers show this phenomenon.
Unglassed slides in the same enclosure do not
have the waxy film. Analysis of the waxy film
showed it to be composed of carboxylate salts
of the type used as lubricants or more com-
monly as heat stabilizers in poly(vinyl chloride),
and that these components were also found in
the PVC of the enclosure.
In addition, there is the further, often cited,
disturbing possibility that the PVC may degrade
to produce acidic hydrogen chloride gas. It is
to prevent this degradation that PVC must be
highly compounded with additives to inhibit these
reactions or to scavenge degradation products
before they escape from the plastic.
25
Flexible PVC is commonly used to make notebook-page
enclosures with individual pockets for mounted transpar-
encies. Some of these pages have a frosted PVC backing
sheet to provide diffused light for viewing the transparen-
cies. The front sides of the pages are usually glass-clear.
The pages are normally made of a fairly thick PVC mate-
rial to maintain rigidity in a notebook.
Beginning in 1977 and running through 1982, a number
of articles and letters concerned with the pros and cons of
PVC slide pages appeared in Modern Photography maga-
zine. It started with a August 1977 column by Modern
writer Ed Scully:
All of the conferences [on preservation] Ive
attended have come to the same conclusion
if the sheet you store your slides or prints in
stinks, dont use it. If you insist on handsome
products for storing your slides, you will prob-
ably get stuck with one of the smelly polyvinyl
chlorides that are poison for your color slides
or prints.
26
That brought an angry reply from Robert D. Shipp, presi-
dent of 20th Century Plastics, Inc., a Los Angeles, Califor-
nia firm which is probably the largest supplier of PVC slide
pages in the United States (20th Century Plastics has since
introduced an extensive line of polypropylene slide pages).
In a letter to the magazine, Shipp complained:
. . . we feel that Mr. Scully has set forth in a
most irresponsible manner false statements con-
cerning such [PVC] products without any basis
in fact nor without any empirical or scientific
evaluation or collaboration.
Mr. Scullys article has caused irreparable
harm and injury to our company and its reputa-
tion and to others like us in the industry. Un-
less you have proof of the harmful nature of all
to emulsions or cause ferrotyping of the emulsion surface;
this problem has not been observed with films and prints
stored in polyester and cellulose triacetate enclosures un-
der the same moderate temperature and humidity condi-
tions. This author has also noted that print emulsions in
contact with low-density polyethylene for only a few months
under normal storage conditions absorb unidentified sub-
stances from the polyethylene which causes India ink (such
as Koh-I-Noor 3080-F Universal Waterproof Black India
Ink) to form beads on the print surface and resist absorp-
tion into the emulsion.
Because of sticking and numerous other problems ob-
served with these products and the many unanswered
questions concerning their long-term suitability low-
density polyethylene enclosures are not recommended.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Enclosures
Not Recommended
Storage of photographs in either plasticized, low-plasti-
cized, or nonplasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is specifi-
cally advised against by American National Standard ANSI
IT9.2-1991.
21
Kodak, Ilford, and Polaroid have also ad-
vised that PVC enclosures be avoided.
22,23,24
(It should be
noted that despite Kodaks often-repeated recommenda-
tions to avoid PVC, since 1983 the company has supplied
plasticized PVC print and negative wallets with its Koda-
lux premium Magnaprint 35 Service for oversize 4x6-
inch prints. Polaroid has also sold print albums with pages
made of plasticized PVC.)
Plasticized PVC has proven to be particularly harmful;
it can contaminate, stick to, and even destroy films and
prints. Problems are especially severe in humid storage
conditions. To make PVC flexible, plasticizers, usually or-
ganic compounds, are added in large amounts (40 to 100
parts plasticizer per 100 parts PVC). Particularly when
stored in high-humidity conditions, the plasticizers can gradu-
ally exude from the PVC, depositing sticky droplets or gooey
coatings on photographs. Some types of plasticizers mi-
grate more readily than others; high-humidity conditions
appear to greatly increase exudation of the plasticizers.
PVC plasticizers can support fungus growth in humid con-
ditions, thereby causing additional damage to stored pho-
tographs. (Even under low-humidity conditions, the plasti-
cizers in flexible PVC will cause softening, sticking, and
partial transfer of electrostatic copier images, such as those
made on Xerox machines.)
Plasticizers commonly used in the manufacture of PVC
have a distinct odor, and the plasticizer content of many
flexible PVC enclosures is so great that most people can
easily smell fumes given off by the material when it is held
a few inches from the nose. In addition to the plasticizers
that make PVC flexible, antiblock agents, antistatic agents,
stabilizers, and other additives are also commonly added
to PVC during manufacture.
In a 1985 study of photographic enclosures materials, R.
Scott Williams, a conservation scientist at the Canadian
Conservation Institute, reported:
I have examined two cases where slides were
damaged by storage in phthalate plasticized
poly(vinyl chloride) enclosures. In the first case,
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When a slide is removed from the page, image-damaging
deposits of gooey plasticizer remain adhered to the film
surfaces. Disposable gloves should be worn when re-
moving slides from deteriorated pages to avoid getting
plasticizer on ones hands.
A plasticized PVC slide page in which gooey plasticizer
has exuded onto the surface of Kodachrome slides. This
page was discovered in the collection of Magnum Pho-
tos, Inc.'s New York City office in 1983, before the agency
moved and upgraded its facility.
When viewed in light reflected off the surface of the slide
page, the slimy droplets of plasticizer on the film and
mount surfaces are readily apparent.
Polyvinyl Chloride materials, we demand an im-
mediate retraction by Mr. Scully of his editorial
article. . . .
27
In its defense the magazine cited a list of literature
references (including ANSI PH1.43-1971) which advised
against the use of PVC, and concluded:
It seems to Modern that the experts agree
that PVC in general theory should be avoided
. . . but that 20th Century Plastics has made
tests in particular during which time no delete-
rious effects were noted. (And being practical
about it, we searched for, but could not find, a
single report anywhere in the world of damage
to films, slides or prints caused by PVC.) The
choice to use or not use any specific product,
as always, thus remains with the purchaser. If
and when there is additional information on
PVC, pro or con, Modern will publish it.
A few months later, in 1980, Paul A. Elias, wrote a letter
to Modern saying:
Now that the Great Yellow Father [Eastman
Kodak Company] has confirmed what we chem-
ists have been saying for the last several years
that polyvinyl chloride can and does damage
slides how about dropping 20th Century Plas-
tics from your list of advertisers? Do you still
need to see dead bodies, or do you now believe
because God [Eastman Kodak] said so?
28
To which the magazine replied:
Yes, indeed, Mr. Elias, Eastman Kodaks film
experts have indicated that they do not recom-
mend polyvinyl chloride sheets for storing trans-
parencies. However, they have not confirmed
anything! Before we take the stern measures
you suggest, it is our considered opinion that
we do need the smoking gun and so far, it
hasnt materialized. In short we have yet to
see a single set or even one transparency with
damage claimed to be from PVC slide storage
sheets, and until we do our advertising policy
will not be changed.
In August 1981, Herbert Keppler, at the time the edito-
rial director and publisher of Modern Photography, finally
had the proof that the magazine was looking for:
While I do not believe for an instant that all
PVC pages will harm all slides, I now have what
chemists feel is proof positive that some PVC
slide storage pages sent me by readers have
caused damaged to the slides therein, just as
Kodak described. It can and does happen. It
would appear that the plasticizer in PVC which
contributes to the pages flexibility, has a ten-
dency to leach out, particularly with humidity,
and can damage the slides.
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A number of PVC page makers have had so-
called accelerated scientific tests run by alleg-
edly independent labs proposing to show no
slide damage caused by PVC. Few, if any, ran
them under humid conditions and acceler-
ated tests, I feel, are questionable particu-
larly when paid for by the very ones who hope
to be exonerated.
29
This authors experience with plasticized PVC points to
the same conclusion reached by Keppler: namely, that the
exudation of plasticizers is the primary problem of flexible
PVC, and that high-humidity conditions tend to exacerbate
the situation.
In 1983, 20th Century Plastics, Inc. added a number of
archival polypropylene notebook-page enclosures to its
line of products the pages are sold under the EZ2C
Super-heavyweight, EZ2C Heavyweight, and Century-Poly
names. At the time of this writing, however, many 20th
Century Plastics products continue to be made of plasti-
cized PVC (and the company continued to advertise in Modern
Photography until the magazine ceased publication and
sold its subscription list to Popular Photography in 1990).
Also available from 20th Century Plastics and a number
of other manufacturers are plasticized PVC enclosures de-
signed to contain negatives, color transparency strips, and
prints. They are of similar design to the previously de-
scribed polyethylene enclosures and permit viewing of the
photograph or direct contact printing of negatives through
the enclosure (polyethylene enclosures are usually of a
thinner gauge and are somewhat milky in appearance; the
PVC enclosures are glass-clear).
Practical aspects of slide pages and slide storage sys-
tems are discussed in Chapter 18. Chapter 18 also in-
cludes a listing of suppliers of polypropylene slide pages
the only type of slide page recommended by this author.
(The 20th Century Plastics EZ2C Super-heavyweight page
is this author's primary recommendation for slide pages.)
DuPont Tyvek More Testing Needed
Tyvek is a synthetic material made of very thin high-
density polyethylene fibers bonded under heat and pres-
sure to make an opaque paper-like sheet. Tyvek and simi-
lar materials have been used extensively for high-strength
mailing envelopes, protective storage jackets for computer
floppy disks, and many other products; for a given weight
and thickness, Tyvek is much stronger and tear-resistant
than paper. With use, paper appears to generate signifi-
cantly more dust (composed of bits of paper fiber) than
does Tyvek.
In 1972 W. F. van Altena, who at the time was working at
the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, stud-
ied the various paper and plastic enclosure materials then
being used to store astronomical glass plates. He found
problems with all of them but after some investigation,
recommended that the most suitable material for such en-
Exudations of plasticizer are not restricted to PVC slide
pages, but can occur with many types of heavily plasti-
cized PVC. After about 15 years of storage in this authors
darkroom, this PVC hose began to drip plasticizer onto
an acrylic plastic film washer.
Oozing down the inside of the film washer column, the
plasticizer caused severe surface cracking (crazing) of
the acrylic plastic.
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A recent contact print of a 4x5-inch negative made in
1942 that was damaged by being stored in a kraft paper
envelope. The portrait, by Barbara Morgan, is of photog-
raphy historian Beaumont Newhall. Then age 33, Newhall
was director of the Department of Photography at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The negative
was stored for more than 30 years with the emulsion side
resting against the glued seam in the center of the enve-
lope. This caused a yellowish stain in the area that was
in contact with the seam; when printed, the stain resulted
in the light (minus-density) band running through the
center of the image. Damage of this type also has been
caused by glued seams in glassine envelopes.
A print from another negative made at the same time and
stored in an identical envelope. In this case, the negative
was not harmed because the emulsion faced away from
the glued seam. The negatives had been stored in Morgans
home outside New York City. As in most homes, during
the summer months the relative humidity frequently was
high; had the negatives been stored in a constant, low
relative humidity environment, damage probably would
not have occurred. A significant number of Morgans
negatives, including some of her well-known photographs
of dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, were dam-
aged by storage in kraft paper envelopes. (Courtesy
Barbara Morgan)
are generally unsuitable for long-term storage of photo-
graphs, and most older collections have examples of dam-
age caused by glassine or kraft paper enclosures. Glassine
is specifically advised against by ANSI IT9.2-1991 and by
Eastman Kodak.
31
So-called acid-free alkaline-buffered
glassine should also be avoided. The most satisfactory
low-cost substitutes for glassine envelopes are high-den-
sity polyethylene enclosures, which have been discussed
previously.
Particular problems have been noted with paper and
glassine envelopes which have a cemented seam in the
center. The adhesive, which is often hygroscopic, can cause
staining and fading of photographs, especially in humid
storage conditions. Because the overlapped seam is two
pieces of paper thick, added pressure is placed on the pho-
tograph in the seam area when the enclosures are stacked
velopes was Tyvek.
30
The material can be written on with
ballpoint pens, but not with pencils. According to van Altena,
Kodak conducted accelerated aging studies with Tyvek in
contact with several types of processed color films for 14
and 28 days at 140F (60C) and 70% RH, and concluded
that the material had no effect on the dye stability of the
test films. No tests with silver-gelatin black-and-white ma-
terials were reported. Van Altena suggested use of Paisley
adhesive No. 47-SU291, a polyvinyl acetate adhesive, for
cementing the seams of the envelopes. Tyvek envelopes
are now in use at several observatories; however, as yet
they are not commercially available in normal roll film and
sheet film sizes.
The soft surface of Tyvek appears to minimize the likeli-
hood of scratches when prints and negatives slide against
it. Upon further testing of both Tyvek and adhesives for
cementing it, the material may prove to be a satisfactory
substitute for high-quality paper envelopes for storing pho-
tographs. However, until the results of testing of specific,
identified grades of Tyvek and suitable adhesives are pub-
lished, this author suggests that Tyvek enclosures be avoided.
Paper and Glassine Enclosures
Most Are Unsatisfactory
Until the late 1970s, when plastic photographic enclo-
sures became popular, most envelopes and sleeves were
made of glassine or brown kraft paper with the seams ce-
mented with various types of adhesives. These materials

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To speed the resleeving project and also to retain all
inscriptions and markings on the original negative enve-
lopes, a Canon office copier that could accommodate
4x5-inch and larger negative envelopes was obtained,
and the old envelopes were copied onto the new ones.
James Wallace, Jr., director and curator of Photographic
Services at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,
D.C., is shown in the Photographic Services cold stor-
age vault. Older negatives stored in the vault have been
removed from their original enclosures and placed in
polyester sleeves, which in turn have been put in high-
quality paper envelopes.
or placed tightly in boxes. The localized pressure aggra-
vates problems with the adhesive. Negatives filed in this
type of enclosure should have the base side of the film next
to the seam to avoid emulsion contact with the adhesive
area. Old collections should be examined and the nega-
tives reoriented if necessary so that none of the film emul-
sions are in contact with the cemented seam. Keeping the
relative humidity in the storage area between 25% and 40%
will considerably slow deterioration.
ANSI IT9.2-1991 says the following about adhesives:
If an adhesive is used, it shall have no harm-
ful effect on the photographic images. The ad-
hesive shall be applied to Whatman Number 1
filter paper and shall pass the photographic
activity test outlined in 5.1. . . . Some photo-
graphic images can be damaged by adhesives
incorporating impurities such as sulfur, iron,
copper, or other ingredients that might attack
image silver, gelatin, or the paper support of
prints. Various adhesives are hygroscopic, thus
increasing the possibility of local chemical ac-
tivity. Pressure-sensitive and ether-linked prod-
ucts should be avoided.
Avoid using rubber-base products such as
rubber cement. Not only might they contain
harmful solvents or plasticizers, but they might
be compounded with photographically damag-
ing sulfur, usually a vulcanizer, accelerator, or
stabilizer. Even some low-desensitizing or
sulfur-free rubbers contain sulfur.
If a particular brand of commercially made
adhesive is found to be safe for long-term stor-
age purposes, there is no assurance that sub-
sequent batches will contain ingredients of the
same purity.
32
The low-quality paper and glassine with which many
enclosures are made can be very damaging to prints and
films in long-term storage, especially in humid conditions.
Eugene Ostroff of the Smithsonian Institution in Washing-
ton, D.C. has described some of the problems:
The brown kraft negative envelopes tradi-
tionally used for storing negatives contain im-
age-damaging ingredients, such as lignin, which
generate destructive peroxides. (As we have
all observed, kraft envelopes quickly become
brittle and disintegrate.) Glassine paper, more
fragile than kraft, is made from hydrated fi-
bers that enhance translucency and flexing prop-
erties, characteristics that are heightened with
plasticizers and other additives. Many of these
ingredients are impermanent (they volatilize
or leach out); the paper becomes brittle and
falls apart at the slightest touch. Aside from
damaging the image, these degenerative by-
products also might destroy all cataloging in-
formation written on the envelopes. Conse-
quently, additional labor costs are incurred by
making new entries, refiling, and cleaning de-
bris from the cabinet.
33
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James McCord, chief of the photographic laboratories
at the Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data
Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, reported in 1979 that
cemented seams on glassine envelopes caused localized
yellow dye loss on Kodak Ektachrome Duplicating Film
Type 2447; the yellow dye fading could in some cases be
detected in as little as 90 days and was frequently observed
within 6 months.
34
After the problem was detected, the
EROS Data Center discarded all the glassine envelopes in
its collection and replaced them with paper and Tyvek en-
velopes.
In 1987, the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration (NASA) began a massive project to resleeve the
more than 600,000 still photographs that were being stored
in glassine and cellulose triacetate enclosures in the col-
lection of color and black-and-white photographs stored at
the NASA Film Repository at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Center in Houston, Texas. On the advice of Noel Lamar, a
consultant working for NASA, polyester folders (without a
top-flap), placed in high-stability alkaline-buffered paper
envelopes, were adopted for the resleeving project (this is
the same method of storage that was used by the late Ansel
Adams for his negatives).
General requirements for paper suitable for photographic
Barbara Whitted, a technician at the NASA Film Reposi-
tory at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas, removes negatives and transparencies from their
original glassine and acetate sleeves and places the films
into new polyester sleeves, which are then inserted into
protective paper envelopes. With Whitted is Gary Seloff,
curator of visual resources at the Johnson Space Center.
The resleeving project involved more than 600,000 items.
filing enclosures are discussed in Chapter 13. When a
paper envelope is made with glued seams, the adhesive
must be acceptable when tested by the ANSI IT9.2-1991
Photographic Activity Test with every type of black-and-
white and color material that is to be stored in it. The
reader is also referred to Chapter 13 for a discussion of
accelerated tests for paper enclosures, mount boards, and
adhesives to be used with black-and-white and color films
and prints.
A paper envelope based on the design suggested in ANSI
IT9.2-1991 is shown in Figure 14.2. Only two narrow glued
seams are needed one on each side. The seams are non-
overlapping, and an ungummed top-flap is provided to keep
out dust and dirt. Because a photograph in an envelope
usually rests against the bottom, the bottom is folded to
avoid a glued seam. This design results in a smooth in-
terior and provides three uniform thicknesses of paper on
the top and both sides, thereby promoting even stacking
and minimizing localized pressure on the enclosed film or
print. A nonreactive and nonhygroscopic cement is essen-
tial for connecting the seam-flaps to the outside of the
envelope; polyvinyl acetate (PVA) adhesives have been rec-
ommended by Kodak.
35
Ideally, this envelope would be
used in combination with top-flap polyester sleeves. At the
time of this writing, high-quality envelopes of the ANSI-
suggested design and made with tested papers and adhe-
sives were not yet commercially available.
Encapsulation of Photographs
Sometimes Useful
Photographs may be placed between two polyester sheets
which are joined to each other on the edges with special
double-sided pressure-sensitive tapes (3M Scotch Double-
Coated Film Tape No. 415 is usually recommended for this
purpose).
36
The photograph itself is not in contact with the
double-sided tape and can readily be removed by cutting
open one edge of the encapsulation. This technique can be
particularly effective if the photograph is fragile. Some
concern has been expressed about the possibility of lateral
migration of the adhesive beyond the edges of the double-
sided tape; over time the adhesive might contact the edge
of the encapsulated print. Encapsulation has been used
extensively at the Library of Congress and other institu-
tions (for detailed instructions on how to encapsulate pho-
tographs and documents, refer to Polyester Film Encapsu-
lation, published by the Library of Congress
37
).
As an alternative to double-sided pressure-sensitive tape,
Jane Booth of the San Diego Historical Society has a method
by which she sews two sheets of polyester together with
nylon thread on an ordinary sewing machine.
38
The stitch-
ing enables her to quickly make enclosures that are tai-
lored to the size and proportions of individual prints and to
the requirements of her files. It is also possible to make
enclosures with multiple compartments for storage of a
number of smaller prints. In addition, potential problems
with pressure-sensitive tapes are avoided.
Institutions which encapsulate photographs or fabricate
other types of polyester enclosures on a large scale will
find an electrically operated sealing machine, such as the
Polyweld Model B-50 device sold by Conservation Resources
International, Inc., to be very convenient.

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1. Seams of cellulose triacetate sleeves can be cemented with a sol-
vent such as methylene chloride or a cement composed of cellulose
triacetate dissolved in methylene chloride or other suitable solvent.
Kodak Transparent Sleeves, made of cellulose triacetate, have ce-
mented top and bottom seams. Solvent bonding is probably harm-
less to photographs kept in such enclosures and avoids the sorts of
problems encountered with the glues used in many paper and glass-
ine envelopes.
2. Suitable papers include Atlantis Silversafe Photostore (a 100% cot-
ton fiber paper) and Archivart Photographic Storage Paper, both
supplied in the U.S. by Archivart Division of Heller & Usdan, Inc., 7
Caesar Place, Moonachie, New Jersey 07074; telephone: 201-804-
8986; toll-free: 800-333-4466. Silversafe Photostore is made by the
Atlantis Paper Company, Ltd., No. 2 St. Andrews Way, London E3
3PA, England; telephone: 011-44-71-537-2727. Also believed to be
satisfactory is Renaissance Paper, a paper intended for photographic
storage applications and supplied by Light Impressions Corpora-
tion. All of these papers are nonbuffered and have a near-neutral pH
at the time of manufacture. See Chapter 13 for further discussion.
York, August 1979, p. 31.
4. Oakland Fire Results in New Storage Ideas, Newsletter of the
Friends of Photography, Vol. 5, No. 12, December 1982.
5. Thomas O. Taylor, Identification and Use of Plastic Materials for
Photographic Storage, presentation at the American Institute for
Conservation Photographic Materials Group Winter Meeting, Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania, February 2, 1985.
6. Sleeves should be made of uncoated polyester, such as DuPont
Mylar D or ICI Melinex 516. Polyester sheet is sold with a wide
variety of surface coatings which allow it to be cemented, heat-
sealed, or to accept printing inks and dyes or other treatments.
Some coatings give the sheets antistatic properties. Many of these
coatings are hygroscopic, creating a high surface-moisture level.
These coatings may cause the sleeves to stick to each other or to
photographs stored in them and may produce chemical damage to
photographic images. Sleeves ordered by this author in 1974 were
made of a coated polyester even though uncoated Mylar polyes-
ter was specified. The fact that the polyester was coated became
apparent when the sleeves started firmly sticking to themselves
during storage in this authors darkroom. Fortunately, the problem
was discovered before any of the negatives stored in the sleeves
were damaged. Mylar D or a similar uncoated polyester film must be
specified, and the importance of using an uncoated product should
be stressed when purchasing polyester sheet material or when hav-
ing sleeves made by custom plastics fabricators.
If it is necessary to have sleeves specially made, emphasize to
the fabricator the need for tight folds so that the film or print will not
have a tendency to slip out of the sleeve during handling. Sleeves
made for glass plates should have folds of a much larger radius to
properly accommodate the relatively thick plates; these sleeves should
not be used for films or prints. A number of plastics fabricators can
make sleeves of this type on special order. One firm which has
advertised that it is willing to handle small orders for special designs
of Mylar D polyester enclosures is the Taylor Made Company, P.O.
Box 406, Lima, Pennsylvania 19037; telephone: 215-459-3099.
See also: A Clear Connection with the Past, DuPont Maga-
zine, Vol. 76, No. 6, NovemberDecember 1982, pp. 1011.
7. P. Z. Adelstein and J. L. McCrea, Stability of Processed Polyester
Base Photographic Films, Journal of Applied Photographic En-
gineering, Vol. 7, No. 6, December 1981, pp. 160167.
8. W. J. Barrow, Migration of Impurities in Paper, Archivum, Vol. 3,
1953, pp. 105108.
9. Photofile, Inc. and the Hollinger Corporation, among others, sell
polyester sleeves, made with DuPont Mylar Type EB-11 or similar
products, which contain a silicon dioxide matting agent. These
sleeves are highly abrasive and should be avoided. For a number of
years Light Impressions Corporation also sold Mylar Type EB-11
sleeves and folders; the company discontinued EB-11 sleeves in
1988.
10. Pre-made enclosures of this type, with an open top, are available
from Jerry Solomon Gallery Services, Inc., 960 North La Brea Av-
enue, Los Angeles, California 90038; telephone: 213-651-1950; toll-
free 800-821-5948. The firm will custom make the design described
by this author; a minimum order of 25 enclosures is requested.
11. Light Impressions Corporation supplies a matched set of polyester
sleeves, polyester folders, and paper envelopes under the NegaGuard
name. However, the envelopes are of an open-top design which
allows dust to enter. The basic idea behind the NegaGuard system
is sound and it is hoped that the envelopes will be improved.
12. Probably the first supplier of polypropylene photographic enclo-
sures was C-Line Products, Inc. The firm produces surface-treated
(coated) polypropylene notebook pages for mounted slides, nega-
tives, and prints in various formats. Certain C-Line products have
been sold under private labels by Light Impressions Corporation,
Kleer-Vu Plastics Corporation, and others. Kleer-Vu Plastics fabri-
cates its own polypropylene print and film enclosures; C-Line has
made Kleer-Vus slide pages. Polypropylene notebook-page enclo-
sures are not recommended for other than mounted slides.
Sleeves made of polypropylene and designed to accommodate
stereo views and carte-de-visite photographs are available from Russell
Norton Photographic Antiques, P.O. Box 1070, New Haven, Con-
necticut 06504-1070; telephone: 203-562-7800.
for Storage. (This Standard, which replaced ANSI PH1.53-1986,
includes a new version of the Photographic Activity Test which is
based on work done by James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishimura
at the Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of
Technology in Rochester, New York.) American National Standards
telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286. See also: American
National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH1.45-1981, American
National Standard Practice for Storage of Processed Photo-
graphic Plates, Sec. 3.3, p. 7.
14. American National Standards Institute, Inc., see Note No. 13. The
Photographic Activity Test described in the Standard is a relatively
simple test which, because of the combination of the elevated tem-
perature and high relative humidity employed, may not be appropri-
ate for the evaluation of plastic storage materials.
15. Lisa Overton, Kleer-Vu Plastics Corporation, telephone discussion
with this author, August 31, 1983. When introduced in 1983, Pro-
Line sleeves were sold under the Poly-Pro name. The polypropylene
sheet used to make Kleer-Vu sleeves is untreated T500 film manu-
factured by Hercules, Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware. In a letter dated
February 9, 1983, Henry K. Graves (district sales manager at the
time, Mr. Graves is currently process systems manager) of Hercules,
Inc. in Norcross, Georgia, told Kleer-Vu that: This information is of
interest to customers concerned with protection of photographic
materials and archival documents. Concern about pH, sulfur con-
tent and peroxide level is a result of past problems with glassine,
paper and paperboard storage envelopes or containers. Hercules
T500 untreated polypropylene films have been tested at an indepen-
dent test lab and the results were as follows: (1) pH heavy gauge
T500 films are neutral and therefore have a pH of 7.0; (2) Active
Hydrogen none; this is expected in view of the pH results; (3)
Peroxide Content not detectable (limit of detection 0.015 mcg/
cm
2
); (4) Sulfur Content not detectable (limit of detection
3ppm); T500 also passes the Photographic Activity Test (ANSI PH1.53-
1978 Section 6.1). The Photographic Activity Test referred to here
is the same as Sec. 5.1 in the 1986 revision of ANSI PH1.53; the test
apparently was performed only with a limited number of older black-
and-white and color materials.
16. The C-Line polypropylene notebook page enclosure which stuck to
photographs was stored in a New York City apartment. Situated on
the top floor of a non-air-conditioned building, the apartment was
hot and humid during the summer months and cool and dry
during the winter.
17. Jack VerMeulen, Quality Control Manager, C-Line Products, Inc.,
letter to this author, December 12, 1984.
18. Clyde V. Detter, Films, Polyethylene, High-Density, in Packaging
Encyclopedia & Yearbook 1985, William C. Simms, ed., Cahners
Publishing Company, Des Plaines, Illinois, 1985, p. 62.
19. Robert Hagle, A Negative on Filing, letter to the editor in Camera
35, Vol. 35, No. 12, December 1980, p. 6.
20. Kenneth C. Smeltz, Why Do White Fabrics and Garments Turn
Yellow During Storage in Polyethylene Bags and Wrappings? A
Growing Problem, Textile Chemist and Colorist, Vol. 15, No. 4,
April 1983, pp. 1721.
23. Ilford, Inc., Ilford Galerie, Ilford, Inc., West 70 Century Road, Paramus,
New Jersey 07652, 1979, p. 16.
24. Polaroid Corporation, Storing, Handling and Preserving Polaroid
Photographs: A Guide, Publication No. P2064, Polaroid Corpora-
tion, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1983, p. 29.
Processed Photographic Materials, Second International Sympo-
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Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985, (Printing of Transcript Summa-
ries), IS&T, The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003
See also: Robert E. Mayer, Oily Droplets on Slides, (in Images and
Answers), Photomethods, Vol. 27, No. 9, September 1984, p. 52.
For discussion of the possible formation of hydrochloric acid by the
decomposition of polyvinyl chloride see: Thomas W. Sharpless, Cor-
rosion: The Problem of Storage, The Numismatist, Vol. 93, No. 10,
October 1980, pp. 24502454. Also: Ed Reiter, Little PVC Holders
Can Cause Big Problems, (Numismatics), The New York Times,
January 25, 1981, Sec. D, p. 35.
26. Ed Scully, Preservation, Duplicating, Temperature Control Did I
Ever Get My Foot in My Mouth in Record Time! Now to Get It Out By
Answering Your Letters About Recent Columns, Modern Photog-
raphy, Vol. 41, No. 8, August 1977, pp. 47ff.
27. Robert D. Shipp, Letter to the Editor, Modern Photography Magazine,
Vol. 42, No. 1, January 1978, pp. 6, 8.
28. Paul A. Elias, Letter to the Editor, Modern Photography, Vol. 44,
No. 8, August 1980, p. 83.
29. Herbert Keppler, Why Chance Damaging Slides in PVC Pages?,
Modern Photography, Vol. 45, No. 8, August 1981, pp. 6870.
30. W. F. van Altena, Envelopes for the Archival Storage of Processed
Astronomical Photographs, AAS Photo-Bulletin, No. 1, 1975, pp.
1819. The article listed two sources for Tyvek envelopes: Mail Well
Envelopes, Division of Georgia-Pacific Lumber Company, 5445 North
Alston Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60630, and Coast Envelope Com-
pany, 2930 South Vail Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90040. Cost
of the envelopes was reported to be similar to that of high-quality
paper envelopes.
T. Eaton, editor), Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
March 1985, p. 95.
33. Eugene Ostroff, Conserving and Restoring Photographic Collec-
tions, American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C., 1976,
p. 14.
34. James McCord, EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, inter-
view with this author during visit to Earth Resources Observation
System (EROS) Data Center, December 1979. The EROS Data Cen-
ter is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of
the Interior. The two orbiting Landsat satellites and associated
systems, which originate many of the images processed by the
EROS Data Center, were sold by the U.S. Government on October
18, 1985 to the Earth Observation Satellite Company (Eosat), a joint
venture of Hughes Aircraft Company and RCA Corporation (RCA was
acquired by the General Electric Company in late 1985).
36. For encapsulation using sheets of uncoated polyester, such as Du-
Pont Mylar D, 3M Scotch Double-Coated Film Tape No. 415 is rec-
ommended: 3M Company, Industrial Specialties Division, Bldg. 220-
7E-01 3M Center, St. Paul, Minnesota 55144; telephone: 612-733-
8202. This tape is available from many suppliers, including Light
Impressions Corporation and Talas Inc. (see Suppliers list at the
end of this chapter for addresses).
37. Preservation Office of the Library of Congress, Polyester Film En-
capsulation, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1980.
38. Jane Booth, San Diego Historical Society, telephone discussion with
Carol Brower, December 10, 1982.
Joan Agranoff, ed., Modern Plastics Encyclopedia 1984/1985, Vol.
61, No. 10A, McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, New York, 1984.
Gary Albright, Which Envelope? Selecting Storage Enclosures for Pho-
tographs, Picturescope, Vol. 31, No. 4, Winter 1985, pp. 111113.
W. F. van Altena, Report of the Subgroup on the Storage of Astronomi-
cal Plates for Archival Purposes, AAS Photo-Bulletin, No. 2, 1972,
pp. 1517.
Calvin J. Benning, Plastic Films for Packaging, Technomic Publishing
Co., Inc., Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1983.
J. H. Briston and L. L. Katan, Plastics Films, 2nd ed., (George Goodwin
in association with the Plastics and Rubber Institute), Longman
Group Limited, Harlow, England, 1983.
Helen D. Burgess, Evaluation of Paper Products: With Special Refer-
ence to Use with Photographic Materials, Topics in Photographic
Preservation Volume Four (compiled by Robin E. Siegel), Photo-
graphic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation,
1991, pp. 96105. Available from the American Institute for Conser-
vation, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036;
telephone: 202-232-6636.
T. J. Collings, Archival Care of Still Photographs, Society of Archivists
Information Leaflet No. 2, Society of Archivists, 56 Ellin Street, Sheffield
S1 4PL, England, 1986.
Margaret Hobbie, Paper and Plastic Preservers for Photographic Prints
and Negatives, History News, Vol. 35, No. 10, October 1980, pp.
4245.
Dan ONeill, Filing Slides and Negs, Technical Photography, Vol. 14,
No. 9, September 1982, pp. 38, 40, 43.
Debbie Hess Norris, The Proper Storage and Display of a Photographic
Collection, Picturescope, Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 1983, pp. 410.
Mary Kay Porter, Filing Enclosures for Black and White Negatives,
Picturescope, Vol. 29, No. 3, Fall 1981, p. 108.
James M. Reilly and Douglas W. Nishimura, Improvements in Test
Methods for Photographic Storage Enclosures, presentation at the
SPSE (The Society for Imaging Science and Technology) 40th An-
nual Conference and Symposium on Hybrid Imaging Systems, Roch-
ester, New York, May 19, 1987.
James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, Luis Pavao, and Peter Z. Adel-
stein, Photo Enclosures Research and Specifications, Topics in
Photographic Preservation Volume Three (compiled by Robin
E. Siegel), Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute
for Conservation, 1989, pp. 17. Available from the American Insti-
tute for Conservation, Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636.
Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler, Storage Enclosures for Photographic Materi-
als, (SAA Basic Archival Conservation Program), The Society of
American Archivists, SAA Newsletter, November 1984.
Lloyd R. Whittington, Whittingtons Dictionary of Plastics, (Society of
Plastics Engineers), Technomic Publishing Co., Inc., Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania, 1978.
(Turn Page for Chapter 14 Suppliers List)
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A Photech hot-seal plastic sleeving machine in operation at H&H Color Lab under the watchful eye of Darrell Owens, a film
processing technician. H&H, a leading professional portrait and wedding lab located near Kansas City in Raytown,
Missouri, processes and proofs up to 2,000 rolls of color negative film a day (mostly in the 120/220 format). Sleeving is
done immediately after processing to protect the film from dust and scratches. The film is video analyzed, proofed, and
shipped to customers without ever removing the film from the sleeves.
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Envelopes and Sleeves
Archivart
7 Caesar Place
Telephone: 201-804-8986
Toll-free: 800-333-4466
Clear File, Inc.
P.O. Box 593433
Orlando, Florida 32859-3433
Telephone: 407-851-5966
Toll-free: 800-423-0274 (outside Florida)
C-Line Products, Inc.
1530 East Birchwood Avenue
P.O. Box 1278
Telephone: 312-827-6661
Toll-free: 800-323-6084 (outside Illinois)
Conservation Resources International, Inc.
8000-H Forbes Place
Telephone: 703-321-7730
Toll-free: 800-634-6932 (outside VA)
Filmguard Corporation
P.O. Box 788
Escondido, California 92033
Telephone: 619-741-7000
Toll-free: 800-777-7744
Hollinger Corporation
4410 Overview Drive
P.O. Box 8360
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404
Telephone: 703-898-7300
Toll-free: 800-634-0491 (outside VA)
Kleer-Vu Plastics Corporation
Kleer-Vu Drive
P.O. Box 449
Brownsville, Tennessee 38012
Telephone: 901-772-5664
Toll-free: 800-238-6001 (outside Tenn.)
439 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, New York 14607-3717
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Lineco Inc.
P.O. Box 2604
Telephone: 413-534-7815
Toll-free: 800-322-7775
National Photo Products Company
4400 Santa Ana Street
P.O. Box 1038
Cudahy, California 90201
Telephone: 213-771-1211
Toll-free: 800-221-9149 (in California)
Toll-free: 800-421-6184 (outside Calif.)
Envelopes and Sleeves
NegaFile Systems, Inc.
P.O. Box 78
Furlong, Pennsylvania 18925
Telephone: 215-348-6342
Photofile, Inc.
2020 Lewis Avenue
Zion, Illinois 60099
Telephone: 708-872-7557
Toll-free: 800-356-2755
Picture Pocket Corporation
242 Bingham Drive
San Marcos, California 92069
Telephone: 619-744-2425
Toll-free: 800-369-0852
Print File, Inc.
1846 South Orange Blossom Trail
Apopka, Florida 32703
Telephone: 407-886-3100
Reeves Photo Sales, Inc.
9000 Sovereign Row
Dallas, Texas 75247-4598
Telephone: 214-631-9730
Toll-free: 800-241-7830 (in Texas)
Toll-free: 800-527-9482 (outside Texas)
Savage Universal Corporation
800 West Fairmont Drive
Tempe, Arizona 85282
Telephone: 602-967-5882
Toll-free: 800-624-8891
Talas Inc.
Ninth Floor
Telephone: 212-736-7744
Taylor Made Company
P.O. Box 406
Lima, Pennsylvania 19037
Telephone: 215-459-3099
20th Century Plastics, Inc.
P.O. Box 30810
Los Angeles, California 90030
Telephone: 213-731-0900
Toll-free: 800-767-0777
Vue-All, Inc.
P.O. Box 1690
Ocala, Florida 32678
Telephone: 904-732-3188
High-Density Polyethylene
Sleeving Material in Rolls;
Sleeving Machines
Agfa-Copal, Inc.
2605 Fernbrook Lane
Plymouth, Minnesota 55477
Telephone: 612-553-0366
Toll-free: 800-866-6692 (outside Minn.)
(Copal sleevers and sleeving material)
Byers Industries, Inc.
6955 S.W. Sandburg Street
P.O. Box 23399
Portland, Oregon 97223
Telephone: 503-639-0620
Toll-free: 800-547-9670
CPAC, Inc.
2364 Leicester Road
Leicester, New York 14481
Telephone: 716-382-3223
Crown Photo Systems, Inc.
P.O. Box 1298
Everett, Washington 98206
Telephone: 206-339-1518
Toll-free: 800-228-1518 (outside Wash.)
(Crown sleevers and sleeving material)
DOI, Inc.
15 East 42nd Street
Telephone: 212-661-0876
(DOI sleevers and sleeving material)
Minilab Specialties, Inc.
17762 Metzker Lane
Huntington Beach, California 92647
Telephone: 714-842-0059
Toll-free: 800-633-8091
(Labokey sleevers and sleeving material)
Noritsu America Corporation
69 Noritsu Avenue
Buena Park, California 90620
Telephone: 714-521-9040
(Noritsu sleevers and sleeving material)
Hot-Seal Plastic Sleeving
and Automatic Application
Machines
Climax, Ltd.
780 Fort Bragg Road
P.O. Box 399
Willits, California 95490
Telephone: 707-459-4535
Toll-free: 800-444-0977
(Climax [Hostert-style] hot-seal sleevers;
polypropylene sleeving material)
Suppliers
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Framing Color and Black-and-White Prints
Displayed photographs should always be framed under
glass for protection against physical damage and accumu-
lation of dirt, grease, and insect residues. Tars and other
components of cigarette smoke in homes and offices pro-
duce yellow and brown stains on unframed and uncovered
prints; in poorly ventilated public buildings, severe stains
can occur in only a few years. Cooking food generates
airborne droplets of oil and grease which travel through-
out a home. Photographs, unlike furniture, carpets, and
walls, cannot easily be cleaned. Framing under glass can
also give prints and mounting materials significant protec-
tion against moisture fluctuations as well as oxidizing gases
and other air pollutants.
Examination of large numbers of old black-and-white
photographs leaves no doubt that proper framing with an
overmat and hanging the framed photograph in an area
free from excessively high relative humidity is one of
the best ways to preserve a print. Frames with glass (or
Plexiglas acrylic plastic sheet in short-term applications)
give prints outstanding physical protection, totally preventing
the surface abrasions, dirt, fingerprints, scratches, and cracks
often found on older photographs that have not been framed.
With the exception of UltraStable Permanent Color prints
and Polaroid Permanent-Color prints, both of which are
made with extraordinarily stable color pigments, prolonged
exposure to light on display will ruin color photographs
framed or not. Consequently, valuable color prints should
not be displayed except for limited periods of time under
moderate lighting conditions (such as in short-term mu-
seum exhibitions). For extended display, an expendable
duplicate or copy print should be obtained and the original
color print stored in the dark.
When having professional portraits or wedding pictures
made, the customer should be certain to purchase a dupli-
cate (even if in a smaller size) of each print that will be
displayed and to store it in the dark. Many portrait photog-
raphers dispose of their color negatives within a few years
(or immediately, in the case of most low-cost department
store and school photographers), so it will probably be
impossible to have replacement prints made in the future.
Framing Black-and-White RC Prints:
A Word of Caution
Many framed black-and-white RC (polyethylene-resin-
coated) prints have become severely discolored and faded
after only a few years of display, even though the prints
were properly fixed and washed. When RC prints are sealed
The photo album, storehouse for the trea-
sured memories of many of the nations 64 mil-
lion families, often damages the images it holds.
The materials and construction of many new
imported albums, as well as millions of albums
purchased in years past, create a harsh envi-
ronment for photographic prints, research has
shown.
At risk are black and white photographs and
the color snapshots that have documented the
lives of millions during the last four decades.
An essential part of many families heri-
tage is in danger of being lost, and yet few are
aware of it, said James M. Reilly, director of
the Image Permanence Institute of the Roch-
ester Institute of Technology.
People think that by putting these family
treasures in an album, theyre being preserved
forever, to be passed down to future genera-
tions, said Judith Fortson, the conservation
officer at the Hoover Institution of Stanford
University in California. Yet in many cases
these albums are helping speed their deterio-
ration.
In some albums, photographs are ruined
much more quickly than they would be if you
just left them in a shoe box, said Douglas
Severson, a conservator at the Art Institute of
Chicago. He is chairman of the photography
group of the American Institute for Conserva-
tion, the national organization of professional
conservators and researchers.
The situation is increasingly serious, said
Mr. Reilly, because the materials in the photo
albums are getting cheaper and cheaper as
stores sell low-priced albums imported from
the Far East.
The Rochester Institutes most recent re-
search shows that the level of damage from
poor-quality materials is much worse than we
had imagined, Mr. Reilly said.
1
Glenn Collins
The New York Times
October 3, 1987
15. Framing Materials, Storage Boxes, Portfolio
Cases, Albums, Cabinets, and Shelves
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Exhibition galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago. Frames provide photographs with a semi-sealed environment that offers
excellent protection against dirt, physical damage, and (to some extent) the effects of air pollutants. Carefully chosen
frames also enhance the appearance of displayed photographs.
Framing Materials, Storage Boxes, Portfolio Cases, Albums, Cabinets, and Shelves Chapter 15 510
in a frame, oxidants produced by the deteriorating effects
of light and UV radiation on the RC base can accumulate
inside the frame and attack the silver image, causing either
localized or overall yellow or orange-red discolorations.
High-humidity conditions accentuate this type of image
deterioration. There is also evidence that black-and-white
RC papers are more susceptible than fiber-base papers to
image discoloration caused by other sources, such as at-
mospheric pollutants, surface contaminants, or reactive
substances in framing and filing materials.
The most important single factor that determines whether
or how soon a displayed RC print will discolor is the
type of paper with which the print is made. This author has
seen countless prints from the 1970s and early 1980s made
with Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper, Kodak Polycon-
trast Rapid II RC Paper, and Ilford Ilfospeed Paper which
became severely discolored as a consequence of exposure
to light on display. Most of these prints had been framed;
however, some were simply tacked to a wall and were ex-
posed to the open air. The Corcoran Gallery of Art in
Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, and the
National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, among other well-
known institutions, now have black-and-white RC prints in
their collections that became severely discolored after only
a few years of display and storage; with the passage of
time, it is inevitable that huge numbers of prints worldwide
are going to be affected.
Image deterioration of Polycontrast Rapid RC prints is
characterized by extreme yellow and orange discolorations
and formation of silver mirror-like deposits along density
gradient lines (e.g., at the junction of white and black im-
age areas). Some Polycontrast Rapid RC prints have also
developed large numbers of small, circular orange-red dis-
colorations (known as redox blemishes, or microspots);
previously associated primarily with microfilms and astro-
nomical plates, such defects have not, to this authors knowl-
edge been encountered in any fiber-base prints. Some
Polycontrast Rapid RC prints have also suffered from cracking
of the emulsion-side RC layer; many Ektacolor RC prints
from the late 1960s and early 1970s also have suffered
from RC base cracking.
Image deterioration of displayed Ilford Ilfospeed prints
is generally characterized by an overall yellow-brown dis-
coloration, which is quite different in appearance from the
discoloration seen with Kodak RC prints. Many Ilford RC
prints from the late 1970s and early 1980s also suffer from
pronounced brownish discoloration of the RC paper base;
the discoloration, believed to be caused by developer chemi-
cals incorporated into the papers emulsion during manu-
facture, is most obvious on the backside of the prints.
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black-and-white photographs, especially photographs made
by some of the historical processes, such as albumen prints.
The boxes are probably safe for color prints. Also called
museum cases, these boxes are sold by Spink and Gaborc,
Light Impressions, University Products, and others; they are
found in most major museum collections. On special order,
Spink and Gaborc can substitute 100% cotton fiber mount
board for binders board and replace the pyroxylin-coated
fabric with an acrylic-coated fabric; the wood frame is still
used, however. Should a Solander box be required, this
somewhat more expensive box is recommended. Extruded
aluminum or an inert plastic such as polypropylene could be
used to replace the potentially harmful wood frames in Solan-
der boxes; at the time this book went to press, however, such
an improved box was not commercially available.
Photograph Albums
Recommended: High-quality albums with paper pages and
polyester-covered pages are available from Light Impressions,
University Products, and Photofile; often referred to as ar-
chival albums, these fairly high-priced albums appear to be
quite satisfactory for museum and other long-term applica-
tions. Well-designed but much less expensive albums con-
sisting of good-quality paper pages with Melinex polyester-
covered Picture-Pockets are supplied by Webway Incorpo-
rated under the Webway Family Archival Album name. These
expandable albums, many of which have an ample writing
area below each print for captions, are available in sizes for
3
1
2 x 5inch and 4 x 6inch prints. Webway Family Archival
albums are the authors primary recommendation for general
home and amateur use for both color and black-and-white
photographs. Probably also satisfactory are albums with
polypropylene-covered pages available from the Holson Com-
pany. Hallmark Cards supplies albums with cellulose acetate
pages; these appear to be suitable for small amateur prints.
Albums to be avoided: Albums with self-stick, plastic-cov-
ered magnetic pages can be extremely harmful and should
not be used. If, however, one insists on using a self-stick
album, the FlashBacks brand photo albums supplied by the
3M Company are recommended by this author as the safest
album of this type. Also to be avoided are surface-treated,
heat-sealed polypropylene pages (e.g., C-Line, 20th Century
Plastics, and Light Impressions notebook pages); pages con-
taining polyvinyl chloride [PVC] (e.g., 20th Century Plastics
notebook pages); low-density polyethylene pages (e.g., Print
File, Vue-All, and Clear File pages); and albums with pages
made of low-grade paper, especially cheap black paper.
Cabinets and Shelves
Recommended construction materials: Steel or aluminum
coated with baked enamel, chrome- or nickel-plated steel,
anodized aluminum, and stainless steel. (Baked-enamel-coated
steel cabinets, shelves, filing cabinets, and blueprint files of
the kind widely sold for office use are generally satisfactory.)
Materials to be avoided: Wood, plywood, particle board,
Masonite, Formica-covered plywood, and particle board. If
wood must be used, well-dried hardwoods such as maple,
birch, and basswood are provisionally recommended.
Paints
Recommended: Oven-baked enamels and lacquers; latex paints.
To be avoided: Alkyd or other oil-base enamels dried at
normal temperatures (not oven-baked).
Framing Materials
Frames: Aluminum section frames are inert, inexpensive,
lightweight, unaffected by moisture fluctuations, and other-
wise ideally suited for framing photographs. Stainless steel
and brass are also safe, but are expensive and heavy. Wood
frames should not be used for black-and-white photographs,
although they probably will not harm color prints. Museums
and archives should avoid wood frames altogether.
Glazing: Glass and high-quality acrylic plastic sheet (e.g.,
Plexiglas or Lucite) are recommended for color photographs.
UV-absorbing grades of acrylic sheet offer little if any addi-
tional protection against light fading for most types of color
photographs. Glass although it is subject to breakage
is less expensive and has much greater resistance to scratching
than plastic. Although Plexiglas and other plastics are satis-
factory for framing in short-term exhibitions and traveling
shows, they should be avoided for long-term use with black-
and-white photographs.
Prevent contact between prints and framing glass: Over-
mats are recommended to lessen the possibility of prints
sticking to framing glass or plastic over time.
Frame moisture barriers: Aluminum foil or polyester (e.g.,
DuPont Mylar or ICI Melinex) should be placed between the
mount board and backing board of framed prints, except for
black-and-white RC prints; for these, the author tentatively
recommends that a vapor barrier be omitted to allow perox-
ides generated by the RC print base during prolonged expo-
sure to light to gradually diffuse out of the frame. Frames
should not be vented.
Backing boards: Aluminum sheet, high-quality mount board,
corrugated polypropylene cardboard, and Lig-free Type II
box board (Conservation Resources International) are rec-
ommended. Ordinary cardboard, chipboard, plywood, and
Masonite should all be strictly avoided. Fome-Cor and other
polystyrene-foam laminate boards are probably satisfactory
for backing (and mounting) expendable color prints intended
for display, but should be avoided for valuable black-and-
white prints.
Storage Containers
Cardboard storage boxes: Lig-free Type II boxes (Conser-
vation Resources International) are recommended for gen-
eral storage of prints and negatives. Ordinary cardboard
boxes, including those in which photographic manufacturers
package and sell their paper, should not be used for other
than temporary storage. Wood boxes should be strictly avoided.
Portfolio cases and clamshell boxes: Because all cur-
rently available print storage boxes of this type are con-
structed with low-quality, lignin-containing (and usually acidic)
binders board, none can be recommended for long-term stor-
age of black-and-white photographs, although they probably
are safe enough for color prints. Several firms, including
Portfoliobox and Museum Box Company, can supply custom-
made boxes (at extra cost) in which 100% cotton fiber mount
board has been substituted for binders board; these boxes
should be satisfactory for long-term applications. Pyroxylin-
impregnated cover fabrics should be avoided; acrylic-coated
fabrics are recommended.
Solander boxes: These boxes are made with wood frames
and binders board (usually covered with pyroxylin-coated
fabrics) and are not satisfactory for the long-term storage of
Recommendations
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The Museum of Modern Art in New York City displays photographs in a variety of frames, including those made from
aluminum, brass, Plexiglas, and various types of wood that has been painted, varnished, or lacquered.
There is no doubt that for some years Kodak has been
aware of the image stability problems of displayed black-
and-white RC prints and has devoted considerable effort
toward improving the products. Much less is known about
how other manufacturers have attempted to deal with these
problems, and for this reason, this author recommends
Kodak black-and-white RC papers in preference to other
brands. Among Kodak RC papers, Kodak Polymax RC Pa-
per and Kodak Polyprint RC Paper are this authors pri-
mary recommendations because unlike Polycontrast III
RC Paper and other current Kodak RC papers Polymax
RC and Polyprint RC papers are conventional-emulsion
(non-developer-incorporated) papers. Prints made with
some developer-incorporated RC papers have developed
objectionable brownish stain within the paper base after
only a few years of storage following processing, and use
of conventional-emulsion RC papers eliminates concern
about this particular problem.
The reader is cautioned not to apply test data or other
information supplied by one manufacturer to the products
of another. There likely are large differences in the image
and/or RC base stability between the products supplied by
the many manufacturers of black-and-white RC papers.
This author concurs with Kodaks suggestion that RC
prints intended for display be treated with a protective
toner (e.g., Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner or Kodak Poly-
Among Current Black-and-White RC Papers,
Kodak Polymax RC Paper Is Recommended
Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper, introduced in October
1972 (Ektacolor RC paper was introduced in September
1968), was Kodaks first general purpose black-and-white
RC paper and is the product that started the trend away
from fiber-base papers. Now, the great majority of black-
and-white prints are made on RC papers. Kodak has made
various improvements in the stability of its RC base mate-
rials (and also, apparently, the stability of the silver image
itself), and it seems certain the current Kodak black-and-
white papers such as Polymax RC Paper and Polyprint RC
Paper will last much longer when framed and displayed
than the Kodak RC papers from the 1970s and early 1980s.
How long is not presently known. Nothing has been pub-
lished on the comparative image stability of framed and
displayed black-and-white RC prints.
Kodak has, however, published an article describing im-
provements made in the stability of Kodak RC base paper
(which is related to the stability of the silver image with
displayed prints) and has described accelerated test meth-
ods used by the company to evaluate the stability of Kodak
RC base papers.
2
To date, none of the other major manufac-
turers of black-and-white RC papers, including Agfa-Gevaert,
Fuji, Ilford, Oriental, and Mitsubishi, have published any-
thing meaningful concerning the stability of their products.
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9
Ektacolor prints by Nicholas Nixon (left) and Stephen
Shore (right) displayed in Kulicke welded aluminum frames
at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Toner) to help protect the image. Although in recent years
treating RC prints with a toner has often been recommended,
in practice it is rarely done. People use RC papers because
of their speed of processing and drying, and a toner treat-
ment with the required additional wash is an unwanted
and time-consuming bother.
This author strongly recommends that fiber-base black-
and-white papers be used in preference to RC papers when
the longest-lasting prints are desired, especially if the prints
are to be displayed for long periods. Ideally, both fiber-
base and RC prints should be treated with an image-pro-
tective toner. Valuable black-and-white RC prints espe-
cially those made prior to about 1982 should not be
displayed. For a further discussion of light-induced image
degradation of black-and-white RC prints and image-pro-
tective toners, and for a list of recommended fiber-base
papers, see Chapter 17, Display and Illumination of Color
and B&W Prints.
There is also evidence that under normal display condi-
tions, framing has increased the fading rates of some RC
color prints. This phenomenon one aspect of which this
author calls RC base-associated fading appears to
have been a major factor in the rapid fading and staining
observed in many displayed Ektacolor RC prints made dur-
ing the early 1970s; this authors tests indicate that under
certain processing and display conditions, most of the cur-
rent, improved RC color prints can be similarly affected
(see Chapter 2). Special considerations when framing black-
and-white RC prints will be discussed later.
Frames and Mounting Materials Must Be Inert
All materials used in framing photographs, including
backing boards, should meet strict requirements of perma-
nence and chemical inertness. Noncorrosive metals, such
as anodized aluminum, aluminum finished with oven-baked
enamel, and stainless steel, are ideally suited for frames.
In a discussion of the harmful effects of many common
materials on black-and- white photographic images, Wil-
liam Lee et al. of Eastman Kodak cautioned:
. . . until a new material has been evaluated
and judged safe for use in storing or filing pho-
tographic products, it would be considered pru-
dent to avoid using it for this purpose. It has
been shown that certain materials almost al-
ways adversely affect image stability and should
be avoided. They are: (1) wood and wood prod-
ucts, especially plywood; (2) varnish and lac-
quers, especially those that contain cellulose
nitrate; (3) untempered hardboard; (4) synthetic
foam materials, especially expanded polyure-
thanes; and (5) adhesives that emit oxidizing
species.
3
Lee et al. recommended that the manufacturer or ven-
dor must initiate a series of accelerated aging tests de-
signed to predict long-term stability of the photographic
product in contact with the packaging or filing material in
question. (Refer to Chapter 13 for a description of tests
for mount boards and other paper products.) By the late
1980s, a number of manufacturers and distributors of mount
boards, paper envelopes, interleaving materials, and pho-
tograph storage boxes had begun conducting such tests, at
least to some extent, in an effort to evaluate the long-term
suitability of their products.
A noteworthy example is Light Impressions Corpora-
tion, a large mail-order supplier of conservation materials
located in Rochester, New York. In 1990 the firm announced
that it had started a testing program for paper products
carrying Light Impressions brand names using the Photo-
graphic Activity Test (P.A.T.) described in ANSI IT9.2-1991
to insure that our papers are safe in contact with photo-
graphic materials. According to Light Impressions, it would
test all papers that come in direct contact with photo-
graphic emulsions. This would include envelopes, folders
and album pages, but may not include boxes and cases
unless direct contact with the emulsion is anticipated.
4
The tests were being performed by the Image Permanence
Institute in Rochester, under contract with Light Impres-
sions.
Aluminum Frames
There is a large variety of well-designed aluminum sec-
tion frames available at moderate prices. Aluminum can
be economically extruded into the complex, internally grooved
shapes required for mouldings. It is nonreactive with pho-
tographs; it is strong and will not warp or become distorted
with fluctuations in relative humidity; and it can be anod-
ized or easily finished with safe, oven-baked enamels or
lacquers. Aluminum frames are usually constructed of
four extruded sections which are secured at the corners
with hidden screw-tightened or pressure-fitted hardware.
Some of the more expensive aluminum frames are welded
and polished at the corners, giving the appearance of one-
piece construction. From a conservation point of view,
aluminum frames are excellent they avoid all of the
problems inherent with wood frames.
One of the first museum applications of aluminum frames
for photographs was in the 1959 Alfred Stieglitz retrospec-
tive exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York
City; these brightly polished frames were designed by
Robert Kulicke of Kulicke Frames, Inc. later known as
A.P.F./Kulicke, Inc., and subsequently called simply A.P.F.,
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and fading of silver images.
5
Kodak has said: Frames
made of wood, especially bleached wood, may cause prob-
lems. Varnished, stained, or oiled frames should be avoid-
ed: there are no known safe wood sealers.
6
Another
drawback of wood as a framing material is that it cannot
be oven-baked at high temperatures after painting or lac-
quering.
Examination of historical collections suggests that ordi-
nary wood frames are probably not a major cause of dete-
rioration of fiber-base black-and-white prints. Improper
processing and washing, poor-quality mount board, and
harmful mounting adhesives appear to be much more sig-
nificant factors leading to deterioration of framed fiber-
base prints. Untoned black-and-white RC prints are an-
other matter, however, and these should never be put in
wood frames.
Wood frames do have the advantage of being easy to
seal on the back side with paper attached with glue or
gummed tape to keep out dust, dirt, and insects. Bleached
wood frames should never be used because there may be
residual bleaching compounds in the wood which can harm
photographic images; it may be difficult, however, to deter-
mine whether a frame has been made of bleached wood.
Oiled wood frames should also be avoided.
Wood frames probably do little if any damage to color
prints; keep in mind, of course, that displayed color prints
will fade as a result of exposure to light regardless of the
type of frame. For museum collections, wood frames are
not recommended for any type of photograph.
Hermetically Sealed and Nitrogen-Flushed Frames
Hermetically sealed frames are of obvious benefit for
displaying photographs in the tropics or other humid areas
(including, for example, bathrooms and kitchens). In 1982
the PermaColor Corporation of Broomall, Pennsylvania in-
troduced an acrylic, hermetically sealed frame under the
Photo-Saver name. According to the company:
The Photo-Saver works in a unique manner
by filtering out the most damaging wavelengths
of light while simultaneously sealing out the
atmospheric elements that catalyze both dark
fading and light fading. This concept is an im-
portant breakthrough because it is now pos-
sible to preserve color prints while they are
kept on display. Thats what people really want
to do, rather than be told to keep their color
prints in the refrigerator to preserve color.
7
PermaColor distributed graphs of accelerated test re-
sults and comparison pictorial prints made on Ektacolor 78
Paper (apparently the pre-1982 type that was manufac-
tured without an ultraviolet-absorbing emulsion overcoat,
which left the unprotected cyan dye very UV-sensitive);
those tests indicated that the frames approximately doubled
the stability of the prints compared with glass-covered prints
under similar conditions.
When sample frames were provided to this author, they
were tested with prints made on Ektacolor 74 RC Paper
Type 2524 and a prototype version of Ektacolor Profes-
sional Paper (both of these papers were made with an ul-
Inc. in New York City. The original Kulicke aluminum
frame, now known as The Classic Welded Frame, is still
produced by A.P.F., Inc. and is made of either polished
aluminum or brass, with welded corners. The frames have
a wood strainer (retainer) placed behind the backing board
and secured with screws through the sides of the frame to
hold the matted print and glass in place.
In 1968 Kulicke began marketing the first design of the
now very popular extruded aluminum section frame. Alu-
minum section frame pieces are sold in pairs in a wide
range of lengths and finishes. Almost any size frame can
be quickly assembled from two pairs of pieces of the de-
sired length. For example, for a 14x18-inch frame, a pair of
14-inch sections and a pair of 18-inch sections are needed.
Most section frames have removable corner hardware and
can be taken apart for storage or to reuse the pieces in
frames of different sizes. Aluminum section frames are
now produced by a number of manufacturers; probably the
best known maker of aluminum mouldings is Nielsen &
Bainbridge (formerly Nielsen Moulding Design), a division
of Esselte Business Systems, Inc., located in Paramus, New
Jersey. Nielsen frames are marketed through retail stores
as well as by mail-order outlets such as Light Impressions
Corporation, and are used by many framing shops.
Anodized Aluminum Frames
Aluminum frames are supplied with either an anodized,
lacquer, or enamel finish. Anodizing is a process of elec-
trolytically forming a thin, nonabsorbent oxide layer on the
surface of aluminum. During the anodizing process, the
aluminum can be treated with special salt solutions to pro-
duce certain permanent metallic colors, including black,
gray, bronze, gold, and chrome. Organic dyes may also be
used to produce colors such as metallic blue, green, red,
etc. The dyes are not permanent and will slowly fade on
exposure to light and ultraviolet radiation. An anodized
finish is resistant to scratches and much easier to clean
than the somewhat absorbent natural oxide layer formed
on untreated aluminum in the course of manufacture and
during use. The surface of untreated aluminum easily
picks up dirt, oil, fingerprints, etc., which may transfer to
photographs and mount boards. Untreated aluminum may
be polished to a bright, smooth finish, but, unlike anodized
aluminum, the surface must be protected with a clear lac-
quer to prevent dulling, because the absorbent oxide layer
picks up dirt.
Low-Cost Plated or Painted Steel Frames
Metal frames in small sizes have been sold for home use
for many years. These frames, which are usually very
inexpensive, are made of rolled steel which has been plated
or painted. The frames themselves appear to be satisfac-
tory; however, the mats and backing boards supplied with
them are of poor quality and should be replaced.
Wood Frames
Wood, especially resinous softwoods such as pine and
fir, should not be used to frame black-and-white photo-
graphs because wood releases peroxides and other harm-
ful substances which, over time, can cause discoloration
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traviolet-absorbing emulsion overcoat). The frames were
found to provide little protection for these papers.
For the amateur market, the high cost of the frames
(e.g., $14.95 for a 5x7-inch frame) proved to be prohibitive.
The product could not stop the fading of displayed color
prints, and since the frames cost more than replacement
prints, there was little incentive for the average person to
purchase them. Despite extensive advertising, The frames
simply didnt go over in the marketplace, according to
Joseph M. Segel, chairman of PermaColor. Segel, the en-
trepreneur who founded the Franklin Mint (which was sub-
sequently acquired by Warner Communications), liquidated
PermaColor in September 1983 and quickly moved on to
other ventures. He sold his test equipment, rights to the
frames, the laminating films he was developing, and the
PermaColor trademark to MACtac (a division of Morgan
Adhesives Company) of Stow, Ohio. Re-named MACtac
Permacolor, the company currently markets a variety of
cold mount pressure-sensitive laminating films and ad-
hesives (but not the original PermaColor frames) under
the Permacolor name (see Chapter 4).
From time to time it has been suggested that photo-
graphs be stored or framed in an inert atmosphere in
hopes that this would reduce, or even eliminate, color fad-
ing. This rests on the theory that light fading cannot pro-
ceed without the presence of adequate oxygen and/or water
vapor. Pursuing this approach, Light Impressions Corpo-
ration in 1986 circulated a questionnaire to people in the
museum and fine art photography fields asking for opin-
ions on a vaguely described frame that this author specu-
lates is a large-format, glass-front aluminum frame with an
aluminum sheet backing. The glass is probably edge-sealed
to the aluminum backing with silicone rubber or a similar
substance after a print has been inserted, and the frame is
then flushed with nitrogen to remove all air (the photogra-
pher likely would have to send prints to Light Impressions
for installation in the frame). It is assumed that such a
framing and print installation service would not be inex-
pensive.
In a letter accompanying the questionnaire, the com-
pany said:
At Light Impressions Corporation we are cur-
rently developing a framing and display tech-
nique for color photographs that would provide
protection from the damaging effects caused
by extremes in relative humidity, temperature,
atmospheric acidity, and ultra-violet radiation.
In addition, our new system would potentially
resolve the light-fading problem of color photo-
graphic material in a display situation.
8
Like the earlier PermaColor Photo-Saver frame, a ni-
trogen-flushed frame would probably be of little benefit for
Photographs on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
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Photographs in aluminum, brass, Plexiglas, and wood frames side by side at the Museum of Modern Art.
and Technology, in Rochester, New York. However, shortly
before the conference was to begin, the paper was with-
drawn without explanation and the subject has remained
shrouded in secrecy.
The behavior of various types of color and black-and-
white photographs in nitrogen-flushed frames certainly merits
investigation. For example, tests might indicate that the
frames can be used for protecting daguerreotypes and pho-
tographs made by some of the other early processes. But
possible adverse effects of the frames on displayed RC
prints of all types and black-and-white RC prints in par-
ticular should also be carefully studied.
If the frames prove to substantially improve the light fad-
ing stability of Kodak Dye Transfer fiber-base prints and
Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) polyester-base prints and
long-term testing would be required to confirm this it will
be a very important development, at least for the museum
field. If, however, UltraStable Permanent Color or Polaroid
Permanent-Color prints become generally available at rea-
sonable cost, the need for such frames would be reduced.
At the National Archives in Washington, D.C., the origi-
nal copies of the United States Declaration of Indepen-
dence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are displayed
under very low-level tungsten illumination in helium-filled,
yellow-filtered, bulletproof display cases (in 1986, the docu-
ments survived without damage an attack by a man wield-
ing a hammer).
Ektacolor and other chromogenic materials;
9
however,
data published by Ilford on the protection afforded to Ilfo-
chrome (called Cibachrome, 19631991) prints by embed-
ding them in a polyester resin
10
suggests that a moisture-
starved, nitrogen-flushed frame would substantially increase
the useful display life of Ilfochrome prints. Light Impres-
sions declined to answer questions about the frames and
would not supply data in support of its contention that the
frames would potentially resolve the light-fading problem
of color photographic material in a display situation. When
this book went to press in 1992, nothing further had been
heard about the frames.
Kodak Keeps Data on the Behavior of Its
Color Prints in Nitrogen-Flushed Frames Secret
Since about 1982 it has been rumored that Kodak dis-
covered that Dye Transfer prints in nitrogen-flushed frames
simply didnt fade in accelerated light fading tests. But
when asked, Kodak refused to provide data on Dye Trans-
fer prints tested in this manner and would not even
confirm whether such tests had in fact ever taken place.
Lending credence to these rumors was the announce-
ment that on May 19, 1987, David Kopperl et al. of Kodak
would present a paper entitled Light Stability of Kodak
Color Products Irradiated in Air and Nitrogen at the an-
nual conference of SPSE, The Society for Imaging Science
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Framing Procedures
A stiff backing board should always be placed behind a
mounted print in a frame. This serves to keep the mount
flat, to prevent punctures through the back, and to keep
the back of the mount clean and free of scratches. Some
frames are designed with a deeper recess to provide ad-
equate room for a print that is unusually thick or to allow a
greater separation space between the print and the glass
when a mounted but unmatted print is floated; when the
print is not unusually thick, or a fillet is not placed within
the frame to regulate the space between the glass and the
floating print, additional backing material is required to fill
up the channel (recess). With most aluminum section frames,
such as those manufactured by Nielsen & Bainbridge, spring-
steel tension clips are provided for fitting into the four
channels of an assembled frame behind the backing mate-
rial, mat, print, and glass; the clips press the various lay-
ers together and help to ensure a tight fit inside the frame.
Frame mouldings should be selected with sufficient depth
to accommodate the thickness of all the materials and to
have enough space left so the spring clips will not exert too
much pressure on the backing board. When a photograph
is mounted and overmatted with 4-ply boards, and a mois-
ture barrier sheet and backing board are included, the
package may be too thick to fit properly with the spring
clips in a standard frame moulding such as the Nielsen #11
size, which has a
7
16-inch channel. A moulding with a
wider channel, such as the Nielsen #12 with a
5
8-inch channel,
is more satisfactory. This author has seen many instances
of the spring clips distorting the backing and mount board
at the points where the clips contact the backing sheet; it
may take several years for this type of damage to manifest
itself. This is another reason why a separate, expendable
backing board should always be included: to prevent the
spring clips from directly contacting and scratching or
distorting the mount board and print.
It would be a considerable improvement if, with each
moulding section, frame manufacturers provided strips about
3
4-inch wide and made of thin aluminum or stainless steel;
the metal strips would be placed on the rear edges of the
backing board, with the spring clips installed over the strips.
The metal strips would prevent board distortion caused by
the spring clips and more effectively seal the frame against
dust and insects; they would also minimize internal mois-
ture fluctuations when moisture barriers are used between
the backing material and the matted photograph.
Where possible, framing should be done in a room sepa-
rate from matting activities and storage of mount board.
After frame mouldings and glass have been cut to size,
they must be carefully cleaned before a print and backing
board are installed. Aluminum and glass fragments from
cutting operations are extremely abrasive and can easily
scratch emulsion surfaces or become embedded in the sur-
face of a print. It is important to regulate both matting and
framing environments. Smoking, eating, and drinking should
be prohibited at all times. Clean and moderate conditions
approximately 70F (21C) with a relative humidity of 40
50% should be consistently maintained to minimize the
possibility of putting contaminated and/or moisture-laden
materials into a frame, and to minimize later warpage of
prints, mats, and backing boards.
Should Frames Be Sealed, or Vented?
It has sometimes been advocated that frames be pro-
vided with small holes, or vents, in the backing material,
print mount, and even the overmat of framed prints. Ko-
dak has advised:
Small air vents should be arranged so that
there will be an airflow between the print and
the glass. If fumes from a varnished frame are
trapped against a print surface, especially an
untoned print, some dark areas may develop a
red color as black metallic silver grains change
to colloidal silver. This is especially likely to
happen to prints made on resin-coated [RC]
paper.
11
Kodak did not explain how one would go about venting
the cut-out area inside an overmat, and it is not apparent
to this author how such holes could be made, short of piercing
the print itself (assuming that the overmat extends to the
edges of the image, as is normally the case). It might also
be inferred from Kodaks statement that vents are not needed
with anodized or baked-enamel aluminum frames. Kodak
declined to answer this authors inquiries concerning the
companys venting recommendation.
Keefe and Inch, in their 1990 book The Life of a Photo-
graph, gave another rationale for providing vents:
A sudden increase in heat caused, for ex-
ample, by having the frame hang several hours
in direct sunlight can force moisture trapped
in the paper to form vapor. When the frame
cools, this moisture condenses inside the frame
in liquid form instead of dissolving back into
the mat board and print. Water stains result if
the moisture cannot escape.
12
In addition to recommending a polyester or aluminum-
foil moisture barrier between the backing board and the
print mount, Keefe and Inch suggest providing a small
venting gap in one corner of the polyester or aluminum
foil sheet and, presumably, the backing board.
This author recommends that in general frames not be
vented. Examination of photographs framed in a variety of
ways, and displayed in a wide range of environments, has
convinced this author that frames with overmatted prints
are not subject to moisture condensation on the interior of
the framing glass except, perhaps, in certain extreme
circumstances. If a framed print were hanging against a
very cold wall in a room with warm and humid air, it is
possible that condensation could occur inside the frame
(under this condition, moisture condensation would also
occur on the surface of the wall itself). In a test, this
author placed a framed and overmatted Ektacolor print
(which had been preconditioned for several months at 70F
(21C) and 50% RH) into a freezer at 0F (18C). While in
the freezer, the framed photograph was examined every
few minutes until the temperature had stabilized. Interior
moisture condensation was not observed at any point dur-
ing this test.
Within the normally encountered range of temperature
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and humidity, the edges of the overmat board, and the
surface of the print itself, act as a moisture buffer, rap-
idly absorbing water vapor from the small amount of air in
the overmat cavity should the temperature inside the frame
suddenly drop thereby preventing the relative humidity
from becoming high enough for moisture to condense on
the framing glass.
While it appears unlikely that actual moisture conden-
sation inside of a frame will occur, elevated moisture levels
inside a frame can indeed cause other problems when a
frame is hanging against a cool wall in a room with warm
and humid air. Under these conditions, a zone of high
relative humidity will be created in the air near the cool
wall, especially directly behind a frame where the wall will
usually be somewhat colder than wall surfaces which are
freely exposed to warm room air. The moisture level in-
side the frame usually will not become high enough to
reach the dew point (where liquid condensation occurs on
the cool surfaces), but over time the moisture level can
become sufficiently high to cause warping of the print,
mount board, and overmat. If the print emulsion should
contact the framing glass, ferrotyping or even sticking can
occur. Sustained high moisture levels can enable fungus
to grow on the photograph or mounting materials. Venting
the frame will not help in this situation and may even exac-
erbate the problem.
Ideally, photographs should not be hung on outer walls
in cold climates, especially if the walls are poorly insulated
and/or if the building is humidified during cold periods. As
will be discussed later, placing an unvented polyester or
aluminum-foil moisture barrier between the backing board
and the photograph will significantly reduce the likelihood
of moisture-caused damage.
The question of frame vents also involves whether the
long-term effects of airborne contaminants outside a frame
can cause more damage to a photograph than harmful sub-
stances existing or generated inside a more-or-less
sealed frame. Sources of oxidizing gases and other harm-
ful substances inside a frame are mount boards and adhe-
sives, plastic substitutes for framing glass, wood frames
(including paint or varnish on wood frames), and, in the
case of RC prints exposed to light on display, the titanium-
dioxide-pigmented polyethylene RC layer beneath the print
emulsion. With fiber-base black-and-white prints mounted
and overmatted with suitable materials and housed in alum-
inum frames under glass, this author believes that inter-
nally generated contaminants pose much less of a threat
than external, airborne pollutants.
The Best Way to Frame Black-and-White
RC Prints Remains Uncertain
At the time of this writing, how best to frame black-and-
white RC prints remained an unanswered and troubling
question. Tentatively, this author recommends framing
black-and-white RC prints using an overmat, but without
vents and without a polyester or aluminum-foil moisture
barrier. The absence of a moisture barrier will permit
slow diffusion of RC-base-generated oxidants through the
mounting and backing boards. The absence of vents (ac-
tual holes in the mounting and backing boards) affords
protection against dirt and insects entering the frame. With
black-and-white RC prints in particular, wood frames should
never be used. Black-and-white RC prints intended for
display should be treated with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner
or Kodak Poly-Toner or other image-protective solution
13
to help protect the silver image from oxidants produced by
the RC base, evolved from framing materials, or entering
the frame from external sources (see Chapter 17). Valu-
able black-and-white RC prints, especially those made be-
fore 1982, should not be displayed, even if they have been
treated with a protective toner.
Polyester and Aluminum-Foil
Moisture Barriers
For fiber-base black-and-white prints, and unlacquered
RC color prints, this author recommends that a nonvented
moisture barrier be placed between the print mounting
and backing board. With these prints, a moisture barrier
should be a normal part of everyday framing not some-
thing that is reserved for conservation framing. Color
prints which have been lacquered probably should not be
framed with a moisture barrier, as entrapped fumes evolved
from the lacquer over time can be harmful to color images.
Lacquering is not advised for black-and-white prints of any
type.
If the aluminum-sheet or Lig-free Type II backing mate-
rials discussed below are not used as backing materials, a
separate polyester or aluminum-foil moisture barrier should
be placed between the print mount board and backing board.
Thin, uncoated polyester sheet, such as DuPont Mylar D or
ICI Melinex 516, is recommended. It may be purchased
pre-cut in common framing sizes from Light Impressions
Corporation; uncut rolls are available from a variety of
sources. Thicknesses of 1 to 3 mils are adequate, though
more expensive 5- and 7-mil polyester is easier to handle
and provides a somewhat more effective barrier against
migration of contaminants.
Aluminum foil sold in food stores is also satisfactory as
a moisture barrier; foil intended for use with food has been
treated to remove all oil or other dirt accumulated during
manufacture. Industrial grades of aluminum foil should be
avoided. Aluminum foil is readily available and may be
less expensive than polyester in small quantities; if free of
pinholes, aluminum foil is a totally impermeable vapor bar-
rier and for framing purposes may be somewhat superior
to polyester. On the other hand, some people have ex-
pressed concern that, over time, aluminum foil might slightly
soil the back of a mount board or might even react harm-
fully with paper materials, although to date this author has
seen no evidence to support either contention. More ex-
pensive anodized aluminum foil would lessen the chance of
any such problems occurring, however. Both polyester
and aluminum foil can easily be cut to size (the same size
as the frame backing board) with an ordinary paper cutter.
With care, scissors can also be used.
In addition to reducing the infiltration of airborne pol-
lutants, a moisture barrier will greatly slow moisture fluc-
tuations inside a frame. For example, in homes which
virtually never have effective humidity control the rela-
tive humidity may be very high for a period of hours or
days when it is raining outside. And as discussed previ-
ously, framed photographs hung on outer walls in cool cli-
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num-foil moisture barrier serves the additional function of
protecting the photograph from harmful chemicals and va-
pors emitted by the backing material. With low-quality
backing materials, the best protection can be obtained by
wrapping the backing board with a large piece of heavy
aluminum foil such as the broiler foil available at food
stores (sheet polyester does not handle well as a wrapping
because it is difficult to fold sharply). The foil should cover
the entire board next to the photograph as well as the
edges of the board; the edges may be taped to the outside
of the backing board with 3M Scotch No. 810 Magic Trans-
parent Tape. If possible, a single sheet of foil should be
used. Care should be taken to prevent punctures or pin
holes in the foil during handling.
A polyester or aluminum-foil moisture barrier may be
attached along all four edges to the framing glass with a
stable polyester tape or 3M No. 810 Magic Transparent
Tape so that the photograph and matting materials are
inside a sealed package following a procedure suggested
by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Affairs.
14
As pointed out by Keefe and Inch, tape seals are particu-
larly useful for traveling exhibitions of photographs: In-
spection of many traveling shows frequently turns up little
slivers of glass and glass crumbs that break off edges be-
cause of repeated stressing. Tape eases some of this stress
and contains the particles so they cannot penetrate the
frames interior.
15
This author does not recommend taping as a general
practice, however, as the tape adhesive will contaminate
the edges of the mount board and overmat, and possibly
even contaminate the photograph itself if the print extends
to the edges of the mount board. And, as previously dis-
cussed, this author advises against sealing black-and-white
RC and lacquered color prints in frames.
Paper Barrier Sheets
Cotton fiber papers and mount boards, and alkaline-
buffered papers such as Howard Permalife, have often been
used as barriers between photographs and low-quality
backing materials. Compared with aluminum foil or poly-
ester, paper products are more expensive and not nearly
as effective in preventing migration of potentially harmful
chemicals. Barrier papers and boards are totally ineffec-
tive in preventing moisture transmission, and this author
does not recommend their use.
Good and Bad Backing Materials
Corrugated cardboard, gray chipboard, strawboard, bind-
ers board, plywood, Masonite, extruded polystyrene-foam
laminates such as Fome-Cor, and a variety of other poten-
tially harmful materials have traditionally been employed
for backing framed photographs. All of these materials are
potentially harmful to photographs and generally should
be avoided.
With black-and-white prints, one should be especially
careful to avoid wood products as well as any paper or
board that contains groundwood or lignin, or is acidic. Lig-
nin (a common constituent of low-quality wood pulp paper
products) has been shown to produce damaging peroxides
and acids during aging. Ordinary corrugated cardboard is
mates may be in a zone of temporarily elevated relative
humidity. A moisture barrier will prevent sudden changes
in the moisture content of a print, its mount, and overmat;
this in turn will minimize expansion of the boards and pho-
tograph, thus reducing the tendency of the mount and overmat
to warp. The likelihood of an emulsion ferrotyping or stick-
ing to framing glass will be greatly reduced.
Moisture barriers cannot totally stop moisture penetra-
tion, however. Water vapor can enter the frame along the
exposed edges of the mount board and overmat inside the
frame; in the case of polyester barriers, the plastic itself
slowly transmits water vapor. The effect of the barrier is
to even out year-round fluctuations in ambient relative hu-
midity so that the moisture content of the print and mount
will reflect the average humidity, over a period of several
weeks, in the display area. Short periods of very high or
very low ambient relative humidity will cause little change
in the moisture content of the print and mounting materi-
als inside the frame if a moisture barrier is included.
In a test conducted by this author, two 8x10-inch prints,
dry mounted on 11x14-inch 4-ply 100% cotton fiber mount
board and then overmatted with 4-ply board, were precon-
ditioned in a room with 30% relative humidity for a month.
The overmatted prints were then framed under glass in
Nielsen #11 aluminum section frames; 4-ply backing boards
were placed behind the mounted prints in both frames (the
backing boards had also been preconditioned at 30% rela-
tive humidity). One print was framed with an aluminum-
foil moisture barrier (placed between the backing board
and the print mount), the other without.
Micro Essential Laboratory humidity indicator paper
strips were placed at several locations inside of each frame,
under the glass, to allow continual observation of changes
in interior relative humidity (do not try this test with valu-
able photographs, as the humidity indicator strips will per-
manently stain anything they are in contact with). The
framed prints were then hung in a room with circulating
air and a relative humidity of 60%. The relative humidity
inside the frame without the moisture barrier rose from
30% to about 45% in 3 days and appeared to reach equilib-
rium at 60% RH in 5 days. In contrast, the relative humid-
ity inside the frame with the aluminum-foil moisture bar-
rier required 35 days to reach equilibrium with the 60% RH
conditions in the room this is about seven times longer
than the frame without the moisture barrier! Thus, mois-
ture barriers can effectively protect a print and its mount
against short-term changes in relative humidity.
If the ambient relative humidity is high over long peri-
ods of time, such as in the tropics, the moisture level inside
a frame with a moisture barrier will, after a few weeks,
reach the same level it would if no moisture barrier were
present. A moisture barrier is, however, of benefit in most
situations, and will also allow display of expendable photo-
graphs in locations such as kitchens and bathrooms, where
there are periodic but not sustained high levels of
relative humidity and air pollutants. Of course, a unique or
valuable photograph should never be displayed in such
areas, even if a moisture barrier is used.
If it is necessary to back framed photographs with low-
quality materials, such as corrugated cardboard, chipboard,
strawboard, plywood, or Masonite, a polyester or alumi-
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particularly harmful and is unsuitable as a backing mate-
rial. A number of acid-free alkaline-buffered corrugated
cardboard sheets are available which have been recom-
mended as backing materials;
16
even if these proved to be
stable and nonreactive with photographs and no test
data were available at the time of this writing corru-
gated cardboard, in this authors opinion, is not rigid enough,
especially for large frames and in high-humidity condi-
tions, to be satisfactory as a backing material.
Acceptable backing materials include high-quality mount
board, Lig-free Type II boxboard, natural or anodized alu-
minum sheets, and for color prints only Plexiglas and
other acrylic sheets. Glass is also satisfactory for backing
framed prints but has the disadvantages of being heavy
and easily broken.
For the best economy in general applications, this author
recommends alkaline-buffered wood cellulose conserva-
tion board with a polyester or aluminum-foil moisture bar-
rier. More expensive alkaline-buffered 100% cotton fiber
museum board is of course also suitable. For backing in
frames for both black-and-white and color photographs
that have been overmatted and mounted with the appro-
priate materials, alkaline-buffered mount boards are pre-
ferred over nonbuffered boards. (See Chapters 12 and 13
for further discussion of mount boards.) Four-ply boards
(about
1
16 inch thick) are satisfactory for small and me-
dium-size frames; 8-ply boards (at least
1
8 inch thick) or
thicker should be used with large frames to provide needed
rigidity.
Lig-free Type II Boxboard
Lig-free Type II boxboard, introduced by Conservation
Resources International, Inc. in 1984, is a relatively new
type of paper board which this author believes to be a very
good backing material for both black-and-white and color
prints. Designed for archival storage boxes, Lig-free Type
II is made with a thin sheet of Mylar polyester laminated
between a sheet of lignin-free, alkaline-buffered wood cel-
lulose boxboard (with a cream-colored surface) on one side,
and white, nonbuffered, near-neutral, lignin-free paper on
the other; the polyester sheet acts as an internal moisture
barrier and eliminates the need for a separate polyester or
aluminum-foil barrier sheet. A PVA (polyvinyl acetate)
adhesive is used in the lamination process. Conservation
Resources says the board meets ASTM specifications for
nontarnishing paper (not more than 0.0008% reducible sul-
fur)
17
and is nonreactive when tested with the Collings and
Young silver tarnishing test.
18
Results of Lig-free Type II
tested in contact with photographic materials using the
Photographic Activity Test specified in ANSI IT9.21991
were not available. The board is available in two thick-
nesses, 40 pt. and 60 pt.; the heavier board has about the
same thickness and stiffness as 4-ply mount board. Unfor-
tunately, Lig-free Type II board is expensive, costing more
than an equivalent size of 100% cotton fiber board with a
separate polyester moisture barrier. The white, nonbuf-
fered side of the board should probably face out; keeping
the thicker, cream-colored alkaline-buffered side facing the
interior of the frame will help minimize warping during
periods of fluctuating humidity.
Aluminum Backing Sheets
Although fairly expensive and difficult to cut smoothly
without special metal-shearing equipment, anodized alu-
minum sheet appears to be the best of all currently avail-
able backing materials. It is lightweight, nonreactive,
nonsoiling, unbreakable, and rigid. Unlike boards and other
paper products, aluminum sheet will not sag or warp with
moisture fluctuations and aging (an important advantage
with large frames), and it provides an effective barrier
against migration of moisture and air pollutants. Alumi-
num backing sheets also prevent damage to mats and pho-
tographs caused by localized pressure of the spring ten-
sion clips found in most aluminum section frames. Anod-
ized aluminum sheet is supplied in a variety of thicknesses
by a number of manufacturers; an example is the Anoclad
sheet made by ALCOA.
19
Unfinished aluminum, which has not been anodized, is
relatively inexpensive and may also serve as a backing
sheet; however, it is necessary to place a sheet of alumi-
num foil, uncoated polyester, or high-quality paper between
the unfinished aluminum sheet and the back of a mounted
print to prevent the mount from becoming soiled by trans-
fer of small amounts of dirt or oil from the oxidized surface
of the aluminum over long periods. Most commercially
available natural aluminum sheet products have a residual
oil film on the surface left from rolling operations; it is not,
therefore, recommended for backing high-quality and valu-
able prints.
Aluminum sheet in large sizes is difficult to cut flat and
smoothly with ordinary tin snips. A bench-mounted sheet
metal shear works well, however, and the expense of one
should not be excessive for most frame shops or exhibition
departments. Hand-operated sheet metal nibbling tools
may also be used for small jobs. The thickness of the
aluminum required will depend on the size of the frame;
1
32 to
1
16 inch (0.8 to 1.6 mm) should be sufficient for sizes
up to about 20x24 inches.
Fome-Cor and Other Polystyrene Foam
Laminate Boards
Extruded polystyrene-foam laminates such as Fome-
Cor, Gatorfoam, Artcor, and Prime-Foam-X are widely used
both as backing materials for framed photographs and as
substitutes for mount board when mounting black-and-white
and color prints. These laminates are very lightweight,
easy to cut, and surprisingly rigid for their thickness; foam
laminates are especially popular for mounting murals and
other large prints. Monsanto Plastics and Resins Com-
pany, the maker of Fome-Cor, had this to say about its
product:
We do not recommend that Fome-Cor in its
current composition be used in conservation
framing in direct contact with works of art. How-
ever, the product is suitable for use as a back-
ing material behind an appropriate thickness
of conservation ragboard, due to its relatively
low acid content. The commercial grade of Fome-
Cor has a pH of 5.56.5.
20
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Inc., is faced with white, clay-coated paper; it is similar in
appearance to original-type Fome-Cor.
For Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, Agfacolor, and
similar chromogenic color prints intended for prolonged
display, Gatorfoam, Acid-Free Fome- Cor, Artcor, and
Prime-Foam-X appear to be satisfactory as backing or mount-
ing materials. Pending more information on their aging
characteristics and potential adverse interactions with
silver images, however, these products are not recommend-
ed for use in contact with, or near, valuable black-and-
white photographs.
Corrugated Polypropylene Backing Sheets
A relatively new and very inexpensive plastic material
that may prove to be a satisfactory backing material is
polypropylene corrugated board. It is a lightweight ma-
terial with a structure similar in appearance to ordinary
corrugated cardboard. Available in a variety of colors, it
has found application as a high-quality, moisture-resistant
substitute for corrugated cardboard in box manufacture;
since it is plastic, a separate moisture barrier would not be
needed in framing applications. Polypropylene board is
made using extrusion techniques developed in Japan and
Europe. Sheet corrugated polypropylene is available from
Coroplast, Inc. in Canada.
27
In the absence of accelerated
test data, this author does not recommend the material for
backing valuable photographs; however, there is no doubt
that Coroplast polypropylene board is superior to conven-
tional corrugated cardboard and chipboard products widely
used in commercial framing.
Prints Must Be Separated from Framing Glass
Photographs to be framed should be overmatted to pre-
vent direct contact of the print emulsion with framing glass
or plastic sheets. Some frame mouldings are designed to
keep the artwork away from the glass by holding them in
separate, closely spaced grooves; Nielsen #44 and #55 moul-
dings are examples. Artwork can also be separated from
the glass by specially designed plastic spacers (fillets),
such as the Framespace.
28
Prolonged contact of a gelatin emulsion with glass (es-
pecially under pressure) in conditions of high relative hu-
midity may produce sticking or ferrotyping, which re-
sults in irregular areas of altered surface gloss. This ap-
pears to be particularly likely to occur with some types of
color prints. Studio portrait and wedding photographers
usually lacquer color prints in an attempt to prevent them
from sticking or ferrotyping when in contact with framing
glass. Kodak has recently recommended that even lac-
quered prints be overmatted to preclude contact with framing
glass both to prevent sticking of the lacquered surface
to the glass (which Kodak says can occur, although this
author has never seen an example of this) and to minimize
yellowing should a color print be lacquered with a product
containing ketones or other solvents which produce perox-
ides on oxidation. Lacquering should be avoided for any
black-and-white or color print intended for long-term keep-
ing. Print lacquers and pressure-sensitive laminates are
discussed in Chapter 4.
Original-type Fome-Core is faced on both sides with
bleached white clay-coated kraft paper (kraft paper is a
common wood pulp paper produced by the sulfate pro-
cess). Brown natural kraft paper facings are also avail-
able. In 1983 Monsanto introduced Acid-Free Fome-Cor,
faced with alkaline-buffered paper, designed to be used in
direct contact with artwork in conservation quality fram-
ing, allowing you to remove protective ragboard barriers.
By having one backing sheet do the work of two, Acid-Free
Fome-Cor can save you as much as 25% of your backing
materials cost.
21
Gatorfoam, manufactured by the Uniwood Division of
the International Paper Company, is laminated on both
sides with sheets of moisture-resistant, resin-impregnated
wood fibers. Concerning the archival quality of Gatorfoam
as a mounting material for photographs, Uniwood says:
The pH on the composite panel of Gatorfoam
is an average of 5.5 to 6.5. However, pH on the
face material is closer to 6.0. While this may
seem to be slightly acid, Gatorfoam has been
tested and is used by several top museums as
mount board for fine prints. If archivability is
critical we suggest having tests made to deter-
mine acceptability of the panel.
22
An ad for Gatorfoam which appeared in a number of
publications in 1983 said:
The stability of Gatorfoam makes it espe-
cially suitable for mounting fine photographic
prints. Its pH is within a safe range for even
the most chemically sensitive mounted materi-
als. Several major museums that use Gatorfoam
have commented on its ability to keep prints
from fading and discoloring.
23
The pH level of polystyrene-foam laminates is only one
of many considerations that determine their suitability for
mounting photographs; more important are the possible
adverse effects from facing materials, and from aging prod-
ucts of the polystyrene foam core and laminating adhe-
sives. On inquiry from this author, neither Monsanto nor
Uniwood had any test data on possible adverse effects their
respective products might have during long-term use with
photographs; Uniwood could offer no evidence to support
its contention that Gatorfoam helped keep prints from fading
and discoloring.
24
When used to mount black-and-white photographs,
Gatorfoams resin-impregnated wood fiber facing sheets
are a source of particular concern. William Lee et al. of
Kodak have claimed that synthetic foam materials and wood
products are among materials that almost always adversely
affect image stability [of black-and-white images] and should
be avoided.
25
Polaroid Corporation has advised against
polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) products such as Fome-Cor,
noting that they are among the materials containing sub-
stances that are harmful to photographs.
26
Artcor, a product of Amoco Foam Products Company, is
faced with thin sheets of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
(ABS) plastic. Prime-Foam-X, made by ICC Industries,
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Figure 15.1 Disassembled Frame
Plastic and Glass Framing Materials
In general framing, glass is preferred to plastic sheets.
Acrylic sheet such as Plexiglas scratches much more eas-
ily than glass, and care must be exercised in handling and
cleaning. Both DuPont Lucite SAR (Super Abrasion Resis-
tant) acrylic sheet and Rohm and Haas Plexiglas G Ultra-
Shield have much greater abrasion resistance than regu-
lar grades of acrylic sheet. Especially when the relative
humidity is low, acrylics and most other transparent plas-
tics have a pronounced tendency to develop static charges,
which in turn attract airborne dust; glass does not have
this drawback. Plexiglas and similar acrylic products are
also considerably more expensive than glass.
Almost all current color papers, including Ektacolor,
Fujicolor, Konica Color, and Agfacolor, are overcoated with
an ultraviolet-absorbing layer during manufacture, so in
most display situations where the print or illumination source
is covered with a sheet of glass, there will be little if any
reduction in fading by using ultraviolet-absorbing plastic
materials such as the UF-3 grade of Plexiglas acrylic sheet
made by the Rohm and Haas Company. (Polycast Tech-
nology Corporation Polycast UF-3, DuPonts abrasion re-
sistant Lucite SAR UF-3, and CYRO Industries Acrylite
OP-3 appear to have UV-absorption characteristics that
are generally similar to Plexiglas UF-3.)
29
Even though
Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints do not have an ul-
traviolet-absorbing emulsion overcoat, this authors long-
term 1.35 klux fluorescent light fading tests with the prints
showed that the increased protection afforded by UF-3 is
relatively small (see Table 3.3 in Chapter 3).
Plexiglas UF-3 has a slight yellowish tint as a result of
the incorporated ultraviolet filter material which absorbs
essentially all radiation below 400 nanometers, and, un-
avoidably, also absorbs some visible blue light in the 400
425 nanometer region. When UF-3 is used for framing, its
yellowish tint somewhat changes the appearance of photo-
graphs and mat boards; UF-3 will therefore not be accept-
able for critical museum applications. Polycast UF-4 and
other UF-4 sheets are almost completely colorless; UF-4,
however, does not completely absorb UV radiation in the
385400 nanometer region and is therefore somewhat less
effective than UF-3 as a UV filter.
Plexiglas G and other standard grades of acrylic sheet
typically absorb most UV radiation below about 350 na-
nometers. Ordinary window and framing glass completely
absorbs wavelengths below about 320325 nanometers. Glass
effectively absorbs the 313 nanometer mercury vapor emis-
sion line which is radiated by most fluorescent lamps; sig-
nificant UV radiation at this wavelength is very harmful to
color materials that do not have a UV-absorbing emulsion
overcoat, such as Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) prints,
Kodak Dye Transfer prints, Fuji Dyecolor prints, Polacolor
2 and ER prints, pre-1983 Ektacolor prints, and Kodak Ekta-
therm and most types of thermal dye transfer still video or
digital electronic hardcopy prints.
Fortunately, glass windows absorb much of the UV ra-
diation present in daylight in the potentially very harmful
300350 nanometer region. Were it not for this fact, uphol-
stery fabrics, dyed carpets, wallpaper, black-and-white pho-
tographs, and many other objects found in homes and of-
fices would not last nearly as long as they do! Fluorescent
lamps also have a mercury vapor emission at 365 nanom-
eters, which glass freely transmits; however, such long-
wave ultraviolet radiation does not adversely affect the
overall fading rates of most types of color photographs.
To completely exclude UV radiation from display areas,
one can install sheets of Plexiglas UF-3 over windows, fluo-
rescent lamps, quartz halogen lamps, and other light sources
which emit significant UV radiation. This eliminates the
need to frame prints with UF-3 they can be framed with
glass instead (see Chapter 17). Filtering the light source
instead of the prints also avoids the problem of the some-
times disconcerting yellowish tint of UF-3. When UF-3 is
used to frame a photograph, light must pass through it
once to illuminate the print, and a second time when re-
flected back to the viewer. This accentuates the yellowish
tint of UF-3; the effect is made all the more obvious by
unavoidable visual comparison with walls, frames, and other
objects in the viewing area which are not covered with UF-
3. When the light source itself is filtered with UF-3, the
yellowish coloration cannot be detected.
Pending further information, this author does not rec-
ommend Plexiglas or other brands of acrylic sheet for long-
term use with black-and-white photographs. Acrylic plas-
tics are based on methyl methacrylate and are manufac-
tured using a peroxide-catalyzed polymerization system.
The final product may contain residual peroxides and/or
unreacted acrylic monomers which over a long period could
harm the silver images of black-and-white photographs.
While the long-term effects of acrylic sheet on photo-
graphs are not presently known, the work of Weyde,
30
Pope,
31
and others would certainly suggest caution in this area. The
problem is complicated by the fact that levels of residual
peroxides and unreacted acrylic monomers vary from batch
to batch, and some manufacturers of acrylic sheet have
lower quality control standards than others. Kodak has
recommended that acrylic plastics be avoided;
32
however,
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Polaroid Corporation considers them to be acceptable.
33
Although this author has not yet seen any examples of
image deterioration which appear to have been caused by
Plexiglas brand acrylic sheet, the long-term display of black-
and-white prints with plastic frames or cover sheets made
of acrylic, polystyrene, or other currently available clear
plastics is not recommended. Products of this type include
the Kulicke FK Plastic Frame, WK Warhol Kulicke Frame,
Trap Frames, Slip Frames, and frames of similar design
made by other manufacturers.
Acrylic sheet is probably satisfactory for short-term contact
with black-and-white photographs in situations where break-
age of glass might be a problem, such as in traveling exhi-
bitions. Acrylic plastics are also suitable for use with color
photographs; color image dyes appear to be much less
sensitive to trace levels of peroxides and other chemicals
than are silver images.
For some years, the International Museum of Photogra-
phy at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York
framed salted paper and albumen prints with Plexiglas
UF-3 in an effort to reduce the damaging effects of the
daylight illumination that was present in many of the
museums display areas at the time.
Textured non-glare glass should be avoided in framing
because it reduces visual definition of the image. Also,
textured glass must be in direct contact with the photo-
graph, unless the print is lacquered, and this may result in
sticking or ferrotyping of the emulsion over time. If tex-
tured glass is separated from the photograph by an over-
mat, the loss of image definition, contrast, and color satu-
ration will be visually unacceptable.
Some types of non-glare glass are manufactured with a
vacuum-deposited, optical anti-reflection coating which func-
tions in a manner similar to the anti-reflection coatings on
camera lenses. Unlike conventional non-glare glass, anti-
reflection coated glass can be used with overmatted prints
with no loss in image clarity.
Suppliers of framing glass with optical anti-reflection
coatings include Viratec Tru Vue, Inc. (Tru Vue Museum
Glass), and Denton Vacuum, Inc. (Denglas).
34
Both Tru
Vue Museum Glass and Denglas are available with UV-
absorbing coatings. While specular reflections are largely
eliminated by the anti-reflection coatings, the faint glare
images from sources of bright light can have a somewhat
disconcerting iridescent appearance. In display situations,
however, where objectionable glare is present, these spe-
cial (and fairly expensive) types of glass will markedly im-
prove the appearance of photographs and other works of art.
Cleaning Glass and Plastic
Glass and plastic sheets must be washed to remove dirt
before placement in a frame. After swabbing with a solu-
tion of water and a non-ionic detergent such as Ivory Liq-
uid, the sheet should be thoroughly rinsed with warm run-
ning water and dried with clean paper towels.
Glass or plastic sheets already in a frame should be
removed from the frame for cleaning; otherwise, the clean-
ing solution could seep under the edges of the frame and
contaminate the mount board or photograph. If it is not
possible to remove the glass for cleaning, the frame should
be laid horizontally on a table. The glass should be wiped
with a paper towel which has been moistened (but not
soaked) with a non-ionic detergent solution; great care must
be taken to prevent any of the cleaning solution from seep-
ing under an edge of the frame. Then working quickly to
prevent any of the cleaning solution from drying on the
glass or plastic all remaining solution should be wiped
off with paper towels. Superficial dust can be removed
with a soft brush.
Glass cleaners containing ammonia, such as the popu-
lar Windex Glass Cleaner with Ammonia-D, should be used
with great care because residues of the cleaners can cause
serious damage to photographs should some of the solu-
tion seep under the edges of a frame or come into contact
with nearby, unframed prints. This author has seen a number
of Kodak Ektacolor prints which have suffered almost total
localized dye loss as a result of contamination with drop-
lets of ammonia-containing glass cleaners.
Also stored for 25 years, these prints were made on the
same type of fiber-base paper and kept under identical
conditions, except that the curl has been restrained by
storage in a snugly fitting box. For these illustrations,
both groups of prints were allowed to equilibrate in an
environment with a relative humidity of less than 20%.
Even in this very dry condition, the prints that had been
kept in the box curled only slightly when they were re-
moved from the container.
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Subjected to widely varying relative humidity (caused by
seasonal fluctuations in humidity) over a 25-year period,
these photographs gradually became severely curled during
storage. The prints were made on single-weight fiber-
base Kodak Polycontrast Paper in 1966.
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General Storage Considerations
For storage, unframed prints and large sheet films should
be placed horizontally in flat boxes (preferably about 2
inches deep and never more than 4 inches deep) with drop-
fronts or drop-backs. Keeping stacks short and minimiz-
ing the weight on prints or films near the bottom of the
stacks will lessen the chance of dirt becoming embedded
in emulsions, minimize physical damage that can occur
when mounts of varying sizes are stored together, and
reduce the possibility of ferrotyping under humid condi-
tions if plastic sleeves are used. Prints and films should
never be pulled from the center of a horizontal stack; in-
stead, the prints on top of the desired photograph should
be lifted off and set aside.
When prints are stored in regular office file cabinets, as
is often the case in publication or commercial archives, the
photographs should be prevented from curling excessively
over time by taking up the free space in each file drawer.
Most file cabinets have adjustable metal partitions for this
purpose; if possible, partitions in the file drawers should
be placed about 8 or 10 inches apart (additional partitions
can be purchased from the manufacturer of the file). Prints
should be inserted or removed from file drawers by pulling
out the entire file, placing it on a work table, and carefully
lifting out or inserting the photographs.
Prints and films should never be crammed into sleeves
or envelopes that are already in a file cabinet; this will
inevitably result in scratches, creases, and cracked emul-
sions.
Preventing Excessive Curl in
Fiber-Base Prints
Gradually, sometimes over a period of many years, un-
mounted fiber-base prints can develop excessive curl; the
curl is almost always toward the emulsion side of a print
and is most acute in single-weight prints. When prints
without envelopes or sleeves are stored together in the
drawer of a file cabinet, for example the entire batch
may develop curl as a unit. Aside from the curl character-
istics, which are inherent to a given print material, there
are two principal factors that affect the amount of curl
which ultimately will develop:
1. Cycling Relative Humidity. An environment in which
the relative humidity cycles over a wide range from
very low to very high will, over time, cause much
more curl to develop in unrestrained fiber-base prints
(even if the average RH is very low) than will storage at
a more constant relative humidity. Why cycling rela-
tive humidity increases the curling tendency in fiber-
base prints (and, to a lesser extent, in RC prints and in
35mm and other narrow-gauge films manufactured with-
out a gelatin anti-curl coating on the base side) is not
understood; however, there is no doubt that it does. In
temperate climates, indoor relative humidity will drop
to a very low level in cold periods of the year unless
humidifiers are available to increase the moisture level.
In warmer parts of the year, on the other hand, indoor
relative humidity levels may periodically become very
high, even if air conditioners are in operation.
2. Physical Restraint of the Curling Tendency. If a
fiber-base print is maintained in a flat position by mount-
ing it in an overmat, by placing it in a frame, by storing
it in a filled box, or by inserting it into a plastic sleeve
(with a reinforcing mount board backing behind the
print, if necessary), excessive curl will not develop even
if the relative humidity does cycle over a wide range.
In homes and offices in temperate climates, it usually is
impossible to maintain a low and reasonably constant
relative humidity without costly special equipment of the
type that only a few museums and archives have at present.
It is therefore essential that prints be held flat if excessive
curl is to be avoided. This in addition to protecting
photographs from dust, dirt, fingerprints, scratches, creas-
ing, cracking, and other physical damage is an essential
element of a good storage system.
If prints have already developed unacceptable curl, great
care should be exercised in attempting to flatten them in
order to avoid cracking the emulsion; with valuable prints,
an experienced photographic conservator should be consulted.
Housing Valuable Photographs
Storing unprotected or sleeved prints, negatives, and
transparencies in file cabinets or stacked in discarded Kodak
paper and film boxes (or those supplied by other photo-
graphic manufacturers) is not recommended, particularly
for museums, archives, galleries, important commercial
and documentary collections, or fine art photographers.
To properly store valuable photographs, the following ap-
proach is suggested:
1. Place individual prints or films in uncoated polyester or
untreated polypropylene top-flap sleeves (see Chapter
14 for discussion of the various types of sleeves and
envelopes for storing photographs). The transparent
plastic sleeves allow visual examination of prints and
films while at the same time preventing fingerprints
and scratches on the photographs themselves. The
sleeves also prevent transfer of rubber-stamp ink from
one print to another and eliminate the possibility of
contaminating films and prints with migrating residual
thiosulfate and other harmful chemicals from poorly
processed photographs that might be present in the box.
2. Sleeved prints and films, either individually or in small
groups (e.g., all of the cut strips of negatives from a roll
of 35mm or 120 film), should be placed in high-quality
paper envelopes to protect them from dust and to pro-
vide a place upon which to write the date and other
identifying information with a pencil or pen, or to mark
with a rubber stamp. The sleeves and paper envelopes
also offer a significant amount of physical restraint to
fiber-base prints and help prevent them from develop-
ing excessive curl over time.
3. For protection against physical damage and dust, and
to further physically restrain fiber-base prints so as to
keep them flat, the paper envelopes should be placed in
suitable boxes. Prints and sheet films larger than 5x7
inches should be stored horizontally in boxes not more
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than about 4 inches deep. It is essential that the boxes
have drop-fronts or drop-backs to minimize the chance
of physical damage to prints when they are removed
from the boxes. Prints and films 4x5 inches and smaller
(including 35mm and 120 films) may be stored verti-
cally in fixed-front boxes not larger than about 10 inches
deep if they are in envelopes. It is important that the
boxes be full so that the contents fit snugly and are not
allowed to sag or develop curl over time; filler made of
high-quality mount board may have to be placed in a
box to fill extra space. Pieces of plastic foam should
never be used for filler because over time these materi-
als may evolve harmful gases.
4. The boxes should be placed on metal shelves coated
with baked enamel or better still, for additional pro-
tection against dust and physical damage, on shelves
within closed metal cabinets. Wood fixtures in general,
and plywood, particle board, chipboard, and Masonite
in particular, should be avoided. For ease of access
and to avoid excessive weight on the contents of a box,
the boxes should not be stacked on top of one another.
Mounted prints should also be stored in boxes. Mounted
prints are not normally placed in sleeves or envelopes;
however, the prints should be interleaved as they are placed
in the box. This author believes that a smooth, 100% cotton
fiber paper, such as Atlantis Silversafe Photostore (see
Chapter 13), should be used to interleave mounted prints
that do not have overmats. For prints that do have overmats,
a sheet of Mylar D or ICI Melinex 516 polyester (or suitable
translucent interleaving paper), cut about one inch smaller
than the dimensions of the mat, should be placed between
the print and the overmat. This will protect the surface of
a print while permitting viewing without the need to re-
move the interleaf sheet.
Storage will be simplified if prints (and the mounts of
mounted or overmatted prints) are all of the same size or
are segregated into several standard sizes, such as 8x10,
11x14, and 16x20 inches, and if boxes of the appropriate
size are used. Small prints tend to slide around during
handling if they are filed with larger prints; this is espe-
cially true when groups of prints receive rough handling
when being shipped. If mixing prints of different sizes
cannot be avoided, small or odd-size prints can be pro-
tected by placing them in a standard-size sleeve along with
a backing sheet of a good-quality mount board (preferably
of 2-ply thickness) the same size as the sleeve.
Very large prints should be grouped by size in small
stacks and stored horizontally in metal blueprint files or on
large shelves within metal cabinets. Large prints require
special handling, and no attempt should be made to incor-
porate them into regular subject or alphabetical files. Cross-
reference cards or small copy photographs can be inserted
in the regular files, as required.
Contact between different types of photographs (e.g., Fuji-
color prints, Kodak Dye Transfer prints, Ilford Ilfochrome
prints, black-and-white prints, color negatives, instant prints,
etc.) should be avoided; if various types of photographs
must be kept together in the same file or box, they should
be placed in individual polyester sleeves to prevent mi-
gration of chemicals between adjacent films and prints.
Glass photographic plates should be stored vertically,
resting on the long edge, in vertical files or in vertically
compartmented shelves. Cabinets and shelves for glass
plates should be constructed of steel coated with baked
enamel, of anodized aluminum, or of other suitable
nonreactive and noncombustible materials; wood, plywood,
Masonite, particle board, chipboard, Formica, and similar
products should be avoided. Great care should be taken
that fragile glass plates are not subjected to undue pres-
sure or allowed to slide off shelves. Information on proper
storage containers for glass plates may be found in ANSI
PH1.45-1981, American National Standard Practice for Stor-
age of Processed Photographic Plates.
35
Storage Containers
Boxes, cabinets, and shelves for storing photographs
should be made of materials which do not chemically react
with photographs over long periods, are opaque (to protect
the contents from light), do not absorb moisture, are im-
permeable to gases, do not deteriorate with age, and, if
possible, are noncombustible. Suitable materials are stainless
steel, heavily chrome- or nickel-plated steel, aluminized
steel, aluminum, anodized aluminum, and aluminum or steel
coated with oven-baked enamel.
36
Containers can be molded of a suitable plastic material,
such as polypropylene. Any plastic material used in stor-
age environments must have very good aging characteris-
tics and be nonreactive with photographs during long-term
storage. Acrylics, unsaturated polyesters (the plastic base
for many fiberglass-reinforced articles), and other plastics
which may contain residual peroxides should be avoided.
Phenolics (such as Bakelite), which may release formalde-
hyde, should not be used. Decorative plastic laminates
(such as Formica) are usually made with a thin melamine-
formaldehyde top-sheet laminated to a phenolic base and
are unsuitable for storing photographs because both the
plastic laminate itself and the contact adhesives that ad-
here the materials to countertops and cabinets can cause
deterioration of silver images. All chlorinated plastics,
such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), should be avoided.
Wood, especially resinous softwoods such as pine or fir,
should not be used for containers because wood may re-
lease peroxides or other chemicals which, over time, will
harm photographs.
37
Well-aged hardwoods, such as maple
or birch, are less of a problem, but these too should be
avoided if possible. Plywood, particle board, chipboard,
Masonite, and other glued or laminated wood products are
unsuitable because of potentially harmful substances in
the bonding adhesives (most of which are made with form-
aldehyde as a primary ingredient) and in the wood itself.
Cardboard Boxes
Most types of cardboard boxes are not satisfactory for
long-term storage because cardboard, containing ground-
wood and lignin, is usually acidic and relatively unstable;
decomposition products of cardboard may adversely affect
photographs, particularly black-and-white prints. Lignin
has been cited as a powerful cause of fading and staining
during long-term storage.
38
A wide variety of glues and
pastes many of which are hygroscopic are used in
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cardboard box construction; the effects of these adhesives
on photographs are not known. Boxes in which photo-
graphic papers and films are supplied by the manufactur-
ers, while probably not harmful for short-term storage, are
unsuitable for long-term storage of black-and-white photo-
graphs. These boxes have commonly been used by photog-
raphers because a ready supply of them is usually avail-
able in proportion to the number of prints processed
and because they precisely fit the common print sizes.
Carol Brower has seen dye stains on prints and mounts
which have been stored for a few years in these boxes
before being delivered to her for matting; for example, a
distinct blue and orange staining sometimes occurs on the
exposed surfaces and edges of prints when stored inside
the familiar orange photographic paper boxes manufac-
tured by Agfa-Gevaert. Agfa removed the dark interior
papers sometime after 1983; prints stored in the current
boxes are exposed to gray chipboard, which is still unsuit-
able for long-term storage.
This author tested a variety of photographic paper and
film boxes for pH, groundwood content, and presence of
Hollinger metal-corner boxes containing negatives, transparencies, and prints in the cold storage vault at the Gerald Ford
Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Working in the vault is Richard Holzhousen, curator of photography at the library.
Administered by the National Archives and Records Administrations Office of Presidential Libraries, the library collection
focuses on Fords years as President of the United States.
alum, using the Tri-Test Spot Testing Kit for Unstable Pa-
pers.
39
Of the samples tested, all except some Kodak black-
and-white paper boxes of recent years indicated ground-
wood content and were quite acidic. Kodak has advised:
Cardboard boxes in which unexposed film, plates, and
paper are packaged should not be used for enclosure mate-
rials. Packaging material which is suitable for unexposed
sensitized materials may not be inert to processed materi-
als.
40
It would be extremely helpful if manufacturers sup-
plied film and paper in good-quality boxes made with stable
and photographically nonreactive cardboard; the added cost
would be slight and the benefits great since so many photo-
graphs are stored in these boxes.
Hollinger Metal-Corner Boxes
Primarily used for long-term storage of documents and
photographs in archives and museums, the first boxes of
this type were produced in 1954 by the Hollinger Corpora-
tion, a packaging and box manufacturer now located in
Fredericksburg, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., for the
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National Archives and Records Administration. Originally
made with a low-groundwood, nonbuffered cardboard with
a pH of about 7.5, and sized with Aquapel, the boxes were
fabricated with baked-lacquer-coated steel corners, which
avoided glues or pastes. A gray pigment-coated paper with
good light-fading stability was bonded to the cardboard to
keep the boxes looking new with the passing years.
Boxes of this design became commonly known as The
Hollinger Box and can be found in archives and museums
throughout the world. Current boxes supplied by the Holl-
inger Corporation have the same construction as the origi-
nals but are now made with alkaline-buffered cardboard
with a stated minimum pH of 8.5. The calcium carbonate
buffering agent is dispersed throughout the cardboard; an
alkaline-buffered gray facing sheet is laminated to the out-
side of the box and a buffered white paper to the inside. At
the time of this writing in 1992, no test data were available
concerning the suitability of Hollinger boxes for long-term
storage of photographs. For storage of prints and large
sheet films, flat boxes with drop-fronts should always be
used; the boxes preferably should be about 2 inches deep,
and never more than 4 inches deep.
Boxes similar in physical design to those originated by
Hollinger are now supplied by Conservation Resources Inter-
national, Inc., Light Impressions Corporation, Century Divi-
sion of Pohlig Bros. Inc., and a number of other companies;
they are often called metal-edge or metal-corner boxes.
Conservation Resources Lig-free Type II Boxes
Probably the best currently available cardboard storage
boxes are the Lig-free Type II boxes manufactured by Con-
servation Resources International, Inc. of Springfield, Vir-
ginia. Introduced in 1984, the boxes are made with the
previously described Lig-free Type II board, which has a
polyester moisture barrier laminated between a sheet of
white, nonbuffered, lignin-free paper on the inside and a
sheet of alkaline-buffered, lignin-free boxboard with a cream-
color facing sheet on the outside. The boxes come in low-
cost fold-up designs as well as in the traditional metal-
corner Hollinger design fabricated with staked metal cor-
ners; both designs are free of glued seams. The boxes are
also made with a lower-cost, alkaline-buffered, lignin-free
boxboard called Lig-free Type I, which does not contain a
polyester moisture barrier.
Lig-free boxes are currently available in a number of
styles; the Drop Front Print Boxes, Negative Boxes, and
Document Cases are best suited to photographic needs.
Microfilm storage boxes are also available. Conservation
Resources can custom-make almost any style or size of
Members of the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation study photographs in the Historic
New Orleans Collection during the groups 1987 meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Much of the collection is matted, both
to enhance the presentation of the photographs and to reduce physical damage during handling and study. Drop-back
Solander boxes allow matted prints to be lifted out easily without damage to the edges of the mats. Cotton gloves are made
available to all visitors.
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box on special order. The boxes
are moderate in price: the cost
of a 11
1
2x14
1
2x3-inch Lig-free
Type II drop-front box for 11x14-
inch prints is about $6 in quan-
tities of 20, and less for larger
quantities. Lig-free Type I
boxes of the same size cost
about $5, and 2-inch-deep Lig-
free corrugated fold-up boxes
for 11x14-inch prints are about
$3. Lig-free corrugated card-
board is made in two forms: one
is alkaline-buffered throughout,
while the other is made with
one side (and the corrugated
core) alkaline-buffered and the
opposite side nonbuffered.
Also recommended are the
Hollinger-type boxes supplied
by Light Impressions Corpora-
tion under the names Drop
Front, Flip-Top, and Flat Stor-
age Boxes. They are made of
TrueCore boxboard, a tan, al-
kaline-buffered, lignin- and
alum-free, wood pulp boxboard
which is claimed to contain less
than 0.0008% reducible sulfur
and to have been tested with
the ANSI IT9.2-1991 Photo-
graphic Activity Test. The box-
board does not have a polyes-
ter moisture barrier, and the
boxes are somewhat less ex-
pensive than the previously
described Conservation Re-
sources Lig-free Type II boxes.
Solander Boxes
Many private collectors, mu-
seums, and galleries store their
fine art photography collections
in cloth-covered, wood-framed
boxes (cases) with cloth-hinged
tops and drop backs, commonly
called solander boxes,
41
mu-
seum cases, or print cases.
They are almost always black,
usually covered with a slightly
pebbled, semi-gloss, pyroxylin-
impregnated book-binding fab-
ric. The best known manufac-
turer is Spink & Gaborc, Inc. in
Clifton, New Jersey (from its
founding in 1911 until 1985, the
firm was located in New York
City). Similar boxes are also
made by Light Impressions
Corporation in Rochester, New
York; Museum Box Company
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John Lawrence, curator of the Historic New Orleans Collection, holds a drop-
back Solander box. Boxes such as this one are used to store all of the museums
matted prints.
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Fine art portfolios are presented in
custom-made cases, most of which
are of the clam-shell design. At
Light Gallery in 1982, Carol Brower
and Peter Wilsey (former Light Gal-
lery associates) examine Mitch
Epsteins 1981 portfolio of six over-
matted Dye Transfer photographs.
The portfolio cases were made by
Lisa Callaway of North Hampton,
Massachusetts. Located at 724 Fifth
Avenue in New York City, Light Gal-
lery was the worlds preeminent
contemporary photography gallery
from 1971 until the early 1980s,
when an abrupt downturn in the
market for fine art photographs led
to the gallerys closing.
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in West Warwick, Rhode Island; Portfoliobox, Inc. in Provi-
dence, Rhode Island; Opus Binding Limited in Ottawa, On-
tario (not related to Opus Framing, Ltd., another Canadian
company); G. Ryder & Co. Ltd. in Milton Keynes, England;
Atlantis Paper Company Limited in London, England; and
a number of other firms.
Solander boxes have long been used by museums for
storage of drawings, lithographs, and other works of art on
paper; when these institutions began to acquire photographs,
it seemed logical to store them in these boxes as well.
Such boxes are fairly expensive (in 1992 a box for 16x20-
inch prints cost about $80), attractive, durable, and offer
excellent physical protection for photographic prints. The
lipped lids form an effective seal against dust when the box
is closed. The boxes are usually made with a cloth-hinged
drop back, which facilitates access to the contents and
minimizes the possibility of damage to prints and mounts
during handling, and are equipped with two polished nickel-
plated clasps and a label holder on the front. Handles are
available by special order.
Boxes currently manufactured by Spink & Gaborc are
framed with pine wood; the top and bottom are made of
binders board, a type of heavy compressed cardboard for
covering hardbound books. The exterior of the box is cov-
ered with a pyroxylin-impregnated fabric, the edges of which
wrap around into the inside of the box. The interior is
covered with a shiny, white, clay-coated paper glued to the
frame and to the binders board which forms the top and
bottom of the box. On request, alkaline-buffered paper can
be substituted for the clay-coated paper. The boxes are
assembled with glue.
Binders board is a thick, low-cost, single-ply cardboard
made from waste paper such as newsprint, scraps of card-
board, etc. Binders board has a high groundwood and
lignin content. It contains many impurities and is usually
nonbuffered and acidic. Binders board should not be used
in photographic storage containers and in particular should
be avoided for storage of black-and-white prints. If, for
reasons of economy, binders board must be used, the alka-
line-buffered Acid-pHree binders board introduced in 1984
by the Davey Company is strongly recommended.
42
The
cost of this more stable product is only marginally greater
than ordinary acidic, nonbuffered binders board.
Pyroxylin is a plasticized cellulose nitrate plastic (hav-
ing a lower nitrogen content than highly flammable cellu-
lose nitrate film base) and is commonly used as a lacquer
base for coatings on book covers. Pyroxylin and other
cellulose nitrate-based plastics are not sufficiently stable
for long-term applications; on aging, pyroxylin can evolve
nitrogen oxides and other substances which are harmful to
black-and-white silver images. William Lee et al. have
cautioned against their use with black-and-white photo-
graphs.
43
Acrylic-impregnated book binding cloth, which
is a satisfactory substitute for pyroxylin-impregnated fab-
ric, is available from Industrial Coatings Group, Inc.
44
On special order, Spink & Gaborc will manufacture boxes
with 100% cotton fiber mount board in place of binders
board and replace the pyroxylin-impregnated fabric with
an acrylic-coated, starch-filled, or plain cloth material (un-
fortunately, the wood frame is retained); these special boxes
are sold at a premium price.
This author is unaware of any tests that have been con-
ducted to determine the long-term effects of storing photo-
graphs in Spink & Gaborc boxes. Nor does this author
know of any damage to photographs that has been directly
attributed to Spink & Gaborc boxes. They are used exten-
sively at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City;
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York; the Art
Institute of Chicago, and most of the other major fine art
photography collections in the United States; however, bind-
ers board, wood frames, and various other materials in
these boxes are potentially very harmful to silver images.
Although the boxes probably present no immediate hazard
to photographs, they cannot be recommended for long-
term storage of black-and-white photographs, especially in
humid locations.
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Silver images particularly the images of albumen
prints, silver-gelatin printing-out papers, and contempo-
rary RC prints can be extremely sensitive to peroxides
and other contaminants which, over time, are likely to be
evolved from many of the components in Solander boxes.
Harmful substances could reach print images either by
migration through boards and papers or in a gaseous form.
This author believes that of all the materials in a Solander
box which have the potential to harm silver images, the
acidic, high-lignin-content binders board is the cause for
greatest concern. Forming both the top and bottom of the
box, the total surface area of the binders board is quite
large, and the board is also in very close proximity to the
topmost and bottommost photographs stored inside the
box. Image deterioration of silver-gelatin microfilms which
has been attributed to peroxides evolved from cardboard
storage boxes indicates that all materials used in the vicin-
ity of silver image black-and-white films and prints must
be selected very carefully.
45
An improved version of the basic box design in which
the wood frame is replaced with extruded aluminum or a
suitable plastic such as polypropylene, and with the top
and bottom made with either aluminum or alkaline-buff-
ered and lignin-free board, covered with an acrylic-coated
fabric, and assembled with long-lasting, nonreactive adhe-
sives would be a major advance in the photographic
conservation field; the internal and external appearance of
such an improved box could remain unchanged.
In 1985 Light Impressions Corporation announced that
in 1986 it would replace the binders board used in all of
their Solander museum cases with a better-quality, alka-
line-buffered, lignin-free boxboard; unfortunately, the com-
pany abandoned the idea for practical and economic rea-
sons, and decided to continue using inexpensive, low-quality,
high-lignin-content, acidic binders board. Light Impres-
sions did, however, replace the pyroxylin-impregnated fab-
ric covering on its boxes with an acrylic-coated fabric. At a
premium price, Light Impressions can also supply custom-
made boxes, using materials specified by the customer.
Portfolio Cases and Clamshell Boxes
Light Impressions Corporation; University Products,
Inc., Century Division of Pohlig Bros. Inc., Museum Box
Company, Portfoliobox, Inc., G. Ryder & Co. Ltd., and sev-
eral other companies make a moderately priced box usu-
ally called a portfolio case or clamshell box. Exten-
sively used for storing photographs, these boxes are con-
structed of binders board covered with pyroxylin-impreg-
nated fabric or other book-covering cloth, and lined with
paper or synthetic materials such as DuPont Tyvek. They
are available in a variety of colors, the most common being
gray, black, and brown. The boxes are glued together, and
the top, bottom, and drop back are attached with flexible
cloth joints; there are no wood frames, and the boxes do
not have metal latches. A variation of the design, with a
slightly overhanging top and bottom, is known as a lipped
clamshell box. Detailed instructions on how to make
these boxes are contained in a publication from the Li-
brary of Congress entitled Boxes for the Protection of Rare
Books Their Design and Construction.
46
There are currently no accelerated test data on the ef-
fects on photographs of the materials that go into the manu-
facture of these boxes (materials and adhesives vary among
manufacturers). Other than the lack of wood frames, port-
folio cases are made with materials and construction tech-
niques similar to those found in Solander boxes. While
they are probably satisfactory for storing color photographs
and likely present no immediate hazard to black-and-white
prints, they are not recommended for long-term storage of
black-and-white photographs, especially in humid conditions.
In late 1986, as the company did with their museum
cases, Light Impressions Corporation replaced the pyroxy-
lin-impregnated fabric covering of their boxes with an acrylic-
coated fabric. Announced plans to improve the quality of
the board used in the manufacture of the boxes were aban-
doned, however, and at the time of this writing in 1992 the
boxes continued to be made with a low-quality, high-lignin-
content, acidic binders board.
Metal Print-Storage Boxes
In the late 1970s, a steel print box was manufactured by
Saxe Archival Systems, a Canadian firm; the box was coated
with a heat-cured dry powder finish.
47
Equipped with a
hinged drop front and a telescoping lid that lifts off, it was
an interesting attempt to make an improved box. Because
of the heavy-gauge steel used to make the box, it is heavy
and difficult to handle. It is also likely that rust would
develop in humid environments should the finish become
chipped or scratched. This author finds the Saxe box to be
generally unsatisfactory.
Several photographers have had metal boxes custom-
made for portfolios. In 1980 Lilio Raymond used a brushed
aluminum box for a portfolio entitled Six Photographs; the
edition was limited to 30 sets and was sold for $1,000 by the
Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery in New York City. Joe Maloney
had a spray-painted metal box made for his portfolio of ten
Kodak Dye Transfer prints published and sold by QED Edi-
tions in New York City for $5,000 in 1982.
A print storage box made of aluminum, lined with 100%
cotton fiber mount board, and covered in cloth to make it
aesthetically pleasing, was under development by a Brit-
ish firm called Goldfinger Ltd.; unfortunately, the company
went out of business in 1985 and the box was never mar-
keted. This approach to box design appears to be sound,
however, and it is hoped that in the future some other
manufacturer will produce a box of this type.
Photograph Albums
Paper products in photograph albums should meet the
same requirements as mount board, interleaves, envelopes,
and any other paper in direct contact with films and prints;
additional information on paper quality can be found in
Chapter 13.
Photograph albums have traditionally been fabricated
from paper of very low quality; usually made with alum-
rosin size, these acidic papers often contain significant
amounts of lignin from groundwood, and have potentially
harmful levels of sulfur. Combined with damaging adhe-
sives, the paper in such albums has caused or acceler-
ated the discoloration and fading of countless millions of
photographs.
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Commercial blueprint files are excellent for storing prints
(especially large unmatted prints) because they have wide,
shallow drawers. Marthe Smith, former director of the Life
Gallery of Photography in New York City, and Carol Brower
look at Alfred Eisenstadt photographs. The gallery exhib-
its and sells photographs from the extensive Time Inc.
Magazines Picture Collection (part of Time Warner Inc.).
More recently, photograph albums with plastic-covered
self-stick or magnetic pages have become very popular
for storing amateur snapshots. As a group, these albums
have proven to have very poor aging characteristics and
are unacceptable for storing any type of photograph. In a
1987 New York Times article about the hazards of poor-
quality photo albums, Glenn Collins wrote:
The worst type of album, conservators say,
is the most common one: the so-called mag-
netic album. It has no magnets, but its card-
board pages grip photographs on a sticky adhe-
sive coating covered by a layer of plastic that is
peeled back to position the photos.
In such albums, the cheap-quality cardboard
gives off peroxides that cause yellow staining
in the whites of the prints in both black and
white and color prints, Mr. [James] Reilly said.
The plastic covering can be harmful not only
because it completely seals the photograph in
with cardboard, but because the plastic gives
off gases that attack photographic images.
Furthermore, Mr. [Douglas] Severson said,
the strips of adhesive material can be devas-
tating to photographs, transferring themselves
to the print. Ms. [Judith] Fortson explained
that eventually a bond forms between the ad-
hesive and the photograph, so you cannot take
out the photo without destroying it.
This is by no means the only harmful type of
album. Mr. Reilly said the black backing paper
that was used in many older albums is the pits
the paper gives off oxidant gases that attack
photo images.
48
Existing albums of poor-quality materials can best be
preserved by storing in refrigerated conditions with low
relative humidity (about 30%) and the lowest temperature
possible (see Chapters 19 and 20).
Many albums contain valuable written material such as
captions to the photographs, and this material should be
photocopied if it is decided to remove prints from an al-
bum. Unmounting photographs, especially old prints at-
tached with unknown adhesives, is a complex and hazard-
ous procedure and should not be attempted unless adequate
equipment and thoroughly experienced personnel are avail-
able. It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss unmount-
ing, reprocessing, and restoration of old photographs.
3M FlashBacks Brand Photo Albums
with Self-Stick Pages
Perceiving that a large market existed for a reasonably
safe, easy-to-use photograph album with self-stick pages,
in 1991 the 3M Company introduced a line of albums with
self-stick pages under the FlashBacks name. These al-
bums utilize a different and much longer-lasting tacky
adhesive to hold photographs in place than other currently
available self-stick albums. 3M cautions, however, that the
adhesive, which is similar to that used in 3Ms familiar
removable yellow Post-it note pads, may leave a slight
residue on the backs of prints.
This author has not tested these albums for the long-
term effects they could have on photographs. FlashBacks
albums should not be used in museum or archive applica-
tions. However, the albums appear to be made of reason-
ably good quality materials and the pages are made with
long-lasting polypropylene cover sheets. For those who
insist on using self-stick albums, FlashBacks albums are
recommended as the best currently available albums of
this type. They are clearly much safer for photographs
than the common, low-cost, self-stick magnetic-page al-
bums discussed previously.
Albums with Paper and Polyester Pages
Light Impressions Corporation, University Products, Inc.,
Century Division of Pohlig Bros. Inc., Photofile, Inc., and a
few other suppliers now market archival photograph al-
bums with paper pages and polyester-covered pages which,
in general, are made with long-lasting and nonreactive ma-
terials. These albums, which appear to be suitable for histori-
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6
Print boxes are stored on steel shelves (coated with baked
enamel) at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The shelves are open and no box rests on another; this
provides ready access to the boxes and the prints. Here,
Peter Galassi, now the director of the Department of Pho-
tography, removes a print box for study purposes. The
photography collection is stored in an environmentally
controlled room at 60F (15.5C) and 40% RH.
A variety of low-cost consumer albums with polypro-
pylene-covered pages are available from the Holson Com-
pany of Wilton, Connecticut. Holson has advertised that its
album pages have No PVC Content. One Holson bro-
chure issued in 1985 shows a faded color print that is claimed
to have been stored for 5 years in a PVC album page. Also
illustrated is an unfaded print of the same scene which has
received No PVC Exposure. On inquiry to the company,
this author was informed that the unfaded print was not
5 years old like the faded print it was actually a new
print made from the original negative. The faded print
stored in the polyvinyl chloride page appears to have suf-
fered a near total loss of cyan dye and, judging from its
appearance and the date it was supposed to have been
made, this author believes that Agfacolor Paper Type 4
was probably used to make the print.
Agfacolor Paper Type 4 has extremely poor dark fading
stability and in 5 years would be expected to fade in this
manner, regardless of whether the print was stored in a
PVC album page. The Holson Company could not identify
cal societies, museums, and other long-term applications,
are fairly expensive.
Low-cost albums of reasonable quality can be made by
using a loose-leaf notebook filled with good-quality artists
drawing paper obtainable at any art supply store. A note-
book with a cloth or paper cover is preferable to one made
with the currently popular plasticized PVC covers. The
artists paper can be cut to the proper size and holes punched
with a standard paper punch. Gummed hole reinforce-
ments should then be applied to the holes. Pencil or India
ink should be used to mark the pages. Prints may be
attached with mounting corners (see Chapter 12), or with
3M No. 568 Positionable Mounting Adhesive, available from
photographic supply stores.
Uncoated polyester notebook page protectors (made from
DuPont Mylar D or ICI Melinex 516), available from Light
Impressions Corporation and most office supply stores,
offer excellent physical protection for album pages; be-
cause transparent notebook page protectors are made from
a variety of plastics, be certain that those to be placed in
photograph albums are fabricated from polyester.
Webway Family Archival Albums
Moderately priced, well-designed albums consisting of
good-quality acid-free and lignin-free paper pages with ICI
Melenix polyester-covered Picture-Pockets are supplied
by Webway Incorporated of St. Cloud, Minnesota under the
Webway Family Archival Album name. These albums, which
can be easily expanded with low-cost Family Archival refill
pages, are available in sizes for standard 3
1
2x5-inch 3R
format prints ($18.00) and 4x6-inch 4R format prints ($20.00).
Page styles are available both with and without an ample
writing space below each print for captions (probably bet-
ter for most people are the pages with extra writing space,
even though these pages accommodate fewer prints than
the page style without writing space).
Webway Family Archival albums, which were introduced
in 1989, are this authors primary recommendation for gen-
eral home and amateur storage of both color and black-
and-white photographs. For 8x10-inch prints, the Webway
Portrait Album is available. Webway supplies other al-
bums under the Classic, Prestige, and Vanguard names;
some of these albums are sold with Press-N-Stick self-
adhesive pages, which should be avoided.
Albums with Polypropylene and
Low-Density Polyethylene Pages
C-Line Products, Inc., 20th Century Plastics, Inc., Light
Impressions Corporation, and others sell surface-treated
(coated) polypropylene notebook pages with sectioned pock-
ets, similar to those made for slides, to hold a variety of
common print sizes. Although surface-treated polypropylene
pages are superior to PVC notebook pages, such as those
sold by 20th Century Plastics, they are not recommended
by this author for long-term storage of valuable photographs;
polypropylene pages should be avoided in museum and
archive applications. Likewise, polyethylene notebook pages
made by Vue-All Incorporated, Print File, Inc., Clear File
Inc., and other suppliers are not recommended. For fur-
ther information, see Chapter 14.
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several times a year during the first few years after the
prints are made to allow lacquer solvent vapors to dissi-
pate; Kodak reports that Lacquered prints can . . . turn
yellow in albums that are tightly sealed, particularly where
peroxide forming solvents are present in the lacquer.
50
Prints obtained from drugstores, one-hour minilabs, and
similar outlets are never lacquered.
Other Types of Albums
Hallmark Card Shops (operated by Hallmark Cards, Inc.
of Kansas City, Missouri) sell several types of photograph
albums, some of which are made with overlapping cellu-
lose acetate pages with prints inserted back-to-back, two
to a page. These albums appear to be satisfactory for
amateur use.
Some albums supplied by the Polaroid Corporation for
Polaroid 600 and SX-70 prints require that the prints be
flexed during insertion into album page slots. These al-
bums should be avoided because such bending may con-
tribute to eventual cracking of the prints internal image-
receiving layer. Polaroid albums for peel-apart color and
black-and-white prints that have pages made of plasticized
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are not recommended for long-
term storage of photographs.
Cabinets and Shelves
Cabinets and shelves should be constructed of steel or
aluminum coated with baked enamel, of chrome- or nickel-
plated steel, of anodized aluminum, or of stainless steel.
51
the type of paper that was used to make the 5-year-old
print.
49
The company did say, however, that the faded
print had no backprinting this precludes it from being
an Ektacolor print because all Kodak color paper sold in
the U.S. during that period was backprinted to identify it as
a Kodak product. Most, if not all, Agfacolor Paper Type 4
imported into the U.S. was not backprinted (watermarked).
The new, unfaded print was made on Kodak Ektacolor
paper.
Regardless of whether a PVC page was the cause of the
fading suffered by the print in the Holson brochure, Holsons
concern about PVC is justified and the firms polypropylene-
page albums are to be preferred over albums supplied with
PVC or poor-quality paper pages. In Holsons product lit-
erature, the company does not identify the brand or type of
polypropylene in its albums.
Unless plastic-covered pages or plastic page protectors
are used, photographs should be mounted on only one side
of each album page; if prints are mounted on facing pages,
they may catch and damage each other as the pages are
turned. In addition, direct print-to-print contact will per-
mit chemicals from poorly processed prints to migrate onto
other prints. It is also important to prevent different types
of prints (e.g., Kodacolor prints and Polaroid instant prints)
from directly contacting each other in the album.
Albums should be kept in a cool, dry place away from
strong light. This is especially important if the album con-
tains color photographs. Albums containing lacquered Ek-
tacolor and similar chromogenic color prints from profes-
sional wedding and portrait photographers should be opened
Thomas Hill, Peter Krause (center), and other visitors look at large unmounted panoramic prints stored in blueprint
files at the Humanities Research Center Photography Collection at the University of Texas in Austin.
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Wood is not recommended, but if it must be used, well-
dried hardwoods such as maple or birch are preferred.
For reasons to be discussed later, plywood and particle
board in particular should be avoided. Structural foam
plastics and laminated decorative plastics such as Formi-
ca should never be used.
ANSI standards concerned with the storage of photo-
graphs suggest both baked-on nonplasticized synthetic
resin lacquer and baked-on enamel
52
as suitable fin-
ishes for steel cabinets, shelves, and other storage hous-
ings.
53
Lacquers containing cellulose nitrate (pyroxylin)
should be avoided. Kodak has recommended against both
acrylic lacquers and acrylic enamels.
54
If steel equipment is to be repainted, this author sug-
gests having this work done at a commercial spray-paint
shop equipped with drying ovens to produce the proper
finish. Some automobile paint shops can do this type of
work. Finishes on wood will blister if baked at high tem-
peratures; therefore, water-base latex paints, which do not
require baking, are recommended for painting wood shelves
and cabinets, as well as walls and other fixtures in galler-
ies and storage areas. Alkyd oil-base paints have been
shown to produce peroxides and other vapors which can
rapidly discolor black-and-white images. Larry Feldman
of Eastman Kodak has reported that unbaked alkyd oil-
base enamel continued to evolve harmful fumes for many
weeks after the paint was applied; latex paints, however,
did not produce harmful fumes in the Kodak tests.
55
Anodized aluminum is an excellent material for cabi-
nets and shelves, though it is more expensive than baked-
enamel-coated steel. Stainless steel is also excellent, but
because it is very expensive it is not often chosen for mak-
ing photographic storage equipment.
A wide range of cabinets, cabinets with shelves, and
open shelves made of steel finished with baked enamel are
available from office equipment dealers at moderate cost;
most are well suited for long-term storage of photographs.
Blueprint files, which have many large drawers of shallow
depth, are excellent for storing large or odd-sized prints.
For large-volume storage applications, shelving which
can be rolled together will save a significant amount of
space; the shelves are rolled apart for access.
56
Shelves of
this type are particularly helpful in cold storage facilities
where space is at a premium.
Cabinets and closed shelves normally do not need venti-
lation if the prints stored in them are properly processed
and the mount board, paper products, and boxes are of
high quality. Closed cabinets greatly reduce problems with
dust and minimize effects of air pollution. Unventilated
cabinets also minimize fluctuations in relative humidity if
the humidity in the storage area is not controlled.
If the photographs and associated paper products and
boxes are of poor quality, however, there may be some
advantage in providing ventilation to allow peroxides and
other potentially harmful vapors to diffuse into the sur-
rounding air. Cabinets for storing cellulose nitrate films at
room temperature should be adequately ventilated and
if possible should be located in a separate building away
from other collections. Ideally, nitrate films should be sealed
in vapor-proof containers and stored in special, explosion-
proof freezers at a temperature of 0F (18C) or lower (see
Appendix 19.1 in Chapter 19).
Plywood, Particle Board, and Formica-covered
Cabinets and Shelves Should Be Avoided
Margaret A. Leveque, a conservator at the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston, has reported a case in which metal
objects in the museum collection corroded within a short
period after they were put in new plywood display cases.
57
The source of the problem was identified as formaldehyde
from the urea-formaldehyde adhesive that bonded the lay-
ers of plywood together; samples of the birch plywood in
the cases contained about 7.8% free formaldehyde by weight.
Attempts to seal the plywood with three coats of polyure-
thane varnish and covering the cut edges with strips of
hardwood proved to be of little benefit. Ventilation of the
display cases also did not solve the problem.
Leveque also reported that tests of the interior environ-
ment of veneered wood-particle-board storage cases in-
stalled in the newly built Sackler Museum at Harvard Uni-
versity indicated such high levels of formaldehyde that it
was decided not to jeopardize museum objects by placing
them in the cases; instead, the units were replaced with
baked-enamel steel cases.
It has been shown that formaldehyde vapors also are
capable of harming black-and-white photographs. In an
important article published in 1972, Edith Weyde, a re-
search chemist at Agfa-Gevaert in Leverkusen, West Ger-
many, described a number of chemical processes which
the silver images of black-and-white films and prints can
undergo during the course of image deterioration:
When silver coatings are exposed to oxidiz-
ing gases, soluble silver salts form in these coat-
ings. . . . These salts are colorless and will
remain that way for years if they are protected
from intense light exposure and kept in pure
air. The only effect of the oxidizing gases is to
reduce the density of the images, which is eas-
ily overlooked. However, the colorless silver
salts are very easily converted to brown, wa-
ter-soluble compounds, if the air contains traces
of certain impurities such as formaldehyde, ac-
ids, etc. For example, it is quite sufficient to
open a bottle of formaldehyde in the same room
to stain these colorless silver salts brown. Light
will quickly convert these salts to silver.
58
The initial reason for Weydes research was the unex-
pectedly rapid deterioration of some of the films and prints
in the Munich archives. Weyde was able to identify plastic
file index cards made of phenylene-formaldehyde as the
cause; the cards had been in use at the archives for 14
years, and the first signs of image discoloration had been
noted after 5 years.
Formaldehyde solutions have been used as hardeners
in black-and-white processing, and it is apparent that newly
processed silver images are not adversely affected by short-
term exposure to the substance. Older films and prints, on
the other hand, are likely to contain at least trace amounts
of silver salts due to exposure to oxidizing gases during the
course of storage; as a result, the photographs may be
subject to discoloration in the presence of formaldehyde.
The hazard is probably the greatest for films and prints
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14. Debbie Hess Norris, The Proper Storage and Display of a Photographic
Collection, Picturescope, Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 1983, p. 10.
15. Laurence E. Keefe, Jr. and Dennis Inch, see Note No. 12, p. 182.
16. If economy dictates corrugated cardboard as backing for framed photo-
graphs, the best available product is probably Lig-free Corrugated Board,
supplied by Conservation Resources International, Inc. (see Suppliers
list at the end of this chapter).
17. American Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM D 98474, Standard
Methods of Testing for Reducible Sulfur in Paper, American Society
for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
19103; 1974. Related Standard: Technical Association of Pulp and Paper
Industry [TAPPI] Standard Method T 406 Su 72.
18. T. J. Collings and F. J. Young, Improvements in Some Tests and Tech-
niques in Photograph Conservation, Studies in Conservation, Vol. 21,
No. 2, May 1976, pp. 7984.
19. Check with aluminum suppliers in your area (listed in the Yellow Pages of
the telephone book). Some industrial suppliers will sell only to large-
quantity purchasers. Small or large quantities, including cut-to-size pieces,
may be purchased from Lawrence N. Frederick, Inc., 501 East Lake Street,
Streamwood, Illinois 60107; telephone: 708-289-8300. This firm also sells
anodized aluminum foil.
20. Michael F. Bruton, market supervisor, Fabricated Products Division, Mon-
santo Plastics and Resins Co., 800 N. Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis,
Missouri 63166, letter to this author, December 1, 1982.
21. Advertisement in Photographic Processing, Vol. 18, No. 6, June 1983.
22. International Paper Company, Gatorfoam Photo-Mount Use Instruc-
tion Sheet, March 13, 1984, Gatorfoam Laminated Foam Panels, Interna-
tional Paper Company, Uniwood Division, Highway 90, P.O. Box 5380,
Statesville, North Carolina 28677.
23. Advertisement in Photographic Processing, Vol. 18, No. 9, Sept. 1983.
24. Jay Wynne, technical manager, Gatorfoam Laminated Foam Panels, see
Note No. 22, telephone discussion with this author, Oct. 24, 1984.
25. W. E. Lee et al., see Note No. 3, p. 28.
26. Polaroid Corporation, Storing, Handling, and Preserving Polaroid Pho-
tographs: A Guide, Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
1983, p. 33.
27. Coroplast, Inc., 700 Vadnais Street, Granby, Quebec J2J 1A7, Canada;
telephone: 514-378-3995.
28. Framespace spacers are available from Frame Tek, 51205 Franklin Bou-
levard, Eugene, Oregon 97403; telephone: 503-726-5779 (toll-free outside
of Oregon: 800-227-9933). Framespace spacers are made of KODAR
PETG 6763 plastic, a product of Eastman Chemical Company. The plastic
is claimed to contain no plasticizers or additives which might exude.
29. Rohm and Haas Company, Ultraviolet Filtering and Transmitting For-
mulations of Plexiglas Acrylic Plastic, Plexiglas Design, Fabrication
Data, PL612d, 1979, pp. 2, 3, 5. Rohm and Haas Company, Indepen-
dence Mall West, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19105; telephone: 215-592-
3000. Plexiglas UF-3 should not be confused with Plexiglas II UVA which
does not contain an ultraviolet absorber. UVA has about the same ultra-
violet cutoff point as the standard grades of Plexiglas (which absorb
somewhat more UV radiation than ordinary glass). The Plexiglas II series
is made to much closer thickness tolerances, and is more expensive, than
the standard grades such as Plexiglas G.
Polycast UF-3 and UF-4 are manufactured by Polycast Technology
Corporation, P.O. Box 141, Stamford, Connecticut 06904. DuPont Lucite
SAR and Lucite SAR UF-3 are manufactured by the DuPont Company,
Polymer Products Department, Lucite Sheet Products Group, Wilmington,
Delaware 19898. To produce Lucite SAR UF-3 and SAR UF-4 abrasion-
resistant sheet, DuPont reportedly applies its proprietary SAR coating to
UF-3 and UF-4 acrylic sheet purchased from Polycast Technology Corpo-
ration. Licensing and purchasing agreements allow the Rohm and Haas
UF-3 and UF-4 trademarks to be used by all three companies. Acrylite
OP-2 and OP-3 are distributed by CYRO Industries, Inc., 100 Valley Road,
P.O. Box 950, Mt. Arlington, New Jersey 07856; telephone: 201-770-3000.
Plexiglas is supplied with protective paper or polyethylene cover
sheets on both sides to prevent scratches during cutting and handling.
Plexiglas may be cut with a table saw equipped with a fine hollow-ground
plywood blade such as those sold by Sears Roebuck, Rockwell, and
others. Production shops cutting large quantities of Plexiglas should use
one of the fine-toothed, carbide-tipped blades especially designed for
cutting acrylic sheet. These blades, which may cost more than $200
each, are available from several companies, including Forrest Manufac-
turing Company, Inc., 461 River Road, Clifton, New Jersey 07014; tele-
phone: 201-473-5236. Coarse-toothed saw blades or blades with teeth
which have been set should not be used because a rough cut and edge
chipping will result.
30. Edith Weyde [Agfa-Gevaert AG], A Simple Test to Identify Gases Which
Destroy Silver Images, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol.
16, No. 4, JulyAugust 1972, pp. 283286.
31. C. I. Pope, Blemish Formation in Processed Microfilm II, Journal of
Research of the National Bureau of Standards A. Physics and
Chemistry, Vol. 74A, No. 1, JanuaryFebruary 1970, pp. 3136.
32. Eastman Kodak Company, Preservation of Photographs, Kodak Publi-
cation No. F-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, August
1979, p. 30.
which have been subjected to periods of storage under
adverse conditions during their history.
This underscores this authors recommendation that mu-
seums and archives in particular should strictly prohibit
wood, plywood, particle board, chipboard, Masonite, and
formaldehyde-containing plastic laminates such as Formica
in making boxes, cabinets, shelves, and display cases for
storing their collections.
1. Glenn Collins, Fading Memories: Albums Damage Photos, The New
York Times, October 3, 1987, p. 16Y.
2. T. F. Parsons, G. G. Gray, and I. H. Crawford [Eastman Kodak Company],
To RC or Not to RC, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering,
Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 1979, pp. 110117. See also: Larry H. Feldman
[Eastman Kodak Company], Discoloration of Black-and-White Photo-
graphic Prints, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 7,
No. 1, February 1981, pp. 19. (The Feldman article does not directly
address the image deterioration in framed and displayed black-and-white
RC prints.) Kodaks most recent advice: Displaying Prints: Prints on
black-and-white, resin-coated [RC] papers that may be subjected to in-
tense or extended illumination, exposed to oxidizing gases, or framed
under glass or plastic should be treated with toners . . . to extend image
life. Toned fiber-base papers continue to be recommended for those
applications requiring long-term keeping under adverse storage or dis-
play conditions. (From information sheet: Kodak Polycontrast Rapid II
RC Paper, KP73873f, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
August 1981.)
3. W. E. Lee, F. J. Drago, and A. T. Ram, New Procedures for Processing
and Storage of Kodak Spectroscopic Plates, Type IIIaJ, Journal of
Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 1, February 1984, p. 28.
4. Light Impressions Corporation, Light Impressions Mid-Summer 1991
Archival Supplies Catalog, p. 2 (see Suppliers list below for Light
Impressions address).
5. See ANSI PH1.48-1982, American National Standard for Photogra-
phy (Film and Slides) Black-and-White Photographic Paper Prints
Practice for Storage, 1982, p. 6. American National Standards Insti-
tute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone:
212-642-4900; Fax: 212-398-0023.
6. Eastman Kodak Company, Conservation of Photographs (George T.
Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-40, Eastman Kodak Company,
Rochester, New York, March 1985, p. 108.
7. PermaColor Corporation, press release, June 1, 1982.
8. Norb J. DeKerchove, product research coordinator, Light Impressions
Corporation, Rochester, New York.
9. Toshiaki Aono, Kotaro Nakamura, and Nobuo Furutachi [Fuji Photo Film
Co., Ltd.], The Effect of Oxygen Insulation on the Stability of Image Dyes
of a Color Photographic Print and the Behavior of Alkylhydroquinones as
Antioxidants, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 8,
No. 5, October 1982, pp. 227231. See also: Kaoru Onodera, Toyoki
Nishijima, Shun Takada, and Masao Sasaki [Konica Corporation], The
Effect of Oxygen Gas on the Light-Induced Fading of Dye Images and
Staining of Color Photographic Prints, presented at the Second SPSE
International Conference on Photographic Papers, sponsored by the
Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, July 24, 1984.
10. Remon Hagen, Further Improvements in the Permanence of Cibachrome
Materials under Adverse Display Conditions, Journal of Imaging Tech-
nology, Vol. 12, No. 3, June 1986, pp. 160162. One company offering
rigid plastic encapsulation of Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) and other photo-
graphs is: Armourseal, VPB Industries, Albion Mill, Hollingsworth, Hyde,
Cheshire SK14 8LS, England; telephone: 01-0475-65226. See also: Attila
Kiraly, The Kiraly Method of Embedding Cibachrome Display Prints for
Archival Protection, Proceedings of the International Symposium:
The Stability and Conservation of Photographic Images: Chemical,
Electronic and Mechanical, Bangkok, Thailand, November 35, 1986,
pp. 139144. (Available from: SPSE, The Society for Imaging Science and
Technology, 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone:
703-642-9090.)
11. Eastman Kodak Company, Quality Enlarging with Kodak B/W Papers
Art, Technique, and Science, Kodak Publication No. G-1, Eastman Kodak
Company, Rochester, New York, May 1982, p. 119.
12. Laurence E. Keefe, Jr. and Dennis Inch, The Life of a Photograph, Focal
Press (Butterworth Publishers), Boston, Massachusetts and London, En-
gland, 1990, p. 179. The venting recommendation was also included in the
first edition of the book (p. 165), published in 1984.
13. Eastman Kodak Company, see Note No. 6, pp. 5758. See also: Eastman
Kodak Company, Printmaking with Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, Kodak
Publication No. G-18, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
November 1984.
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33. Polaroid Corporation, see Note. No. 26, p. 28.
34. Viratec Tru Vue, Inc., 1315 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, Illinois 60622;
telephone: 312-943-4200; toll-free: 800-621-8339 (anti-reflection coated
glass sold under the Tru Vue Museum Glass name). Denton Vacuum,
Inc., 8 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08003; telephone: 609-
424-1012 (anti-reflection coated glass sold under the Denglas name).
35. American National Standards Institute, Inc., ANSI PH1.45-1981, Ameri-
can National Standard Practice for Storage of Processed Photo-
graphic Plates, American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West
42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax:
212-302-1286. (Note: This Standard eventually will be replaced with a
revised version under the ANSI IT9 designation.)
38. James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic
Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S, Eastman Kodak Company, Roches-
ter, New York, 1986, p. 93.
39. The Tri-Test Spot Testing Kit for Unstable Papers was previously known
as the Barrow Laboratory Paper Test Kit. The Barrow kit was developed
by the now defunct W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory in Richmond,
Virginia in the 1960s. See: W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory, Perma-
nence/Durability of the Book: VI, Spot Testing for Unstable Modern
Book and Record Papers, Richmond, Virginia, 1969 (a copy of this
publication, with a new cover, is included as an instruction booklet with
each Tri-Test kit). The test reagent for detecting groundwood yellows
with age and should be replaced as necessary; refrigeration will greatly
extend the life of the solutions. The bottle of test reagent for groundwood
should be opened slowly, while holding over a sink. Eye goggles and
rubber or plastic gloves should be worn. Gas pressure which may have
built up inside the bottle over time can cause the solution to bubble over,
perhaps with some force, upon opening. The Tri-Test kit is available for
about $30 from Professional Picture Framers Association, Inc., 4305 Sarellen
Road, Richmond, Virginia 23231; telephone: 804-226-0430. Also avail-
able from Light Impressions Corporation and Westfall Framing (see Sup-
pliers list at the end of this chapter).
41. Solander box (Solander book-box portfolio). A more or less elaborate
book or document box invented by Dr. Daniel Charles Solander, a bota-
nist, during his tenure at the British Museum (17731782).
. . . When properly constructed the Solander box is very nearly
dustproof and almost waterproof.
. . . The drop-back Solander is intended to house a book. For
document storage, specifically to facilitate removal from the box, a drop-
front box may actually be preferable, although in a strict sense it may be
argued that such an arrangement is not really a Solander box. Aside from
this, however, the drop-back box has a distinct advantage over the drop-
front type in that the former imposes virtually no strain on the hinge of the
box because it is in a right-angle position when closed and assumes a
straight line position when opened.
From Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books, Matt T. Rob-
erts and Don Etherington, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1982,
p. 243.
42. Davey Acid-pHree binders board is available in six thicknesses, from
0.067 to 0.123 inch, from The Davey Company, 164 Laidlaw Avenue, P.O.
Box 8128, Five Corners Station, Jersey City, New Jersey 07306; tele-
phone: 201-653-0606.
43. W. F. Lee et al., see Note No. 3, p. 28.
44. Acrylic-impregnated book cloth with surface physical characteristics simi-
lar to pyroxylin-impregnated fabric is manufactured under the Arrestox
name (supplied in three thicknesses: A, B, and C) by Industrial Coatings
Group, Inc., 220 Broad Street, Kingsport, Tennessee 37660; telephone:
615-247-2131 (toll-free: 800-251-7528). See: Ellen McCrady, Pyroxylin
vs. Aqueous (Acrylic) Coated Cloth, The Abbey Newsletter, Vol. 9, No.
3, May 1985, p. 3. Acrylic-impregnated book cloth also is available from:
The Holliston Mills, Inc., P.O. Box 1568, Boca Raton, Florida 33429;
telephone: 305-392-9934 (toll-free: 800-225-7122).
45. C. I. Pope, see Note No. 31.
46. Margaret R. Brown, comp., Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books:
Their Design and Construction, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.,
1982.
47. Saxe steel boxes were manufactured by Saxe Archival Systems, P.O. Box
237, Victoria Station, Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2V5, Canada. The boxes
were supplied in four standard sizes, 8x10 through 16x20 inches; they
were coated with a dry, heat-cured, electrostatically applied polyester
finish. A heavy, similarly finished steel plate was available to keep prints
flat inside the boxes. For several years, Saxe boxes were distributed in
the U.S. by Light Impressions Corporation, Rochester, New York.
48. Glenn Collins, see Note No. 1, p. 16Y.
49. Todd Holson, marketing manager, The Holson Company, telephone dis-
cussion with this author, October 1, 1985.
50. Eastman Kodak Company, Post-Processing Treatment of Kodak Ekta-
color Papers, (Reference Information From Kodak), Kodak Publication
No. E-176, Rochester, New York, July 1984, p. 5. See also Eastman
Kodak Company, Note No. 6, The Effect of Post-Processing Treatments
on Color Image Stability, pp. 6668.
52. Modern finishes are often not clearly distinguished as being lacquers,
enamels, or other types of coatings. Lacquers generally refer to thermo-
plastic materials dissolved in a solvent and capable of drying rapidly to
harden films. Cellulose esters, including cellulose nitrate (nitrocellulose),
are often used in lacquers; however, many other types of plastics, includ-
ing vinyls and acrylics, are also used. The clear spray finishes for coating
photographic prints are usually true lacquer products (see Chapter 4).
These finishes remain soluble in appropriate solvents after drying. An-
other example of a true lacquer finish is fingernail paint, variously referred
to as polish, lacquer, and enamel.
Enamel finishes generally refer to coatings which form a hard film by
a curing process (either an oxidation or polymerization reaction) which
takes place after most of the solvent has evaporated. Once hardened,
these finishes are no longer soluble in common solvents. Baking at
temperatures of 180250F (82121C), or higher, will produce very hard,
solvent-free finishes with most alkyd and other oil-base enamels. Baked
enamels of this type have traditionally been used to finish steel office
equipment, home appliances, and automobiles. Baking ovens on produc-
tion lines can quickly dry the enamels to a durable finish. The rising cost
of energy required to heat ovens and the cost of solvent-recovery equip-
ment for meeting air pollution regulations are causing some industries to
change to two-component, catalyst-hardened finishes, which do not re-
quire heating and give off little vapor. This author has no data on the
long-term effects of these two-component finishes on photographs. An-
other new type of finish is the heat-fused sprayable powder coating.
55. Larry H. Feldman [Eastman Kodak Company], Discoloration of Black-
and-White Photographic Prints, Journal of Applied Photographic En-
gineering, Vol. 7, No. 1, February 1981, pp. 19.
56. Spacesaver Corporation, 1450 Janesville Avenue, Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin
53538; telephone: 414-563-6362.
57. Margaret A. Leveque, The Problem of Formaldehyde A Case Study,
Preprints, of papers presented at the 14th annual meeting of the Ameri-
can Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC), Chi-
cago, Illinois, May 2125, 1986, pp. 5665. See also: Pamela Hatchfield
and Jane Carpenter, Formaldehyde: How Great is the Danger to Mu-
seum Collections?, Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Har-
vard University Art Museum, Harvard University, 1987. (Available from:
The Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard University
Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138; tele-
phone: 617-495-2392.)
58. Edith Weyde, see Note No. 30, p. 283.
Ansel Adams, The Print, The New Ansel Adams Photography Series Book 3,
New York Graphic Society, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Massa-
chusetts, 1983.
W. J. Barrow, Migration of Impurities in Paper, Archivum, Vol. 3, 1953.
Jared Bark, Notes on Framing, Bark Frameworks, Inc., 85 Grand Street, New
York, New York, 1982.
Jared Bark, More Notes on Framing, Bark Frameworks, Inc., 85 Grand
Street, New York, New York, 1985.
Helen D. Burgess and Carolyn G. Leckie, "Evaluation of Paper Products: With
Special Reference to Use with Photographic Materials," Topics in Photo-
graphic Preservation Volume Four (compiled by Robin E. Seigel),
Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation,
1991, pp. 96105. Available from the American Institute for Conservation,
Suite 340, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone:
202-232-6636.
Ctein, Archival Framing, Petersens Photographic Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 4,
August 1979.
Francis W. Dolloff and Roy L. Perkinson, How to Care for Works of Art on
Paper, third edition, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, 1979.
Klaus B. Hendriks, together with Brian Thurgood, Joe Iraci, Brian Lesser, and
Greg Hill of the National Archives of Canada staff, Fundamentals of
Photographic Conservation: A Study Guide, published by Lugus Pub-
lications in cooperation with the National Archives of Canada and the
Canada Communication Group, 1991. Available from Lugus Productions
Ltd., 48 Falcon Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4S 2P5; telephone:
416-322-5113; Fax: 416-484-9512.
Gregory Hill, The Conservation of a Photograph Album at the National Ar-
chives of Canada, Journal of the American Institute for Conserva-
tion, Vol. 30, No. 1, Spring 1991, pp. 7588.
Douglas M. Kenyon, Framing and Conservation of Works of Art on Paper,
Rising Paper Company, Housatonic, Massachusetts, 1981.
Eugene Ostroff, Preservation of Photographs, The Photographic Journal,
Vol. 107, No. 10, October 1967, pp. 309314.
Beverly Solochek, Framers Putting More Emphasis on Preservation of Art
Works, The New York Times, January 29, 1981, pp. C1, C6.
David Vestal, The Art of Black-and-White Enlarging, Harper & Row, Publish-
ers, Inc., New York, New York, 1984.
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Suppliers
Welded Aluminum and other
Pre-Assembled Frames
A.P.F., Inc.
320 Washington Street
Mt. Vernon, New York 10053
Telephone: 914-665-5400
A.P.F., Inc. (uptown showroom)
136 East 70th Street
Telephone: 212-988-1090
A.P.F., Inc. (SoHo showroom)
568 Broadway
Telephone: 212-925-5444
Aluminum Section Frames
ASF American Frame Corporation
1340 Tomahawk Drive
Maumee, Ohio 43537
Telephone: 419-893-5595
Toll-free: 800-537-0944 (outside Ohio)
Graphic Dimensions Ltd.
4123 Haight Street
Flushing, New York 11355
Telephone: 212-463-3500
Toll-free: 800-221-0262 (outside New York)
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-9629
Nielsen & Bainbridge Division
Esselte Business Systems, Inc.
40 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, New Jersey 07653
Telephone: 201-368-9191
Toll-free: 800-342-0124
Opus Framing Ltd.
1360 Johnston Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3S1
Canada
Telephone: 604-688-0388
Westfall Framing
P.O. Box 13524
Telephone: 904-878-3546
Toll-free: 800-874-3164
Boxes for Storing Prints and Films
8000-H Forbes Place
Telephone: 703-321-7730
Toll-free: 800-634-6932 (outside Virginia)
The Hollinger Corporation
4410 Overview Drive
P.O. Box 8630
Telephone: 703-898-7300
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Museum Box Company
1050 Tollgate Road
P.O. Box 1292
West Warwick, Rhode Island 02893
Telephone: 401-822-1560
Opus Binding Limited
356 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 4M7
Canada
Telephone: 613-236-8743
Pohlig Bros. Inc.
Century Division
2419 E. Franklin Street
P.O. Box 8069
Richmond, Virginia 23223
Telephone: 804-644-7824
Portfoliobox, Inc.
166 Valley Street
Building 3402
Providence, Rhode Island 02909
Telephone: 401-272-9490
G. Ryder & Co., Ltd.
Denbigh Road, Bletchley
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK1 1DG
England
Telephone: 01-0908-75524
Spink & Gaborc, Inc.
11 Troast Court
Clifton, New Jersey 07011
Telephone: 201-478-4551
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Suppliers
The Best Available Self-Stick
Magnetic Page Photograph Albums
3M Company (FlashBacks Photo Albums)
3M Consumer Stationery Division
P.O. Box 33594
St. Paul, Minnesota 55133
Telephone: 612-731-6676
DuPont Mylar D and ICI Melinex 516
(Polyester Sheet)
Archivart
7 Caesar Place
Telephone: 201-804-8986
4410 Overview Drive
Telephone: 703-898-7300
Toll-free: 800-634-0491
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Spink & Gaborc, Inc.
11 Troast Court
Clifton, New Jersey 07011
Telephone: 201-478-4551
Talas Inc.
Telephone: 212-736-7744
Transilwrap Company
2615 N. Paulina Street
Telephone: 312-528-8000
517 Main Street
Holyoke, Massachusetts 01041-0101
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Toll-free: 800-628-1912 (outside Massachusetts)
Toll-free: 800-336-4847 (in Massachusetts)
Westfall Framing
P.O. Box 13524
Telephone: 904-878-3546
Toll-free: 800-874-3164
Boxes for Storing Prints and Films
Talas, Inc.
Telephone: 212-736-7744
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
High-Quality Photograph Albums
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Photofile, Inc.
2020 Lewis Avenue
Telephone: 708-872-7557
Toll-free: 800-356-2755
517 Main Street
Telephone: 413-532-9431
Pohlig Bros. Inc.
Century Division
2419 E. Franklin Street
Richmond, Virginia 23223
Telephone: 804-644-7824
Good-Quality Consumer Photograph Albums
Webway Incorporated
2815 Clearwater Road
P.O. Box 767
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56302
Telephone: 612-251-3822
Toll-free: 800-328-2344
The Holson Company
111 Danbury Road
Wilton, Connecticut 06897
Telephone: 203-762-8661
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humidity-controlled cold storage if they are to be preserved
in unchanged condition.)
If it is not desired or not possible to keep color
photographs in cold storage, then prints must be made
with Ilford Ilfochrome (called Cibachrome, 19631991), Ko-
dak Dye Transfer, Fuji Dyecolor, UltraStable Permanent
Color, or Polaroid Permanent-Color materials all of which
are extremely stable when kept in the dark at normal room
temperature. Of these, however, only prints made with the
new UltraStable Permanent Color (introduced in 1991) and
the Polaroid Permanent-Color (introduced in 1989) pro-
cesses, have sufficient light fading stability to be suitable
for long-term display.
Although deterioration characteristics are more diffi-
cult to quantify for black-and-white photographs than for
color materials, there is ample evidence that a black-and-
white photograph may fall far short of its potential life if it
is stored in an unsuitable enclosure, if it is kept in contact
with a poorly processed print that is contaminated with
fixer, or if the surrounding air is humid and/or contains
harmful levels of ozone, peroxides, sulfur dioxide, or other
pollutants.
The question of how best to store photographic materi-
als is often an economic one: Given a certain amount of
available money, would a collection last longer if all old
kraft-paper negative and print envelopes were replaced
with polyester sleeves, or if a dehumidification system were
installed to maintain the relative humidity at 2030%? Be-
cause most prints and many negatives made in past years
were not processed properly, nor washed adequately, and
have high levels of residual fixer (new enclosures offer
little improvement in this case), the greater benefit would
almost certainly come from the dehumidification system.
Keeping Photographs and Films Forever
At least in theory, most museums and archives want to
keep their collections in good condition forever, or cer-
tainly for a very long indefinite time. If an institution
collects color photographs, refrigerated storage must be
provided to preserve most types of color prints and films
for the future. It does little good to have a computer-based
cataloging system and carefully designed display galleries
if color prints and films are going to deteriorate before
even the next generation has a chance to view them.
With the notable exception of a small number of institu-
tions including the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston;
the Warner Bros. movie studio in Burbank, California; Para-
mount Pictures in Hollywood; the Jimmy Carter Library in
Atlanta, Georgia; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Moving
Image, Data and Audio Conservation Division of the Na-
tional Archives of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario; the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Houston,
I question whether even a small percent-
age of the museums in this country are doing
anything more than presiding over the steady
deterioration of that which they have been in-
stituted to preserve.
Americas Museums: The Belmont Report
1
American Association of Museums 1968
Given the inherent stability characteristics of a particu-
lar type of print, slide, or negative and assuming careful
processing and handling the ultimate useful life of a
photograph will be determined by the conditions of storage
and display.
The most important decision that must be made is how
many years one wants to keep a specific photograph or
an entire collection in good condition. Nearly every
other decision regarding choice of films and papers, pro-
cessing, negative and print enclosures, display and stor-
age temperature, and relative humidity will revolve around
the answer to that question. Once it is decided how long a
photograph should be preserved, the stability characteris-
tics of the particular material and processing method used
to make the photograph, dictate the conditions under which
it must be kept.
As an example, the useful life of Kodak Ektacolor 74 RC
prints made during the mid-1970's and early 1980s will be
determined by the amount of light they are exposed to on
display, the temperature and relative humidity during dis-
play, and the temperature and relative humidity of the storage
area when the prints are kept in the dark. The inherently
poor dark fading stability of Ektacolor 74 RC Paper means
that normal room temperatures are much too high if a long
life is desired for Ektacolor 74 RC prints.
If prints made on Ektacolor 74 RC Paper are to be kept
in good condition for 100 years, and if the approximate light
fading and dark fading (and staining) characteristics of the
paper are known, it becomes a simple task to calculate how
long the prints can be displayed during the 100-year pe-
riod, and at what refrigerated temperature they must be
kept when not on display. (Ektacolor 74 RC Paper and its
higher-contrast counterpart, Ektacolor 78 Paper, were re-
placed with Ektacolor Professional Paper and Ektacolor
Plus Paper, respectively, in 19841985. Compared with
Ektacolor 74 RC, both of these new papers have much bet-
ter dye stability in dark storage, but they continue to suffer
from poor light fading stability. Particularly in dark stor-
age at normal temperatures, the prints will form objection-
able yellowish stain over time, and they too must be kept in
16. The Storage Environment for Photographs:
Relative Humidity, Temperature, Air Pollution,
Dust, and the Prevention of Fungus
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Storage Environment: Relative Humidity, Temperature, Air Pollution, Dust, and Fungus Chapter 16 540
One of the two vault control panels, located near the vault
entrance. The temperature and humidity levels are con-
tinuously recorded on circular paper charts. Alarms sound
and a fail-safe control system automatically shuts down
the vault dehumidifiers and refrigeration compressors if
either the temperature or relative humidity deviates be-
yond pre-set limits. The facility was designed and built
by Harris Environmental Systems, Inc.
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The Art Institute of Chicago stores its collection of black-and-white photographs in this humidity-controlled vault at 60F
(15.6C) and 40% RH; color photographs are preserved in an adjacent cold storage vault maintained at 40F (4.4C) and
40% RH. Douglas G. Severson, conservator of photographs at the Art Institute, is shown here describing the facility to
visiting members of the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation.
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Texas; and the Historic New Orleans Collection in New
Orleans, Louisiana most institutions have not provided
adequate storage facilities for their collections of photo-
graphs and motion pictures. These shortcomings virtually
assure that important parts of their collections will not
survive in usable form for future generations and call
into question the very purpose of these institutions.
It is sheer folly to believe that damage to collections
resulting from poor storage conditions will be undone in
the future using restoration techniques. Even if the tech-
nology were available to restore faded, stained, cracked,
and otherwise deteriorated black-and-white and color pho-
tographs to their original condition, the costs of treating
whole collections would be astronomical far greater than
what it would have cost to have taken proper care of the
photographs in the first place. For many types of deterio-
ration, such as cracks and discoloration of image silver on
black-and-white RC (polyethylene-resin-coated) prints,
cracked and delaminated cellulose diacetate safety film
negatives, and seriously degraded cellulose nitrate and cel-
lulose acetate motion picture films, effective restoration
technology does not now exist at any price.
Past Neglect at George Eastman House
For many years the photographic storage archives, li-
brary, and the permanent display galleries on the second
floor of the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House in Rochester, New York had no direct air
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The print storage archive and library in the attic of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in
Rochester, New York. When this photograph was taken in 1976, the archive had no direct air conditioning or humidity
control, and storage conditions often were very poor. During summer months the temperature could reach as high as 85F
(29.4C) with the relative humidity sometimes exceeding 80%.
1
9
7
6
conditioning or humidity control. Temperatures in the ar-
chives and library ranged from 45 to 85F (7.229.4C), with
the relative humidity varying from a low of around 30% to
higher than 90%; humidity fluctuations in the archives and
display galleries were often quite rapid as outdoor weather
conditions changed. Temperature control in the archives
and library was improved in 1984 when a new air-condition-
ing system in the storage area was put into operation, but
even then the relative humidity continued to fluctuate be-
yond an acceptable range. The second-floor display galler-
ies continued without air conditioning until they were closed
at the end of 1988.
On a hot afternoon in July 1978, the original negatives
from more than 300 Hollywood motion pictures in the George
Eastman House Collection were lost in a disastrous fire.
The cellulose nitrate films were being kept under astonish-
ingly poor conditions in an old concrete building that had
no air conditioning, no ventilation system, no sprinkler sys-
tem, and no fire alarm. The Rochester Fire Department
attributed the fire to spontaneous combustion. Most of the
estimated one-million-dollar insurance settlement the mu-
seum received went to cover operating deficits during the
years following the fire; little of the settlement, apparently,
was directed toward improving the storage facilities.
Subsequently, it was revealed that in the early 1970s
Eastman House buried hundreds of rolls of original MGM
nitrate motion picture negatives on its grounds under what
was once one of George Eastmans gardens; all of the films
are now presumed to be destroyed. Commenting on the
loss, James Card, former director of the film department
at Eastman House and the person who supervised the burial,
said: Our vaults were filled to the brim. We had no place
to put it. I went to a board of trustees (of Eastman House)
meeting and asked that I be allowed to build or rent an-
other vault. They said no.
2
Among the buried and now
destroyed films was the original camera negative from Andy
Hardy Meets Debutante with Mickey Rooney and Judy Gar-
land. Ironically, many of the MGM films that were deemed
valuable enough to be spared from the burial were later
lost in the 1978 fire.
After a period of uncertainty over whether the museum
would even remain in Rochester. At one point, in 1984, the
trustees actually proposed giving the collection to the Smith-
sonian Institution in Washington, D.C. But the plan was
quickly abandoned because of organized opposition in Roch-
ester and expressions of shock and disgust voiced by influ-
ential members of the photography community from around
the world, and a fund drive was begun for a new $7.4 mil-
lion archives building to be constructed adjacent to George
Eastman House to better preserve the vast collection of
historical photographs, films, technology and library owned
by the Museum. Aided by a $16 million endowment grant
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Improved storage conditions are provided in the new $7.4 million archives building located adjacent to George Eastman
House (shown here in the early stages of construction in June 1987, the archives building was completed at the end of
1988). Plans for an urgently needed cold storage vault for the museums priceless collection of color photographs were set
aside, apparently in an effort to reduce construction costs. To avoid overshadowing George Eastman House itself
(originally the home of George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company), two stories of the 60,000-square-
foot, three-story archives building were constructed below ground level. The photograph and motion picture collections are
stored on the lower two floors.
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7
from Eastman Kodak, the new archives building was com-
pleted in 1988. Photograph storage areas in the new facil-
ity are maintained at 65F (18.3C) and 40% RH, which, for
black-and-white photographs, is a significant improvement
over the conditions that were present in the old archives in
George Eastman House.
The original plans for the new archives building called
for a cold storage vault for color photographs (specifica-
tions for the vault tentatively were set at 35F [1.7C] and
25% RH). But when the new building was completed at the
end of 1988, the long-awaited vault was nowhere to be seen.
Sadly, despite protests from a concerned conservation staff,
plans for the cold storage vault were set aside. At the time
this book went to press at the end of 1992, Eastman House
continued to store its priceless historical collection of color
photographs under woefully inadequate conditions. It is
fervently hoped that Eastman House will correct this un-
fortunate shortcoming in the care of its collections.
Relative Humidity and Temperature
At any given relative humidity, almost all forms of dete-
rioration of color and black-and-white photographs slow
down as the temperature is lowered. If satisfactory humid-
ity levels can be maintained, storage temperatures should
be as low as economically possible, and temperatures in
display and work areas should be as low as human comfort
permits. For black-and-white prints and films stored in the
normal temperature ranges found in homes and museums,
however, maintaining low relative humidity is usually much
more important than reducing the temperature.
Relative humidity is also an important factor in the fad-
ing and staining of color photographs, but as long as the
humidity does not exceed an upper limit of 6570% for long
periods (which would risk fungus growths), storage tem-
perature is much more significant than relative humidity
with most types of color prints, slides, and negatives. As a
general rule, the fading rate of color dye images approxi-
mately doubles with every 10F (5.6C) increase in tem-
perature. The dark fading characteristics of color films
and prints are discussed in Chapter 5.
For storage of black-and-white films and prints, tem-
peratures not exceeding 70F (21C) have often been rec-
ommended; for medium-term storage (a minimum useful
life of at least 10 years), ANSI IT9.11-1991, the American
National Standard for film storage conditions, states:
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ANSI Replaces the Archival Storage
Designation with Extended-Term Storage
In previous versions of the ANSI storage standards, ex-
tended-term storage was referred to as archival storage.
In 1990 ANSI decided to remove the archival designation
from all of the ANSI photographic standards. The rationale
for this is explained in the Foreword to ANSI IT9.11-1991:
The term archival is no longer specified in
American National Standards documents since
it has been interpreted to have many mean-
ings, ranging from preserving information for-
ever to the jargon meaning [especially in the
computer and electronic data storage fields],
temporary storage of actively used information.
It is therefore recommended that the term ar-
chival not be used in standards for stability of
recording materials and systems.
Processed photographic films are now classified according
to the life expectancy or LE designation, when stored
under specified conditions. Terms such as archival pro-
cessing, archival record film, and archival storage materi-
als, all of which have been widely used in the photography
conservation field, are no longer used or endorsed by ANSI.
Ideally, the maximum temperature for ex-
tended periods should not exceed 25C (77F),
and a temperature below 20C (68F) is prefer-
able. The peak temperature for short time pe-
riods shall not exceed 32C (90F). For color
film a storage temperature not exceeding 10C
(50F) shall be used for proper protection. Short-
term cycling of temperature shall be avoided.
Cycling of relative humidity shall be no greater
than 5% over a 24 hour period. Protection
may be increased by storing film at low tem-
perature and low relative humidity.
3
For extended-term storage of black-and-white photo-
graphs, ANSI IT9.11-1991 states:
Temperatures shall not exceed 21C (70F),
and added protection may be obtained for all
films by low-temperature storage. Low tem-
perature storage improves the stability of both
the film base and the image. A storage tem-
perature of 2C (35F) or below shall be used
for color film. Excellent keeping behavior has
been obtained by storing color film at such low
temperatures.
The photograph collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is stored in this environmentally controlled room
at 60F (15.6C) and 40% RH. The facility was constructed in 1984. Ektacolor and other chromogenic color prints are kept
at 35F (1.7C) and 2535% RH in the frost-free refrigerator in the back of the room at the far right. Peter Galassi, a curator
of photography at the time this photograph was taken, discusses the handling of prints in the collection with Carol Brower.
In 1991, Galassi was appointed director of the Museums department of photography.
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Recommendations
Keep photographs cool and dry. Do not store photo-
graphs in basements (too damp) or in attics (too hot).
Black-and-white prints and negatives: Relative hu-
midity in the storage area is the most critical factor in
determining the rate of image deterioration. Museums
and archives should consider humidity control to be the
number-one priority for their black-and-white collec-
tions about 30% RH is recommended if cycling be-
tween storage and use areas can be avoided (see be-
low); levels higher than 50% RH are unacceptable. For
storage of photographs in homes and businesses, the
relative humidity should be kept as low as practical, and
every effort should be made to prevent the relative hu-
midity from rising above 65% for extended periods.
Color films and prints: Storage temperature generally
is the most significant factor in determining the rate of
image fading and staining, with relative humidity being
comparatively less important than it is with black-and-
white photographs. Each 10F (5.6C) reduction in tem-
perature will approximately double the life of a color
material (see Chapter 5). Museums and archives with
color films, prints, and motion pictures in their collec-
tions must provide humidity-controlled cold storage fa-
cilities (see Chapter 20). Institutions and photographers
with small color collections can keep them in suitable
frost-free refrigerators (see Chapter 19).
Prevent wide-ranging humidity cycling. Particularly
with fiber-base prints, drastic fluctuations in humidity
can cause severe curling. Over time, the curl will be-
come much more pronounced than when prints are stored
in a constant relative humidity, even if the humidity
level is very low. Widely cycling humidity contributes to
the cracking of RC prints that have been embrittled as a
result of light exposure during display. Cycling humidity
can also cause emulsion cracks in fiber-base prints.
Ideally, the RH should be maintained within 2% of the
aim point. Recent studies of emulsion stress and mois-
ture relationships conducted by Mark McCormick-Goodhart
of the Smithsonian Conservation Analytical Lab have
underscored the dangers to prints and films posed by
storage in cycling or in very low relative humidities.
Environmentally-controlled storage facilities: Bon-
ner Systems, Inc. is recommended for the design and
construction of temperature- and humidity-controlled stor-
age rooms and refrigerated vaults (see Chapter 20).
Dehumidifiers: For museums and archives, Cargo-
caire automatic dry desiccant dehumidifiers equipped
with HEPA filters and incorporated into building heating
and cooling systems are recommended (reliability prob-
lems have been reported with some older Cargocaire
units but improved models were introduced in 1989).
Cargocaire is located at 79 Monroe Street, Amesbury,
Massachusetts 01913; telephone: 508-388-0600. For
small storage areas, home-type dehumidifiers used in
conjunction with room air conditioners are satisfactory.
Silica-gel: Bags or cans of silica gel are generally
unsatisfactory as a means of humidity control.
Hygrometer calibration: The calibration of mechani-
cal and electronic hygrometers should be checked at
least every 6 months and adjusted as necessary. In
museums and archives with tightly controlled relative
humidity, a single calibration point close to the humidity
level maintained in the institution is sufficient.
Fungus: When photographs are stored at the recom-
mended humidity levels (i.e., 3040% RH), fungus growth
will not occur. Kodak Print Flattener, Pako Pakosol, and
other hygroscopic print flatteners for fiber-base prints
should be strictly avoided because such products can
promote fungus growth in humid environments.
Air pollutants: Safe levels of airborne pollutants have
yet to be established (for black-and-white photographs,
the notion of safe levels is probably not even a valid
concept). Museums and archives should keep pollutant
levels as low as practical oxidants such as peroxides
and nitrogen oxides, in addition to sulfur-containing gases,
can be particularly harmful to the delicate silver images
of black-and-white photographs. The effects of com-
monly encountered air pollutants on color photographs
are not known, but they probably are much less signifi-
cant than with black-and-white photographs. Efforts to
limit concentrations of pollutants are usually of little
value if relative humidity cannot be maintained at or
below the recommended levels.
Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test slides: These inex-
pensive and compact test slides are uniquely suited for
monitoring airborne pollutants that can harm the silver
images of black-and-white photographs; museums and
archives should place the test slides in all areas in
which black-and-white photographs are stored and dis-
played. The Agfa-Gevaert test slides are available from
the Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
Technology, Frank E. Gannett Memorial Building, P.O.
Box 9887, Rochester, New York 14623-0887 (telephone:
716-475-5199; Fax: 716-475-7230).
Floods: Valuable photographs should not be stored in
locations where there is even a remote possibility of
flooding. Storage areas should be isolated from water
pipes so that water is prevented from reaching any part
of the collection if a pipe should burst. Unless special
precautions are observed, basement or other below-
ground storage is not recommended because of the
danger from water damage.
Fires: Buildings and storage rooms constructed of non-
combustible materials are recommended. Fire-detec-
tion systems should be installed and are particularly
important in combustible structures. Water sprinklers
should be avoided in photograph storage areas; fire-
suppression systems using Haylon gas or newer, envi-
ronmentally-acceptable substitutes are recommended.
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the basement, where the relative humidity is commonly in
the 90100% range during the warm months of the year,
nor in an attic, where temperatures can reach above 140F
(60C). A first-floor storage location in a home is usually
best, with photographs kept off the floor in cabinets or on
shelves.
Regardless of the storage temperature, the relative hu-
midity for storage of both color and black-and-white films
and paper prints should, ideally, be kept between 2030%.
During the past several years, research by James M.
Reilly and his co-workers at the Image Permanence Insti-
tute at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Eastman
Kodak Company, and at other laboratories, as well as data
obtained from examination of films stored under a variety
of conditions in all parts of the world, has focused attention
on the critical role played by relative humidity in both film
base stability and silver image stability. Lending consider-
able urgency to this work is the alarming realization that
in all too many cases, cellulose acetate film base and the
silver images of both films and prints have deteriorated far
more rapidly than had been expected.
Low Relative Humidity Is Especially
Important in the Storage of B&W Materials
With black-and-white prints and films processed in the
normal manner and stored in the typical variety of enve-
lopes and boxes, the relative humidity of the storage area
is usually the most critical factor in determining the even-
tual life of the photographs. Maintaining low and reason-
ably constant humidity should be the number-one priority
when designing a storage area for photographs whether
in a large museum or archives, in a valuable commercial
collection, or for a serious photographer desiring to keep
negatives, slides, and prints in the best possible condition.
It is realized, of course, that many businesses and cer-
tainly most amateur photographers will not be able to
justify the cost of a special temperature- and humidity-
controlled storage facility.
Nevertheless, the importance of low-humidity storage
must be emphasized, and the often-repeated admonition to
store photographs in a cool and dry place is a good rule
to follow. In a home, photographs should not be stored in
Table 16.1 ANSI-Recommended Relative Humidity and Temperature for Film Storage
Medium-Term Storage* Extended-Term Storage**
Relative Maximum Relative Maximum
Sensitive Layer Humidity Range*** Temperature Humidity Range*** Temperature
Silver-gelatin
Heat-processed silver
Vesicular 2050% 25C (77F) 2030% 21C (70F)
Electrophotographic
Photoplastic
Diazo
Color 2030% 10C (50F) 2030% 2C (35F)
* Medium-Term storage conditions are suitable for the preservation of recorded information for a minimum
of 10 years.
** Extended-Term storage conditions are suitable for the preservation of recorded information having
permanent value. In previous ANSI standards, extended-term storage conditions were known as archival
storage conditions; the term archival is no longer used in ANSI photographic standards.
*** The moisture content shall not be greater than film in moisture equilibrium with these relative humidities.
Adapted from ANSI IT9.11-1991, American National Standard for Imaging Media Processed Safety
Photographic Film Storage, with permission of the American National Standards Institute, Inc. 1991.
Copies of this Standard may be purchased from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd
Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286.
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ity markedly accelerates exudation of greasy plasticizers
on the surfaces of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) storage enclo-
sures, and this greatly increases the likelihood of films and
prints sticking to plasticized PVC.
High-humidity storage also enhances the tendency of
emulsions to stick to polyethylene which has been treated
with slip and anti-block agents (low-density polyethylene
for making photographic enclosures such as Print File Ar-
chival Preserver polyethylene notebook pages nearly al-
ways contains these additives see Chapter 14).
In an important early study of the influence of residual
thiosulfate and storage conditions on silver-gelatin image
stability, French researchers Pouradier and Mailliet wrote:
If the photographic document is conserved
in a dry atmosphere (relative humidity less than
or equal to 50%), the thiosulfate retained is prac-
tically inoperative as long as the concentration
does not exceed ten milligrams per square deci-
meter. In contrast, even with a very weak con-
centration, it becomes one of the factors affect-
ing deterioration when the humidity and tem-
perature of the surrounding environment in-
crease.
If, during the entire period of the documents
required life, it were possible to keep the air of
the storage vault unfailingly at low relative hu-
midity, relatively high levels of residual thio-
sulfate could be tolerated.
5
Under the accelerated conditions of this study, Pouradier
and Mailliet determined that for a given level of silver im-
age deterioration in prints with a low amount of residual
thiosulfate, prints kept at 20% RH lasted at least 10 times
longer than prints stored at 70% RH; when larger amounts
of thiosulfate remained in the prints, the increase in life
afforded by storage at 20% RH became much greater. In
some cases, extrapolations from the test data indicated
that when significant amounts of thiosulfate were present,
prints stored at 20% RH would last more than 100 times
longer than similar prints stored at 70% RH. Of course,
during long-term storage, other factors such as air pol-
lutants may intervene to lessen these differences, but
the advantages of low-humidity storage remain very sig-
nificant. For the price of a dehumidification system to
maintain relative humidities in the 2030% range, the use-
ful life of a collection of black-and white photographs will
almost certainly be increased many times over.
In a survey of silver-image deterioration (microspots,
or redox blemishes) in microfilm collections, McCamy, Wiley,
and Speckman observed:
The effect of humidity on blemish incidence
was quite pronounced. When the maximum
humidity was 51 to 60 percent, there were 11
times as many blemished leaders and 19 times
as many blemished information sections as there
were when the relative humidity was 20 to 50
percent.
In the arid southwestern part of the United
States, Wiley observed a collection of films, in-
Relative Humidity and Deterioration
High relative humidity greatly increases the rates of
nearly every type of physical and image deterioration asso-
ciated with black-and-white photographs. Image oxidation
and sulfiding discoloration and fading caused by re-
sidual processing chemicals, contact with unsuitable en-
closure and mounting materials, airborne pollutants, mi-
gration of chemicals from adjacent improperly processed
photographs, fingerprints, etc. all proceed much more
quickly in conditions of high relative humidity. In high
relative humidity, the oxygen in air itself can slowly attack
silver images.
A landmark 1991 report entitled Preservation of Safety
Film, by James M. Reilly, Peter A. Adelstein, and Douglas
W. Nishimura, working at the Image Permanence Institute
at the Rochester Institute of Technology, confirmed that
relative humidity plays a determining role in the deteriora-
tion rates of cellulose nitrate, cellulose triacetate, and other
cellulose ester films:
4
Deterioration is strongly humidity dependent.
The data showed that lowering the RH of the
storage environment from 50% to 20% RH will
prolong the life of the film from 3 to 10 times,
depending on the property measured.
Deterioration is also strongly temperature
dependent. Lowering the storage temperature
from 68F [20C] to 37F [2.9C] will increase
the overall predicted life of film by a factor of 10
times.
Optimum storage conditions for film include
both low temperature and low humidity. Indi-
cations are that the benefits are additive, i.e.,
that the combination of low temperature and
low RH is better than either alone.
One of the key findings of the research by Reilly and his
co-workers was that, contrary to what has been almost
universally accepted in the past, cellulose nitrate and cel-
lulose acetate films have generally similar stability char-
acteristics:
All of the cellulosic film materials, including
all the acetate safety films and at least one sample
of cellulose nitrate, have the same general be-
havior with respect to deterioration they can
be expected to deteriorate at the same general
rate if kept under similar storage conditions.
Accepted beliefs that nitrate will necessarily
degrade faster than acetate, and that among
safety films, that diacetate is much worse than
triacetate, are not supported by the data.
Storage in high humidity can produce severe stains on
areas of negatives and prints in contact with glued seams
of paper envelopes. Conditions of high relative humidity
also favor the growth of fungus on gelatin emulsions and
can cause gelatin to soften to the point where it can stick,
or ferrotype, to adjacent surfaces of films, to smooth
plastic filing enclosures, or to framing glass. High humid-
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cluding several brands processed in many places
over a twenty-five year period and stored in
cans or paper boxes. The storage temperature
was thought to exceed 100F [38C] frequently
but the humidity was always low. No redox
blemishes were found on these films.
6
Accelerated dark-aging studies conducted by James M.
Reilly and Douglas G. Severson in 1980 showed that high-
humidity storage is very harmful to albumen prints:
Primary forms of deterioration were found
to be highlight detail loss, overall density loss,
image hue changes and the formation of a yel-
low stain in highlight (non-image) areas. Am-
bient relative humidity was found to be the prin-
cipal rate-controlling factor in all these forms
of deterioration, with the rate greatly increas-
ing above 60% RH. . . . Processing flaws were
found to be of less overall importance in albu-
men print preservation than environmental con-
ditions during storage.
. . . If the minority of albumen prints left in
good condition are to be preserved, a clear mes-
sage from the experimental results is that they
must be shielded from moderately high mois-
ture levels.
7
More recently, in 1990, James M. Reilly and co-workers
reported on work at the Image Permanence Institute which
showed a dramatic reduction in the degree of microfilm
silver image attack by hydrogen peroxide in accelerated
tests when the relative humidity was reduced to the 10
30% range.
8
Wide Fluctuations in Relative Humidity
Should Be Avoided
Short-term humidity cycling should be minimized; ide-
ally, fluctuations should be limited to not more than 5%
RH. More gradual seasonal variations are probably less
critical. Wide fluctuations in relative humidity produce
physical stresses which may in time cause base and/or
emulsion cracking, delamination, and other forms of physi-
cal deterioration; prints on RC (polyethylene-resin-coated)
paper appear to be particularly susceptible to this kind of
damage. However, examination of historical collections
which have been stored for many years in totally uncon-
trolled humidity conditions indicates that many types of
materials can tolerate reasonable fluctuations without ob-
vious physical damage; variations of 10% RH probably do
little harm. What is more important, especially for black-
and-white films and prints, is to keep the average relative
humidity at a low level.
Films without anti-curl gelatin back-coatings, as well as
paper prints (especially single-weight fiber-base prints),
have an obvious tendency to curl in low-humidity condi-
tions, and concern has been expressed that stresses in-
duced by low-humidity storage (caused by unequal coeffi-
cients of moisture-associated expansion of the gelatin emul-
sion layer and paper or plastic support material) may over
time cause emulsion cracking or other physical damage. It
has been suggested that storage at a higher humidity (e.g.,
50% RH) might be preferable.
This author believes that in most cases the greatly in-
creased stability of the image and support material af-
forded by low-humidity storage more than offsets the pos-
sibility of damage caused by physical stress. Many in-
stances of cracking and other problems attributed to stor-
age in very dry conditions have in fact been caused by
cycling between very low-humidity indoor air in the cold
months of the year and warm, humid conditions in the
summer. The catastrophic internal image-receiving layer
cracking that has occurred in early Polaroid SX-70 prints
appears to have been caused by storage in such conditions;
the cracking has destroyed the images of many SX-70 prints
made from 1972 until around 1980, when improvements
were made in the prints.
Widely Cycling Relative Humidity Can Cause
Extreme Curl in Fiber-Base Prints
It is this authors observation that unless they are physi-
cally restrained and held flat stored in a filled, shallow
box or held in place by an overmat, for example fiber-
base prints stored in an environment with widely cycling
relative humidity develop much more curl over time than
prints kept in a more constant relative humidity (this is
true even when the constant relative humidity is signifi-
cantly lower than the lowest level reached in a cycling
condition). In cycling conditions, the maximum curl may
be reached only after many years of storage. This author
currently has no explanation why fiber-base prints react in
this manner, and nothing has been published on this sub-
ject (see Chapter 15 for further discussion of humidity-
related print curl).
Reasonably constant low-humidity storage usually pre-
sents few problems. It is realized, of course, that few parts
of the world have year-round low-humidity climates, and
only museums and other collecting institutions are likely
to have funds for the equipment required to maintain con-
stant temperature and relative humidity conditions through-
out the year in storage and display areas.
Over a period of years, widely cycling relative humidity
can cause severe curling of fiber-base prints.
1
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The Recommended 2030% RH Is Usually
Found Only in Cold Storage Vaults for
Color Motion Pictures and Still-Photographs
Some institutions in arid climates have naturally low
average indoor relative humidity, but at the time of this
writing this author was unaware of a major museum or
archive anywhere in the world that maintains a constant
and controlled relative humidity of 30% or lower in general
photographic storage areas. It is only in dehumidified cold
storage facilities for color photographs and motion pic-
tures found only in a relatively small number of sophisti-
cated institutions in the U.S. and a few other countries (see
Chapter 20) and in a few black-and-white microfilm stor-
age installations that such a condition is maintained.
In North America, institutions with cold storage facili-
ties that operate at 30% RH or lower include: the John
Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts; the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) fa-
cilities in Houston, Texas (where the huge NASA space-
flight color photography collection is preserved) and in
White Sands, New Mexico; Paramount Pictures in Holly-
wood, California; Warner Bros. in Burbank, California; the
Historic New Orleans Collection in New Orleans, Louisi-
ana; the National Archives and Records Administration,
Alexandria, Virginia; the Library of Congress in Landover,
Maryland; the Library of Congress Film Conservation Cen-
ter at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio;
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Hu-
man Studies Film Archive, the National Museum of African
Art, and the Office of Printing and Photographic Services
at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; the
Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center at Claremont College,
Claremont, California; and the Moving Image, Data and
Audio Conservation Division of the National Archives of
Canada in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1982 the Art Institute of Chicago constructed a stor-
age vault to keep its black-and-white photography collec-
tion at a relative humidity of 40% and a temperature of 60F
(15.6C); chromogenic color photographs are stored in a
second vault that operates at 40% RH and a temperature of
40F (4.4C). The relative humidity is controlled at 35% in
the Microtext Masters Storage Room at the Newberry Li-
brary in Chicago, Illinois; the microfilm storage area is in
the librarys sophisticated new bookstack building com-
pleted in 1982. The temperature is maintained at 60F
(15.6C) throughout the structure (the Newberry Library
facility is discussed in more detail later in this chapter).
In 1984 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City
moved its fine art photography collection into a newly con-
structed storage room that is maintained at 40% RH and
60F (15.6C); the museum stores its collection of chromo-
genic color prints in a frost-free refrigerator with a relative
humidity of 2535% and a temperature of 35F (1.7C).
Storage areas in the new building housing the Center
for Creative Photography, completed in 1988, are kept at
60F (15.6C) and 40% RH. Located in Tucson, Arizona, the
Center is associated with the University of Arizona.
The National Gallery of Canada, which moved into a
new building in Ottawa in 1988, maintains 59F (15C) and
40% RH in its photograph collections vault; a smaller cold
storage vault for chromogenic color prints and films is
kept at 39F (4C) and 40% RH.
The Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal com-
pleted a new building in 1988 which provides two storage
vaults for its photograph collections one vault is kept at
40F (4.4C) and 40% RH, and the other at 55F (12.8C) and
40% RH. The building as a whole is maintained at 70F
(21C) and 43% RH.
National Underground Storage, Inc., located 220 feet
underground in a former limestone mine near Boyers, Penn-
sylvania (57 miles north of Pittsburgh), maintains 25% RH
and about 68F (20C) in its high-security microfilm storage
vaults. Federal government agencies, including the Social
Security Administration, banks, and major corporations from
around the world utilize the underground facility to store
microfilm, paper records, computer tapes, and motion pic-
tures (a number of major Hollywood movie studios keep
backup copies of their motion picture libraries here).
The Granite Mountain Records Vault, which houses a
vast collection of microfilmed genealogical records for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (popularly
known as the Mormon Church), maintains 3040% RH and
about 55F (12.8C) in its high-security vault that was tun-
neled into the side of a solid granite mountain located near
Salt Lake City, Utah.
University Microfilms International, Inc., a major mi-
croform publisher headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
stores its microfilm masters at 70F (21C) and 40% RH.
The color and black-and-white photography collection
at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut is
stored at 65F (18.3C) and 35% RH.
Measurement and Control of
Relative Humidity
In considering various storage arrangements for photo-
graphs, it is necessary to have an understanding of the
relationship between humidity and the temperature of the
air. Relative humidity, expressed as a percentage (%), is
simply the amount of water vapor in a body of air at a given
temperature compared to the amount of water vapor the
air would contain at maximum saturation (100%). Absolute
humidity is a measure by weight of the amount of water
vapor in a given body of air: for example, 6.4 grams water
vapor per kilogram of air. A kilogram of air at sea level at
68F (20C) is a volume of 0.84 cubic meter.
The capacity of air to contain moisture increases mark-
edly as the temperature of the air increases. For example,
the maximum amount of moisture that air can contain at
50F (10C) is 7.1 grams per kilogram of air. At 82F (27.5C)
the moisture capacity increases to 21.4 grams per kilo-
gram of air, or about three times the capacity of air at 50F.
This means that within an isolated body of air, when the
temperature increases, the relative humidity decreases.
Conversely, when the temperature drops in a given body of
air, the relative humidity increases. This is the most im-
portant phenomenon for the photographic archivist to un-
derstand because of the rapid damage that can be caused
to photographs by high relative humidities.
Keep in mind that it is the actual relative humidity of
the storage area, and not the outdoor relative humidity
given by weather forecasters, that is important. Some lo-
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cations in the United States with a reputation for being
humid in the summer actually have lower relative humidi-
ties than cooler areas which are considered to be more
comfortable. An example of this is Washington, D.C., which
has a mean relative humidity of about 71% during the sum-
mer and is famous for being muggy and uncomfortable.
San Francisco, on the other hand, has a mean relative
humidity of about 79% during the same summer period, but
the city is not thought of as being humid because the lower
summer temperatures make it feel more comfortable.
The relationship between relative humidity, air tempera-
ture, and moisture content can be understood most easily
with the aid of a psychrometric chart (Figure 16.1). Fol-
lowing are a few examples of common photograph storage
situations that illustrate the use of a psychrometric chart.
As can be seen, the outdoor relative humidity may have
little relationship to the actual indoor relative humidity.
Figure 16.2: The Basement of a Building. On a typi-
cal summer day with an outdoor temperature of 85F (29C)
and a relative humidity of 60%, outside air enters a cool
basement and the temperature of the air drops to 70F
(21C). The temperature drop causes the relative humidity
to rise to near 100%. A basement frequently adds water
vapor to the air by transmitting moisture from the ground
through the walls and floor.
Figure 16.3: Air-Conditioned Building on a Hot Day.
Outdoor air at 85F (29C) and 50% RH is brought into a
building by a ventilation system. The outdoor air mixes
with cooler air already present in the building, thus lower-
ing the temperature of the outdoor air and causing the
relative humidity to rise; however, the effect is reduced by
the dilution with the indoor air. The air conditioner will
remove some of the moisture by momentarily cooling some
of the air to about 55F (13C) and condensing excess mois-
ture. Air which has passed over the air conditioner cooling
coils will have a relative humidity of about 58% when it
warms back up to the room temperature; however, the
relative humidity will probably be increased above this level
by mixing with the rest of the indoor air.
The final indoor relative humidity depends on a com-
plex set of factors including the outdoor temperature and
relative humidity, ventilation rates, building insulation, in-
ternal heat load (people, lights, machinery, etc.), moisture
added to the air in the building by people and other sources,
solar heat load, type of air conditioner, and many others.
Often the resulting indoor relative humidity will be in the
same range as the outdoor relative humidity even though
the temperature indoors is cooler. It is not uncommon,
however, for the indoor relative humidity in an air-condi-
tioned building to actually be higher than the outdoor rela-
tive humidity. This is especially likely to occur during the
comparatively cool spring and fall months and during cool
nights in the summer (see Figure 16.4). As can be seen,
the air conditioner must remove substantial quantities of
water when cooling the air to maintain even the same rela-
tive humidity as that of the warmer outdoor air. Advertis-
ing for air conditioners often gives misleading information
about this. To maintain constant low relative humidity
Figure 16.1: Psychrometric Chart
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inside a building requires special air-conditioning equip-
ment which has provision for dehumidifying air without
cooling it. One or more refrigeration-type dehumidifiers of
the kind sold for home use may be placed in small rooms of
air-conditioned buildings to aid in controlling the humidity.
Figure 16.4: Air-Conditioned Building on a Cool Day.
On a cool day, such as often occurs during the spring and
fall months in the U.S., the outdoor temperature might be
70F (21C) with a relative humidity of 80%. Under such
conditions, especially if there is a low internal heat load,
the air-conditioning system will not be needed to keep the
indoor temperature at 70F (21C). As a result, the indoor
relative humidity will be about the same as the outdoor
relative humidity: a high 80%. Accessory dehumidification
or air-reheating equipment will be needed to control the
humidity level.
Figure 16.5: Cold Winter Day. This situation is oppo-
site to that of an air-conditioned building in warm outdoor
temperatures. Cold outdoor air at 10F (12C) and 60% RH
is warmed up by the building heating system to 70F (21C).
As a result the relative humidity will drop to below 10%
unless moisture is added indoors by humidification equip-
ment. Typical indoor relative humidity found in homes and
office buildings on cold days is usually somewhat higher
than would be assumed from the psychrometric chart, due
to moisture added to the air by people breathing, dishwashing,
Figure 16.2: The Basement of a Building Figure 16.4: Air-Conditioned Building on a Cool Day
Figure 16.3: Air-Conditioned Building on a Hot Day Figure 16.5: Cold Winter Day
etc., but is often in the 1020% range. When relative hu-
midity cycles between normal (or high) and very low lev-
els, it may cause spokiness (wave-like deformations) in
rolls of motion picture film, cracking of RC prints, cracking
of the internal image-receiving layer of Polaroid SX-70 prints,
and base-to-emulsion separation in some types of polyes-
ter-base films. Very low and/or widely cycling humidity
will cause excessive curling of unmounted or unmatted
fiber-base prints, especially those on single-weight paper.
Devices for Measuring Relative Humidity
Caretakers of photography collections should acquire
an accurate relative humidity indicator so that the actual
humidity level can be monitored in storage areas. Ideally,
as discussed previously, photographs should be stored in
conditions of about 30% RH. However, as will quickly be-
come apparent when a humidity indicator is put into ser-
vice, such low humidity levels usually cannot be maintained
except during winter months in temperate climates. One
should try to keep the humidity as constant as possible and
in no event permit it to exceed 6570% for long periods.
Various types of humidity-measuring devices are available;
they differ in design, accuracy, and price. Suppliers of
instruments for measuring relative humidity are given at
the end of this chapter.
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to 5 minutes will be required to fully depress the wet-
bulb reading.
4. Repeat the operation (with the wick remoistened each
time) until two or more wet-bulb readings agree at the
lowest temperature obtainable. Then compare the wet-
bulb and dry-bulb temperature readings with a psy-
chrometric table (normally supplied with a sling psy-
chrometer) and determine the relative humidity. Psy-
chrometric tables that have a separate entry for each
degree of wet- and dry-bulb temperatures are easier to
read accurately than are psychrometric charts.
A sling psychrometer may have limited accuracy when
the relative humidity is below about 25%. At high humidi-
ties, sling psychrometers are usually quite accurate. At low
temperatures, when the wet-bulb temperature drops be-
low freezing (32F [0C]), readings are highly uncertain.
Thermometers in a sling psychrometer should be accu-
rate, but much more important than their absolute accu-
racy is the requirement that both thermometers agree with
each other. This can easily be checked by removing the
cotton wick from the wet-bulb thermometer (if the wick
was wet and moisture remains on the thermometer, it should
be removed with a clean paper towel) and allowing both
thermometers to stabilize at the ambient room tempera-
ture. A discrepancy greater than
1
4F (
1
8C) is unaccept-
able and the unit should be replaced. A 1F (
1
2C) discrep-
ancy between the thermometers will result in a 4% error in
the indicated relative humidity.
The thermometers must be read carefully and imme-
diately after it is certain that the sling psychrometer has
been rotated long enough for the wet-bulb thermometer to
become fully depressed. An error of 1F (
1
2C) in reading
the wet-bulb thermometer can result in a 4% error (high
or low) in indicated relative humidity a range of 8%! If
errors are made in reading both thermometers, the error
in indicated RH may be correspondingly greater. But an
accurate instrument operated with care can be expected to
produce consistent and reasonably accurate results.
The Assmann psychrometer
9
is a precision instrument
operating on the general principles of the sling psychrom-
eter; instead of being whirled in a circle, the Assmann
psychrometer has a spring-wound fan to circulate air over
the wet-bulb thermometer for up to 8 minutes (at least 5
minutes is recommended). Equipped with individually cali-
brated mercury thermometers (with a corrected accuracy
of better than 0.1C) and infrared radiation shields, Assmann
psychrometers cost $350 or more.
Also available are low-cost psychrometers, based on the
Assmann design, which have small battery-powered fans
to draw air across the wet-bulb thermometer. One model
tested by this author, the Psychro-Dyne sold by Environ-
mental Tectonics Corporation (the Psychro-Dyne is simi-
lar in most respects to the Belfort Psychron), proved to be
reasonably accurate when the relative humidity was above
about 40% and when the unit was allowed to operate for
several minutes to achieve full depression of the wet-bulb
temperature. In this authors judgment, a sling psychrom-
eter such as the 9-inch model made by Taylor Instruments
(Catalog No. 1328) is a more accurate instrument and also
costs only $65, roughly half as much as the Psychro-Dyne.
Sling Psychrometers
The sling psychrometer was the first instrument for
accurately measuring relative humidity and, when used
properly, is still among the most precise. Use of sling
psychrometers, however, is rather time-consuming and
cumbersome for routine monitoring of relative humidity.
They cannot be used for measurements inside of small
enclosures such as refrigerators or display cases. Sling
psychrometers are satisfactory for calibration of dial hy-
grometers and other types of mechanical hygrometers.
The sling psychrometer consists of two thermometers
mounted on a frame with a handle at one end. Attached to
the bulb of one of the thermometers is a cotton wick that is
moistened with distilled water before taking a reading. To
operate, the handle is gripped in one hand and the ther-
mometer frame is slung around in a circle (hence the name).
Moisture in the wet wick (the wet-bulb thermometer) evapo-
rates because of the rapid air motion occurring during
rotation of the device, cooling it to a lower temperature.
The lower the humidity, the faster the evaporation and the
lower the reading of the wet-bulb thermometer.
Use of a Sling Psychrometer
1. Be very careful when using a sling psychrometer in the
vicinity of photographs or other valuable objects, be-
cause small drops of water are usually ejected from the
moistened wick, especially during the initial period of
rotation. The droplets of water can travel across a
room 10 feet or more! Do not operate a sling psychrom-
eter in a room containing uncovered photographs on
tables or hanging on walls.
2. Thoroughly saturate the wick with water before each
reading is made. Moisten the wick only with distilled
water; dissolved solids usually present in tap water will
adversely affect the accuracy of the instrument. The
wick should be replaced should it appear dirty or be-
come stiff.
3. After about 2 minutes of rapid rotation, immediately
take a reading from the wet-bulb thermometer. At low
relative humidities (e.g., 2040%), rotation times of up
Taylor 9-inch sling psychrometer (Model No. 1328).
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A Condar Humidity Meter. These inexpensive units, which
regrettably are no longer available, are based on the
principle that certain chemical compounds undergo re-
versible changes in their crystal structure at specific rela-
tive humidities, resulting in abrupt changes in the reflec-
tion of polarized light. The bright square farthest to the
right registers the relative humidity. Condar hygrometers
do not drift over time and do not require periodic calibra-
tion. In fact, the units are accurate enough to be suitable
for calibrating other types of hygrometers. Manufacture
of Condar hygrometers ceased in 1987.
A Belfort recording thermohygrograph in the photograph
storage room at the Museum of Modern Art. These units,
which cost between $500 and $1,000, typically provide a
week-long paper chart with a continuous record of rela-
tive humidity and temperature.
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An Abbeon HTAB-176 dial hygrometer, costing about $135,
is shown here in a frost-free refrigerator. When properly
calibrated using the procedures outlined in the text, these
devices give an accurate indication of relative humidity.
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Dial Hygrometers
The dial hygrometer gives a continuous direct reading
of relative humidity at a glance. If carefully calibrated
about every 6 months, the better-quality dial hygrometers
are accurate within approximately 3% over a range be-
tween 20% and 90% RH; if the relative humidity in the
location where the instrument will be operating is close to
that of the calibration point, the accuracy of a dial hygrom-
eter can be 1%. Most dial hygrometers are reliable over
a fairly wide temperature range.
It is especially important to calibrate a new dial hy-
grometer before it is put into service. Manufacturers claims
to the contrary, this authors experience is that most hy-
grometers are in poor calibration by the time they are
delivered. Good-quality dial hygrometers have a small cali-
bration screw, accessible from outside the case, which al-
lows the dial to be adjusted.
Although dial hygrometers have a relatively slow re-
sponse time and, depending on air movement, may require
20 minutes or more to stabilize following an abrupt change
in humidity, the rate of response is adequate for most pho-
tographic storage applications. The humidity-sensing ele-
ment of some high-quality dial hygrometers is made of
bundled human hair. The hair bundle, one end of which is
connected to the dial indicator mechanism, changes in length
as a function of the ambient relative humidity. Other good-
quality dial hygrometers, such as the popular Abbeon Cer-
tified Hygrometers (made by the German firm of G. Lufft
Metalabarometerfabrik GmbH and sold under many differ-
ent brand names in the U.S.), utilize bundles of synthetic
fibers instead of hair as the humidity-sensing elements.
The Abbeon Model No. HTAB-176, which has a built-in
thermometer and costs about $135, is recommended by
this author for monitoring most photographic storage envi-
ronments, including the inside of frost-free, low-humidity
refrigerators. The calibration of the unit should be checked
every few months with a sling psychrometer, or with the
very accurate saturated-salt procedure described later in
this chapter.
Low-cost dial hygrometers, such as those with paper
sensing elements and sold in hardware stores for $10 or
less, can provide very approximate measurements of rela-
tive humidity, but often they will be nonlinear and inaccu-
rate by 20% or more, especially in the low and high ranges
of the scale.
Recording Thermohygrographs
Recording hygrometers (hygrographs) make a continu-
ous paper chart of the ambient relative humidity for a week
or longer periods. When equipped with a recording ther-
mometer, which is usually the case, they are called record-
ing thermohygrographs. Some types make disk charts;
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Adapted from: Arnold Wexler and Saburo Hasegawa, Rela-
tive Humidity-Temperature Relationships of Some Saturated
Salt Solutions in the Temperature Range 0 to 50C, Journal
of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, Vol. 53, No.
1, July 1954, pp. 1925.
Table 16.2 Relative Humidity of Air over a
Saturated Sodium Dichromate
Solution
Temperature Relative Humidity
68F (20C) 55.2%
70F (21C) 54.9%
77F (25C) 53.8%
others produce linear graphs. Recording thermohygrographs
are fairly expensive usually costing from $500 to more
than $1,000. Most thermohygrographs have humidity-sensing
elements of bundled human hair or synthetic fibers, al-
though various types of electronic recording instruments
are also available. As with dial hygrometers, it is essential
that the calibration of recording hygrometers be checked
at least every 6 months.
Thermohygrographs have become a common fixture in
most museums; some museum personnel are so devoted to
the instruments that the mere fact that conditions are be-
ing constantly monitored may in time overshadow the need
to correct the widely fluctuating levels of relative humidity
usually reported by the graphs. Thermohygrographs are
valuable for recording daily temperature and humidity fluc-
tuations caused by changes in air-conditioning levels be-
tween days, nights, and weekends. To save energy many
buildings operate at higher temperatures during non-working
hours in the summer (or at lower temperatures during off-
hours in the winter); such temperature variations normally
result in significant humidity fluctuations.
Electronic Humidity Indicators
Rapidly responding electronic humidity indicators ei-
ther operate as self-contained, hand-held units or have a
humidity probe connected to an indicator unit or chart
recorder by a length of electrical wire. These fairly expen-
sive instruments can be made with different types of hu-
midity sensors the two most common are a special thin-
film capacitor in which electrical capacitance changes as a
function of relative humidity (a Pope cell), and a sensor in
which electrical resistance varies according to the relative
humidity (a Dunmore sensor). Associated electronic cir-
cuitry computes the dew point or relative humidity from
the capacitance or electrical resistance of the sensing ele-
ment. The hand-held Humi-Chek electronic hygrometers
supplied by Rosemont Analytical, Inc. are particularly rec-
ommended; available in several models, the units cost be-
tween $500 and $900.
10
A very accurate and expensive type of electronic
humidity indicator is the dew-point/frost-point hygrometer,
whose photocell optically detects formation of dew (liquid
condensation) or frost on a polished plate which is slowly
cooled by a thermoelectric cooling unit. The relative hu-
midity is computed by comparing the ambient air tempera-
ture and the temperature of the polished plate when con-
densation (or frost) occurs. Electronic instruments with
external probes are particularly helpful for monitoring hu-
midity levels inside a refrigerated storage unit from a re-
mote location. Suppliers of electronic humidity indicators
are listed at the end of this chapter.
Humidity Indicator Papers
Paper or other material impregnated with a cobalt salt
such as cobalt thiocyanate has the property of progres-
sively changing color from blue to pink as the relative hu-
midity increases through a range from 20% to 80%. One
such product, Hydrion Humidicator Paper, is available from
Micro Essential Laboratory, Inc.
11
By comparing the color
of the paper with a color chart supplied with the product,
estimates of relative humidity can be made to within about
5% in the humidity range covered by the paper. Not well
suited for general humidity monitoring, strips of the low-
cost paper do have some unique research applications,
such as measuring the relative humidity inside a sealed
glass slide mount, picture frame, plastic bag, or other closed
container. Because the colored salt will contaminate and
permanently stain adjacent materials, even migrating through
a sheet of paper in only a week or two, these paper indica-
tor strips should never be placed in the vicinity of valuable
photographs, films, mount boards and mats, etc.
Calibration of Hygrometers
It is vitally important that mechanical and electronic
hygrometers be checked when initially put into operation,
and then from time to time after that to guarantee their
continued accuracy. As Garry Thomson observed in The
Museum Environment:
The hair hygrometer in its eight-day record-
ing form, often combined with a temperature
recorder, has become a common sight in muse-
ums all over the world, and testifies to a grow-
ing awareness of the importance of climate
control. . . . Because it can so easily slip out of
calibration, either through a jolt or by slow
drift, so that its readings are no longer true,
there must be hundreds of humidity records
stored away in museums which are in fact
worthless. Ideally the hair hygrometer should
have its calibration checked monthly.
12
A carefully operated sling psychrometer should be ad-
equate for routine calibration of dial and recording hy-
grometers (as well as common types of electronic hygrom-
eters) for most photographic storage needs, but there are
applications where more accurate calibration is desired.
While a precise Assmann psychrometer or electronic dew-
point hygrometer could provide a standard for calibration,
a simple and very accurate method of calibrating a hy-
grometer is to place the unit in a sealed container made of
glass or transparent plastic and containing a tray with a
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saturated solution of sodium dichromate or certain other
salts in distilled water. At a given temperature, the air
above the saturated salt solution has a specific, known
relative humidity.
13
If properly carried out, sodium dichro-
mate calibrations can be as accurate as 1%.
This method is especially suited to calibrating dial hy-
grometers (several can be placed in the container at the
same time if space allows). In this authors experience, a
saturated solution of sodium dichromate is especially ap-
propriate for this application because the 55% relative hu-
midity obtained at 70F (21C) see Table 16.2 is close
to the average humidity found in many museums. Also, the
solution is stable during long-term keeping, with no ten-
dency to form crystals which can gradually climb up the
walls of the container above the level of the solution.
For greatest accuracy with this method, the hygrom-
eter should be calibrated as closely as possible to the rela-
tive humidity in which it will normally be used. For those
few institutions that are able to maintain the relative hu-
midity in the recommended 3035% range, a saturated so-
lution of magnesium chloride is recommended in place of
the sodium dichromate solution. This gives a relative hu-
midity of 33.4% at a temperature of 68F (20C). For high-
humidity conditions (where photographs should not be stored
for long periods!), a saturated solution of sodium chloride
gives a relative humidity of 75.5% at 68F (20C).
The glass tray or dish holding the solution inside the
calibration chamber should have as large a surface area as
possible, to aid in rapid equilibration after the chamber
has been opened. The solution should be mixed with dis-
tilled water, and a sufficient amount of the salt added so
that a quantity of the salt crystals remains undissolved at
the bottom of the tray, with a layer of clear liquid above the
undissolved crystals; several days should be allowed for
the solution to become fully saturated. A solution depth of
about 1 inch is recommended. The solution should be re-
placed about every 2 years or sooner if all the salt crys-
tals become dissolved (because of absorption of moisture
from humid air), or if all the clear liquid layer should evaporate
due to frequent use (or poor container seal) in conditions
of low ambient relative humidity.
Calibrations should be performed in a room with a stable
temperature, and, if possible, with a relative humidity close
to that inside the chamber. After a hygrometer has been
Hygrometer calibration with a saturated solution of sodium dichromate. The acrylic case, constructed of
3
8-inch clear
Plexiglas acrylic sheet by this author, measures 12x12x6 inches. The sodium dichromate solution is contained in a glass
oven dish resting on the bottom of the case. A removable shelf for the hygrometer is provided in the center. The
transparent lid, which rests on a foam plastic gasket, allows the user to determine when the hygrometer indication has
stabilized (full equilibration may require 2 or 3 days). After noting the exact plus or minus deviation of the hygrometer from
the proper reading, the unit is removed from the case and allowed to equilibrate to ambient conditions. The hygrometer
calibration screw is then adjusted by the required amount (adjustment right after removal from the calibration case is
difficult because the hygrometer reading will start changing immediately to conform to ambient conditions.)
1
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the size of the room, frequency and duration of door open-
ings, number of people in the room, etc. Checking the
humidity level of the room under various conditions will
indicate whether the dehumidifier has sufficient capacity.
Home dehumidifiers usually have a container to collect
water extracted from the air. Most models automatically
stop if the container becomes full, but if this cut-off switch
should fail, the unit will continue to operate, causing water
to spill over the sides of the container and onto the floor.
Because of this hazard, it is essential that photographs
stored in a room with a dehumidifier be placed on shelves
or in cabinets at least several inches above the floor. De-
humidifiers usually have a provision for attaching a hose
from the unit to a drain (keep in mind that the hose may
become clogged, which may also result in flooding). It is,
of course, best to work out some sort of permanent drain
arrangement so that the unit will not have to be emptied
frequently and so that the dehumidifier will not shut off
because the water container is full. In an upstairs room of
a house where no water drain is available, a length of gar-
den hose can be passed through the center of a wall and
attached to a ground-level or basement drain.
An air conditioner and dehumidifier together can effec-
tively maintain reasonable levels of temperature and rela-
tive humidity. The air conditioner will remove some mois-
ture from the air in the process of lowering the tempera-
ture. The dehumidifier will remove additional moisture
and also prevent excessive humidity levels on cool days
when the air conditioner is not operating. In condensing
moisture from the air, the compressor motor gives off ad-
ditional heat, causing the compressor to operate for longer
periods than would otherwise be the case; this further re-
duces the level of relative humidity in the room. Care must
be taken to be sure that the air conditioner does not shut
off in a room containing a dehumidifier; without the cooling
of the air conditioner, the room temperature can rise quickly.
Most dehumidifiers will become clogged with ice if the
room temperature drops below about 65F (18.3C), so the
air conditioner should be adjusted not to cool below this
temperature.
Forced-air exhaust and provision for replacement air
in a storage area for photographs is not usually neces-
sary unless people are working in the room for a signifi-
cant amount of time. Remember that the more moist air
that is brought into the room, the more dehumidification
capacity will be required.
Home refrigeration-type dehumidifiers remove moisture
by passing room air over refrigerated coils which are at a
temperature not much above the freezing point of water.
Moisture is condensed on the coils because the tempera-
ture of the coils is below the dew point of the air. After
passing over the cool coils, the air is reheated by blowing it
over the warm coils connected to the high-pressure side of
the compressor. A dehumidifier is similar in design to a
small air conditioner except that, unlike an air conditioner,
the hot air is not exhausted outdoors. The net effect of a
dehumidifier is to lower the relative humidity and be-
cause of heat generated by the compressor motor raise
the temperature of a room.
Dehumidifiers are especially helpful in tropical areas
for preventing the relative humidity from exceeding 65
70%, the level at which fungus may begin to grow on film
placed in the chamber, at least 6 hours should be allowed
for the relative humidity inside the chamber to stabilize; it
is good practice to leave the hygrometer in the chamber
overnight (assuming the room temperature remains con-
stant) to assure accuracy of the calibration procedure. The
hygrometer should be adjusted to the proper humidity im-
mediately after it is removed from the chamber. The hy-
grometer should then be returned to the chamber and al-
lowed to stabilize for a final check of the adjustment. If the
relative humidity of the room is significantly higher or lower
than that of the chamber, the hygrometer indicator will
start to change as soon as the unit is removed from the
chamber; this makes proper calibration difficult, and sev-
eral attempts may be required for accurate adjustment.
This author has found this method of hygrometer cali-
bration to be simple to perform on a routine basis.
It has been suggested that the bundled-hair or synthetic-
fiber element of a dial or recording hygrometer be rejuve-
nated every few months by placing a wet cloth around the
unit (in order to create a high-humidity environment) for
about an hour. After the cloth is removed and the hygrom-
eter has stabilized for 24 hours, the unit is recalibrated.
Pending further experience with long-term behavior of these
units, this author tentatively recommends that this reju-
venation procedure be omitted and that instead the cali-
bration of such hygrometers be checked and adjusted if
necessary every few months with the units in their nor-
mal operating environment.
Methods of Controlling Relative Humidity
and Temperature in Photographic Storage Areas
While it is recognized that many smaller museums
and the majority of photographers will not be able to
justify the cost of equipment necessary to maintain rela-
tive humidity in the 2030% range throughout the year, an
effort should be made to keep the relative humidity as
close to this ideal as is practical, and conditions which
cause widely fluctuating humidity should be avoided. There
are several types of equipment available to meet different
needs and budget limitations.
Home Refrigeration-Type Dehumidifiers
Common electric refrigeration-type home dehumidifi-
ers are capable of maintaining reasonable humidity levels
in room-size storage areas. These units are available from
a number of manufacturers and usually cost between $175
and $400, depending on dehumidification capacity (given
as pints of water removed each 24 hours, according to
the test method in ANSI B-149-1), types of controls, and
other features. The more expensive units have built-in
humidistats which turn the unit on if the humidity rises
above a pre-set level.
The calibration of dehumidifier humidistats should al-
ways be checked with an accurate hygrometer since the
factory markings are normally inaccurate. Several dehu-
midifiers may be needed to control the relative humidity in
a medium- or large-size room. The capacity of a dehumidi-
fier needed to control a specific room will depend on such
factors as the ventilation of the room (if any), moisture
introduced through walls and floors such as in a basement,
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and print emulsions. Many tropical regions experience
sustained periods of very high humidity; at the research
station that Eastman Kodak once operated in the tropics of
Panama, it was reported that daily humidity levels varied
between 63% and 100% during the wet season.
14
Standard Window Air Conditioners and
Special Humidity-Control Models
As previously discussed (Figures 16.3 and 16.4), be-
cause most air conditioners lower the temperature of air at
the same time they remove moisture, the net result is not
always a decrease in the relative humidity in a room or
building. In fact, when operated during moderately cool
days and nights, and under some other common condi-
tions, an air conditioner can actually cause indoor relative
humidity to rise. Air conditioners dehumidify most effec-
tively not only when it is warm outdoors but also when
significant additional heat is generated indoors by lights,
people, electrical office equipment, etc. Such conditions
increase the operating time of air conditioners, which in
turn increases the amount of moisture removed from the
indoor air.
Air conditioners that have an energy saver switch that
turns the fan on only when the cooling compressor is oper-
ating generally produce lower relative humidity in a room
than do conventional models in which the fan operates all
the time (unless the entire unit is turned off). Air condi-
tioners with this feature are preferred for photographic
storage areas (they also cost somewhat less to operate).
Some window air conditioners have provision for dehu-
midifying air without cooling and are excellent for tem-
perature and humidity control in photograph storage ar-
eas. This type of air conditioner can be identified by a
separate humidity-control knob located near the tempera-
ture control on the switch panel; in the U.S., several mod-
els with independent dehumidifying capability are avail-
able from Sears Roebuck and Co.
15
These air conditioners
are able to dehumidify air without cooling by switching half
of the evaporator coil to the condenser side of the com-
pressor and half of the condenser coil to the evaporator
side of the compressor. Thus, the unit blows cold dehu-
midified air and warm air into the room at the same time,
resulting in the air being at normal room temperature.
When these air conditioners operate in the cooling mode,
an electric valve in the refrigerant lines switches the coils
back to the normal cooling function.
People are sometimes confused about the names identi-
fying the hot and cold coils of an air conditioner. The cold
coil is known as the evaporator coil even though it con-
denses moisture from the air on the cold surfaces of the
coil. The name evaporator comes from the fact that the
compressed refrigerant (Freon gas) evaporates, or decom-
presses, in this coil, thus cooling it. The hot coil is known
as the condenser coil; when Freon in the gaseous state is
pumped into the coil by the compressor under sufficient
pressure to cause it to become a liquid, considerable heat
is given off in the process.
Window-size heat pumps (reversible air conditioners)
are sold mainly in the warmer southern states for installa-
tion in houses without central heating systems. A heat
pump operating in its heating mode will not remove mois-
ture from the air, although the relative humidity will usu-
ally be lowered by the heating effect.
Keep in mind that most air conditioners cannot operate
at room temperatures below about 65F (18.3C). At cooler
temperatures the cooling coils will become blocked with
ice. An exception to this is the type of air conditioner
equipped with a water- or brine-filled heat exchanger of
the kind usually found in gas-powered units and chilled
water systems in many office buildings, museums, and
other large buildings. These units can be set for a room
temperature below 65F (18.3C); however, the relative hu-
midity will probably rise to excessive levels without auxil-
iary dehumidification equipment.
The minimum relative humidity that theoretically can
be obtained by air-conditioning systems that do not form
ice on the evaporator coils is about 35% with a room tem-
perature of 70F (21C). In practice, this low level probably
cannot be reached except in very dry climates such as the
elevated southwestern parts of the U.S. Minimum obtain-
able levels of 5060% RH are more common. To maintain
low relative humidities at low temperatures, a desiccation
dehumidifier or a freeze and heat-defrost system such as
that in a frost-free refrigerator/freezer is needed. A brine-
spray system to melt ice on cooling coils should never be
used in an air conditioner that cools storage areas for pho-
tographs because significant quantities of spray chemicals
may be carried over into the air stream and contaminate
the photographs.
Remote Air Conditioners for Individual Rooms
Standard window air conditioners cannot be operated in
rooms which do not have an outside wall. Even when win-
dow space is available, many people do not like the appear-
ance of an air conditioner unit sitting in the bottom half of
a window. In a central air-conditioning system, the con-
denser coil and the compressor are located outdoors. Cen-
tral air-conditioning systems, however, are difficult to in-
stall in buildings that do not already have duct-work in
place as part of the air-heating system. In such situations
a small remote air conditioner may be needed. This type
of unit has an outdoor compressor-condenser unit con-
nected to an indoor evaporator-blower by a length of re-
frigerant tubing. It is similar in concept to a large central
air conditioner except that the indoor evaporator unit is
designed to be mounted on a wall and has its own blower
and air filter attached.
Several sizes of these remote air conditioners are manu-
factured under the name Comfort-Aire Twin Pac Remote
Air Conditioning System.
16
The indoor and outdoor units
may be separated by up to 19 feet of tubing (8 feet is sup-
plied, and an additional 11 feet may be purchased as an
accessory). The units are available in 6,000-Btu/hr, 10,500-
Btu/hr, and 15,500-Btu/hr capacities. A hole 2
1
2 inches in
diameter must be cut in the wall for the refrigerant and
electrical lines to pass through. A hose attached to the
indoor evaporator unit carries condensed water to the equip-
ment outdoors. If the indoor unit is in a building at a level
lower than the outdoor condenser unit, provision must be
made to drain condensed water away from the indoor sec-
tion to a floor drain; a home basement installation may
require the indoor unit to be lower than the outdoor sec-
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and low relative humidities. From an economic point of
view, it may be less expensive for a museum to purchase a
number of frost-free refrigerators than to construct a low-
temperature/low-humidity storage vault. The refrigera-
tors may be acquired one at a time if budgets do not permit
a large capital expenditure. For example, about one mil-
lion 35mm color slides could be accommodated in 40 me-
dium-size refrigerators costing about $18,000 at $450 per
unit. (Be aware, however, that large prints cannot be ac-
commodated in a refrigerator.)
Bags or Cans of Silica Gel:
a Generally Unsatisfactory Method
of Humidity Control
Desiccants are substances which, when dehydrated (ac-
tivated), are highly hygroscopic and have a great affinity
for moisture in the air. Activated silica gel is the most
common desiccant; anhydrous calcium, commercially a-
vailable under the Drierite name, is also popular.
When drying or storing photographs with desiccants,
great care must be taken to prevent small particles of the
desiccant from contaminating films or prints. Calcium chlo-
ride, sometimes used as a desiccant, is not suitable for
photographic applications because it is very prone to pro-
ducing dust, liquefies when moist, and is corrosive.
The simplest form of desiccant air dryer is a porous
cloth bag filled with silica gel. This is placed in a closed
container along with the film or whatever is to be dried. If
the silica gel has been activated by heating to dehydrate
it prior to use, it will absorb nearly all the water in the air
(regardless of ambient temperature), lowering the relative
humidity of air to less than 4%, which is substantially be-
low the safe minimum suggested for photographs.
A widely sold air dryer is the Grace Davison Silica Gel
Air-Dryer.
19
This device, a perforated aluminum can con-
taining silica gel, has a blue indicator (probably cobalt chloride
crystals), visible through a small window on the top of the
can, which turns pink when the silica gel has absorbed a
significant amount of water vapor. The Grace Davison Air-
Dryer can be reactivated when saturated by placing it in
an oven at about 350F (175C) for several hours and then
letting it cool in a small closed container to prevent mois-
ture absorption during cooling. Because small particles of
silica gel can fall through the can perforations and con-
taminate photographs, this device is not recommended.
Small packets of silica gel are packed with cameras at
the factory to minimize the possibility of moisture damage
during shipment and storage. However, once silica gel has
absorbed enough moisture to reach equilibrium with the
surrounding air, it will not absorb additional moisture un-
less the humidity of the air rises. Small quantities of silica
gel have only a limited capacity to absorb moisture.
Because of the problems associated with silica gel, and
the difficulty of accurately controlling the final moisture
content of materials being desiccated, this author does not
recommend the routine use of cans or packets of silica gel
for maintaining low levels of humidity where photographs
are being stored. They can, however, be helpful when no
other means of humidity control are available or when very
low moisture levels in sealed containers are desired (such
as might be the case when storing daguerreotypes). Re-
tion. The refrigerant lines on these remote air condition-
ers are of the pre-charged, quick-connect type, enabling
anyone with a few hand tools to install the units without
professional help.
Air-Conditioning and Dehumidification
Systems for Large Buildings
Air-conditioning systems in large buildings function on
the same general principles as the previously described
home units; both ducted-air and chilled-water systems are
common. With a piping system that runs throughout a
building, a chilled-water system circulates refrigerated water
to thermostatically controlled cooling units which regulate
the temperature in individual rooms or in larger areas.
Most large air-conditioning systems have no provision
for separately controlling temperature and humidity and
are unable to adequately reduce the humidity during cool
and moist days of spring and fall in temperate climates;
humidity control also usually fails during cool nighttime
hours in hot climates. Modern systems usually have a
fairly high air exchange (exhausting indoor air and bring-
ing in fresh outdoor air) to keep concentrations of ciga-
rette smoke and other indoor pollutants from becoming too
high, but this makes humidity control more difficult and
wastes a great amount of electricity. Air exchange rates
can be reduced substantially if smoking is prohibited.
Humidity control can be improved if provision is made
to reheat the cooled air so that the air conditioner contin-
ues to operate on cool days without significantly cooling
the building. This procedure requires additional energy.
New installations for museums and archives should have
separate dehumidification equipment for dehumidifying
without cooling. Older equipment can be modified to per-
form this function. A qualified air-conditioning and heat-
ing engineer should be consulted for advice on selecting
equipment and the best approach to the particular prob-
lems of each situation. The engineer should be informed of
the need for constant year-round humidity control.
Museums with different types of collections may require
different levels of relative humidity in various parts of the
building. For example, recommended humidity levels for
leather-bound books are significantly higher than the ideal
30% for photographs. If a collection requires a specific
relative humidity (and temperature), it may be possible to
place it in a separate room or area controlled by auxiliary
equipment. The Ohio Historical Society stores microfilm
in an isolated area. Such an isolated-area system has been
described by Amdur,
17
who suggests that rooms for spe-
cialized storage not have any walls, floors, or ceilings along
the outside of the building. This will allow the existing air-
conditioning and heating system in the building to control
seasonal temperature extremes and to provide a first stage
of humidity control. Auxiliary equipment for isolated stor-
age areas can draw air from the interior of the building;
such equipment need have only minimum capacity. De-
scriptions and engineering data for various types of air-
conditioning and filtration systems appear in publications
of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
18
As noted in Chapter 19, frost-free refrigerators offer an
excellent way to store color materials at low temperatures
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member that unless the photographs and silica gel are
sealed in a true vapor-proof container a cardboard box
or a file drawer is not vapor-proof the silica gel will
continue to absorb moisture from the air until it no longer
offers any practical control over relative humidity. Under
some conditions, silica gel can lose its ability to absorb
additional moisture in less than an hour.
Pre-conditioned in air of a specific relative humidity,
silica gel can serve as a buffer to help maintain a given
humidity level in a sealed display case or other reasonably
vapor-proof container for short periods of time.
20
A brand
of silica gel known as Art-Sorb, made by Fuji-Davison Chemi-
cal Ltd. of Japan and distributed in the U.S. by Conserva-
tion Materials, Ltd.,
21
has been advertised as being more
effective as a humidity buffer than ordinary silica gel. Also
available is a product called Art-Sorb Sheets, which are
sheets of polyethylene/polypropylene foam impregnated with
Art-Sorb silica gel. The foam-plastic sheets contain about
16% Art-Sorb silica gel by weight and are intended to be cut
to size for placement in display cases, shipping crates, etc.
Until meaningful test information on the product becomes
available, Art-Sorb Sheets are not recommended for use
with photographs because of the possibility of harmful emis-
sions from the foam-plastic sheets.
22
Probably safer are Gore-Tex Silica Tiles, manufactured
by W. L. Gore & Associates.
23
The non-dusting 6x6x
1
2-inch
tiles are made of moisture-permeable Gore-Tex expanded
PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane bonded to both
sides of an acrylic plastic grid, with silica gel sealed inside.
Continuous High-Volume
Dry Desiccant Dehumidifiers
The principle of drying air with a desiccant has been
applied on a massive scale in the form of dehumidification
machines made by Cargocaire Engineering Corporation
24
and several other firms.
Figure 16.6 shows how a Cargocaire desiccant dehu-
midifier removes moisture from the air by means of a con-
tinuous regeneration cycle for the desiccant wheel, which
consists of a lithium chloride-impregnated porous struc-
ture. As the wheel slowly turns (approximately 620 revo-
lutions per hour), humid air passing through the flutes in
the wheel is dried. At the same time, a counterflowing
stream of hot air passing through the reactivation sector of
the wheel removes the moisture picked up by the desic-
cant, thus allowing continuous dehumidification. Units with
wheels impregnated with molecular sieve and silica gel
desiccants are also available for special applications.
The desiccant-impregnated wheel dehumidifier was de-
veloped by Carl Munters of Sweden in the 1950s, and manu-
facturing rights were licensed to Cargocaire in the U.S.
and to a number of companies in other countries. The
Munters Group of Sollentuna, Sweden now owns Cargo-
caire and most of the other former licensees.
Desiccation dehumidifiers are extensively employed on
ocean ships for maintaining proper relative humidities in
steel-walled cargo holds (in which relative humidities would
otherwise be around 100%) and in industry for environ-
mental control in areas where such humidity-sensitive items
as lithium batteries are manufactured. They are also used
to control the humidity in underground storage facilities.
Desiccation dehumidifiers are ideal for controlling rela-
tive humidity in storage and display areas for photographs
kept at normal room temperature and for humidity con-
trol in entire buildings. The units offer more precise con-
trol with less energy expenditure than any other type of
dehumidifier, and since they operate independently of heating
and cooling equipment, the proper relative humidity can
be maintained regardless of seasonal or day-to-night varia-
tions in outdoor conditions as well as changes in indoor
temperature and moisture loads.
Under normal circumstances the dehumidifiers operate
without any desiccant particles entering the air stream.
However, it is advised that a HEPA (high-efficiency par-
ticulate air) filtration system capable of filtering particles
down to a size of 0.3 micron
25
be installed in the output
duct of the machine to make certain no liquid droplets or
dust can enter the air stream into the storage area, should
the desiccant regeneration system and the units automatic
electrical shut-off controls fail, causing the wheel to be-
come saturated with water. In addition, it is absolutely
essential that a separate high-humidity shut-off be installed
to cut off all electrical power to the dehumidifier, air condi-
tioners, and other equipment in the storage area should
the relative humidity rise above a pre-set level. The safety
equipment must be periodically tested to be certain that it
is functioning properly.
In the past, desiccation air-drying machines were not
recommended for controlling the relative humidity in pho-
tographic storage areas; contamination was a recurring
problem with many of the machines having beds of silica
gel open to the air stream. The Cargocaire HoneyCombe
machine is claimed by the manufacturer to have elimi-
nated the dust problem.
Cargocaire dehumidifiers are made in a variety of sizes
for different applications; some models can remove up to
1,500 pounds of water per hour from the air. The machines
can be set to control the relative humidity to any level
A Cargocaire dry desiccant dehumidifier attached to a
color motion picture film storage vault (maintained at
25% RH and 37F [2.8C]) at the Library of Congress
facility in Landover, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
1
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even as low as 10%. In the larger units, heating is by
steam, electricity, or gas; in the smaller units, the reactiva-
tion sector is heated electrically. The Cargocaire Model
M85-L dehumidifier (about $2,500 including humidistat) has
a provision for internally cooling the heated air in the reac-
tivation sector and does not require an outdoor air ex-
haust; this allows the unit to be located almost anywhere
within a building. Cargocaire units in the size range com-
monly used in photograph cold storage vaults range in
price from about $3,500 to $12,000.
Cargocaire offers a special explosion-proof version of
its HC-150 dehumidifier that is capable of meeting the building
and fire code requirements of most cities and states for
electrically powered air-handling equipment which recir-
culates air in flammable environments. This special unit is
recommended for cellulose nitrate film storage vaults.
Continuous desiccant dehumidifiers are currently the
only practical and energy-efficient method of maintaining
low and precisely controlled humidity at the 0F (18C) or
lower temperatures necessary for the long-term storage of
most types of color films and prints. Cargocaire units were
first used for humidity control of a low-temperature vault
for photographic materials at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Library in Boston, Massachusetts, which opened in 1979.
Cargocaire dehumidifiers are currently in operation in
the cold storage facilities at the Warner Bros. movie studio
in Burbank, California; Paramount Pictures in Hollywood,
California; the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois;
the Time Inc. Picture Collection in New York City; the
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Har-
vard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Library
of Congress cold storage facility in Landover, Maryland;
the Historic New Orleans Collection, in New Orleans, Loui-
siana; the National Archives and Records Administration
cold storage vaults in Alexandria, Virginia; the Human Studies
Film Archive at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,
D.C.; and the Moving Image, Data and Audio Conservation
Division of the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, On-
tario. (See Chapter 20 for further information on large-
scale cold storage facilities for color materials.)
Reliability Problems Reported with
Cargocaire Dehumidifiers Improved
Models Introduced in 1989
A number of institutions using Cargocaire dehumidifi-
ers, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, have had serious
reliability problems with the units. The most frequent fail-
ure has involved the electrical reactivation heaters that
drive moisture off the rotating lithium chloride-impreg-
nated wheel. At the Art Institute of Chicago, photography
conservator Douglas G. Severson reports that during the
first 6 years that the units were in operation (the Art Institutes
two cold storage vaults were constructed in 1982), the re-
activation heaters in the six Cargocaire dehumidifiers were
all replaced at least twice.
26
According to Severson, at one
point four of the six dehumidifiers were out of operation.
But, in spite of the failures, control of the relative humidity
levels in the two vaults was never lost because at least one
of the dehumidifiers remained functional while the others
were being repaired (the units operate in a redundant man-
ner). Severson says that during the first 6 years of opera-
tion, no problems whatever were experienced with the vault
refrigeration compressors.
The Art Institute vaults are equipped with fail-safe elec-
trical controls that automatically sound an alarm and cut
off electrical power to all cooling and dehumidification equip-
ment should the temperature or relative humidity levels
drift beyond pre-set limits. If such a failure should occur,
the doors to the vaults would be left closed until the inte-
rior reached room temperature (during which time the
relative humidity inside the vaults would drop somewhat).
The photographs stored inside the vaults would be in no
danger should such a shutdown occur. Severson says that
the fail-safe shutdown controls are tested regularly.
Figure 16.6 Functioning of
a Cargocaire dry desiccant
dehumidifier.
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cerned about the short periods of the year in cold climates
when the humidity may drop below 20%. Generally speak-
ing, high relative humidities are much more harmful to
photographs than are low relative humidities.
Prevention of Fungus on Photographs
Fungus growth on photographs can be prevented by
keeping the relative humidity in storage and display areas
at less than 65%. This simple advice is given with the
realization that in many parts of the world, proper control
of relative humidity in commercial buildings and homes
where photographs are used and stored may be difficult
or, in a practical sense, even impossible. It is important,
however, to clearly understand the relationship between
relative humidity and fungus growth, and to provide the
best storage conditions that one is able.
In museums and archives, it is imperative that adequate
humidity-control equipment be provided in storage and dis-
play areas. For a collecting institution to ignore this fun-
damental requirement for the proper care of photographs
is a serious irresponsibility.
Fungus, also called mold and mildew, will not grow
in temperatures below the freezing point of water, but may
thrive in temperatures slightly above freezing, as many
people have observed in their refrigerators. Some forms of
fungus flourish in temperatures as high as 131F (55C).
Most forms of fungus will grow in either light or dark situa-
tions. Warm and humid conditions are most conducive to
fungus growth, but regardless of the temperature, the hu-
midity must be above 6570% for sustained periods. Wessel
has stated: Generally it is believed that below 70% rela-
tive humidity (RH) there is little opportunity for growth. At
8095 percent RH most forms grow well; above 95 percent
RH growth is luxurious.
28
If fungus has started to grow, it
can be arrested by drying the photographs and then stor-
ing them in low-humidity conditions.
Fungi require nutrients to grow. Gelatin, the major
component in the emulsion of films and prints, is, unfortu-
nately, an excellent nutrient for fungi. Indeed, susceptibil-
ity to fungus attack is one of the serious shortcomings of
gelatin-emulsion films and prints that has never been solved.
Alternatives for gelatin have been investigated and have
been substituted for gelatin in a few commercial products
such as Kodak Velite contact paper which was marketed in
the 1950s but to date none have been developed which
are as satisfactory as gelatin in terms of cost, chemical,
processing, physical, and optical characteristics.
Fungus spores are found almost everywhere and will
grow if the proper combination of nutrients and humidity is
present. Fungus growths frequently concentrate around
fingerprints on prints and films due to salts in the finger-
prints which create localized moist conditions. Fungus
growths often damage areas adjacent to the nutrient sur-
faces on which they are actually growing; they may sur-
face-etch or otherwise damage film base materials. In-
sects may be attracted to fungus growths, and they or their
excrement may do additional damage to photographs.
Hygroscopic glues and print flattener solutions such as
Kodak Print Flattener and Pako Pakosol should be particu-
larly avoided in tropical areas because these materials will
increase the fungus problem.
Cargocaire has acknowledged the problems with the
reactivation heaters in the dehumidifiers and several rede-
signed models were introduced in 1989 which, according to
the company, should prove to be far more reliable.
Control of Relative Humidity
with Cool-and-Reheat Equipment
Controlling relative humidity in air-conditioned build-
ings has traditionally been accomplished by heating units
usually electrical attached to the cool-air ducts com-
ing from the air-conditioning units. The heating units raise
the temperature of the air coming from the air condition-
ers, producing a drop in relative humidity; at the same
time, the heaters cause the air conditioners to operate for
a longer time without lowering the room temperature be-
low the desired level. Thus, the air conditioners have an
increased dehumidification effect on the constantly recir-
culated air. These systems consume much more energy
than desiccant dehumidifiers, and if a low relative humid-
ity is desired 25% for example an enormous amount of
energy may be required to maintain such a level; with many
installations, it will be impossible to reach such a low hu-
midity level even with continuous operation of the cooling
and reheating equipment.
When precise regulation at a low level of relative hu-
midity is desired, desiccant dehumidifiers in conjunction
with conventional air-conditioning equipment will be much
more satisfactory than cool-and-reheat equipment.
Humidifiers to Raise Relative Humidity
To maintain reasonably constant relative humidity in
areas where photographs are stored, it will usually be nec-
essary to add moisture to indoor air in the cold periods of
the year in temperate climates.
Humidifiers that eject steam or water mists directly
into the air should be avoided in any but the most elaborate
systems because they can create localized areas of very
high relative humidity and, should the controls fail, will
raise the room humidity to near 100%. Evaporation hu-
midifiers which are attached directly to home hot-air heat-
ing systems, and which have automatic relative humidity
controls that can be set by the user, probably present no
great danger and will minimize winter/summer variations
in humidity. An accurate hygrometer should be placed in
storage areas so that conditions can be checked from time
to time. Humidity calibrations on home humidifiers are
usually inaccurate. Low-cost evaporation humidifiers for
the home can be accurately controlled by separate humi-
distats available from heating equipment supply outlets.
27
This author has employed simple equipment of this type to
control the relative humidity in rooms in which acceler-
ated light fading tests are conducted; the humidity can be
maintained at 5% or better.
Any large-scale humidification system should have fail-
safe automatic controls to minimize the danger of over-
humidification, which could seriously damage photographs
in a short time.
When budgets are limited, it almost always best to con-
centrate available resources on the purchase and opera-
tion of dehumidification equipment and not be overly con-
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thor does not recommend treating photographs with fungi-
cides. A much better approach is to control the relative
humidity in areas where photographic materials are stored.
If, however, fungicides are applied, treated prints and films
should be separated from untreated materials and clearly
marked to indicate what type of fungicide was used. If
framed or unframed prints are displayed in rooms without
humidity control in tropical or other humid areas, the prints
should be covered with a suitable pressure-sensitive plas-
tic laminate (see Chapter 4). Fiber-base prints and Ilford
Ilfochrome prints (called Cibachrome, 19631991), which
have a gelatin anti-curl back-coating, should be laminated
on both sides.
At one time, Kodak processing laboratories coated Koda-
chrome transparencies and Kodacolor 35mm negatives with
a film lacquer. This practice was stopped in 1970 for rea-
sons that this author has not been able to determine. Ko-
dak films coated with lacquer often have a slightly irides-
cent appearance when the emulsion side is viewed at an
angle to the light. Kodak film lacquer is said to contain a
mild fungicide which is safe when applied to color films.
This author does not recommend that photographers try to
coat their films with lacquers as it is almost impossible to
prevent small dust particles from becoming embedded in
the lacquer when it is applied; in addition, the dye stability
of the films may be impaired.
Edwal Scientific Products Corporation (a division of Falcon
Safety Products, Inc.) markets a film-coating product called
Permafilm, which the company claims will reduce emul-
sion scratches, chances of fungus growth, and color dye
fading. An Edwal spokesman says the slowing of dye fad-
ing is achieved by a reduction of moisture in the emulsion.
Edwal has advertised Permafilm as an almost magic liq-
uid which, among other things, makes negatives and mov-
ies practically scratch-proof; reduces tearing of sprocket
holes. Permafilm definitely does not make films scratch-
proof, although it may reduce the likelihood of emulsion
scratches. This author has no information on the long-
term effects of this product on photographs and thus can-
not recommend it.
Insect and Rodent Damage to Photographs
If storage areas are kept clean and free from crumbs
and other bits of food and relative humidity and tem-
perature are maintained at moderate levels damage to
films and prints by insects and rodents is not a common
problem. However, if mice and rats are able to enter stor-
age areas, they may chew on paper prints or envelopes to
obtain small bits of paper for nest construction. Rodents
should not be controlled by keeping pet cats in the storage
areas because some cats are fond of sharpening their claws
on stacks of prints; they can also damage photographs by
climbing on stacks of boxes and knocking them to the floor.
Any animal can damage photographic materials with its
urine and excrement, causing stains and encouraging fun-
gus growth.
Insects may be attracted to photographic materials, par-
ticularly in warm, high-humidity conditions or when fun-
gus is present on the photographs. Roudabush has re-
ported some examples of damage to films and mounted
slides by carpet beetle (dermestid) larvae. In a few cases
Fungi growing on emulsions usually make the gelatin
soluble in water. Therefore, water or solutions containing
water cannot be used to clean photographs which have
been attacked by fungus. Surface fungus can often be at
least partially removed by wiping with a soft cotton swab
soaked with Kodak Film Cleaner. Slides should be re-
moved from their mounts before cleaning and returned to
new mounts after cleaning.
As long as photographs are kept out of obviously damp
places such as basements, fungus is not a major problem
in most areas of the United States. In tropical areas, which
frequently have high average relative humidities, fungus
on photographs is common; in rain forests and other par-
ticularly humid areas, fungus often causes catastrophic
damage to prints and films.
At the first sign of fungus growth (which might be mis-
taken for dirt in early stages), measures should be taken to
reduce the relative humidity in storage locations. As dis-
cussed previously, one or more home-type dehumidifiers
placed in storage rooms will generally reduce the humidity
to a safe level. In severe conditions, such as tropical areas
where both heat and moisture are problems, a suitable
frost-free refrigerator will provide an excellent humidity-
controlled micro-climate for storage of both color and
black-and-white photographs. Use of these refrigerators is
discussed in Chapter 19.
Fungicides
In situations where control of relative humidity is im-
possible, several methods of preventing fungus from grow-
ing on photographs have been suggested. These include
processing color negatives and prints with a washless
system incorporating Konica Super Stabilizer as a final
bath (the stabilizer has a long-term fungicidal effect and,
used with Konica Color Paper Type SR, Konica Color Pa-
per Professional Type EX, and Konica Color QA Paper, is
highly recommended for tropical or other humid areas),
29
postprocessing treatment of films and prints with chemi-
cal fungicides,
30
treatment of paper envelopes and inter-
leaving papers with fungicides,
31
laminating prints with
pressure-sensitive plastic laminates,
32
or coating films and
prints with 3M Photogard or a waterproof lacquer (3M Pho-
togard is claimed to provide excellent protection against
fungus attack; lacquers, however, may provide only limited
protection). See Chapter 4 for discussion of pressure-sen-
sitive laminates, Photogard, and lacquers.
Eastman Kodak has recommended immersion in a 1%
solution of zinc fluosilicate and air drying without wiping
as the only effective fungicidal treatment suitable for both
color and black-and-white films and prints.
33
Zinc fluosilicate,
however, is extremely toxic and may be fatal if ingested in
even very dilute solutions; treated films and prints may
also be harmful if licked or eaten and should never be
stored in areas where children are present. Rohm and
Haas Hyamine 1622 has been cited by Eastman Kodak as
very effective in preventing fungus growth on black-and-
white photographs, but the company has cautioned that it
should never be applied to color films or prints.
34
Black-
and-white photographs treated with Hyamine 1622 should
never be interfiled with color films or prints.
In most situations even in tropical areas this au-
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the larvae damaged film while it was still inside a camera.
Damage to mounted slides was usually restricted to an
area of the film no more than 9mm from the edge of the
cardboard mount. Experiments showed that the larvae
needed to have a grip on the edge of the mount in order to
chew on the emulsion. Adult carpet beetles do not nor-
mally damage photographs. To eliminate infestations of
carpet beetle larvae, Roudabush advised:
Remove all of the transparencies and fumi-
gate the boxes or drawers of slide files with
paradichlorobenzene moth crystals. Naphtha-
lene crystals should not be used. With the slides
removed and the slide files closed, the paradi-
chlorobenzene crystals should be left in posi-
tion for several days so that any emerging lar-
vae will be killed. The slides should be dusted
with a soft brush or jet of air to remove any
eggs or larvae before replacing them in the
storage box. Since the vapor of paradichloro-
benzene may seriously damage the transpar-
encies by weakening the cardboard base or sup-
port, all of the crystals should be shaken out of
the slide drawers and the drawers aired before
the transparencies are refiled. Tests to date
indicate that transparencies will not be dam-
aged if paradichlorobenzene crystals or con-
centrated vapor from the crystals are not al-
lowed to contact them. It is also recommended
that the treatment be repeated periodically and
that stored slides be examined regularly for
any evidence of damage.
35
Wessel has listed a number of insects which may attack
paper prints, mounting materials, and envelopes: silver-
fish, cockroaches, bookworms, and termites.
36
Termite
damage is often a by-product of the termites eating of
wood or other materials in the same area as the paper.
Insects and rodents may be attracted to glues and pastes,
especially in high-humidity conditions.
All photographs on long-term display should be framed
under glass to protect them from flying insects, such as
houseflies, which may land on them and leave deposits of
excrement and dirt. Low temperatures and low relative
humidities discourage most insects. Keeping storage ar-
eas free of dust, lint, and food particles or wrappings (such
as candy bar wrappers) will minimize the possibility of
insects inhabiting the areas. New photographs from out-
side sources should be closely examined for insects before
they are added to existing collections.
If, in spite of good housekeeping and proper tempera-
ture and relative humidity control in storage areas, insect
infestations persist and an insecticide must be used, Bard
and Kopperl of Eastman Kodak have recommended sulfu-
ryl fluoride as the only fumigant satisfactory for treating
photographs (both color and black-and-white).
37
Sulfuryl
fluoride, sold under the trade name Vikane, is reported to
be effective against cockroaches, termites, silverfish, ants,
spiders, bedbugs, clothes moths, and carpet beetles, but
not on microorganisms and mold [fungus]. Vikane is not
effective against insect eggs, and some authorities recom-
mend a second application 20 days to one year after the
first, depending on the species of the insect.
38
Like all
insecticides, sulfuryl fluoride is toxic if excessive amounts
are inhaled or ingested; the recommended maximum level
of exposure is 5 ppm. Exposure to excessive levels of
sulfuryl fluoride causes abdominal pains, nausea, vomit-
ing, convulsions, chemical pneumonia, lung and kidney
damage, and teeth and bone defects.
39
For advice on the
safe application of sulfuryl fluoride and fungicides to pho-
tographs, Eastman Kodak Company should be consulted.
40
Air Pollutants
Photographs of all types can be adversely affected by
air pollutants. The delicate silver images of black-and-
white photographs in general and RC prints and micro-
films in particular are susceptible to low levels of pollut-
ants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sul-
fide, peroxides, ammonia, formaldehyde, ozone, and paint
fumes. Kodak states:
The severity of attack by various gases in
the atmosphere depends on the concentration
of the gases, or fumes, on the presence of re-
sidual processing chemicals in the materials,
and on the levels of temperature and relative
humidity. If there are residual chemicals present,
moisture alone may precipitate their attack on
an image. Since the effects of oxidation on a
silver image are similar, regardless of the cause,
it is difficult to determine in any particular case
to what extent atmospheric conditions were
responsible for the deterioration. In most cases
there is no single cause of fading and staining
of material; the effect is usually due to a combi-
nation of several factors.
41
Fumes from fresh oil-base paints are a potent source of
oxidizing gases which can in only a few days cause
severe fading and discoloration of black-and-white photo-
graphs. To be safe, photographs should be removed from
freshly painted rooms for at least 6 weeks if an oil-base
paint was applied. Tests conducted by Eastman Kodak in
which black-and-white fiber-base and RC test prints were
placed in a room 5 hours after painting showed that even
very low concentrations of oil-base paint fumes were suffi-
cient to cause image discoloration:
This painted-room test did substantiate labo-
ratory findings in that certain test prints on
both fiber-base and resin-coated papers discol-
ored within 7 days. Also, other test prints dis-
colored when placed in the room up to four
weeks after painting was completed. Total oxi-
dant concentrations in the painted room never
exceeded 30 parts per billion.
42
The Kodak study determined that hydrogen peroxide is
released by oil-base paints in the course of drying, or
autoxidative polymerization. Certain types of cosmetics,
such as hair sprays, were also said to produce image dis-
coloration. There is substantial evidence that RC prints
are in general more susceptible to discoloration and fading
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Table 16.3 National Institute of Standards and Technology Recommendations for
Environmental Conditions for Storage of Paper-Based Archival Materials
[Not Necessarily Including Photographic Materials]
Prepared for the National Archives and Records Administration in 1983
Category of Storage
Conditions 1. 2. 3.
Public Access yes no no
Duration of Storage short
a
-long short
a
-long long
b
Frequency of access often often seldom
Temperature Range 6575F 5055F 20F
(1824C) (1013C) (29C)
Temperature Control
c
2F 1F 2F
(1C) (0.5C) (1C)
Relative Humidity Range 4045% 35%
Relative Humidity Control
d
5% 3%
Gaseous Contaminants
SO2 <1 g/m
3
<1g/m
3
<1g/m
3
NO
x
<5 g/m
3
<5 g/m
3
<5 g/m
3
O3 <25 g/m
3
<25 g/m
3
<25 g/m
3
CO2 <4.5 g/m
3
<4.5 g/m
3
<4.5 g/m
3
HCI use best use best use best
Acetic Acid control control control
HCHO (formaldehyde) technology technology technology
Fine Particles
TSP
e
<75 g/m
3
<75 g/m
3
<75 g/m
3
use best use best use best
Metallic Fumes control control control
technology technology technology
a) Short-term storage is defined in this table as a wide range of time of storage. Documents may be removed and replaced daily or stored
for many years depending on requests for their use.
b) Long-term storage is defined in this table as a time of storage intended to be 50100 years or more. Documents designated for this type
of storage would be those of intrinsic value and designated for preservation as long as possible.
c) Temperature should be in the given range and should not vary more than these control values.
d) Relative humidity should be in the given range and not vary more than these control values.
e) Total suspended particulates: the weight of particulates suspended in a unit volume of air when collected by a high-volume air sampler.
Note: It may be desirable to provide system capability to achieve lower levels of temperature and relative humidity than the levels given
in this table. Some studies tend to indicate that for long-term storage, either or both lower temperature and lower relative humidity
may be desirable.
Adapted from: Robert G. Mathey, Thomas K. Faison, Samuel Silberstein, Air Quality Criteria for Storage of Paper-Based Archival
Records, Center for Building Technology, National Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly
known as the National Bureau of Standards), Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 1983, p. 22.
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Air purification, dehumidification, and refrigeration equipment at the Warner Bros. motion picture archive on the Warner
Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California. This multi-million dollar humidity-controlled cold storage facility, which went into
operation at the end of 1992, employs a sophisticated computer-controlled air-quality management system to remotely
monitor the atmosphere in the storage vaults for the presence of acetic acid vapors (which can evolve from acetate film base
during long-term storage) and formaldehyde vapors. The redundant, activated-carbon air-filtration system is designed to
remove these gases as well as sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, peroxides, ozone, acidic fumes (e.g., nitrogen oxides),
alkaline gases, and ammonia. In keeping with ANSI film storage recommendations, the relative humidity is maintained at
28%. Shown here with some of the air-quality equipment in the high-security facility are John Belknap, Manager of Film
Vaults/Assets, and Bill Hartman, Manager of Asset Inventory Management and Research in Corporate Film Video Services at
Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner Inc. (See Chapter 9 for further discussion of the Warner Bros. film archive.)
caused by low-level air pollutants and other contaminants
than are fiber-base prints. Print lacquers were found to
give little protection against airborne contaminants.
Water-base latex paints reportedly do not release oxi-
dants in amounts that could harm silver images. None of
the latex paints included in the Kodak study caused discol-
oration of prints. On the basis of these findings, it is rec-
ommended that storage rooms, exhibition areas, and dark-
rooms be painted exclusively with latex paint.
Maximum levels of pollutants in areas where photographs
are stored have not been established; however, maximum
concentrations for art museums have been proposed.
43
As
a rule, the level of pollutants should be as low as feasible:
Great care should be taken to eliminate these
gaseous impurities from the long-term storage en-
vironment because even very small concentrations
may cause extreme damage. Suitable means for
removal of gaseous impurities are available, such
as air washers operating with treated water for elimi-
nation of sulfur dioxide, and activated charcoal for
the adsorption of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sul-
fide. These require consistent control and, in the
case of activated charcoal, proper recycling.
44
At the request of the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (formerly known as the National Bureau of
Standards) made a study of the storage conditions in the
National Archives facilities in Washington, D.C. and made
recommendations for environmental conditions for stor-
age of paper-based records. Summarized in a 1983 report
entitled Air Quality Criteria for Storage of Paper-Based
Archival Records,
45
the study did not specifically address
the requirements of photographic materials; nevertheless,
the report provides practical guidelines for conditions in
an archive or museum (see Table 16.3).
Of particular note is the extremely low temperature of
20F (29C) recommended for long-term storage. Intended
for permanent preservation of even the most inherently
unstable paper-based materials, this temperature is far
lower than what has generally been advocated in the past
for museum and archive storage.
In most storage and display situations, such as in homes
and offices, it will not be economically feasible to install
equipment for control of pollutants. The best that can be
done is to prohibit cigarette smoking, keep exchange of
outside air to a minimum (unless cooking is done on the
premise, in which case an exhaust fan to the outdoors
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An Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test slide, matted and in a
small metal frame (without glass), in the photograph stor-
age vault at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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which had a grain size of less than 30 nm. These
underwent a dark discoloration due to oxidiz-
ing gases and only at a very high concentration
of the gases did they fade or bleach. This dis-
coloration is due to a change in grain, as shown
by electron micrographs. Very fine grains dis-
appear making the average grains coarser.
. . . The colloidal silver layers were super-
imposed with a lacquer print resembling an Agfa
diamond, which protected the silver layer against
oxidizing gases. If the air being examined con-
tained oxidizing gases, the area around the
diamond darkened which left the symbol light
under the lacquer cover.
The concentration of oxidizing gases in air
is usually quite small. The darkening of the
test layer takes considerable time. We con-
clude that, where darkening occurs after weeks
or a few months, there will be danger for the
archival storage of valuable photographic
documents. If noticeable darkening occurs only
after one or more years, there does not seem to
be serious danger for the silver images stored
in vaults or archives.
47
Weyde, in this important article, went on to describe the
two principal applications of the test strips:
(a) Testing for damaging gases given off by
a variety of different materials: It has been
found that freshly produced plastic packaging
or storing materials are very dangerous. Such
materials can still be very active, releasing
monomer or other compounds used in manu-
facture, such as polymerization catalysts which
are very often peroxides. Of special interest is
also the activity of automobile exhaust fumes,
which can differ greatly in their composition,
depending on a variety of conditions. During
the oxidation of hydrocarbons, alkyl radicals
are produced which, with oxygen, form perox-
ide radicals. Additionally these engine exhaust
fumes often have an acid reaction, as they con-
tain, among other substances, nitric oxides.
(b) Testing the atmospheres of various rooms:
Such colloidal layers of silver are intensely dis-
colored in laboratories, garages, and bathrooms.
The results varied for rooms with oil and gas
heating systems depending on ventilation. . . .
In Europe silver images were frequently dis-
colored in photographic shops, particularly in
Denmark and Sweden, where the displays were
open to the street only. An examination of these
localities showed that such shops were usually
situated in very narrow streets carrying a vol-
ume of traffic, and were often at traffic lights,
or near parking lots, and gas stations. In this
case the layers of colloidal silver exposed to
the air were discolored, often in a matter of
weeks.
. . . It was possible to draw the cautious
conclusion that color change of the layer of col-
should be placed above the cooking area), and operate air-
conditioning equipment on a 24-hour basis during warm
and humid periods. Additional humidity control with home-
type dehumidifiers will be of benefit.
Equipment to control airborne pollutants in museums
and archives is supplied by Purafil, Inc. (see Suppliers List
at the end of this chapter) and others. Purafil air filtration
equipment is used at the International Museum of Photog-
raphy at George Eastman House and the Library of Con-
gress, among other institutions.
Treating black-and-white films and prints with a solu-
tion of Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, Kodak Poly-Toner, or
Kodak Brown Toner affords substantial protection against
common air pollutants. James M. Reilly and co-workers at
the Image Permanence Institute recommend a polysulfide
treatment for maximum protection of microfilm images.
46
Beginning in 1993, the National Archives and Records
Administration in Washington, D.C., acting on the recom-
mendation of Steven Puglia, a photographic preservation
specialist at the Archives, will employ the IPI polysulfide
image stabilization treatment for all microfilm and other
black-and-white films processed at the institution.
Detection of Harmful Air Pollutants
with Agfa-Gevaert Colloidal Silver Test Strips
In 1972, Edith Weyde and associates at Agfa-Gevaert AG
in Leverkusen, West Germany published the details of a
simple test to determine whether the atmosphere in a stor-
age area contains gases which could harm the silver im-
ages of films and paper prints. The method grew out of a
project investigating the deterioration of photographs at
the Munich Archives. In the 1960s, curators of the Ar-
chives had observed brown spots where image silver had
been destroyed on prints and films in the collection. Weydes
research into this problem led to the development of colloi-
dal silver test strips:
To detect very small amounts of oxidizing
gases, layers of yellow colloidal silver were used
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The control panel for the building-wide fire suppression
and intrusion alarm system at the Historic New Orleans
Collection.
Located on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans, this restored building owned by the Historic New Orleans Collection
houses cold storage vaults for black-and-white negatives, color films and prints, and cellulose nitrate negatives. Also in the
building are manuscript archives, conservation labs, and administrative offices.
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loidal silver occurred about 10 times earlier
than the first visible destruction of a photo-
graphic layer of silver. Color change of the
layer of colloidal silver occurring after a few
weeks or months probably indicates an atmo-
sphere which can cause destruction of the sil-
ver layers.
Beginning in the early 1970s, small numbers of the col-
loidal silver test strips were distributed to several institu-
tions in the U.S. with large photographic collections, in-
cluding the Library of Congress, the National Archives,
and the Mississippi State Archives. The Agfa Corporation
has reported that several of the test strips placed in collec-
tions showed a very rapid response. Upon investigation
the source of the problem in one case proved to be ozone
and nitrogen oxides generated by a nearby Xerox copying
machine, while at another institution the harmful fumes
were being given off by the adhesive from recently installed
floor tiles. Electrostatic office copying machines and elec-
tronic dust precipitators may generate ozone and nitrogen
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Curator John H. Lawrence is seen here with large cylinders of Haylon gas at the Historic New Orleans Collection in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Haylon fire-suppression systems are particularly appropriate for photographic storage areas because,
unlike water or other liquid and dry chemical fire extinguishers, Haylon gas does not freeze, leaves no residue, and does not
harm photographs, paper, or other fragile materials.
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oxides; such equipment should not be installed in areas
where photographs are stored.
The Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test strips are the best
means devised to date for monitoring airborne pollutants
in areas where photographs are stored in homes, offices,
museums, and archives. The test strips are inexpensive
and can be placed throughout museums, in storage and
display areas, in darkrooms, inside of display cases and
frames, and even inside of storage boxes.
After the initial supply of the test strips was exhausted
in the early 1970s, they remained unavailable until 1987
when James Reilly, director of the Image Permanence In-
stitute at the Rochester Institute of Technology, persuaded
Agfa-Gevaert to resume manufacture of this much-needed
item. The test strips may be purchased from the Image
Permanence Institute in Rochester, New York.
48
Control of Dust
Any photographer who has had to spot or retouch mag-
nified dust specks on enlargements from 35mm negatives
knows that dust is almost everywhere and that getting rid
of it is difficult. Accumulations of dust may contribute to
physical damage of print and film emulsions, especially
when photographs are stacked in a pile and surface abra-
sion results from moving them about. Dust-caused scratches
on negatives commonly occur when films are slid in and
out of plastic or paper enclosures; the dust sandwiched
between the surfaces of the photograph and the enclosure
acts as an abrasive. Reactive dusts can cause localized
fading and discoloration on prints and films; a particular
danger is the fine dust from dry fixers which may become
airborne when the fixer powder is poured into a container
for mixing. Unless very well protected, negatives and prints
should not be kept in a darkroom for long periods.
Prints and films should be stored in closed containers;
with the exception of cellulose nitrate negatives, it is not
necessary to ventilate storage boxes and cabinets. In fact,
for a number of reasons, ventilation will usually do more
harm than good.
Where possible, air filtration systems should be installed
in buildings or rooms in which photographs are stored.
Electrostatic dust precipitators are not recommended for
storage areas because of possible ozone generation which
can be very harmful to silver images. Air filtration require-
ments are given in applicable standards such as ANSI PH1.48-
1982. A particularly helpful discussion of air filtration equip-
ment has been written by Garry Thomson.
49
In general the best way to control dust is to practice
good housekeeping, to regularly vacuum-clean floors, and
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The Newberry Library, founded in 1887 in Chicago, is one of the countrys leading research libraries. The temperature- and
humidity-controlled bookstack building, completed in 1982, is the windowless structure located behind the main library
building. Fireproof passageways provide access to each floor from the main library.
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age conditions for cellulose nitrate motion picture films.
(For information on the properties and care of cellulose
nitrate film, see Appendix 19.1 at the end of Chapter 19.)
In 1982 there was a fire at the Design Conspiracy Color
Lab in Oakland, California which destroyed color nega-
tives and transparencies belonging to a number of well-
known photographers, including Stephen Shore, Meridel
Rubenstein, Judy Dater, and Richard Misrach. The fire
apparently resulted from arson in an adjoining building.
In 1986 the central Los Angeles Public Library, a build-
ing that had been cited for fire-safety violations for nearly
20 years, had a major fire that burned out of control for
more than 4 hours, injured 46 firefighters, and caused a
loss of over $20 million in books alone. None of the photo-
graphs in the librarys large photography collection were
lost in the blaze itself, but the collection suffered extensive
water damage.
Whenever possible, noncombustible materials should be
used in building construction and in equipping storage and
display areas. Smoking should be banned in all museum
and archive buildings. Particular attention should be given
to electrical wiring, lights, motors, and heating equipment
to wipe the tops of tables and counters with a damp sponge
and carefully dry them with paper towels before use with
photographs. Food and smoking should be banned from
storage and study areas. Windows leading to storage and
display areas should be kept closed at all times; air condi-
tioning usually reduces the amount of dust in the air.
Minimizing the Danger of Fire
in Photographic Collections
With irreplaceable collections of photographs that will
be kept for hundreds or even thousands of years, the need
to prevent fires, or to quickly detect and control them should
they occur, cannot be overemphasized. Particularly valu-
able photographs, such as original camera negatives and
preservation release prints from major motion pictures,
should be duplicated and the two copies stored in separate
geographic locations.
There have been a number of recent fires in major pho-
tographic collecting institutions. Most, such as the 1978
fire at the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House, have been associated with improper stor-
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Bonnie Jo Cullison working in the master microfilm negative storage room of the Newberry Library. The relative humidity in
this room is maintained at 35%, and the temperature at 60F (15.6C). Air in the bookstack building is filtered to remove
dust, oxidizing gases, and other airborne pollutants.
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Preservation librarian Bonnie
Jo Cullison and staff mem-
ber Patrick Morris examine a
book in the bookstack build-
ing of the Newberry Library.
The public is not permitted to
enter the stack areas (spe-
cific books and manuscripts
are brought out upon request).
To minimize fading of book
bindings and other light-in-
duced damage, stack areas
remain in darkness most of
the time, with the overhead
lights between the shelves
turned on by the staff only
when necessary. The build-
ing is maintained at 60F
(15.6C) and 45% RH ( 3%).
not enter them; metal or plastic motion picture cans sealed
with tape and stored flat are an example. With still photo-
graphs, other than making certain that photographs are
never stored in boxes directly on floors, there are few prac-
tical methods of protecting working collections from water
damage should there be a major roof leak, burst water
pipe, or flood. Efforts can be more profitably directed at
preventing water from entering storage and display areas.
Valuable photographs should not be stored in buildings
located in known or potential areas of flooding. The conse-
quences to a photographic collection in a flooded museum
have been graphically described in The Corning Flood:
Museum Under Water.
52
An excellent review of proce-
dures for handling water-soaked photographs has been
written by Klaus B. Hendriks and Brian Lesser.
53
A discussion of flood, earthquake, and other hazards
related to museum location can be found in Facing Geo-
logic and Hydrologic Hazards: Earth-Science Considerations.
54
More common sources of water damage than natural
floods are leaking roofs, burst water pipes, backed-up sew-
ers in basements, etc. Pipes should not pass through stor-
age areas, and the likely consequences of water leaks from
nearby plumbing should be carefully assessed. In general,
photographs should be stored neither in basements nor in
attics or other rooms located just below the building roof.
Basements are subject to flooding from backed-up sewers
or water leaks during heavy rains. Even if roofs are very
carefully maintained, nearly all of them will eventually de-
velop leaks. If one considers all of the accidents, dripping
pipes, and leaking roofs that have occurred in a building
over the past 25 years, for example, and then contemplates
what might be expected to happen during the next 500 or
1000 years, the dangers will become obvious. Unlike books,
which are usually printed in large numbers of copies, most
photographs are unique and cannot be replaced should
they be damaged or destroyed.
to make certain that they conform to applicable safety codes.
Automatic Haylon-gas fire extinguishing systems offer very
effective fire control in many types of storage situations.
Water sprinkler systems should be avoided; despite their
effectiveness in controlling fires, the water spray and re-
sulting flooding may seriously damage or even destroy a
photographic collection.
Most fire-resistant cabinets and safes have walls lined
with materials that release water vapor when heated; the
evaporation of moisture has a cooling effect which mini-
mizes temperature increases inside the enclosure during a
fire. However, the released water vapor increases internal
relative humidity to the point where photographs may be
seriously damaged.
It is beyond the scope of this chapter to thoroughly dis-
cuss fire prevention and control measures. The reader
should consult applicable publications of the National Fire
Protection Association, Inc.
50
Especially helpful are: Pro-
tection of Museums and Museum Collections 1980, NFPA
Publication No. 911; Archives and Records Center 1980,
NFPA Publication No. 232AM; Protection of Library Col-
lections 1980, NFPA Publication No. 910; and Detecting
Fires, NFPA Publication No. SPP-28. Also recommended is
G.W. Underdowns Practical Fire Precautions, 2nd edition.
51
Flood and Water Damage
An unfortunate consequence of a fire is damage caused
by the water needed to extinguish the fire. The extensive
water damage to the photography collection from the 1986
fire at the Los Angeles Public Library and the more than
one million books that suffered water damage in the disas-
trous 1988 fire in the Soviet Union at the Academy of Sci-
ences Library in Leningrad are examples of this.
Ideally, storage containers should be constructed and
housed in such a way that water dripping from above will
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Building Design and Environmental Control
at the Newberry Library in Chicago
Completed in 1982, the 10-story bookstack addition to
the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois for housing books,
maps, manuscripts, and microfilms is an outstanding ex-
ample of a thoughtfully designed long-term storage facil-
ity. The windowless outer walls of the building, including
the roof and basement, have a waterproof and fireproof
double-shell construction. Each floor is self-contained and
isolated from the others; access is by stairways located in
two turrets connected to the building, and through a ser-
vices building which connects the bookstack to the main
library. Elevators, water pipes, and principal electrical
power distribution wiring are contained in the services
building, isolated from the bookstack building.
To eliminate the possibility of water damage resulting
from broken pipes or faulty fixtures, there are no water
pipes, bathrooms, or fire-suppression sprinklers anywhere
in the bookstack building. Large numbers of ionization
smoke detectors are located on each floor. The Special
Collections Vault is equipped with a Haylon-gas combus-
tion-suppression system. Smoking is not permitted in the
building.
Operating and monitoring the temperature, relative hu-
midity, security, and fire detection systems for each floor
is a Johnson Controls JC-85-40 computer-controlled build-
ing-automation system :
Electronic sensing devices located on each
level of the bookstack building and in the
Microtext Masters Storage Room [where mi-
crofilms are housed] signal Field Processing
Units. These, in turn, report the temperature
and RH to the Central Processing Unit (CPU)
in the Building Control Systems Room. There,
a CRT and printer make it possible to call up
this information as well as the status of all the
individual components of the heating, ventilat-
ing, and air-conditioning system at any time.
At periodic intervals, a printout on the sta-
tus of any of the field data points is run off.
Presently the CPU produces a Trend Log for
both temperature and RH, storing readings taken
at two-hour intervals and printing them out in
a specified format every 24 hours. . . .
High- and low-level limits for all the tem-
perature and RH calibration points have been
programmed into the system. If these are ex-
ceeded, an alarm is activated at the CRT and,
when the library is closed, on a pager worn by
the security personnel on duty 24 hours a day.
This alarm will sound until it has been acknowl-
edged at the CRT, thus ensuring that the condi-
tion is responded to by a trained staff member.
A print-out of the alarm condition is produced
simultaneously.
55
Under the guidance of Paul Banks, conservator at the
library from 1964 until 1981, rigid specifications were es-
tablished for temperature, relative humidity, and maxi-
mum air pollution levels. The temperature is maintained
at 60F (15.6C) 5F. The relative humidity is kept at 45%
( 3% on a daily basis, or 6% seasonally). Relative hu-
midity in the microfilm storage room is 35% RH, in keeping
with storage recommendations for silver-gelatin films. The
building is equipped with a three-stage air-filtration sys-
tem: . . . an initial particle filter; a second-stage chemi-
sorbent filter (Purafil, Inc.) of pelletized activated alumina
impregnated with potassium permanganate, capable of ab-
sorbing, adsorbing, and chemically oxidizing gases; and a
final, high-efficiency (9095 percent) particle filter.
Writing about the new bookstack building, Bonnie Jo
Cullison, preservation librarian at the library, said: Being
able to prolong the useful life of library materials by main-
taining a stable environment is terrific; but the current
environmental conditions are actually a compromise. If
economic and user constraints could be eliminated, it would
be ideal to literally freeze most of the librarys materials
theoretically extending their lives indefinitely.
56
1. A Special Committee of the American Association of Museums,
Americas Museums: The Belmont Report, Report to the Federal
Council on the Arts and the Humanities, October 1968, p. 57. The
source of the quote was a curator of wide experience who was not
identified by name. The quotation was included in a discussion of
conservation and restoration in the Unmet Needs chapter of the
report.
2. Jack Garner, Buried Treasure at Eastman 300 Old Films Lie
Buried and Decomposing In an Eastman House Garden, Democrat
and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, August 9, 1984, p. 1. See
also: Originals of 329 Movies Burned Boys Town, Strike Up the
Band Destroyed, Times-Union, Rochester, New York, May 30,
1978, p. 1.
Photographic Film Storage, American National Standards Insti-
phone: 212-264-4900; Fax: 212-302-1286.
4. James M. Reilly, Peter Z. Adelstein, and Douglas W. Nishimura,
Preservation of Safety Film Final Report to the Office of
Preservation, National Endowment for the Humanities (Grant
#PS-20159-88), March 28, 1991, pp. iii. Copies of the report are
available from: Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
716-475-7230. See also: P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishi-
mura, and C. J. Erbland, Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photo-
graphic Film: Laboratory Testing Procedures and Practical Storage
Considerations (Preprint No. 1333), presentation at the 133rd
SMPTE Technical Conference, Los Angeles, California, October
2629, 1991. A copy of the preprint may be ordered from the Society
of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Inc., 595 West Hartsdale
Avenue, White Plains, New York 10607; telephone: 914-761-1100.
For a comprehensive discussion of the deterioration of early
cellulose acetate safety film see: David Horvath, The Acetate Nega-
tive Survey: Final Report, University of Louisville, 1987. Copies of
the 91-page report may be obtained from the Photographic Ar-
chives, University of Louisville, Ekstrom Library, Louisville, Kentucky
40292; telephone: 502-588-6752.
5. Jacques Pouradier and Anne-Marie Mailliet, Conservation des docu-
ments photographiques sur papier: influence du thiosulfate residuel
et des conditions de stockage, Science et industries photo-
graphiques, Vol. 36, 2nd series, No. 23, FebruaryMarch 1965, pp.
2942.
6. C. S. McCamy, S. R. Wiley, and J. A. Speckman, A Survey of
Blemishes on Processed Microfilm, Journal of Research of the
National Bureau of Standards: A. Physics and Chemistry, Vol.
73A, No. 1, JanuaryFebruary 1969, p. 83. See also: C. I. Pope,
Stability of Residual Thiosulfate in Processed Microfilm, Journal
of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, Vol. 67C, No.
1, JanuaryMarch 1963, pp. 1524.
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7. James M. Reilly and Douglas G. Severson, Development and Evalu-
ation of New Preservation Methods for 19th Century Photographic
Prints, [Report to the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission on NHPRC Grant #80-50], National Historical Publica-
tions and Records Commission, Washington, D.C., August 1980.
See also: James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Cen-
tury Photographic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S, Eastman
Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, 1986, pp. 8291; and also:
James M. Reilly, Nora Kennedy, Donald Black, and Theodore Van
Dam, Image Structure and Deterioration in Albumen Prints, Photo-
graphic Science and Engineering, Vol. 28, No. 4, JulyAugust
1984, pp. 166171.
8. Peter Z. Adelstein, James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, and
Kaspars M. Cupriks, Hydrogen Peroxide Test to Evaluate Redox
Blemish Formation on Processed Microfilm, Journal of Imaging
Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, JuneJuly 1991, pp. 9198. See also:
James M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, K. M. Cupriks, and P. Z. Adelstein,
Polysulfide Treatment for Microfilm, Journal of Imaging Technol-
ogy, Vol. 17, No. 3, JuneJuly 1991, pp. 99107. See also: James M.
Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, Kaspars M. Cupriks, and Peter Z.
Adelstein, Stability of Black-and-White Photographic Images, with
Special Reference to Microfilm, The Abbey Newsletter, Vol. 12,
No. 5, July 1988, pp. 8388.
9. One source of an Assmann psychrometer is: Qualimetrics, Inc., 1165
National Drive, Sacramento, California 95834; telephone: 916-928-
1000; toll-free: 800-824-5873. (Model 5230 [Celsius thermometers],
and Model 5231 [Fahrenheit thermometers]: about $500).
10. Humi-Chek electronic hygrometers are available from Rosemont
Analytical, Inc., 89 Commerce Road, Cedar Grove, New Jersey 07009;
telephone: 201-239-6200; and from various retail outlets including
Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New
York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-271-8960 (toll-free outside of New
York: 800-828-6216; toll-free inside New York: 800-828-9629). The
Humi-Chek is supplied in several models, which vary in price from
about $400 to about $900.
11. Hydrion Humidicator Paper (Cat. No. HJH-650; about $6.00 for enough
paper for 200 tests) is supplied by Micro Essential Laboratory, Inc.,
4224 Avenue H, Brooklyn, New York 11320; telephone: 718-338-
3618. The paper is also available from a number of outlets includ-
ing: (Catalog No. 2801) Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe
Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone: 726-271-8960
(toll-free outside New York: 800-828-6216; toll-free inside New York:
800-828-9629).
12. Garry Thomson, The Museum Environment, 2nd edition, Butterworth
& Co., Ltd., London, England and Boston, Massachusetts (in asso-
ciation with the International Institute for Conservation of Historic
and Artistic Works), 1986, pp. 6869.
13. Arnold Wexler and Saburo Hasegawa, Relative Humidity-Tempera-
ture Relationships of Some Saturated Salt Solutions in the Tempera-
ture Range 0 to 50C, Journal of Research of the National
Bureau of Standards, Vol. 53, No. 1, July 1954, pp. 1925.
14. R. W. Henn and I. A. Olivares, Tropical Storage of Processed Nega-
tives, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 4,
15. Special air conditioners with provision for independent control of
relative humidity are available from Sears Roebuck and Co., P.O.
Box 1530, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515-5721 (telephone: 312-875-
2500; toll-free: 800-366-3000) and at Sears retail and catalog stores.
The Sears 1987 Cooling Specialog listed the following models
(page 8): Catalog No. 42 BY 75148N 13,800 Btu/hr model removes
up to 138 pints of moisture per day in dehumidifier mode (96 pints in
cooling mode), 110120 volts; Catalog No. 42 BY 75188N 18,000
Btu/hr removes up to 210 pints of moisture per day in dehumidifier
mode (139 pints in cooling mode), 230280 volts.
16. Heat Controller, Inc., 1900 Wellworth Avenue, Jackson, Michigan
49203; telephone: 517-787-2100 (Fax: 517-787-9341). The company
will supply product literature on Comfort-Aire Twin Pac Remote Air
Conditioning Systems and the names of dealers in your area.
17. Elias J. Amdur, Humidity Control Isolated Area Plan, Museum
News, No. 6 (Technical Supplement), December 1964, pp. 5357.
See also: Richard D. Buck, A Specification for Museum Airconditioning,
Museum News, No. 6 (Technical Supplement), December 1964, pp.
5860.
18. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers, ASHRAE Guide and Data Books: Equipment, 1969;
Systems, 1970; Applications, 1971. See also: ASHRAE Hand-
book of Fundamentals, 1972, American Society of Heating, Refrig-
erating and Air Conditioning Engineers, New York, New York.
19. Grace Davison Silica Gel Air-Dryer, W. R. Grace and Company,
Davison Chemical Division, P.O. Box 2117, Baltimore, Maryland 21203;
telephone: 301-659-9000. The Air-Dryer units can be obtained from
various suppliers including: Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe
Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-271-8960
(toll-free outside New York: 800-828-6216; toll-free inside New York:
800-828-9629).
20. Garry Thomson, see Note No. 12, pp. 105112.
21. Art-Sorb silica gel beads, Art-Sorb Sheets, and Art-Sorb Cassettes
are distributed in the U.S. by Conservation Materials, Ltd., 1165
Marrietta Way, Box 2884, Sparks, Nevada 89431; telephone: 702-
331-0582. The materials are manufactured by Fuji-Division Chemi-
cal Ltd., 5th Floor Higashi-Kan, Dia-ni Toyota Building 4-11-27 Meieki,
Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Japan 450; telephone: 052-583-0451; Fax:
052-583-0455.
22. W. E. Lee, F. J. Drago, and A. T. Ram, New Procedures for Process-
ing and Storage of Kodak Spectroscopic Plates, Type IIIa-J, Jour-
nal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 1, February 1984, p. 28.
23. Gore-Tex Silica Tiles are available from W. L. Gore & Associates,
Inc., 3 Blue Ball Road, P.O. Box 1550, Elkton, Maryland 21921;
telephone: 301-392-3700.
24. Cargocaire Engineering Corporation, 79 Monroe Street, P.O. Box
640, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913; telephone: 508-388-0600. Many
of the recently built low-temperature photographic storage facilities
which incorporate Cargocaire desiccant dehumidification equipment
have been constructed by Harris Environmental Systems, Inc., 11
Connector Road, Andover, Massachusetts 01810; telephone: 508-
475-0104.
25. Institute of Environmental Sciences, HEPA Filters, IES Recommended
Practice (Tentative) No. IES-RP-CC-001-83-T, November 1983. Insti-
tute of Environmental Sciences, 940 East Northwest Highway, Mount
Prospect, Illinois 60056; telephone: 708-255-1561.
26. Douglas G. Severson, assistant conservator for photography, Art
Institute of Chicago, telephone discussion with this author, October
21, 1988.
27. A suitable humidistat for control of evaporation humidifiers is the
Honeywell H49A Humidifier Controller manufactured by Honeywell,
Inc., Residential Division, 1985 Douglas Drive, Avenue North, Gor-
don Valley, Minnesota 55422; telephone: 612-542-7204 (humidifier
controls). The humidistat can control more than one humidifier at
the same time as long as the rated current capacity of the humidistat
is not exceeded.
28. Carl J. Wessel, Environmental Factors Affecting the Permanence of
Library Materials, Library Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 1, January 1970,
p. 55.
29. S. Koboshi and M. Kurematsu [Konica Corporation], A New Stabili-
zation Process for Color Films and Prints Using Konica Super Stabi-
lizer, Second International Symposium: The Stability and Pres-
ervation of Photographic Images (Printing of Transcript Summa-
ries), Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985, pp. 351375. Available
from: SPSE, The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003
30. Charleton C. Bard and David F. Kopperl, Treating Insect and Micro-
organism Infestation of Photographic Collections, Second Inter-
national Symposium: The Stability and Preservation of Photo-
graphic Images (Printing of Transcript Summaries), Ottawa, Ontar-
io, August 2528, 1985, pp. 313334. Available from: SPSE, The
Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003 Kilworth Lane,
Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090. See also: Eastman
Kodak Company, Prevention and Removal of Fungus on Prints
and Films, Kodak Customer Service Bulletin, Kodak Publication No.
AE-22, August 1985; also: Eastman Kodak Company, Notes on
Tropical Photography, 1970.
31. R. W. Henn and I. A. Olivares, see Note No. 14.
32. Charleton C. Bard and David F. Kopperl, see Note No. 30.
pany, Rochester, New York, March 1985, p. 86. For additional
information on the use of fungicides, insecticides, and fumigants
with photographic materials manufactured by Eastman Kodak, con-
tact: Eastman Kodak Company, Photo Information, Department 841,
Rochester, New York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
34. Charleton C. Bard and David F. Kopperl, see Note No. 30, p. 318.
35. Robert L. Roudabush, Insect Damage to Color Film, Photographic
Applications in Science, Technology, and Medicine, Vol. 10, No.
2, March 1975, pp. 2833.
36. Carl J. Wessel, see Note No. 28.
37. Charleton C. Bard and David F. Kopperl, see Note No. 30, p. 319.
38. Robert F. McGiffin Jr., A Current Status Report on Fumigation in
Museums and Historical Agencies, Technical Report 4, Technical
Information Service, American Association for State and Local His-
tory, 172 Second Avenue North, Suite 202, Nashville, Tennessee
37201 (telephone: 615-255-2971), 1985, p. 7.
39. Robert F. McGiffin Jr., see Note No. 38.
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40. For further information on the safe application of sulfuryl fluoride
and other fumigants, insecticides, and fungicides on photographic
materials manufactured by Eastman Kodak, contact: Eastman Ko-
dak Company, Photo Information, Department 841, Rochester, New
York 14650; telephone: 716-724-4000.
41. Eastman Kodak Company, Preservation of Photographs, Publica-
tion No. F-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, Au-
gust 1979, p. 25. See also: Eastman Kodak Company, Conserva-
tion of Photographs (George T. Eaton, editor), Publication No. F-
40, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March 1985.
42. Larry H. Feldman, Discoloration of Black-and-White Photographic
Prints, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 7,
No. 1, February 1981, pp. 19.
43. Garry Thomson, see Note No. 12, p. 151.
can National Standard for Photography (Film and Slides) Black-
and-White Photographic Paper Prints Practice for Storage, p. 7.
American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street,
New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-264-4900; Fax: 212-302-
1286.
45. Robert G. Mathey, Thomas K. Faison, Samuel Silberstein, et al., Air
Quality Criteria for Storage of Paper-Based Archival Records,
U.S. National Bureau of Standards, (NBSIR 83-2795), 1983. Avail-
able from National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port
Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161; telephone: 703-487-4660.
See also: Alan Calmes, Ralph Schofer, and Keith R. Eberhardt,
National Archives and Records Service (NARS) Twenty Year
Preservation Plan, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, (NBSIR 85-
2999), 1985. Also available from National Technical Information
Service.
46. James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, Kaspars M. Cupriks, and
Peter Z. Adelstein, Polysulfide Treatment for Microfilm, Journal of
Imaging Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, JuneJuly, 1991, pp. 99107.
See also: James M. Reilly and Kaspars M. Cupriks, Sulfiding Pro-
tection for Silver Images Final Report to the Office of Preser-
vation, National Endowment for the Humanities (Grant #PS-
20152-87), March 28, 1991. Copies of the report are available from:
Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Frank
E. Gannett Memorial Building, P.O. Box 9887, Rochester, New York
14623-0887; telephone: 716-475-5199; Fax: 716-475-7230.
47. Edith Weyde, A Simple Test to Identify Gases Which Destroy Silver
Images, Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 4,
48. Agfa-Gevaert colloidal silver test strips are available from the Image
Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Frank E.
Gannett Memorial Building, P.O. Box 9887, Rochester, New York
14623-0887; telephone: 716-475-5199; Fax: 716-475-7230.
49. Garry Thomson, see Note No. 12, pp. 130158.
50. National Fire Protection Association, Inc., One Battery March Park,
P.O. Box 9101, Quincy, Massachusetts 02269; telephone: 617-770-
3000; toll-free: 800-344-3555.
51. G. W. Underdown, Practical Fire Precautions, 2nd edition, Gower
Press, Teakfield, Limited, Westmead, Farnborough, Hants, England,
1979.
52. Corning Museum of Glass, The Corning Flood: Museum Under
Water, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning Glass Center, Corning,
New York, 1977.
53. Klaus B. Hendriks and Brian Lesser, Disaster Preparedness and
Recovery: Photographic Materials, American Archivist, Vol. 46,
No. 1, Winter 1983, pp. 5268.
54. W. W. Hays, ed., Facing Geologic and Hydrologic Hazards: Earth-
Science Considerations, Geological Survey Professional Paper
1240-B, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
1981.
55. Bonnie Jo Cullison, The Ideal Preservation Building At One Great
Research Library, New Technologies Help House and Preserve the
Heritage of Centuries, American Libraries, Vol. 15, No. 10, No-
vember 1984, p. 703.
56. Bonnie Jo Cullison, see Note No. 55.
Stanton I. Anderson and Robert L. Ellison, Image Stability of Black-and-
White Photographic Products, Journal of Imaging Technology,
Vol. 16, No. 1, February 1990, pp. 2732.
Stanton Anderson and Ronald Goetting, Environmental Effects on the
Image Stability of Photographic Products, Journal of Imaging
Technology, Vol. 14, No. 4, August 1988, pp. 111116.
Stanton I. Anderson and George W. Larson, A Study of Environmental
Conditions Associated with Customer Keeping of Photographic Prints,
tion of Photographic Images (Printing of Transcript Summaries),
Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985, pp. 251282. Available from:
IS&T, The Society for Imaging Science and Technology, 7003 Kil-
worth Lane, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-642-9090.
Bruce B. Bonner, Jr., The Application of Environmental Control Tech-
nology to Archival Storage Requirements, presented at the Inter-
graphic Images, sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scien-
tists and Engineers, Ottawa, Ontario, August 30, 1982.
George T. Eaton, Photographic Image Oxidation in Processed Black-
and-White Films, Plates, and Papers, PhotographiConservation,
Vol. 7, No. 1, March 1985, pp. 1, 4.
Stephen Guglielmi, Will the Gernsheim Collection End Up as Pulp?,
Photographica, Vol. 12, No. 8, October 1980, p. 9. See also:
Response by Roy Flukinger, and Statement by Helmut Gernsheim,
p. 10. See also: Michael Ennis, In the Battle Between Helmut
Gernsheim and UT No One Is Winning, Texas Monthly, July 1979,
pp. 164166.
Klaus B. Hendriks, The Preservation and Restoration of Photographic
Materials in Archives and Libraries: A RAMP Study with Guide-
lines [PGI-84/WS/1], United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-
tural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France, 1984.
E. Verner Johnson and Joanne C. Horgan, Museum Collection Stor-
age, Technical Handbooks for Museums and Monuments 2, United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
Paris, France, 1979.
Raymond H. Lafontaine, Recommended Environmental Monitors for
Museums, Archives and Art Galleries, Technical Bulletin No. 3,
Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, July 1978.
Raymond H. Lafontaine, Environmental Norms for Canadian Muse-
ums, Art Galleries, and Archives, Technical Bulletin No. 5, Cana-
dian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, November 1979.
K. J. Macleod, Relative Humidity: Its Importance, Measurement, and
Control in Museums, Technical Bulletin No. 1, Canadian Conserva-
tion Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, May 1978.
Munters Cargocaire, The Dehumidification Handbook Second Edi-
tion, 1990. Cargocaire Engineering Corporation, 79 Monroe Street,
P.O. Box 640, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913-0640; telephone:
508-388-0600 (toll-free: 800-843-5360); Fax: 508-388-4556.
John Morris and Irvin D. Nichols, Managing the Library Fire Risk, 2nd
ed., University of California, Office of Risk Management, Berkeley,
California, 1979.
Debbie Hess Norris, The Proper Storage and Display of a Photographic
Collection, Picturescope, Vol. 31, No. 1, Spring 1983, pp. 410.
Eugene Ostroff, Preservation of Photographs, The Photographic Journal,
Vol. 107, No. 10, October, 1967, pp. 309314.
Eugene Ostroff, Conserving and Restoring Photographic Collec-
tions, American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C., 1976.
Tim Padfield, The Control of Relative Humidity and Air Pollution in
Show-Cases and Picture Frames, Studies in Conservation, Vol.
11, No. 1, February 1966, pp. 830.
Royal Ontario Museum, In Search of the Black Box: A Report on the
Proceedings of a Workshop on Micro-Climates Held at the
Royal Ontario Museum, February 1978, Royal Ontario Museum,
Toronto, Ontario, 1979.
Nathan Stolow, Procedures and Conservation Standards for Mu-
seum Collections in Transit and on Exhibition, Technical Hand-
books for Museums and Monuments 3, United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France, 1981.
Alice Swan, Conservation of Photographic Print Collections, Conser-
vation of Library Materials Library Trends, Vol. 30, No. 2, Fall
1981, pp. 267296.
Kenzo Toishi, Relative Humidity in a Closed Package, in Recent Ad-
vances in Conservation: Contributions to the IIC Rome Confer-
ence, 1961, edited by Garry Thomson, Butterworth & Co., Ltd.,
London, England, 1963, pp. 1315.
United States Department of Agriculture, Condensation Problems in
Your House: Prevention and Solution, Agriculture Information
Bulletin No. 373, United States Government Printing Office, Wash-
ington, D.C., September 1974.
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Air Purification
Equipment for
Museums and Archives
Purafil, Inc.
P.O. Box 1188
Norcross, Georgia 30091
Telephone: 404-662-8545
Toll-free: 800-222-6367
Thermometers and Hygrometers:
Non-Electronic Mechanical Devices
Abbeon Cal, Inc.
123 Gray Avenue
Santa Barbara, California 93101
Telephone: 805-966-0810
Toll-free: 800-922-0977
Belfort Instrument Company
727 South Wolfe Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Telephone: 301-342-2626
Cole-Parmer Instrument Company
7425 North Oak Park Avenue
Telephone: 312-647-7600
Toll-free: 800-323-4340
1165 Marietta Way
Box 2884
Telephone: 702-331-0582
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
Qualimetrics, Inc.
1165 National Drive
Sacramento, CA 95834
Telephone: 916-928-1000
Toll-free: 800-824-5873
TCA Taylor Instruments
280 Kane Creek Road
Fletcher, North Carolina 28732
Telephone: 704-687-1684
Toll-free: 800-438-6045
Suppliers
Electronic Temperature and
Relative-Humidity Measurement
and Control Equipment
Belfort Instrument Company
727 South Wolfe Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Telephone: 301-342-2626
E.G&G International, Inc.
Moisture and Humidity Systems
217 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington, Massachusetts 01803
Telephone: 617-270-9100
General Eastern Instruments Corporation
20 Commerce Way
Telephone: 617-938-7070
Toll-free: 800-225-3208
Honeywell, Inc.
Commercial Division
Honeywell Plaza
Telephone: 612-870-5200
Hygrometrix, Inc.
7740 MacArthur Blvd.
Oakland, California 94605
Telephone: 415-639-7800
Johnson Controls, Inc.
507 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201
Telephone: 414-274-4000
Panametrics, Inc.
221 Crescent Street
Waltham, Massachusetts 02154
Telephone: 617-899-2719
Toll-free: 800-833-9438
PRG (Preservation Resource Group)
P.O. Box 1768
Rockville, Maryland 20849-1768
Telephone: 301-309-2222
Qualimetrics, Inc.
1165 National Drive
Sacramento, CA 95834
Telephone: 916-928-1000
Toll-free: 800-824-5873
Rosemont Analytical, Inc.
89 Commerce Road
Cedar Grove, New Jersey 07009
Telephone: 201-239-6200
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as for how much image fading and staining can be toler-
ated. As discussed in Chapter 7, valuable color prints should
be monitored with a densitometer, and visually significant
changes in color balance, overall density, and minimum
density stain levels should not be permitted to take place.
Display of color prints is inherently detrimental to them,
but avoiding display runs counter to the reasons most pho-
tographs are made and frequently conflicts with the pur-
poses for which most individuals and museums collect prints.
The Expendable or Replaceable Color Print
If a color print has no lasting value or if it can be
replaced with a new print after the original has deterio-
rated it can be displayed without much caution. Al-
though they may be expensive to replace, decorative prints
and murals of the types found in many corporate offices
and in public places such as hotel lobbies, restaurants, and
airports are usually expendable. Museums, however, do
not generally consider their prints to be expendable, even
if a faded print could be replaced during a photographers
lifetime.
In some instances it might be possible to obtain re-
placement color prints for faded baby pictures, high school
portraits, wedding photographs, and family portraits from
the photographer who took them. Many professional pho-
tographers, however, keep negatives for only a relatively
short time often only for as long as experience indicates
that reorders might come in. Most of the low-cost mass-
market portrait operations such as those that travel
from department store to department store, taking photo-
graphs only a few days at each location dispose of their
color negatives almost immediately after the selection of
prints is made; the cost of filing and storing negatives is
prohibitive for these low-overhead, high-volume businesses.
Even if a photographer does keep color negatives, the
negatives may be too faded to make satisfactory prints
after years have passed. This is especially true if the pho-
tographs were made on earlier, low-stability films such as
Kodak Kodacolor II, Vericolor II, and Process E-1, E-2, and
E-3 Ektachrome films.
Display of Nonreplaceable Color Prints
When it is desired to keep a color print in good condition
for as long as possible, there are limitations on how long
the print can be exposed to light on display. Guidelines for
the display times of current and many older color print
materials are given in Chapter 3. As a general rule, it may
be assumed that under typical moderate display condi-
tions, the light fading rate of a given type of color print is
approximately proportional to the light intensity on the
print. For example, a print displayed for 12 hours a day in
Those serving the needs of collections being
heavily used for exhibition face a serious di-
lemma. On one hand, they are chronicling, aid-
ing and abetting in the systematic destruction
of the photographs they are charged to protect
by supporting reprehensible exhibition prac-
tices. On the other hand, they largely owe their
existence to those very exhibition programs.
. . . The current exhibition vogue amounts to
a systematic program of accelerating the deg-
radation of our most valued and important pho-
tographs. The practice can and must be changed.
No doubt there will be many who will claim that
such an assessment is too extreme and that
the problem is being exaggerated. They will
say that we do not have enough information to
change our ways. I would say we do not have
enough information to maintain them.
1
Grant B. Romer, Conservator
International Museum of Photography
Rochester, New York September 1986
Introduction
Photographs are displayed for many different reasons
and in an extremely wide range of lighting conditions
see Table 17.1. Whereas modern fiber-base black-and-white
prints that have been correctly processed and treated with
a protective toner are extremely stable and may be ex-
pected to have a very long life under typical conditions of
display,
2
the same cannot be said for most kinds of color
prints, or for black-and-white prints made on RC (polyeth-
ylene-resin-coated) papers.
With the singular exception of color pigment prints made
with the new UltraStable Permanent Color process and
the Polaroid Permanent-Color process,
3
exposure of color
photographs to light during display will cause slow but
inexorable fading and staining of the image; visible light
and ultraviolet (UV) radiation may also cause cracking and
other physical deterioration of the print emulsion and sup-
port material. This does not mean that color prints cannot
or should not be displayed, but if such photographs are to
be preserved for long periods of time, the stability charac-
teristics (including fading rate) of the color print material
must be understood. The planned total time of display
must be determined with consideration for the intensity
and spectral composition of the illumination source as well
17. Display and Illumination of Color and B&W Prints
The Alarming Light-Induced Image Discoloration and
Base Cracking of B&W RC Prints on Long-Term Display
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8
2
The 1982 exhibition Color as Form: A History of Color Photography at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The display area was illuminated with incandescent tungsten lamps with an average intensity of about 170 lux. The first
major survey of color photography as an art form, this show was curated by John Upton for the International Museum of
Photography at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. The exhibition opened at the Corcoran for 3 months and
was later shown at George Eastman House. With vintage prints made by a wide variety of color processes most with
unknown stability characteristics this was the first photography exhibition to be densitometrically monitored for image
fading and staining.
1,000 lux of light will fade at about twice the rate of a print
displayed the same amount of time in 500 lux. Because the
human eye has a great ability to adapt to different light
intensities, a person is often not aware of the great range
of light intensities that usually exist in a room, or in differ-
ent parts of a building. In museum display of original color
photographs, densitometric limits of tolerable color fading
should be established and a monitoring program instituted
to make certain that prints are not permitted to fade or
stain beyond those limits (see Chapter 7).
Some museums have guidelines for exhibition of color
and black-and-white photographs which apply to works both
in the museum and out on loan. The Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston permits a maximum display time of 3 months
every 2 or 3 years; if a print has been exhibited in the
previous year, the museum will not send it out on loan.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has a
policy of displaying color photographs no more than 3 or 4
months every 5 to 10 years. In the past, the International
Museum of Photography at George Eastman House kept a
number of its better-known photographs on permanent
display; some of the museums traveling exhibitions were
out on loan to a succession of institutions for years at a
time. More recently, the museum has been periodically
replacing most of the photographs in its regular exhibition
areas with other photographs from the collection so that
no print is on constant display.
When purchasing a color print, it may be possible to
obtain a duplicate copy at low cost; one print can be dis-
played with the realization that it will fade over time, while
the other can be kept in the dark for preservation pur-
poses. When the displayed print has faded to the point
where it is no longer acceptable, a copy print for display
can be made from the stored print; the one remaining original
print should continue to be kept in the dark under the most
favorable conditions possible. For persons making their
own color prints, it is a simple matter to produce one or
two extra prints for display purposes. In recent years the
Art Institute of Chicago has attempted to obtain duplicate
prints of the color photographs acquired for its collection
so that one print can be used for exhibition and study pur-
poses and the other kept in the dark in the museums hu-
midity-controlled cold storage facility. The Museum of
Modern Art in New York City also attempts to obtain two
copies of each of its chromogenic color print acquisitions;
one copy is kept in permanent storage in a frost-free refrig-
erator, and the other is withdrawn from the refrigerator
when needed for study or exhibition purposes.
Display and Illumination of Color and Black-and-White Prints Chapter 17 576
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Recommendations
(see Chapter 7). It is recommended that salted paper prints
(ca. 18401855) and albumen prints (ca. 18501895) never
be displayed not even for short periods.
Glass and UV-Absorbing Framing Materials
* UV filters do little to protect most color prints. With
Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, Agfacolor, and most other
current color print materials displayed in typical indoor con-
ditions, image fading is caused primarily by visible light, not
by ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet filters such as Plexiglas
UF-3 do little if anything to increase the life of these color
materials, largely because they are manufactured with an
effective UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat. One exception is
Ilford Ilfochrome print materials (called Cibachrome 1963
1991), which are manufactured without a UV-absorbing over-
coat. When Ilfochrome prints are displayed under direct or
indirect daylight, framing with a UV filter markedly increases
their stability. The improvement is much less for prints illumi-
nated with fluorescent or tungsten light (see Chapter 3).
* Glass is recommended over Plexiglas and other plas-
tics for most framing applications. Glass is inexpensive,
easy to cut, chemically inert, and resistant to scratches;
however, it should not be used for traveling exhibitions or
for very large prints where breakage could occur. For these
applications, standard clear Plexiglas G is recommended.
Displaying prints framed with glass or Plexiglas G adjacent
to prints framed with Plexiglas UF-3 can be visually distract-
ing. The light-yellow tint of UF-3 gives white mount boards
and low-density areas of photographs a distinctly yellowish,
or warm, appearance; prints framed with glass look dis-
tinctly different. Furthermore, UF-3 suppresses the effects of
fluorescent brighteners that are incorporated in virtually all
current black-and-white papers; this has the effect of subtly
dulling the appearance of the prints. Even with incandes-
cent tungsten illumination, which has very low UV content,
the dulling effect of UF-3 is noticeable.
Black-and-White RC and Fiber-Base Prints
* Double-weight, fiber-base papers are strongly recom-
mended. Current information indicates that fiber-base prints
are, overall, substantially more stable than RC prints, espe-
cially when displayed for prolonged periods. Fiber-base
prints also appear to be less susceptible than RC prints to
image discoloration caused by surface contaminants, poor-
quality storage materials, and/or commonly encountered
levels of air pollutants. Many RC prints made with devel-
oper-incorporated papers (e.g., the now-obsolete Ilford Mul-
tigrade II RC paper) have, after only a few years of storage,
developed serious brownish stain within the paper base
itself. RC papers should not be used for historically impor-
tant photographs, fine art prints, or portraits. Fiber-base
prints intended for long-term display or storage should be
treated with an image-protective toner (see text). This au-
thor considers treatment with a protective toner to be an
essential part of archival processing. Virtually all modern
black-and-white papers are made with fluorescent brighten-
ers, which gradually lose activity (fade) when displayed.
Thus, although the image and base of an archivally pro-
cessed fiber-base print are extremely stable, the loss of
brightener effect will cause the whites and highlights of the
print to lose some of their original brilliance.
Display of Color Prints
* Nonreplaceable color prints. Unfortunately, with the
exception of UltraStable Permanent Color and Polaroid
Permanent-Color pigment prints, almost all other types
of color photographs exposed to light on display slowly
fade over time and will eventually become severely
degraded. Valuable or nonreplaceable color prints should
never be subjected to prolonged display. The light
fading stability of different types of color prints varies
over a wide range, with some color prints lasting far
longer than others under the same display conditions
(see Chapter 3). Only expendable color prints having
no lasting value, or those for which duplicates are be-
ing kept in dark storage, or those for which it is certain
that replacement prints can be made in the future, should
be subjected to prolonged or permanent display.
Illumination Levels
* For museums, galleries, and archives. Approxi-
mately 300 lux of incandescent tungsten or glass-fil-
tered quartz halogen illumination is recommended. This
author believes that light levels below 300 lux are insuf-
ficient for proper visual appreciation of photographs,
particularly color photographs. Prints should be dis-
played with adequate illumination. There is no mini-
mum illumination level at which color print fading
does not occur. Accumulated display time must be
limited to prevent excessive fading. Modern black-and-
white fiber-base prints may be displayed at significantly
higher illumination levels (e.g., 600 lux or higher) as
long as the surface temperature of the prints in black
(d-max) areas does not increase more than a few de-
grees. Heating of prints reduces emulsion and base
moisture content, which may in turn cause increased
curl and/or eventual cracking, especially in RC prints.
* For home and commercial applications. Approxi-
mately 450 lux of incandescent tungsten, glass-filtered
quartz halogen, or glass-filtered fluorescent illumina-
tion is recommended. In many commercial display
situations, bright ambient lighting conditions will re-
quire significantly higher illumination levels to show
photographs to their best advantage.
* Museums and photographers should adopt a stan-
dard illumination level. A photograph on display
should accurately convey the subtleties envisioned by
the photographer. To accomplish this, it is essential
that the print be evaluated for density and color balance
in the darkroom under the same intensity and type of
illumination with which it will be displayed in a gallery
or museum. It is proposed that galleries, museums,
and archives formally adopt the above-recommended
300 lux of incandescent tungsten or glass-filtered quartz
halogen illumination against a light, neutral background
and that photographers be encouraged to use this illu-
mination condition for evaluating prints.
* Museums and archives should monitor prints. Den-
sities at selected image locations on color and black-
and-white prints should be measured periodically with
an accurate electronic densitometer, and predetermined
limits of fading and staining should not be exceeded
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Instant color photographs, none of which have usable
negatives for making new prints, are in most cases not
replaceable. In addition, all current Polaroid and Fuji in-
stant color prints have relatively poor light fading stability;
valuable instant prints should be displayed for short peri-
ods only.
Display of Black-and-White RC Prints:
Caution Is Necessary
Black-and-white RC (polyethylene-resin-coated) papers
first became generally available in the United States with
the introduction of Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper in
October 1972.
4
RC papers made by Ilford (Ilfospeed and
Ilford Multigrade papers), Agfa- Gevaert ( Brovira PE
Paper, later called Brovira-Speed Paper), and other manu-
facturers worldwide soon followed. RC papers now consti-
tute the great majority of all black-and-white photographic
papers produced. Use of fiber-base papers increasingly
is limited to fine art photographers, advanced darkroom
hobbyists, and top-quality advertising and commercial
photographers (advertising photographers prefer the su-
perior retouching and knife-etching capabilities of fiber-
base papers).
Whether because of an appreciation of the superior sur-
face and image qualities afforded by the best fiber-base
papers, or perhaps because of a reluctance to adopt an
unproven material, fine art photographers in the U.S. and
most other countries have fortunately thus far almost
completely avoided black-and-white RC papers in making
prints for exhibition or sale.
RC paper is made by hot-extruding a thin layer of poly-
ethylene on both sides of a fiber-base paper core; clear
polyethylene is coated on the back of the print (often the
paper core is first printed with the manufacturers name in
light gray ink) and polyethylene pigmented with white tita-
nium dioxide (TiO2) is coated on the emulsion side; the
high-reflectance pigmented layer serves the same general
function as the baryta layer (composed of barium sulfate
suspended in gelatin) in fiber-base prints. The emulsion is
coated on top of the pigmented polyethylene layer, leaving
the emulsion accessible to developer and other processing
solutions.
Because the polyethylene layers render the paper sup-
port essentially waterproof, very fast processing, washing,
and drying of RC prints are possible. With an automatic
processing machine, an RC print can be developed, fixed,
washed, and dried in as little as 55 seconds; manual pro-
cessing, including washing in trays and drying with an electric
hair dryer, typically takes 8 or 10 minutes. To correctly
process, wash, and dry double-weight fiber-base prints, on
the other hand, requires a minimum of about an hour. When
processing fiber-base prints for maximum permanence, with
air-drying on plastic-coated fiberglass screens at room tem-
perature what is often called archival processing
the total time can extend to as long as 12 hours. Speed of
processing is the primary appeal of RC papers and is the
principal reason they were invented. And unlike fiber-base
prints, RC papers have little tendency to curl, even in envi-
ronments with low or fluctuating humidity .
RC papers should not be confused with print materials
coated on ICI Melinex 990, a high gloss, opaque white poly-
* Display of black-and-white RC prints. Valuable black-
and-white RC prints should never be displayed. Espe-
cially when framed under glass or plastic and displayed
for prolonged periods, even at low light levels with UV-
filtered illumination, black-and-white RC prints may be
subject to light-induced oxidation of the silver image,
resulting in ugly yellowish or orange-red image discol-
orations. Black-and-white RC prints are also subject to
base and/or emulsion cracking as a result of display.
* Kodak B&W RC papers are recommended. If it is
decided to use an RC paper, then Kodak Polymax RC
Paper and Polyprint RC Paper, both conventional-emul-
sion (non-developer-incorporated) papers, currently are
recommended. There are substantial differences in
image and base stability of black-and-white RC papers.
At the time of this writing, Kodak was the only manufac-
turer that had published meaningful accelerated aging
projections for its RC papers with respect to base crack-
ing, and Kodak also has described the stability benefits
afforded by its stabilizer in the paper core technology.
Until meaningful comparative accelerated aging data
are available on the base and image stability character-
istics of the RC papers supplied by other manufactur-
ers, Kodak RC papers will continue to be recommended.
It is recognized, however, that with the most common
methods of drying RC prints, the image and surface
quality of most RC papers, including Kodak, may prove
visually unacceptable because of veiling of the blacks
(see below). Should this be the case, Oriental New
Seagull Select VC-RP, a variable-contrast paper, and
Oriental New Seagull RP, a graded paper, both of which
give good results even when dried at room tempera-
ture, are probably the only satisfactory alternatives.
* Ilford RC print processors and dryers are recom-
mended. The depth of the blacks, the print surface
gloss, and the overall visual image quality of Kodak and
most other black-and-white RC papers are significantly
degraded when the prints are dried at room tempera-
ture or dried with conventional hot-air RC print dryers,
such as the dryer in the Kodak Royalprint processor
(discontinued in 1991). For best results, RC prints should
be dried with one of the Ilford infrared print dryers. The
stand-alone Ilford 1250 dryer and the dryers incorpo-
rated in the Ilford 2240 and 2150 RC print processors all
provide excellent results. Also satisfactory is the Kodak
Polymax IR processor; introduced in 1991, this is the
first Kodak processor to be equipped with an infrared
dryer. Unlike the case with RC prints, the images on
fiber-base papers are not noticeably affected by the
method of drying; fiber-base prints can be dried emul-
sion-side down on clean, plastic-coated fiberglass screens
at room temperature with outstanding results.
* Valuable RC prints should be treated with an im-
age-protective toner. Especially if they are to be dis-
played, valuable black-and-white RC prints should be
treated with Kodak Poly-Toner or Kodak Rapid Sele-
nium Toner to help protect the silver image against the
peculiar types of discoloration (oxidation) to which RC
prints are susceptible. Toner treatment will not, how-
ever, increase the resistance of RC papers to cracking.
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ester sheet manufactured by Imperial Chemical Industries
(through a complex manufacturing process which forms
billions of microscopic voids of high refractive index within
the polyester structure of Melinex 990, a bright white ma-
terial is produced without the need for an added pigment
such as titanium dioxide). Among current products coated
on Melinex 990 (or other closely related high gloss, opaque
white polyester support) are Ilford Ilfochrome glossy print
materials (semi-gloss Ilfochrome is an RC paper), and spe-
cial-purpose products such as Fujiflex SFA3 Super-Gloss
Printing Material, Fujichrome Printing Material, Kodak
Duraflex RA Print Material, Konica Color QA Super Glossy
Print Material Type A3, and Agfachrome 410 high gloss
polyester color print material for transparencies.
manent-Color prints are also made on an opaque white poly-
ester support; the surface gloss of these prints can vary
from a semi-gloss to a fairly high gloss, depending on the
formulation of the gelatin used to overcoat the image lay-
ers after they have been affixed to the polyester support.
Solid polyester supports are more expensive but tougher
and far more stable during aging than RC paper sup-
ports. Prints made on Melinex 990 have a mirror-like gloss
that is much smoother and glossier than the highest gloss
surface that can be produced on an RC paper. One draw-
back of Melinex 990, however, is that it cannot readily be
manufactured with other than a high gloss surface. A semi-
gloss surface similar to the popular Kodak N surface is not
available and this, along with the higher cost of polyester
materials, has restricted their use in portrait, wedding, fine
art, and most other areas of photography where photogra-
phers generally prefer semi-gloss or matte surface papers.
With the exception of a few special-purpose products,
black-and-white papers are not presently supplied on poly-
ester supports. This is unfortunate, because if such a print
material were properly manufactured, it would avoid most
of the stability problems associated with black-and-white
RC papers (it would, however, also be more expensive).
Before the invention of RC paper base in the 1960s
and before opaque white polyester supports became avail-
able around 1980 waterproof print supports were made
with white-pigmented cellulose acetate (in its transparent
form, the same material is used for film base). Beginning
in the early 1940s, Kodak Minicolor and Kotavachrome
prints (processed by Kodak using the Kodachrome sys-
tem) were coated on pigmented acetate supports, as was
Ansco Printon, a reversal color material for printing slides
produced by Ansco from 1943 until 1973. From 1963 until
around 1980, Cibachrome print materials were coated on a
pigmented cellulose triacetate support. With the introduc-
tion of Ilford Cibachrome II materials, the support mate-
rial was changed to Melinex 990 (in 1991, Ilford changed
the name of all Cibachrome materials to Ilfochrome
Cibachrome II became Ilfochrome Classic). Because of
processing considerations, all of these color materials re-
quired a nonabsorbent support; had this not been the case,
a less costly fiber-base support could have been used.
Pigmented cellulose triacetate is a far more stable ma-
terial than the RC base papers of the 1970s but it is also
more expensive. Kodak had long searched for a low-cost,
waterproof substitute for pigmented cellulose triacetate.
Kodak wanted a material that cost little more than single-
weight fiber-base paper, and after considerable experimen-
tation, the company found it in polyethylene-coated paper.
An important reason that polyethylene was chosen for this
application is that it is the least expensive of all plastics
which is why it is also the material of choice for garbage
bags, plastic milk bottles, and many other inexpensive dis-
posable consumer items.
Deterioration of Displayed RC Prints
Many framed black-and-white prints made on Kodak
Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper and Ilford Ilfospeed [RC]
Paper manufactured in the 1970s and early 1980s have,
during the course of only a few years of display under
normal conditions, suffered catastrophic, irregular gold-
like, orange-red, or yellow image discolorations (sometimes
called bronzing) and have developed localized silver
mirror deposits on the emulsion surface in high-density
areas of the image. Sometimes these discolorations are
accompanied by large numbers of small, bright orange-red
spots, identical in structure to the microspots (also known
as redox blemishes or microscopic blemishes) that in
the past have been found principally on stored microfilms
and astronomical plates. Microspots are also occasionally
encountered on conventional camera and motion picture
films, glass-plate negatives, and glass lantern slides. But,
to the best of this authors knowledge, microspots of this
type have never been found on fiber-base prints.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the
Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Archives of Canada
in Ottawa are among the well-known institutions that have
deteriorated black-and-white RC prints in their collections.
These prints became severely discolored after only a few
years of display and storage; with the passage of time, it is
inevitable that huge numbers of RC prints worldwide will
be similarly affected.
Judging from the speed at which the images of framed
and displayed Polycontrast Rapid RC prints from the 1970s
and Polycontrast Rapid II RC prints from the early 1980s
can become severely discolored, these papers could cer-
tainly be ranked as some of the most inherently unstable
black-and-white photographic materials ever to be mar-
keted since the introduction of the first silver-gelatin de-
veloping-out papers in the late 1800s. The deterioration of
the Kodak RC prints has occurred despite careful process-
ing and washing.
The discolorations which this author has observed in
Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC prints generally are concen-
trated along density gradients where light and dark por-
tions of the image meet; Polycontrast Rapid RC prints some-
times also have large numbers of orange-red microspots.
Deteriorated Ilford RC prints, on the other hand, usually
have had a more uniform, overall brownish-yellow image
discoloration.
Both Kodak and Ilford RC papers can suffer from microspot
formation and surface mirroring; with some prints, the
mirroring has become quite extreme. Although all of the
deteriorated Kodak RC prints which this author has been
able to positively identify were made on Polycontrast Rapid
RC Paper and Polycontrast Rapid II RC Paper, it is as-
sumed that Kodabrome RC and other Kodak black-and-
white RC papers from the period can be similarly affected.
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Some Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC prints also have
suffered from severe cracking of the polyethylene-coated
support material (cracking has also occurred in many dis-
played Kodak Ektacolor RC prints from the late 1960s and
early 1970s). As discussed below, cracking of the RC sup-
port is facilitated by a combination of exposure to light and
storage or display in an environment in which the relative
humidity fluctuates over a wide range. With the passage of
time, it is expected that increasing numbers of these prints
will develop cracks. To date, however, image discoloration
appears to be a much more serious problem than support
cracking in black-and-white RC prints.
Ilford Ilfospeed RC paper was not particularly popular
in the U.S. in the 1970s, and this author has encountered
only a relatively small number of Ilfospeed RC prints that
have been displayed for significant periods (complicating
the matter is the fact that Ilford did not imprint the back of
the paper with the companys name, so it is often impos-
sible to tell whether a particular print is in fact an Ilford
product). This author has not yet encountered a verified
Ilfospeed RC print which has developed cracks; however,
cracking of Ilford RC prints from this era has been re-
ported in the literature.
5
Light-Induced Oxidation and Subsequent
Cracking of the Image-Side Polyethylene Layer
Polyethylene plastic has long been recognized as hav-
ing poor stability when subjected to prolonged exposure to
light or ultraviolet radiation. According to a 1974 patent
issued to Eastman Kodak for improvements in the formu-
lation of its RC papers:
In the use of such resin coated papers many
problems occur, not the least of which relates
to the relatively low stability of the resins and,
especially polyolefins [polyethylenes], used to
coat the paper to achieve the desired wet
strength, etc. Such resins [polyethylenes] typi-
cally deteriorate quite rapidly due to the action
of, for example, ultraviolet light or the oxida-
tive action of photographic printing and devel-
oping chemicals. . . . It has therefore become
of prime importance that such resinous layers
be suitably stabilized against such hazards if
they are to be useful in photographic papers.
6
1
9
8
1
Fern Bleckner, at the time a conservator at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and Joe Cameron, a
photographer and teacher at the Corcoran, examine discolored black-and-white RC prints that had been made on Polycon-
trast Rapid RC Paper in the mid-1970s. Although the prints had been displayed for only 2 months, they had nevertheless
developed serious image discoloration by the time this photograph was taken in 1981. It is not known whether the damage
was caused by exposure to light or by air pollutants (or a combination of both). At the time, the Corcoran was not air
conditioned, and during warm months windows in the photograph storage area, which is near to a busy Washington street,
were open much of the time. Pollutants from automobile exhaust might have been a significant factor in the rapid
deterioration that occurred in these unstable prints.
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1
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0
with by-products of polyethylene degradation (certain emul-
sion ingredients or other components of the RC paper struc-
ture may also be involved) can progressively attack (oxi-
dize) the adjacent silver image. The eventual result can be
severe image discoloration and the formation of silver
mirrors on the emulsion surface. This apparently is the
mechanism responsible for the rapid image deterioration
that has been observed in many framed and displayed prints
made on early Kodak and Ilford black-and-white RC pa-
pers. Unframed prints exposed to light can also be af-
fected. The relative humidity of the display and storage
environment appears to be an important variable in these
reactions, with high relative humidity substantially increasing
the rate of image discoloration. High temperatures un-
doubtedly also accelerate the rate of deterioration.
Internally generated peroxides and/or by-products of
polyethylene degradation may also be implicated in the
increased rates of fading that this author has observed in
certain types of Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Agfacolor, and 3M
color papers when they are framed under glass or plastic
on long-term display. With color prints, it is of course a dye
image, rather than a silver image, that is affected (see
Chapter 2 for discussion of RC-base-associated fading of
color prints).
The sensitivity of silver photographic images to even
very low levels of peroxides and other oxidants, especially
in humid environments, is well established, and logic would
suggest that an oxidant level sufficient to degrade and em-
brittle polyethylene should also be capable of oxidizing the
delicate filamentary silver grains which make up the image.
The chemical processes involved in the oxidation and
subsequent reduction of the silver image, resulting in the
formation of yellow-orange colloidal silver and silver mir-
rors, are also generally understood and have been dis-
cussed at length in the literature. As described by Larry
Feldman of Eastman Kodak,
9
the silver grains forming the
image are oxidized by peroxides or some other oxidizing
substance to form silver ions. Particularly when the emul-
The light-induced deterioration of polyethylene can be
greatly accelerated by the presence of white titanium diox-
ide pigment, incorporated in the top polyethylene layer of
RC prints. Titanium dioxide is a photochemically active
substance and when exposed to light it can generate an
active form of oxygen, which in turn can attack adjacent
polyethylene. Although both ultraviolet radiation and vis-
ible light can trigger these reactions, study of the display
conditions of large numbers of deteriorated RC prints sug-
gests that visible light is, in most cases, the primary cause
of the deterioration. In typical indoor display conditions, a
Plexiglas UF-3 or other UV filter will probably do little to
improve the long-term stability of a black-and-white RC
print.
Oxidation of the polyethylene results in gradually in-
creasing brittleness of the plastic and, in conjunction with
the physical stresses produced by normal fluctuations in
relative humidity (e.g., between 30 and 60%)
7
, will eventu-
ally cause cracks to form in the image-side polyethylene
layer and print emulsion.
Light-induced deterioration of polyethylene and accel-
erated test methods used by Eastman Kodak to evaluate
the cracking tendency of its RC papers have been reviewed
in an important 1979 article by Parsons, Gray, and Crawford.
8
The addition of antioxidants and stabilizers to the struc-
ture of Kodak RC papers, the change to a less reactive
form of titanium dioxide in the emulsion-side RC layer, and
other improvements in Kodak RC papers were also de-
scribed (the article restricted its discussion to the problem
of RC print cracking and did not deal with silver-image
discoloration of displayed RC prints).
Light-Induced Destruction of
the Silver Images of RC Prints
The peroxides and other oxidants generated in the tita-
nium dioxide pigmented polyethylene layer during long-
term exposure to light and UV radiation in association
A magnified view of the RC base cracking. The fluores-
cent lamps elevated the temperature inside the cabinet,
thus lowering the relative humidity. When the lamps
were turned off at night, the humidity returned to the
ambient level, and this daily humidity cycling, in combi-
nation with the degrading effects of light and UV radiation
on the unstable RC base, eventually produced the crack-
ing seen here.
This small print, made on Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC
Paper from the early 1970s, has developed severe RC
base cracks. The print was exhibited for about 5 years in
a glass-enclosed display cabinet in the Grinnell College
Physics Museum in Grinnell, Iowa. The cabinet was illu-
minated with bare-bulb Cool White fluorescent lamps.
(Print courtesy of Grant Gale, physics professor and cu-
rator of the Physics Museum)
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Polycontrast Rapid RC prints, base degradation is in the
great majority of cases the primary reason that images
have discolored, or will do so in the future if displayed for a
sufficient length of time. In the subsequent edition of Kodak
Publication No. G-1, released in May 1982, and a later edi-
tion published in 1985, all reference to a possible relation-
ship between RC base degradation and image discolora-
tion was deleted.
In May 1978, at a conference on preservation of color
photographs at the International Center of Photography
(ICP) in New York City, this mode of black-and-white RC
image discoloration was discussed by Klaus B. Hendriks.
11
Commenting on the previously discussed statement in the
1978 edition of Kodak B/W Photographic Papers, Hendriks
dismissed the influence of oxidants originating from the
environment or from residual processing chemicals as likely
causes of image discoloration in framed RC prints, and
said: First the base degrades and produces some oxidiz-
ing agent, and then it will continue to attack itself [and the
silver image] because it is enclosed in a glass frame.
Hendriks, who is director of the Conservation Research
Division at the National Archives of Canada, said that dis-
playing a framed black-and-white RC print created a closed
system of deterioration, and he speculated that this could
prove to be a serious problem in the years to come. (When
the presentation was given in 1978, neither Hendriks nor
this author had yet seen an example of image discoloration
in the then-new black-and-white RC papers which could
definitely be attributed to this mechanism of self-destruc-
tion; however, a number of Ektacolor RC prints that had
developed cracks after less than 10 years of normal display
in homes had been encountered.)
David Vestal, a photographer and influential writer who
in early 1976 had started a public campaign to alert photog-
raphers to the shortcomings of RC papers and to convince
Kodak and other manufacturers not to cease production of
fiber-base papers, gave a detailed account of Hendrikss
presentation in the October 1978 issue of Popular Photog-
raphy magazine in an article entitled, RC Report: The
TiO2 Blues.
12
The Edge Effect in the Discoloration
of Framed and Displayed RC Prints
Supporting the view that image deterioration of framed
and displayed Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC prints can be
caused by oxidants generated by the RC paper itself is the
nature of the discoloration observed after several years of
display in two RC prints made in 1977 by this author. The
photographs were taken in the middle of the night of a
lumberyard in Grinnell, Iowa going up in flames the
lumberyard was located next door to this authors home
(which, fortunately, was spared). These prints were among
many made by this author from a box of 8x10-inch Polycontrast
Rapid RC Paper purchased in 1974;
13
all of the prints had
been carefully processed, washed, and air-dried at room
temperature, following Kodaks instructions. The white
borders were trimmed from the prints after processing.
The prints were dry mounted in the centers of sheets of
11x14-inch, 4-ply, 100% cotton fiber museum mount board
(made by the Rising Paper Company). The mounted prints,
without overmats, were placed under glass in metal frames.
sion has a high moisture content, the silver ions can physi-
cally migrate a short distance from the site of the original
silver grains. Through the action of light, or in the pres-
ence of various atmospheric contaminants, the silver ions
are then reduced to tiny particles of metallic colloidal sil-
ver, or converted to silver sulfide (silver sulfide can be
formed by reaction with, for example, hydrogen sulfide, a
common air pollutant). According to Feldman, Since these
minute particles refract light, groupings of these particles
have a characteristic yellow, orange, or red appearance.
When concentrated near the [emulsion] surface, the me-
tallic silver or silver sulfide particles can reflect light as a
silver mirror.
Changes have been made in the structure of the silver
grains in print emulsions in recent years in order to reduce
the amount of silver required to produce an adequate black
(thus increasing the covering power of the silver), and
thereby reduce the manufacturers costs. These changes
may also be implicated in the increased susceptibility of
some black-and-white RC papers to image discoloration.
Displayed Black-and-White RC Prints
Can Self-Destruct
We have here a very alarming situation with their
built-in ability to generate oxidants during the course of
normal display, black-and-white RC prints contain a poten-
tially powerful source of their own destruction. With both
the silver image and support material being attacked, this
constitutes an entirely new type of photographic deteriora-
tion. Although unframed RC prints on display are also
subject to light-induced image discoloration, framing an
RC print under glass or plastic exacerbates the problem,
apparently by preventing the diffusion of oxidants and volatile
degradation products into the atmosphere, and away from
the silver image. With everything trapped inside the frame,
and with the print emulsion sandwiched between the RC
support and framing glass, the print is left to stew in its
own juices. (See pages 600601 for reproductions of RC
prints that suffer from light-induced image discoloration.)
Over the years Kodak has carefully avoided discussion
of this mode of RC image deterioration, and this author is
aware of only one reference a vague one at that in
Kodak literature to this phenomenon. In the April 1978
revision of Kodak B/W Photographic Papers, Kodak Publi-
cation No. G-1, it is stated:
In addition to protecting the paper base from
absorption of processing chemicals (thus permit-
ting easier working), the resin [polyethylene] lay-
ers restrict the flow of gases. When prints are
stored or displayed in a confined atmosphere (such
as being framed under glass), any oxidants present
may react with the silver grains and result in im-
age discolorations. Such oxidants might result from
the environment, residual processing chemicals,
adhesives used in frame construction, cleaning
agents, or base degradation [italics added]. . . .
10
Although Kodak placed base degradation last on its
list of potential causes of image discoloration in framed RC
prints, this author believes that at least with early Kodak
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After less than 5 years of display, severe image discolora-
tion, microspots, and surface mirroring had occurred in
medium- and high-density image areas, with the discolora-
tion and mirroring especially pronounced in high-density
locations adjoining low-density or white areas of the prints.
However, the very outer edges of the prints extending
inward about
1
16 inch suffered little or no discoloration.
This author believes that this edge effect is caused by
the oxidants generated by the pigmented polyethylene layer
diffusing through the paper core at the outer edges of a
print. Passing into the thin air pocket surrounding the
edges of the framed print (the thickness of the print kept
the mount board slightly separated from the framing glass)
and then absorbed by the mount board, the localized con-
centrations of oxidants at the edges of the print were lower
than oxidant levels in the rest of the image area.
In correctly processed and washed fiber-base prints suf-
fering from image deterioration caused by external con-
taminants from polluted air or unsuitable storage materi-
als, it is frequently observed that the discoloration and
fading are most severe near the edges of the prints. With
framed and displayed RC prints, the opposite is generally
true; this is additional support for the theory that the im-
ages are oxidized by substances generated within the print
structure itself. In the examples of discolored RC prints
just cited, the prints showing the edge effect had been
trimmed after processing and drying, thus eliminating the
possibility that edge-penetration of processing chemicals
into the paper core of the RC prints was involved.
In view of the fact that the RC print structure has two
polyethylene layers, that the prints were mounted on 4-ply,
100% cotton fiber museum mount board (all of which would
help protect the image from attack from the back by air-
borne contaminants), and that the print emulsions were
protected from the environment by framing glass, the re-
duced edge-fading also suggests that contaminants within
the frame itself or from the surrounding environment were
not a significant factor in the discoloration.
(It is important to note that unframed RC prints may
also discolor. Indeed, this author had a stack of prints
sitting on a shelf in his office for a number of years, and
several Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC prints among the
group discolored where the edges or corners had protruded
from the stack and were exposed to light. Fiber-base prints
in the stack were unaffected.)
It has been noted by this author that after prolonged
exposure to light, most RC papers evolve gases that have a
distinct, pungent odor. The odor is especially pronounced
if the prints have been framed under glass or plastic. Once
the prints have been exposed to light for a sufficient pe-
riod, emission of these gases can continue for many months,
or even years, after the prints are placed in dark storage.
The evolution of the gases is probably associated with the
slow decomposition of polyethylene. The exact composi-
tion of these volatile substances has not been identified.
Accelerated Light Exposure Tests
to Induce Silver Image Discoloration
and Base Cracking in RC Prints
In 1986, after examining the nature of the severe image
discoloration that occurred with the 1972 initial type
Polycontrast Rapid RC prints discussed above, this author
subjected a small print made from the same box of paper
to a high-intensity 21.5 klux accelerated light exposure test
with the expectation of being able to quickly simulate the
discoloration. After several months had passed and the
test print had been exposed to far more light (intensity x
time) than the displayed print could possibly have received
during the 5 years that it had been hanging on the wall
and with no sign of discoloration in the test print it was
concluded that the discoloration mechanism must have an
extremely large reciprocity failure in light exposure tests.
(If no reciprocity failure were involved, increasing the light
intensity 25 times, for example, would reduce the length of
time for image discoloration to appear by a factor of 25
see Chapter 2 for a discussion of reciprocity failures as
applied to the light fading and light-induced staining of
color prints.)
To more systematically investigate the light intensity
reciprocity relationship, the influence of UV radiation on
image discoloration, and the effects of framing under glass
or plastic, this author began a series of tests with samples
cut from duplicate prints made in 1977 with paper from the
same box that had been used for the 5-year displayed prints.
All of the prints had been made during the same darkroom
session and had been processed, washed and dried in the
same manner. The duplicate prints had been stored in the
dark during the 9 years before the tests were started. Each
test sample contained a white border and a full range of
densities from a clean white to a deep black.
One group of prints was placed under low-intensity 1.35
klux (125 footcandles) Cool White fluorescent illumination
at 75F (24C) and 60% RH. Another group was exposed to
high-intensity 21.5 klux (2,000 footcandles) illumination, also
at 75F (24C) and 60% RH (for a description of the test
equipment, see Chapter 2). Illumination at 21.5 klux is 16
times more intense than at 1.35 klux. Included were unframed
prints exposed to bare-bulb illumination, prints framed with
glass (both with and without an overmat), and prints framed
with Plexiglas UF-3, a UV-absorbing acrylic sheet.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, the tests had
been in progress for 6 years (72 months) and visible dete-
rioration had occurred in most of the prints:
1. 1.35 klux Unframed Print: After 4 years, significant
yellowish discoloration had rather suddenly occurred,
and this was most evident in medium and low density
areas immediately adjacent to white portions of the
image. Unlike the prints that were framed with glass
or Plexiglas UF-3, no microspots were evident, although
surface silvering-out was noted adjacent to the most
severely discolored areas. Even after 6 years, no base/
emulsion cracking was observed with the unframed print,
even though it had been exposed to the relatively high
UV content of bare-bulb fluorescent illumination.
2. 1.35 klux Overmatted Glass-Framed Print: After 1
1
2
years of light exposure, classic orange-colored, sur-
face-mirrored microspots were observed (if this author
had been experienced in looking for early-stage discol-
oration, the spots probably would have been noticed
sooner). These spots occurred in medium-density ar-
eas, adjacent to lower-density parts of the image. After
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2
1
3 years, the spots had grown in size, but the total
number of these large spots remained fairly small. In
addition, a narrow band of the image, approximately
1.0mm wide, and running along the full length of the
adjacent, untrimmed white print border, had become
uniformly discolored and surface-mirrored. Under 10X
magnification, a large number of very small microspots
could be observed in an image area 3mm to 8mm from
the print border. After 4 years, significant yellowish
discoloration in low- and medium-density areas adja-
cent to white portions of the image had rather suddenly
occurred. Few additional large microspots were noted.
After 6 years, this pattern continued with image discol-
oration becoming more severe; no surface cracking could
be detected.
3. 1.35 klux Print Framed in Contact with Glass: After
1
2
3 years, the print had developed large numbers of
very small microspots, which were fairly evenly distrib-
uted in medium- to high-density areas of the print (the
microspots tended to be concentrated along image-density
gradients). No discoloration was evident in low-density
areas of the image. After 4 years, the print had not
developed a discolored area next to the white print bor-
der as had occurred with No. 2 above. But, overall, the
number of small microspots had increased markedly.
None of these spots, however, approached the size of
the large spots that occurred with the overmatted
print. After 6 years, little of the yellowish discoloration
noted in the overmatted print was evident.
4. 1.35 klux Print Framed in Contact with UF-3: After
2
1
3 years, the print exhibited a narrow, strongly discol-
ored band immediately adjacent to the untrimmed white
print border (identical to that described in No. 2 above)
and the print had also developed some small microspots
3mm to 10mm from the border; these spots were con-
centrated near one corner of the sample. After 6 years,
more microspots and discoloration were noted.
5. 21.5 klux Unframed Print: After 1
1
2 years the print
had developed extensive emulsion and/or base crack-
ing (which type of crack could not be determined) in
minimum-density (white) and low-density areas. The
first cracks probably occurred at an earlier point in the
test; but because the cracks were not accompanied by
image discoloration, and at that time this author was
not consciously looking for cracks, they were not no-
ticed. After 2
1
3 years the cracks covered most of the
print surface, with only the maximum-density areas still
remaining free of cracks. After 4 years, cracking was
very extensive and covered all areas of the print. Even
after 6 years of illumination, however, and with the print
severely cracked, no microspots or other image discol-
oration could be detected.
6. 21.5 klux Print Framed in Contact with Glass: After
4 years, the print rather suddenly began to show sig-
nificant image discoloration in the form of large num-
bers of distinct microspots. The discoloration was most
evident in medium- and high-density areas immediately
adjacent to low-density and/or white areas. After 6 years,
this pattern continued with the size and number of mi-
crospots and the degree of image discoloration becom-
ing more severe.
7. 21.5 klux Print Framed in Contact with UF-3: After
2
1
3 years, the print had developed a very narrow, strongly
discolored band along the full length of the image adja-
cent to the white print border; the print also exhibited
small microspots along an area farther in from the bor-
der. Like the 1.35 klux print framed with UF-3, these
spots were concentrated near one corner of the print.
In fact, after 6 years of light exposure, the pattern of
discoloration on these two prints was almost identical
despite the fact that the 21.5 klux print had received
16 times more light exposure than the 1.35 klux print!
The previously discussed severely discolored and spot-
ted print that had been normally displayed for 5 years (made
on the same paper as the test samples described above),
was displayed under Cool White fluorescent illumination
with an intensity of about 195 lux the total display time is
estimated to have been approximately 14,300 hours. The
print was framed under glass, without an overmat, and for
most of the time, the area where it was displayed was air
conditioned. The length of time that had passed before the
first discolorations occurred in this print is not known.
Accumulated Light Exposure of Prints:
Print normally displayed for 5 years = 2,790 klux-hours
(estimated light exposure accumulated during 5 years)
1.35 klux test prints for 6 years = 70,956 klux-hours
(25x light exposure of normally displayed print)
21.5 klux test prints for 6 years = 1,130,040 klux-hours
(405x light exposure of normally displayed print)
Conclusions Suggested by These Tests
It is clear that to produce the type of image discolora-
tion caused by long-term display under normal conditions
with this particular RC paper, accelerated light-exposure
tests have an extremely large reciprocity failure (although
the 21.5 klux test samples had received an estimated 405
times more light exposure than did the severely discolored
print that had been displayed under normal conditions for
5 years, the discoloration observed in the 21.5 klux print
samples was less pronounced). Therefore, one would have
to conclude that compared with long-term display under
normal conditions short-term, high-intensity tests (at
least at room temperature) may in fact do little if anything
to accelerate the discoloration process.
These results, together with an investigation of the illu-
mination history of a number of prints that became discol-
ored during normal display, suggest that the threshold level
of illumination necessary to initiate the production of oxi-
dants by the titanium dioxide pigmented polyethylene layer
may be very low indeed (and that although exposure to UV
radiation appears to accelerate the reaction, visible light
alone is quite sufficient to initiate and sustain the process).
The fact that, even after 6 years of light exposure, the
unframed print in the high-intensity, forced-air-cooled 21.5
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klux test had not yet discolored lends considerable support
to the theory that the discoloration observed with framed
RC prints is brought about primarily by the light-initiated
production of oxidizing substances (e.g., peroxides) by the
titanium dioxide white pigment in the emulsion-side poly-
ethylene coating of the prints. With unframed prints, these
oxidants are free to diffuse into the atmosphere, and away
from the print emulsion. With framed prints, the oxidants
are to a much greater extent retained within the frame
package, forming a destructive microclimate that over time
can cause severe discoloration of the silver image.
In the 1.35 klux test, there is much less air circulation
over the surface of the print than is the case with the 21.5
klux test, and this is probably the reason that the unframed
print in this test began to show discoloration after 4 years,
while the 21.5 klux unframed print still had not after 6
years. This correlates well with the patterns of discolora-
tion that have been observed in unframed prints that be-
came discolored after several years of sitting in stacks
exposed to light in normal office storage conditions.
For any given type of RC paper, the most critical factors
affecting discoloration of the image appear to be the dura-
tion of the illumination (regardless of how intense the illu-
mination level might be, prolonged exposure periods are
required for this type of light-induced discoloration to oc-
cur) and the ambient relative humidity. Examination of
discolored prints displayed in tropical countries, humid
southern areas in the United States, and in drier regions in
the northern United States and in Canada makes it clear
that relative humidity is a very important variable: high
relative humidity, especially in conjunction with high tem-
peratures, can greatly accelerate the discoloration of dis-
played black-and-white RC prints.
Exactly why the test prints, which had been exposed to
6 years of high-intensity illumination in accelerated tests,
had not discolored as much as did the print that was dis-
played under normal conditions for 5 years, remains unan-
swered. All of the prints were made with Kodak Polycon-
trast Rapid RC Paper from the same box, they had the
same image, and they were processed at the same time.
This author can suggest only three things that might
account for the more severe discoloration that occurred in
the normally displayed print: (1) At times during the course
of 5 years, the normally displayed print was subjected to
relative humidity that was significantly higher than the
60% RH used in the accelerated tests. (2) The test prints
were stored in the dark for nearly 9 years before they were
subjected to the intense illumination of the accelerated
tests, and during this period of dark storage subtle changes
may have occurred in the silver image (e.g., mild sulfiding
of the silver grains that resulted in the image becoming
more resistant to oxidation) and/or changes in the RC pa-
per base that rendered the test prints less susceptible to
light-induced image discoloration. (3) The test prints were
exposed to continuous illumination for 24 hours a day, and
the normally displayed print was in the dark for approxi-
mately 12 hours each day; it is possible that these dark
periods in some way accelerated image discoloration.
An important finding of these tests is that there is noth-
ing to be gained (with respect to image discoloration at
least) by separating prints from framing glass with an
overmat; in fact, in the 1.35 klux tests with framed prints,
the overmatted print was the most severely discolored of
the group at the end of 6 years. (Unfortunately, an over-
matted print was not included in the 21.5 klux tests.)
It is also worth noting that, after 1
1
2 years of light expo-
sure, the gray Kodak identification (sometimes called a
watermark) printed on the back of the RC paper had faded
beyond recognition on both the 1.35 and 21.5 klux unframed
prints (to avoid disturbing the microclimate inside the sealed
frames, the backprinting on the prints framed under glass
and UF-3 was not examined). Like the discoloration of the
images, the fading of the ink used to backprint the paper
also appears to have a large reciprocity failure.
The often irregular patterns of discoloration noted with
many RC prints suggests that surface contamination, pro-
cessing chemical or wash water residues, or print drying
irregularities may also influence the rate and visual ap-
pearance of the discoloration. An increased number of test
samples would be useful in this type of test. The kinds of
clean extrapolations that can be done with the rates of
dye fading in color prints in high-intensity light fading tests
are simply not valid when it comes to the discoloration of
the silver images of framed black-and-white RC prints.
Observation of displayed RC prints made with more re-
cent Kodak RC papers suggests that they almost certainly
have greater resistance to discoloration than the initial
type Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper evaluated in these tests.
But how much better they are and what kinds of acceler-
ated tests can be devised to meaningfully evaluate the ten-
dency for these papers to discolor on long-term display
remain unanswered questions. Likewise, the long-term
behavior of RC papers made by Ilford, Agfa-Gevaert, Ori-
ental, Fuji, and the many other manufacturers worldwide
currently producing RC papers is not known.
Brownish Base-Staining in
Developer-Incorporated RC Papers
In 1983 this author and Carol Brower made many hun-
dreds of prints with Ilford Ilfospeed Multigrade RC paper;
all of these prints now exhibit heavy brownish staining
within the paper base itself. The discoloration is quite
pronounced on the backs of the prints, but is much less
apparent on the emulsion side of the prints because of the
shielding effect of the white titanium dioxide pigmented
polyethylene layer. This type of paper-base staining, which
according to Ctein, a well-known photography writer, is
caused by the developer incorporated in the papers emul-
sion at the time of manufacture,
14
has never been observed
with fiber-base papers. Apparently, the longer a devel-
oper-incorporated RC paper remains in storage prior to
processing, the more severe the brownish stain may even-
tually become. During storage, the incorporated devel-
oper migrates from the emulsion, through the top-side poly-
ethylene layer (and through the backside of the adjacent
sheet), and into the fiber-base paper core of the RC paper.
Inherent Stability Differences Between
RC Prints and Fiber-Base Prints
That fiber-base prints are not subject to the types of
light-induced deterioration that afflict RC prints can prob-
ably be accounted for by two principal factors: (1) Barium
sulfate which, unlike titanium dioxide, is not photoreac-
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tive is used as the pigment in the smooth, white baryta
layer coated beneath the emulsion in fiber-base papers.
(2) Fiber-base papers do not contain polyethylene, which,
as mentioned previously, is a plastic long recognized for its
poor stability in the presence of light and UV radiation
(especially when compounded with titanium dioxide).
The thickness of the gelatin baryta layer in fiber-base
papers can accommodate the relatively large amount of
barium sulfate required to achieve a bright and opaque
white coating. Barium sulfate does not, unfortunately, have
a high enough relative reflectance or refractive index to
make it suitable as a pigment in the small quantities per-
mitted by the very thin emulsion-side polyethylene layer of
RC prints. Of available white pigments, only titanium diox-
ide appears to have the optical properties required for RC
papers. It would, of course, be possible to coat a conven-
tional baryta layer on an RC base paper prior to coating the
light-sensitive emulsion, but to do so would significantly
increase processing, washing, and drying times and thereby
partially negate the principal advantage of RC papers.
There is also evidence that prints made on early Kodak
Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper and Polycontrast Rapid II
RC Paper indeed, possibly all black-and-white RC pa-
pers are unusually sensitive to the effects of atmospheric
pollutants and/or contaminants in storage materials. In an
article published in 1980, Gunter Kolf of Agfa-Gevaert sug-
gested that one of the reasons why silver images on fiber-
base papers appear to be more stable than images on RC
papers is that the baryta layer and absorbent paper base of
fiber-base prints act as a sump which absorbs airborne
pollutants, contaminants from storage materials, and deg-
radation products such as migrating silver ions, thereby
preventing them from becoming concentrated in the emul-
sion layer, adjacent to the silver image grains.
15
With RC
papers, the nonabsorbent polyethylene layer beneath the
emulsion prevents migration of harmful substances away
from the emulsion and silver image, and this, according to
Kolf, can accelerate image discoloration and the formation
of silver mirrors on the emulsion surface.
Kolf also stated that image silver accelerates the dete-
rioration of the polyethylene layers in Agfa RC papers and
that the cracking defect had not been observed in Agfa-
color RC prints (this author recently examined a cracked
Agfacolor RC print from the mid-1980s). This author has
had little firsthand experience with early Agfa RC papers;
but in Kodak RC papers from the 1970s, this author has
encountered far more cracked color prints than cracked
black-and-white prints. These differences possibly could
be accounted for by differences in the formulations of Kodak
and Agfa RC papers from that era.
Kolfs article was published primarily as a defense by
Agfa-Gevaert against a vehement attack on virtually every
aspect of RC papers by a group of fine art photographers
led by the French photographer and gallery owner Jean
Dieuzaide. In a document published by Dieuzaide in 1977
entitled Appeal for the Preservation of Genuine Photographic
Paper Which is Threatened by the Cessation of Production,
it was claimed, among other things, that the silver content
of papers had been reduced and that [RC] papers are of
low quality, and tests have proved beyond question that
the images fade in 15 years at the latest. It was also
stated that damage through flaking [RC cracking] is un-
avoidable; well-printed reproductions are virtually impos-
sible since the gradations and black tones are insufficient;
and [RC papers] are unpleasant to the touch.
16
During 1977, Dieuzaide and other concerned European
photographers collected thousands of signatures on peti-
tions urging the major photographic manufacturers not to
discontinue fiber-base papers. The group held two sum-
mit conferences in France with representatives of East-
man Kodak, Agfa-Gevaert, Ilford, and the French manufac-
turer R. Guilleminot Boespflug & Cie to discuss the situa-
tion. The eventual outcome of Dieuzaides efforts and a
concurrent campaign in the U.S. led by David Vestal and
Arthur Goldsmith of Popular Photography magazine to
prevent the demise of quality fiber-base papers will be
discussed later.
While disputing nearly all of the practical and aesthetic
criticisms of RC papers made by Dieuzaide, Kolf did ac-
knowledge that Agfa black-and-white RC papers (and by
implication, the RC papers of other manufacturers as well)
were less stable than their fiber-base counterparts, both in
terms of the permanence of the silver image and the stabil-
ity of the RC base paper itself. Saying that more research
was needed to find ways of retarding or stopping the light-
induced deterioration of polyethylene, Kolf suggested that
. . . plastics other than polyethylene should be sought
which while possessing the positive virtues of polyethylene
exhibit fewer detrimental aging characteristics. So long as
this work remains uncompleted, responsible manufactur-
ers will continue to market a broad range of black-and-
white baryta papers.
Kodaks Current Position on
RC Papers versus Fiber-Base Papers
In Larry Feldman's previously mentioned article, he de-
scribed the mechanisms of silver-image deterioration in
RC and fiber-base prints and emphasized the damaging
effects caused to silver images by peroxides and other oxi-
dants from external sources such as oil-base paint fumes.
Many readers of the Feldman article have been left with
the impression that attack by external oxidants is the pri-
mary, if not the only, cause of image deterioration of cor-
rectly processed and washed RC prints.
Probably because of legal and marketing considerations
at Kodak, Feldmans article made every effort to minimize
the often large differences in image and support stability
that have been observed in Kodak RC papers and Kodak
fiber-base papers marketed in the 1970s (Feldmans ar-
ticle was first presented as a paper at an SPSE conference
in 1980); and he did not address the topic of light-induced
image discoloration of framed RC prints caused by reac-
tions involving titanium dioxide and/or polyethylene deg-
radation. (In the years since the Feldman presentation,
Kodak has remained silent on this subject.) Feldman, how-
ever, in a carefully worded paragraph near the end of the
article, did allude to the possibility of internally caused
oxidation of RC images:
In particular, black-and-white prints on resin-
coated paper base that may be subjected to
intense or extended illumination, exposed to
oxidizing gases, or framed under glass or plas-
tic should be considered for treatment with toners
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to extend image life. The toning of prints on
fiber-base papers is likewise recommended for
those applications requiring long-term keeping
under adverse storage or display conditions.
17
In a masterful attempt to further obfuscate the real cause
of image deterioration in early Kodak black-and-white RC
prints, the company included the following statement in its
1985 book Conservation of Photographs :
Displayed black-and-white photographic prints
on early versions of RC paper base, that were
subjected to active oxidants at low concentra-
tion could, over a period of time, develop colloi-
dal silver spots. This phenomenon can also
occur on fiber-based papers. For some time,
Kodak black-and-white papers on RC paper base
have incorporated a stabilizer in the paper stock
which prolongs the life of prints under display
conditions. Nonetheless, treatment with ton-
ers is recommended to further extend the life
of all black-and-white photographic prints.
18
The Kodak book carefully avoided mention of the fact
that the source of active oxidants in displayed prints
made on early versions of Kodak RC papers most likely was
the RC paper base itself. Especially in light of the admis-
sion that This phenomenon can also occur on fiber-based
papers, the statement can only be viewed as an attempt to
divert the reader from the reality of the very large stability
differences between Kodak fiber-base and RC prints from
the early 1970s.
Conservation of Photographs also contained a similar,
intentionally vague discussion of emulsion cracking or
mosaic cracking of Kodak fiber-base and RC color prints.
According to Kodak, This effect may occur on either fiber-
base or RC prints under adverse display and/or storage
conditions.
19
Examples of cracked fiber-base and RC color
prints are shown; judging from the amount of fading that
has taken place and the nature of the cracks, the RC print
appears to date from the early 1970s. The reader is given
the impression that Kodak RC and fiber-base papers from
this era did not differ appreciably in their tendency to de-
velop cracks. This notion is obviously incorrect; examina-
tion of many Kodak RC and fiber-base prints from the 1960s
and 1970s leaves no doubt that the RC prints have a far
higher incidence of cracking.
Treating Prints with a Protective Toner
to Help Prevent Image Oxidation
and Discoloration
Feldmans article suggested treating RC prints (and fi-
ber-base prints) with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, Kodak
Poly-Toner, or Kodak Sepia Toner to increase their resis-
tance to image discoloration. When a print is treated with
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, for example, selenium metal
present in the toner solution in the form of sodium se-
lenite combines with the outer layer of the silver image
grains to form silver selenide, a compound that is much
more resistant to oxidation than is normal, unprotected
image silver (see section below on new research on the
protection afforded by various toners).
Feldmans advice to treat RC prints with a suitable toner
(which could also be viewed as a legal disclaimer to help
protect Kodak against possible lawsuits related to the very
poor stability of its early black-and-white RC papers) soon
appeared in Kodak RC paper product-information sheets,
accompanied by the added recommendation: Toned fiber-
base papers continue to be recommended for those appli-
cations requiring long-term keeping under adverse stor-
age or display conditions.
20
More recently Kodak has
toned down its warnings; for example, the information sheets
packaged with Kodak Polyprint RC Paper and Kodak
Polycontrast III RC Paper now say only:
Print Storage and Display: You can use Kodak
packaged toners to extend the life of prints which
may be exposed to oxidizing gases or subjected
to adverse display or storage conditions. Kodak
Rapid Selenium Toner, used diluted 1:20 for 3
minutes at 70F (21C), provides protection with-
out changing the image color.
21
The advice to use fiber-base papers for applications in-
volving adverse storage or display conditions has now
been eliminated on at least some information sheets for
Kodak black-and-white RC papers.
It is this authors observation that it is virtually unheard
of for a photographer to treat RC prints with a protective
toner (or an image-protective solution such as Agfa Sistan
or Fuji Ag-Guard). RC papers are chosen for their conve-
nience and speed of processing, washing, and drying. Treat-
ment with a toner requires an additional processing step
along with an added wash, neither of which can be accom-
modated by automatic RC print-processing machines such
as the Kodak Polymax processor or the Ilford 2150 or 2240
processors. Most photographers who are interested in
permanence and who might be willing to spend the time
required for these additional processing steps do not
use RC papers in the first place.
Because of this, museums or archives should assume
that black-and-white RC prints have not been treated with
a protective toner solution, unless specific information to
the contrary is available. In addition, it generally is diffi-
cult or impossible to identify the type and date of manufac-
ture of an RC print, particularly if it has been mounted and
the backside is not available for examination.
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner and
Poly-Toner Are Currently Recommended
for Both RC and Fiber-Base Prints
For many years it was generally accepted that treat-
ment of silver images with selenium, sulfiding, or gold ton-
ers offered substantial protection against peroxides, nitro-
gen oxides, ozone, and other oxidizing substances that fre-
quently are present in polluted air and that may be evolved
from particle board, plywood, wood, paints and varnishes,
many types of plastics, poor-quality cardboard and paper,
and a long list of other materials.
Selenium toner had been used for decades by the late
photographer Ansel Adams to protect and intensify the
images of his carefully made prints. This author has long
been a vocal advocate of the use of selenium toner, espe-
cially for prints. Most contemporary fine art photogra-
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2
phers now routinely treat their black-and-white prints with
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner. In the early 1980s Kodak
published a series of articles that demonstrated its effec-
tiveness and advocated its use for both prints and films.
22
(The prohibitive cost of gold chloride, the key ingredient
in gold toners, had long since rendered them little more
than a laboratory curiosity sometimes used as a bench-
mark with which to compare the image protection afforded
by other types of toners.)
In 1988, James M. Reilly and his co-workers at the Im-
age Permanence Institute in Rochester, New York reported
that Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner afforded relatively little
protection against oxidation to the extremely fine grain
silver images of microfilms. Sulfiding toners were recom-
mended instead.
23
As explained in a 172-page report on
their studies released in 1991:
24
Using a criterion of rigorous hydrogen per-
oxide testing, only gold and polysulfide treat-
ment proved effective enough. Selenium, often
recommended, does not protect the low den-
sity areas of microfilm. The evidence we have
suggests that selenium does not convert the
low density areas to silver selenide as readily
as middle and high density areas. While the
reason for this is not clear, it is a fact, and rules
out selenium as a microfilm treatment, though
it may function well with photographic papers.
Gold and polysulfide protect all density levels;
gold, however, is impractical because of its cost
and the possible toxicity of the thiourea con-
stituent of the most effective gold treatment
formulas. Polysulfide seemed the most practi-
cal and effective choice.
For treating both RC and fiber-base papers, this author
continues to recommend Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner (to
simplify treatment of fiber-base papers, the toner can be
mixed directly with Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent). If a greater
degree of image protection is desired, Kodak Poly-Toner in
a 1:10 dilution for about 2 minutes at room temperature is
recommended. This gives a pleasing, near-neutral tone
and a noticeable amount of image intensification with many
current papers. Use of Poly-Toner with fiber-base papers
requires a subsequent treatment with Kodak Hypo Clear-
ing Agent (followed with Kodak Liquid Hardener if emul-
sion frilling proves to be a problem while the prints are
wet), and a 30-minute wash. For RC papers, a 5-minute
wash following toning should be adequate.
Kodak may modify Rapid Selenium Toner to improve
the image protection it offers. A combination of Rapid
Selenium Toner and Kodak Poly-Toner (which contains
both selenium and potassium sulfide) might prove adequate.
Valuable Black-and-White RC Prints
Should Not Be Displayed
It must be emphasized that very little information has
been made public about the specific long-term stability
characteristics of current and past black-and-white RC pa-
pers supplied by Kodak, Ilford, Agfa-Gevaert, and the other
major manufacturers. Essentially nothing is available on
the properties of black-and-white RC papers produced by
the many smaller manufacturers in the field. At present it
is not possible to suggest safe illumination conditions,
display times, or even the best framing methods for any
Kodak black-and-white RC prints, let alone for the RC pa-
pers made by other manufacturers. For these reasons, it
is recommended that valuable black-and-white RC prints
not be displayed; instead, copy prints should be made for
exhibition purposes. Black-and-white RC prints known to
date from the 1970s should never be displayed, even for
short periods.
Kodaks Early Claims Concerning RC Paper
When RC papers entered the market in the 1960's, they
were a distinctly new type of photographic material. As
with Polaroid SX-70 prints and some other color products,
black-and-white RC prints exhibited entirely new types of
image and base deterioration; the peculiar light-induced
base cracking and garish image discoloration that soon
occurred with RC prints had never been observed with
fiber-base prints in the many years that they had been in
use. Judging from early Kodak pronouncements about its
black-and-white RC papers, the company itself was not fully
aware of the stability limitations of the papers prior to
introducing them to the market:
Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper me-
dium weight is the newest paper in the line.
This new resin-coated paper, in either F or N
surface, has many important advantages. It
fixes in two minutes and washes in 4 to save
you a lot of processing time. RC papers in F
surface provide a high-gloss surface without
ferrotyping. Prints lie flat, remain flexible and
have long life. . . . Try this new product that
offers you so much today.
25
Samples of original type Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC
Paper introduced in 1972 undergoing light-exposure tests
in this authors temperature- and humidity-controlled high-
intensity 21.5 klux fluorescent test unit. When this pic-
ture was taken, the tests had been in progress for 6 years
and significant light-induced image discoloration and sil-
ver microspot formation had occurred. Under normal
display conditions, a similar degree of image discolora-
tion can occur after far less light exposure, indicating that
there is a very large reciprocity failure in accelerated
light-exposure testing of black-and-white RC papers.
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fluctuations in relative humidity.
Paper print materials in general have historically been
rather neglected by ANSI; in the case of RC papers, the
photographic industry well aware of the stability short-
comings of these materials has in the past been quite
content to leave it that way. In 1980, however, a new ANSI
subcommittee was established to develop a test standard
for RC and fiber-base papers (this author has been a mem-
ber of this subcommittee since it began). The meaningful
evaluation of black-and-white RC papers using short-term,
accelerated tests presents some formidable problems, but
it appears that the new standard may be ready for publica-
tion in 1993 or 1994.
RC Papers Are Not All Alike
The reader should be aware that the information Kodak
has supplied on the stability of its black-and-white RC pa-
pers incomplete as it is cannot be assumed to apply to
RC papers made by Ilford, Agfa-Gevaert, Oriental, Mitsubishi,
or other manufacturers (none of whom have published mean-
ingful information on the stability of their respective RC
papers). In recent years, some writers in the photographic
press,
29
and even some people in the conservation field,
30
have tended to lump all black-and-white RC papers to-
gether and to assume that whatever claims Eastman Kodak
has made about the stability of its RC papers apply to all
RC papers, regardless of the manufacturer. Even the in-
formation about a particular Kodak RC product may not
apply to other RC papers made by Kodak.
Unlike fiber-base black-and-white papers, the basic de-
sign of RC papers renders them inherently unstable when
exposed to light on display. Once the serious stability
problems of RC papers had manifested themselves in the
early 1970s, and the mechanisms of image and base dete-
rioration were beginning to be understood, the manufac-
turers made various modifications to the formulations of
their RC papers in an attempt to increase their stability.
Antioxidants, stabilizers, peroxide scavengers, and other
protective substances were incorporated into the RC sup-
port material and, apparently, into the emulsion layer it-
self in an attempt to protect the silver image. These were
measures that never had to be considered in the manufac-
ture of black-and-white fiber-base papers.
As a result, modern RC papers have evolved into com-
plex products made with proprietary formulations and manu-
facturing techniques which vary from one manufacturer to
the next; for example, the system of incorporating polyeth-
ylene stabilizers into the porous paper core of Kodak RC
papers (after manufacture, the stabilizers gradually mi-
grate into the polyethylene layers) is covered by a patent
granted to Kodak in 1974 (U.S. patents expire after 17 years).
In another, earlier modification, Kodak changed the type of
titanium dioxide in its RC papers to a less-reactive form of
the pigment Kodak has declined to reveal exactly when
this improvement was made in its products.
Kodak also has refused to say exactly when the stabi-
lizer in the paper core improvement was applied to its
black-and-white papers; however, this author believes that
this new technology appeared around the end of 1978, con-
current with the introduction of Kodaks type II devel-
oper-incorporated black-and-white RC papers (e.g., Poly-
The above quote is from Kodak Photographic Papers for
the Professional, Kodak Publication P4-73 (October 1972).
The big saving in processing time for water-
resistant [RC] papers occurs in the washing
step. Instead of the minimum of an hour wash
for conventional papers . . . a 4-minute wash
time is recommended, in which time prints
attain optimum stability.
26
Faster and Better B/W Print Processing
Kodak Publication G-6 (July 1976)
In the early 1970s, all of this seemed like a panacea to
many photographers. To be able to wash an RC print for
only 4 minutes and obtain a lower level of residual thiosul-
fate than could be achieved in a fiber-base print after even
2 hours of washing seemed wonderful. And RC prints could
be dried with a perfect gloss in a minute or less. After
drying, RC prints stayed flat. With machine processing,
RC prints could be completely processed, washed, and dried
in less than 60 seconds, and the result, most photographers
were led to believe, was a permanent print. It seemed too
good to be true. And, as the unfortunate fate of many of
these early black-and-white RC prints now clearly shows,
too good to be true it was.
Evaluating the Stability Characteristics
of Current Black-and-White RC Papers
No generally accepted accelerated tests have yet been
devised to determine the stability properties of RC papers,
and many questions remain unanswered about the tests
used to assess the stability of RC base paper. Kodak has
revealed only the barest details of how it evaluates the
light-induced image deterioration characteristics of these
papers.
27
Agfa-Gevaert, Oriental, Mitsubishi, Fuji, and Il-
ford
28
have disclosed little about their respective test methods,
and comprehensive, comparative stability-test data from
independent laboratories are not available.
As discussed previously, the light-induced discoloration
of framed RC prints is difficult to simulate in accelerated
aging tests in a way that can be extrapolated to normal
display conditions. There also is evidence that image dis-
coloration may in some instances first manifest itself in
the dark after a print has been returned to storage follow-
ing exposure to light on display. Likewise, if deterioration
is already visually apparent in a displayed print, it may
worsen in dark storage.
No ANSI standards currently exist either for the char-
acteristics of the RC support material itself or for test
methods to predict the useful life of the support and/or
image in common conditions of display or storage. The
current ANSI standards related to the stability of silver
images on films do not include any tests which can be used
to evaluate the four principal aspects of RC print deterio-
ration: (1) susceptibility of the silver image of framed and
displayed prints to fading and discoloration caused by oxi-
dants from internal sources; (2) susceptibility of the silver
image to fading and discoloration caused by airborne pol-
lutants, harmful substances in mounting and storage ma-
terials, and other external sources; (3) light-caused crack-
ing and other deterioration of the print support material;
and (4) print cracking caused or contributed to by
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contrast Rapid II RC Paper and Kodabrome II RC Paper).
Because light-induced RC base degradation and image dis-
coloration appear to be caused by the same oxidative reac-
tions, it had been hoped that prints made on these and
subsequent Kodak RC papers could tolerate longer display
periods than earlier Kodak RC papers before image discol-
oration became evident. Unfortunately, a number of prints
made in 1983 by this author and Carol Brower with Poly-
contrast Rapid II RC Paper began to exhibit image discol-
oration after only a few years of display the resistance of
these prints to light-induced discoloration appears not much
better than that of the initial 1972 version of Polycontrast
Rapid RC Paper.
Black-and-white RC papers sold by the many current
suppliers of these materials are certain to have different
stability characteristics; the differences between RC pa-
pers of various manufacturers likely are much greater than
stability differences found among fiber-base papers. Fur-
ther complicating the matter is the common industry
practice of purchasing RC base paper from outside suppli-
ers,
31
with the photographic manufacturer doing only the
emulsion coating and packaging of the finished product.
The source of RC base paper may change in time, and a
plant in Europe, for example, may use a different supplier
for RC base paper than the same companys factory in
Japan.
This author has seen a number of truly dreadful black-
and-white RC papers; among them is Forte RC paper manu-
factured by Photochemical Industry VAC in Hungary. In
the course of normal handling and flexing, some samples
of the Forte paper exhibited cracking of the backside poly-
ethylene layer immediately after processing and the
prints had not even been displayed! This Forte paper also
suffered from extreme edge-penetration and retention of
developer and fixer in the course of processing.
It has been reported that thiosulfate and other chemi-
cals retained in the absorbent paper core at the edges of a
black-and-white RC print can produce localized image de-
terioration of an adjacent print when the edge of the print
is in contact with the image area of another print during
prolonged storage, especially under humid conditions.
32
To a greater or lesser extent, all RC papers are subject to
edge-penetration during processing. How much danger
this problem poses in normal, long-term storage is not yet
known; the degree of edge-penetration varies among dif-
ferent brands of RC paper. Storing black-and-white RC
prints in individual polyester sleeves, or trimming the outer
1
8 inch of all four edges of RC prints, will eliminate the
possibility of this type of damage.
The Problem of Veiling of the Blacks
in RC Prints: The Influence of Drying Method
on the Appearance of RC Prints
A frequent and often vociferous complaint about black-
and-white RC papers has been that after the prints are air-
dried at room temperature, or after they are dried with a
home-type electric hair dryer (the most common drying
method employed by amateur darkroom workers), the
blacks and other high-density portions of the image exhibit
a disconcerting veiling of the image, and have a grainy
metallic surface sheen.
This image defect is sometimes called blooming, sur-
face backscatter, or haze, and is especially noticeable
on glossy RC papers. The dried prints have a distinctly
degraded appearance compared with how they looked when
wet during fixing and washing the deep blacks are sim-
ply no longer really deep blacks. The effect is especially
acute when a print is viewed at an angle with specular light
reflected off the emulsion surface. This visual defect is
peculiar to black-and-white RC papers and, in this authors
experience, does not occur in any significant way in fiber-
base papers. Surprisingly, it also does not occur in color
RC papers. (Although the surface gloss properties of color
RC papers vary depending on how the prints are dried,
with a higher dryer temperature usually producing a higher
gloss or sheen, the image quality itself is little affected.)
When black-and-white RC papers are dried with an Il-
ford 1050 RC print dryer
33
a patented motorized dryer
that employs powerful infrared heating elements placed
both above and below the print, with a blower to force
unheated, room-temperature air over the hot print sur-
faces to carry evaporating moisture away as the print passes
between the heating elements the degradation or veil-
ing of the blacks in all brands of glossy RC papers is mi-
raculously eliminated. (In 1990, the Ilford 1050 dryer was
replaced with the Ilford 1250 dryer, an improved, variable-
speed version of the 1050 model; all of the comments con-
cerning the 1050 print dryer that follow are equally appli-
cable to the 1250 print dryer.)
Infrared dryers function differently from conventional
hot-air dryers in that in an infrared dryer, infrared radia-
tion absorbed by a print heats it to a higher temperature
than the surrounding cooler and comparatively humid air.
A hot-air dryer, on the other hand, heats the air passing
over a moist print to a significantly higher temperature
than that reached by the print itself; the hot air has a very
low relative humidity.
The Ilford 1250 RC print dryer, which costs about $1,990,
squeegees and dries an 8x10-inch print in about 10 sec-
onds. With a capability of drying two 8x10-inch prints at a
time, according to Ilford, this machine can dry about 500
8x10-inch prints an hour. Both the automatic Ilford 2240
print processor ($13,545) and the table-top Ilford 2150 RC
print processor ($7,695), which are high-speed machines
for processing all types of Ilford, Kodak, and other black-
and-white RC prints, have built-in infrared dryers and give
the same excellent results as the Ilford 1250 RC print dryer.
Why the Images of Most RC Papers Are
Affected by the Manner of Drying, and Why
Fiber-Base Prints Are Not
Exactly why black-and-white RC papers exhibit the veil-
ing problem, and fiber-base papers do not, has not been
fully explained. Peter Krause, a former president of Ilford
and a leading authority on photographic technology, specu-
lated that several factors may be involved:
34
The very thin gelatin emulsion and surface coat of black-
and-white RC papers contain latexes and other gelatin
additives to impart flexibility and to reduce the ten-
dency to curl in low-humidity environments. These ad-
ditives cause the emulsion to have very different sur-
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Wet RC prints being fed into an Ilford 1050 infrared RC
print dryer (the 1050 dryer was replaced with the im-
proved 1250 dryer in 1990). Drying black-and-white RC
prints at room temperature, or with conventional hot-air
dryers such as found in the now-obsolete Kodak Royal-
print and Dektomatic RC print processors, results in de-
graded, veiled blacks (in this authors tests, the only
exceptions to this are the Oriental New Seagull RP [RC]
papers, introduced in 198889, which give good results
regardless of how they are dried).
In the Ilford 1050 and 1250 RC dryers, electrically heated
infrared tubes are placed above and below the print-
drying zone. Infrared radiation rapidly heats the print
emulsion, and fan-forced, room-temperature air carries
the moisture off. In terms of image and surface quality,
infrared drying appears to be the only satisfactory way to
dry most current RC papers. Infrared dryers similar to
the Ilford 1250 are employed in the Ilford 2240 and 2150
RC print processors. The Kodak Polymax IR print pro-
cessor introduced in 1991 also features an infrared dryer.
face characteristics when rapidly dried under high heat
than when slowly air-dried at normal room-tempera-
ture conditions.
Fluorescent brighteners incorporated in a thin coating
between the emulsion layer and the RC base tend to
migrate to the surface of the emulsion during process-
ing, washing, and drying. (With fiber-base papers, bright-
eners can be incorporated into both the paper base and
baryta layer because barium sulfate, the white pigment
used in place of titanium dioxide in fiber-base papers,
is a substance that does not strongly absorb UV radia-
tion and thus allows the brighteners to fluoresce.) The
presence of even small amounts of a brightener in the
image portion of the emulsion or gelatin surface coat
can significantly degrade the appearance of the blacks.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, rapid drying of
RC papers apparently allows less brightener to migrate
to the surface than when prints dry more slowly.
The extruded polyethylene surface of RC base paper
has a slightly rough, or toothed, texture, and this
microscopic surface irregularity is imparted to the thin
gelatin emulsion and surface coat of the print. High-
heat infrared drying melts the moist gelatin the mo-
ment before drying is completed, leaving it with a
smoother, higher-gloss surface. This results in less
light-scattering by the silver image, and thereby in-
creases the apparent density.
Krause said that the paper manufacturers have made
improvements in black-and-white RC papers in recent years
and that the veiling problem has been reduced. At one
time people just refused to use RC papers because they
had such a very strong blooming you really couldnt get
a decent black.
34
Experiments with Different Methods
of Drying RC Prints
This author tried several different drying techniques
with glossy (F surface), developer-incorporated papers in-
cluding Kodak Polycontrast Rapid II RC Paper, Polycon-
trast III RC Paper, Ilford Ilfospeed Multigrade II RC Paper,
Ilford Multigrade III RC Rapid Paper, and Agfa Multicon-
trast High Speed RC Paper. Conventional-emulsion (non-
developer-incorporated) papers included Kodak Polyprint
RC Paper (Kodak Polymax RC Paper, introduced in 1992,
was not available at the time these tests were conducted),
Ilford Multigrade III RC Deluxe Paper, Oriental New Sea-
gull RP Paper, and New Seagull Select VC-RP Paper.
Included in the tests were air-drying at room tempera-
ture after careful squeegeeing to remove surface water;
drying with a hand-held Gillette Promax 1200-watt hair
dryer (this unit cost about $35 and is similar to the hair
dryers found in many homes and darkrooms); and drying
with an Ilford 1050 RC print dryer ($1,995), which is the
predecessor of the Ilford 1250 print dryer. Samples of
Polycontrast Rapid II RC prints processed and dried in a
Kodak Royalprint Processor Model 417 (discontinued in
1991, the unit last sold for $14,800) and in an Ilford 2240
print processor ($13,545) were also obtained. In addition,
Ilford Multigrade II RC prints dried with an Arkay RC-1100
dryer ($800) were examined.
A careful appraisal of image quality and surface charac-
teristics of the prints led to the following conclusions:
1. With the exception of the Oriental New Seagull RP [RC]
papers introduced in 198889, air-drying at room tem-
perature (without a fan) produced the worst image quality
of all the drying methods. The blacks were significantly
degraded, and the surface gloss was somewhat sub-
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dued (the reduction in surface gloss was quite pronounced
with the earlier Kodak Polycontrast Rapid II RC Pa-
per). Prints fixed in Kodak Rapid Fixer with the hard-
ener added appeared slightly worse than those fixed
without the hardener. With the exception of the Orien-
tal New Seagull RP [RC] papers, this author considered
all of these prints to be visually unacceptable. With
respect to the veiling of the blacks and surface gloss
characteristics, treating the prints with Kodak Rapid
Selenium Toner as part of processing made no obvious
difference in the appearance of the prints after drying.
2. Prints dried with the hair dryer (switched to the high-
est heat level) were hardly better than the prints dried
at room temperature; with the exception of the Oriental
New Seagull RP [RC] papers, all the papers were deemed
visually unacceptable.
3. The Ilford 1050 dryer (replaced by the improved Ilford
1250 dryer in 1990) produced results that were far supe-
rior to the above methods on all papers. The blacks
appeared to have no veiling whatever, and the surface
gloss was very good. While the surface finish of the
Oriental New Seagull RP [RC] papers was judged to be
best when dried with the Ilford 1050 dryer, the improve-
ment was surprisingly small when compared with Seagull
RC prints air-dried at room temperature or with a hair
dryer.
4. Prints processed and dried with an Ilford 2240 proces-
sor appeared identical to those dried with the Ilford
1050 dryer.
5. The Kodak Royalprint Processor Model 417 produced
much better results than drying at room temperature
or with an electric hair dryer, but the prints still exhib-
ited some veiling and for this reason were not as good
as those processed with the Ilford 1050 dryer or Ilford
2240 processor.
6. With glossy Ilford Multigrade II Paper, the Arkay RC-
1100 dryer gave results similar to the Kodak Royal-
print Processor much better than room-temperature
drying but not as good as results obtained with the
Ilford units. The surface quality of pearl-surface Multi-
grade II Paper dried with the Arkay RC-1100 dryer was
judged significantly inferior to the quality obtained with
an Ilford 1050 dryer.
7. Regardless of how a print was originally dried, it could
be re-wet and dried with an Ilford 1050 dryer to obtain
the same excellent print quality of a print dried imme-
diately after processing and washing. Conversely, prints
dried with an Ilford 1050 dryer, Kodak Royalprint Pro-
cessor, or an Ilford 2240 processor and then re-wet and
slowly dried at room temperature had the identical de-
graded appearance of prints originally dried at room
temperature.
This author has been unable to find any published ac-
count of the results of different methods of drying RC prints.
Given the great differences obtained with different drying
methods, this omission in the photographic press is re-
markable. Surprisingly, Oriental has not promoted the
superior drying characteristics of its RC papers, nor has
the company revealed how it managed to solve the veiling
problem with prints air-dried at room temperature.
Kodak, Ilford, and Agfa appear to have avoided discus-
sion of this aspect of RC papers for fear that the many
photographers who cannot afford to purchase a $2,000 print
dryer might become discontented with RC papers. Ilford
advertising literature says only that its infrared drying equip-
ment produces the best gloss in the industry. Kodak
avoided the issue completely until 1991, when the company
introduced the Polymax IR Processor as a replacement for
its Dektomatic Processor. According to Kodak, The
[Polymax] processor is equipped with an infrared dryer
that provides higher surface gloss than normal air dryers.
Priced at $7,950, this is the first Kodak RC paper processor
to use an infrared dryer (apparently licensed from Ilford).
In a conversation with this author, however, Barry Sinclair,
Ilfords national marketing manager for monochrome prod-
ucts and systems, said that despite improvements in RC
papers during the past few years, Infrared drying, quite
frankly, is still the only way to get a decent gloss.
35
(It
may interest the reader that Ilford, an old-line British firm
that had its beginnings in 1879, was purchased in 1989 by
International Paper Company, a $10 billion American com-
pany based in Purchase, New York. Prior to being pur-
chased by International Paper Company, Ilford was owned
by Ciba-Geigy, a giant chemical and pharmaceutical firm
headquartered in Switzerland.)
Discussing the matter with this author in 1987, Popular
Photography magazine writer Bob Schwalberg noted that
few home darkroom enthusiasts have access to an expen-
sive infrared RC print dryer and, as a result, are simply
unable to make top-quality prints on RC papers because of
the veiling of the blacks. Most of them are confused and
discouraged by this and wonder if they are doing some-
thing wrong. Schwalberg said, They really dont know
what their problem is their prints just dont look as good
as they did with fiber-base papers.
36
The Oriental New Seagull RP [RC] papers are likely to
have great appeal to amateur photographers working in
home darkrooms, and who generally do not have expensive
infrared print dryers such as the Ilford 1250. These pho-
tographers must either air-dry prints or use a hand-held
hair dryer to speed the process. The new Oriental RC
papers for the first time allow these individuals to produce
glossy RC prints with image quality that approaches that of
glossy fiber-base papers.
Potential image and RC-base stability problems remain,
however, and this author continues to recommend fiber-
base papers for fine art prints and for all photographs of
potential historical importance.
Kodak Black-and-White RC Papers,
Especially Kodak Polyprint RC Paper,
Are Currently Recommended
Since 1974, and perhaps earlier, Kodak has been acutely
aware of the stability problems of black-and-white RC pa-
pers and apparently has devoted considerable effort to-
ward minimizing them. Kodak has also published some
meaningful technical information on the properties of its
RC papers and in recent years has made an apparently
sincere, if low-key, effort to inform photographers of the
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benefits afforded to displayed RC prints by protective ton-
ers. The other manufacturers have provided consumers
with little or no meaningful information about the stability
of their RC papers, and comparative data from indepen-
dent sources are not available.
For these reasons and if RC paper must be used
because of time demands, such as with newspaper photog-
raphy this author currently recommends Kodak black-
and-white RC papers. If, however, as previously discussed,
a photographer does not have access to an Ilford 1250 RC
dryer or other expensive RC print processing and drying
equipment and must air-dry prints at room temperature
or use an ordinary hand-held hair dryer the image and
surface quality of Kodak RC papers may prove to be unac-
ceptable. Should this be the case, Oriental New Seagull RP
Paper and Oriental New Seagull Select VC-RP Paper are
the only satisfactory alternatives (of these two Oriental RC
papers, New Seagull RP paper, a graded RC paper, is rec-
ommended because it is made without a potentially stain-
causing incorporated developer).
Included among current Kodak RC papers are:
Polymax RC Paper (conventional emulsion)
Polyprint RC Paper (conventional emulsion)
Polycontrast III RC Paper (developer-incorporated)
Kodabrome II RC Paper (developer-incorporated)
Panalure Select RC Paper (developer-incorporated)
Premier II RC Paper (developer-incorporated)
Kodak Polymax RC Paper and Kodak Polyprint RC Pa-
per are particularly recommended by this author because
the absence of an incorporated developer eliminates a pos-
sible cause of gradual brownish base-paper staining. The
absence of an incorporated developer also allows a greater
degree of control during development than is possible with
Kodak papers such as Polycontrast III RC Paper (all Ko-
dak RC papers with a II or III as part of the name are
manufactured with a developer incorporated in the emul-
sion). Kodak Polymax RC Paper and Polyprint RC Paper
also have a pleasing neutral image tone when tray pro-
cessed with Kodak Dektol or a similar developer.
The preference for Kodak RC papers is based on admit-
tedly scant data and could certainly change if any of the
other manufacturers or an independent laboratory were to
come forward with meaningful comparative test results.
This author has made repeated inquiries to the major manu-
facturers about the stability of their respective products,
examined numerous deteriorated RC prints, studied other
available information closely, and believes that for now, at
least, this is a valid recommendation.
RC Papers Are Preferable to Fiber-Base
Papers for Some Applications
It is recognized that the speed of processing possible
with RC papers makes them indispensable in some appli-
cations. In newspaper photography, for example, tight dead-
lines require the fastest possible processing of prints. This
author recalls the days when he worked as a part-time
high school sports photographer for the now-defunct Wash-
ington Daily News in Washington, D.C. Back then, in the
late 1950s and early 1960s, RC papers had not yet ap-
peared. With fiber-base prints, the general practice at the
Daily News was to cut Kodaks recommended 1-hour wash
time to only a minute or two in a real rush, prints were
sometimes rinsed for just a few seconds in hot water (al-
though available, Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent was never
used because the extra processing step was too much
trouble). The prints were then dunked in a hygroscopic
Pakosol glossing-aid solution which was always heavily
contaminated with fixer from previous, poorly washed prints.
To dry the prints, they were placed on a heated Pako
cloth-belt ferrotyping drum dryer with the temperature turned
up as high as it would go without scorching the prints.
Even if a print happened to become adequately washed
(when it was left in the washer while the sports staff went
out for a late-night hamburger, for example), it would sub-
sequently reabsorb fixer from the stained and fixer-laden
cloth dryer belt when the print was being dried.
In situations like this, RC papers offer a decided advan-
tage, especially with machine processing. The conversion
to RC papers means that photographs in newspaper collec-
tions will for the most part remain in good condition far
longer than they once did. It is suggested, however, that
newspapers, magazines, and in-house commercial photo
labs using RC papers at least have the capability of prop-
erly processing and washing fiber-base prints when the
need arises for a special print, intended for long-term
display or for donation to a museum, for example.
Black-and-White RC Papers Should Be
Avoided by Museums, Archives, and
Fine Art Photographers
In the fine art field, and for prints intended for museum
or archive collections, this author strongly recommends
that all black-and-white RC papers including those made
by Eastman Kodak be strictly avoided. Instead, double-
weight fiber-base papers, treated with a protective toner,
should be selected. This is particularly important in the
fine art field or in other applications where prolonged dis-
play of prints is even a remote possibility. Treatment of
fiber-base papers with an image-protective toner such as
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner or Kodak Poly-Toner is an
essential part of processing if the prints are to last as long
as possible. Recommended high-quality, double-weight fi-
ber-base papers
37
include (in alphabetical order):
Agfa Brovira Paper
Agfa Insignia Fine Art Paper
Agfa Portriga-Rapid Paper
Agfa Record Rapid Paper
Fuji Museum Paper
Ilford Galerie FB Paper
Ilford Multigrade FB Paper
Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper
Kodak Polyfiber Paper
Mitsubishi Gekko Paper
Oriental New Seagull G Paper
Oriental New Seagull Portrait FB Paper
Oriental New Seagull Select VC-FB Paper
Zone VI Brilliant Paper
In 1976, apparently responding to concerns about the
threatened demise of black-and-white fiber-base papers which
had been expressed principally by David Vestal and Arthur
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Goldsmith in a series of articles, editorials, and a poll of
readers views on the subject in Popular Photography,
38
Eastman Kodak said:
Until extensive testing and natural aging data
indicate that prints on resin-coated paper base
can be expected to last as long as prints made
on conventional paper base, black-and-white pho-
tographic paper without a resin coat will be
produced by Eastman Kodak Company for those
customers requiring long-term keeping under
adverse storage or display conditions.
39
The Kodak statement was printed again in 1978 in Ko-
dak B/W Photographic Papers
40
and was also included in
Preservation of Photographs, published in 1979 by Kodak.
41
In the 1985 Kodak book Conservation of Photographs,
the company stated:
Recently there has been concern over the
continued availability of [fiber-base] papers.
Concurrent with the manufacture of black-and-
white RC papers, Kodak supplies a number of
fiber-base products such as Kodak Elite Fine-
Art Paper, Kodak Polyfiber Paper, Kodabromide,
and Ektamatic Papers and will continue to pro-
vide the best products for photographic con-
servation purposes for as long as they are needed.
Fiber-base papers are preferred for aesthetic
reasons among many users of photographic
papers.
42
In their campaign to save fiber-base papers from ex-
tinction, Vestal and Goldsmith were concerned not only
about the stability limitations of RC papers but also
reflecting the feelings of many of the worlds finest photog-
raphers about the decidedly inferior quality of RC pa-
pers versus the best fiber-base papers in terms of surface
qualities, tone-reproduction characteristics, maximum den-
sity, and overall appearance of the image.
For an article published in 1977, Vestal interviewed a
number of well-known photographers to get their views on
the situation.
43
Ansel Adams told Vestal:
David Vestal in the basement darkroom of his home in Bethlehem, Connecticut. In a series of articles in Popular
Photography magazine in the 1970s, Vestal raised serious questions about the stability and image quality of the then-new
black-and-white RC papers. A fine art photographer as well as a writer, Vestal was influential in persuading Agfa, Kodak, and
Ilford not to abandon their black-and-white fiber-base papers (in 1976 Agfa-Gevaert had actually announced that it planned to
discontinue all of its fiber-base papers). Vestals impassioned pleas helped convince Ilford to develop Galerie paper,
introduced in 1978 the first of the new, premium fiber-base papers. Kodak followed with Elite Fine-Art Paper in 1984, and
Agfa introduced Insignia Fine Art Paper in 1988. Other excellent fiber-base papers include Oriental New Seagull G paper,
Oriental New Seagull Select VC-FB paper, and Ilford Multigrade FB paper.
1
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Ansel Adams in the well-equipped darkroom in his home in Carmel, California. Adams was a prolific printer, and with the
help of several assistants, he continued to work up until the time of his death in 1984.
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There is a definite deterioration in photo-
graphic paper. It is partially surface quality
and partially inherent defects. It is heartbreaking
to feel that the manufacturers are cutting down
the availability of papers and apparently lead-
ing toward ubiquitous plastic-coated sheets.
. . . I am preparing a letter to the manufac-
turers very strongly protesting the RC papers,
largely on the basis of impermanence.
Not only does fine creative work require per-
manence, but images of news character auto-
matically become history and should be like-
wise treated archivally.
While my strong feelings about RC papers
were substantiated by the telephoned expres-
sion of opinion by a person very high in the
photographic manufacturing world (not Pola-
roid) [at the time, Adams was serving as a paid
consultant to Polaroid], I think it is very impor-
tant that we be absolutely sure of the perma-
nency factor. It would do our cause no good at
all to find out that we had received bad advice.
W. Eugene Smith said: If they go to the plastic papers,
I think I will give up photography. . . . Im also limping
along with Polycontrast [fiber-base paper]. I can use it,
but I dont like it. The paper is gray, and the surface
doesnt have the brilliance it used to. I can no longer get
the feel of cloth in the prints . . . . About the RC paper: it
turns my stomach and you can quote me on that.
Paul Caponigro wrote:
Until roughly 10 years ago, a photographer
could print on a wide variety of silver papers
with beautiful surfaces and good working char-
acteristics. Since then, the papers have steadily
degenerated. My own experience is that they
are becoming unyielding and difficult to ma-
nipulate.
Each year, more of our remaining decent
papers lose in quality, while others disappear.
Today the situation is desperate. A bare mini-
mum of usable papers remains. For the last
six months I have found myself telephoning all
over the United States and Canada trying to
locate any leftover stocks of good discontinued
papers on photo dealers shelves.
The replacements for the fine silver papers
we have known are of course plastic-coated pa-
pers. Blech! I personally find them affronting:
textureless, scaleless, and lifeless. I am told
they will not even last.
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Bottles of Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner in Adamss dark-
room. This large store of toner concentrate is evidence
of the volume of his print production.
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Beauty is an important part of expression
and communication. I think it a great pity to
lose it, and a sad commentary on the producers
of photographic papers that mediocrity and com-
modity should take precedence over excellence.
At the conclusion of his interview article, Vestal asked
the readers of Popular Photography, What do you think? I
hope to hear from you, and I hope the photo industry hears
from you in no uncertain terms.
Ilford Introduces Galerie Paper
The following year, 1978, Ilford introduced Ilfobrom Galerie
Paper (now called Ilford Galerie FB Paper), the first of a
new generation of expensive, silver-rich fiber-base pa-
pers intended for those specialized markets for which the
best visual quality and longest-lasting black-and-white
prints are more important than convenience and price.
The paper is supplied in only two surfaces and only on
double-weight paper base.
Ilfords decision to develop and market Galerie paper
came in direct response to the campaign by David Vestal
in the U.S. and Jean Dieuzaide in Europe to prevent the
demise of quality, high-silver-content fiber-base papers.
Under the direction of Jacques Regent, Ilfords assis-
tant product manager for monochrome products and sys-
tems, work on Galerie began soon after the summit con-
ference between Dieuzaide and his supporters and repre-
sentatives of the photographic manufacturers in the sum-
mer of 1977 at the international fine art photography con-
ference in Arles, France.
44
Regent had attended a number
of the annual Arles gatherings and had become aware first-
hand of the sensitivities and expectations of fine art pho-
tographers. Prototypes of Galerie were demonstrated with
rave reviews at Arles the following year, and the new paper
was formally introduced at the Photokina trade show in
Germany in September 1978.
Galerie soon became one of the favorite papers of Ansel
Adams, who said: This is a paper of very high quality
which I use extensively. . . . It tones differently from any
other paper I have used. Most papers intensify somewhat
[in Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner], but Galerie does so to a
greater extent, and without the marked color change that
occurs with other papers. This ability to acquire some
intensification during toning is a rewarding refinement of
value control.
45
In response to the renewed demand for high-quality
fiber-base papers, Agfa-Gevaert which in 1976 had actu-
ally announced plans to discontinue all of its fiber-base
papers took steps to correct the poor quality-control
that for some years had plagued its popular Brovira and
Portriga Rapid fiber-base papers and devoted more effort
to marketing these products.
During this period, Oriental New Seagull G Paper, ad-
vertised by its Japanese manufacturer as the Worlds Fin-
est Baryta Paper for Exhibition Prints, also became popu-
lar with many fine art photographers. Brett Weston, whose
work has been featured in advertisements for Oriental,
said, Quite simply, the best paper Ive ever used. Ansel
Adams stated: This paper has had exceptional quality and
consistency. It tones very well in selenium. . . . I have
Adams popularized the use of Kodak Rapid Selenium
Toner to intensify the blacks and darker tones of fine art
prints while at same time affording significant protection
to the silver image from the damaging effects of air pol-
lutants and other contaminants, thereby giving the prints
added permanence.
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found that Seagull Grade 4 gives me a better print of my
Frozen Lake and Cliffs than I was able to get on Agfa
Brovira Grade 6, and the tone is magnificent.
46
Zone VI Studios, a small mail-order company in Ver-
mont run by Fred Picker, a photographer and workshop
teacher, has been importing a premium-quality, double-
weight fiber-base paper made by the French firm of R.
Guilleminot Boespflug & Cie; the paper is sold under the
Zone VI Brilliant name.
47
With Well-Known Photographers Abandoning
Its Fiber-Base Papers, Kodak Finally
Becomes Concerned
During the 1970s, Eastman Kodak had concentrated its
efforts in the expanding black-and-white RC and color RC
paper markets, and by 1980 found itself in the rather em-
barrassing position of having the worst fiber-base papers
from an aesthetic point of view of any major photo-
The paper-storage cabinet in the print-finishing room out-
side of Ansel Adamss darkroom. When this photograph
was taken in 1981, Adams was using Ilford, Agfa-Gevaert,
and Oriental papers to make his prints. He had largely
abandoned Kodak papers because of their inferior image
quality. Discussing the merits of various papers with a
visiting photographer is John Sexton, Adamss technical
assistant. Sexton later served as a paid consultant to
Kodak in the development of Elite Fine-Art Paper, and his
photographs appeared in advertisements promoting the
product after its introduction in 1984.
graphic manufacturer in the world. Serious fine art pho-
tographers and top commercial printers had almost en-
tirely deserted Kodak and switched to fiber-base papers
supplied by Ilford, Agfa, and Oriental. For much of its long
history, Kodak had prided itself on producing the best of
everything, and many Kodak employees seemed genu-
inely pained by this unexpected turn of events.
It was against this background that Kodak in late 1983
introduced Polyfiber Paper, an improved version of
Polycontrast fiber-base paper, and, in 1984, Elite Fine-Art
Paper, a premium-quality, premium-priced, graded, sil-
ver-rich fiber-base paper. Kodak hired John Sexton, a
former technical assistant to Ansel Adams and a well-known
photographer in his own right, to give the companys emul-
sion scientists and engineers advice on aesthetic consider-
ations in the design of Elite Paper. Kodak later featured
Sextons photographs in advertisements promoting the new
product. Said Kodak:
Our goal with Elite fine-art paper was simple:
create the best fine-art black-and-white paper
requested by some of the worlds best print-
makers.
Elite fine-art paper had to be so superior
that its very touch stated there was no equal.
So before we went to the lab, we went to users
like you. People who are very serious about
black-and-white photography and have the repu-
tations to go with it. They told us what they
wanted in the ultimate paper. We listened. Now,
more than two years and untold hours of re-
search and refinement later, were ready.
Whites and blacks are nothing short of su-
perb. Images are alive. There is a richness of
image that cannot be described. Its the brightest
paper weve ever made. The emulsion delivers
extraordinary exposure latitude: up to 240 sec-
onds to control development. The extra-thick,
fiber-base paper is a hefty 13.2 mils heavier
than double-weight. That means easier han-
dling, less curl, better mounting.
48
Eastman Kodak also stated: With the recommended
processing, Elite Paper has excellent image stability un-
der normal storage conditions the best of any paper we
have made.
49
Display Illumination Levels for Photographs
Very low illumination levels of about 50 lux have often
been suggested for museum display of light-sensitive ob-
jects such as watercolors, textiles, and color photographs;
suggested illumination levels for more stable materials such
as oil and tempera paintings are about 200 lux.
50
In the
1986 Kodak book Care and Identification of 19th-Century
Photographic Prints, author James Reilly concurs with the
50-lux recommendation for the more light-sensitive types
of 19th-century prints, adding that only incandescent tung-
sten illumination is acceptable.
51
Offering the opinion that photographic prints can be
adequately seen and appreciated when illuminated at the
50-lux level, Reilly recommends 50-lux illumination for
the display of albumen prints as well as all 19th-century
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photographic print materials that have exposed paper fi-
bers on the image side (among these are salted paper prints,
gum bichromate prints, cyanotypes, platinotypes, and car-
bon prints). For 19th-century prints with baryta coatings,
including gelatin printing-out and developing-out papers,
and collodion printing-out papers, Reilly suggests that the
illumination level not exceed 100 lux. Reilly points out,
however, that these illumination levels have not been ex-
perimentally established for each print process, but are
extrapolated from the recommendations for works of art
on paper and from experience with the individual compo-
nents of prints rather than from the photographic materi-
als themselves.
Most museums have light-level specifications to which
they expect borrowing institutions to adhere; the limit of 50
lux of incandescent tungsten light, UV-filtered daylight, or
UV-filtered fluorescent light is commonly specified. En-
forcement of lighting specifications is often rather lax, how-
ever, and it has been observed that some museums rou-
tinely display photographs in lighting levels and environ-
mental conditions which exceed their own lending-policy
recommendations; indeed, some museums and archives
have not even established formal lighting and environmen-
tal guidelines for exhibiting photographs.
Brian Coe who was curator of the Kodak Museum in
Harrow, England before Kodak closed the museum in 1984
and donated its collection to Britains new National Mu-
seum of Photography, Film, and Television in Bradford
has reported that the Kodak Museum once loaned some
vintage Dufaycolour transparencies for a 6-week exhibi-
tion in Cologne, West Germany; by the time they were
returned they had faded severely.
52
Coe said the transpar-
encies were back-illuminated on light boxes equipped with
bright fluorescent lamps.
300 Lux Tungsten Illumination
Is Recommended for Museums,
Archives, and Galleries
This author believes that even under the most favorable
viewing conditions, 50 lux is simply too low for proper vi-
sual appreciation of most color and black-and-white photo-
graphic images. At low illumination levels, details in the
darker areas of a print are perceived improperly or in some
instances are completely obscured, color saturation is re-
duced, and the apparent brightness range of the print is
lowered. The perception of color in darker parts of a print
may be eliminated altogether. In a 1986 publication, East-
man Kodak stated:
The intensity of the light source influences
the amount of detail that can be seen in a print.
For good viewing, a light source should provide
an illuminance of 1,400 lux + 590 lux.
53
The main exhibition area for photographs at the Art Institute of Chicago employs incandescent tungsten track lights in the
center of the room and recessed ceiling lamps along the outside walls. The vertical display panels can be rearranged to
accommodate different exhibitions.
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Eastman Kodaks Recommendations
Eastman Kodak Company generally recommends dis-
play illumination levels of 538 to 1,400 lux for both black-
and-white and color prints. Until recently, the fading of
color prints as a function of light intensity was not men-
tioned in most of the companys publications; where it has
been discussed, Kodaks recommendations have generally
been similar to this advice, given in a 1992 Kodak informa-
tion sheet for Ektacolor Portra II Paper:
Evaluate prints under light of the same color
and brightness that you will use to view the
final prints. A good average viewing condition
is a light source with a color temperature of
4000 1000 K, a Color Rendering Index (CRI)
of 85 to 100, and an illuminance of at least 50
footcandles (538 lux).
. . . Illuminate prints with tungsten light when-
ever possible. Display prints in the lowest light
level consistent with your viewing needs.
. . . Keep the temperature and humidity as
low as possible.
57
ANSI Recommendations for Viewing
and Exhibiting Color Prints
ANSI PH2.30-1985, American National Standard for Pho-
tography (Sensitometry) Viewing Conditions Photographic
Prints, Transparencies, and Photomechanical Reproduc-
tions makes illumination recommendations for judging
and exhibiting photographic reflection prints in competi-
tions, salons, and other exhibitions:
Illuminance. The illuminance at the center
of the print surface shall be 800 lux + 200 lux
and the luminance at the edge of the print shall
be at least 60% of that at the center.
Spectral Power Distribution. The spec-
tral power distribution should [have] a corre-
lated color temperature between 3000K and
5000K. The higher color temperature should
be used [if possible]. Light of the same corre-
lated color temperature shall be used for both
judging and exhibiting.
General Color-Rendering Index. The gen-
eral color-rendering index of the light illumi-
nating the prints shall be 85 or greater. . . .
Surround. If the print is not associated with
a given surround by a mat or mount, it shall be
viewed against a gray background extending
beyond the print on all sides at least one-third
the print dimension in the same direction. If
the print is associated with a given surround
by mounting, it shall be judged and exhibited
as mounted against a gray background extend-
ing beyond the mount on all sides at least one-
fourth the mount dimension in the same direc-
tion. The surround should be spectrally non-
selective and have a reflection density greater
than 0.20.
However, an illumination level of 1,400 lux which ap-
proximates the most intense illumination ever encountered
by this author in a tungsten-illuminated display area
causes fairly rapid fading of most types of color prints and
cannot be recommended for museum applications. Exami-
nation of color and black-and-white prints on display in a
wide variety of museum, gallery, and other display situa-
tions has led this author to conclude that, with incandes-
cent tungsten flood lamps which concentrate light in the
general area of the displayed prints (and if no windows or
other sources of bright light are present), an illumination
level of about 300 lux is a good compromise between ad-
equate illumination for viewing and for minimizing the rate
of fading. Short of total darkness, there is no level of illu-
mination that is so low that no light fading occurs.
From the point of view of a museum, only UltraStable
Permanent Color prints and Polaroid Permanent-Color pig-
ment prints are sufficiently stable to permit permanent
display. Fresson Quadrichromie prints, which have some
significant shortcomings in terms of sharpness and accu-
rate color reproduction and which are produced only for
a limited clientele in France are also very stable and can
tolerate prolonged display. As yet, however, very few
UltraStable, Polaroid Permanent-Color, or Fresson Quad-
richromie prints are found in museum collections; the great
majority of color photographs are on much less stable ma-
terials such as Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Dye Transfer, and Ilfo-
chrome (Cibachrome). For these prints, one should opt for
short-term display at light levels high enough for proper
visual perception. For the remainder of the time, the prints
should be kept in the dark, and, if the material requires it,
refrigerated in humidity-controlled conditions.
Infrared heating of prints by tungsten light at a level of
300 lux is not significant in most wall-display situations.
Higher levels of tungsten illumination (in excess of 1,000
lux) are usually accompanied by significant infrared heat-
ing of the print emulsion and support; this results in dehy-
dration and can produce physical stress in the emulsion
which may in time cause cracks or other types of damage.
In high-intensity applications, Cool Beam PAR (Parabolic
Aluminized Reflector) lamps or special types of low-infra-
red quartz halogen equipment, or glass infrared filters over
conventional lamps, can reduce heating effects by two-thirds
or more.
If a luxmeter
54,55
is not available for light-level mea-
surements, a single-lens reflex camera with a through-the-
lens meter can be used to indicate the proper light level.
Place a white sheet of paper in the same location and plane
where prints are to be viewed and adjust the cameras ISO
setting to 100 and the shutter speed to
1
30 second. Locate
the camera so the white paper fills the entire viewfinder,
being careful not to cast a shadow on the paper. A light
intensity of 300 lux will register an exposure of about
1
30
second at f 4.0.
Ansel Adams had recommended a light level signifi-
cantly higher than 300 lux for proper viewing of prints:
Although personal preference is a factor, I
have found illumination levels of 80 to 100 ft-c
[8601,076 lux] at the print position to be agree-
able if the walls and general environment are
of a middle value.
56
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A magnified view of the reddish-orange
colloidal silver microspots that were
caused by exposure of the Kodak Poly-
contrast RC print to light during display.
1
9
8
3
This photograph by Jan Saudek, a Czechoslovakian artist, was printed with Kodak
Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper in 1976. Introduced in 1972, this was Kodaks first general-
purpose black-and-white RC paper. The print was framed under glass and after about
5 years of display it began to develop small reddish-orange spots in the image areas
exposed to light (note that the outer edges of the print, which were protected from light by
an overmat, are free of discoloration). This type of self-destructive oxidation of the silver
image is caused by peroxides and other oxidants that are generated in the titanium-
dioxide-pigmented polyethylene layer under the emulsion in RC papers; the reaction is
initiated by exposure to light (see discussion beginning on page 581). Discoloration of
this type does not occur with fiber-base prints. The Saudek print was sold by the Jacques
Baruch Gallery, a Chicago gallery established by Jacques and Anne Baruch to exhibit the
work of Eastern European artists. The print was returned to the gallery after the discolora-
tions began to appear. By 1980, when the Baruchs learned the full scope of the RC paper
problem, the gallery had sold more than 200 of Saudeks Polycontrast RC prints. Sale of
the prints was immediately halted, and Saudek, who had printed much of his work from
the early 1970s with Kodak Polycontrast RC paper, switched to fiber-base paper.

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The black-and-white portrait (at the right) of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband,
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was presented to the people of Canada by
Queen Elizabeth while she was visiting the country in October 1977 as part of her
worldwide Silver Jubilee Tour, which commemorated her 25th anniversary on the
throne. After only a few years of display at the National Archives of Canada in
Ottawa, the photograph began to exhibit serious orange-brown discolorations in
the silver image. In the photograph above (at the far left), studying the print, is
Klaus B. Hendriks, the director of conservation research at the National Archives.
The framed and inscribed photograph,
which is believed to have been printed
with Ilford RC paper in 1976 or 1977
by Her Majestys Stationery Office in
England, was removed from public dis-
play because of the light-induced
discoloration of the silver image and is
now in storage at the Archives.
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After 5 years of display, this Kodak RC print had formed
reddish-orange microspots over its entire surface. The
print was made by this author in 1977 with Kodak Poly-
contrast Rapid RC Paper purchased in 1974.
Light-induced image deterioration of black-and-white RC prints
is usually characterized by reddish-orange or yellowish dis-
colorations that are concentrated along image-density gradi-
ents. In the magnified view above, the severe discoloration
that occurred on the fire hose on the left side of the picture is
clearly evident. Discolored RC prints frequently exhibit sur-
face silver-mirroring, which can be observed by viewing specular
reflections from the surface of a print held at an angle to the
light source. The photograph, at the left, of a fire that de-
stroyed the Vosburg lumber yard near this authors home in
Grinnell was printed with the initial type Polycontrast Rapid
RC Paper introduced by Kodak in 1972. Sections cut from
duplicate prints that had been processed together in 1977
were used in the authors accelerated light-exposure tests
described on page 583. These tests revealed that there is an
extremely large reciprocity failure in short-term, high-inten-
sity image-discoloration tests with RC papers. Even very low
illumination levels can over a period of several years be
sufficient to initiate the reactions that cause discoloration of
the silver image in black-and-white RC prints.
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traits, wedding pictures, snapshots, and other photographs
that will be displayed in customers homes and offices.
Printing Photographs for Display
It is critical that the light for viewing prints in the dark-
room be of the same spectral quality and intensity as
that in which the prints will be displayed. The relative
ultraviolet component of the light source is also important,
because of its effect on the fluorescent brighteners incor-
porated in the base material of all current black-and-white
papers (because of UV-absorbing emulsion layers to mini-
mize UV-caused fading, and for other technical reasons,
most color print materials do not contain active fluores-
cent brighteners on the emulsion side). In addition, the
surround, or the walls and other conditions in the dark-
room or workroom viewing area, should be of approximately
the same brightness and color as that of the intended dis-
play area. Eastman Kodak has offered the following sug-
gestions:
Display Light Level: The quality of prints
made for display must be adjusted for the illumin-
ation level under which they will be displayed.
The eye has a variable response to tones that
depends on the level of ambient illumination.
If a gray scale that has even density steps is
viewed under a normal interior light level of 50
to 100 footcandles [538 to 1,076 lux], the eye
sees the steps between the light tones as larger
than steps between the dark tones. As the light
level is reduced, the steps between the darkest
steps disappear, while the tone separation be-
tween the light steps seems to grow larger.
Under very low light levels, such as the light
given by a full moon, only the light steps will be
visible; all the medium-gray and dark gray steps
will look black.
On the other hand, if the gray scale is taken
out into the full sun, the separation between
two dark steps appears greater, while the tonal
separation between the light steps appears to
lessen.
This means that prints made for display un-
der high levels of illuminance should have slightly
greater densities overall, while prints made for
display under relatively low levels of illuminance
should be somewhat lighter, overall, than nor-
mal.
Good highlight rendition is important in all
prints, and especially in prints for high illumi-
nance display. The diffuse highlights should
have enough tone so that they will not wash
out when displayed.
60
Color prints often appear to have significantly different
color values when viewed under incandescent tungsten,
fluorescent, or daylight illumination. Some types of mate-
rials show this effect more than others. In this authors
experience, the appearance of Ilford Ilfochrome (Cibachrome)
and Polaroid Polacolor 2 and ER prints in particular can be
substantially altered when viewed under different types of
light sources; most fluorescent lamps produce particularly
Geometry of Illuminating and Viewing. The
lighting and print shall be positioned so that
the amount of light specularly reflected toward
the eyes of an observer on or near the normal
to the center of the print is minimized. This
may be achieved by placing the light source or
sources 45 off the normal to the print surface.
58
ANSI PH2.30-1985 is mostly concerned with illumina-
tion factors which influence color and tone perception. The
Standard was written primarily for the graphic arts indus-
try, and the illumination recommendations were arrived at
apparently without consideration of the deleterious effects
high light levels have on the stability of color prints. The
section of the Standard quoted above is intended primarily
for photography contests and short-term exhibitions and
does not directly address the concerns of museums and
archives. (It should be noted, however, that at one time
ANSI recommended a higher illumination level for exhibit
judging and display. The now-obsolete ANSI PH2.41-1976,
American National Standard Viewing Conditions for Pho-
tographic Color Prints specified an illumination level of
1,400 lux,
59
which Eastman Kodak currently recommends
for critical viewing, and which is nearly double the 800
lux recommendation given in the current ANSI Standard.)
The main purpose of ANSI PH2.30-1985 is to specify
standard illumination conditions so that everyone involved
with a publications project photographers, art directors,
editors, color separators, printers, and buyers of printing
can evaluate under uniform illumination conditions the
color balance and density of original photographs, pre-press
color proofs, and reproductions when a job is on press.
For graphic arts applications, the Standard specifies
two illumination and viewing conditions for critical ap-
praisal of photographic reflection color prints and the com-
parisons of such prints with the original objects photo-
graphed or with reproductions. Light sources with a cor-
related color temperature of 5000K and a color-rendering
index of more than 90 are specified:
2000-Lux Level. For critical appraisal of the
colors of reflection prints . . . when it is desir-
able to see detail in the darkest tones . . . the
illuminance at the center of the print surface
shall be 2000 lux + 500 lux as measured with a
cosine-corrected illumination photometer.
500-Lux Level. For critical appraisal of the
tone reproduction and colors of reflection prints
. . . when it is desirable to judge the way the
print would look in what would be considered a
brightly illuminated area in a residence, office,
or library, the illuminance at the center of the
print surface shall be 500 lux + 125 lux, as
measured with a cosine-corrected illumination
photometer.
Special photograph evaluation areas with illumination
conforming closely to the 2000-lux condition specified in
the Standard are provided in most graphic arts color sepa-
ration houses and printing plants. The 500-lux illumina-
tion level is often used by color labs for evaluating por-
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5
unpleasant effects. The altered appearance of color prints
when viewed under different light sources is related to the
spectral absorption characteristics of the cyan, magenta,
and yellow dyes in the color image and to the spectral
energy distribution of the particular light source. (For a
discussion of the influence of different spectral sources on
the appearance of oil paintings, see the informative article
by Roy S. Berns and Franc Grum entitled, Exhibiting Art-
work: Consider the Illuminating Source.
61
) The image
tone of black-and-white prints also varies when viewed un-
der different types of illumination this is especially true
when the prints have been treated with Kodak Rapid Sele-
nium Toner or other toners.
Unlike tungsten lamps and daylight, most fluorescent
lamps produce light of irregular spectral distribution marked
by a number of energy peaks in the narrow spectral bands
of the mercury vapor discharge. The peak output of the
widely used Cool White fluorescent lamp is in the green
portion of the spectrum, with comparatively little red emis-
sion; the lamp also has pronounced mercury vapor emis-
sions at 436 nanometers in the blue part of the spectrum,
and at 546 and 578 nanometers in the green region. One
result of this is that reds are dulled and appear to be
much less saturated than when viewed with tungsten, day-
light, Chroma 50 fluorescent, Deluxe Cool White fluores-
cent, or other full-spectrum fluorescent illumination.
Illumination for Evaluation of Prints
for Gallery and Museum Exhibition
In the case of prints intended for museum and gallery
display, it can be assumed that incandescent tungsten or
glass-filtered quartz halogen lamps usually of the reflec-
tor flood type with a color temperature of 28003200K
will be used for illumination.
It would benefit both photographers and museums if the
major collecting institutions would agree on a standard
display condition in terms of intensity, spectral energy dis-
tribution, lighting geometry, and characteristics of the sur-
round, so that people making prints could evaluate them in
the darkroom under the specified lighting conditions. This
would be similar in concept to the previously mentioned
ANSI PH2.30-1985 Standard for the graphic arts and print-
ing industries though the specified viewing conditions
for museums would of necessity be different.
For such a museum standard, this author suggests in-
candescent tungsten or glass-filtered quartz halogen illu-
mination with an intensity of 300 lux on the surface of
prints. Lights should be placed above displayed prints at a
3045 angle. Windows or other extraneous light sources
should be avoided. Walls or other backgrounds in display
areas should be of a light, near-neutral, or gray color, with
a reflection density of 0.150.30. Floors should be darker
than walls.
UltraStable Permanent Color prints, Polaroid Perma-
nent-Color prints, and black-and-white fiber-base prints
treated with a protective toner (e.g., Kodak Rapid Sele-
nium Toner or Kodak Poly-Toner) could of course be safely
illuminated at levels much higher than 300 lux, but since
most museum collections consist of photographs made with
a wide variety of processes, including albumen and other
19th-century processes, untoned silver-gelatin prints, and
many types of contemporary color prints, it usually is im-
practical to alter the display lighting every time an exhibi-
tion is changed.
The Effect of Display Lighting
on Fluorescent Brighteners in Prints
Virtually all current black-and-white photographic pa-
pers have fluorescent brighteners added to the paper base
(and the emulsion-side baryta coating on fiber-base prints)
to give the appearance of added whiteness in many light-
ing conditions. UV radiation causes these brighteners to
Guy Stricherz, Kurt Rowell, and
Karen Balogh of CVI Color Lab
in New York City. Incandes-
cent tungsten lamps were in-
stalled over the print-evalua-
tion area in order to simulate
an average museum display
condition. CVI specializes in
making Kodak Dye Transfer
prints for fine art photogra-
phers. Most commercial labs
evaluate color prints under
fairly intense illumination from
5000K wide-spectrum fluores-
cent lamps, as recommended
in ANSI PH2.30-1985. This
is very different from the lower
intensity and lower color tem-
perature of the tungsten illu-
mination found in most mu-
seums and galleries.
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fluoresce in the visible portion of the spectrum, primarily
in the blue region. If relatively little UV radiation is present,
as is the case with conventional tungsten lamps or with
UV-filtered fluorescent or UV-filtered daylight, the prints
may appear to be subtly yellowish and less brilliant
somewhat dull is a good way to describe it.
The use of fluorescent brighteners in photographic pa-
pers is a fairly recent innovation. Ilford and Agfa began
incorporating brighteners in their fiber-base and RC pa-
pers in the late 1970s, and Kodak started using fluorescent
brighteners in RC papers at about the same time. But it
was not until the 1983 introduction of Polyfiber paper that
Kodak marketed a general-purpose fiber-base paper with a
fluorescent brightener (Kodak Ektamatic SC Paper, a fi-
ber-base paper intended for stabilization processing, has
contained a fluorescent brightener since the mid-1970s,
and perhaps earlier). Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, intro-
duced in late 1984, also contains a fluorescent brightener.
Kodak Polycontrast and Polycontrast Rapid fiber-base pa-
pers, which were replaced by Polyfiber paper, did not have
fluorescent brighteners. Kodabromide, a graded-contrast
fiber-base paper which has been manufactured by Kodak
for a great many years, has to this authors knowledge
never contained a brightener.
In a study of the effect of washing times on loss of fluo-
rescent brighteners from black-and-white fiber-base and
RC papers, Richard J. Henry reported that the brighteners
in both types of papers were progressively leached out in
the course of washing; depending on the type and brand of
paper, the loss of brightener could be considerable with
extended washing times.
62
This authors accelerated light-exposure tests with Ko-
dak Elite Fine-Art Paper also show that the brighteners
gradually lose their ability to fluoresce during exposure to
light and UV radiation on prolonged display.
Many modern artists papers used for drawings and wa-
tercolors are manufactured with strongly fluorescing in-
corporated brighteners (in the paper manufacturing in-
dustry, fluorescent brighteners are sometimes called opti-
cal bleaches or blancophores).
Most color papers do not have functioning fluorescent
brighteners in the base paper on the emulsion side be-
cause the UV-absorbing layers in their emulsion structure
prevents the brighteners from fluorescing; brighteners found
in the base paper of most RC color print materials are
included only to make the backsides of the prints appear to
be a brighter white (or possibly to allow the same RC base
paper to be used with both color and black-and-white print
materials).
In an attempt to partially compensate for the lack of a
fluorescing base material, Kodak Ektaprint 2 Developer
and similar color developer solutions for chromogenic pa-
pers, such as Ektacolor Professional Paper, contain a fluo-
rescent brightener which mordants to the emulsion during
development. Some of the brightener is lost in subsequent
processing and washing steps, but enough remains to some-
what brighten the whites of the prints. There are limits to
how much brightener can be used in this fashion since
the brightener is diffused into the emulsion itself (and is
not located underneath the emulsion, as in the case of a
base paper with brighteners), too much brightener would
degrade the darker colors and blacks of a print.
Kodak Dye Transfer prints made with Kodak Dye Transfer
Paper do not have UV-absorbing layers but at the time this
book went to press in 1992, the paper continued to be manu-
factured with little or no fluorescent brightener. (In 1988
Kodak trade-tested an improved product called No. 45203
Dye Transfer Receiver Paper that incorporated an improved
dye mordant for greater image sharpness and also had an
effective UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat; however, diffi-
culties in chemically bleaching the dyes in the course of
retouching led Kodak to abandon the product.)
The ultraviolet component of a standard museum dis-
play illumination must be precisely defined both for con-
servation reasons and because of the different visual ef-
fects various levels of UV radiation have on fluorescent
brighteners. Incandescent tungsten lamps emit a rela-
tively small amount of UV radiation and have less of an
effect on the fluorescent brighteners found in many artists
papers and photographic materials than daylight or fluo-
rescent illumination (glass-filtered fluorescent lamps have
a strong mercury vapor emission line at 365 nanometers
which effectively excites fluorescent brighteners).
To further complicate matters, at a given illumination
level, glass-filtered quartz halogen lamps typically emit
approximately twice as much UV radiation as incandes-
cent tungsten lamps. Thus, the whites and lighter tones of
prints made on papers containing fluorescent brighteners,
such as Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, for example, look no-
ticeably brighter when illuminated with a glass-filtered quartz
Samples of Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper subjected to an
accelerated fluorescent light test. After 100 days of ex-
posure to 21.5 klux illumination (equivalent to about 25
years of display under average conditions see Chapter
2), the fluorescent brighteners in the paper had lost con-
siderable activity and the paper appeared perceptibly
less brilliant. Of the three samples, the one on the left
was exposed to bare-bulb illumination; the sample in the
center was covered with glass during the test; and the
sample on the right was covered with Plexiglas UF-3, a
UV filter. The background is a freshly processed sheet of
Elite paper, with full brightener activity. To illustrate the
loss of brightness after the 100-day test, the samples
were photographed under UV illumination. (Under nor-
mal illumination with visible light, the differences do not
appear to be nearly as great, but are nevertheless readily
discernible.) The development of more stable, longer-
lasting brighteners would be a significant improvement in
black-and-white papers.
1
9
8
9
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halogen lamp than they do when illuminated with a con-
ventional incandescent tungsten lamp of the same color
temperature. If the lamps are fitted with Plexiglas UF-3
filters, the fluorescent brightener in the paper will not be
activated and the prints will appear the same under both
light sources.
Contrary to assertions by Kodak
63
and some others that
incandescent tungsten illumination does not contain suffi-
cient UV radiation to activate fluorescent brighteners, this
authors examination of prints made on a variety of papers
under daylight, fluorescent, and incandescent tungsten il-
lumination left no doubt that tungsten illumination does
visibly activate fluorescent brighteners. In the tests, some
of the papers, including Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, con-
tained brighteners while other papers did not. When the
tungsten illumination was filtered with UF-3 to remove the
ultraviolet component, the reduced brightness of the pa-
pers containing fluorescent brighteners was readily appar-
ent. The visual appearance of Polycontrast and other non-
brightened papers was not affected by the UF-3 filter.
Display Lighting Incandescent Tungsten
Lamps Are Recommended
Common incandescent tungsten 75-watt (75R30/FL) or
150-watt (150R/FL) internal reflector flood lamps are quite
satisfactory for illuminating black-and-white and color pho-
tographs. The more expensive heavy-glass, internal-re-
flector PAR (Parabolic Aluminized Reflector) lamps, avail-
able in sizes from 40 watts to 150 watts, are supplied in a
variety of beam-spread configurations (including several
Cool Beam reduced-infrared types) and are equally satis-
factory. With proper fixtures, conventional lamps without
built-in reflectors can also be used. At a given level of
illumination, incandescent tungsten lamps have a lower
ultraviolet output than any other common light source, so
there is little necessity for UV filters when using tungsten
lamps to illuminate most types of photographs framed
under glass.
With most organic materials, other things being equal,
ultraviolet radiation and short-wavelength blue light are
more harmful than the longer wavelengths in the green
and red portions of the spectrum. Because of their rela-
tively low ultraviolet radiation and blue light output, incan-
descent tungsten lamps are almost ideal from a general
conservation point of view. Even though incandescent tung-
sten illumination has a low color temperature and a decid-
edly orange-red color balance, most people have lived with
tungsten illumination all their lives and generally accept it
in homes as well as in museums.
It should be noted, however, that certain color photo-
graphic materials have cyan dyes which fade more rapidly
when illuminated with tungsten lamps than they do with
common fluorescent lamps of the same lux intensity. Ilford
Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) print materials, Fuji FI-10 and
800 Instant Color Films, the obsolete Agfachrome-Speed
reversal print material (marketed 19831985), and the ini-
tial versions of Kodak PR10 Instant Prints introduced in
1976 are among those materials that fade more rapidly
under tungsten illumination.
For example, in Ilford Ilfochrome print materials, the
fading rate of the cyan image dye is significantly increased
when illumination comes from tungsten light instead of
Cool White fluorescent lamps at the same intensity. That
this is true can almost certainly be attributed to the higher
relative red light output of tungsten lamps compared with
the most widely used fluorescent lamps (e.g., Cool White
lamps made by a variety of manufacturers). Cyan dyes
have an absorption peak in the red portion of the spectrum;
and with the cyan dye in Ilfochrome, this absorbed energy
causes fading (UV radiation and other visible wavelengths
also contribute to fading of the Ilfochrome cyan dye). Most
of the literature concerned with dye fading suggests that
the photochemical energy of red light is so low as to cause
little or no damage to organic materials; with regard to
some of the dyes used in color photography, this belief is
obviously not correct. For further discussion of spectral
influences on color print fading, see Chapters 2 and 3.
Quartz Halogen Lamps Are
Also Satisfactory If Properly Filtered
Unlike incandescent tungsten lamps, bare-bulb quartz
halogen lamps have a very high UV output, extending even
below 250 nanometers, and should always be fitted with
heat-resistant glass or UV filters. Exposure of skin to high-
intensity quartz halogen lamps without a glass filter can
cause reddening (sunburn). Even a glass-filtered quartz
halogen lamp emits almost twice as much UV radiation in
the 350400 nanometer region as an unfiltered incandes-
cent tungsten lamp. In terms of the deterioration of black-
and-white photographs, gelatin, artists papers, fabrics, and
other organic materials, the significance of this difference
in UV radiation levels is not yet known. The greater ultra-
violet output of glass-filtered quartz halogen lamps is prob-
ably of little consequence in terms of the fading rates of
Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica Color, Agfacolor, and most other
current color print materials.
Quartz halogen lamps have tungsten filaments in a quartz
envelope containing a halogen along with normal gases to
fill the lamp. The lamps are made of quartz rather than
glass because the very high internal operating tempera-
tures (generally over 480F [250C]) can soften or melt or-
dinary glass. During operation of the lamp, the hot tung-
sten filament slowly evaporates; the tungsten vapor com-
bines chemically with the halogen gas which then migrates
back to the filament, where the high temperature causes it
to decompose, redepositing the tungsten on the filament.
This constant redeposition of tungsten on the filament pre-
vents the lamp from darkening (which would occur if evapo-
rated tungsten were deposited on the lamp envelope) and
maintains a fairly uniform output and color temperature
(typically with a drop of only about 50K) over the life of the
lamp.
64
Quartz lamps, however, and most of the fixtures in
which they operate, are expensive compared with incan-
descent tungsten lamps and fixtures.
Quartz halogen lamps last up to twice as long as con-
ventional tungsten lamps, do not suffer a significant drop
in light output during the life of the lamp, generate less
heat and infrared radiation, and usually use electricity more
efficiently. Quartz halogen lamps have a somewhat higher
color temperature (typically 3100K) and produce a more
visually pleasing light than conventional lamps, emitting a
whiter light with comparatively greater blue and less red
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emission lines of 313 and 365 nanometers; visible emission
peaks are at 405, 408, 436, 546, and 578 nanometers.
In recent years, fluorescent lamps have almost totally
replaced incandescent lamps in offices, schools, grocery
stores, etc. because of their efficiency, producing up to
four times as much light as tungsten lamps, and a corre-
spondingly smaller amount of heat and infrared radiation,
for a given amount of electricity. The reduced heat output
of fluorescent lamps lowers air conditioning costs, further
reducing costs when outdoor temperatures are warm. Fluo-
rescent lamps also last far longer than tungsten lamps,
which results in additional savings.
Although there are many types of fluorescent lamps,
the standard Cool White lamps, produced worldwide by
manufacturers such as Philips, General Electric, Sylvania,
Osram, Toshiba, NEC, and Hitachi, probably account for
more than 80% of all fluorescent lamps sold. Some fluores-
cent lamps, such as the General Electric Chroma 50 and
Verilux VLX/M, have a better color rendition. They are
made with a mixture of phosphors and rare gases to pro-
duce light of more uniform spectral distribution, but they
are more expensive and give about 30% less light output
for the same electrical consumption compared with stan-
dard Cool White lamps. These lamps constitute only a
small part of the total market and are found primarily in
clothing stores, meat counters in grocery stores, graphic
arts firms, printing companies, photographic laboratories,
and other settings where good color rendition is important.
In typical lighting installations, fluorescent illumination
is usually much brighter than tungsten, with consequent
increases in rates of color print fading. Indeed, it is the
high level of illumination associated with fluorescent lamps
that is their principal drawback; with respect to the fading
rates of most color print materials framed under glass, the
spectral differences between the two types of light sources
are much less important. Because of the high illumination
intensities associated with fluorescent lamps, and for a
number of other reasons, this author does not generally
recommend fluorescent lamps for illuminating photographs
on display. Special-purpose fluorescent lamps with im-
proved color rendering properties, or reduced ultraviolet
emission, are likewise not recommended for most museum
applications.
If fluorescent lamps are used to illuminate uncovered,
UV-sensitive color photographs on display, it may be advis-
able to install a UV filter such as Plexiglas UF-3 over the
fixtures, or to place UV-filter plastic tubes
65
over the indi-
vidual lamps, or, as a last resort, to choose one of the
available types of low-UV-emission fluorescent lamps.
66
Most
fluorescent lamps have an ultraviolet energy peak at the
313 nanometer mercury vapor emission line; unless ab-
sorbed by a glass or acrylic plastic sheet, this UV radiation
greatly accelerates fading of most types of color prints
manufactured without a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat.
The 313 nanometer emission does not appear to be par-
ticularly strong on the spectral power distribution curves
of fluorescent lamps, but at this very photochemically ac-
tive wavelength, its power is sufficient to have a devastat-
ing effect on Kodak Dye Transfer, Polacolor 2, Polacolor
ER, pre-1982 Ektacolor prints, pre-1985 Fujicolor and Konica
Color prints, and pre-1986 Agfacolor prints. Ultraviolet
radiation of fluorescent lamps at the 365 nanometer mer-
Because of their noticeably whiter light, high output,
and compact size, quartz-halogen lamps are becoming
increasingly popular in commercial galleries and muse-
ums. In the LIFE Gallery of Photography in the Time-Life
building in New York City, quartz-halogen track lights
provide the illumination; in this installation the compact
size of the fixtures is of particular advantage because of
the restricted ceiling height.
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output. These features of quartz halogen lamps have made
them appealing for museum display applications, and their
use in museums is steadily increasing. The comparative
effects of quartz halogen and incandescent tungsten lamps
on the deterioration of photographs deserve further study.
Fluorescent Lamps
Fluorescent lamps consist of a glass tube coated on the
inside with fluorescent phosphors, such as calcium
halophosphate, and filled with mercury vapor and a small
amount of certain other gases. In operation, the mercury
arc produces ultraviolet energy which in turn is absorbed
by the lamp phosphor, causing it to produce visible light.
Not all of the UV radiation is absorbed by the phosphors,
however; some of the remainder is absorbed by the thin
glass walls of the tube and the rest, along with the visible
light, is radiated from the lamp. The total radiation of
fluorescent lamps is a combination of visible light emitted
by the phosphors and ultraviolet radiation at the mercury
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that glass, and not UF-3, is best for framing Polacolor 2 and
ER prints.
A few color materials do benefit from the addition of a
UV filter; however, in this authors tests, Ilford Cibachrome
prints of all types (and presumably the Ilfochrome materi-
als that replaced Cibachrome materials in 1991) showed
worthwhile improvement in light fading stability when cov-
ered with Plexiglas UF-3. The protection afforded these
prints by UF-3 is particularly striking in prints illuminated
with north daylight coming through glass windows.
Elimination of UV radiation from illumination sources
will somewhat lessen minimum-density yellowing of chro-
mogenic papers such as Ektacolor and Fujicolor; but with
most such papers in typical indoor display conditions, the
small improvement in stain characteristics afforded by use
of a UV filter is not very noticeable at least not until the
print has been displayed for so long that dye fading be-
comes rather severe. At that point, the presence of exces-
sive stain may make little difference.
In accelerated light fading tests using this authors Gen-
eral Home and Commercial Use set of fading and staining
limits, none of the current color papers reached the d-min
stain or color imbalance limits as a first failure; in every
case, dye fading or image color imbalances were reached
first. This is not to say that UV filters should never be
used, but with current Ektacolor papers, and similar prod-
ucts made by Fuji, Konica, and Agfa, displayed under typi-
cal indoor conditions, the benefits, if any, will be small. For
further information on the effects of UV filters on the fad-
ing and staining of color prints, see Chapters 3 and 4.
Very high levels of UV radiation, such as occur with
direct exposure of prints to light from unfiltered quartz
halogen or fluorescent lamps (without a sheet of glass ei-
ther over the lamps or covering the prints), should always
be avoided with black-and-white prints, especially RC prints.
High UV exposure may contribute to emulsion yellowing,
image discoloration, and physical degradation of both the
emulsion and paper base. The simple expedient of framing
these materials under ordinary glass or acrylic sheet will
eliminate the potentially damaging UV radiation at wave-
lengths below about 320 nanometers.
Instead of Framing Prints with Plexiglas UF-3,
High-UV Illumination Sources Should Be
Filtered to Remove UV Radiation
In museums and archives, where photographs, water-
colors, paintings, fabrics, and a variety of other potentially
sensitive materials may be displayed, it is strongly advised
that an effective UV filter, such as Rohm and Haas Plexi-
glas UF-3 acrylic sheet, or DuPont Lucite SAR (Super Abra-
sion Resistant) UF-3 acrylic sheet, be permanently installed
(indoors) over windows and skylights to keep UV radiation
from both direct and indirect daylight to a minimum. As
previously discussed, quartz halogen and fluorescent lamps
in museums and archives should, in most cases, also be
filtered with UF-3.
DuPont Lucite SAR UF-3, Polycast Technology Corpo-
ration Polycast UF-3, and CYRO Industries Acrylite OP-3
appear to have UV-absorption characteristics that are vir-
tually identical to Plexiglas UF-3.
68
Contrary to some re-
ports in the literature, the UV-absorption capabilities of
cury vapor emission line, which readily passes through
glass and most clear plastics, has much less effect on the
dyes used in most color photographic materials compared
with ultraviolet radiation at the 313 nanometer emission.
In museums and archives, where a variety of photo-
graphic and other types of materials may be displayed, it is
recommended that UF-3 sheets, cut to the proper size, be
installed either above or below the diffusers in all fluores-
cent light fixtures; this is generally more practical, as well
as less expensive in the long run, than installing UV-filter
tubes over the lamps, or than purchasing special low-UV
lamps. Particular attention should be given to fluorescent
lamps in display cases; such lamps are likely to be in-
stalled without glass or plastic cover sheets.
Ultraviolet Radiation and UV Filters
In museums and archives, it is always good practice to
keep ultraviolet radiation levels to a minimum in display
areas. One should be aware, however, that with most types
of color photographs displayed in typical indoor situations,
the primary cause of image fading is visible light, so UV
filters in place of glass, or in addition to glass, will do little
if anything to extend the life of the prints. One of the most
persistent beliefs in the photography field is that ultravio-
let radiation is the primary, if not the sole cause of color
print fading. This was indeed true with many early color
print materials and is reflected in Kodaks 1970 statement
that Ultraviolet radiation in the illumination source is the
chief cause of fading in color photographs.
67
Beginning around 1970, Kodak and most other manufac-
turers of chromogenic print materials took various steps to
mitigate the effects of UV radiation on displayed prints
principally by incorporating one or more UV-absorbing lay-
ers into the print emulsion structure and with most
current color print materials UV radiation is no longer the
primary cause of fading; rather, it is visible light that causes
most of the damage. A separate UV filter placed between
the light source and prints made on current Ektacolor pa-
per and similar products improves the fading characteris-
tics little if any under most display conditions.
In the early 1970s, Ektacolor 37 RC and similar color
negative print papers were made with an incorporated UV-
absorbing layer between the topmost cyan dye and the
underlying magenta and yellow dyes; this left the cyan dye
layer without UV protection and resulted in rapid cyan
fading when illuminated with direct fluorescent light or
other high-UV light sources. Coating an additional UV-
absorbing layer over the cyan dye is a relatively recent
innovation. Kodak first added a UV-absorbing overcoat to
Ektacolor RC papers about the beginning of 1982. Fuji,
Konica, and Mitsubishi added the additional emulsion layer
to the new papers they introduced during 1984 and 1985.
Agfacolor Type 8 paper manufactured after mid-1986 also
incorporated a UV-absorbing emulsion overcoat.
Kodak Dye Transfer prints made with Kodak Dye Transfer
Paper do not have a UV-absorbing overcoat, and the cyan
dye in these prints fades rapidly under high-UV illumina-
tion conditions. Plexiglas UF-3 overprotects the cyan
dye, causing an increasing color shift toward cyan as fad-
ing progresses. Framing the prints with glass appears to
give the best protection. This authors tests also suggest
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Plexiglas UF-3 do not diminish with age, even after many
years of exposure to direct sunlight and outdoor weather.
Whenever possible, it is better to filter illumination sources
with UF-3 than to frame photographs with the material.
There are several reasons for this. UF-3 has a slight yel-
lowish tint which is exaggerated when the plastic sheet is
placed in contact with a photograph (and mount board)
because the viewing light must pass through the UF-3 sheet
twice once to reach the print from the illumination source,
and a second time when reflected from the print back to
the viewer. The added yellowness of a print and mount
board is readily apparent when compared with walls, glass-
framed photographs, and other objects in the room. When
a light source is filtered with UF-3, light passes through it
only once; in addition, everything in the viewing area is
equally affected by the yellowness of the UF-3 filter so the
slight color change of the light is not noticed.
The yellowish tint of UF-3 is unavoidable; the UV ab-
sorber incorporated into the sheet during manufacture was
selected to eliminate essentially all of the UV portion of the
spectrum (wavelengths below 400 nanometers), and in the
process also absorbs some short-wavelength blue light,
resulting in the yellowish tint. The visible portion of the
spectrum is between 400 and 700 nanometers; wavelengths
below 400 nanometers, down to about 280 nanometers, con-
stitute the principal ultraviolet region, insofar as the fad-
ing of color photographs is concerned. UF-3, like other UV
absorbers, has a somewhat sloped absorption curve and
does not reach 80% transmittance until about 420 nanom-
eters. The design of UF-3 attempts to give the maximum
protection against the damaging effects of UV radiation
and visible light without being objectionably yellow.
An orange or red filter would offer much more protec-
tion with many organic materials, but this, of course, would
be visually unacceptable for most applications. The U.S.
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill
of Rights, housed in the National Archives in Washington,
D.C., have for many years been protected from the effects
of the very-low-intensity tungsten illumination in which
they are displayed by deep-yellow filters. This is in part as
a consequence of grossly improper display of the Declara-
tion of Independence earlier in its history; the document
was written in 1776, and the ink inscriptions have faded so
much as to now be nearly illegible.
UF-4 is an almost colorless grade of acrylic ultraviolet
filter; however, it transmits significant UV radiation above
approximately 385 nanometers and is thus a less effective
UV absorber than UF-3. Standard grades of transparent
Plexiglas (Plexiglas G) have UV-absorption characteristics
which are somewhat better than glass, absorbing nearly
all UV radiation below about 330 nanometers.
One should avoid framing valuable black-and-white prints
with Plexiglas UF-3 and other types of acrylic sheet be-
cause over time the plastic might release trace amounts of
peroxides or other substances which could harm sensitive
silver images; long-term data on this potential hazard is
not currently available. This concern probably does not
apply to color prints, both because they appear to be less
sensitive to low levels of peroxides than are black-and-
white prints, and because color prints will have a neces-
sarily limited life on prolonged display due to light-induced
dye fading.
Other reasons to frame prints with glass rather than
plastics are that glass is much more scratch resistant, less
prone to develop dust-attracting static electrical charges,
and less expensive than Plexiglas UF-3.
Even Low-Level UV Radiation Is
Very Harmful to Albumen Prints
Albumen prints appear to be uniquely sensitive to even
the low levels of UV radiation emitted by incandescent
tungsten lamps. As illustrated in Figure 17.1, samples of
newly processed albumen prints have a significantly re-
duced rate of yellow stain formation under incandescent
tungsten illumination when protected with Plexiglas UF-3.
For reasons not yet understood, the degree of stain forma-
tion in the glass-filtered albumen print was somewhat higher
than in the uncovered test sample directly exposed to tungsten
light.
Both the glass-filtered and direct-exposure samples
stained less near the edges than in the center portions.
Samples illuminated with indirect north daylight (through
a glass window) for 2 years showed similar staining behav-
ior, with the UF-3 sample staining much less than the glass-
filtered sample. During the course of the tests, all of the
prints also faded somewhat (red density was lost), with the
prints unprotected by UF-3 fading less than the others.
The gold-toned albumen prints in these tests were made in
1981 by James M. Reilly, currently director of the Image
Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Tech-
nology in Rochester, New York.
Although the staining behavior of these modern albu-
men prints under illumination may in some respects be
different than that of historical albumen prints, it would
seem prudent to filter light sources used to illuminate al-
bumen prints with UF-3 or another equally effective UV
filter. Because of the apparent high sensitivity of silver-
albumen images to oxidizing gases, which could be evolved
from acrylic plastics such as Plexiglas UF-3, this author
advises against long-term framing of such prints with
UF-3; glass should be used instead. Framing albumen
prints with UF-3 for short periods (e.g., during shipping)
will probably do no harm.
During manufacture, albumen papers were often treated
with dilute solutions of pink, rose, mauve, or blue dyes to
give a slight tint to the albumen layer of the paper; this was
done in part in an attempt to counteract the inevitable
yellowing suffered by albumen prints. Investigation by
Sergio Burgi in 1981 revealed that many of these dyes have
extremely poor light fading stability, some fading signifi-
cantly after only a few months of exposure to low-level, UV-
filtered tungsten illumination.
69
Burgi indicated that tint-
ing dyes in albumen papers made before 1880 should be
suspected of having particularly poor stability.
Albumen Prints Should Not be Displayed;
Facsimile Color Copies Should Be Used Instead
Because of the high sensitivity of albumen prints to
light, this author recommends that the prints not be dis-
played. Likewise, salted paper prints should not be dis-
played. Instead, high-quality Ilfochrome or other facsimile
color photographic copies should be made and the copies
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Figure 17.1 Freshly pro-
cessed, gold-toned albumen
prints exposed to 1.35 klux
incandescent tungsten illumi-
nation. Yellowing was mark-
edly reduced in the print
framed with a Plexiglas UF-3
ultraviolet filter. (For unex-
plained reasons, the print
framed with glass yellowed
somewhat more than the un-
covered print exposed to bare-
bulb illumination.) The prints
were made by James M. Reilly.
surface of the prints. Care must be taken to adjust the
angle and placement of the lights and the photographs
on the wall so that specular reflections and glare are
minimized. Lighting at too narrow an angle will produce a
shadow on the image from the frame or the beveled edge of
the overmat; increasing the angle too much may produce a
glare image of the lamp in the viewers eyes or even cast a
shadow of the viewer onto the photograph if the person is
close to the print. Light fixtures should extend beyond the
end of the lamp so that lights on opposite walls will pro-
duce a minimum amount of glare on framing glass; bare
bulbs should be avoided.
Movable track lights, of the types commonly seen in
museums and galleries, are excellent for lighting display
areas, as individual lamps can be moved and redirected
with ease.
71
Light intensities can be controlled by select-
ing the proper wattage of lamps, by installing light-absorb-
ing black metal screens, and by using dimmer controls.
Incandescent tungsten lamps darken somewhat and de-
crease in color temperature (about 100K) with age as a
result of deposits of evaporated tungsten from the hot fila-
ment on the glass envelope. If necessary, this can be com-
pensated for by selecting lamp wattages and re-adjusting
the distance of the lamps from the photographs to achieve
a somewhat higher light level than desired when the lamps
are new; dimmers can be used to lower the light intensity
to the desired level and then to maintain that level as the
lamps age by gradually decreasing the setting of the rheostats.
Dimmers are also helpful for making minor adjustments
in light intensity which may not be easily accomplished by
the selection of lamp wattage and location. However, dim-
mers should be used with restraint, since the color tem-
perature of the light is lowered, and the light becomes
progressively redder, as the light intensity is reduced be-
low normal. Low-voltage lamps operated by a transformer
require special types of dimmers, and quartz halogen lamps
cannot be dimmed beyond a certain point without interfer-
ing with the halogen cycle.
displayed. Black-and-white copies of albumen prints are
not satisfactory because the delicate purple-black image
tone and base tint of the prints are not reproduced.
If, however, it is decided to display albumen prints, it is
essential that they be periodically densitometrically moni-
tored, especially during and after periods of display and
after prints shipped to other institutions on loan have re-
turned. Display illumination levels should be kept low. To
minimize staining and fading, Reilly has stressed the im-
portance of storing and displaying albumen prints in condi-
tions of low relative humidity (i.e., 3040%). If albumen
prints cannot be monitored, this author strongly advises
that they not be displayed, even for short periods of time.
Caution should also be exercised and print monitoring
employed when displaying other kinds of 19th-century pho-
tographs, such as ambrotypes, cyanotypes, platinum prints,
palladium prints, and black-and-white prints that have been
tinted or hand-colored with potentially unstable pigments
or dyes.
70
It was common practice to add a little pink
pigment to the cheeks of people in daguerreotype portraits,
for example. Salted paper prints should never be displayed.
Albumen prints and other types of 19th-century photo-
graphs should never be loaned to other institutions unless
they are sealed in vapor-proof packages and the tempera-
ture of the shipping containers can be maintained in the
6075F (15.524C) range at all times when the prints are
in transit; during shipment, the photographs should be
accompanied by a representative of the loaning institution
to make certain that these temperature conditions are
adhered to.
Placement of Lamps in Display Areas
Within the limitations of the ceiling height, lamps illu-
minating photographs on a wall should be placed at a dis-
tance that provides as even illumination of the prints as
possible. Given adequate ceiling height (about 15 feet is
ideal), lights should be at about a 45-degree angle to the
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Recessed incandescent tungsten lamps in a display area at the Art Institute of Chicago. Although less flexible than track
lights, recessed ceiling lamps are unobtrusive and can be particularly advantageous in rooms such as this with low ceilings.
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David Travis, curator of photography at the Art Institute,
adjusts a lamp dimmer panel to obtain the desired overall
feeling in the illumination of an exhibition.
Design of Photograph Display Areas
In most display areas, flood lamps produce a pleasing,
moderate concentration of light on the photograph; if the
surrounding areas are somewhat darker than the photo-
graph, the visual appearance of the photograph is enhanced.
When walls are painted or covered with a material of gray
or other near-neutral color, when flood lamps are used,
and when no windows or other sources of bright light are
present, photographs will appear to be more brightly illu-
minated than is actually the case. By comparison, the
same level of light in a room uniformly illuminated by fluo-
rescent lamps will not appear nearly as bright.
White or very light-colored walls should be avoided in
display areas, since the bright surfaces will have the effect
of reducing the apparent brightness of the print and will
increase glare on the glass over photographs on opposite
walls. For many reasons, prints on display should be framed
or otherwise covered with glass (see Chapter 15 for a dis-
cussion of frames, nonglare glass, and plastic). Dark or
black walls and ceilings should also be avoided since most
people do not like the cave feeling of darkly painted rooms.
Windows and other sources of bright light should be
eliminated in photograph display areas if at all possible. In
buildings that were not designed to be museums, the pres-
ence of windows in display areas creates uneven lighting
and difficult viewing conditions during daytime hours; in
addition, unless special measures are taken, the light in-
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Outdoor windows present serious lighting problems in exhibition areas. In the upstairs galleries at the International
Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, shown here before the building was closed for
renovation in 1988, the glare from daylight through the windows made it difficult to properly view prints, and the intensity of
illumination on prints in certain parts of the building during the day was far higher than recommended for proper display,
particularly for albumen prints and other sensitive 19th-century materials.
The same exhibition area at night. With incandescent tungsten illumination, display conditions were much better than
during the day. George Eastman House was the home of George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, and,
insofar as possible, the building has been preserved as it was when Eastman lived in the home. This precluded covering the
windows. After 1988, the areas pictured here were no longer used to exhibit photographs from the permanent collection.
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print can be placed in a horizontal box equipped with a
door that can be lifted for viewing. If the photograph is
located in a darkened area, a push-button (or timed) light
switch can be actuated by the viewer to illuminate the
print for a short time.
Special techniques of this type have been employed by a
number of institutions to display light-sensitive albumen
prints and other early forms of photography. Viewer-con-
trolled lighting was used for some of the color photographs
in the exhibition Chasing Rainbows, curated by Brian Coe
of the former Kodak Museum in Harrow, England and ex-
hibited at the Science Museum in London from November
1981 until February 1982. This exhibition contained ex-
amples of most of the forms of color photography that ex-
isted prior to the introduction of Kodak Kodachrome trans-
parency film in 1935, which marks the beginning of the
modern era of color photography. Many of the early color
processes are extremely sensitive to light, and partly be-
cause of this the exhibition was not sent to other museums
after it closed at the Science Museum.
73
For the same reason, Color As Form A History of
Color Photography, curated by John Upton for the Interna-
tional Museum of Photography at George Eastman House,
was not loaned to other institutions after it was exhibited
at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. for 3
months beginning in April 1982 and for an additional 3
months at George Eastman House later that year. Be-
cause of the potentially very unstable dyes in many of the
early color processes, originals of Autochrome, Finlay Colour,
and some other materials were not exhibited; instead, modern
Ektachrome transparency copies were substituted. In ad-
dition, many of the original photographs in the exhibition
were monitored densitometrically by the conservation staff
at Eastman House (see Chapter 7).
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles,
California has displayed old, light-sensitive books and works
of art on paper in specially constructed cabinets fitted with
tensities on prints in some locations can reach very high
levels during certain times of the day or during a particu-
lar part of the year, depending on the angle of the sun (see
Table 17.1) and the length of the day. Ideally, the windows
in such a building should be closed off or otherwise made
opaque in the exhibition areas; however, the desire to main-
tain the original architectural integrity of the structure
may preclude such alterations. As a compromise, neutral-
density glass or acrylic plastic sheeting can be used to re-
glaze the windows, or opaque curtains can be installed and
kept closed during daytime hours. UV radiation from sun-
light can most easily be reduced by using a UV filter such
as Lucite SAR UF-3 or Plexiglas UF-3 in place of glass or
in addition to glass in the windows. Various adhesive-
coated plastic films are available which can readily be ap-
plied to window glass to reduce UV transmission and, if
desired, to reduce transmission of visible light as well.
72
Light levels should be reasonably uniform in display
areas, as well as in the rooms or halls leading to the exhibi-
tion areas, so that viewers eyes will have time to adjust to
the lighting conditions. The photography galleries in the
Art Institute of Chicago, which were opened in 1982, are
examples of good gallery design and lighting-fixture place-
ment; while walking to the photography galleries from other
parts of the museum, the viewer passes through areas of
progressively lower illumination.
Special Methods of Reducing Light Exposure
of Displayed Prints
It is possible to display color photographs at normal
room temperatures for extended periods if the prints are
made on a dark-stable material such as Ilford Ilfochrome,
Kodak Dye Transfer, or Fuji Dyecolor and if the photo-
graphs are protected from light except during the actual
time that they are being viewed. Opaque cloth covers or
curtains can be placed over the print, to be held aside by
the viewer when the person is looking at the print, or the
An Ansel Adams print on display in the upstairs exhibition
area at Eastman House before the area was remodeled
and no longer used for print display. The afternoon sun
was shining directly on the print through a window. Al-
though the selenium-toned image of this fiber-base print
is very stable on exposure to bright light, heating by the
intense sunlight could cause emulsion cracking, warping
of the print and mount, or other forms of physical damage.
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At the Friends of Photography Gallery in Carmel, Califor-
nia, rows of incandescent flood lamps hung from the
ceiling provided brilliant illumination, with an intensity at
the print surface as high as 860 lux. This was in keeping
with Ansel Adamss recognition that photographs are shown
to their best advantage when brightly illuminated. In
1987 the Friends of Photography moved to new facilities
in San Francisco.
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8-inch-deep, Plexiglas-covered drawers. For viewing, the
visitor is instructed to gently open one drawer at a time.
74
This space-saving display technique protects objects from
exposure to light except for the short periods when they
are actually being viewed.
Facsimile Copies of Unstable 19th-Century
Prints in the Historic New Orleans Collection
To avoid light-induced damage to salted paper prints,
albumen prints, and other valuable 19th-century photographs
owned by the Historic New Orleans Collection in New Or-
leans, Louisiana, the curatorial staff has made facsimile
copies of the prints on Ektacolor paper for display pur-
poses. The use of high-quality color facsimile copies of
sensitive 19th-century prints as well as modern color prints
inevitably will become more common and more readily
accepted by curators and conservators alike as print
monitoring becomes standard practice in museums and
archives. It will then be clearly recognized that many types
of photographs are inherently too unstable to survive long-
term display, or the often uncontrolled environment of trav-
eling exhibitions, and that facsimile copies provide the only
safe means for these images to be viewed by the large
audiences that want to see them.
The use of facsimile copies of manuscripts, books, and
other valuable artistic and historic objects is gradually gaining
acceptance in museums and archives. For example, the
Conde Museum near Paris, France has permanently with-
drawn a number of rare manuscripts from public view.
Speaking about one of the manuscripts, Les Tres Riches
Heures du Duc de Berry, a 209-page book painstakingly
produced by hand by four artists over a 75-year period
beginning in 1410, Frederic Vergne, curator of the mu-
seum, said, My overriding duty is to preserve the manu-
script. No one will be allowed to see it again. . . . The public
and scholars no longer have direct access. In an article
entitled Preservation Takes Rare Manuscripts from the
Public, which appeared in The New York Times in Janu-
ary 1987, Paul Lewis wrote:
The book is a work of astonishing beauty.
Its yellowing vellum pages of handwritten text
are exquisitely decorated with illuminated capi-
tals and tiny brightly colored miniatures of re-
ligious subjects and scenes from 15th-century
life. It is universally recognized as one of the
two or three finest illuminated manuscripts in
existence.
But for the last couple of years the roughly
250,000 visitors who make their way to the Conde
Museum each year have only been allowed to
see a high-quality modern color reproduction
of the original. . . . The Conde Museums deci-
sion illustrates a trend by museums and librar-
ies everywhere toward cutting down access to
rare manuscripts in order to reduce the dam-
age by handling and exposure to light. Increas-
ingly, such institutions are offering scholars and
the public high-quality and extremely expen-
sive reproductions of the original that can cost
up to $10,000 a copy.
75
Salted paper prints and other highly light-sensitive 19th-century photographs displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago are
covered with black cloth to protect them from light except during the short periods when they are actually being viewed.
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or Polaroid Permanent-Color. This definition of ultra-stable was
discussed by this author in a presentation entitled, Polaroid
ArchivalColor: A Progress Report on a New, Ultra-Stable Color Print
Process, presented at a meeting of the American Institute for Con-
servation Photographic Materials Group in New Orleans, Louisiana,
February 7, 1987. (Subsequent to the New Orleans presentation,
Polaroid changed the name to Polaroid Permanent-Color materials.)
For further discussion of archival, Life Expectancy (LE) ratings,
and related terms, see Chapter 2. Because of the adoption by ANSI
of the promising LE ratings concept, and because of possible confu-
sion with UltraStable Permanent Color prints, this author decided in
1991 to drop his proposed ultra-stable designation for extremely
stable black-and-white and color materials.
3. For information on UltraStable Permanent Color prints and Polaroid
Permanent-Color materials, refer to the discussion in Chapter 1 and
the comparative stability data given in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5.
Pigment color prints made by the Fresson Quadrichromie process
(commonly known in the U.S. as Fresson prints) are also extremely
stable and can be displayed under normal illumination conditions for
very long periods. In this authors accelerated light fading tests,
however, Fresson prints were not as stable as UltraStable Perma-
nent Color prints or Polaroid Permanent-Color prints. Fresson prints
are made in a small, Old-World shop run by the Fresson family near
Paris (Atelier Michel Fresson, 21 rue de la Montagne Pavee, 91600
Savigny-Orge, France; telephone: 33-1-996-12-60). Fresson prints
are produced by hand in very limited quantities and generally have
been available only to a select clientele in France (see Chapter 1).
1. Grant B. Romer, Can We Afford to Exhibit Our Valued Photographs?
tion, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 340, Washington, D.C. 20036;
telephone: 202-232-6636. Romers article was reprinted in Picture-
scope, Vol. 32, No. 4, Winter 1987, pp. 136137.
2. At present there are no reliable published data on the long-term
effects of visible light and ultraviolet radiation on the images of fiber-
base silver-gelatin prints displayed in normal conditions. It has long
been believed that properly processed silver images on fiber-base
papers are essentially unaffected by exposure to light; lending sup-
port to this notion are countless prints of this type which have been
displayed more or less continuously for 50 years or more with little
apparent deterioration. However, recent information published by
Eastman Kodak indicates that light and ultraviolet radiation may
indeed cause changes in black-and-white fiber-base prints. In Con-
servation of Photographs (George T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publi-
cation No. F-40, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
March 1985, Kodak states (p. 84): Light has no significant effect
upon the silver of an image in ordinary circumstances. However,
light can reduce silver ions to metallic silver after oxidizing gases
and moisture have acted upon the image. . . . Constant exposure to
light can cause gelatin to turn yellow and tends to make it brittle.
Paper also yellows with exposure, especially papers used in photo-
graphs prior to 1926. Any considerable discoloration is more likely
to be caused by oxidation or by the decomposition of residual
processing chemicals than by light.
Kodak has suggested treating modern fiber-base and RC prints
with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, or certain other toners, to extend
the life of the image, particularly when the prints are subjected to
prolonged display in a humid environment. For example, see: W. E.
Lee, Beverly Wood, and F. J. Drago, Toner Treatments for Photo-
graphic Images to Enhance Image Stability, Journal of Imaging
Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 1984, pp. 119126. See also:
Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Polyfiber Paper, Instruction Sheet,
KP 79673, May 1983, which says in part: The life of untoned fiber-
base prints that may be exposed to intense or prolonged illumina-
tion or oxidizing gases or kept under adverse storage or display
conditions, can be extended by the use of Kodak toners. Kodak
Rapid Selenium Toner, Kodak Poly-Toner, Kodak Brown Toner, and
Kodak Sepia Toner, are recommended for image protection (see
comments in the text of this chapter on the image protection offered
by various toners and refer to a 1991 report by James M. Reilly and
Kaspars M. Cupriks, cited in Note No. 24 below). See also: Eastman
Kodak Company, Quality Enlarging with Kodak Black-and-White
Papers, Kodak Publication No. G-1, February 1985, p. 103, which
says: Apparently light and ultraviolet radiation have no effect on the
longevity of black-and-white print images that have been properly
toned. . . . The prints can be displayed or kept in the dark with no
difference in image stability. Untoned prints exposed to high levels
of radiation for long periods of time may show image changes.
Such radiation seems to have little effect on the base of prints
made on fiber-base papers. Processed and toned . . . prints made
on fiber-base papers can be expected to last for generations, whether
they are displayed or not.
The silver images of negatives and transparencies made with the
now-discontinued Kodak Professional Duplicating Film 4168 (ini-
tially known as Kodak Professional Direct Duplicating Film SO-015)
are adversely affected by exposure to light. See: Henry Wilhelm,
Problems with Long-Term Stability of Kodak Professional Direct
Duplicating Film, Picturescope, Vol. 30, No. 1, Spring 1982, pp.
2433; and a related article: F. J. Drago and W. E. Lee, Stability and
Restoration of Images on Kodak Professional B/W Duplicating Film/
4168, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 1984,
pp. 113118.
The now-obsolete ANSI designation archival, which was appli-
cable only to silver-gelatin films (not prints), had a number of signifi-
cant shortcomings that limited its usefulness. As an alternative
concept, this author in 1987 proposed an additional, ultra-stable
category of stability, which included black-and-white or color photo-
graphs that met the following requirements: (a) support material of
polyester film or fiber-base paper (acetate-base films and RC paper
are excluded); (b) black-and-white images that have been treated
with a protective toner (untreated images are excluded); (c) color
images with dark fading stability equal to or better than Ilford Ciba-
chrome, Kodak Dye Transfer, Fuji Dyecolor, UltraStable Permanent
Color, or Polaroid Permanent-Color; (d) color images with light
fading stability equal to or better than UltraStable Permanent Color
At the Historic New Orleans Collection in New Orleans,
Louisiana, albumen prints from the late 1800s have been
copied with color negative film and printed on Ektacolor
paper to retain the warm image tone and yellowed high-
lights of the original prints (copies made with modern
black-and-white papers show little resemblance to albu-
men prints). The facsimile copies are displayed, allowing
the original prints to be stored safely in the dark. With the
realization that sensitive materials such as albumen prints
cannot be displayed for long periods without harm, this
practice is gaining increasing acceptance in museums.

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both papers employ the same emulsion. It appears likely that the
terms RC and FB will in time be adopted by all manufacturers.
5. Jack H. Coote, Monochrome Darkroom Practice, an Ilford book
published by Focal Press, London England, 1982, p. 276.
6. Irvin H. Crawford, Roger E. Democh, and Robert J. Baron, Highly
Stable Resin Coated Paper Products and Method for Making
Same, United States Patent 3,853,592, December 10, 1974.
7. Eastman Kodak Company, Keeping Characteristics of B/W Prints,
Kodak Studio Light, Issue No. 1, 1976.
8. T. F. Parsons, G. G. Gray, and I. H. Crawford [Eastman Kodak
Company], To RC or Not to RC, Journal of Applied Photographic
Engineering, Vol. 5, No. 2, Spring 1979, pp. 110117.
9. Larry H. Feldman [Eastman Kodak Company], Discoloration of Black-
and-White Photographic Prints, Journal of Applied Photographic
Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 1, February 1981, pp. 19. Originally
presented at the 1980 International Conference on Photographic
Papers, William E. Lee, chairman, sponsored by the Society of
Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE), Hot Springs, Vir-
ginia, August 12, 1980.
10. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak B/W Photographic Papers, Kodak
Publication No. G-1, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, April 1978, p. 28.
11. Klaus B. Hendriks, A Discussion of Polyethylene Resin Coated (RC)
B&W and Color Papers, Their Properties, and Factors Which May
Affect Stability in Dark Storage and Under Display Conditions, pre-
sented at The Permanence of Color Technologys Challenge,
the Photographers and Collectors Dilemma, Henry Wilhelm,
chairman, a conference sponsored by the International Center of
Photography (ICP), New York City, May 67, 1978.
12. David Vestal, RC Report: The TiO2 Blues, Popular Photography,
Vol. 93, No. 4, October 1978, pp. 80ff. For a general account of the
ICP conference proceedings, see: David Kach, Photographic Di-
lemma: Stability and Storage of Color Materials, Industrial Pho-
tography, Vol. 27, No. 8, August 1978, pp. 28ff.
13. This authors prints were made on Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC
Paper purchased in 1974; the 100-sheet box of 8x10-inch F-surface
paper had an expiration date of March 1976 and the emulsion num-
ber was 9480173242X.
14. Ctein, Agfa Multicontrast High Speed Paper, Darkroom Photog-
raphy, Vol. 12, No. 6, June 1990, pp. 5051, 64. Ctein wrote: Like
other developer-incorporated papers, Multicontrast is pretty insensi-
tive to choice of developer and development; you cant manipulate
the print by changing the amount of development without risking
muddy blacks. Furthermore, Multicontrast may be prone to base-
staining over time, as are other developer-incorporated papers.
Also: Ctein, telephone discussion with this author regarding base-
staining of developer-incorporated RC papers, September 4, 1990.
15. G. Kolf [Agfa-Gevaert AG], Modern Photographic Papers Part 2,
(translated into English by A. J. Dalladay), The British Journal of
Photography, Vol. 127, April 4, 1980, pp. 316319. This article
originally appeared in Monatliche Fototechnische Mitteilungen,
Vol. 27, No. 11, November 1979, pp. 533534.
16. Jean Dieuzaide, Appeal for the Preservation of Genuine Photo-
graphic Paper Which Is Faced by the Threat of Cessation of Produc-
tion, Camera, Vol. 57, No. 1, January 1978, p. 44. The document
was originally distributed in 1977 at the Rencontres Internationales
de la Photographie 1977, in Arles, France. See also: Andy Grund-
berg, Arles Festival Ponders Future of B&W Papers, Photo Collect-
ing and Color Imagery, Modern Photography, Vol. 41, No. 10,
October 1977, pp. 54ff; Marco Misani, Arles Meeting: Important
Though Still Disorganized, Print Letter 11, SeptemberOctober
1977, pp. 12; Geoffrey Crawley, Comment, British Journal of
Photography, Vol. 125, No. 6140, March 31, 1978, pp. 265267;
Martin Van Leeuwen, Die Haltbarkeit Von PE- Und RC-Papieren,
Profi Foto, Nr. 2, 1982, pp. 5460; and M. Gillet, C. Garnier, F.
Flieder, Influence de lenvironnement sur la conservation des docu-
ments photographiques modernes, chapter in Les Documents
Graphiques et Photographiques: Analyse et Conservation, Edi-
tions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, France,
1981 [translated for this author by Marcia Brubeck, June 1983.]
17. Larry H. Feldman, see Note No. 9, p. 9.
20. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Polycontrast Rapid II RC Paper
(information sheet packaged with paper), Kodak Publication No. KP
73873f, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, August 1981.
21. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Polyprint RC Paper (information
sheet packaged with paper), Kodak Publication No. KP 80981a,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, October 1984. See
4. Kodaks first RC (polyethylene-resin-coated) paper was called Kind
1594 Paper. First produced in the early 1960s, Kind 1594 Paper was
a special-purpose product for U.S. military and aerial-mapping con-
cerns. The paper was not sold in the general market. Kind 1594
Paper was a graded paper with an emulsion similar to that of
Kodabromide fiber-base paper. Around the mid-1960s, Kodak con-
verted its Kodak Resisto papers, previously coated with a solvent
solution of cellulose acetate, to an RC base; Kodak Resisto papers
are used primarily in the graphic arts industry.
In October 1968, Eastman Kodak announced its first black-and-
white RC papers for the commercial photofinishing field, Velox
Unicontrast RC and Velox Premier RC Papers; placed on the market
in 1969, both of the papers were supplied only in rolls. (1968 also
saw the introduction of Kodak Ektacolor 20 RC Paper, Type 1822,
Kodaks first RC color paper.)
The first general-use black-and-white RC paper available in the
U.S. was Luminos RD Rapid Dry Resin Coated Paper; distributed by
Luminos Photo Corporation, Yonkers, New York, the paper entered
the market about February 1972. Manufactured for Luminos by
Turaphot GmbH in Germany, Luminos RD was supplied in several
contrast grades and was packaged in 8x10- and 11x14-inch sheets.
The paper was advertised to wash in only 30 to 60 seconds dries
flat and dries quick. The paper had a perfect high-gloss surface
without the need for ferrotyping, or glazing, as it is referred to in
Europe (at that time, a paper that did not require drying in contact
with a chrome-plated metal ferrotype plate or on a polished, chrome-
plated drum dryer in order to obtain a high-gloss surface was a
totally new concept). Because of the general conversion to RC
papers that has taken place since the 1970s, the practice of ferrotyping
is now nearly obsolete; most photographers still working with glossy
fiber-base papers prefer the tactile, lower-gloss surface which is
obtained when these papers are air-dried.
In part because the Luminos brand was not well known (Luminos
Photo Corporation is a small company specializing in low-cost prod-
ucts, and Luminos papers have generally been shunned by profes-
sional, fine art, and advanced amateur photographers), Luminos RD
Rapid Dry Paper initially was viewed as something of a curiosity and
appealed primarily to home-darkroom hobbyists; this pioneering RC
paper was, nevertheless, a very successful product for Luminos.
This author has no information on the stability characteristics of this
early version of Luminos RD Paper.
Eastman Kodaks first general-use black-and-white RC product
was Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper, introduced in October 1972 and
widely available by mid-1973; this paper was supplied in sheets as
well as rolls and marked the real beginning of the modern era of
black-and-white RC papers. Shortly thereafter, Kodak introduced
Kodabrome RC Paper, a graded paper, to supplement the variable-
contrast Polycontrast Rapid RC Paper. In 1974 Ilford introduced its
first RC paper, Ilfospeed, and followed that in 1978 with Ilfospeed
Multigrade, an RC paper with an emulsion based on the original
Ilford Multigrade fiber-base paper marketed in 1940. Agfa-Gevaert
introduced Agfa Brovira-Speed in 1978, and by 1980 virtually all the
worlds manufacturers had introduced black-and-white RC papers.
The RC name was first used by Kodak in 1968 and registered
as a Kodak trademark in 1972. Apparently concluding that over time
the RC name would evolve into a generic term to signify any polyeth-
ylene-coated photographic paper, Kodak decided in 1976 to aban-
don the trademark, thus permitting any company to adopt the term
RC for its products. Kodak has continued to include RC in the
names of its polyethylene-resin-coated black-and-white papers to
distinguish them from fiber-base papers. Because fiber-base color
papers have virtually disappeared from the market (Kodak Dye Transfer
Paper and Fuji Dyecolor Paper are the only remaining examples),
having been replaced by RC papers, Kodak no longer felt a need to
designate products such as Ektacolor Professional Paper as RC
papers, and by 1985 Kodak had dropped RC from the names of its
color papers.
Agfa-Gevaert calls its polyethylene-coated products PE pa-
pers; PE is the internationally accepted plastics-industry abbrevia-
tion for polyethylene. Konica calls some of its color products PC
papers signifying that they are polyethylene-coated. Oriental
uses the term RP in the name of its New Seagull RC papers; RP
stands for resin-protected. When Ilford introduced Multigrade FB
Paper in 1985, the company included FB in the name to distinguish
the paper from Ilford Multigrade II Paper, a developer-incorporated
RC paper that had been introduced several years earlier. FB stands
for fiber-base, and to this authors knowledge this was the first time
such an abbreviation had been used with a photographic paper.
Several years ago, when Kodak replaced the fiber-base Polycontrast
Paper with a new paper, it was called Polyfiber Paper. Polyfiber
Paper is the fiber-base counterpart to Kodak Polyprint RC Paper;
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also: Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Polycontrast III RC Paper
(information sheet packaged with paper), Kodak Publication KP 88196,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March 1988.
22. See Note No. 2.
23. James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, Kaspars M. Cupriks, and
Peter Z. Adelstein, Stability of Black-and-White Photographic Im-
ages, with Special Reference to Microfilm, Abbey Newsletter, Vol.
12, No. 5, July 1988, pp. 8388 (Abbey Publications, 320 E. Center,
Provo, Utah 84601; telephone: 801-373-1598). The article is based
on a presentation at the Conservation in Archives Symposium at
the National Archives of Canada, May 1988. Reilly, director of the
Image Permanence Institute, and his co-workers based their conclu-
sions about the relative effectiveness of toners on results that they
had obtained with microfilm samples treated with a number of toners
and subjected to an improved accelerated peroxide fuming test they
had developed during 198788:
Gold and selenium treatments provide protection against perox-
ide attack only in proportion to the degree to which the heavy metal
is substituted for the original silver image. In the absence of sulfiding
agents, even very high degrees of gold or selenium substitution do
not provide complete protection. In actual practice, when used as
recommended, the metal components of gold and selenium toners
for microfilm do very little to protect against oxidation; their effec-
tiveness is almost entirely due to the sulfiding action of other con-
stituents of the toner formulas.
Reilly and his co-workers discussed their findings with Kodak
and Kodak confirmed that in their own recent peroxide testing with
microfilm, the selenium toner was depositing selenium, but not pre-
venting oxidant attack, which it had done in tests performed as
recently as one year ago. They suspected that small changes in
[Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner] formulation made by the manufactur-
ing area were responsible, but were not clear on exactly why.
Sulfiding toners (e.g., Kodak Brown Toner and Poly-Toner), on
the other hand, were found to be very effective in the Image Perma-
nence Institute tests, even when used at low concentrations:
Excellent protection against peroxide attack can be gained by
treating microfilm with solutions which lead to the partial sulfiding
of the silver image. The best compounds to use, as well as methods
of application and possible ill effects on physical properties, etc.,
are unknown at this point, but there are several promising candi-
dates (in particular polysulfides), and the direction to be pursued is
now clearly established.
. . .One of the strongest clues to the power of sulfiding agents to
protect against peroxide came from experiments with gold toners.
Kodak has recommended a formula known as GP-2 since the 1960s
for the treatment of microfilm to prevent red spot attack. Because of
the high cost it has seldom been used in practice, but it was always
regarded as absolute protection. One of the ingredients of GP-2 is
thiourea, a known sulfiding agent. In experiments [at the Image
Permanence Institute], this formula was indeed completely effective
in preventing peroxide attack. However, experiments with the same
formula without the gold were completely effective. In both the gold
toner and the selenium toner, it seemed to be the sulfiding agents,
not substitution with gold or conversion to silver selenide, that was
providing the bulk of the protection against oxidants.
At the time of this writing, Reilly and his co-workers were con-
tinuing this work and could not yet recommend a toner formulation
that would provide the aesthetically desirable image intensification
afforded to most current fiber-base and RC papers by treatment with
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner, while at the same time providing the
increased image protection of a sulfiding toner.
24. James M. Reilly and Kaspars M. Cupriks, Sulfiding Protection for
Silver Images, Final Report to the Office of Preservation, National
Endowment for the Humanities (Grant # PS-20152-87), Image Per-
manence Institute, March 28, 1991, p. 2. To obtain a copy of the
report, contact: Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
716-475-7230. See also: J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, K. M. Cupriks,
and P. Z. Adelstein, Polysulfide Treatment for Microfilm, Journal
of Imaging Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, JuneJuly, 1991.
25. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Photographic Papers for the
Professional, Kodak Publication No. P4-73, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, October 1972.
26. Eastman Kodak Company, Faster and Better B/W Print Process-
ing, Kodak Publication No. G-6, Eastman Kodak Company, Roches-
ter, New York, July 1976.
27. In presentations at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Roches-
ter, New York, September 26, 1978, and at a conference at the
Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
October 29, 1978, Glen G. Gray of the Paper Service Division of
Eastman Kodak Company, in the course of discussing the light-
induced chemical processes causing embrittlement and eventual
cracking of RC papers, also briefly described some of the mecha-
nisms involved in the discoloration of black-and-white images by
oxidizing vapors, and mentioned that Kodak was conducting accel-
erated tests of light-induced image discoloration of framed RC prints
illuminated with fluorescent lamps. Improvement in the resistance
to discoloration was noted in the stabilizer in the paper core ver-
sion of Kodak RC paper versus the earlier improved-pigment type
of Kodak RC paper; behavior of the initial formulation of Kodak
black-and-white RC paper was not discussed.
Grays two presentations were based largely on a talk given
earlier (entitled, To RC or Not to RC, by Timothy P. Parsons, Glen
G. Gray, and Irvin H. Crawford) at the annual conference of the
Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers, Washington, D.C.,
May 1, 1978 (their talk was published by SPSE in 1979 see Note
No. 8). Unlike Grays presentations at RIT and the Peabody Museum
in the fall of 1978 (which were not published), neither the original
SPSE presentation nor the published article included any discussion
of image discoloration of black-and-white RC papers.
28. Rodney R. Parsons, technical services manager, Ilford Photo Corpo-
ration, letter to this author, June 13, 1988.
29. As an example, see: Alfred A. Blaker, The Case for RC, Darkroom
Photography, Vol. 8, No. 5, September 1986, pp. 22ff. Blaker cited
only Kodak sources and quoted an unnamed Kodak scientist as
saying: There is no reason to believe or to suspect that RC black-
and-white papers are inferior to conventional or fiber-based papers.
In the article, there was no discussion of the possibility that stability
differences could exist among RC papers made by different manu-
facturers. Blaker concluded the article by saying: I will regard the
two types of papers conventional and resin-coated as full
equals. In fact, if a difference does exist, Ive found that almost
invariably it favors RC. And though I am withholding final judgment,
I believe RC papers will eventually come to be accepted as the
superior material. (p. 46).
30. For example, in a presentation by Klaus B. Hendriks, Debbie Hess
Norris, and James M. Reilly entitled, Photograph Conservation: The
State of the Art, presented at the annual meeting of the American
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, Chicago,
Illinois, May 22, 1986, Reilly said: Apparently, this problem [support
cracking of RC papers from the 1970s] is now solved by the incor-
poration of stabilizers into current RC papers. No reference was
given to a particular brand or manufacturer of RC paper. The actual
presentation differed in some respects from the version in the con-
ference Preprints published by the AIC before the meeting.
31. The principal manufacturers of RC base paper in Western countries
are Eastman Kodak Company (USA); Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. (Ja-
pan); Mitsubishi Paper Mills, Ltd. (Japan); Felix Schoeller, Jr., GmbH
& Co. KG (Germany, with a manufacturing division in Pulaski, New
York); Oji Paper Company (Japan); and Wiggins Teape Ltd. (En-
gland). Kodak does not sell uncoated RC base paper to other
photographic manufacturers; however, both Fuji and Mitsubishi do.
Oji Paper Company began manufacturing RC base paper in Japan in
1986, with the Konica Corporation (known as Konishiroku Photo Ind.
Co., Ltd. until October 1987) among its initial customers. Konica had
for years obtained most of its RC base paper from Mitsubishi. Fuji is
said to supply RC base paper to Oriental Photo Industrial Co., Ltd.,
among others. Kodak reportedly buys some RC base paper, made
to Kodaks specifications, from Wiggins Teape for use with Kodak
products manufactured in Europe. Wiggins Teape also supplies
Ilford with RC base paper, and Felix Schoeller supplies RC base
paper to Agfa-Gevaert, among others. The Pulaski, New York plant
of Felix Schoeller supplied RC base paper to the 3M Company for its
3M High Speed Color Paper until 3M discontinued manufacturing
the product in the U.S. in 1983 (3M continued to produce color paper
until about 1988 at 3M Italia S.p.A., a 3M subsidiary in Ferrania,
Italy).
32. Robert H. MacClaren [National Archives and Records Service], Ac-
celerated Test Methods and Factors Affecting Photographic Paper
Permanence, a presentation at the 1980 International Confer-
ence on Photographic Papers, William E. Lee, chairman, spon-
sored by the Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE),
Hot Springs, Virginia, August 11, 1980. MacClaren reported on
accelerated aging tests at the National Archives with processed
black-and-white RC papers in which the edge of one RC print was
placed against the image area of another. Image discoloration
occurred in a line where the edge of the print had been in contact
with the emulsion of the adjacent print. MacClaren attributed this to
edge-penetration of processing chemicals and termed this type of
deterioration the picture-frame effect. For an account of the con-
ference proceedings, see: Henry Wilhelm, The 1980 Conference on
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Photographic Papers, Picturescope, Vol. 29, No. 1, Spring 1981,
pp. 2527.
33. Ilford Photo Corporation, West 70 Century Road, Paramus, New
Jersey 07653; telephone: 201-265-6000; toll-free outside New Jer-
sey: 800-631-2522.
34. Peter Krause, telephone discussion with this author, March 10, 1987.
35. Barry Sinclair, national marketing manager for monochrome prod-
ucts and systems, Ilford Photo Corporation, telephone discussions
with this author, April 21 and September 15, 1987.
36. Bob Schwalberg, discussion with this author, February 23, 1987.
37. Among fine art photographers and other discriminating users of
premium, silver-rich fiber-base photographic papers, there is no
general agreement as to which are the best products. Premium
fiber-base papers are characterized by a very high maximum density
(deep blacks) and clean, bright whites (all current premium papers
contain fluorescent brighteners), and most are supplied only on
double-weight, glossy paper stock. Among these papers, an individuals
preference inevitably is based on a host of subjective factors, includ-
ing: image tone; curve shape (tone reproduction characteristics in
highlight, midtone, and shadow regions); tonal change and degree
of image intensification when the paper is treated with Kodak Rapid
Selenium Toner (this author considers toner treatment to be a man-
datory part of processing); the tendency for the emulsion to frill or
otherwise become physically damaged during processing and washing;
surface gloss characteristics when the paper is air-dried naturally at
room temperature; the degree of curl and cockle which develops
during drying; the degree of curl which occurs as a consequence of
storage in conditions of cycling relative humidity; edge-lift after dry
mounting; consistency of image tone, surface gloss, and response
to Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner among available contrast grades
(and between emulsion batches); image dry-down characteristics;
and other visual properties which may be difficult to quantify or
even verbalize but which nevertheless can be very significant.
Price and availability of a wide range of contrast grades and paper
sizes may also be important considerations.
Among many discriminating photographers and printers, the most
popular papers at the time of this writing in 1992 were Ilford Galerie
FB, Ilford Multigrade FB, Oriental New Seagull G Paper, Oriental New
Seagull Select VC FB Paper, Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, Zone VI
Brilliant Paper, Agfa Insignia Paper, and Agfa Portriga-Rapid (a spe-
cialized paper with a distinctive warm image tone which some pho-
tographers love and others hate). This authors personal favorites
are Ilford Galerie FB, Ilford Multigrade FB, and Oriental New Seagull
G. Both Ilford Multigrade FB Paper and Oriental New Seagull Select
VC FB Paper are, in this authors opinion, distinctly better products
than Kodak Polyfiber Paper. Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper is an excel-
lent product in most respects (the premium-weight paper base,
which is thicker than normal double-weight paper, is particularly
nice), but, in this authors opinion, the surface of Elite when naturally
air-dried is not as appealing as the surfaces of Galerie, New Seagull,
or Zone VI Brilliant. At the time of this writing, this author had not yet
had an opportunity to evaluate Fuji Museum Paper, which was intro-
duced in Japan in 1986 (this product is rumored to actually be Ilford
Galerie FB Paper), or Mitsubishi Gekko Paper, which became avail-
able in the U.S. around the end of 1986 (Gekko has received excel-
lent reviews in the photographic press see, for example: Peter
Moore and Rosalie Winard, Moderns Great Paper Chase . . . Sec-
ond Heat, Modern Photography, Vol. 51, No. 3, March 1987, pp.
4851).
38. David Vestal, Are Conventional B/W Papers an Endangered Spe-
cies? Will Waterproof Printing Papers Replace Other Types Soon?
This Open Letter Says Proceed with Caution, Popular Photogra-
phy, Vol. 78, No. 1, January 1976, pp. 85, 132. In voicing his
concern about potentially adverse effects of light on RC prints dur-
ing long-term display, Vestal cited a letter, sent to him by Ilford,
stating that up to April 1975, Ilford had made no tests for RC print
permanence except those related to washing processing chemicals
out of the prints. See also: David Vestal, The Great Printing-Paper
Crunch A Plea for Old-Fashioned Quality in an Age of Mass-
Production Values, Popular Photography, Vol. 80, No. 4, April
1977, pp. 91, 198; David Vestal, The Paper War: Famous Photogra-
phers Speak Out on Old and New Black-and-White Enlarging Mate-
rial, Popular Photography, Vol. 81, No. 6, December 1977, pp.
46ff; Arthur Goldsmith, Editorial A Voice from the Minority: Lets
Save the Old-Time Fibre-Base Papers from Extinction, Popular
Photography, Vol. 80, No. 4, 1977, p. 10; David Vestal, B&W Print-
ing for Permanence, Photography How-To Guide, a Popular Pho-
tography publication, Fall 1977, pp. 6ff; Arthur Goldsmith, Editorial
How You Can Help Save Quality Printing Papers, Popular Pho-
tography, Vol. 82, No. 6, June 1978, p. 102; and David Vestal,
Popular Photography Printing-Paper Poll, Popular Photography,
Vol. 82, No. 6, June 1978, p. 103 (the results of the Printing-Paper
Poll were conveyed to Kodak and other manufacturers). The tabu-
lated responses of the more than 4,000 readers who responded to
the poll were summarized in: David Vestal, Paper Poll Answers:
Heres What You Told Us About Your Need for Quality Printing
Paper, Popular Photography, Vol. 84, No. 1, January 1979, pp.
85ff. Among the respondents, Agfa Brovira was the most popular
paper, followed by Ilford Ilfobrom, Kodak Polycontrast, Agfa Portriga-
Rapid, Kodak Medalist, and DuPont Varigam, in that order. RC
papers were the favorite products among only a very small percent-
age of those responding to the poll.
39. Eastman Kodak Company, see Note No. 7. This article also stated:
Accelerated aging tests indicate that when storage conditions are
carefully controlled (approximately constant 21C [70F], 50% RH,
infrequent exposure to light), prints on resin-coated base should last
as long as prints on non-resin-coated base. However, these tests
also indicate that when prints are displayed for long periods (several
years) or displayed in direct sunlight or stored under uncontrolled
environmental conditions, non-resin-coated papers can be expected
to have a longer useful life than resin-coated papers. Therefore,
non-resin-coated papers are recommended for long-term display
and for long-term storage.
Publication No. F30, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, August 1979, p. 5.
43. David Vestal, The Great Printing-Paper Crunch A Plea for Old-
Fashioned Quality in an Age of Mass-Production Values, Popular
Photography, Vol. 80, No. 4, April 1977, pp. 91, 198.
44. William Messer, Ilford at Arles, British Journal of Photography,
August 11 1978, pp. 690691. In addition see: David Vestal, Ilford
Galerie Enlarging Paper Is This the Premium Fiber-Base Black-
and-White Paper Weve Been Waiting For? Popular Photography,
Vol. 84, No. 1, January 1979, pp. 88ff.
45. Ansel Adams, The Print, The New Ansel Adams Photography Se-
ries, Book 3, New York Graphic Society, Little Brown and Company,
Boston, Massachusetts, 1983, pp. 4950.
47. Zone VI Studios Inc., Newfane, Vermont 05345-0219; telephone:
802-257-5161.
48. Eastman Kodak Company, New Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, Kodak
Publication No. P10-85G, Eastman Kodak Company, 1984.
49. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Elite Fine-Art Paper, Kodak Pub-
lication No. G-18, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
November 1984, p. 11.
50. Garry Thomson, The Museum Environment, second edition,
Butterworth & Co., London, England, in association with The Interna-
tional Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 1986,
pp. 2234. See also: Illuminating Engineering Society of London,
IES Technical Report No. 14, London, England, 1970, pp. 17.
51. James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photo-
graphic Prints, Kodak Publication No. G-2S, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, 1986, p. 105.
52. Brian Coe, telephone conversation with this author, July 27, 1983.
Professionals, Kodak Publication No. E-77, Eastman Kodak Com-
54. One recommended luxmeter is the Minolta Illuminance Meter, Model
T-1 (the unit reads in both lux and footcandle units), which costs
about $500 and is available from Minolta Corporation, 101 Williams
Drive, Ramsey, New Jersey 07446; telephone: 201-825-4000; manu-
factured by Minolta Camera Company, Ltd., 30,2Chome, Azuchi-
Machi, Higashi-ku, Osaka 541, Japan. While not as precise nor as
easy to read as the Minolta Illuminance Meter, also recommended
is: Panlux Electronic Luxmeter (available with either lux or foot-
candle scales), about $350 (manufactured by Gossen GmbH, D-
8520 Erlangen, Postfach 1780, West Germany), available from Bogen
Photo Corporation, Gossen Division, 565 East Crescent Avenue,
Ramsey, New Jersey 07446-0506; telephone: 201-818-9500.
For determination of the proportion of total UV radiation present
in ambient illumination, or in illumination from a specific light source,
the Crawford U.V. Monitor, Type 760 is recommended. The instru-
ment responds to total UV radiation in the 300400 nanometer band
and cannot indicate the percentage at any given wavelength. The
Crawford U.V. Monitor is manufactured by the Littlemore Scientific
Engineering Company, Railway Lane, Littlemore, Oxford, England
0X4 4PZ. In the U.S. the instrument is available from Qualimetrics,
Inc., 1165 National Drive, Sacramento, California 95834; telephone:
916-928-1000; toll-free outside California: 800-824-5873. The stan-
dard model sells for about $620; a special, high-sensitivity version of
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the instrument is available for about $950.
55. R. H. Lafontaine, Recommended Environmental Monitors for Mu-
seums Archives and Art Galleries, Technical Bulletin 3, Canadian
Conservation Institute, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0M8, July 1978.
57. Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak Ektacolor Portra Papers, Kodak
Publication No. E-140, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New
York, January 1992, p. 4. See also: Kodak Color Films and Papers
for Professionals, Kodak Publication No. E-77, March 1986, p. DS-
64 (Kodak Ektacolor Professional Paper). On occasion Kodak has
recommended lower levels of display illumination: Conservation of
Photographs (George T. Eaton, editor), Kodak Publication No. F-
40, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March 1985 (p.
109) stated, For display purposes, tungsten illumination is pre-
ferred but whatever light source is used, it should be no more
intense than is necessary to provide adequate viewing. An intensity
between 54 and 160 lux (5 to 15 footcandles) of incandescent light-
ing is considered adequate.
can National Standard for Photography (Sensitometry) View-
ing Conditions Photographic Prints, Transparencies, and Pho-
tomechanical Reproductions, American National Standards Insti-
phone: 212-642-4900 (Fax: 212-302-1286). This Standard is a con-
solidation and revision of ANSI PH2.31-1969 (R1982), Direct View-
ing of Photographic Color Transparencies; ANSI PH2.32-1972
(R1982), Viewing Conditions for the Appraisal of Color Quality
and Color Uniformity in the Graphic Arts; ANSI PH2.41-1976
(R1982), Viewing Conditions for Photographic Color Prints; and
ANSI PH2.45-1979, Projection Viewing Conditions for Compar-
ing Small Transparencies with Reproductions. These four ear-
lier Standards are now obsolete.
can National Standard Viewing Conditions for Photographic
Color Prints, 1972, p. 10. This Standard has been replaced by
ANSI PH2.30-1985; see Note No. 58.
60. Eastman Kodak Company, Quality Enlarging with Kodak Black-
and-White Papers, Kodak Publication G-1, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, February 1985, p. 121.
61. Roy S. Berns and Franc Grum, Munsell Color Science Laboratory,
Rochester Institute of Technology, Color Research and Applica-
tion, Vol. 12, No. 2, April 1987, pp. 6372.
62. Richard J. Henry, Controls in Black-and-White Photography, sec-
ond edition, Focal Press (Butterworth & Co., Ltd.), Boston, Massa-
chusetts and London, England, 1986, pp. 105112.
64. R. E. Birr and C. N. Clark, Radiation Sources, Section 1 in SPSE
Handbook of Photographic Science and Engineering, John Wiley
& Sons, New York, New York, 1973, pp. 1141.
65. UV-absorbing tubes and sleeves for fluorescent lamps can be ob-
tained from a number of suppliers, including Conservation Resources
International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place, Springfield, Virginia 22151;
telephone: 703-321-7730. The tubes sold by Conservation Resources
are made from Rohm and Haas UVA-7 acrylic resin which is said not
to lose UV-filtration effectiveness with age. UF-3 sheets absorb
somewhat more UV radiation than does UVA-7. Tubes are also
available from Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue,
Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-271-8960; toll-free
outside New York: 800-828-6216. Lower-cost sleeves are available
from the Solar Screen Company, 5311 105th Street, Corona, New
York 11368; telephone: 212-592-8223.
66. A number of fluorescent lamps are available with low UV emission
and improved color rendering characteristics. One such lamp is the
Verilux VLX/M, available from Verilux, Inc., 626 York Street, Vallejo,
California 94590; telephone: 707-554-6850; Fax: 707-554-8370.
67. Eastman Kodak Company, Printing Color Negatives, Kodak Publi-
cation No. E-66, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
September 1970, p. 41.
68. Rohm and Haas Company, Ultraviolet Filtering and Transmitting
Formulations of Plexiglas Acrylic Plastic, Plexiglas Design, Fab-
rication Data, PL-612d, 1979, pp. 2, 3, 5. Rohm and Haas Company,
Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19105; tele-
phone: 215-592-3000. Plexiglas UF-3 should not be confused with
Plexiglas II UVA which does not contain an ultraviolet absorber. UVA
has about the same ultraviolet cutoff point as the standard grades of
Plexiglas (which absorb somewhat more UV radiation than ordinary
glass). The Plexiglas II series is made to much closer thickness
tolerances, and is more expensive, than the standard grades such
as Plexiglas G.
Polycast UF-3 and UF-4 are manufactured by Polycast Technol-
ogy Corporation, 70 Carlisle Place, Stamford, Connecticut 06902.
DuPont Lucite SAR (Super Abrasion Resistant) and Lucite SAR UF-3
are manufactured by the DuPont Company, Polymer Products De-
partment, Lucite Sheet Products Group, Wilmington, Delaware 19898.
(In April 1992, DuPont sold its acrylic sheet business to the British
firm Imperial Chemical Industries P.L.C., also known as ICI. It is not
known if ICI will continue to use the Lucite trademark in the U.S. in
the future.) Licensing and purchasing agreements allow the Rohm
and Haas UF-3 and UF-4 trademarks to be used by all three compa-
nies. Acrylite OP-2 and OP-3 are distributed by CYRO Industries,
Inc., 100 Valley Road, P.O. Box 950, Mt. Arlington, New Jersey
07856; telephone: 201-770-3000. Similar materials in Europe are ICI
Perspex VE (similar to UF-3) and Perspex VA (similar to UF-4).
UV-absorbing glass with an optical anti-reflection coating is sup-
plied under the Tru Vue Museum Glass name by Viratec Tru Vue,
Inc., 1315 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, Illinois 60622; tele-
phone: 312-943-4200; toll-free: 800-621-8339. A UV-absorbing safety-
glass version of anti-reflection coated Denglas is available from
Denton Vacuum, Inc., 8 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
08003; telephone: 609-424-1012.
Plexiglas is supplied with protective paper or polyethylene cover
sheets on both sides to prevent scratches during cutting and han-
dling. Plexiglas may be cut with a table saw equipped with a fine
hollow-ground plywood blade such as those sold by Sears Roebuck,
Rockwell, and others. Production shops cutting large quantities of
Plexiglas should use one of the fine-toothed, carbide-tipped blades
especially designed for cutting acrylic sheet. These blades, which
may cost more than $200 each, are available from several compa-
nies, including Forrest Manufacturing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 1108,
461 River Road, Clifton, New Jersey 07014; telephone: 201-473-
5236. Coarse-toothed saw blades or blades with teeth which have
been set should not be used because a rough cut and edge
chipping will result.
Pre-cut Plexiglas UF-3 sheets (
1
8 inch thick) are available from a
number of suppliers, including Light Impressions Corporation, 439
Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone: 716-
271-8960 (toll-free outside New York: 800-828-6216); Conservation
Resources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place, Springfield, Vir-
ginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730 (toll-free: 800-634-6932);
Plasticrafts, Inc. ,600 West Bayard Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80223;
telephone: 303-744-3700; toll-free: 800-800-7567. Light Impressions
offers both pre-cut standard sizes for frames and custom-cut sizes.
69. Sergio Burgi, Fading of Dyes Used for Tinting Unsensitized Albumen
Paper, a presentation at the International Symposium: The Sta-
bility and Preservation of Photographic Images, Klaus B. Hen-
driks, chairman, sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scien-
tists and Engineers (SPSE) and held at the Public Archives of Canada
(renamed the National Archives of Canada in 1987), Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada, August 10, 1982.
70. Douglas G. Severson, The Effects of Exhibition on Photographs,
Topics In Photographic Preservation 1986 (compiled by Maria
S. Holden), Vol. 1, American Institute for Conservation Photographic
Materials Group (AIC/PMG), pp. 3842, 1986. Available from the
American Institute for Conservation, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite
340, Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636. For a somewhat
revised version of the article, see: Douglas G. Severson, The Ef-
fects of Exhibition on Photographs, Picturescope, Vol. 32, No. 4,
Winter 1987, pp. 133135. Also refer to the discussion in Chapter 7
of the print monitoring program at the Art Institute of Chicago. For a
related discussion of the hazards of displaying photographs, see:
Grant B. Romer, Note No. 1.
71. Suitable lighting equipment for illuminating photographic display
areas is available from many sources, including: Lighting Services,
Inc., Industrial Park, Route 9W, Stony Point, New York 10980; tele-
phone: 914-942-2800 (Fax: 914-942-2177); Edison Price, Inc., 409
East 60th Street, New York, New York 10022; telephone: 212-838-
5212; and Wiedenbach-Brown Co., Inc., 435 Hudson Street, New
York, New York 10014; telephone: 212-243-4500.
72. UV-filter and neutral-density-filter thin polyester plastic films with an
adhesive for application to windows and display cases are available
from a number of suppliers, including the Solar Screen Company,
5311 105th Street, Corona, New York 11368; telephone: 212-592-
8223; toll-free: 800-34-SOLAR. Also, Scotchtint Solar Control Films
are available from the 3M Company, 3M Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
55144; telephone: 617-733-1110; toll-free outside Minnesota: 800-
328-1300.
73. Brian Coe, see Note No. 52.
74. Anon., Drawers Used to Exhibit Light-Sensitive Books, The Abbey
Newsletter, Vol. 11, No. 2, March 1987, p. 33.
75. Paul Lewis, Preservation Takes Rare Manuscripts from the Public,
The New York Times, January 25, 1987, p. H1.
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9
8
5
Junetsu Akiyama, Takashi Ichijo, and Reo Mori, The Relationship Be-
tween Dye Fading of Photographic Color Paper and Spectral Energy
Distribution, abstract from Proceedings of the 1st Joint Confer-
ence on Color Technology, November 20 and 21, 1984, Tokyo,
Japan.
Stanton I. Anderson and George W. Larson [Eastman Kodak Company],
A Study of Environmental Conditions Associated with Customer
Keeping of Photographic Prints, Second International Sympo-
(Printing of Transcript Summaries), Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528,
1985, pp. 251282. Available from SPSE, the Society for Imaging
Science and Technology, 7003 Kilworth Lane, Springfield, Virginia
22151; telephone: 703-642-9090.
Stanton I. Anderson and Richard J. Anderson [Eastman Kodak Com-
pany], A Study of Lighting Conditions Associated with Print Display
in Homes, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, June
July 1991, pp. 127132.
Thomas B. Brill, Light, Its Interaction with Art and Antiquities, Ple-
num Press, New York, New York, 1980.
Robert Feller, Control of Deterioration Effects of Light on Museum Ob-
jects, Museum, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Paris, France, 1964, pp. 5798.
Robert Feller, The Deteriorating Effect of Light on Museum Objects:
Principles of Photochemistry, The Effect on Varnishes and Paint
Vehicles and on Paper, Museum News, Technical Supplement No.
3, Vol. 42, No. 10, American Association of Museums, Washington,
D.C., June 1964.
Robert Feller, Control of Deteriorating Effects of Light on Museum
Objects: Heating Effects of Illumination by Incandescent Lamps,
Museum News, Technical Supplement, American Association of
Museums, Washington, D.C., May 1968.
Laurence Harrison, Report on the Deteriorating Effects of Modern
Light Sources, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York,
1953.
Laurence Harrison, Evaluation of Spectral Radiation Hazards in Win-
dow-Lighted Galleries, Recent Advances in Conservation, Con-
tributions to the IIC Rome Conference, 1961, Garry Thomson,
Editor, Butterworth & Co., Ltd., London, England, 1963, pp. 16.
J. Lodewijks, The Influence of Light on Museum Objects, Recent
Advances in Conservation, Contributions to the IIC Rome Con-
ference, 1961, Garry Thomson, Editor, Butterworth & Co., Ltd.,
London, England, 1963, pp. 78.
Raymond H. Lafontaine and K. J. Macleod, A Statistical Survey of
Lighting Conditions and the Use of Ultraviolet Filters in Canadian
Museums, Archives and Galleries, CCI, The Journal of the Cana-
dian Conservation Institute, Vol. 1, Canadian Conservation Insti-
tute, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M8, 1976.
Raymond H. Lafontaine and Patricia A. Wood, Fluorescent Lamps,
Technical Bulletin No. 7, Canadian Conservation Institute, National
Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M8, January 1980.
Warren E. Leary, New Study Offers More Evidence Linking Cancer to
Halogen Lamps, The New York Times, April 16, 1992, p. A12.
K. J. Macleod, Museum Lighting, Technical Bulletin No. 2, Canadian
Conservation Institute, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontar-
io K1A 0M8, April 1975 (reprinted May 1978).
Lincoln Ross, Experiments on the Image Stability of Resin-Coated Black
& White Photographic Papers, Topics in Photographic Preserva-
tion 1986, (compiled by Maria S. Holden), Vol. 1, pp. 3137, 1986.
American Institute for Conservation Photographic Materials Group,
American Institute for Conservation, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite
340, Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone: 202-232-6636.
Susan E. Schur, Museum Profile: Yale Center for British Art, Technol-
ogy and Conservation, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1979.
June 1990, pp. 3749, 60.
Garry Thomson, Conservation and Museum Lighting, Museums As-
sociation Information Sheet, The Museums Association, 87 Char-
lotte Street, London W1P 2BX, England, May 1970.
Garry Thomson, Annual Exposure to Light Within Museums, Studies
in Conservation, Vol. 12, No. 1, February 1967, pp. 2636.
High ceilings permitted this unobtrusive installation of
incandescent tungsten track lights in the Pace/MacGill
Gallery, one of the leading fine art photography galleries
in New York City. To show photographs to their best
advantage, the gallery has much brighter illumination
averaging about 650 lux than that found in most mu-
seum exhibition areas. Exhibitions at Pace/MacGill typi-
cally last about a month.
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Illumination Intensity
Location Median Level Average Level
A. Museums and Archives 215 lux (20 fc) 1,057 lux (98 fc)
B. Commercial Galleries 430 lux (40 fc) 549 lux (51 fc)
C. Public Buildings 1,325 lux (123 fc) 3,686 lux (342 fc)
(e.g., offices, libraries,
hospitals, and airports)
D. Homes 635 lux (59 fc) 3,213 lux (299 fc)
A, B, C, and D grouped together: 375 lux (35 fc) 1,808 lux (168 fc)
These measurements of light intensity were made by the author between 1977 and 1987; a Gossen Panlux electronic
illumination meter equipped with a flat diffuser disc was used for the measurements. On photographs and other works of
art, the meter probe was placed over the most brightly illuminated portion of the image, next to and on the same plane as
the surface of the object. In some instances, the lighting conditions found in a particular room or building are given as a
range (e.g., 50008000 lux); in other cases, a number of individual readings represent high, low, and intermediate
illumination levels.
In the past, the footcandle (fc or fcd) was the most common unit for measuring light intensity in the United States,
Canada, and England; however, to conform with current international practice, the measurements reported here are given
in lux units (1 lux is equal to 0.0929 footcandle; one footcandle is equal to 10.76 lux). Lux is sometimes abbreviated as lx.
As a matter of convenience, illumination levels above 1,000 lux are frequently expressed in kilolux (klux) units; for
example, 21,500 lux is usually given as 21.5 klux. For ease in making comparisons, however, kilolux units are not given
in this table; all measurements are presented in lux units, regardless of how high a particular reading might be.
Light intensities on photographs were recorded over a very wide range from a high of 32,000 lux (about 3,000
footcandles) on a Kodak Ektacolor RC print on display at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, to a low of
8.5 lux (0.8 fc) on an 1872 Julia Margaret Cameron albumen print at the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House in Rochester, New York; Eastman House also had display illumination levels as high as 5,170 lux (480 fc).
Tungsten illumination levels in museums and galleries ranged from a high of 2,100 lux (195 fc) at the Life Gallery of
Photography in New York City, to a low of 8.5 lux (0.8 fc) at the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman
House; tungsten illumination levels in photography display areas in museums and galleries typically were in the range of
130300 lux (1228 fc). The median intensity of all display locations in museums and archives in which tungsten lamps
were the sole source of illumination was 160 lux (15 fc); in commercial galleries the level of tungsten illumination generally
was higher, with a median intensity of 430 lux (40 fc).
When reviewing the measurements reported in this table, it should be kept in mind that the author has recommended
that, in museums, archives, and galleries, photographs be illuminated with tungsten light at an intensity of about 300 lux
(28 fc); some authorities have specified much lower light levels of about 50 lux (4.7 fc) for photographs and other works
of art on paper.
The table is divided into four categories, with the median and average illumination intensities in the display areas
listed below. The median intensity level is the middle reading of all the measurements when they are arranged in
numerical order (if there is no middle value, which occurs when there is an even number of measurements, the median is
calculated as the arithmetic mean of the two middle values). The average intensity is simply the numerical average of all
the measurements in a group. The median intensity generally gives a better indication of typical illumination levels than
does an average level; in three of the four groups, a relatively small number of measurements taken in extremely bright
display areas caused the average intensity levels to be substantially above the median levels.
Because the fading rate of a color print is directly related to the intensity of the display illumination, the useful
lifetime (defined as the length of time for a specified amount of fading and/or staining to take place) of a particular type
of color print depends to a large extent on where it is displayed; with most modern color prints, the intensity of illumination
is a much more significant factor in image fading than is the spectral energy distribution of the light source.
Table 17.1 Survey of Lighting Conditions in Display Areas
(continued next page)
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A. Museums and Archives
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 130160 lux
New photography department galleries (1982);
tungsten illumination controlled with dimmers.
Dimmed tungsten through glass diffusers; Paper & 5575 lux
Light exhibition in new galleries, 1982; calotype prints.
Tungsten; 1543 Chinese handscroll, colors on paper. 375 lux
Photographic Print Study Room; indirect fluorescent 540860 lux
reflected from domed ceiling, painted white.
Fluorescent through plastic diffuser; photography room 240 lux
(Room 106).
Tungsten; Color photographs: Marie Cosindas, Eliot Porter. 170 lux
160 lux
150 lux
125 lux
95 lux
60 lux
Tungsten; selections from the permanent collection. 130240 lux
Watercolors and drawings (Room 108). 65130 lux
Prints and drawings (Room 109). 85 lux
The Helen Regenstein Gallery. 5565 lux
Fabric display durations: 3 months. 75 lux
4555 lux
Museum of Modern Art, New York City 65160 lux
(new galleries 1986) 30-watt incandescent reflector
flood lamps; albumen, platinum, and other 19th-century
prints.
75- and 150-watt PAR incandescent reflector flood 175380 lux
lamps; Ektacolor 74 RC, Ektacolor Plus, Ektacolor Pro-
fessional, Cibachrome, Dye Transfer, and silver-gelatin
prints.
Museum of Modern Art, New York City 325 lux
(old galleries 1980) Tungsten lamps, with some diffuse 240 lux
daylight through glass; Ektacolor 37 RC, Kodak Dye 130 lux
Transfer, silver-gelatin, and albumen prints. 85 lux
International Museum of Photography at George 5,170 lux
Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Diffuse daylight on a black-and-white photograph.
Upstairs, northwest corner; diffuse daylight with some 5,170 lux
tungsten. 1,600 lux
1,300 lux
Upstairs, southwest corner; diffuse daylight through 3,450 lux
glass with a small percentage of illumination from 1,940 lux
tungsten lamps; photographs framed with Plexiglas UF3 860 lux
or glass. 650 lux
590 lux
Upstairs southeast corner. 1,560 lux
1,450 lux
1,400 lux
Upstairs; diffuse daylight through glass with some 1,300 lux
tungsten on color print (dye imbibition); print
appears to have lost a significant amount of yellow dye.
50% daylight, 50% tungsten; 1939 Nickolas Muray 1,300 lux
photograph.
Fashion Show (photographs), October 8, 1977. 1601,720 lux
Brackett-Clark Gallery; photograph display area; 1,400 lux
tungsten lamps. 1,350 lux
850 lux
650 lux
590 lux
430 lux
370 lux
Brackett-Clark Gallery; tungsten, no daylight; 75-watt
reflector flood lamps about 68 feet from prints; Eikoh
Hosoe exhibit, 1982.
Upper section of higher print on wall. 380 lux
Lower section of higher print. 270 lux
Lower print on wall. 95 lux
Average illumination. 160215 lux
Brackett-Clark Gallery; Mark Goodman show; 150-watt 270325 lux
reflector flood lamps approximately 8 feet from photo-
graphs.
Tungsten illumination on Dye Transfer, Cibachrome, 240 lux
and Ektacolor prints.
Tungsten; temporary exhibition, The Photographers 160215 lux
Hand ; Dye Transfer and other color prints.
Brackett-Clark Gallery; Pierre Petit salted paper and 130160 lux
albumen portrait prints; 75-watt reflector flood lamps
approximately 6 feet from prints.
Brackett-Clark Gallery; exhibition,
Steichen A Centennial Tribute. 5475 lux
Small room; tungsten. 3254 lux
Permanent Exhibition Galleries (2nd floor) at night; 3265 lux
tungsten.
Permanent Exhibition Galleries (2nd floor); tungsten, 8.532 lux
60-watt frosted lamps.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Stated museum policy is to not exceed 140215 lux
on photographs, displaying color photographs no more
than 34 months every 510 years; UF3 not used
over color photographs. Tungsten; Counterparts,
photography exhibit, 1982. Overall illumination. 45160 lux
Illumination on 1979 Polacolor 2 print. 95 lux
Illumination on calotype print. 55 lux
Tungsten; illumination on Egyptian scrolls. 45 lux
The Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, 130320 lux
Louisiana Tungsten reflector flood lamps and
tungsten halogen lamps with glass filters. New
Orleans Now, a 1987 exhibit of black-and-white
photographs of modern New Orleans by Michael
Smith; Ektacolor facsimile copies of 19th-century
photographs; black-and-white photographs;
manuscripts; lithographs.
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 32215 lux
Tungsten; Color as Form A History of Color
Photography, exhibit, 1982.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts 3,9004,500 lux
Daylight through glass; 1960 Morris Louis painting.
Tungsten and daylight through glass in ceramics room. 3,000 lux
Daylight through white shade; John Marin oil painting. 2,700 lux
Daylight through glass mixed with fluorescent. 700 lux
Tungsten with some daylight; 1824 Gilbert Stuart oil 460 lux
painting.
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Fluorescent; General Electric Warm White with UV- 240 lux
absorbing cover tubes; metal grid; Gilbert Stuart oil
painting.
Tungsten; 1757 oil painting. 130 lux
50% fluorescent mixed with 50% tungsten; Lewis Hine 130 lux
photograph, 1931.
Tungsten; Lewis Hine photographs. 52130 lux
Tungsten; Polaroid SX70 print. 110 lux
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New east 17,200 lux
building; daylight through tinted window glass; tapestry, 1,900 lux
paintings. 860 lux
220 lux
East building; gallery rooms; diffuse daylight with 270375 lux
tungsten.
East building; tungsten lamps; Picasso painting. 195345 lux
Old building; mostly tungsten illumination and daylight 1,200 lux
through ceiling diffuse glass (skylights). Painting room; 775 lux
13th-century paintings; 5:00 PM. 650 lux
590 lux
375 lux
Diffuse daylight; Claude Monet painting. 645750 lux
Tungsten only; 15th16th-century paintings. 110130 lux
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 2,70021,500 lux
Washington, D.C. Daylight through tinted glass
on sculptures; no paintings or prints in this area.
Second floor; tungsten spot lamps about 815 feet 195325 lux
away from prints; Grant Mudford: Photographs.
National Museum of American History, Science, 450 lux
Technology and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, 345 lux
Washington, D.C. Photography gallery, third floor; 300 lux
tungsten. 195 lux
160 lux
Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Wisconsin (Fluorescent tubes in skylights
for night use.)
Tungsten only. 240540 lux
Tungsten and daylight (overcast day). 215325 lux
Tungsten; skylight covered. 110150 lux
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio est. 5,4008,600 lux
Diffuse daylight from full-roof glass skylight on
very large fabric tapestry which is severely faded.
Diffuse daylight from full-roof glass skylight 4,1004,800 lux
on Murillo oil painting (ca. 1660).
Indirect daylight through windows. 3,450 lux
Tungsten lamp; black-and-white photographs. 200 lux
Tungsten. 130 lux
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut 1,240 lux
Mostly tungsten with some diffuse daylight.
Tungsten exclusively; oil paintings. 1,130 lux
Tungsten exclusively; Fosburgh Collection; oil and 160750 lux
watercolor paintings.
Display case; tungsten illumination when case lid is 340 lux
open; early American miniature paintings.
Tungsten and daylight; 17th-century Chinese drawings 215 lux
and paintings.
1972 Dye Transfer print; tungsten. 195 lux
Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas 1,0801,600 lux
Display transparencies mounted on light boxes;
yellow dye loss severe, also magenta dye loss,
edge-fading effects; illumination measured on d-min
film side. (These back-lighted display transparencies
are intended to be replaced periodically.)
LBJ Oval Office exhibit; fluorescent and diffuse 160 lux
daylight through windows; family photograph on display.
Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, 160215 lux
Austin Vault area.
Michener Gallery; tungsten spot lamps. 160215 lux
Gutenberg Bible; case monitored. 325 lux
Museum of Art, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 350 lux
Print room. 170 lux
160 lux
Tungsten; photography exhibit; Ektacolor 74 RC 300 lux
prints and others. 240 lux
170 lux
Tungsten, about 20% daylight. 240 lux
Oil painting. 170260 lux
Tungsten, some daylight; photographs exhibited. 160 lux
120 lux
85 lux
6575 lux
5065 lux
Friends of Photography Gallery, Carmel, California 540860 lux
Tungsten; 150-watt reflector flood lamps, about
6 feet from photographs.
National Archives, Washington, D.C. Tungsten; 100160 lux
exhibition area; exhibit, A Matter of Identity.
Tungsten, UV filter; Bill of Rights. 32 lux
Tungsten, UV filter; Declaration of Independence. 8 lux
National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario 32,000 lux
Direct sunlight each morning on Ektacolor RC
print framed behind glass.
Print display area; fluorescent light through plastic 540 lux
diffuser.
National Gallery of Art, Ottawa, Ontario
Gallery policy is to not exceed 50 lux (4.7 fc) on prints,
drawings, and photographs.
Photograph area; Ektacolor 37 RC and 74 RC prints, 5585 lux
Cibachrome prints, Dye Transfer prints, and
black-and-white prints.
Tungsten lamp; illumination on oil paintings, watercolors. 300 lux
160 lux
150 lux
130 lux
85 lux
55 lux
32 lux
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Galeria de Arte Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela 6,200 lux
Diffuse daylight; various rooms. 3,300 lux
2,800 lux
2,600 lux
1,700 lux
One dark room; mostly daylight with some tungsten. 150200 lux
Daylight only. 110 lux
Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela 160430 lux
Tungsten.
50% tungsten, 50% daylight. 215325 lux
B. Commercial Galleries
Life Gallery of Photography, New York City 8002,100 lux
Time & Life Building, Room 28-58. Glass-filtered
tungsten halogen lamps 4 to 6 feet from the photo-
graphs; November 1986 exhibit, Life Photographs
from the First Fifty Years: 19361986; Ektacolor,
Dye Transfer, Cibachrome, and black-and- white
prints. (Illumination intensity in small areas near
the center of some prints reached 4,800 lux.)
Light Gallery, New York City 8601,900 lux
Tungsten; May 1982 exhibit of photographs.
Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York City 460940 lux
Tungsten; June 1985 exhibit of Ektacolor,
Cibachrome, Kodak Dye Transfer, and
black-and-white photographs.
Laurence Miller Gallery, New York City 325430 lux
Tungsten reflector flood lamps; November 1986
exhibit, Real Pictures from True Stories,
by Len Jenshel; Ektacolor Plus prints.
Tungsten reflector flood lamps; November 1986 215270 lux
photography exhibit, Cherry Blossom Time in
Japan, by Lee Friedlander; gravure prints.
Witkin Gallery, New York City 650 lux
Tungsten illumination on color and black-and-white 540 lux
photographs. 480 lux
Castelli Graphics, New York City 325430 lux
Tungsten reflector-flood lamps; graphics, color
and black-and-white photographs.
Photofind Gallery, New York City 430540 lux
exhibit of Imogen Cunningham black-and-white prints.
Marcuse Pfeiffer Gallery, New York City 110215 lux
exhibit, Illuminations: A Bestiary, by Rosamond
Wolff Purcell; Cibachrome RC prints.
A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, 120300 lux
Louisiana Tungsten reflector flood lamps;
February 1987 exhibit of Dye Transfer, Cibachrome,
Ektacolor, contemporary black-and-white photographs,
and 19th-century prints.
The Weston Gallery, Carmel, California 800 lux
Tungsten, brightest area.
Tungsten, overall. 130430 lux
New West Gallery, Carmel, California Tungsten. 160325 lux
C. Public Buildings
Hopkins International Airport, Central Lobby, Cleveland,
Ohio (Semi-diffuse sunlight through acrylic skylights.)
Bright areas of lobby. 21,500 lux
On fabric mural on wall for many hours each day. 19,400 lux
Diffuse daylight through skylights in darker areas of lobby. 4,100 lux
National Research Council Library, Ottawa, Ontario 10,330 lux
Indirect daylight through very large tinted-glass window;
winter day.
Large wall; sunlight through tinted full-length window. 9,680 lux
Stack area; indirect diffuse daylight through full-length 5,160 lux
window.
Reading room; diffuse daylight through full-length 1,500 lux
window.
Diffuse daylight through glass, mixed with 1,200 lux
fluorescent lamps with plastic diffusers.
Lambert International Airport, St. Louis, Missouri 6,250 lux
Main terminal; daylight through tinted acrylic.
Main terminal; diffuse daylight through glass; 5,600 lux
commercial Ektacolor prints on display. 4,950 lux
3,450 lux
2,580 lux
1,180 lux
Houston Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas 110160 lux
Exhibit in main terminal of Ektacolor Professional
prints by Gittings Studio entitled The People of
Houston. Illuminated by metal-halide lamps and
indirect daylight through tinted glass; prints framed
under glass (1987).
Law Office, Des Moines, Iowa 3,8005,160 lux
Diffuse daylight through tinted window glass;
wall area away from window; lithograph on wall
very faded after about 2 years.
Law Office, Des Moines, Iowa 4,300 lux
Daylight through window glass and fluorescent light.
Oberlin Art Conservation Laboratory, Oberlin, Ohio
Office area: diffuse daylight through glass and direct
fluorescent (General Electric Cool White);
Polacolor 1 print kept on desk for several
years severely faded; estimated 20% daylight.
Across from window. 3,450 lux
Wall near window. 1,130 lux
Direct fluorescent lamps through metal grid.
Some daylight.
On work desk. 2,360 lux
On lower wall. 540 lux
Laboratory; tungsten lamp illumination on Ektacolor 1,180 lux
print. 345 lux
160 lux
Motel room, Oberlin, Ohio
Sunlight through window, at times directly on framed 56,000 lux
lithograph on wall.
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Diffuse daylight through glass. 3,500 lux
1,800 lux
1,560 lux
970 lux
National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario 3,440 lux
Office; diffuse daylight through large window onto
shelf and wall area.
Fluorescent lamp through plastic diffuser; work table; 1,400 lux
some daylight.
Diffuse daylight and fluorescent through plastic diffuser; 1,180 lux
approximately 50% daylight and 50% fluorescent light.
National Archives, Washington, D. C. Office; fluorescent 2,370 lux
light through plastic diffuser above desk in alcove.
Iowa State University Library, Ames, Iowa 2,260 lux
Library reading room; daylight through glass, with some
fluorescent directly through metal grid; oil painting on wall.
Display case; direct fluorescent lamps; photographs 8601,300 lux
not covered with glass.
Reading room; direct fluorescent lamp through wide- 1,180 lux
spaced metal grid, with some daylight through glass.
General illumination. 5401,200 lux
Television office, Owings Mill, Maryland 1,830 lux
Direct fluorescent lamps; no cover or grid; 1,290 lux
Westinghouse Cool White. 1,180 lux
Modern Photography editorial office, New York City 1,350 lux
Fluorescent light through plastic diffuser; some
indirect daylight through window glass; Ektacolor
prints on display, covered with glass; older
Ektacolor prints show significant magenta dye loss.
Direct Cool White fluorescent light through metal grid
(ceiling).
On desk (some daylight). 590 lux
On wall (overcast day). 325 lux
Office wall; color print on display. 215 lux
University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa 1,500 lux
Exam room; direct fluorescent lamps through metal 1,300 lux
grid; Ektacolor print on display without glass; some 540 lux
daylight through window.
Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts 1951,450 lux
Daylight through glass. 320860 lux
Time Inc., Time & Life Building, New York City 650 lux
Office, Room 24-18; fluorescent illumination.
Nassau Bay Resort Motel, Houston, Texas 430650 lux
Indirect daylight on wall through glass and solar control
film.
D. Homes
House, Grinnell, Iowa 86,000 lux
Direct sun in room (not on a photograph).
2nd floor room; snow on ground, indirect daylight. 2,800 lux
2nd floor room; nighttime, tungsten light. 75 lux
Kitchen; daylight, snow on ground. 1,3501,700 lux
Kitchen at night, fluorescent light. 430 lux
Daylight through window glass. 1,290 lux
House, Ottawa, Ontario
Kitchen; direct daylight through glass. 23,670 lux
Kitchen; indirect daylight through glass. 1,720 lux
Bright, relatively small area on wall. 3,900 lux
Diffuse daylight through glass. 1,5001,720 lux
Daylight through window glass. 1,180 lux
860 lux
540 lux
Apartment, Chicago, Illinois 4,850 lux
Bedroom; indirect daylight through window glass; 2,260 lux
large window facing south; white walls; 11:30 AM. 1,940 lux
Living room; indirect daylight through window glass 3,660 lux
(and through screens in June); 11:30 AM. 1,940 lux
620 lux
Modern house, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 3,300 lux
Diffuse daylight through glass in summer.
Indirect daylight through window onto wall. 480650 lux
Modern house, Laytonsville, Maryland 7002,370 lux
Living room; large windows; indirect daylight.
Room where photographs of seven generations 4851,670 lux
are displayed on a wall; indirect daylight.
Older house, Iowa City, Iowa 3251,185 lux
Indirect daylight through window glass.
House, Quebec City, Quebec 375970 lux
Living room walls; indirect daylight through window
glass.
Kitchen; daylight through window glass mixed 215485 lux
with tungsten.
House, New Haven, Connecticut 860 lux
Diffuse daylight through glass. 485 lux
325 lux
215 lux
Old house (1896), Madison, Wisconsin
Daylight through window glass.
Bedroom near ceiling. 590 lux
Bedroom near floor. 235 lux
Living room. 375 lux
Hall. 45 lux
Tungsten light at night;
Dining room. 4875 lux
Kitchen. 3265 lux
Living room. 1645 lux
House, Montreal, Quebec Photograph display area; 32 lux
diffuse daylight mixed with tungsten. 11 lux
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cates are essential to protect an original slide if an image is
likely to receive extensive projection or handling.
Choice of Color Film Is
the Most Important Consideration
When stored in a typical air-conditioned office environ-
ment (i.e., 75F [24C], 5060% RH), the dark fading stabil-
ity of slides made on current Kodachrome, Fujichrome,
Ektachrome, and the improved Agfachrome RS and CT
films introduced in 198889 is sufficiently good that most
photographers and commercial users will feel no immedi-
ate need to refrigerate such slides. Most photographers
are reasonably satisfied if a color transparency lasts their
lifetime or at least their working careers without
obvious deterioration.
This is not to say, however, that humidity-controlled
cold storage is not a good idea for stock agencies and other
commercial collections. Especially for collections that contain
valuable material on earlier films such as Ektachrome Pro-
cess E-1, E-2, and E-3 films, all of which have extremely
poor dark fading stability, refrigeration is the only way to
slow further deterioration.
Refrigerated storage is also vital for long-term preser-
vation of Process E-4 Ektachrome films, Fujichrome films
made prior to 1978 (when improved Fujichrome Process E-
6 films were introduced), and all Ansco and GAF color
transparency films. Also included in this group, because of
their relatively poor dark fading stability, are all pre-1989
Agfachrome RS and CT films (at the time of this writing in
1992, only Agfachrome RS 1000 film was still being manu-
factured with the earlier type of poor-stability yellow dye),
and pre-1991 3M ScotchChrome slide films and Polaroid
Presentation Chrome 35mm film (made for Polaroid by 3M
in Italy).
For museums and archives, where the goal must be
indefinite preservation of color photographs in an essen-
tially unchanged condition, refrigerated storage is manda-
tory for all present and past slide films, even Kodachrome.
To avoid fungus growths on film emulsions, in any col-
lection, with or without refrigerated storage, humidity lev-
els in a storage area should never be allowed to remain
above 6570% for prolonged periods.
For current work, a photographer can make an informed
decision about which films are best suited to his or her
needs. There are many practical advantages in choosing
the most stable slide films available, the most obvious be-
ing the extended projection times afforded by the films
with the best projector-fading stability as well as the ability
to store slides in normal room temperature conditions for
the next 50 years or more without objectionable fading
taking place.
Introduction
Although color slides can be made from color negative
originals, the great majority of 35mm slides are one-of-a-
kind transparencies produced by reversal processing of
the original chromogenic camera film. The Fujichrome or
Kodachrome slide that you put in your projector is in most
cases the same piece of film that was exposed in your
camera.
When an original color slide becomes faded, physically
damaged, or even lost, there is no camera negative from
which a new slide can be made. In this respect, original
color slides are like the daguerreotypes of a bygone era
and the Polaroid instant color prints of today: none have
usable negatives.
More than one billion color slides are taken each year in
the United States alone. Many important collections have
hundreds of thousands of 35mm color slides. Some have
millions: the National Geographic Society in Washington,
D.C. has between 10 and 11 million color slides in its collec-
tion, including a significant number of early Kodachrome
slides dating back to the introduction of Kodachrome in
the 35mm format in 1936; the Time Inc. Magazines Picture
Collection in New York City has over one million slides
dating from the late 1930s; Black Star Publishing Com-
pany has 3 million; Gamma-Liaison, Inc. has over one mil-
lion; Magnum has over half a million; and Sygma Photo
News, Inc. has over one million slides in its collection.
The Image Bank, a Kodak-owned stock agency special-
izing in color photography for general coverage, commer-
cial use, and advertising, has more than 20 million images
mostly 35mm color slides in the collections in its New
York City headquarters and the 64 Image Bank sales of-
fices worldwide. The Bettmann Archive has more than 16
million B&W photographs and color slides in its collec-
tions. When dealing with such vast numbers, it is easy to
lose sight of the fact that original color slides are usually
irreplaceable.
The guiding principle for preserving color slides is to
treat originals carefully the same way valuable nega-
tives should be handled. Slides must be protected from
physical damage, fingerprints, dirt, and scratches. Minor
physical damage is often tolerated when slides are pro-
jected on a screen; however, such defects can be very ob-
jectionable if the slide is used to make a print for display or
is reproduced in a book, magazine, or advertising brochure.
It is also essential that slides be protected from excessive
projector-caused fading (see Chapter 6). The best proce-
dure is to make duplicates from original slides, and to then
carefully store the originals in the dark. Working dupli-
18. Handling and Preservation of Color Slide Collections
Selection of Films, Slide Mounts,
Slide Pages, and Individual Slide Sleeves
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120 roll-film format were introduced, Kodachrome films
were supplied only as low-speed 35mm materials: ISO 25,
40 (tungsten), and 64.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, many photographers who
otherwise liked the fine grain and extremely sharp images
offered by Kodachrome had abandoned the film because
the then-available amateur Kodachrome 25 and 64 films
and the downgraded amateur Kodachrome processing
at Kodak Processing Labs frequently gave unacceptable
performance in terms of color balance and film speed.
Most professional photographers felt that the previous Koda-
chrome II and Kodachrome-X films gave better results.
The introduction of Kodachrome 25 and 64 Professional
films in 1983 and professional Kodachrome processing
by independent labs generally improved the situation
and as a result, the use of Kodachrome among profes-
sional photographers increased for a while mostly at
the expense of Ektachrome film. At one point it was even
rumored that Kodak was thinking about once again mar-
keting Kodachrome sheet film. (Kodak initially introduced
Kodachrome sheet film in 1938. The film was discontinued
in 1955, with Process E-1 Ektachrome film offered as a
Handling and Preservation of Color Slide Collections Chapter 18 626
Fujichrome and Kodachrome
Films Are the Best Choices
When the image stability of a slide film is of even mod-
erate concern, there are really only two logical choices
among all the slide films currently on the market: Fuji-
chrome and Kodachrome.
Kodachrome films have the best dark fading stability of
any conventional color film, either negative or transpar-
ency. Kodachrome is also the only chromogenic color film
that remains completely free of yellow stain formation dur-
ing extended dark storage. (Only Ilford Ilfochrome Micro-
graphic film [called Cibachrome Micrographic film, 19841991],
an ultra-stable color microfilm, has better dark fading stabil-
ity than Kodachrome. But because of its extremely slow
speed an ISO speed of about 1 and several other con-
straints, it is not suitable for normal pictorial photography.)
Kodachrome 35mm slide film was introduced in 1936,
and for most of its more than 50-year history the film has
had a number of practical limitations for many applica-
tions. Until late 1986, when 35mm Kodachrome 200 Profes-
sional Film and Kodachrome 64 Professional Film in the
Most of the more than one million color slides and other film transparencies in the Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection,
which includes the files of Life, Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Money, People Magazine, and other publications, are
now kept in a cold storage vault located adjacent to the picture collection on the 17th floor of the Time & Life Building in New
York City. Constructed in 1983 to preserve the priceless collection, which contains color slides dating back to the 1930s, the
vault was designed to operate at 0F (18C) and 30% RH. In recent years, however, because of heavy use of the color
collection, the vault has been maintained at 60F (15.5C) and 30% RH. Time Inc. Magazines is part of Time Warner Inc.
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replacement. The Ektachrome film had the advantage that
it could be processed by the user, but it was far less stable
than Kodachrome a fact that Kodak was careful to keep
secret from professional photographers.) But by around
1990, sales of Kodachrome were declining once again.
For many photographers working with transparency films,
the fact that Kodachrome film cannot be processed by the
user or most custom labs is a serious obstacle to its regu-
lar use. The complex processing procedure requires spe-
cially built motion picture-type processing equipment and
an in-house analytical lab to monitor the chemistry. Pro-
fessional-quality processing of the film is increasingly diffi-
cult to come by and at the time this book went to press in
1992, was available only in Los Angeles and Miami, or by
shipping the film to one of the few Kodalux labs (formerly
Kodak Processing Laboratories) still offering professional
Kodachrome processing. Several amateur-oriented photo-
finishing labs also process Kodachrome, but by professional
standards the quality and consistency of their work are
generally unacceptable. Fujichrome, Ektachrome, and Ag-
fachrome, on the other hand, can be quickly processed by
the user or by any of the countless labs around the world
offering E-6 processing.
A serious drawback of Kodachrome for slide-film users
is that, unfortunately, it has the worst projector-fading
stability of any slide film currently on the market. How
significant this shortcoming is in practice depends on how
much a slide might be projected over its entire lifetime.
Kodachrome is the best choice when little if any projection
of originals is required (for critical commercial applica-
tions, this author suggests a maximum of 20 minutes total
projection time during the entire life of a Kodachrome slide).
Fujichrome Films Are Superior to
Ektachrome, Agfachrome, and
3M ScotchChrome Films
If significant projection is contemplated, or if Koda-
chrome is not suitable because of processing requirements
or other limitations, Fujichrome professional and amateur
films are clearly the best choices among all currently available
transparency films. Fujichrome professional films are avail-
able in a wide range of speeds and formats, from 35mm to
8x10-inch sheet films, in both tungsten and daylight ver-
sions. Speeds of the Fujichrome daylight films range from
ISO 50 to 1600 (processed normally, this is currently the
worlds fastest color transparency film).
Fujichrome films have received excellent reviews in
the press, with many top professional photographers prais-
ing the color reproduction and image quality of the films.
An outer vestibule minimizes temperature and humidity
fluctuations within the vault, as, for example, when Beth
Zarcone, head of the picture collection, and Linda Kurihara
leave the facility.
Temperature and humidity conditions inside the vault are
recorded on a circular chart recorder, here being checked
by Mary Jane McGonegal and George Zeno.
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Thom OConnor, writing in New York Citys Photo District
News, gave this report on one photographers reaction to
Fujichrome films:
New York advertising and annual report pho-
tographer Jim Salzano was introduced to Fuji
three years ago by architect Charles Fazio.
Charles wanted to make photographs of
mosaics on a building, recalls Salzano, and
he suggested we use Fujichrome. I laughed a
lot, but he gave me a copy of a photo magazine
with a favorable review on the film, so we tried
it.
We shot both Fujichrome and Ektachrome,
and had it processed a few different ways. I
was amazed at how good Fuji looked. It was
incredibly brilliant, with a lot of latitude. It was
a lot like Kodachrome, but without the really
heavy contrast. The Ektachrome looked flat, it
had no life.
Salzano, a heavy Ektachrome roll film user,
gradually started moving to Fuji. I had a lot of
Ektachrome in my refrigerator, so I told myself
Id use that on unimportant jobs. But every job
seemed important, so I kept using Fujichrome.
Finally, I sold off my Ektachrome to a photog-
rapher in my building.
1
Comments like this and the increasing acceptance of
Fujichrome films in the mid-1980s greatly alarmed Kodak
this was the first time that Kodaks stranglehold on the
professional market in the U.S. had been seriously threat-
ened and the company embarked on a crash program to
try to match the brilliant color saturation offered by the
Fujichrome films. The result, introduced with much fan-
fare at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, was Ekta-
chrome 100 Plus Professional Film (the amateur version
is called Ektachrome 100 HC Film).
In this authors tests, both the standard and the new
Plus and X types of Ektachrome films proved to have
identical projector-fading stability. Current Ektachrome
film and Fujichrome films all have generally similar, yel-
lowish stain-limited, dark storage stability (see Chapter 5).
Fujichrome films, however, have approximately twice the
projector-fading stability of Ektachrome films (see Chap-
ter 6). Though not as stable in dark storage as Koda-
chrome films, Fujichrome films are more than 5 times
more stable than Kodachrome in projector fading!
In most commercial applications given the relatively
good dark fading stability of current Fujichrome, Koda-
chrome, and Ektachrome films the most critical stabil-
ity factor in slide film performance is projector-fading
stability. In this regard, Fujichrome films both camera
and duplicating clearly stand out as superior to all other
transparency films in the world today.
Although current 3M ScotchChrome slide films have rela-
tively good projector-fading stability, the dark fading sta-
bility of these films is inferior to that of Fujichrome and
most other E-6 films; for this reason, ScotchChrome films
are not recommended. Although the dark fading stability
of the improved Agfachrome RS and CT films introduced
in 198889 is better than previous Agfachrome films, nei-
ther dark fading nor projector-fading stability of the new
Agfachrome films is equal to that of Fujichrome.
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film
Equals or Exceeds the Image Quality
of Kodachrome Film
Fujichrome Velvia Professional Film, a 50-speed film
introduced in 1990, is the sharpest and finest grain of all
Process E-6 compatible transparency films. Velvia is the
first E-6 film to equal or even exceed the high resolu-
tion and very fine grain of Kodachrome 25 film (in terms of
image structure, Velvia is substantially superior to Koda-
chrome 64).
Writing in the June 1990 issue of Outdoor Photographer
magazine, Galen Rowell, an internationally known wilder-
ness photographer, had this to say about Velvia:
I ran controlled tests of Velvia against Koda-
chrome 25, Kodachrome 64, and Fuji Pro 50.
On the light table the next morning, I saw the
Participants at the Mid-America Art Slide Libraries meet-
ing in Iowa City, Iowa in 1982 examine Agfachrome slides
brought to the meeting. Concern had been expressed
that older, humidity-sensitive Agfachrome slides (made
before 1984, when Agfa converted its films to Process E-6)
were less stable than Ektachrome, Kodachrome, or Fuji-
chrome slides. Agfachrome slides were pulled at ran-
dom from collections, and this subjective examination
indicated that at least under some conditions, the Agfa-
chrome images had faded significantly in a relatively
short period.
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Recommendations
Slide Films
Choose slide films with the best combination of projec-
tor-fading and dark fading stability. This is the most
critical factor in determining the eventual life of an im-
age. As discussed in Chapter 5, Ektachrome and Fuji-
chrome films have generally similar, stain-limited, dark
storage stability. But because Fujichrome and Fujichrome
Velvia films are far superior to Ektachrome films in pro-
jector-fading stability, Fujichrome films are recommended
for most applications. Agfachrome films are an accept-
able third choice, after Fujichrome and Ektachrome. Where
projection of originals can be avoided, Kodachrome is
the best film to use because of its unsurpassed dark
fading stability and complete freedom from yellowish
stain formation during long-term storage; when kept in
the dark, Kodachrome is more stable than any other
chromogenic color film transparency or negative. Un-
fortunately, Kodachrome has the worst projector-fading
stability of any currently available slide film.
Color negative films should be considered for original
photography. To make slides, color negatives can be
printed on Kodak Vericolor Slide Film 5072. Color nega-
tives have much greater exposure latitude than trans-
parency films and color corrections can be made when
slides are printed from negatives. With negatives stored
in a safe place, new slides can be made as needed.
This eliminates concern about fading, scratching, or
outright loss of irreplaceable originals during projec-
tion, handling, or shipping. In addition, color negatives
can be used to make high-quality color and B&W prints.
Films to avoid: 3M ScotchChrome films and Polaroid
Presentation Chrome 35mm film (made for Polaroid by
3M) are not recommended because they have inferior
dark fading stability compared with Fujichrome, Ekta-
chrome, Kodachrome, and Agfachrome. Polaroid
PolaChrome instant color slide films also are not rec-
ommended because of poor image stability, very poor
image quality, and numerous other practical shortcom-
ings. Advertising by Seattle FilmWorks and other cut-
rate processors notwithstanding, use of Eastman, Fuji,
and Agfa motion picture color negative films as a method
of making slides (and/or color prints) should be avoided.
Duplicating films: Fujichrome Duplicating Film is rec-
ommended. Currently available only in 100-foot rolls, it
is hoped that Fuji will supply the film in 36-exposure
cassettes. For large-volume duplication (with an inter-
negative), Fujicolor Positive Film LP 8816 and Eastman
Color Print Film 5384 are recommended. Agfa CP1 and
CP2 print films have very poor dark fading stability and
these films should be strictly avoided.
Slide Mounts
Kodak cardboard Ready-Mounts and the cardboard
mounts used by Kodalux Processing Services (formerly
Kodak Processing Labs) are made of long-lasting mate-
rials, and accelerated tests indicate they are not harm-
ful to color slide images during prolonged storage; the
mounts are satisfactory for most applications (no infor-
mation is available on other types of cardboard mounts).
Open-frame (glassless) plastic slide mounts made by Wess
Plastic, Gepe, Pakon, and others appear to be satisfactory,
although accelerated aging data with slide films in plastic
mounts were not available at the time of this writing.
Glass mounts offer protection from fingerprints and scratches
during handling and also maintain the film in a flat plane
during projection. Glass mounts do not, however, reduce
the rate of fading during projection or in dark storage. Glass
mounts are routinely used in slide libraries because the
slides are handled frequently by students, faculty, and staff;
for libraries and other users that do not require pin-registra-
tion, the taped-glass Archival Mount available from Wess
Plastic, Inc. is recommended.
With commercially produced duplicate slides intended for
use in slide libraries and other reference collections, 3M
Photogard anti-scratch film coating and open-frame plastic
mounts are recommended as a low-cost substitute for glass
mounts. Photogard should not be used to coat original
slides or duplicates intended for reproduction or preserva-
tion backup.
Projection
Keep the projection time of original slides or nonreplaceable
duplicates to a minimum. For general applications, the total
accumulated projection time for Fujichrome should not ex-
ceed about 5 hours (4 hours for Fujichrome Velvia); with
Ektachrome do not exceed 2
1
2 hours; with Agfachrome do
not exceed 2 hours; with Kodachrome do not exceed 1 hour
(see Chapter 6). For critical applications, much shorter
accumulated projection times are recommended. The accu-
mulated projection time, not the length of a particular projec-
tion, is what is important. Lecturers who project certain
slides repeatedly should be especially cautious. Use ex-
pendable duplicates whenever possible; Fujichrome dupli-
cating film is recommended. Avoid high-intensity xenon arc
projectors. Likewise, do not use projectors fitted with non-
standard, high-intensity quartz-halogen lamps or that have
been modified in other ways to increase lighting intensity.
Slide Pages
Recommended: Polypropylene notebook pages for slides
are best (e.g., 20th Century Plastics, C-Line, Light Impres-
sions, Film-Lok, and DW Viewpacks). This authors top rec-
ommendation is the line of EZ2C Super-heavyweight polypro-
pylene pages made by 20th Century Plastics, Inc. The heavier
5.0 gauge of these high-clarity pages gives them much bet-
ter handling characteristics than the flimsier 3.5-gauge polypro-
pylene pages available from most other suppliers. EZ2C
Super-heavyweight pages are available for ring-binder note-
books or with steel top-bars for use in file drawers equipped
with frames for hanging files. Also recommended, when
used in conjunction with Kimac individual slide sleeves (not
necessary for glass-mounted slides), are the rigid, open-
frame polypropylene Saf-T-Stor slide pages supplied by Franklin
Distributors Corp. The Plastican Slide Frame, a rigid, open-
frame, molded polystyrene slide page, is satisfactory for
glass-mounted slides and is particularly recommended for
vertical storage of glass-mounted slides in file cabinets.
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end of an era in my results. At the very least,
my opinion was that Velvia was the best of all
existing worlds. Its resolution appeared to
exceed Kodachrome 25 and the other test films.
I preferred the color saturation and separation
of tones over Fuji Pro 50 and the other films
(although some photographers may prefer
Kodachromes relatively muted colors). To my
eye, exposure latitude equals the other films,
yet with richer blacks. Its granularity rating of
9 equals that of Kodachrome 25, and exceeds
Kodachrome 64s 10, and Fuji Pro 50s 11. In
my tests, the grain often looks tighter than in
Kodachrome 25 because it doesnt build up as
much in dark, continuous toned areas such as
blue skies or facial shadows.
2
Since its introduction in 1990, Velvia has made serious
inroads in the traditional Kodachrome market especially
in the quality-conscious advertising, fashion, and stock pho-
tography business, where the fast turnaround of E-6 pro-
cessing is a compelling advantage. After a significant part
of the professional market that until recently used Koda-
chrome film moved to Velvia and other E-6 films, a number
of major commercial labs in New York, Chicago, and San
Francisco that had installed complex and costly Kodachrome
processing lines in the late 1980s no longer had enough
film coming in to make money on their investment and
were forced to leave the Kodachrome processing business.
As high-quality Kodachrome processing became more
and more difficult to find, increasing numbers of photogra-
phers stopped using Kodachrome. If the market shrinks
below a certain critical level, Kodak could decide to aban-
don Kodachrome altogether.
PolaChrome Instant Slide Films
Should Be Avoided
Polaroid PolaChrome instant color slide film and its
high-contrast PolaChrome counterpart are not recommended
for general applications because the films have poor dark
storage stability in humid conditions; they can also experi-
ence potentially serious and uneven image degradation as
a result of prolonged projection. The physically delicate
silver image layer on the surface of PolaChrome films may
also be unusually susceptible to deterioration caused by
airborne pollutants and by contaminants in filing materials
during long-term storage, although an assessment of this
potential hazard is not currently available. PolaChrome
films have very poor image quality and suffer from a host
of other practical drawbacks (see Chapter 1).
Slides from Color Negatives
and Internegatives
Slides can be printed directly from color negatives, or
internegatives made from original transparencies, using,
for example, Kodak Vericolor Slide Film 5072. If a slide is
made from a color negative, it may be of little consequence
if the slide fades or becomes damaged in handling since
new copies can be prepared as needed.
If only one copy of a slide is required, shooting with
Products to avoid: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) slide pages,
especially the widely available plasticized PVC slide pages
(e.g., 20th Century Plastics and many other firms). Low-
density polyethylene pages (e.g., Vue-All, Print File, Light
Impressions, and Clear File) also are not recommended.
Sleeves for Individual Slides
Unless kept in inactive storage, slides should be in-
serted into individual acetate sleeves to avoid finger-
prints and other damage. Kimac sleeves are best. Light
Impressions individual slide sleeves lack the snug fit of
the Kimac sleeves and therefore are not recommended.
ImageGuard rigid slide holders, from Image Innovations,
Inc., are excellent for protecting valuable slides during
shipping and handling; however, at a price of about $1
each, the high cost of the holders will restrict their use in
most collections.
Handling Slides
Handle slides carefully to avoid fingerprints, scratches,
and abrasion. Slides, especially one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable
originals, should be treated with the same care given to
valuable negatives.
With valuable slides, retain the originals and supply
duplicates to editors, art directors, lecturers, and other
users. Important collections should establish two sepa-
rate divisions. The preservation collection, consisting of
originals, is not projected or otherwise subjected to day-
to-day use. The working collection, made up of dupli-
cate slides, can be edited on light tables, projected,
sent to clients, and so forth. To reduce the risk of losing
or damaging originals, provide for in-house duplication
whenever possible.
Store slides in the dark in a reasonable environment.
The storage temperature should not exceed 75F (24C)
and the relative humidity should be kept as low as pos-
sible to avoid fungus growths, slides should never be
stored where the relative humidity is above 6570% for
prolonged periods. Humidity-controlled refrigerated storage
should be used to preserve valuable historical and com-
mercial collections (see Chapters 19 and 20).
Slides made with comparatively unstable films (e.g., pre-
1978 Ektachrome films, pre-1989 Agfachrome films, 3M
ScotchChrome films, and Polaroid Presentation Chrome
film, slides printed on pre-1984 Eastman Color motion
picture print films, etc.) and slides of any type or age that
show any signs of fading or staining should be dupli-
cated on Fujichrome Duplicating Film and the originals
placed in humidity-controlled refrigerated storage.
Do not allow slides to remain on illuminated viewers or
light tables any longer than absolutely necessary. Ex-
tended exposure to light from an illuminated viewer can
cause significant fading. Kodachrome slides are par-
ticularly sensitive to this and other types of light fading.
To avoid potentially serious, irregular image fading caused
by room lights, do not leave slides uncovered on desks
or tabletops. Be especially careful in rooms that are
brightly illuminated with fluorescent lamps or daylight.
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reversal films such as Fujichrome or Ektachrome is by far
the quickest and least expensive method. If the lighting
conditions are good and the exposure is precise, one usu-
ally can obtain better results from reversal-processed slides
than with slides printed from color negatives. For these
reasons, when slides are wanted, most are shot with rever-
sal films. Conversely, when color prints are the primary
need (by portrait photographers, for example), color nega-
tive films are almost always selected.
For reasons of economy, it has long been industry prac-
tice to duplicate slides on motion picture color film when
large numbers of duplicates from an original are required.
Costing much less than Vericolor Slide Film 5072, Eastman
Color Print Film 5384 is the film now most commonly used
for this purpose. In fact, Eastman 5384 costs far less per
foot than any other 35mm film manufactured by Kodak
either black-and-white or color. When you go to a movie,
the color image on the screen is projected from Eastman
5384, or a similar motion picture color print film made by
Fuji or Agfa. Eastman 5384 is considerably more stable in
dark storage than Vericolor Slide Film 5072; the two films
have generally similar projector-fading stability.
Because 5384 is a negative-positive material, it must be
printed from a color negative. In most cases, however, the
originals used for high-volume duplication are transparen-
cies, thus requiring that an internegative be made for printing
purposes. In most larger labs, internegatives are made
with Eastman Color Negative Film 5247, both because of
its comparatively low cost and because it is sensitometrically
matched to 5384. Also suitable for printing slides from
negatives and internegatives is Fujicolor Positive Film LP
8816, another motion picture print film.
Millions of Color Slides Printed on
Pre-1983 Eastman Color Print Films Are
Now Faded Almost Beyond Recognition
The use of color motion picture print films for high-
volume, low-cost production of color slides began in the
early 1960s with Eastman Color Print Film 5382 (followed
by Eastman Print films 5385 [1962], 5381 [1972], and 5383
[1974] 5381 and 5383 were both used by slide producers
until about 1983).
Unfortunately, until the introduction in 198283 of East-
man Color Print Film 5384, all Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa nega-
tive-positive motion picture print films had extremely poor
dark fading stability (current Agfa CP1 and CP2 print films
still have very poor dark storage stability). Millions of
slides made on these earlier films can be found in slide
libraries and nearly all have suffered a severe reddish color
shift the result of catastrophic cyan dye fading. As color
images, they are now totally worthless. These slides have
faded regardless of whether they experienced frequent and
lengthy projection or were stored in the dark and never
projected. Motion pictures printed on these films have suf-
fered the same fate: all of them have by now suffered cata-
strophic dye fading. A ghastly reddish image is all that
remains of their once full-color brilliance (see Chapter 9).
One of the major art slide producers, Sandak, Inc. of
Stamford, Connecticut, was forced to replace well over one
million slides printed on Eastman Color Print Films. Harold
Sandak, the founder of the firm, said the fading problem
nearly put the company out of business. (In 1988, after 30
years of operation, Harold and Ruth Sandak, the owners of
Sandak, Inc., retired and sold the firm to G. K. Hall & Com-
pany, a division of Macmillan, Inc. located in Boston, Massa-
chusetts.)
The Sandak production of Arts of the United States
sets of up to 4,000 slides that were sold to colleges, univer-
sities, and museums, with a subsidy from the Carnegie
Foundation was one of the first applications of Eastman
Color Print Film for art slide production in the United States.
A 1961 article described the massive project which proved
to be a disaster when all of the slides faded to a horrendous
reddish-magenta color only a few years later:
The Carnegie Corporation of New York re-
cently sponsored a major project, the photo-
graphing of over 4,000 items of Americana to
form a permanent collection of color negatives
from which color slides, and black and white
and color reproductions can be made.
. . . An important feature of the program is
the photographic technique used to insure
accuracy of reproduction. Usually color slides
are duplicated by rephotographing the original
slide, with a resulting loss of faithfulness to the
original. To combat this problem, and make
accurate duplicates readily available, the project
decided to use the color negative process, a
technique which has been employed in the movie
industry, and has more recently become popu-
lar in Europe as a means of producing color
slides.
. . . All of the slides are permanently mounted
in a specially designed plastic frame between
thin glass which permits their use in an auto-
matic slide projector.
3
The introduction of unstable motion picture print films
into the slide market was one of the unfortunate legacies of
Kodaks policy of secrecy about color stability, a policy
which Kodak adhered to from 1935, when Kodachrome film
first appeared on the market, until the early 1980s. Sandak
and other slide producers were unaware of the exceed-
ingly poor stability of these films when they started to use
them. At the time, Kodak had extensive data on the fading
characteristics of all its color films and was aware that the
films would become severely faded after only a few years,
but the company withheld the information and did nothing
to discourage slide producers in the U.S. and Europe from
using the films.
Instead of color negative films, Kodachrome film would
have been a far better choice for the original photography
for projects such as Arts of the United States. It would
also have been better to make duplicates on Kodachrome
film that had been pre-flashed to reduce contrast (for many
years Kodak processing laboratories made all slide dupli-
cates with pre-flashed Kodachrome). By the time Kodak
finally made dark fading stability data for its films public in
the early 1980s, many millions of extremely unstable slides
had been produced and sold.
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Fading that occurs during projection is caused almost
entirely by light. Although slides are heated to a fairly high
temperature during projection, the relatively short time a
slide is exposed to heat in a projector means that heat
during projection in itself makes a negligible contri-
bution to fading. This has been confirmed by accelerated
dark fading tests in heated ovens at equivalent tempera-
tures and times of aging (it should be noted, however, that
there is some evidence that with certain dyes, very high
temperatures during projection can increase the rate of
fading caused by the projector illumination). In any event,
if a slide were projected long enough for projector heat to
cause significant fading, the deterioration caused by the
exposure to light would be far more severe.
In the past Kodak often advised that projection times
should not exceed one minute per slide.
5
Many people
have misinterpreted this to mean that a slide will get too
hot if it is projected longer than 1 minute and that the
excess heat will cause both physical damage and dispro-
portionate amount of fading to occur. With conventional
slide projectors, such as Kodak Carousel and Ektagraphic
projectors (unmodified, with Kodak-recommended lamps,
and in good working condition), a slide will never become
so hot that physical damage to the film will occur even
after hours of continuous projection. Apparently Kodaks
intent in advocating short projection times is to reduce the
likelihood that, during normal use, any particular slide will
receive an excessive total projection time during its life.
High-intensity xenon arc projectors, however, may gen-
erate temperatures that are hot enough to cause physical
distortion of the film base and, not uncommonly, blistering
and other emulsion damage. Plastic slide mounts may be
distorted or partially melted by excessive projector heat.
Glass-mounted slides are particularly prone to heat damage.
Slides with silver images including Polaroid PolaChrome
instant color slides and all types of black-and-white trans-
parencies may be more susceptible to heat damage than
conventional color slides with dye images. Silver images
absorb infrared radiation from the projector lamp (the in-
frared or heat-absorbing glass filters and dichroic mirrors
in Ektagraphic, Carousel, and most other projectors ab-
sorb most, but not all, infrared radiation). It is absorbed
infrared, in combination with absorbed visible light, that
causes the temperature of slides to rapidly rise during
projection. Color dye images absorb much less infrared
radiation than silver images and therefore tend to stay
cooler during projection.
Infrared or heat-absorbing glass filters should never be
removed from a projector in an effort to increase screen
light intensity; if the filter breaks, the projector should not
be operated until it is replaced. Only projector lamps rec-
ommended by the manufacturer should be used and high-
wattage lamps should be avoided. To help avoid overheat-
ing, make sure that the projector fan is functioning prop-
erly and that air intakes and exhaust airflow outlets are
not obstructed.
Excessive projection of originals is often encountered
in educational and training fields where slides are used to
accompany lectures. It is not unusual for a particular slide
to be projected every time a talk is given over a period of
many years; in some cases a slide will remain on the screen
Motion Picture Color Negative Films
Should be Strictly Avoided for Conventional
Still-Camera Photography
Re-spooled in cassettes for 35mm still cameras, East-
man Color Negative Film 5247 (a tungsten-balanced 100-
speed film), Eastman EXR Color Negative Film 5296 (a
tungsten-balanced 500-speed film introduced in 1989), East-
man EXR Color Negative Film 5245 (a fine-grain daylight-
balanced 50-speed film introduced in 1989), and other East-
man Kodak and Fuji motion picture color negative films
are sold to unsuspecting amateur photographers by a number
of cut-rate processing labs, including Seattle FilmWorks,
MSI/Heritage Color Labs, RGB Color Lab, Images Interna-
tional, Inc., and others. Upon return of the film for pro-
cessing, the negatives are printed on Eastman 5384 or a
similar Fuji or Agfa motion picture print film to produce a
set of slides. If the customer desires, color prints on paper
are made as well all at very low cost. Some processors
even include a free replacement roll of film with each order
in an effort to keep customers coming back. Neither Kodak,
Fuji, nor Agfa has ever supplied motion picture color nega-
tive films spooled in 35mm cassettes.
Use of motion picture color negative films is ill-advised
for still camera applications, especially if optimum-quality
color prints are needed; the reader is urged to consult
Kodaks publications on the subject.
4
Motion picture color
negative films are designed for exposure at
1
48 second in a
motion picture camera, and almost all of these films are
tungsten-balanced and therefore should not be used for
daylight or electronic flash photography without an expo-
sure-lengthening daylight conversion filter.
These films cannot be processed in standard C-41 color
negative chemicals if by accident they are, the rem-jet
backing (a black anti-halation, anti-static, scratch-protec-
tion layer coated on the backside of motion picture films
that is softened and removed in an alkaline bath with me-
chanical buffing and a water spray rinse, in processing
machines that are specially designed for motion picture
films) will slough off and contaminate the color developer
and other chemicals in the C-41 process. This can be a
disaster for any Kodacolor or other normal C-41 films that
have the misfortune of going through the processor in the
same run. This danger has forced photofinishers to exam-
ine every roll of film they receive for processing to deter-
mine whether or not it is re-spooled motion picture color
negative film; lab workers live in constant fear that a roll of
motion picture film will get through undetected and create
havoc with a processing machine.
Projection of Slides
Depending on the film and the pictorial characteristics
of an image, slides may show perceptible fading most
obvious as changes in highlight color balance after as
little as 15 minutes of projection time. When repeated
projections over a period of weeks or months accumulate
to 2 or 3 hours of total projection time, slides on many films
exhibit image fading that is readily apparent if the slide is
compared with an unfaded original (for a complete discus-
sion of projector-caused fading, refer to Chapter 6).
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7
James H. Wallace Jr., director and curator of Photographic Services at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., examines
color slides in the Photographic Services cold storage vault, which is maintained at 40F (4.4C) and 27% RH. More than 175,000
original slides are preserved in the vault, together with hundreds of thousands of black-and-white negatives and duplicate
negatives made from nitrate-base originals. Wallace supplies slide duplicates, made in the departments well-equipped lab, to
the Smithsonian staff and to outside clients. Most of the slide collection has been put on videodisc for ease of reference.
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for 15 minutes or longer to accompany a detailed discussion.
Many hours of projection time will soon accumulate and
eventually the slide will suffer devastating fading. Unfor-
tunately, it is usually the most important slides that are
projected most frequently, and for the longest periods a
kind of self-selection for destruction of the most valuable
and visually striking images!
Duplicates Should Always Be Made
When Heavy Use of a Slide Is Likely
When slides are likely to be projected often and/or for
extended periods, duplicates are always advised. How-
ever, trying to duplicate everything, especially under tight
deadlines, can be difficult, expensive, and unwieldy.
For educators and others who give frequent lectures, a
practical approach to the projector-fading problem is to
review periodically perhaps once every 6 months all
the slides in current use and have duplicates made of par-
ticularly important ones, and of those that experience has
shown are frequently projected and that are likely to con-
tinue to be used often in the future. In this way, serious
damage to crucial material can be avoided. In all situa-
tions where frequent or prolonged projection is anticipated,
it is beneficial to choose the most stable films available.
In commercial and audiovisual applications, where du-
plicate slides are more frequently made, it is no less im-
portant to care for originals properly. One can go back to a
carefully preserved original time and time again to make
new duplicates. If an original is damaged or lost, however,
and only a duplicate exists, a third-generation copy will
have to be made from the second-generation duplicate.
Because of losses in shadow and highlight detail, color
degradation, and other image-quality losses inherent in
the duplication process all of which are accentuated
with each generation the image quality of a third-gen-
eration duplicate is frequently unacceptable.
In some situations landscapes and studio still-lifes,
for example the photographer may be able to take mul-
tiple originals. This is the best and least expensive form of
slide duplicate.
During the past 10 years, this author has given many
slide lectures on the stability and preservation of color
photographic materials and has gained a firsthand appre-
ciation of the problems inherent in attempting to avoid
projection of originals by using only duplicates for this sort
of presentation (the lectures are updated with new mate-
rial every time they are given). Initially, most of this authors
slides were Ektachrome and Kodachrome originals. Then,
concerned about the fading that occurred with some of the
more frequently shown slides, and made duplicates of his
most valuable slides this author stopped using Kodachrome
altogether because of its poor projector-fading stability. At
that point, Fujichrome became this authors film of choice
for lecture slides.
In 1988, this author switched to color negative film for
everything except in-house studio and copy-stand work.
(Initially Kodak Vericolor 400 film was used, but in 1991
this author changed to Fujicolor 400 Professional film be-
cause of its finer grain and superior sharpness; Fujicolor
Reala 100 film is also used when lighting conditions per-
mit.) A set of proof prints is obtained when the film is
processed and, after selections are made from the prints,
the negatives are printed on Vericolor Slide Film 5072 to
make slides for projection. To have spares on hand, three
or four slides are usually made from each selected nega-
tive. When required for publication, it is a simple matter to
make reasonably good-quality black-and-white prints from
the color negatives.
Overall, this approach has proven to be more satisfac-
tory, if somewhat more expensive and time consuming,
than working with original slides and duplicates made from
originals. Much of this authors photography is done under
difficult available lighting conditions with mixed illumina-
tion sources, and the wide exposure latitude of color nega-
tive films, together with the color balance and density ad-
justments that are routinely made when slides are printed,
has generally resulted in better quality images than had
previously been obtained with color reversal films.
After processing and printing, this authors color nega-
tives are stored in a frost-free refrigerator, thus eliminat-
ing concern about fading, scratching, or loss of irreplace-
able original slides.
Duplicating Films and Slide Duplicators
Conventional slide films are not well suited for slide
duplicating because their contrast is much too high and
their curve shape does not allow optimum reproduction of
shadow and highlight detail. Also, regular slide films are
excessively grainy (ideally, a duplicating film should accu-
rately reproduce the grain structure of the original slide,
without adding any visible grain of its own to the image).
To meet the requirements for duplication, special low-speed,
low-contrast, high-resolution, and extremely fine-grain
duplicating films are manufactured.
At the time of this writing, Kodak Ektachrome Slide
Duplicating Film 5071 (for tungsten-illuminated duplica-
tors); Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film Type K/8071 (for
duplicating Kodachrome originals) and Ektachrome SE Du-
plicating Film SO-366 (for electronic flash duplicators) were
the most commonly used slide-duplicating films in the United
States. SO-366 is Kodaks designation for selected emul-
sion batches of 5071 film that Kodaks tests have indicated
will work best with short-duration electronic flash illumi-
nation (both films are nominally tungsten-balanced). Ek-
tachrome duplicating films have the same image stability
characteristics as standard Ektachrome camera films.
Fujis slide duplicating film, called Fujichrome Dupli-
cating Film CDU, was not actively marketed in the U.S.
until 1985. Because Fujichrome is superior to Ektachrome
in projector-fading stability (Fujichrome and Ektachrome
duplicating films have similar dark fading stability), Fuji-
chrome Duplicating Film is recommended. Fujichrome
Duplicating Film is also preferred by many photographers
because of its image-quality characteristics. Larry Lipsky,
writing in Outdoor Photographer magazine, commented:
After several years of experimenting with
both the Kodak and Fuji films, I must confess a
certain preference for the Fuji product. Al-
though all three films come with recommended
filter and film speed settings, which can often
vary from batch to batch, I personally found
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cost per slide is moderate for in-house duplication (see
Table 18.2).
A number of good duplicators are available in the price
range of $600 to $1,200. Particularly recommended is the
Beseler Dual-Mode Slide Duplicator, which features both
tungsten and electronic flash illumination, built-in dichroic
filtration (which this author considers essential in a slide
duplicator), and a contrast-reduction feature that allows
flashing of the duplicating film during exposure.
Detailed discussion of duplicating procedures is beyond
the scope of this book; the reader is referred to the well-
written Kodak book, Copying and Duplicating in Black-and-
White and Color,
7
as well as other references in the field.
Correctly made duplicates are usually quite satisfac-
tory for projection purposes, but because of the somewhat
degraded image quality inherent in any duplicate made
from a good original, there is often resistance to accepting
duplicates for publication purposes; given a choice, pub-
lishers prefer to work with originals. But with careful
work and the increased image quality that can be obtained
with modern duplicating films, there is an increasing, if
begrudging, acceptance of duplicates in the publishing field.
New York City agencies such as The Image Bank and
Gamma-Liaison now routinely supply duplicates to clients.
Others, such as Black Star Publishing Company, generally
supply originals to domestic clients but send duplicates to
foreign clients to avoid possible loss or damage to slides
going out of the country.
The highest-quality duplicates have traditionally been
done on 4x5-inch sheet film, but the high cost of such du-
plicates has limited their use. One agency that has made
effective use of 4x5 duplicates is Tony Stone Worldwide
(TSW), headquartered in London, England. In 1988 TSW
purchased Click/Chicago, a leading midwest stock agency.
Table 18.2 Cost of Duplicating a 35mm Slide
(Small Quantities)
*The recommended Fujichrome Duplicating Film CDU is sup-
plied only in 100-foot rolls; 35mm cassettes of the film unfortu-
nately were not available at the time of this writing.
Costs are based on 1992 Kodak and Kodalux lab list prices.
* Recommended duplicating film.
Film costs based on 1992 list prices for Fuji and Kodak films;
processing and slide mounting costs are additional.
Table 18.1 Cost of Film to Duplicate a Slide or Make
a Slide from a Negative or Internegative
(Large Quantities)
36-exposure roll of Ektachrome Slide $ 8.95
Duplicating Film 5071*
Kodalux processing and mounting $ 7.50
Total cost per roll: $16.45
Cost per duplicate: $ 0.46
Fujichrome Duplicating Film CDU $ 0.07
(100-foot roll from slide)*
Ektachrome Slide Duplicating Film 5071 $ 0.07
(100-foot roll from slide)
Kodak Vericolor Slide Film 5072 $0.10
(100-foot roll from negative)
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 $ 0.02
(1,000-foot roll from negative)
Fujis CDU film to be more consistent and easier
to work with. Duplicates made with this film
are incredibly sharp and crisp with exceptional
color saturation and pleasing contrast.
6
When large numbers of duplicates are required from a
slide, it is general industry practice to make an internega-
tive (often on Eastman Color Negative Film 5247) and to
print the slides on low-cost Eastman Color Print Film 5384;
both of these motion picture films require special process-
ing machinery and chemicals. Eastman 5384 is not as
stable in dark fading as either Fujichrome or Ektachrome
duplicating films; 5384 also is not as stable in projection as
Fujichrome.
Kodak Vericolor Slide Film 5072 (processed with stan-
dard C-41 color negative chemicals) can also be used to
print duplicate slides from an internegative, but due to the
relatively high cost of this film, most high-volume commer-
cial laboratories opt for Eastman 5384 instead. The primary
application of 5072 is to make slides from original color
negatives. The dark fading stability of 5072 is not as good as
that of 5384 or, for that matter, of Fujichrome or Ekta-
chrome films. The approximate cost of duplicating a slide
with various Kodak and Fuji films is given in Table 18.1.
For routine slide duplicating, there are many practical
advantages to having a slide duplicator in-house (if need
be, the exposed duplicating film can be sent out for pro-
cessing). A significant advantage in doing ones own dupli-
cating is that density and color balance corrections can be
made to suit the desires of the photographer. Risk of loss
or damage to originals is reduced if slides do not have to
leave the building, and time will often be saved because
orders do not have to be written out and because pick-ups
and deliveries are avoided. Even in small quantities, the
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Douglas Wechsler, director of the VIREO collection of bird photographs at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,
makes duplicates of originals with a ChromaPro slide duplicator. Producing duplicates in-house not only lowers costs but
also, and much more importantly, eliminates the possibility of damage or loss that can occur when irreplaceable originals
are sent to an outside lab.
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Digital Transmission and Storage
of Color Slide and Color Negative Images
The recent introduction of computer equipment and
associated software to transmit high-quality digitized color
images over telephone lines marks the beginning of a revo-
lution in the way publishers and commercial picture col-
lections will operate. At the time of this writing, National
Digital Corporation,
12
a leader in this emerging technol-
ogy, had supplied high-resolution digital image-transmis-
sion systems to U.S. News & World Report (with systems
in both its New York City and Washington, D.C. offices), to
Newsweek magazine, and to several book publishers, in-
cluding Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, and Silver
Burdett & Ginn (a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, Inc.) in
Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Among the picture agencies using National Digital sys-
tems were Sipa Press in its New York City and Paris of-
fices; Sygma Photo News, also in New York City and Paris;
Picture Group; After Image, Woodfin Camp; Photo Research-
ers; Shostal Associates; and the Click/Chicago agency in
Chicago, Illinois. The White House also has a National
Digital system to transmit images to publications around
the world.
Electronic transmission systems eliminate the need to
physically send originals (or duplicates) to prospective cli-
ents who have access to an image receiver. This not only
saves time but also avoids the hazards involved in ship-
ping transparencies, as well as fingerprints, scratches, pro-
jector-caused fading, and other damage (or even loss) that
occur all too frequently when materials are in the hands of
clients.
With a low- resolution image scanner ($7,000), the Na-
tional Digital system allows quick previews to be trans-
mitted to receiving locations for picture selection, with
one, four, nine, or sixteen images appearing on the color
monitor screen; transmission time is from 12 to 50 seconds
per image, depending on its size on the screen.
With the National Digital Production Resolution scan-
ner ($30,000) and Photo Management Workstation ($18,000),
digitized images can be transmitted and stored in a re-
production-resolution mode. Interfaced with a Scitex,
Hell, Crosfield, or other graphic arts laser scanner, color
separations can be reproduced directly from transmitted
images for printing in magazines, books, or other publi-
cations.
Peter Tatiner, writing in Photo District News, reported
on the reaction of John Echave of U.S. News & World
Report after using the National Digital system for a year:
Its fantastic, says Echave. Its been do-
ing better than anyone expected. Echave uses
it to decide immediately on whether to grant
guarantees to participating agencies and for
research especially, he says, for stories that
require lots of pictures. The most frequent use,
though, is to preview pictures sent down by the
New York office. We can see something in
advance on a breaking story. . . . Previewing
via NDC allows the magazine to select pictures
and lay out pages before the production de-
partment has the actual artwork in hand.
13
A Photo District News article on Click/Chicagos new owner
reported:
Stone says the key to his agencys overseas
success, a policy which will be carried over to
the Chicago office, is the fact that the agency
concentrates on a relatively small number of
pictures, but duplicates them many times over.
Taking only the best images on file, 50 or so 4x5
dupes are created in perfect reproduction qual-
ity Stone says that they are better than the
original, although he wouldnt say how they are
created. He did, however, say that the companys
on-site lab has the capability of creating com-
posite images, enhancing colors and cropping.
The dupes are offered at the same time in
many different markets, greatly increasing the
prospect of multiple sales. Our best-selling
pictures are duped 80 times or more and sell
more than 20 times each year.
Stone says, Our sales volume outside the
U.S. is on par with the top two or three Ameri-
can stock agencies, which would make us one
of the largest stock agencies in the world.
8
Recently, 70mm enlarged slide duplicates, with an im-
age area measuring about 2
1
8x3
1
4 inches, have become
available at moderate cost. Produced by a number of labs
around the country,
9
these duplicates offer better sharp-
ness and finer-grain images than conventional 35mm du-
plicates, and they are much less expensive than 4x5 sheet
film duplicates. Carl Purcell, a world-traveling freelance
photographer, is one professional who advocates 70mm
duplicates:
There is always the danger of loss or dam-
age to the original image, which could substan-
tially cut profits or even put a stock photogra-
pher out of business. The stock photography
business involves careful safeguarding of ones
images as well as careful marketing. Duplicat-
ing your images or duping is, therefore,
an integral part of both aspects of the trade.
I believe the 70mm dupe will drastically
change the way photographers market their pic-
tures, both directly and through agencies. Ba-
sically, it allows a photographer to clone an
outstanding image as many times as desired,
making possible multiple, simultaneous submis-
sions on an international basis.
10
Wilderness photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell
is another advocate of enlarged 70mm duplicates. Rowells
Mountain Light agency, which he and his wife Barbara
operate with a small staff in Albany, California, has more
than 300,000 slides on file and of these, the top 500 are
stored in a fireproof vault. If someone wants to use one of
these, we send out a 70mm reproduction-grade dupe; ev-
erything else goes out as originals.
11
The color photo-
graphs in Rowells recent book, Mountain Light, were re-
produced from 70mm duplicates. A prolific photographer,
Rowell typically has about 3,000 transparencies in circula-
tion with prospective clients.
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Daniel Jones (left), photography curator at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, explains to visiting conservator David Kolody the ingenious index slide system developed by
Jones for color slides preserved in the museums cold storage vault. The inexpensive index slides, viewed with a projector
or magnifier, afford an excellent visual record of the material in storage.
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This camera set-up was devised by Daniel Jones for producing index
slides. Slides in pages are lighted from below to illuminate the images,
and from above so that serial numbers, dates, and caption information
are visible. Kodachrome 40, a tungsten-balanced film, was chosen for
the project because of its sharp, fine-grain images.
Rigid polypropylene Saf-T-Stor pages sup-
plied by Franklin Distributors Corp. are cata-
loged and housed in metal boxes for stor-
age in the Peabody Museum vault.
Daniel Jones looking at color slides in Saf-T-Stor polypropylene slide pages inside the Peabody Museum cold storage vault.
Constructed in 1979 with the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the vault is maintained at 35F (1.7C) and
25% RH. It was the first humidity-controlled cold storage vault for photographs in an academic institution (see Chapter 20).
Included in the Peabodys holdings is a large collection of color slides and 16mm color motion picture film photographed in
the field by noted anthropologist and filmmaker Robert Gardner (the founder of Harvards Film Study Center).
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An index slide contains the images of 20 slides in a slide
page. These slides were photographed in the same Saf-
T-Stor rigid polypropylene slide page in which they are
stored.
To produce an even more compact reference tool, 20
index slides can be photographed on a single frame.
When projected or examined with a magnifier, the 400
images are large enough for most identification needs.
that initially the primary application of digital transmis-
sion will be as an office-to-office system for publishers
that operate in more than one location and for picture
agencies that sell to magazines and other clients who also
have National Digital equipment and software. Craig says
that valuable and frequently needed images can be stored
on digital optical discs, and originals will no longer have
to be handled or shipped they can be put away for safe-
keeping.
15
Cataloging and Distribution of Color and
B&W Images with CD-ROMs and Photo CD's
For stock photo agencies, two technologies that can sim-
plify distribution of color images while at the same time
reduce handling of originals and lower duplication costs
are the CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory), and
the Kodak Photo CD introduced in 1992. The Image Bank,
a leading New York City stock agency purchased by East-
man Kodak for $25 million in 1991, will be a proving ground
for the Photo CD in this type of application. For several
years, The Image Bank has used videodiscs to distribute
catalogs of images to its 60 sales offices worldwide.
In the early hours of November 9, 1988, the morning
after George Bush was elected president of the United
States, Newsweek magazine used a National Digital sys-
tem to transmit color slide images from Houston, Texas,
where Bush (a voting resident of Texas) had watched the
election returns with his family and staff, to the magazines
offices in New York City. One of the photographs, which
showed Bush and his wife Barbara greeting supporters
and campaign workers at a victory celebration in Houston,
was featured on the cover of the magazines special elec-
tion issue. The picture had been taken only hours before
Newsweeks 4:00 a.m. press deadline:
On Wednesday, November 9, the film arrived
in Newsweeks Houston office at 2:45 a.m. Ten
minutes later, picture editors in New York were
looking at a group of five preview-quality im-
ages (at 500-line resolution) for viewing and
selection. Two of these images were then
scanned in production resolution, transmitted,
written to tape and loaded into the Crosfield
[graphic arts laser scanner] system.
14
Stuart Craig, on the staff of National Digital, expects
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With the need to access slides on a daily basis,
commercial picture agencies have generally viewed
cold storage as unwieldly. Slides are stored at room
temperature and without special humidity control.
Because of this, it is crucial for the survival of his-
torically valuable images that photographers sell-
ing work through picture agencies choose the most
stable slide films available currently Fujichrome
and, if projection can be avoided, Kodachrome.
The notebook filing system at Magnum has been replaced by more
accessible hanging pages, stored in file drawers. Magnum found that
some of the PVC pages stuck to slides and left gooey deposits on
film surfaces. Although only a small percentage of the PVC pages in
the collection have reached such an advanced stage of deterioration,
the agency replaced all of the PVC pages with new polypropylene
pages. Shown here is Susan Duane, a picture researcher at Magnum.
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In excess of one million color slides are in the collection of Magnum Photos, Inc. Headquartered in New York City, Magnum
also maintains an office in Paris, France. A cooperative agency owned by its member photographers, Magnum specializes
in news, documentary, and feature photos. Lining the wall at the rear are ring-binder notebooks filled with slides in PVC
pages, which were being phased out when this picture was taken in 1987.
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Magnum has an in-house slide duplicator for making
copies of slides sent to clients around the world. Depend-
ing on the nature of the request and time constraints,
either originals or duplicates are submitted to clients.
Like most large picture agencies, Magnum has computerized its files. Here, Philip Jones Griffiths (left), photographer and
president of Magnum at the time, confers with computer programmer Jeffrey Schlesinger. Commercial agencies are
increasingly adopting CD-ROMs, Photo CDs, and electronic transmission equipment to allow low- and/or high-resolution
digital images scanned from photographic originals to be distributed to sales offices and directly to clients worldwide.
Bookkeeper Vijaya Allen operates a Xerox 6500 color
copier that can reproduce either individual slides or groups
of slides in notebook pages. The color copies are sent to
clients for their consideration.
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Art slide libraries, such as this large facility at the School of Art at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, frequently contain
hundreds of thousands of color slides. In a demanding environment such as this, good projector-fading and dark fading
stability are essential. Fujichrome films are recommended for originals and duplicates.
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A notice warns users of the hazard of exposing slides to
room lights or the more intense illumination of slide viewers.
Types of Slide Collections
During the past decade, as snapshot photographers con-
verted en masse to color from black-and-white photogra-
phy, nearly all of the growth in the amateur market has
been in color negative films. It has been estimated that in
1990 color slides accounted for just 5% of the approximately
16 billion color photographs made by amateurs in the U.S.
(black-and-white photographs accounted for a mere 2% of
the total!).
16
Amateur photographers have shown a very
strong preference for color prints. Slide projector sales
have fallen steadily over the past few years, and the home
slide show is on the verge of becoming a thing of the past.
In many applications, however, the availability of color
prints is not the primary need. Color transparency films
continue to be the norm in commercial and stock photogra-
phy, advertising photography, and magazine photojour-
nalism (although most newspaper photographers now use
color negative films). Color slides are also very popular
in educational and training fields (the filmstrip, a close
relative of the color slide, still is popular in elementary
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Glass mounts can provide physical protection during han-
dling; however, glass mounts offer no added protection
against image fading during projection or in storage.
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schools). Slide-accompanied lectures are widely used at
conferences and technical meetings; the market for slides
with computer-generated color images featuring graphs,
charts, and special effects is expanding rapidly. Commer-
cial picture agencies such as Black Star, Magnum, Photo
Researchers, Tony Stone Worldwide, The Image Bank, Sipa
Press, and Sygma work almost exclusively with color trans-
parencies the vast majority being 35mm slides.
There are a number of practical advantages to color
transparencies when photographs are to be reproduced in
magazines, catalogs, books, etc. Since the printing separa-
tions are usually made directly from the original transpar-
ency, there is no loss of image quality caused by second- or
third-generation duplication or the making of positive trans-
parencies or prints from internegatives. Slides and larger
transparencies are the lowest-cost form of color photogra-
phy because they can be viewed directly after processing
with no additional labor or materials required to make prints.
Editing is simplified and assuming the exposure and
color balance are correct in the original slide color bal-
ance variations that usually appear in making prints are
avoided.
The color photographs in large documentary and maga-
zine collections such as the Time Inc. Magazines Picture
Collection (part of Time Warner Inc.) and the National
Geographic Society consist almost entirely of color trans-
parencies. In the United States, 35mm Ektachrome and
Kodachrome films have until recently been the almost uni-
versal choice of magazine photographers, although by the
mid-1980s Fujichrome films had gained a loyal following
among professional photographers, especially commercial
photographers and magazine photojournalists.
Because Fujichrome, Ektachrome, and other Process
E-6 compatible films are available in high-speed daylight
and tungsten versions and can be rapidly processed with-
out complex equipment, they are preferred over Kodachrome
for fast-breaking news photography.
Slides have also become increasingly important in com-
mercial and industrial photography over the past decade.
Elaborately produced multi-image slide shows, using two
or more projectors, often synchronized with a sound track,
have been popular in recent years. Tom Hope, a market
analyst, commented on the 1986 slide market: The 2x2-
inch (35mm) slide medium continues to dominate all AV
systems in total expended dollars. In fact this past year,
with the exploding use of computer graphics, total dollars for
AV slides and equipment jumped to more than $7 billion.
17
Academic Slide Libraries
The academic slide library is a specialized type of slide
collection found in most colleges and universities that have
art or architecture departments. These collections are
usually quite large many include more than 100,000 slides,
most of which are duplicates purchased from commercial
suppliers, museums, and other organizations all over the
world. Prices for slides in this field are typically $2 or $3
each for copies made on reversal duplicating film or mo-
tion picture print film, and $5 or more for originals (when
photographing a painting or other still object, it is a simple
matter to shoot hundreds of identical slides with a camera
equipped with a long-roll back).
The academic slide library represents one of the more
demanding applications for color slides: precise color re-
production and retention of subtle highlight detail are critical,
yet the slides are subjected to frequent and prolonged pro-
jection it is not unusual for a professor to have a slide
image on the screen for 15 minutes or more while discuss-
ing a painting or drawing, and to use the same slide year
after year. The most important slides inevitably are the
ones that get handled the most and projected the longest.
Because of its superior combination of projector-fading
and dark fading stability, Fujichrome Duplicating Film is
the recommended film for duplicates sold to slide libraries
(Fujichrome and Fujichrome Velvia camera films are rec-
ommended for originals). While it is more expensive to
make duplicates on Fujichrome reversal duplicating film
than it is to make them on motion picture print film with
an internegative, the total pass-along cost for the better
Fujichrome duplicates is only about $0.05 each a small
price to pay considering the extended useful life afforded
by the film.
In examining the preservation problems of academic
slide libraries, this author has concluded that in the long
run the only practical solution is to establish two separate
collections: the permanent preservation collection and the
expendable working collection, which consists of a com-
plete set of duplicates made from the preservation collec-
tion. The preservation collection holds all of the originals
and first-generation duplicates purchased from outside
vendors; these slides remain in their original mounts, are
never projected, and are never accessed for study pur-
poses. They are stored in the dark in a reasonably cool
(refrigerated if possible), low-humidity environment.
Although it is recognized that most commercial slide
suppliers will object to this proposal, claiming that it would
violate their copyrights and fearing that it could reduce
their sales, both users and suppliers should be able to
come to an equitable agreement that would ensure that
only one duplicate made from each purchased original is
circulated at any given time. For the user, there are a
number of important advantages to this approach:
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not recommended). The taped glass unit is then placed
in a plastic or metal frame. Sealing the edges of the
glass prevents dust and fungus spores from entering
the interior of the mount and minimizes moisture intru-
sion during periods of high relative humidity; this helps
prevent emulsion damage during projection and reduces
the likelihood of fungus growth. Recommended is the
Wess Archival Mount supplied by Wess Plastic, Inc.
(described below).
Although the subject has not yet been comprehensively
studied, there appears to be no meaningful difference be-
tween Kodalux (Kodak) cardboard mounts (no information
is available on other types of cardboard mounts), plastic
mounts, and glass mounts in terms of their effect on color
film image stability. Many photographers, this author among
them, prefer cardboard slide mounts because they handle
nicely, weigh much less than plastic or glass mounts, are
easy to write and print on, and readily accept rubber stamp
impressions.
When projected, color films in glass mounts fade just as
fast as do films in open-frame mounts (see Chapter 6).
Glass mounts do, however, offer complete protection from
fingerprints, dust, and scratches and other physical dam-
age during handling (unless, of course, the glass is acciden-
tally broken, in which case the slide could be seriously dam-
aged). During projection, film mounted between glass be-
comes hotter than film in open-frame slide mounts, but
unless the glass-mounted film should get so hot as to be
deformed or suffer other physical damaged, the short peri-
ods of exposure to the higher temperatures appear to have
little if any significance in terms of image life.
One principal advantage of glass mounts is to insure
that the film remains flat during projection so that focus is
accurately maintained over the whole image area. This is
particularly important in multi-image presentations where
images are projected side-by-side or superimposed one on
another. Glass mounts also appear to reduce the inci-
dence of fungus attack when slides are stored in humid
environments.
The Problems of Steam Clouds
and Newtons Rings in Glass Mounts
When slides in traditional glass mounts (with interior
paper or aluminum-foil masks) are projected, moisture can
evaporate from the heated emulsion and film base and
then immediately condense on the comparatively cool cover
glass; the result is a disconcerting amoeba-like steam
cloud that is superimposed over the projected image on
the screen. Sometimes a number of smaller steam clouds
may be observed scattered over different areas of the im-
age. This moisture condensation problem is sometimes
called steaming-up, or the heat effect. The film heats
faster and stays hotter than the cover glass for three rea-
sons: (a) more light and infrared radiation is absorbed by
the dye image and is in turn converted to heat than is
absorbed by the transparent glass, (b) the outside sur-
faces of the glass are constantly cooled by the projector
fan, and (c) the air in the thin cavity between the film and
glass acts as an insulator, retarding the transfer of heat
from the film to the cooler glass.
Original slides, whether purchased from outside sources
or photographed by staff members, will be preserved.
Over time, money will be saved. Slides need be pur-
chased only once.
Replacement duplicates can be made as needed; the
color reproduction quality of slides in the working
collection can be maintained.
Unprojected slides in the preservation collection are
available for visual comparison with slides in the work-
ing collection to determine whether excessive fading
has taken place.
Unfaded originals photographed by staff will be available
to make duplicates to distribute to other slide libraries.
Concern about loss, damage, and projector-caused
fading is reduced; the integrity of the collection is
maintained.
Types of Slide Mounts
There are currently four types of common slide mounts:
1. Cardboard mounts. The prototype of the modern card-
board slide mount was the Kodaslide Ready-Mount in-
troduced by Kodak in 1939 3 years after Kodachrome
35mm film became available in 1936. (Before the intro-
duction of the cardboard Ready-Mount, Kodak returned
processed Kodachrome to the customer in strips which
then had to be cut into individual frames and placed in
glass mounts before the transparencies could be pro-
jected.) Kodalux processing laboratories (formerly Kodak
Processing Laboratories, now operated by Qualex Inc.)
continue to use Kodak cardboard Ready-Mounts for
Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Fujichrome, and all other
transparency films, including duplicates.
2. Open-frame plastic mounts. The Pakon plastic mount
was the first widely available plastic mount and is still
the most popular,
18
although many other brands are
now on the market.
3. Glass mounts. Most glass mounts are supplied with the
glass sheets already in place in easy-to-assemble plastic
or aluminum frames; glass mounts made by Wess Plas-
tic, Inc.
19
and Gepe
20
are among the most popular. Some
glass mounts have pin-registration to secure precise
positioning of the film in the mount a requirement for
multi-image slide presentations. Although glass mounts
offer protection against scratches and fingerprints,
they are not without their problems (discussed below).
4. Glass mounts with tape binding. Long popular with
academic slide libraries to protect slides from finger-
prints and other physical damage that can result from
repeated handling by students and faculty, glass mounts
originally were made with 2x2-inch sheets of glass and
an interior paper mask to locate the film in the proper
position and cover non-image areas; they were bound
together with gummed paper tape. More recently, met-
alized polyester pressure-sensitive tape has been used
to seal the edges of the two sheets of glass with the
piece of film encapsulated within, in tight contact with
the glass (interior paper or aluminum-foil masks are
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If projection continues long enough, the cover glass
and air in the thin space between the film and glass will
usually become hot enough to cause the condensed mois-
ture steam cloud to re-evaporate the water vapor is
re-absorbed by the gelatin film emulsion, with the size and
shape of the steam cloud changing constantly until even-
tually it disappears. In extreme cases, the film emulsion
will ferrotype (develop areas of irregular gloss) or even
adhere to the cover glass. The problem is especially acute
when slides are stored in humid environments.
Investigation of the problems of glass-mounted slides
by A. G. Tull in England,
21
and more recently by Christine
L. Sundt in the U.S.,
22
has made it clear that formation of
condensed-moisture steam clouds and other difficulties
commonly encountered with glass mounts can be largely
avoided if certain guidelines are followed.
Glass mounts traditionally have been made with a thin
aluminum or paper mask located in the interior of the
mount, between the film and glass. Depending on the spe-
cific design of the mount, the mask may (a) hold the film
in the proper position, (b) provide sharp borders to the
projected image, (c) attach the cover glass sheets to the
two sides of the mount so that the glass does not have to be
handled separately during the mounting operation, and/or
(d) provide a small air space between the film and glass
surfaces in an effort which is often unsuccessful to avoid
Newtons Rings. (Newtons Rings are rainbow-colored op-
tical interference patterns that may appear on the screen
when a glass-mounted slide is projected. They are caused
by loose, irregular contact between the smooth surfaces of
the film and glass. Anti-Newton Ring glass reduces their
incidence but does not always eliminate the problem.)
Some glass mounts are made without interior masks,
but in most cases their design nonetheless maintains a
slight separation between the two sheets of cover glass
(this may be intentional, to allow two or more pieces of film
to be placed one on top of another in the same mount, or it
may result from the method of attaching the glass to the
mount frame).
Tull demonstrated that the air gap between the film and
cover glass was the principal cause of both condensed-
moisture steam clouds and Newtons Rings, and he rec-
ommended glass-contact binding in which interior masks
are not included and the film is secured in tight contact
with the glass. The elimination of the air space provides a
direct heat conduction path from the film to the glass, thus
minimizing the temperature differential at the film/glass
interface. During projection, the film stays cooler, the
glass gets warmer, and moisture condensation on the glass
is avoided.
Finding then-available plastic tapes to be unsatisfac-
tory for slide binding (Tulls articles were published in the
1970s), Tull recommended assembling mounts with 2x2-
inch pieces of cover glass and gummed paper tape; the
non-image areas were masked by attaching strips of a black,
pressure sensitive material to the outside of the mount.
Tull suggested doing the actual mounting in a fairly humid
environment to avoid attraction of dust to the cover glass
and film by static electric charges. Since he used mois-
ture-permeable paper binding tape, the slides reached
moisture equilibrium with ambient storage conditions soon
after mounting was completed.
The Wess Archival Slide Mount
Christine L. Sundt, a slide and photograph curator in
the Architecture & Allied Arts Library at the University of
Oregon who has done considerable research on glass slide
mounts and mounting techniques, has suggested a num-
ber of improvements to Tulls rather time-consuming glass-
contact binding method, and has adapted the procedure
to commercially available glass mounts. One of Sundts
most important recommendations is that films be condi-
tioned and mounted in a low-humidity environment, and
the slide bound with low-permeability metalized polyester
tape.
23
Taping the glass and film together of course requires
that the cover glass sheets be easily removed from the
mount frame for taping, and this, together with the ab-
sence of interior masks, is the basis for the design of the
Wess Archival Mount, which was developed by Wess Plas-
tic, Inc. in consultation with Sundt.
24
The mount was in-
troduced in 1988.
For some years Sundt had recommended Swiss-made,
aluminum-framed Perrot-Color glass mounts. But when
Perrot-Color mounts ceased to be available in the U.S. in
1987, Sundt contacted Wess Plastic, a leading manufacturer
of glass slide mounts, to see whether she could interest the
company in producing a suitable replacement product. After
reading several of Sundts articles on slide mounting, Wess
agreed to work with her on the design of the new mount.
Wess Plastic has also developed a manually operated ma-
chine to tape the edges of the film/glass sandwich rapidly
and precisely; the machine, which costs about $300, will be
manufactured if there is sufficient interest in the device.
The mounts are supplied with anti-Newton Ring cover
glass sheets that are slightly larger than a standard 35mm
frame (so as not to cause buckling should the film expand
during projection or storage). The glass is held in position
in a pocket molded in a light gray, high-temperature-resis-
tant Noryl plastic frame. The frame itself serves as the
mask (two aperture sizes are available). The projected
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The recommended glass Wess Plastic Archival Mount
developed by Wess in consultation with Christine Sundt,
a slide and photograph curator at the University of Or-
egon. Although designed specifically for tape binding,
the mount may also be used without tape binding.
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image area can be further reduced (masked) if necessary
by applying metalized polyester tape to the outside of the
film/glass sandwich prior to placing it in the slide mount
thus avoiding the need to apply tape to the film itself (which
in any event should never be done!). The mounts are 3mm
thick and will fit in standard 80-capacity Kodak Carousel
and Ektagraphic slide trays; the mounts are inexpensive,
costing about $0.25 each. If desired, the mounts can also
be used without taping.
Prior to mounting, the slides should be moisture-condi-
tioned in a low-humidity environment (40% RH or lower)
for several hours or overnight. Slides can also be condi-
tioned by projecting them in an open-frame mount for a
minute or two (Sundt says that heating slides to a tempera-
ture of 140F [60C] appears to kill any fungus spores that
may be present, while at the same time reducing the mois-
ture content of the emulsion to a very low level).
Sundt recommends that glass cover sheets be cleaned
by swabbing with ethyl alcohol and dried with a clean white
cotton cloth. Prior to mounting, both the glass and film
should be carefully examined and particles of dust or lint
should be blown away using a childs ear syringe or canned,
pressurized air.
With the film in place, the film/glass sandwich is taped
together around the edges with metalized polyester tape
(Horizon Tape Products Company No. 425 Ultra Thin Met-
alized Polyester Tape, which is metalized on both sides to
avoid pinholes and to improve moisture resistance, is rec-
ommended by Sundt).
25
Mounting slides with this procedure prevents periods of
high humidity in the slide storage area from affecting the
film sealed within the mount. This helps reduce the likeli-
hood of Newtons Rings, fungus growth, and emulsion fer-
rotyping against the cover glass. The interior of the mount
is also kept free of dust. The equilibrium moisture content
of a piece of film sealed in a mount according to Sundts
A slide is inserted into a Kimac individual slide sleeve.
Made of cellulose triacetate, the sleeves offer excellent
protection from fingerprints and scratches during han-
dling. Most types of slide pages can accommodate slides
in Kimac sleeves. The National Geographic Society in
Washington, D.C. and many other major collections use
Kimac sleeves for slides in their active files to protect the
slides during handling and editing.
method will, over a long period of time, assume an average
value of the year-round conditions in the storage area.
Short-term humidity changes in the storage area caused
by, for example, a week or two of rainy summer weather,
will have little effect on the sealed film.
3M Photogard for Coating Slides
Producers of slides for slide libraries should consider
3M Photogard film coating (discussed in Chapter 4) as an
economical alternative to glass mounts for duplicate slides.
Photogard is an abrasion-resistant coating that protects
films from scratches, fingerprints, moisture, and fungus.
Once applied, Photogard is impossible to remove without
destroying the film; for this reason, Photogard is not rec-
ommended for valuable original slides.
Kimac Sleeves for Protection
of Individual Slides
Physical protection from fingerprints, scratches, and
dirt for individual slides during handling and shipping can
be obtained with Kimac cellulose triacetate sleeves, sup-
plied by the Kimac Company, Ltd., of Guilford, Connecti-
cut. The sleeves have a snug fit so that slides will not slip
out during handling, but the sleeves are also simple to
remove when desired. Slides in Kimac sleeves readily fit
into the individual pockets of most slide pages; the slides
also fit into most types of slide storage boxes, compart-
mented drawers, etc. Slides should always be in individual
sleeves when being sent to a lab for duplication or print-
ing, loaned to clients, or given to printers for making color
separations. At a cost of only about $0.05 each, Kimac
sleeves are available in quantities of 100, 500, and 1,000
directly from Kimac (see Suppliers at the end of this chapter)
and from most major photographic supply houses. Kimac
sleeves protect circulating slides in the National Geographic
Society collection and in many other major publication and
commercial operations.
To be serviceable, slide sleeves must be precisely manu-
factured, with side folds of the proper radius. If the folds
are too tight, slides will be difficult to insert and remove.
If the folds are too loose, or if the sleeve is even slightly too
large, slides may fall out. To date, this author has found
Kimac sleeves to be the only suitable product (the polyes-
ter individual slide sleeves supplied by Light Impressions
Corporation have overly sharp side folds and lack the nice
snug fit of the Kimac sleeves).
Some Kimac sleeves manufactured in the mid-1980s
were made with a semi-opaque, pressure-sensitive seam
adhesive that had a tendency to come unglued with ex-
tended usage. Kimac has offered to exchange these defec-
tive sleeves for the current type, manufactured with a strong,
colorless solvent adhesive.
ImageGuard Rigid Plastic
Slide Holders
For protecting valuable slides during shipping or han-
dling by clients and labs, ImageGuard rigid transparent
slide holders offer an excellent, if rather expensive, solu-
tion.
26
At a price of about $1 each, the slide holders ac-
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oily droplets were formed on slides. These were
identified as phthalate plasticizers identical to
those contained in the poly(vinyl chloride) enclo-
sures. When projected, the droplets on the slide
are visible as disfiguring spots on the image.
In the second case, a waxy film formed on
slides with protective glass covers. Only slides
with glass covers show this phenomenon.
Unglassed slides in the same enclosure do not
have the waxy film. Analysis of the waxy film
showed it to be composed of carboxylate salts
of the type used as lubricants or more com-
monly as heat stabilizers in poly(vinyl chloride),
and that these components were also found in
the PVC of the enclosure.
In addition, there is the further, often cited,
disturbing possibility that the PVC may degrade
to produce acidic hydrogen chloride gas. It is
to prevent this degradation that PVC must be
highly compounded with additives to inhibit these
reactions or to scavenge degradation products
before they escape from the plastic.
28
Polypropylene Slide Pages
Are Recommended
Probably the most satisfactory material for flexible slide
pages is polypropylene, a clear plastic which, unlike polyvi-
nyl chloride, can be made naturally flexible without the
addition of plasticizers. Polypropylene pages are now avail-
able from a number of manufacturers.
In this authors opinion, the best flexible polypropylene
slide pages are the EZ2C Super-heavyweight polypropylene
slide pages manufactured by 20th Century Plastics, Inc., of
Los Angeles, California (see Suppliers at the end of this
chapter). These high-clarity pages are made with heavy
5.0-gauge polypropylene that gives them much greater ri-
gidity and better handling characteristics than the thinner
3.5-gauge polypropylene slide pages supplied by most other
manufacturers. The EZ2C Super-heavyweight pages, which
cost about $0.45 each, handle much like the popular PVC
Plasticizer oozed from a flexible PVC slide page onto the
surface of Kodachrome slides in the collection of Magnum
Photos, Inc. The New York City agency has since re-
placed all of the PVC pages with new polypropylene pages.
Plasticizer exuding from the PVC caused the Kodachrome
film to stick to the slide page.
commodate both cardboard-and-glass mounted slides and
are only slightly larger than the slides themselves. By
applying a pressure-sensitive label over the top of the holder,
the slide cannot be removed without breaking the seal (thus
discouraging unauthorized projection or duplication by pro-
spective clients). ImageGuard slide holders are also satis-
factory for long-term storage of slides.
Plastic Slide Pages and the
Hazards of Plasticized PVC
During the past two decades, plastic slide pages have
become a popular means of storing and viewing slides.
Most of these pages are made of heavyweight plasticized
polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which gives the pages very good
transparency and handling characteristics. Unfortunately,
PVC is one of the materials specifically prohibited in the
ANSI storage standards see, for example: ANSI IT9.2-
Photographic Processed Films, Plates, and Papers Filing
Enclosures and Storage Containers.
27
While the actual damage to color slides that PVC pages
might cause during long-term storage has been the subject
of debate, this author and others have found a disturbing
number of flexible PVC slide pages that have seriously
deteriorated, with gooey plasticizers exuding from the PVC
sheet and sticking to the surfaces of the slides. Because of
this, this author strongly recommends that flexible PVC
pages be avoided for anything other than short-term appli-
cations.
Although the problems of plasticized PVC as a photo-
graphic enclosure material are discussed in detail in Chap-
ter 14, it is worth repeating here what R. Scott Williams, a
conservation scientist at the Canadian Conservation Insti-
tute, said in a 1985 report:
I have examined two cases where slides were
damaged by storage in phthalate plasticized
poly(vinyl chloride) enclosures. In the first case,
1
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Saf-T-Stor rigid polypropylene slide pages are used for
reference duplicate files at the VIREO collection (the origi-
nals are carefully stored in frost-free refrigerators see
Chapter 19). Located at the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia, VIREO is said to be the worlds largest
collection of color photographs of birds.
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20th Century Plastics EZ2C Super-heavyweight 5-gauge
polypropylene slide pages are recommended by this au-
thor as the best available flexible slide pages. The pages
are supplied for ring binders (3-ring notebooks) or with
top-bars for file cabinets equipped with hanging file frames.
slide pages. The pages have individual slide pockets and
physically cover both sides of the slides. EZ2C [Easy-To-
See] Super-heavyweight polypropylene pages are available
in several formats, including 3-hole pages for use in ring-
binder notebooks: #EZTL2-00, in which slides are inserted
from the top; and #EZJV2-00, which are side-loading. Also
available is an EZ2C slide page fitted with a plated-steel
top-bar for use in file drawers equipped with frames for
hanging files: #EZHTL-00, which cost about $0.75 each.
20th Century Plastics, Inc. also supplies less expensive
polypropylene pages under the Century-Poly name; these
pages, which cost about $0.35 each, are thinner and some-
what less transparent than the recommended EZ2C Super-
heavyweight pages. (20th Century Plastics, Inc. is also a
leading supplier of plasticized PVC slide pages; the pages
are not safe for long-term slide storage and should be
avoided.)
Another good if rather expensive line of polypropylene
pages are the Super Archival 20 Transparency Files sup-
plied by the British firm, DW Viewpacks Limited. The
pages were introduced to the American market in 1985
(see Suppliers at the end of this chapter). DW Viewpacks
Super Archival pages cost as much as $2.50 each.
Probably also satisfactory are the Poly-C flexible polypro-
pylene slide pages manufactured by C-Line, Inc. of Des
Plaines, Illinois. The C-Line pages have also been sold by
Light Impressions Corporation, Kleer-Vu Plastics Corpo-
ration, and others under private label.
Flexible polypropylene slide pages are also available
from the Joshua Meier Corporation under the VPD Hang-
20 name, and from Franklin Distributors Corporation un-
der the Perma-Saf name. These pages have provision for
hanging bars for suspension in standard letter-size file
cabinet drawers.
20th Century Plastics EZ2C Super-heavyweight, DW
Viewpacks Super Archival pages, C-Line Poly-C pages, Film-
Lok Archival pages, and most other slide pages can accom-
modate slides in Kimac cellulose triacetate sleeves (de-
scribed previously). Use of Kimac sleeves in combination
with polypropylene slide pages provides a very high degree
of physical protection to slides during storage and han-
dling; in addition, the sleeves prevent fingerprints and
scratches on slides when they are removed from a page.
The sleeves also eliminate the possibility that the surface-
coated materials used to make flexible polypropylene (or
polyethylene) pages could eventually stick to film surfaces
or leave undesirable residues on the film. (See Chapter 14
for discussion of surface coatings and sticking problems
associated with polyethylene and polypropylene pages.)
When slides are stored for long periods in non-recom-
mended flexible PVC pages, Kimac sleeves are essential to
protect film surfaces from plasticizer residues.
Saf-T-Stor Rigid
Polypropylene Slide Pages
The Saf-T-Stor rigid slide page, introduced by Franklin
Distributors Corporation in 1975, was the first slide page
manufactured with polypropylene. The pages were devel-
oped at the request of Peter Waters at the Library of Con-
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gress in Washington, D.C. Manufactured in Japan, the
rigid translucent white pages have recessed pockets to
accommodate 20 slides; the pages can be kept in ring binder
notebooks, stored in boxes, or placed in standard file cabi-
net drawers (hanging bars are available for the pages as
an accessory).
Saf-T-Stor pages are very similar in appearance to the
rigid PVC pages sold by Joshua Meier Corporation and one
should be careful that the proper page is obtained. Saf-T-
Stor pages are identified along the edge opposite the ring
binder holes with: No. PV-20 Franklin Dist. Corp. Denville
N.J. 07834. Surprisingly, the Saf-T-Stor name itself does
not appear on the pages.
At a price of about $1.30 each, Saf-T-Stor pages cost
much more than 20th Century Plastics EZ2C Heavyweight,
C-Line Poly-C, and other flexible polypropylene slide pages.
A significant drawback of the Saf-T-Stor pages when
used with slides in glassless slide mounts is that the pages
are molded from a single sheet of polypropylene and the
open-face slide pockets leave one side of the slides unpro-
tected against scratches, fingerprints, and other physical
damage. This problem can be alleviated by placing each
slide in a transparent Kimac sleeve. Franklin supplies
transparent full-page cover sheets called Saf-T-Covers as
an accessory (about $1 each), but when fitted with the
cover sheets the pages are rather unwieldy to handle.
Saf-T-Stor pages, with their recessed slide pockets, are
thicker than flexible polypropylene pages and require
more storage space. However, because of their rigidity,
Saf-T-Stor pages handle and stack better, and, unlike the
flexible pages, can stand vertically in file drawers or boxes
without sagging or curling. Saf-T-Stor pages are used by a
number of institutions, including the Library of Congress,
the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at
Harvard University, and the Visual Resources for Orni-
thology (VIREO) collection at the Academy of Natural Sci-
ences of Philadelphia (see Chapter 19).
Other Types of Slide Pages
A very good but rather bulky and expensive page for
storing slides is the System J slide cassette, which is made
of rigid, transparent acrylic plastic. Similar to a thin, two-
sided box which opens like a book, each cassette accom-
modates 24 slides and offers complete physical protection
to slides while at the same time allowing unobstructed
viewing. System J cassettes cost about $5 each when pur-
chased in quantity. Accessories include storage boxes and
cabinets for the cassettes, illuminated viewers, and magni-
fiers. The cassettes are made in West Germany, where
they are sold under the Journal 24 name, and are distrib-
uted in the United States by Leedal, Inc.
A rigid slide page that can be recommended for glass-
mounted slides is the open-frame, molded polystyrene
Plastican Slide Frame. These heavy-duty pages, or frames,
as the Plastican Corporation calls them, resist flexing and
sagging and are particularly well-suited for vertical stor-
age of glass-mounted slides in file cabinet drawers (glass-
mounted slides are heavier than slides in glassless mounts,
and the extra rigidity of the Plastican Slide Frames gives
better support to glass-mounted slides than do Franklin
Saf-T-Stor and other rigid pages). The Plastican pages,
each of which holds 20 slides and costs about $1.25, can
also be used in ring-binder notebooks. Because the indi-
vidual slide compartments in the Plastican Slide Frames
are open, both front and back, and leave the surfaces of
film in glassless mounts unprotected and vulnerable to
scratches, fingerprints, and dust, the pages should not be
used with slides in glassless mounts unless the slides are
protected with Kimac sleeves. The Plastican Corporation
also supplies flexible polypropylene and plasticized polyvi-
nyl chloride (PVC) slide pages.
Low-density polyethylene pages supplied by Vue-All, Inc.,
Print File, Inc., Light Impressions Corporation, and others
are superior to plasticized PVC pages, although not as sat-
isfactory as polypropylene enclosures (see Chapter 14
for discussion of the pros and cons of the various types of
plastics used to make slide pages and other photographic
enclosures).
Slide Storage Boxes
To the best of this authors knowledge, the cardboard
boxes supplied by Kodalux Processing Services with pro-
cessed slides are satisfactory for long-term storage of slides
(Kodalux labs are a joint venture of Eastman Kodak Com-
pany and Fuqua Industries, Inc.; prior to 1988 the labs
were operated by Kodak and were known as Kodak Pro-
cessing Labs). Plastic boxes also appear to be safe for
keeping slides however one should be careful to store
slides in plastic boxes in a dark place because, to a greater
or lesser degree, the plastic used to make such boxes trans-
mits light which could cause gradual fading of the outer-
most slides in the box during prolonged storage.
For low-cost storage of larger groups of slides, the eco-
nomical Lig-free Type II Archival Slide Storage Box (#35ST)
supplied by Conservation Resources International, Inc. is
recommended.
29
The boxes cost about $5 each in quanti-
ties of 5, or $4 each in quantities of 10 or more (shipping
additional). Each box has a capacity of 360 slides and is
18x2
5
8x2
5
8" in size. Also available is a large Master Unit
consisting of six #35ST slide boxes inside a drop-front card-
board box 17x19x2
3
4" in size; a Master Unit (#35MU) has a
capacity of about 2,190 slides and costs $34.50. Boxes of
similar design are also available for mounted 120 roll film
transparencies. The interior of these boxes is made of
nonbuffered, lignin-free cardboard.
Another good-quality cardboard slide storage box is the
Slide-File Box (Code No. 5015) supplied by Light Impres-
sions Corporation.
30
Made of alkaline-buffered, lignin-free
cardboard with metal corners, Slide-File Boxes cost $2.00
each in quantities of 10 or more; each box can accommo-
date about 200 cardboard-mounted slides. The boxes are
supplied with movable cardboard interior dividers. Six of
the Slide-File boxes will fit inside a Light Impressions Code
No. 5012 Drop-Front Box, which is 1
1
2Hx11Wx14D-inches
in size ($5.75 singly or $4.60 each in quantities of 10 or
more). Unfortunately, the Code No. 5012 box has a shallow
interior and is only barely high enough to accommodate
the slide boxes. The standard Light Impressions 11x14-
inch Drop-Front Box (Code No. 2021) is too tall, however,
and wastes valuable storage space; in addition, the top of
the box tends to sag because it is unsupported by the shorter
slide boxes inside. Also recommended is the Light Impres-
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sions Slide Stack Box (Code No. 3211), a polypropylene box
with a snap-closing lid that accommodates about 50 slides.
Slide Stack boxes cost $5.95 for a package of 6.
Light Impressions also sells an attractively finished box
called the Photo Archive for Slides (Code No. 4290). Intended
for slide storage in the home, the boxes hold only about 600
slides and at a price of $24.95, they are rather expensive.
Very good low-cost polypropylene plastic boxes suitable
for slide storage are manufactured by Flambeau Products
Corporation.
31
Box No. M-812, recommended for slides,
has 12 interior compartments, each holding about 65 slides
(about 800 in total). The box, which has a hinged lid and is
made of yellow polypropylene, is 2
1
2x13x9-inches. Flam-
beau requires a minimum purchase of $200 when ordering
directly from the company; No. M-812 boxes cost only $3.24
each (5 boxes to a carton) when purchased direct.
The Conservation Resources, Light Impressions, and
Flambeau Products slide boxes also are excellent for pack-
aging slides for storage in a humidity-controlled cold stor-
age vault or frost-free refrigerator.
Slide Storage Cabinets
A complete discussion of the many slide storage cabinets
and other slide storage systems that are available is beyond
the scope of this chapter. Christine L. Sundt, a knowledge-
able slide and photograph curator at the University of Or-
egon, has recommended Neumade cabinets (see Suppliers
at the end of this chapter) as being the best for general slide
storage. Sundt cautions against purchase of Luxor slide
storage equipment which, in her experience, is not as well-
designed as much of the other equipment on the market.
To Avoid Damage, Never Leave Slides on
Desks or Tables Exposed to Light
Many slide users are aware of the damage that can
occur if slides remain on light tables for an extended time,
but few suspect that exposure to ordinary office illumina-
tion while slides sit uncovered on a desktop can cause
serious image fading in a surprisingly short period. Such
fading may be irregular, assuming, for example, the pat-
tern of rubber bands around a group of slides. Or, if slides
in pages are left in the open, casually stacked together, the
mount edges of slides in the topmost page may leave clearly
defined outlines on the images of slides below.
Robin Siegel, the archivist at the National Geographic
Society in Washington, D.C., discovered that after the Illus-
trations Library was moved into a new office in 1984, some
of the slides in the collection began to exhibit unexpectedly
rapid image fading often in strange and irregular pat-
terns. The new office was brightly illuminated with Norelco
(Philips) Color 84 full-spectrum lamps in energy-efficient,
bare-bulb fixtures. Suspecting that the office lighting might
be the source of the problem, Siegel ran a test in which
Kodachrome, Ektachrome, and Fujichrome slides housed
in polypropylene slide pages were placed on countertops
both in the new office and in the less brightly lit area previ-
ously occupied by the Illustrations Library. According to
Siegel:
The slides were exposed to approximately
100 foot candles (1,076 lux) of illumination, 18
to 24 hours a day, for 10 weeks. The variation
in daily exposure time was because we were
never really sure when the cleaning people came
in and turned out the lights. The temperature
remained between 72 and 75F (22 and 24C)
and the relative humidity between 45 and 55%.
As was expected, the Kodachrome showed a
far greater rate of fade than either the Ekta-
chrome or Fujichrome, especially in the ma-
genta dye. The Kodachrome lost as much as
50-percent of the magenta dye by the end of 8
weeks.
32
Investigating the matter further, Siegel tested various
brands of fluorescent lamps, including both standard types
and special UV-free lamps. She found that the UV output
of the lamps made relatively little difference in the mea-
sured fading rates of test slides the total light output of
the lamps proved to be the most important factor. These
findings led Siegel to recommend that the fluorescent fix-
tures in the Illustrations Library be operated with only one
bulb instead of the usual two in each fixture. This,
combined with the addition of a plastic diffuser over the
light fixtures, would spread the light more evenly in the
Library office and lower the overall illumination level.
Siegel also launched a campaign to alert the Geographic
staff about the hazards of leaving slides uncovered on tables,
desks, and shelves.
1. Thom OConnor, Pros Winners of Film Wars, Photo District News,
Vol. VII, Issue II, February 1987, pp. 1, 14, 16, 18. See also: David
Walker, Kodachromes Dramatic Decline, Photo District News,
Vol. XII, Issue II, February 1992, pp. 1421.
2. Galen Rowell, A Major New Film Fuji Velvia Ups the Ante in the
Chrome Wars, Outdoor Photographer, Vol. 6, No. 5, June 1990,
pp. 8, 1213. See also: Jack and Sue Drafahl, Super Film Shootout!
Kodak Kodachrome 25 vs. Fujichrome Velvia . . . Let the Film Wars
Continue, Petersens Photographic, July 1990, pp. 8691; George
Craven and Lynn Jones, Fujichrome Velvia: A New Opportunity for
Labs, Photo Lab Management, Vol. 12, No. 6, June 1990, pp. 812.
3. Anon., Arts of the U.S., American Artist, Vol. 25, No. 9, November 1961.
4. Eastman Kodak Company, Using Eastman Color Negative Film 5247
(35mm) and Eastman Color High Speed Negative Film 5293 (35mm)
for Still Photography, TIPS Technical Information for Photo-
graphic Systems, Vol. 15, No. 2, MarchApril 1984, p. 6.
6. Larry Lipsky, The Artful Dupe, Outdoor Photographer, Vol. 5, No.
8, October 1989, pp. 5055.
7. W. Arthur Young, Thomas A. Benson, and George T. Eaton, Copying
and Duplicating in Black-and-White and Color, Kodak Publica-
tion No. M-1, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York,
September 1984.
8. Jacqueline Tobin, Tony Stone of London Buys Click/Chicago, Photo
District News, Vol. VIII, Issue X, September 1988, p. 26.
9. 70mm enlarged slide duplicates are available from a number of labs,
including: The New Lab Inc., 22 Cleveland Street, San Francisco,
California 94103; telephone: 415-431-8806 (toll-free: 800-526-3165);
Comcorps, 243 Church Street, Vienna, Virginia 22180; telephone:
703-938-7750; and Chromatics/Borum Photographics, 625 Fogg Street,
Nashville, Tennessee 37203; telephone: 615-254-0063.
10. Carl Purcell, Do-It-Yourself Stock Photography: Introducing the 70-mm
Dupe, Popular Photography, Vol. 93, No. 8, August 1986, pp. 1617.
11. David Weintraub, Whats In Stock? Galen Rowells Wild Places,
Photo District News, Vol. VIII, Issue VIII, July 1988, pp. 5860.
12. National Digital Corporation, Suite 125, 7700 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, Virginia 22043; telephone: 703-356-5600 (New York City
office: National Digital Corporation, Empire State Bldg., Suite 7720,
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350 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 101180165; telephone: 212-268-0040).
13. Peter Tatiner, National Digital Delivers, Photo District News, Vol.
VII, Issue VIII, July 1987, pp. 1, 22.
14. Anon., Weekly Elects Photo System, Publishing Technology,
Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 73.
15. Stuart Craig, National Digital Corporation, telephone discussion with
this author, September 29, 1987.
1091, 10915 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida 33923.
17. Thomas W. Hope, Hope Reports, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 96, No. 4,
April 1987, pp. 387388.
18. Pakon plastic slide mounts and mounting machines are manufac-
tured by Pakon, Inc., 106 Baker Technology Plaza, 6121 Baker Road,
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55345; telephone: 612-936-9500.
19. Wess Plastic, Inc., 70 Commerce Drive, Hauppauge, New York 11788-
3936; telephone: 516-231-6300.
20. Gepe Division, HP Marketing Corp., 16 Chapin Road, P.O. Box 715,
Pine Brook, New Jersey 07058; telephone: 201-808-9010.
21. A. G. Tull, Moisture and the Slide, The Journal of Photographic
Science, Vol. 22, 1974, pp. 107110; A. G. Tull, Film Transparen-
cies Between Glass, Part I, British Journal of Photography, Vol.
125, April 1978, pp. 322323; A. G. Tull, Film Transparencies Be-
tween Glass, Part II and Part III, British Journal of Photography,
Vol. 125, May 1978, pp. 349354, 355.
22. Christine L. Sundt, Moisture Control Through Slide Mounting, In-
ternational Bulletin for Photographic Documentation of the Vi-
sual Arts, Vol. 8, No. 1, September 1981, pp. 110; Christine L.
Sundt, Moisture Control Through Slide Mounting Part II, Interna-
tional Bulletin for Photographic Documentation of the Visual
Arts, Vol. 8, No. 4, December 1981, pp. 811; Christine L. Sundt,
Mounting Slide Film Between Glass For Preservation or Destruc-
tion?, Visual Resources, Vol. II, No. 1/2/3, Fall/Winter 1981Spring
1982, pp. 3762; Christine L. Sundt, Transparencies in Paper Mounts,
International Bulletin for Photographic Documentation of the
Visual Arts, Vol. 11, No. 4, Winter, 1984, pp. 20-22; Christine L.
Sundt, How to Keep Slide Mounts Clean, International Bulletin
for Photographic Documentation of the Visual Arts, Vol. 13, No.
2, Summer 1986, pp. 1415; Christine L. Sundt, Conservation Prac-
tices for Slide and Photographic Collections, Special Bulletin
No. 3, Visual Resources Association, 1989.
23. Christine L. Sundt, Perrot-Color Mounts Current Status and Op-
tions, International Bulletin for Photographic Documentation
of the Visual Arts, Vol. 15, No. 4, Winter 1988, p. 22.
24. Wess Plastic Archival Slide Mounts (AGI 001AF for standard 35mm
slide image area and AGI 500AF for full-frame images) are available
from Wess Plastic, Inc.; the mounts are also available from Light
Impressions Corporation. See Suppliers listing below for addresses
and telephone numbers.
25. Horizon No. 425 Ultra Thin Metalized Polyester Tape for binding and
masking glass slides is available in
1
4- and
1
2-inch widths in 100-
foot rolls from Horizon Tape Products Company, 251 West Lafayette
Frontage Road, St. Paul, Minnesota 55107; telephone: 612-224-4083.
Also available from Light Impressions Corporation; see Suppliers
listing below for address and telephone numbers.
26. ImageGuard rigid plastic holders for individual slides are available
from Image Innovations, Inc.; see Suppliers listing below.
Films, Plates, and Papers Filing Enclosures and Storage
Containers, American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West
42nd Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900.
See also: International Standard ISO 10214:1991(E) Photogra-
phy Processed Photographic Materials Filing Enclosures
for Storage, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva,
Switzerland.
Processed Photographic Materials. Presentation at the Second
International Symposium: The Stability and Preservation of
Photographic Images, Printing of Transcript Summaries, spon-
sored by IS&T, the Society for Imaging Science and Technology,
9090. The conference was held at the National Archives of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario, August 2528, 1985.
29. Conservation Resources International, Inc.; see Suppliers listing below.
30. Light Impressions Corporation; see Suppliers listing below.
31. Flambeau Products Corporation; see Suppliers listing below.
32. Robin Siegel, Light-Fading of Color Slides Left Sitting on Desk
Tops, presentation at the 1987 Winter Meeting of the Photographic
Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation, New
Orleans, Louisiana, February 7, 1987. A shortened version of the
presentation was published in 1988: Light-Fading of Color Trans-
parencies on Desk Tops, Topics in Photographic Preservation
Volume Two, Photographic Materials Group of the American Insti-
tute for Conservation, pp. 6268, 1988. American Institute for Con-
servation, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 340, Washington, D.C. 20036;
telephone: 202-232-6636.
Steve Anchell, Super Slide Dupers Darkroom Control for Color Prac-
titioners, Camera & Darkroom, Vol. 14, No. 8, August 1992, pp.
4853.
Gene Balsley and Peter Moore, How to File and Store Slides, Modern
Photography, Vol. 44, No. 1, January 1980, pp. 104ff.
Norine D. Cashman and Mark M. Braunstein, Slide Buyers Guide, fifth
edition, Libraries Unlimited, Inc., Littleton, Colorado, 1985.
Marian Z. DeBardeleben and Carol G. Lunsford, 35mm Slides Storage
and Retrieval for the Novice, Special Libraries, Vol. 73, No. 2, April
1982, pp. 135141.
Nancy DeLaurier, ed., Slide Buyers Guide, fourth edition, Mid-America
College Art Association, Visual Resources Group, University of New
Mexico, Slide Library, Fine Arts Center, Albuquerque, N.M., 1980.
Etsuo Fujii, Hideko Fujii, and Teruaki Hisanaga, Evaluation on the Sta-
bility of Light Faded Images of Color Reversal Films According to
Color Difference in CIELAB, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol.
14, No. 2, April 1988, pp. 2937; see correction of 2 tables in the
article: Errata, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 14, No. 3,
June 1988, p. 93.
Betty Jo Irvine, Slide Libraries, second edition, Libraries Unlimited,
Inc., Littleton, Colorado, 1979.
Eastman Kodak Company, The Source Book Kodak Ektagraphic
Slide Projectors, Kodak Publication No. S-74, Eastman Kodak Com-
pany, Rochester, New York, October 1984.
Eastman Kodak Company, Storage and Care of Kodak Color Materi-
als, Kodak Pamphlet No. E-30, Eastman Kodak Company, Roches-
ter, New York, May 1982.
Peter Moore, Preservation of the Image, Chapter 10 in ASMP Stock
Photography Handbook, American Society of Magazine Photogra-
phers, Inc., New York, New York, 1984, pp. 148151.
Gillian Scott, ed., Guide to Equipment for Slide Maintenance and
Viewing, Mid-America College Art Association, Visual Resources
Group, University of New Mexico, Slide Library, Fine Arts Center,
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1978.
Nancy Schuller, ed., Guide for Management of Visual Resources
Collections, second edition, Mid-America College Art Association,
Visual Resources Group, University of New Mexico, Slide Library,
Fine Arts Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1979.
Nancy Schuller and Susan Hoover, chairpersons, Production and Pres-
ervation of Color Slides and Transparencies, a conference in the
Advanced Studies in Visual Resources series, University of Texas at
Austin, Department of Art and School of Architecture, Austin, Texas,
March 2728, 1981.
June 1990, pp. 3749, 60. The article contained image stability data
excerpted from this book and also discussed accelerated test methods.
Susan Garretson Swartzburg, ed., Conservation in the Library, Green-
wood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 1983.
Henry Wilhelm, chairperson, Conservation and Preservation Issues
Beyond the Book: Slides, Microforms, Videodiscs, and Mag-
netic Media, ARLIS-VRA Joint Session (co-sponsored by the Smith-
sonian Institution), 18th Annual Conference of the Art Libraries Soci-
ety of North America, Penta Hotel, New York, New York, February 14,
1990. The presentations included: Klaus B. Hendriks [National Ar-
chives of Canada], Magnetic Media and Optical Disc Storage Tech-
nology: The Challenge of Non-Human-Readable Records; James
M. Reilly [Image Permanence Institute, R.I.T.], Silver Gelatin Micro-
film: Update on Toner Treatments for Improved Image Stability;
Henry Wilhelm [Preservation Publishing Company], The Stability
and Preservation of Color Slides: Duplicates for Use, and Cold Stor-
age of Originals Provide the Only Answer; Peter Krause [Consult-
ant], Cibachrome Micrographic Color Films; James H. Wallace, Jr.
[Smithsonian Institution], Color Slide Preservation at the Smithso-
nian: Cold Storage for Originals, Videodiscs for Reference, and
Duplicates for Use.
Betsy G. Young, Picture Retrieval in the Time Inc. Picture Collection,
Picturescope, Vol. 30, No. 2, Summer 1982, pp. 5761.
(See Chapter 18 Suppliers List on Following Pages . . .)
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Recommended Glass Slide Mount
Wess Plastic, Inc.
70 Commerce Drive
Hauppauge, New York 11788-3936
Telephone: 516-231-6300
(Slide mount sold under the Wess
Archival Mount name.)
Flexible Polypropylene Slide Pages
C-Line Products, Inc.
1530 East Birchwood Avenue
P.O. Box 1278
Telephone: 312-827-6661
Toll-free: 800-323-6084
(Pages sold under the Poly-C name.)
DW Viewpacks Limited
Unit 8 Peverel Drive, Granby
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK11NL
England
Telephone: 01-0908-642-323
(Pages sold under the DW Viewpacks Su-
per Archival name; available in the U.S.
from Sam Flax, Inc.)
Sam Flax, Inc.
39 West 19th Street
Telephone: 212-620-3010
(U.S. supplier of DW Viewpacks Super Ar-
chival polypropylene slide pages.)
Franklin Distributors Corporation
P.O. Box 320
Denville, New Jersey 07834
Telephone: 201-267-2710
Fax: 201-663-1643
(Pages sold under the Perma-Saf name.)
Joshua Meier Corporation
7401 Westside Avenue
North Bergen, New Jersey 07047
Telephone: 201-869-8200
(Pages sold under the VPD Hang-20 name;
Joshua Meier is best known for its VPD
Slide-Sho and VPD Hang-up Slide-Sho pages
which are made of rigid, nonplasticized
vinyl; both types of pages are almost iden-
tical in physical design to the rigid polypro-
pylene Saf-T-Stor pages listed below.)
Kleer-Vu Plastics Corporation
Kleer-Vu Drive
Brownsville, Tennessee 38012
Telephone: 901-772-5664
Toll-free: 800-677-3686
(Pages sold under the Pro-Line name [#14914].)
The Kimac Company, Ltd.
478 Long Hill Road
Guilford, Connecticut 06437
Telephone: 203-453-4690
(Pages sold under the Kimac Slide Page name.)
Rigid Acrylic Slide Cassettes
Leedal, Inc.
1918 South Prairie Avenue
Telephone: 312-842-6588
(Cassettes made in Germany under the Journal
24 System name; sold by Leedal under the
System J name.)
Rigid Polystyrene Open-Frame
Slide Pages
Plastican Corporation
10 Park Place
P.O. Box 58
Butler, New Jersey 07405
Telephone: 201-838-4363
(Pages sold under the Plastican Slide Frame
name.)
Plastic Sleeves for Individual Slides
Image Innovations, Inc.
7521 Washington Avenue South
Telephone: 612-942-7909
Toll-Free: 800-345-4118
(ImageGuard Rigid Slide Holders for protec-
tion of slides during shipping and handling;
the transparent holders cost about $1.00 each.)
The Kimac Company, Ltd.
478 Long Hill Road
Guilford, Connecticut 06437
Telephone: 203-453-4690
(Sleeves sold under the Kimac Protector
name; made of cellulose triacetate.)
Photofile, Inc.
2020 Lewis Avenue
Telephone: 708-872-7557
Toll-free: 800-356-2755
(Polyester sleeves for individual slides and
larger transparencies mounted on cards and
sold under the Quik-Mount name.)
Reeves Photo Sales, Inc.
9000 Sovereign Row
Dallas, Texas 75247
Telephone: 214-631-9730
Toll-free: 800-527-9482
(2
1
4x2
1
4-inch high-density polyethylene
thumb-cut envelopes for individual mounted
slides; sold under the RPS Plastine name.)
3628 Crenshaw Boulevard
Telephone: 213-731-0900
Toll-free: 800-767-0777
(#PGS22-00 sleeves for individual 35mm
slides sold under the Polypropylene Film
Sleeves name.)
Suppliers
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
(Pages sold under the Slide-Guard name.)
Savage Universal Corporation
800 West Fairmont Drive
Telephone: 602-967-5882
Toll-free: 800-624-8891
(Pages sold under the Film-Lok Archival
Slide Page name.)
3628 Crenshaw Boulevard
Telephone: 213-731-0900
Toll-free: 800-767-0777
(Recommended polypropylene slide pages
sold under the EZ2C Super-heavyweight
name: top-loading #EZTL2-00 for 3-ring
notebooks; side-loading page #EZJV2-00
for 3-ring notebooks; and #EZHTL-00 with
top-bar for hanging files. Lighter weight
and less expensive slide pages sold under
the Century-Poly name: top-loading #PTL20
for 3-ring notebooks and side-loading
#PJV20 for 3-ring notebooks.)
Rigid Polypropylene Slide Pages
Franklin Distributors Corporation
P.O. Box 320
Denville, New Jersey 07834
Telephone: 201-267-2710
Fax: 201-663-1643
(Pages sold under the Saf-T-Stor name.)
Low-Density Polyethylene Slide Pages
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
(Pages sold under the Slide-Guard Heavy-
weight Polyethylene slide page name.)
Print File, Inc.
1846 South Orange Blossom Trail
Apopka, Florida 32703
Telephone: 407-886-3100
(Pages sold under the Print File Archival
Preserver name.)
Vue-All, Inc.
P.O. Box 1690
Ocala, Florida 32678
Telephone: 904-732-3188
(Pages sold under the Vue-All Slide-File
and Slide Pak 20 names.)
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Slide-Storage Boxes
8000-H Forbes Place
Telephone: 703-321-7730
Toll-free: 800-634-6932
(Lig-free Type II Archival Slide Storage Box
No. 35ST [nonbuffered cardboard on the
inside] with 18 interior index/divider tabs;
holds about 360 slides [$4.95 each]. No.
35MU, which holds about 2,160 sides, con-
sists of six No. 35ST boxes contained in a
larger, drop-front box [$34.50]. Company
has sales offices in Ottawa, Ontario; Oxon,
England; and Brisbane, Australia.)
Flambeau Products Corporation
15981 Valplast Road
P.O. Box 97
Middlefield, Ohio 44062
Telephone: 216-632-1631
(Rigid polypropylene plastic boxes.Box No.
M812; size: 13
1
8x9x2
5
16"; 12 interior com-
partments; hinged lid; each box holds about
800 slides, with about 65 in each compart-
ment. Boxes are $3.24 each; minimum
order direct from Flambeau Products is
$200.)
P.O. Box 8360
Telephone: 703-898-7300
Toll-Free: 800-634-0491
(Slide Box No. 1162 made of alkaline-buff-
ered cardboard has 20 separate interior boxes
to hold slides; holds a total of about 400
slides. Boxes No. 12210 and No. 12510
hold slides packaged in Kodak 24-exposure
and 36-exposure cardboard slide boxes.)
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
(Slide-File Box No. 5015 made of alkaline-
buffered cardboard; 11 inches of file space
and supplied with movable cardboard divid-
ers. For storage, 6 of the boxes will fit in an
11x14-inch Light Impressions Drop-Front Box
No. 5012. Slide Stack Boxes No. 3211 are
polypropylene boxes with tight-fitting lids
that accommodate about 50 slides each.)
Slide-Storage Cabinets and Files
Multiplex Display Fixture Company
1555 Larkin Williams Road
Fenton, Missouri 63026
Telephone: 314-343-5700
(Multiplex System 4000 and Director Series)
Elden Enterprises, Inc.
1 Ramu Road Toporock
P.O. Box 3201
Charleston, West Virginia 25332-3201
Telephone: 304-344-2335
(Abodia and Lowdia Slide Storage Systems)
Neumade Products Corporation
200 Connecticut Avenue
P.O. Box 5001
Norwalk, Connecticut 06856
Telephone: 203-866-7600
(Neumade Slide Cabinets)
Luxor Corporation
2245 Delany Road
Waukegan, Illinois 60087
Telephone: 708-244-1800
Toll-free: 800-323-4656
(Slide-Bank and Unlimited Slide Storage
Systems)
Bretford & Knox Manufacturing
111 Spruce Street
Wood Dale, Illinois 60191
Telephone: 708-595-0300
(Acculight Modular Storage Systems)
Leedal, Inc.
1918 South Prairie Avenue
Telephone: 312-842-6588
(Matrix Library Storage Cabinets)
Moderate-Cost, Manually
Operated Slide Duplicators
Charles Beseler Co.
1600 Lower Road
Linden, New Jersey 07036-6514
Telephone: 908-862-7999
Toll-free: 800-237-3537
(Beseler Deluxe Dual-Mode Duplicator)
Bogen Photo Corporation
565 East Crescent Avenue
P.O. Box 506
Ramsey, New Jersey 07446-0506
Telephone: 201-818-9500
(Bowens Illumitran 3SC Slide Duplicator)
Karl Heitz, Inc.
3411 62nd Street
P.O. Box 427
Woodside, New York 11377
Telephone: 718-565-0004
(Alpha Master Dia-Duplicator)
Kenro Corporation
250 Clearbrook Road
Telephone: 914-347-5520
Toll-free: 800-592-6666
(Kenro Spectra 1000 Slide Duplicator)
Byers Photo Equipment Company
6955 S.W. Sandburg Street
Portland, Oregon 97223
Telephone: 503-639-0620
Toll-free: 800-547-9670
(ChromaPro Slide 45 Duplicator)
HP Marketing Corp.
16 Chapin Road
Pine Brook, New Jersey 07058
Telephone: 201-809-9010
(Kaiser System V Slide Duplicator)
Photographic & Technical Services
226 Westbourne Grove
London W11 2RU, England
Telephone: 01-221-0162
(Beseler Dichro Illuminator Slide Duplicator)
High-Volume Slide Duplicators,
Animation Cameras, and Copy
Cameras
Double M Industries
P.O. Box 14465
Austin, Texas 78761
Telephone: 512-251-4044
ECB Technologies, Inc.
1140 19th Street, N.W., Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-223-6906
Forox Marketing Corporation
250 Clearbrook Road
Telephone: 914-592-7776
Hoffman Camera Corporation
19 Grand Avenue
Farmingdale, New York 11735
Telephone: 516-694-4470
Hostert Fotomata, Inc.
31 Louis Street
Hicksville, New York 11801
Telephone: 516-935-5363
Maron, Inc.
2640 West 10th Place
Telephone: 602-966-2189
Oxberry Division
Cybernetics Products, Inc.
180 Broad Street
Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072
Telephone: 201-935-3000
Slidemagic System, Inc.
30401 East Colfax Street
Denver, Colorado 80206
Telephone: 303-388-2971
Suppliers
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19. Frost-Free Refrigerators for Storing
Color and Black-and-White Films and Prints
Refrigerated Ektacolor Prints
at the Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City obtained a
Sears Roebuck Kenmore frost-free refrigerator in 1984 for
storing the approximately 100 Ektacolor and other chro-
mogenic color prints in its collection. (By 1992, the num-
ber of prints stored in the refrigerator had grown to more
than 450.) Some of these photographs were included in the
museums 1984 exhibition Color Photographs: Recent Ac-
quisitions; at the close of the exhibition, the prints were
removed from their mats and returned to the refrigerator.
Perceptible fading and staining of Ektacolor 37 RC and 74
RC prints will occur in less than 10 years in normal room-
temperature dark storage, and the museum decided that if
it wanted to continue collecting such unstable materials it
had to provide refrigerated storage to preserve the prints.
Stored at 35F (1.7C), Ektacolor 37 RC and 74 RC prints
can be kept an estimated 200 years before image deteriora-
Notice: Although storage of photographic ma-
terials in appropriate frost-free refrigerators
will effectively slow fading rates and greatly
extend the life of color photographs, there is a
possibility that mechanical malfunction of a
refrigerator, improper handling of the photo-
graphs, or other factors could result in dam-
age to the photographs. This author believes
that if properly maintained refrigerators of a
suitable type are used according to the sug-
gestions included in this chapter, if refrigera-
tors are replaced with new units after a maxi-
mum of ten years of service, if packages of
photographs are placed in polyethylene bags
prior to storing them in the refrigerators, and if
the temperature and relative humidity inside
the refrigerators are checked on a regular
basis (at least once a week), there is very little
likelihood of photographs being damaged.
However, neither this author nor Preserva-
tion Publishing Company can take any respon-
sibility for damage, regardless of the cause,
that may occur as a result of placing photo-
graphs in a refrigerator or freezer. Cellulose
nitrate film requires storage in special, explo-
sion-proof freezers and should not be kept
in an ordinary household refrigerator or
freezer see Appendix 19.1 on page 675.
An appropriate frost-free refrigerator is currently the
only simple way to store color negatives, slides, prints, and
motion pictures at low temperature and relative humidity.
The photographs will be readily accessible, and there is no
need to pre-condition them in a low-humidity environment
or to package them in special hermetically sealed contain-
ers. The refrigerator section of a suitable combination
refrigerator/freezer can maintain a temperature of about
35F (1.7C) and keep the relative humidity between 20 and
35% the optimum level for most types of photographic
materials
1
regardless of ambient temperature and hu-
midity conditions.
At the time of this writing, frost-free refrigerators were
being used by a number of photographers, including Adam
Bartos, Ellen Brooks, Mitch Epstein, Douglas Faulkner,
David Hanson, Joel Meyerowitz, Leo Rubinfien, Stephen
Scheer, and Victor Schrager, to store their color films and
prints. Some serious collectors, such as Pepe Karmel of
New York City, help preserve the quality and value of the
color photographs they purchase by storing them in re-
frigerators.
After Life magazine photographer Larry Burrows was
killed in Laos in 1971, his Ektachrome transparencies of
the Vietnam War were stored in a frost-free refrigerator at
the Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection in New York
City. In 1983, when Time completed construction of a large
humidity-controlled cold storage vault, Burrowss Vietnam
color slides were moved into the new facility along with
the more than one million other color transparencies in
the Picture Collection. (Time Inc. Magazines is part of
Time Warner Inc.)
To preserve Burrowss color work that is not in the
custody of Time Inc. Magazines or other publishing com-
panies, Russell Burrows, Larry Burrowss son and care-
taker of his fathers estate, stores the transparencies in a
frost-free refrigerator. Burrows is considered to have been
the first photographer to comprehensively record war in
color; his color photographs of the Vietnam war were
made over a period of more than 8 years. An exhibition of
his work, Larry Burrows: Vietnam The American Inter-
vention 19621968, was shown at the Laurence Miller Gal-
lery in New York City in 1985. Color photographs from both
the Larry Burrows estate and the Time Inc. Magazines
Picture Collection were included. The 18 Kodak Dye Transfer
prints in the exhibition were printed from the original trans-
parencies; a limited-edition portfolio of some of the photo-
graphs in the exhibition was also made available by the
Laurence Miller Gallery.
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Frost-Free Refrigerators for Storing Color and Black-and-White Films and Prints Chapter 19 656
Russell Burrows, son of the late Life magazine photographer Larry Burrows, and Victoria Burrows, Larry Burrowss widow, are
shown here with part of the collection of Larry Burrowss 35mm Ektachrome slides taken during the Vietnam war. Burrows,
who arrived in South Vietnam in 1962 and spent more than 8 years covering the war, produced some of the most significant
photographs from the Vietnam conflict. To preserve the images and to protect future income from the sale of reproduction
rights, all of the transparencies have been duplicated; the originals are stored in a frost-free refrigerator in Russell Burrowss
New York City apartment and in the cold-storage vault at Time Warner Inc. in New York City. Burrows was killed in 1971 at the
age of 44 while covering the South Vietnamese incursion into neighboring Laos. Burrows was riding in a helicopter over the
jungle near the border between the two countries when it was hit by antiaircraft fire; there were no survivors of the crash.
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Included in the collection at the Museum of Modern Art
are portfolios of Ektacolor prints by Stephen Shore (Monets
House and Gardens, Giverny) and William Eggleston (Elec-
tion Eve). The portfolios have been wrapped in transpar-
ent polyethylene for storage in the refrigerator. Since
about 1984, the museum has been acquiring duplicates
of most of the color prints it purchases; one set of prints
is preserved in the refrigerator while the duplicate set is
available for display and study purposes.
For ease of reference, the approximately 500 color prints
in the refrigerator are cataloged in a separate card file (a
small black-and-white image of the print is in the upper
right corner of the card); the refrigerated prints are also
cataloged in the general card index for the collection,
using special, color-coded cards.
A large Ektacolor print by Cindy Sherman is being pulled
out of a vertical storage shelf by Peter Galassi. Some
prints like this are too big to fit in the refrigerator. At
present, the Modern keeps such large chromogenic color
prints with the rest of its collection (which, along with
black-and-white prints, includes Ilford Cibachrome [Ilfo-
chrome], Kodak Dye Transfer, Fresson Quadrichromie,
and other types of color prints that have good dark stor-
age stability) in an environmentally controlled room at
60F (15.5C) and 40% RH.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York City began stor-
ing Kodak Ektacolor and other chromogenic color prints
in a Sears Roebuck Kenmore frost-free refrigerator in
1984. Peter Galassi, now the director of the Department
of Photography, is shown here looking into the refrigera-
tor. The Museum maintains that a large, walk-in cold
storage unit cannot yet be justified, given the relatively
small number of chromogenic prints now in its collection.
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tion equals that expected after 10 years of storage at a
room temperature of 75F (24C).
Speaking in 1987, John Szarkowski, at the time director
of the Department of Photography at the Modern, said that
he believed that the relatively small number of chromoge-
nic color prints in the Modern's collection did not justify
construction of a large-scale cold storage facility such as
that at the Art Institute of Chicago. Szarkowski also ex-
pressed hope that in the not-too-distant future, the dark
fading stability of negative-positive print materials would
be improved to the point where refrigerated storage would
not be required for acquisitions made on these new materi-
als, just as refrigerated storage is not now required for the
Ilford Cibachrome (Ilfochrome), Kodak Dye Transfer, and
Fresson Quadrichromie prints in the collection. These
prints, which have extremely good dark fading stability,
are kept with the collections black-and-white prints in a
newly constructed print room in which the temperature is
maintained at 60F (15.5C) and the relative humidity at 40%.
Peter Galassi, now the director of the department of
photography at the Modern, says the museum tries to ob-
tain two copies of each color print it purchases, offering to
pay the artists price for one and the lab price, or actual
cost of making the print, for the second copy.
2
In what will
probably become a common practice with fine art musuems,
one print is kept in permanent storage in the refrigerator
while the other copy can be removed from the refrigerator
as needed for study and exhibition. The two prints can be
compared visually to determine if any fading or staining of
the study/exhibition print has occurred.
Refrigerate photographic materials with poor stability.
It is particularly important to refrigerate color prints
made from color negatives on papers that have poor
stability (e.g., pre-1984 Ektacolor [Ektacolor 37 RC and
74 RC], as well as pre-1984 Fujicolor, Agfacolor, and
Konica Color prints); all pre-1991 Kodak Ektachrome
prints; current and past Ektachrome Prestige prints;
color negative films with poor stability (e.g., Ektacolor,
Vericolor II, Kodacolor-X, Kodacolor II, Fujicolor II, pre-
1989 Agfacolor XR and XRS, and pre-1992 3M ScotchColor
negative films); and relatively unstable types of color
slides and larger transparencies (e.g., Process E-1, E-2,
E-3, and E-4 Ektachrome films, Ansco and GAF films,
pre-1989 Agfachrome, and some current and all past
3M Scotch color slide films).
Do not keep cellulose nitrate film in a refrigerator.
Because of the potential fire hazard associated with
cellulose nitrate film, it should be stored only in special,
explosion-proof freezers (see Appendix 19.1 at the end
of this chapter).
Recommendations for portrait photographers: To
assure customers that top-quality reprints will always
be available, color negatives from all prints that have
been sold should be refrigerated, especially negatives
made with earlier films that have poor stability, such as
Ektacolor, Vericolor (the original type), and Vericolor II
(including current Vericolor II Type L).
Recommendations for fine art photographers: All
color negatives and transparencies, including those made
with current films that have improved stability, should
be refrigerated. This will assure that top-quality prints
matching the original vintage prints can continue to
be made during the photographers lifetime and will
preserve valuable negatives and transparencies so that
upon the photographers death they may be passed on
to a museum in their original condition. Photographers
should also preserve at least one copy of all important
prints in a refrigerator in order to have a set of guide
prints with which to make critical comparisons should
new prints be made in the future. Although the dye
stability of Kodak Ektacolor Plus, Ektacolor Professional,
Ektacolor Edge, and Ektacolor Portra papers has been
improved in relation to earlier Kodak papers such as
Ektacolor 74 RC, the new Kodak papers still develop
yellowish stain to an unacceptable degree. Storage in a
frost-free refrigerator greatly slows the rate of yellowing.
Recommended frost-free refrigerators: For reasons
discussed in this chapter, Kenmore refrigerators sold by
Sears Roebuck & Co. are recommended. Materials should
be stored only in the refrigerator compartment (factory-
packed, unprocessed film and paper can be stored in
the freezer compartment if desired). For the reasons
discussed in this chapter, a refrigerator should be pur-
chased new, and should be replaced after 10 years of
service. Large-capacity humidity-controlled refrigera-
tors for museum and archive use are available from
Bonner Systems, Inc., 7 Doris Drive, Suite 2, N. Chelmsford,
Massachusetts 01863 (telephone: 508-251-1199).
Packaging for storage in a refrigerator: Films and
prints should be packaged in envelopes or boxes and
placed in polyethylene bags or wrapped with polyethyl-
ene and the seams taped with freezer tape. Packaging
in polyethylene eliminates the need for pre-conditioning
and will prevent moisture condensation on the boxes or
envelopes when the refrigerator door is opened or when
packages are removed and warmed up to room tem-
perature. Packaging in polyethylene also minimizes the
possibility of damage to photographs in the unlikely
event of refrigerator malfunction. (For maximum safety
with valuable photographs, they should be conditioned
in a low relative humidity and then sealed in vapor-proof
envelopes before placing them in the refrigerator.)
A relative humidity gauge should be placed in the
refrigerator: A dial hygrometer, such as one of the
units supplied by Abbeon-Cal, should be placed on an
interior shelf and checked about once a week to be
certain that the refrigerator is functioning properly. If
the hygrometer does not have a self-contained ther-
mometer, a separate thermometer should also be placed
in the refrigerator compartment.
Recommendations
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#2696
(85%)
Duplicate transparencies are examined on a light table.
VIREO is equipped with small- and large-volume slide
duplicators. In-house duplication allows consistent qual-
ity-control, reduces costs, and, most importantly, avoids
the possibility that originals will be damaged or lost if
sent out for duplication.
One of the largest installations of Sears Roebuck frost-free refrigerators for photographic storage is at Project VIREO
(Visual Resources for Ornithology) at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. With more than 100,000 color
slides preserved in its frost-free refrigerators, VIREO is the worlds largest comprehensive collection of bird photographs.
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The Bird Photography Collection
at Project VIREO
Another user of Sears Roebuck frost-free refrigerators
is Project VIREO (Visual Resources for Ornithology), head-
quartered at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel-
phia. In what is said to be the worlds largest comprehen-
sive collection of bird photographs, Project VIREO has gath-
ered more than 100,000 color transparencies of birds and
cataloged them in a computerized database; more than 140
photographers have contributed to the collection, includ-
ing Crawford H. Greenewalt, Victor Hasselblad (in addi-
tion to the cameras bearing his name, Hasselblad was also
well known for his photographs of birds), N. Philip Kahl,
Roger Tory Peterson, and Eliot Porter.
In a long-term preservation procedure developed in 1982
by Project VIREO technical director Robert Cardillo,
3
two
high-quality duplicates of each original transparency are
made on Ektachrome Duplicating Film 5071 (Process E-6).
One of the duplicates is sent to the contributing photogra-
pher and the other is added to the working collection. The
original transparency is placed in one of VIREOs refrig-
erators for preservation and its physical location added to
the computerized database; the original is not projected or
otherwise accessed except for making additional duplicates
when needed.
Project VIREO Director Douglas Wechsler, an active bird
photographer specializing in Central and South American
birds, supervises the collection. The slides, which have
been numbered and entered in a microcomputer-based
cataloging system, are stored in transparent plastic boxes
in the refrigerators. Note the dial hygrometer on the
bottom shelf of the refrigerator; the temperature and hu-
midity levels in each refrigerator are checked frequently.
Duplicate transparencies have been made of all originals,
and the duplicates form the work and study collection,
stored in Saf-T-Stor rigid polypropylene slide pages housed
in file cabinets. Original slides are kept refrigerated and
are removed only to make additional duplicates (under
certain circumstances, originals have been loaned to pub-
lishers for making laser-scanned color separations).
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With a carefully organized file system in which the color
slides are contained in flat plastic boxes each of which can
hold 960 slides each refrigerator can accommodate about
26,000 35mm color slides. Photographs from the collection
are available for commercial publication for a fee, as well
as for educational and scholarly use. According to Cardillo,
a principal impetus for establishing the VIREO collection
was the realization that many early color photographs of
birds, especially those made on Ektachrome films, had al-
ready seriously faded and ultimately they lose all value.
To house the Crawford H. Greenewalt collection donated
in 1985, VIREO obtained two additional Sears Roebuck frost-
free refrigerators to supplement the two units already in
operation; to accommodate future acquisitions, a fifth unit
was purchased in 1988.
Among other institutions having frost-free refrigerators
to preserve photographs are the Museum of Contemporary
Photography at Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois; the
Colorado Historical Society, Denver, Colorado; the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey Photo Library, Denver, Colorado; the Bernice
P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii; the New Orleans
Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana; the University of
Rochester Library, Rochester, New York; the Wisconsin
Regional Primate Research Center at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; and the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
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Table 19.1 Estimated Number of Years for Just Noticeable Fading to Occur
in Various Kodak Color Materials Stored in the Dark at Two Room
Temperatures and Two Refrigerator Temperatures (40% RH)
Time Required for the Least Stable Image Dye to Fade 10% from an Original Density of 1.0
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had either been discontinued or replaced with newer materials. These estimates are for dye fading only and do
not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials in particular (e.g., Ektacolor papers),
the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 10%.
Years of Storage at:*
80F 75F 40F 35F
Color Negative Films (26.7C) (24C) (4.4C) (1.7C)
80F 75F 40F 35F
Color Papers (26.7C) (24C) (4.4C) (1.7C)
Kodacolor II Film 4 6 84 120
Kodacolor VR 100, 200, 400 Films 12 17 240 340
Kodacolor VR-G 100 Film (initial type) 8 12 170 240
(Kodacolor Gold 100 Film in Europe)
Kodacolor Gold 200 Film (198991) (not disclosed)
B
Kodak Gold 200 Film (new name: 199192)
Kodak Gold Plus 100 Film (not disclosed)
C
(1992)
D
(1992)
E
(1992)
F
Ektar 25 Film (1988) (not disclosed)
G
H
I
Ektapress Gold 100 Prof. Film (1988) (not disclosed)
J
K
L
Vericolor II Professional Film Type S 4 6 85 120
Vericolor II Professional Film Type L 2 3 40 60
Vericolor II Commercial Film Type S 2 3 40 60
Vericolor III Professional Film Type S 16 23 320 460
Vericolor 400 Prof. Film (1988) (not disclosed)
M
Vericolor HC Professional Film (not disclosed)
N
Vericolor Copy/ID Film (not disclosed)
Vericolor Internegative Film 6011 3 5 70 100
Ektacolor 37 RC Paper 7 10 140 200
(Process EP-3)
(Kodacolor Print when
processed by Kodak)
Ektacolor 78 and 74 RC Papers 5 8 110 160
(Process EP-2)
processed by Kodak)
Ektacolor Plus Paper 25 37 520 750
(Process EP-2)
(Kodacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
Ektacolor 2001 Paper (not disclosed)
A
Ektacolor Edge Paper
Ektacolor Portra II Paper
Kodak Duraflex RA Print Material
(Process RA-4, water wash)
(Kodalux Print)
A
(Process RA-4NP, Stabilizer rinse)
(Kodalux Print)
Ektachrome 2203 Paper 5 7 100 140
(Process R-100)
Ektachrome 14 Paper 7 10 140 200
(Process R-100)
Ektachrome Radiance Paper (not disclosed)
(Process R-3) (1991)
Ektachrome 22 Paper [improved] (not disclosed)
(Process R-3) (199192)
Ektachrome Copy Paper (Process R-3) 5 8 110 160
Ektachrome Prestige Paper
Ektachrome 22 Paper (198490)
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80F 75F 40F 35F
Color Transparency Films (26.7C) (24C) (4.4C) (1.7C)
Motion Picture Print Films
Motion Picture Laboratory 80F 75F 40F 35F
Intermediate Films (26.7C) (24C) (4.4C) (1.7C)
Eastman Color Reversal 5 8 110 160
Eastman Color Intermediate II 15 22 310 440
Film 5243 and 7243
Eastman Color Intermediate
Film 5243 and 7243 Improved (not disclosed)
Eastman Color Print Film 5381 & 7381
S
[3 5 70 100]
Eastman Color SP Print Film 5383 & 7383 3 5 70 100
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 & 7384 30 45 650 900
Eastman Color LC Print 30 45 650 900
Print Film 5380 & 7380
* Notes:
Ektachrome Films (Process E-3)
O
3 5 70 100
P
10 15 210 300
Kodak Photomicrography 2 3 40 60
Color Film 2483 (Process E-4)
Ektachrome Films (Process E-6) 35 52 730 1,100
[Group I types since 1979]
Ektachrome Plus and HC Films
Q
75 110 1,500 2,200
Ektachrome 64X, 100X, & 400X Films
Ektachrome 64T and 320T Films
[Group II types since 1988] (Process E-6)
Kodachrome Films (Process K-14) 65 95 1,300 1,900
[all types]
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 (1974) 4 6 85 120
Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 19 28 390 550
(1985 name change)
R
Negative Film 5293
R
Negative Film 5294
R
Negative Film 5295
R
Negative Film 5297
Eastman Color Negative II 4 6 85 120
Film 7247 (197483)
Film 7291
R
Negative Film 7294
R
Negative Film 7292
R
Negative Film 7297
Eastman EXR Color Negative 15 22 310 440
Film 5245 and 7245
Eastman EXR Color Negative 20 30 420 600
Film 5248 and 7248
Eastman EXR High Speed Color 35 50 700 1,000
Negative Film 5296 & 7296
The estimates given here have been derived from data in Evalu-
ating Dye Stability of Kodak Color Products, Kodak Publication
No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subsequent CIS-50 series of dye-
stability data sheets through 1985; Kodak Ektacolor Plus and
Professional Papers for the Professional Finisher, Kodak Publi-
cation No. E-18, March 1986; Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman
Motion Picture Films (data sheets); Kodak Publications DS-100-1
through DS-100-9, May 29, 1981; Image-Stability Data: Koda-
chrome Films, Kodak Publication E-105 (1988); Image-Stability
Data: Ektachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-106 (1988); and other
published sources.
For many products, including Process E-6 Ektachrome films;
Vericolor III, Vericolor 400, Kodacolor VR, Kodacolor Gold (formerly
Kodacolor VR-G), Kodak Gold, and Kodak Gold Plus color negative
films; and Eastman color motion picture films, storage at 60% RH will
result in fading rates of the least stable dye (yellow) approximately
twice as great as those given here for 40% RH; that is, the estimated
storage time for reaching a 10% dye-density loss will be cut in half.
Furthermore, the dye stability data given here were based on
Arrhenius tests conducted with free-hanging film samples exposed to
circulating air. Research disclosed by Eastman Kodak in late 1992
showed that storing films in sealed or semi-sealed containers (e.g.,
vapor-proof bags and standard taped or untaped metal and plastic
motion picture film cans) could substantially increase the rates of dye
fading and film base deterioration. Therefore, the estimates given
here for color motion picture films probably considerably overstate
the actual stabilities of the films when they are stored in standard film
cans under the listed temperature and humidity conditions. (See: A.
Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and
California, December 10, 1992.) See Chapter 9 for further discussion.
A) Kodak declined to release stability data for Ektacolor 2001 Paper
introduced in 1986, or Ektacolor Edge Paper introduced in 1991
(processed with either the washless RA-4NP Stabilizer or with a
water wash). However, according to a Kodak press release dated
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January 21, 1986, and titled New Kodak Color Paper/Chemicals
Offer Exceptionally Fast Processing, the stability of Ektacolor 2001
Paper (Processes RA-4 and RA-4NP) is comparable to Ektacolor
Plus Paper. This authors accelerated dark fading tests with 1988-
type Ektacolor 2001 Paper (processed in a Kodak Minilab with
Process RA-4NP washless chemicals) also indicate that the
stability of the paper is generally similar to that of Ektacolor Plus
Paper (processed in EP-2 chemicals with a water wash). Ektacolor
2001 Paper was introduced in mid-1986 for use in Kodak minilabs;
this was the first Process RA-4 (rapid access) color negative paper.
Ektacolor Portra Paper, a lower-contrast professional version of
Ektacolor 2001 Paper, was introduced in 1989. Ektacolor Supra,
Ektacolor Ultra, and Ektacolor Royal papers were introduced in
1989. Kodak Duraflex RA Print Material (a high-gloss, polyester-
base print material) was also introduced in 1989. Ektacolor Royal II
Paper was introduced in 1991 and Ektacolor Portra II Paper was
introduced in 1992.
B) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodacolor Gold
200 Film, introduced in 1986 under the Kodacolor VR-G 200 name.
This authors tests indicate that the stability of this film is similar to
that of Kodacolor VR-G 100 Film (i.e., 12 years storage at 75F [24C]
and 40% RH for a 10% loss of the yellow dye to occur).
C) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 100 Film
(called Kodak Gold II 100 Film in Europe) that was introduced in 1992
as a replacement for Kodak Gold 100 Film.
D) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 200 Film
E) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 400 Film
F) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Gold 1600
Film, introduced under the Kodacolor Gold 1600 name in 1989.
Kodak has, however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated
June 1990) which indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at
75F and 40% RH, a storage life of between 19 and 33 years may be
expected before a 10% loss of the least stable image dye (yellow in
this case) occurs.
G) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar 25
Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, however, provided data
(Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990) which indicates that
when this film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40% RH, a storage life
of between 8 and 14 years may be expected before a 10% loss of the
least stable image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
H) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar 125
I) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar
1000 Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, however, provided data
of between 19 and 33 years may be expected before a 10% loss of
the least stable image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
J) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 100 Professional Film, which was introduced in 1988. Kodak
has, however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June
1990) which indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at 75F
and 40% RH, a storage life of between 8 and 14 years may be
this case) occurs.
K) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 400 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, how-
ever, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990)
which indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40%
RH, a storage life of between 19 and 33 years may be expected
before a 10% loss of the least stable image dye (yellow in this case)
occurs.
L) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 1600 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has,
however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990)
occurs.
M) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Vericolor
400 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, however,
provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990) which
indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40% RH,
a storage life of between 19 and 33 years may be expected before a
10% loss of the least stable image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
N) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Vericolor
HC Professional Film. Kodak has, however, provided data (Kodak
Publication E-107, dated June 1990) which indicates that when this
film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40% RH, a storage life of between
8 and 14 years may be expected before a 10% loss of the least stable
image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
O) The estimate for Process E3 Ektachrome films is from an article by
Charleton Bard et al. (Eastman Kodak) entitled: Predicting Long-
Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic
Products from Short-Term Tests, Journal of Applied Photo-
graphic Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 44. The
accelerated-test data given in the article were for Ektachrome
Duplicating Film 6120 (Process E-3) and are assumed to apply to
Process E-3 Ektachrome camera films; Kodak declined to release
dye-stability data for these films.
P) From Kodak sources; Kodak has not officially released dark fading
data for most Process E-4 Ektachrome films (e.g., Ektachrome-X and
High Speed Ektachrome).
Q) Kodak declined to release stain-formation data for its high-satura-
tion Group II Ektachrome 100 Plus Professional film and its
amateur counterpart, Ektachrome 100 HC Film, both of which were
introduced in 1988. Ektachrome 50 HC Film, Ektachrome 64X, 100X,
400X, 64T and 320T films, all of the Group II type, were introduced
during 19891992. This authors accelerated tests with these new
films indicate that when yellowish stain formation is considered, their
dark storage stability is, overall, similar to that of Ektachrome 100
and other Group I Ektachrome films.
R) Kodak declined to release stability data on which to base estimates
for low-temperature storage for these films; however, the company
has implied that the films have stability characteristics similar to
current Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 which for 40% RH
storage calculates to be about 390 years at 40F (4.4C) and 550
years at 35F (1.7C).
S) Kodak declined to release stability data for Eastman Color Print Film
5381 and 7381; however, examination of films in collections indi-
cates that the stability of these film is certainly no better and is quite
possibly even worse than Eastman Color Print Film 5383 and 7383.
End of Notes for Table 19.1
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jectionable and uncorrectable curve crossovers ac-
companied by reduced overall contrast. This results in
prints with a flat appearance. In spite of efforts to adjust
the filtration for an overall pleasing color balance, such
prints will have distinctly different color balances in high-
light and shadow regions of the image. Prints made from
faded color negatives on Vericolor II, Kodacolor II, pre-
1989 Agfacolor XR and XRS, Fujicolor II, Fujicolor HR (prior
to the introduction of Fujicolor Super HR in 1986), and
Konica Color SR (prior to the introduction of Konica Color
SR-V and GX films in 1987), and color-balanced for opti-
mum flesh tones, will have reddish midtones and shadow
areas accompanied by greenish highlights. All of these
negative films have poor-stability cyan dyes and relatively
high-stability magenta dyes.
Fading-rate estimates published by Kodak indicate that,
on average, color materials will last approximately 14 times
longer at 40F (4.4C), and approximately 20 times longer
at 35F (1.7C), than when stored at a typical room tem-
Joel Meyerowitz, a New York City photographer well
known for his fine art and commercial work, stores his
color negatives in a frost-free refrigerator. Much of
Meyerowitzs fine art photography has been done with
Kodak Vericolor II Type L film in the 8x10-inch format.
Estimated to lose 10% of its initial cyan dye density in as
little as 3 years when stored at normal room tempera-
ture, Vericolor II Type L is the least stable of any of
Kodaks current color negative films. When the nega-
tives are kept in a refrigerator at 40F (4.4C), a 10% cyan
density loss will not occur for an estimated 40 years.
M
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1
9
8
1
Fading Characteristics of Color Materials
Kept in a Refrigerator
As discussed in Chapter 5, most color materials will in
time suffer objectionable fading, staining, and shifts in color
balance if stored in the dark at normal room temperatures
even if the storage areas are air conditioned during
warm and humid parts of the year. Estimates of the num-
ber of years required for a 10% density loss of the least
stable dye for a number of Kodak color film and print mate-
rials stored at room temperature and in a refrigerator are
given in Table 19.1. The Kodak data are based on a rela-
tive humidity of 40%. Process E-6 Ektachrome films, Veri-
color III, Kodacolor Gold, Kodak Gold, Ektapress Gold, Ek-
tar, Kodacolor VR-G, and Kodacolor VR color negative films,
most of which have humidity-sensitive yellow dyes as the
least stable dye, can fade approximately twice as fast as
these figures indicate when stored at 60% RH. For many
photographers, especially those living in tropical or near-
tropical areas, it will not be possible to keep the average
relative humidity as low as 40%, even in an air-conditioned
room.
With most types of color prints stored in the dark, a 10%
density loss will, when viewed by the average individual,
produce a just noticeable color shift and/or loss of image
contrast when a print is directly compared with an unfaded
but otherwise identical print of the same scene. It is char-
acteristic of most chromogenic color films and prints that
one of the three image dyes usually magenta is much
more stable in dark fading than is the least stable dye, and
this differential in fading rates results in increasingly ob-
jectionable color shifts as fading progresses. By the time a
10% dye loss in dark fading is reached, Ektacolor and most
other chromogenic prints also will have developed signifi-
cant yellowish stain this stain may in fact be more objec-
tionable than is the dye fading itself. (At the time of this
writing, Kodak had not released data on the dark-storage
stain characteristics of any of its color products; however,
information supplied to this author by Fuji Photo Film Co.,
Ltd. indicates that stain formation in chromogenic materi-
als has a temperature dependence which, in a general way,
is similar to that of image dye fading thus low-humidity
refrigerated storage should greatly slow the development
of stain with these products.)
It is usually possible to make acceptable prints from
color negatives that have suffered a 10% dye loss, although
the exposure and filtration will be somewhat different from
those needed to print an unfaded negative. A 10% density
loss is not the end of the useful life of a color print or
transparency in most applications. However, from a criti-
cal point of view, a 10% density loss is visually significant,
and it is assumed that anyone going to the effort of storing
color materials in a frost-free refrigerator has high stan-
dards for color photography and would like to preserve the
color images in their original condition with brilliant
colors, sparkling highlights, and crisp image contrast
for as long as possible.
The number of years of storage for a 10% loss to occur is
a meaningful measure for comparing the stability of one
color material with another, and for evaluating the effects
of different storage temperatures.
Seriously faded color negatives produce prints with ob-
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perature of 75F (24C). The Kodak data are based on a
40% RH; the relative humidity in a suitable refrigerator will
normally be in the range of 2035%, which will further ex-
tend the life of many of the products listed in Table 19.1.
The data given in Table 19.1 are estimates only; fading of a
particular product may have a somewhat different tem-
perature dependence and may not exactly follow the 14X
and 20X factors for the listed refrigerated temperatures.
Early versions of some of the products notably Vericolor
II Film Type S and the Process E-6 Ektachrome films
were less stable than the more recent types listed. Im-
proper processing and washing can further reduce the sta-
bility of any product, sometimes drastically.
Storage in a freezer at 0 to 10F (18 to 23C) will
provide an extremely long life for color materials. How-
ever, photographs should not be stored in the freezer sec-
tion of a frost-free unit or in a conventional freezer unless
the films and prints are sealed in vapor-proof containers
which are then placed in an insulated box (e.g., several
thicknesses of cardboard). During the defrost cycle, the
temperature of the freezer section rises rapidly from about
0F (18C) to 70F (21C) or above. The relative humidity
in the freezer section may reach nearly 100% during this
period. Unexposed factory-packed film and paper can be
stored in the freezer section without supplemental packag-
ing, except for long-term storage when they should be placed
in a double-wall cardboard box to prevent the abrupt tem-
perature and humidity changes from affecting them.
Use of a suitable frost-free refrigerator for storage will
prevent serious deterioration of even the most unstable
types of color photographs during the photographers life-
time, provided they are not mishandled when they are out
of the refrigerator. Photographs will, of course, resume
fading at the room-temperature rate when they are re-
moved from the refrigerator for printing or duplication;
those that are frequently withdrawn should be returned to
the refrigerator as soon as possible. In most situations,
however, photographs need be out of the refrigerator only
for a small part of the total storage time. Except in ad-
verse environmental conditions, there is usually no urgency
to refrigerate photographic materials immediately after
processing and printing. Many photographers will find it
practical once a year to gather all new negatives and trans-
parencies for which printing has been completed and place
the whole group in the refrigerator at the same time.
What Should Be Preserved in a Refrigerator
A number of factors should be considered in deciding
whether or not to refrigerate materials such as Kodachrome
films and Process E-6 Fujichrome and Ektachrome trans-
parency films that have relatively good dark fading stability
under normal room-temperature conditions. Color negative
films with relatively good stability include: Kodak Vericolor
III, Vericolor 400, Kodacolor Gold, Kodak Gold, Kodak Gold
Plus (Gold II in Europe), Ektapress Gold, and Kodak Ektar
films; Fujicolor Super HG, Super G (introduced in 1992),
and Fujicolor HG 400 Professional films; and Konica Color
SR-V, GX, Super DD, and Super SR color negative films.
Important considerations include the expected keeping
time of the photographs, how critical fading might be with
the particular images, their perceived value, and the con-
ditions of available room-temperature storage. Keep in
mind that the value of a particular photograph often cannot
be properly assessed until many years after it is taken.
It is particularly important to refrigerate valuable trans-
parencies made on Process E-1, E-2, and E-3 Ektachrome
films, as well as color negatives that were made on Koda-
color II, Vericolor II (including Vericolor II Type L), and
older Ektacolor and Kodacolor films all of which have
very poor dark fading stability. Fujicolor II, Fujicolor HR,
and pre-1986 Fujicolor Professional color negative films,
Konica Color SR negative films, pre-1992 3M ScotchColor
Print films, pre-1991 Polaroid OneFilm 35mm color nega-
tive films, as well as pre-1989 Agfacolor XR, XRS, XRG and
earlier Agfa-Gevaert color negative films all have very poor
dark fading stability and should be refrigerated if future
printing is a possibility. Unlike Fujichrome and Ektachrome
Process E-6 compatible transparency films, the E-6 com-
patible Agfachrome professional and amateur transparency
films introduced in 1984 had very poor dark fading stability
(Agfachrome films with improved stability began to appear
on the market in late 1988).
Valuable color prints made on Ektacolor, Fujicolor, Konica
Color, and Agfacolor papers all of which had very poor
cyan dark fading stability prior to the introduction of im-
proved products in 1984 and 1985 should also be refrig-
erated promptly. All types of pre-1991 Kodak Ektachrome
papers, in addition to the Kodak Ektachrome Prestige and
Ektachrome HC papers that were current at the time this
book went to press in 1992, have poor dark fading stability,
and valuable prints on these papers should be refrigerated.
Portrait photographers should consider the future sales
possibilities of reprints from older Ektacolor and Vericolor
II color negatives that have been stored in refrigerators.
Fine art photographers working with color negative mate-
rials are advised to refrigerate all color negatives, since
even the improved Kodak, Fuji, and Konica color negative
films stored at room temperature will change perceptibly
during the photographers lifetime. For most fine art pho-
tographers, color and tone reproduction in prints are criti-
cal concerns.
If available room-temperature storage conditions are
poor, a frost-free refrigerator is a simple way to properly
store both color and black-and-white materials. Refrigera-
tors are especially helpful in the tropics and other humid
areas where fungus growths are a problem. Frost-free
refrigerators can also be used to preserve chromogenic-
dye-image black-and-white films such as Ilford XP-1 and
XP-2, and the now-discontinued Agfa Vario-XL; negatives
made with these films have poor stability compared with
silver-gelatin films.
The Cost of Storing Photographs in a Refrigerator
The cost of a refrigerator is small in relation to the
value of the films and prints stored in it. The cost of only 60
or 70 rolls of processed 35mm color film may equal the
purchase price of a new refrigerator. Photographs of per-
sonal, artistic, or historical importance must be consid-
ered priceless, since once they are faded, damaged, or
destroyed, they usually cannot be replaced.
Frost-free refrigerators consume more electrical energy
than do the older types of manual-defrost refrigerators
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three or four times as much on the average. Sears Roebuck
estimates that the yearly operating cost of a typical Kenmore
18- to 20-cubic-foot frost-free refrigerator/freezer will be
about $90 based on electricity costs of $0.09 per kilowatt
hour (including tax), which was typical for much of the U.S.
in 1988. Some areas have much higher electrical rates; for
example, New York City in 1987 had an average residential
cost of electricity of $0.14 per kilowatt hour (including tax),
which would result in an average yearly operating cost of
about $140 for the same Kenmore refrigerator.
Packaging Photographs for Refrigeration
Slides, negatives, and prints should be packaged in boxes
or envelopes which are then placed in polyethylene bags
such as Ziploc
4
bags commonly sold in food stores. Nega-
tives and prints can be in sleeves or envelopes whatever
the photographer normally uses to file them (see Chapter
14). A sheet of paper or polyester should be placed on the
top and bottom of a stack of prints (or on both sides of an
individual print) to prevent direct contact with the polyeth-
ylene bag. Separating prints themselves with proper inter-
leaves (such as Atlantis Silversafe Photostore Paper) is
generally recommended. If prints are clean and free of
rubber-stamp impressions and ink markings on both front
and back, however, they can be safely packaged without
interleaves, thus conserving limited space available in the
refrigerator.
To further conserve space, packaging should be as com-
pact as possible; for example, if prints are matted, it is
usually best to remove them from their mats and refriger-
ate only the prints. Slides can be placed in suitable non-
PVC slide pages, left in the original boxes received from
the processor, or filed in larger compartmented slide boxes.
Low-cost boxes particularly recommended for slides are
the Slide-File box available from Light Impressions Corpo-
ration, and the Lig-free Type II Archival Slide Storage box
supplied by Conservation Resources International, Inc.;
these two-piece cardboard boxes come with movable card-
board dividers to form compartments.
5
Rolls of motion
picture films should be placed in taped cans, and the cans
enclosed in tightly wrapped polyethylene bags.
Although polyethylene bags are not vapor-proof over
prolonged periods, they do provide short-term protection
from moisture condensation when the cold packages are
warming up after removal from the refrigerator. To avoid
danger of condensation on the photographs themselves,
the packages must not be opened until the photographs
inside have reached room temperature see Table 19.2
for typical warm-up times. The bags will also protect pho-
tographs from possible water damage in the unlikely event
that certain parts of the refrigerators internal defrost sys-
tem malfunction. Because polyethylene slowly transmits
water vapor, photographs need not be conditioned in a low-
humidity environment before placing them in the refrig-
erator; over time, excess water vapor will diffuse through
the bag, and the photographs will equilibrate with the low-
humidity conditions in the refrigerator.
The refrigerator should not be packed too tightly
space should be left for air to circulate freely between the
refrigerator shelves, and in the area between the front of
the shelves and the door. It is permissible, however, to
tightly pack the refrigerator vegetable and fruit storage
drawers with photographs. (Photographs should never be
placed directly on the bottom of the refrigerator compart-
ment, and the bottom drawers should not be removed in an
effort to increase the available space.)
Even though packaging photographs for storage, moni-
toring refrigerator temperature and humidity, and performing
scheduled refrigerator maintenance may appear complex,
use of the refrigerators is actually quite easy once the
proper procedures are established. The detailed instruc-
tions and precautions given here are simply to make sure
that the possibility of damaging irreplaceable photographs
is reduced to an absolute minimum.
Recommended Refrigerators
Research for this book was, to this authors knowledge,
the first investigation into the suitability of low-cost, frost-
free refrigerators for storing color photographs without
the need for vapor-proof packaging.
6
This author has been
using a Kenmore frost-free refrigerator/freezer sold by Sears
Roebuck and Company for storing color materials since
1975. Sears Roebuck started selling frost-free refrigera-
tors in 1960, although it was several years later before they
came into wide use. Frost-free refrigerators eliminate the
messy and troublesome manual defrosting that was peri-
odically necessary with earlier refrigerator/freezer designs.
Most of the refrigerators sold in the U.S. are now of a frost-
free design.
This authors refrigerator/freezer has a 10.6-cubic-foot
capacity refrigerator section, which can accommodate about
20,000 35mm color slides in standard cardboard mounts;
this figure is based on the slides being packed in standard
Kodak 36-exposure cardboard slide boxes, enclosed in tightly
wrapped polyethylene bags, with a reasonable amount of
care in orderly packing. The 20,000-slide capacity leaves
sufficient space between groups of boxes so that air can
circulate freely throughout the refrigerator section. At the
time of this writing, however, there were only a few thou-
sand slides stored in this authors refrigerator the re-
mainder of the space was occupied by color negatives, color
prints, and unprocessed color film and paper.
Basic design features of suitable refrigerators are given
in Table 19.3. A type of refrigerator often confused with
the true frost-free design is known as the cycle-defrost
refrigerator, generally advertised as having a frost-free
refrigerator section but a manual-defrost freezer section.
This type of refrigerator functions by having separate cool-
ing coils attached to thin aluminum plates in the refrigera-
tor section. When the unit operates, the coils and plates
form a small amount of frost. Between running cycles, the
plates rapidly warm up to the temperature of the refrigera-
tor section, which is above freezing, and water from the
melted frost is drained off. These units require much less
electricity than a true frost-free unit and are often adver-
tised as being energy saving. Cycle-defrost refrigerators
are not suitable for storing unprotected photographs be-
cause they have very high levels of relative humidity. An
older design based on a similar principle had cooling coils
located behind the walls of the refrigerator section that
were so arranged that they never reached a temperature
below freezing. The interior walls of such a refrigerator
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Slide pages can be packaged in a polyethylene garbage
bag and flip-top museum box. To be able to find a
specific slide or negative stored in a refrigerator, it is
essential that the materials be cataloged and filed in an
orderly manner. All boxes and other packages should be
clearly marked as to their contents.
Kodalux (Kodak) 24- and 36-exposure yellow cardboard
slide boxes are packaged in an ordinary polyethylene
garbage bag, which in turn is placed in a flip-top museum
box for storage in the refrigerator.
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From 35F to 75F (1.7C to 24C)
Type of Package [40F (22C) Temperature Rise]
36-exposure box of slides in
Kodalux (Kodak) paper box. . . . . . . . . . . 45 minutes
Envelope with 6 strips,
6 frames each, 35mm film
in polyester or acetate sleeves . . . . . . . . 15 minutes
35mm reel of movie film
in metal film can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 hours
16mm reel of movie film
in metal film can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1
2 hours
10 RC or fiber-base paper
prints in flat cardboard box. . . . . . . . . . . . 1 hour
100 RC or fiber-base paper
prints in flat cardboard box . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 hours
Approximate warm-up times are for single containers of the types
listed, with the container wrapped in a single-layer polyethylene
bag to prevent moisture condensation and placed on a table so air
can freely circulate around the container. Do not stack containers
together during the warm-up period unless warm-up times are
greatly increased. These warm-up times were determined using
packages of refrigerated photographs in which an externally moni-
tored electronic temperature sensor had been placed in the center
of the package.
Table 19.2 Approximate Warm-Up Times for
Various Types of Packages Before They
Should Be Opened
are usually wet with condensed moisture, and the relative
humidity level is normally near 100%.
None of the older manual-defrost refrigerators should be
used for storing unprotected photographs, since they nor-
mally have relative humidity levels of between 90 and 100%.
Because this author has not had the opportunity to ex-
amine all of the many brands of frost-free refrigerators on
the market, this discussion will be limited to general ob-
servations about the various types of refrigerators now
being sold; in addition, specific information is given for the
Kenmore frost-free refrigerator/freezers sold by Sears Roe-
buck and Company.
7
An important reason for using Sears
Roebuck refrigerators is that the company includes a com-
plete parts list with each refrigerator, and replacement
parts and service are readily available from any of the
Sears outlets in North America.
With the frost-free units recommended here, only the
refrigerator section is acceptable for unprotected storage;
although the freezer section is also frost-free, it has much
higher levels of relative humidity than the refrigerator
section and is not suitable for storing photographs unless
they are sealed in vapor-proof containers. The freezer
section is safe for storing unprocessed materials that are
still sealed in their original vapor-resistant factory pack-
ages. By the same token, frost-free freezers, which have
no refrigerator sections, cannot be used for storing unpro-
tected photographs.
Large-Capacity Photoarchive Refrigerators
In 1992, Bonner Systems, Inc., a supplier of cold storage
vaults (see Chapter 20), introduced the Photoarchive line
of humidity-controlled refrigerators for museums and ar-
chives. Equipped with temperature and humidity record-
ers, the units are priced from $11,000 and are available in
sizes up to 11 feet long x 6 feet high x 3 feet deep. Contact:
Bonner Systems, Inc., 7 Doris Drive, Suite 2, N. Chelmsford,
Massachusetts 01863; telephone: 508-251-1199.
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Slide boxes can also be packaged two or three at a time
in small, transparent Ziploc polyethylene bags for safe
and accessible storage in the refrigerator.
Prints and negatives (shown here in their original pro-
cessing envelopes) can be packaged in large, gallon-size
Ziploc bags.
1. Unit must have separate refrigerator and freezer sections.
Sections must have separate doors which may be side-by-
side or one above the other.
2. Cooling coils are located ONLY in the freezer section.
3. Cooling coils are located in an isolated compartment in the
freezer section and cannot be seen without disassembling
the unit. No part of the freezer or refrigerator which
condenses moisture or forms ice crystals should be visible.
4. Air is forced over the cooling coils and into the freezer
section by an internal fan. The fan will make noise when
running and a current of cold air can be felt coming out of
one or more ducts in the freezer and refrigerator sections.
5. This is the most important design feature: ALL cooling in
the refrigerator section comes from cold air blown in from
the freezer section by an internal fan.
Table 19.3 Design Features of Frost-Free
Refrigerators Suitable for Storing
Photographic Materials
pressor is shut off and a radiant electric heater located
under the coils melts the ice. The heater is switched on at
the beginning of the defrost cycle and continues to operate
until it is switched off by a bimetal thermostatic cut-off
located on the cooling coils (the temperature of the coils
rises above freezing after the accumulated ice melts), or
until the approximately 20-minute defrost cycle is com-
pleted. Most current models go through a defrost cycle
after each 6 to 8 hours of compressor run time; earlier
models had defrost times about twice each day and were
not dependent on compressor run time. The water formed
How a Frost-Free Refrigerator
Maintains Low Relative Humidity
Top-freezer models of suitable frost-free refrigerators
have the cooling coils located behind a metal wall in the
freezer section; side-by-side models are constructed in a
similar manner with the cooling coils in the back of the
freezer section. A fan located in the front of the cooling
coils circulates cold air from the coils into the refrigerator
and freezer sections; the fan operates only when the units
compressor is running, during which the cooling coils are
about 20F (29C). Excess moisture in the air is con-
densed on the coils in the form of ice crystals (frost) as the
air passes over the coils. When the compressor is not
running, the temperature of the coils rises to about that of
the freezer section (0F or 18C), and some of the ice on
the cooling coils sublimes directly to water vapor with-
out passing through a liquid state gradually raising the
relative humidity in the freezer section to as high as 80 or
90%. As the moist but very cold air from the freezer sec-
tion enters the refrigerator section, it warms to about 35F
(1.7C). In doing so, the capacity of the air to retain mois-
ture greatly increases, thereby dropping the relative hu-
midity of the air to between 20 and 35% (see Figure 19.1).
The exact level of relative humidity will vary somewhat
with the particular type of refrigerator, as well as with the
temperature at which the refrigerator section is operated,
but it is not significantly affected by external humidity con-
ditions except when the door is opened and for a short
period after it is closed.
Very low relative humidity in a refrigerator dehydrates
food left open to the air; this is one of the problems of a
frost-free refrigerator, according to one manufacturer. How-
ever, what is a problem for food storage is an advantage for
photographs. As the cooling coils condense moisture from
the air, they become covered with frost, which must be
removed from time to time or the coils will become clogged
with ice and the fan-forced air will not pass through the
coils. To remove the ice, most frost-free refrigerators have
a timer-controlled defrost cycle, during which the com-
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Table 19.4 Cautions When Using a Frost-Free Refrigerator for Storing Photographs
1. Be absolutely certain that you have the proper type of frost-free combination refrigerator/freezer unit.. Place an accurate
hygrometer and thermometer inside, and keep it there at all times. Before putting any photographs or films in the
refrigerator, monitor the unit's relative humidity (under operating conditions) daily for at least 2 weeks. Thereafter, check
relative humidity and temperature levels at least once a week.
2. Temperature in the refrigerator section should be adjusted to an average of 3540F (1.74.4C); the temperature should
never drop below freezing (32F or 0C). Prolonged temperatures below freezing could result in a blocked condensate
drain tube and cause water to leak inside the refrigerator section.
3. Use only the refrigerator section (not the freezer section) for storing processed photographs.
4. Photographs should be put inside envelopes or cardboard boxes which are then placed in polyethylene bags (or wrapped
with polyethylene sheets and the seams taped with freezer tape) to protect the photographs from humidity peaks which
occur when the refrigerator door is opened, after defrost cycles, or when boxes are removed and allowed to warm up.
Heavy Duty Ziploc freezer bags, available from grocery stores, are particularly well suited for this application. Slides may
be kept in original cardboard or plastic slide boxes as supplied by the processor, with the boxes placed in polyethylene
bags. Packaging the photographs in polyethylene bags will also provide protection from water damage in the unlikely
event an interior water leak occurs.
5. The refrigerator should not be too tightly packed with photographs. Space should be provided so that air can freely
circulate between the shelves and in the area between the front of the shelves and the door. Particular care should be
taken not to block the vent for fan-forced cold air, which is usually located just below the top of the refrigerator section.
The air flow in the freezer section should also not be obstructed.
6. Avoid opening the refrigerator door more often than necessary.
7. Food and drinks should never be kept in a refrigerator or freezer used to store photographs.
8. In the event of a power failure of up to 48 hours (2 days) duration, do not open refrigerator door.
9. In the event of a power failure of longer than 48 hours, the unit should be unplugged and the door left open until power
is restored.
10. Due to possible fire hazards associated with certain types of refrigerator malfunctions, cellulose nitrate film should not
be stored in a frost-free refrigerator or freezer unless special precautions are taken.
during this process is collected in a drain pan under the
cooling coils and runs through a plastic tube to an evapo-
rator pan located near the compressor in the bottom of
the refrigerator.
The temperature and relative humidity levels in the
refrigerator section remain fairly constant during the de-
frost period, though there will be a humidity rise for about
15 minutes after the cooling compressor and fan resume
operation. When materials are placed in a polyethylene
bag (or wrapped with polyethylene sheets or freezer paper,
with the seams taped with freezer tape) as suggested, the
short rises in relative humidity will have no effect inside
the packages. This authors tests indicate that this short
humidity peak in the refrigerator section is of such short
duration that even a single thickness of paper wrapped around
a box of slides will prevent more than a couple of percentage
points of humidity rise inside the container. The tempera-
ture of the refrigerator rises somewhat immediately after
the defrost cycle, but the interior temperature of the pack-
ages of photographs changes very little during this period.
One recently introduced type of Sears Roebuck frost-
free side-by-side refrigerator/freezer (Sears Catalog No.
46 R 53781N) has an adaptive defrost system which is
equipped with sensors that cause the unit to defrost only
when an excessive amount of frost has accumulated on the
freezer coils; this saves energy if the doors are opened
infrequently or if the ambient relative humidity is low, and
also results in more stable refrigerator and freezer tem-
peratures. This model, which sold for $1,850 in 1993, is also
equipped with electronic temperature indicators for the
refrigerator and freezer compartments. The unit has indi-
cator lights and audible alarms that signal if a door has
been left open longer than 3 minutes, if the power fails, if
the unit is not functioning properly, if the interior tempera-
ture rises above a certain limit, and if the temperature has
been above a certain level for more than 4 hours. Although
expensive, this refrigerator is this authors primary rec-
ommendation for photographic storage applications.
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Figure 19.1 A psychro-
metric chart illustrates
how a frost-free refrig-
erator maintains low
relative humidity in the
refrigerator compart-
ment. Room-temper-
ature air (e.g., 84F at
60% RH) is chilled to
below 0F (18C) by
cooling coils behind the
back wall of the freezer
compartment. Moisture
condenses on the cold
coils, and as the air
warms up to about 35F
(1.7C) in the refrigera-
tor compartment, the
relative humidity drops
to around 30%.
Recommended Refrigerator Temperature
Sears frost-free refrigerators have a temperature con-
trol (usually called the Cold Control) inside the refrig-
erator section which should initially be set to the middle
position; the precise setting should be determined by plac-
ing a thermometer in the refrigerator and adjusting the
control until a temperature of 3540F (1.74.4C) is ob-
tained. A second control found in most frost-free refrigera-
tors regulates the temperature balance between the freezer
section and the refrigerator section; it is usually called the
Usage Control. This control should normally be set in
the middle, or B, position. Frost-free refrigerators have
only one thermostat, located in the refrigerator section,
and the temperature in the refrigerator section determines
the on/off periods of the refrigerator compressor. If the
freezer temperature is not cold enough after the refrigera-
tor-section temperature has been properly set, the Usage
Control should be moved toward the Heavier Freezer
Usage, or A, position. Changes in the setting of the
Usage Control will not significantly alter the tempera-
ture of the refrigerator section, which is determined solely
by the position of the Cold Control.
The refrigerator should be checked periodically over a
period of several days to be sure the temperature setting is
correct. To minimize the chance of water freezing inside the
condensate drain tube and fittings (which would block the
tube and eventually result in water dripping down the back
inside wall of the refrigerator section during a defrost cycle
and collecting in a pool at the bottom of the compartment),
the temperature of the refrigerator section should be ad-
justed so that it remains at or above 35F (1.7C) at all times.
Cautions
Some basic points to keep in mind when storing photo-
graphs in a frost-free refrigerator are given in Table 19.4.
Under no circumstances should food items be kept in a
refrigerator in which photographs are stored. It is espe-
cially important that no foods such as ice cream be stored
in the freezer section; in the event of a power failure, the
ice cream would melt and might drip down through the
contents of the refrigerator. Stored foods can give off a
variety of chemicals which are potentially harmful to pho-
tographs; in addition, there is the very real danger of get-
ting food, oils, etc. directly on storage boxes or photographs
as they are removed from the polyethylene bags.
Cooling coils in the freezer compartment of a Sears Roe-
buck frost-free refrigerator (the back panel of the freezer
section has been removed to show the cooling coils).
The electric fan above the coils circulates air past the
cold coils, through the freezer section, into the refrigera-
tor compartment, and back to the cooling coils.
1
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Refrigerators and freezers should be operated in a well-
ventilated room never in a closet or other small en-
closed room. Refrigerators, especially frost-free models,
give off considerable heat from the compressor motor, the
defrosting heater, and the anti-condensation heating wires
built into the refrigerator walls near the door openings.
Basements are generally not advised because of the possi-
bility of flooding caused by rain, backed-up sewer lines, or
broken water pipes. In addition, refrigerators should be in
an area that is reasonably free of dust.
Storage of cellulose nitrate films in frost-free refrigera-
tors is not recommended because, in the event of certain
types of mechanical malfunctions, there is a potential fire
hazard with this very flammable type of film. For discus-
sion of long-term storage of cellulose nitrate film in explo-
sion-proof freezers, see Appendix 19.1 at the end of this
chapter.
Testing the Refrigerator Is Necessary
The operating characteristics of any refrigerator des-
tined for storing photographs must be known before photo-
graphs are placed in it. This prior testing is absolutely
necessary. Designs of refrigerators are constantly chang-
ing, and frost-free refrigerators with the characteristics
described here may not be available in the future. Also, a
person may inadvertently purchase the wrong type of re-
frigerator. It is especially important that the levels of rela-
tive humidity in a refrigerator be checked from time to
time during the summer months to be certain that exces-
sive humidity levels do not develop. For instance, a manual-
defrost refrigerator with no food in it may, for a time, have
an acceptable level of relative humidity during the winter
months in temperate climates because of the very low in-
door humidity in most buildings when outdoor tempera-
tures are low. But the relative humidity in this type of unit
will rapidly rise to near 100% when warmer weather ar-
rives, thus damaging or even destroying any photographs
stored within.
At all times, an accurate hygrometer (humidity gauge)
and thermometer
8
should be kept inside the refrigerator
section and checked whenever the door is opened, keeping
in mind that there will be a short period of high relative
humidity after each defrost cycle. When purchasing a re-
frigerator, make certain it is a true frost-free model, with
both the refrigerator and freezer sections guaranteed frost-
free. Then check the hygrometer daily over a period of 2 or
3 weeks to make certain the unit continues to operate within
satisfactory limits of relative humidity. The temperature
control in the refrigerator section should be adjusted so
that the temperature is in the range of 3540F (1.74.4C)
and does not drop below freezing.
Refrigerator Mechanical Failure
While this author believes that photographs packed as
described above and stored in a refrigerator of the recom-
mended type are subject to very little risk, there is always
a possibility that an unnoticed equipment failure or some
other circumstance could cause damage to photographs.
With reasonable care, there is little chance of trouble. Storing
especially unstable materials such as Kodak Ektacolor
37 RC and 74 RC prints, Process E-3 Ektachrome transpar-
encies, or Kodacolor II, Vericolor II, Fujicolor HR, pre-1986
Fujicolor Professional, Konica Color SR, and pre-1989 Ag-
facolor XR and XRS color negative films at room tem-
perature will assure that they will fade to an objectionable
degree in a relatively short time; this certainty must be
considered when assessing the remote dangers of proper
refrigerated storage.
A conventional refrigerator or freezer is less prone to
mechanical failure than a frost-free unit. This advantage,
however, must be balanced against the possibility of im-
proper sealing or puncture of the vapor-proof packaging
which is required when storing photographs in a conven-
tional refrigerator. The inconvenience of pre-conditioning
photographs to a low relative humidity and then heat-seal-
ing them in a vapor-proof envelope will discourage most
people from even attempting to store photographs in a
conventional, non-frost-free refrigerator or freezer.
In addition to compressor or thermostat failure, refrig-
erant leaks, and other cooling system problems, there are
a number of other ways a frost-free refrigerator can mal-
function. For example, the plastic drain tube for defrost
water on some earlier models came with a rubber grom-
met on the end, apparently intended to prevent insects
from crawling in and clogging the hose; however, it is pos-
sible for the grommet itself to clog and cause water to back
up and leak inside the refrigerator (the water will slowly
drip down the inside back wall of the refrigerator section
and accumulate on the bottom under the vegetable draw-
ers). The rubber drain grommet is usually accessible from
the front of the refrigerator it is located just above the
removable evaporator pan at the bottom of the refrigera-
tor. The grommet can be removed and cleaned once a year
to minimize the chance of its becoming clogged. Sears
Roebuck refrigerators apparently no longer have grom-
mets on the drain tubes. As previously discussed, the wa-
ter drain tube could freeze and become blocked if the tem-
perature in the refrigerator section remains below freez-
ing for a prolonged period. Enclosing packages of photo-
graphs in plastic bags will minimize danger in the unlikely
event that a water leak does occur.
The defrost system can fail if the defrost cycle timer,
interior fan, or defrost heater malfunction. The bimetal
defrost thermostatic cut-off can also stick in the open posi-
tion. Any of these failures can result in the cooling coils
accumulating so much frost that the fan can no longer
force air through them, and the refrigerator will start to
warm up even though the compressor runs constantly.
9
A
thermometer which can be read from outside the refrig-
erator will alert the user should this type of failure occur; a
thermostat with an electronic alarm is best as it will imme-
diately sound if the temperature rises above pre-set lim-
its.
10
If the bimetal defrost cut-off sticks in the closed
position, the freezer section may become warm during each
defrost cycle (this is another reason why processed films
and prints should not be stored in the freezer section), and,
for a short time after the defrost cycle is completed, the
refrigerator section will also become quite warm.
Refrigerators should be checked about once a week to
make certain they are operating correctly. A hygrometer
and thermometer placed inside will indicate at a glance
whether the refrigerator is functioning properly.
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Refrigerators Should be Replaced
With New Units After 10 Years
To minimize chances of mechanical difficulty, a new
refrigerator should be purchased at the outset; used units
should be avoided. While refrigerators can be expected to
last many years before mechanical problems with the com-
pressor and cooling system are likely to be encountered,
11
this author strongly recommends that refrigerators in which
photographs are stored be replaced after 10 years of use
(be sure to write the purchase date on the refrigerator
with a felt-tip pen in some easily noticed location, such as
on an inside wall near the door opening).
For maximum protection of very valuable photographs,
they should be conditioned in a low relative humidity (about
2540%) and carefully sealed in vapor-proof envelopes be-
fore placing them in the refrigerator.
Humidity-Protected Storage
Old-style refrigerators, which have to be manually de-
frosted from time to time, do of course maintain a low
temperature, but the relative humidity in these units is
generally between 90 and 100%. At this high relative hu-
midity, films and prints will stick together, fungus will grow
on the photograph emulsions and cardboard slide mounts,
and there will be moisture-caused deterioration (hydroly-
sis) of the color image dyes.
Photographs stored unprotected in a high-humidity re-
frigerator will be destroyed in a short time.
If it is necessary to store photographs in a freezer or
high-humidity manual-defrost or cycle-defrost refrigera-
tor, the photographs must be sealed in a true vapor-proof
container, such as a properly capped glass bottle or an
aluminum-foil/plastic laminated envelope that can be heat
sealed. Virtually all types of plastics will absorb and trans-
mit water vapor over time and are thus not suitable for
moisture protection of photographs in high-humidity cold
storage.
12
Although not strictly necessary, it is best to pre-condi-
tion films or prints in a low relative humidity environment
(i.e., 2540% RH) for several days prior to sealing them in a
vapor-proof container. Rolls of motion picture film should
be pre-conditioned for about 2 weeks.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico,
located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has installed a large
upright Sears Roebuck Kenmore freezer for storage of
Ektacolor prints. The freezer operates at about 0F (
18C) and because the relative humidity is uncontrolled,
the prints are pre-conditioned to a low relative humidity
and then packaged in vapor-proof envelopes before placing
them in the freezer. Under the direction of Steve Yates,
curator of photography, the Museum obtained the freezer
in 1984, initially to house approximately 100 Ektacolor
prints from the New Mexico Survey Project commis-
sioned by the Museum. Yates says that providing cold
storage is doing something for the arts and for the artists
instead of hitting them over the head with the stability
problems of Ektacolor prints.
13
The museum also has
Cibachrome (Ilfochrome), Dye Transfer, and Polacolor
prints in its collection; these are stored at room tem-
perature along with black-and-white prints.
Vapor-proof envelopes made of an aluminum-foil/poly-
ethylene laminate that can be sealed with a commercial
heat-sealing unit or a household electric iron at a tempera-
ture between 250300F (120150C) are available from Light
Impressions Corporation, Conservation Resources Inter-
national, Inc., and several other suppliers.
14
These enve-
lopes are similar to those in which sheet films are packed
at the factory.
For a number of years Kodak supplied vapor-proof Stor-
age Envelopes for Processed Film in 4x5- and 8x10-inch
sizes; apparently because of lack of demand, Kodak discon-
tinued the envelopes in 1987.
To minimize the chance of damage caused by an im-
proper seal or puncture of vapor-proof envelopes, the
films and prints should be sealed in an envelope and
the edges of this envelope folded in so that it can be placed
in a second envelope which is then sealed (for further
discussion of vapor-proof envelopes and the pros and
cons of pre-conditioning photographs to a low relative
humidity, see Chapter 20).
In general, this author advises against using any high-
humidity cold storage unit for storing valuable photographs,
even if they are hermetically sealed in vapor-proof contain-
ers. There is the constant risk of improper seals, punc-
tures, or the containers failing for other reasons. Enve-
lopes may be punctured in handling, causing small tears or
pinholes which are not readily visible.
Even if metal cans containing motion pictures are taped
shut, adhesive tapes generally give poor long-term protec-
tion against vapor transmission. With film cans there is
the risk that a particular can may not be properly taped, or
that the can will rust during long-term storage.
Any system that requires vapor-proof containers will
reduce accessibility to the photographs, increase costs,
and probably require trained personnel to pre-condition
and properly seal the film containers. There will always be
the possibility that a container will fail because of a manu-
facturing fault, improper sealing, or damage in handling,
thus destroying photographs which can never be replaced.
A final objection to refrigerated storage with uncon-
trolled humidity is that the containers may depending
on the design of the particular refrigerator or freezer
actually become wet with condensed moisture or covered
with ice if the temperature is below freezing. This can
create a very messy situation and make identification of
the containers difficult. At temperatures above freezing,
mold and slime may form on the containers in non-frost-
free refrigerators.
Conclusion
Most photographers and conservators will find that storing
color photographic materials in a frost-free refrigerator
offers the only simple and low-cost method of safely pre-
venting fading and staining of valuable color photographs.
The procedures outlined in this chapter will virtually elimi-
nate chances of accidental damage to the photographs.
Without refrigerated storage at low relative humidities,
most color photographs will gradually fade and/or stain.
Depending on the particular type of color film or print,
image deterioration may become objectionable after only a
few years of storage under normal conditions.
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1. See, for example: ANSI IT9.11-1991, American National Standard
for Imaging Media Processed Safety Photographic Film
Storage, American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd
Street, New York, New York 10036; telephone: 212-642-4900.
2. Peter Galassi, Museum of Modern Art, New York City, telephone
discussions with this author, March 9 and August 20, 1984. See
also: Gene Thornton, The Modern Still Favors the Documentary,
The New York Times, August 19, 1984.
3. John P. Myers, Robert F. Cardillo, and Martine A. Culbertson, VIREO
Visual Resources for Ornithology, American Birds, Vol. 38, No. 3,
MayJune 1984, pp. 267277. See also: John P. Myers, Robert F.
Cardillo, and Martine A. Culbertson, Visual Resources for Orni-
thology VIREO Annual Report 1983, (1984), Academy of Natu-
ral Sciences of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania 19103; telephone: 215-299-1069; R. W. Norris
and E. S. Preisendanz, Color Transparency Archival Storage,
report prepared by the Engineering Service Division, E. I. du Pont de
Nemours & Company, Inc., Engineering Department, Wilmington,
Delaware, May 7, 1982; and Norman Schrieber, Pop Photo Snap-
shots, section entitled Bird Tracks, Popular Photography, Vol.
19, No. 2, February 1984, pp. 3536.
4. Ziploc polyethylene bags are made by Dow Brands, Inc., P.O. Box
68511, Indianapolis, Indiana 46268; telephone: 317-873-7000. Zip-
loc Heavy Duty freezer bags, made of 2.7 mil polyethylene and
available in one-quart, one-gallon, and larger sizes, are better suited
for storing photographs than the lighter-weight general-use Ziploc
bags. Ziploc bags have a waterproof seal along the top edge which
is closed by squeezing the bag between the thumb and forefinger as
the fingers are run across the top. The bags can be opened and
closed repeatedly without losing the integrity of the seal. Larger
bags of similar design (Lock-Top Media Bags) can be purchased
from: The Highsmith Company, Inc., P.O. Box 800, Highway 106
East, Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin 53538; telephone; 414-563-9571; toll-
free: 800-558-2110. Bags of similar design (Easy-Zip Bags) in a wide
variety of sizes up to 14x24 inches, and custom-made bags in any
size, are available from Chiswick Trading, Inc., 33 Union Avenue,
P.O. Box G, Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776-0907; telephone: 508-
443-9592; toll-free in Massachusetts: 800-322-7222; toll-free outside
Massachusetts: 800-225-8708. Chiswick requires a minimum order
of 1,000 bags in small sizes and 500 bags in larger sizes. Bags of
this type (Resealable Polyethylene Bags) are also available from
Conservation Materials, Ltd., 1165 Marietta Way, Box 2884, Sparks,
Nevada 89431; telephone: 702-331-0582.
5. The Light Impressions Slide-File Box (Code No. 5015)is 2
3
8"Hx 2
1
8"W
x11"D and is made of lignin-free, alkaline-buffered cardboard with
metal corners ($3.05 singly or $2.45 each in quantities of 10 or
more). Each box can accommodate about 200 cardboard-mounted
slides and is excellent for high-density packaging of slides for refrig-
erator storage or for general, non-refrigerated storage. The boxes
are supplied by Light Impressions Corporation, 439 Monroe Avenue,
P.O. Box 940, Rochester, New York 14607-0940; telephone: 716-
271-8960 (toll-free: 800-828-6216).
Six of the Slide-File boxes will fit inside a Light Impressions
Corporation Drop-Front Box, 1
1
2"Hx11"Wx14"D, Code No. 5012 ($6.85
singly or $5.50 each in quantities of 10 or more). The Light Impres-
sions Code No. 5012 box, a shallow drop-front box, is only barely
high enough to accommodate the slide boxes; however, the stan-
dard Light Impressions 11x14-inch Drop-Front Box (Code No. 2021)
is too tall and wastes valuable refrigerator space. Also available
from Light Impressions Corporation is the Slide Stack Box (Code
No. 3211). Made of yellow polypropylene with a tight-fitting lid, and
2
5
8x2
1
8x2
1
8" in size, each box accommodates up to 50 slides; a
package of 6 boxes costs $6.95.
Another cardboard box that is suitable for storing slides in a
refrigerator is the Lig-free Type II Archival Slide Storage Box (#35ST)
available from Conservation Resources International, Inc., 8000-H
Forbes Place, Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730
(toll-free: 800-634-6932). The boxes cost about $5 each in quantities
of 5, or $4 each in quantities of 10 or more (shipping additional).
Each box has a capacity of 360 slides and is 18x2
5
8x2
5
8" in size.
Also available is a large Master Unit consisting of six #35ST slide
boxes inside a drop-front cardboard box 17x19x2
3
4" in size; a Mas-
ter Unit (#35MU) has a capacity of about 2,190 slides and costs
$34.50. Boxes of similar design are also available for mounted 120
roll film transparencies. The interior of these boxes is made of
nonbuffered, lignin-free cardboard. Each box (or Master Unit) should
be sealed in a polyethylene bag or wrapped with a sheet of
polyethylene and the seams taped with masking tape or freezer tape
before placing in a frost-free refrigerator. Upon removal from the
refrigerator, the box should be allowed to warm up for about 3 hours
before taking it out of the bag. These boxes are, of course, also
suitable for storing slides in normal room-temperature conditions.
Very good low-cost polypropylene plastic boxes suitable for slide
storage are manufactured by Flambeau Products Corporation, 15981
Valplast Road, P.O. Box 97, Middlefield, Ohio 44062; telephone: 216-
632-1631. Box No. M-812, recommended for slides, has 12 interior
compartments, each holding about 65 slides (about 800 in total).
The box, which has a hinged lid and is made of yellow polypro-
pylene, is 2
1
2"x13"x9" in size. Flambeau requires a minimum pur-
chase of $200 when ordering directly from the company; No. M-812
boxes cost only $3.24 each (5 boxes to a carton) when purchased
direct. These boxes also should be sealed in a polyethylene bag
prior to placing them in a frost-free refrigerator.
6. Henry Wilhelm, Storing Color Materials Frost-Free Refrigerators
Offer a Low-Cost Solution, Industrial Photography, Vol. 27, No.
10, October 1978, pp. 32ff. The article was based on a presentation
by the author on the use of frost-free refrigerators for storing color
photographs given at The Permanence of Color Technologys
Challenge, The Photographers and Collectors Dilemma, a
conference held at the International Center of Photography, New
York City, May 7, 1978.
The author first became aware of the low-humidity operating
characteristics of frost-free refrigerators when during a visit to his
mothers home in Leesburg, Virginia in 1975 he observed that an
uncovered cake kept in a Kenmore frost-free refrigerator had be-
come partially dehydrated after less than 2 days of storage (this was
contrary to all of the authors previous experience with household
refrigerators).
In Conservation of Photographs, Kodak Publication No. F-40,
Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March 1985, use of
frost-free refrigerators is recommended. The discussion of frost-free
refrigerators for storing photographs (p. 103) is in part taken from
this authors 1978 Industrial Photography article. Kodak con-
cluded this section by noting that, The details of unit design and of
storage of photographic materials are quite extensive and important.
Further information can be obtained from literature on the subject.
The custodian should be familiar with these procedures before pur-
chasing or using a frost-free refrigerator or freezer. No literature
citations were given, however.
7. Suitable frost-free refrigerators, parts, and service are available from
Sears Roebuck and Company, P.O. Box 1530, Downers Grove, Illi-
nois 60515-5721, and the more than 3,000 Sears retail stores throughout
North America; telephone: 316-652-7584 (toll-free: 800-366-3000).
The following Sears Kenmore low-humidity frost-free refrigerators,
suitable for the storage of photographs, were among those listed in
the Sears 1993 Annual catalog, which can be ordered from until
January 31, 1994 (for advice on suitable models after that date,
consult Preservation Publishing Company, P.O. Box 567, Grinnell,
Iowa 50112-0567; telephone: 515-236-5575; Fax: 515-236-7052). Prices
listed below remain in effect until January 31, 1994:
No. 46 R 63041N (7.5-cu.-ft. refrigerator section
size: 59"Hx24"Wx28"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$470.
size: 61"Hx28"Wx30"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$530.
size: 67"Hx30"Wx31"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $580.
size: 64"Hx28"Wx30"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $600.
size: 64"Hx30"Wx32"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $630.
size: 67"Hx30"Wx31"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $670.
size: 67"Hx33"Wx31"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $680.
size: 67"Hx33"Wx31"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $730.
size: 67"Hx32"Wx32"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $780.
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size: 67"Hx35"Wx32"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$900.
(The above unit is the best buy, in this authors opinion.)
size: 67"Hx32"Wx33"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$930.
size: 67"Hx35"Wx33"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,050.
The best (and most expensive) Sears Kenmore side-by-side
refrigerator is:
size: 69"Hx36"Wx34"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,850.
This unique refrigerator is equipped with external temperature indi-
cators for the refrigerator and freezer compartments. The unit has
indicator lights and audible alarms which signal when the door has
been left open for longer than 3 minutes; when the interior tempera-
ture has risen above acceptable levels; if the unit has been above an
acceptable temperature for longer than 4 hours; or if there has been
an interruption in electrical power.
Other acceptable Sears Kenmore side-by-side models include:
size: 66"Hx33"Wx31"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $780.
size: 66"Hx33"Wx32"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $830.
size: 67"Hx32"Wx33"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,100.
size: 66"Hx33"Wx34"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,200.
size: 67"Hx34"Wx33"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,300.
size: 67"Hx36"Wx33"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,400.
size: 69"Hx36"Wx34"D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,600.
Most Kenmore refrigerators are equipped with a Power Miser
switch for shutting off wall heaters located inside the refrigerator
walls near the door openings during periods of the year when the
ambient relative humidity is low; the heaters prevent moisture from
condensing on the somewhat cooled exterior surfaces near the
doors of the refrigerator during periods of high relative humidity.
The heaters are not necessary in temperate climates during the
winter when the indoor relative humidity is generally low. The Power
Miser switch has no influence on conditions inside the refrigerator.
Most of the refrigerators sold by Sears Roebuck during recent
years have been manufactured by the Whirlpool Corporation of Benton
Harbor, Michigan. Whirlpool also sells refrigerators under its own
name; with the exception of interior and exterior trim, most are
essentially identical to the refrigerators sold by Sears Roebuck.
Reportedly, Whirlpool sells far more refrigerators to Sears than it
markets under its own name (in the 5-year period from 1981 to 1986,
Sears Roebuck sold more than 5 million refrigerators).
8. Suitable dial hygrometers (relative humidity gauges) are available
from Abbeon Cal, Inc., 123 Gray Avenue, Santa Barbara, California
93101; telephone: 805-966-0810; toll-free: 800-922-0977. Model No.
HTAB-176 (with built-in thermometer), $131.64 including shipping;
and No. AB-167 (similar to HTAB-169, but without built-in thermom-
eter), $113.87 including shipping. In spite of the manufacturers
claims about the accuracy of these and other hygrometers, they
should be carefully calibrated by the user, especially before they are
put into service for the first time following purchase see Chapter
16 for instructions on how to calibrate a hygrometer.
9. Sears Roebuck and Company, Sears Coldspot and Kenmore Refrig-
erators Service Manual, Sears Roebuck and Company, Chicago,
Illinois, 1977.
10. A suitable electronic temperature indicator, with two remote sen-
sors, digital readouts and alarm functions, is the Computemp5,
available from Rodco Products Company, Inc., 2565 16th Avenue,
P.O. Box 944, Columbus, Nebraska 68601; telephone: 402-563-3596.
Price for the unit is approximately $90. The Computemp5 is also
available from Abbeon Cal, Inc. (see Note No. 8). Other electronic
temperature indicators and alarms available from Abbeon Cal, Inc.
include: the Protecto Freeze battery-powered temperature alarm which
sounds if the temperature should exceed 25F (3.9C), $36.95;
Adjustable Temperature Alarm and Display, Model Q, $158; Adjust-
able Freezer/Cooler Alarm, Model 200, $87; Model 210, with 100-
hour timer to show how long a refrigerator has been off, $100. The
sensors of these units can be placed in a small cardboard box (to
prevent them from responding during the temporary temperature
elevations which occur during each defrost cycle) in the freezer
section of a frost-free refrigerator to indicate defrost system or other
mechanical malfunction which will lead to overheating inside the
refrigerator. Also useful is a product called Flood Alert, available for
$20.95 from Abbeon Cal, Inc., which sounds an alarm if water should
come into contact with the sensor.
11. Roger B. Yepsen, Jr., The Durability Factor, Rodale Press, Emmaus,
Pennsylvania, 1982.
12. Modern Plastics Encyclopedia, 1984/1985, Vol. 61, No. 10A, McGraw-
Hill Company, New York, New York, 1984. See also: The 1984
Packaging Encyclopedia, Vol. 29, No. 4, Cahners Publishing Com-
pany, Boston, Massachusetts, 1984.
13. Steve Yates, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, tele-
phone discussion with this author, September 12, 1984.
14. Heat-sealable vapor-proof envelopes called Light Impressions Heat
Seal Envelopes are available from Light Impressions Corporation,
439 Monroe Avenue, P.O. Box 940, Rochester, New York 14607-
0940; telephone: 716-271-8960 (toll-free: 800-828-6216). Two stan-
dard sizes are supplied: Code No. 3920 (4
3
4x6
1
2-inches; $6.30 for a
package of 25) and Code No. 3921 (12x15-inches; $13.25 for a
package of 25).
Similar envelopes called Containers for Freezing Photographic
Material are available in the 10x12-inch size (minimum order of 500
envelopes) and larger custom-made sizes from Conservation Re-
sources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place, Springfield, Vir-
ginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730 (toll-free: 800-634-6932). These
envelopes are true vapor-proof, heat-sealable, aluminum-foil/poly-
ethylene laminated containers that can provide added security in a
frost-free refrigerator, or be used in a double-layer package in a non-
humidity-controlled refrigerator or freezer.
Custom-made heavy-duty, heat-sealable vapor-proof envelopes
in any size or configuration are available under the XT-08 name
(large-quantity orders only) from Quality Packaging Supply Corpora-
tion, 24 Seneca Avenue, Rochester, New York 14621; telephone:
716-544-2500 (California office: 3028 East 11th Street, Los Angeles,
California; telephone: 213-264-1102).
Custom-made heat-sealable vapor-proof envelopes for films and
prints in any size are also available (large-quantity orders only) from
Shield Pack, Inc., 2301 Downing Pines Road, West Monroe, Louisi-
ana 71291; telephone: 318-387-4743 (toll-free: 800-551-5185).
Eastman Kodak has given two sources for laminated aluminum-
foil/polyethylene material suitable to make vapor-proof storage en-
velopes: Crown Zellerbach, Flexible Packaging Division, Park 80
Plaza West I, Saddlebrook, New Jersey 07662; and Northern Pack-
aging Corp., 777 Driving Park Avenue, Rochester, New York 14613.
This laminated material can be used to make custom-size envelopes
for storage, or for wrapping boxes of films or prints before placing
them in a refrigerator. Packages should be wrapped with overlap-
ping seams and taped to completely cover the seams with, for
example, 3M Scotch No. 600 Transparent Tape, available at most
office supply stores.
Anon., A Swedish Report on the Preservation of Microfilm in Hermeti-
cally Sealed Wrappers, International Council on Archives Micro-
film Committee, Bulletin L, 1975, pp. 6166.
J. M. Calhoun, Cold Storage of Photographic Film, PSA Journal,
Section B: Photographic Science and Technique, Vol. 18B, No.
3, October 1952, pp. 8689.
pany, Rochester, New York, March 1985.
Roland Gooes and Hans-Evert Bloman, An Inexpensive Method for
Preservation and Long-Term Storage of Color Film, SMPTE Journal,
Vol. 92, No. 12, December 1983, pp. 13141316.
D. F. Kopperl and C. C. Bard, Freeze/Thaw Cycling of Motion-Picture
Films, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 94, No. 8, August 1985, pp. 826827.
Charles J. Lewis, Preserve Priceless Negatives, The Rangefinder,
Vol. 33, No. 9, September 1984, pp. 54ff.
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sold his patent to Anthony and Scovill (which later became
Ansco, and later still was known as GAF). After a long
patent-infringement suit, Goodwins patent was upheld in
1914, and Eastman paid Ansco 5 million dollars in settle-
ment. Although 5 million dollars was a great deal of money
in the early 1900's, the final outcome was nevertheless very
much to Kodak's advantage because by the time the matter
was settled, Eastman Kodak dominated the worldwide market
for flexible roll film and motion picture film.
Flexible film base made possible the development of
Thomas Edisons motion picture camera and projector in
1891, and the first commercial cellulose nitrate motion pic-
ture film became available in 1895.
In the U.S., most roll films (e.g., 620 and 616 films) and
film packs were made of cellulose nitrate until about 1950;
professional 35mm motion picture films in the U.S. contin-
ued to use this support until 1951 (manufacture of cellulose
nitrate still negative and motion picture films continued in
some countries until the mid-1950s). Some photographers
made 35mm still-camera pictures on spooled motion pic-
ture films, and examples of 35mm still-camera negatives
made as late as the mid-1950s on cellulose nitrate film
base can be found occasionally.
Cellulose nitrate, also known as nitrocellulose, is a py-
roxylin plastic. It is made by treating cotton or wood fiber
cellulose with a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid; it is
then further processed by adding solvents, camphor as a
plasticizer, and other compounds, forming a viscous solu-
tion which is then solvent-casted on a polished metal
drum or other smooth surface. A thin sheet of cellulose
nitrate film base remains after the solvents evaporate.
Cellulose nitrate is highly flammable and it was long
believed that nitrate films had intrinsically poor long-term
storage stability compared with cellulose ester safety-base
films (e.g., cellulose diacetate, cellulose acetate butyrate,
cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose triacetate). In
spite of the poor reputation nitrate film has had insofar as
its keeping properties are concerned, there are large quan-
tities of nitrate film that are still in excellent condition
after more than 50 years of storage, and many nitrate still-
camera negatives remain in better condition than cellulose
diacetate and other types of safety-base films from the
same period. In fact, under normal storage conditions,
nitrate film is considerably more stable than the dye im-
ages of many types of color films that have been manufac-
tured during the last 30 years.
When new, nitrate film has good strength and handling
characteristics; and this, combined with the difficulty of
producing a slow-burning safety film equal to nitrate film
in physical characteristics, kept nitrate film in use long
after the fire hazards of this film base had been clearly
recognized.
Because cellulose nitrate film is highly flammable, it
should not be stored in a conventional refrigerator or freezer.
It is conceivable that an electrical or mechanical malfunc-
tion could, under certain circumstances, cause the film to
ignite with potentially catastrophic results not only to
the stored film but also to other, nearby photographs and
to the building in which the refrigerator or freezer is lo-
cated. Frost-free refrigerators are, however, suitable for
storage of cellulose diacetate black-and-white negatives as
well as other types of early and modern safety film. For
a comprehensive study of the deterioration of early cellu-
lose acetate safety film some of which in storage has
proven to be less stable than cellulose nitrate film refer
to the 1987 publication, The Acetate Negative Survey: Final
Report, by David G. Horvath.
1
There is no doubt that storage of cellulose nitrate film
at low temperatures will greatly prolong its life, and spe-
cial explosion-proof freezers, in which nitrate film can be
kept safely, are being manufactured.
If cold storage facilities are not available, the film should
be kept as cool and in as low relative humidity as possible.
Nitrate film should be segregated from safety film and kept
in separate files or better yet, in a separate room as
decomposition products from the film can over time seri-
ously harm safety film images, gelatin, and acetate sup-
ports.
2
Even if it appears to be in good condition, nitrate film
should not ordinarily be re-washed or otherwise moistened
with water because the emulsion may become soft or actu-
ally dissolve because of the effects of base decomposition.
Nitrate still-camera negatives should be stored in alka-
line-buffered paper envelopes (it is believed that the alka-
line buffering will, for a time at least, retard the action of
evolved gases from the film on the envelope paper); in
room-temperature storage, plastic envelopes and sleeves
should be avoided since they restrict the escape of fumes
which slowly evolve from the film.
Low-temperature storage in explosion-proof freezers will
be discussed later, but first it will be helpful to provide
some background on the history and problems of cellulose
nitrate films.
Cellulose Nitrate Film Base
Cellulose nitrate was the support material for the first
commercial transparent roll film; it was perfected by George
Eastman and his research chemist Henry M. Reichenbach
and was first marketed in 1889. Cellulose nitrate roll film
was first invented by the Rev. Hannibal Goodwin, who ap-
plied for a patent on the film in 1887; however, Goodwins
patent was not granted until 1898. Reichenbach applied for
a patent in 1889 and received it shortly thereafter. Goodwin
Appendix 19.1 Freezer Storage for Permanent Preservation
of Cellulose Nitrate Still-Camera Negatives
and Motion Pictures
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Stored without air conditioning, humidity control, or an alarm system in an abandoned incinerator building on the grounds
of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, this large store of cellulose
nitrate motion picture films ignited on a hot day in May 1978. Original negatives from 329 motion pictures, some of them
classics from the early days of the Hollywood motion picture industry, were destroyed in the fire.
Appendix 19.1 Freezer Storage for Permanent Preservation of Cellulose Nitrate Film Chapter 19 676
Identification of Cellulose Nitrate Film
Until recently, Kodak acetate and polyester safety-base
black-and-white films had almost always been edge-printed
with the word Safety, although a particular negative cut
from a roll may not include the marking. Non-nitrate films
made by other manufacturers may or may not include Safety
in the edge markings. Safety means that the film is not
highly combustible; that is, under typical conditions it burns
no more readily than ordinary paper when ignited. Nitrate
film from the 1930s through the 1950s was generally edge-
printed with the word Nitrate; early nitrate film usually
was not identified as to its composition. The dates of last
manufacture of Kodak nitrate films in various formats are
given in Table 19.5.
If an older film has neither Nitrate nor Safety mark-
ings, it should be assumed to be nitrate until proven other-
wise. In recent years, however, the word Safety has
been dropped from many color films; it no longer appears
on most Kodak color negative films. The Kodak Safety
Film imprint on all Kodak color transparency and color
negative films was changed to Kodak beginning in Sep-
tember 1982. Safety Film also is not included in the edge
markings of some current black-and-white films.
A simple test to distinguish nitrate film from safety film
is to place a small fragment (a piece about
1
8 inch in diam-
eter can be cut from the film with an ordinary paper punch)
in a test tube containing trichloroethylene and shake the
tube to thoroughly wet the sample. If the sample sinks, it
is cellulose nitrate. If it floats, it is an acetate or polyester
safety film.
3
Tests also are available to indicate whether
the film is nearing the end of its useful life.
4
Since some photographers keep film and paper in stor-
age even years after purchase, nitrate film continued to
have limited use for some time after production of the
material ceased. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, it was
a common practice for photographers to load 35mm film
cassettes with low-cost nitrate motion picture film; so even
though Kodak discontinued sale of packaged 35mm nitrate
roll films in 1938, some nitrate film continued to be used for
35mm still-camera negatives until the early 1950s. Also,
the manufacture of nitrate film in Europe and Asia contin-
ued for some years after Kodak ended nitrate production
in the U.S.
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X-ray film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1933
35mm roll film for still camera . . . . . . . . . . . 1938
Portrait and commercial sheet film . . . . . . . 1939
Aerial film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1942
Film pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1949
Roll film in sizes 616, 620, 828, etc. . . . . . . 1950
35mm motion picture film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1951
Fire Hazards of Nitrate Film
With reasonable precautions, storage of relatively small
quantities of cellulose nitrate still-camera negatives pack-
aged in individual paper envelopes does not present a sig-
nificant fire hazard. The reputation of nitrate film as being
extremely dangerous even explosive came about be-
cause of a series of major fires involving motion picture
film and dating back to near the beginning of the motion
picture business. The one major fire involving sheet film
of which this author is aware occurred in May 1929, when
between 6 and 8 thousand pounds of cellulose nitrate X-ray
film stored in the basement of the Cleveland Clinic in Cleve-
land, Ohio caught fire; the heat and toxic fumes produced
by the blaze resulted in the deaths of 124 people. Following
the disaster, safety requirements for storing nitrate film
were made much more strict, and, 4 years after the fire,
Kodak converted its manufacture of X-ray film to safety-
base materials.
New nitrate film ignites at a temperature of about 266F
(130C); it contains its own oxidant, so once large quanti-
ties of film start to burn, it is difficult to extinguish. As the
film begins to decompose with age, the ignition tempera-
ture lowers. In the later stages, the decomposition of the
film is an exothermic reaction, and if large quantities of
the film are present in one location as might be the case
with tightly packed reels of motion picture film the gen-
erated heat will speed decomposition, thus producing even
more heat. Under these conditions, it is possible for ni-
trate film to spontaneously ignite when storage tempera-
tures are greater than about 100F (38C) for a prolonged
period of time.
5
With proper temperature- and humidity-
controlled storage, spontaneous combustion cannot occur.
In the last 15 years, major losses of nitrate motion pic-
tures have occurred from fires in the United States, France,
and Mexico. A nitrate motion picture film fire, believed to
have started as a result of spontaneous combustion, oc-
curred at the International Museum of Photography at George
Eastman House in Rochester, New York on May 29, 1978.
Original negatives from 329 motion pictures, including such
classics as Strike Up the Band starring Mickey Rooney and
Judy Garland, were destroyed in the blaze. The film was
stored under totally inadequate conditions on the Eastman
House grounds in ironically an abandoned incinera-
tor which was without air-conditioning or dehumidification
equipment and which had no alarms or sprinkler system.
The fire started on a hot afternoon after a series of very
warm days in Rochester. Losses were estimated to be in
excess of one million dollars.
6
In December 1978 there was
a large nitrate fire at the U.S. National Archives storage
facility outside of Washington, D.C. in Suitland, Maryland
in which an estimated 15 million feet of mostly irreplace-
able motion picture film was destroyed. This fire started
from undetermined causes; it is not believed that sponta-
neous combustion was a factor.
Persons responsible for keeping large quantities of ni-
trate film should read the available literature on storage of
this material.
7
Particularly useful are Nitrate Film Testing
for the National Archives, a report prepared by the Na-
tional Archives and the Naval Ordnance Station of the De-
partment of the Navy following the 1978 Suitland fire,
8
and
Storage and Preservation of Motion Picture Film, published
in 1957 by Eastman Kodak Company.
9
Aging Behavior of Nitrate Film
Because of factors not fully understood but likely involv-
ing certain aspects of how the film was originally manufac-
tured, some nitrate film appears to have a significantly
longer useful life than other nitrate film stored under the
same conditions. The temperature and humidity condi-
tions to which any nitrate film has been subjected during
its storage history are very important factors in determin-
ing its life. Film that has remained in good condition for a
great many years in normal storage conditions may in the
course of only a years time suffer significant deteriora-
tion. Nitrate collections should be inspected on a regular
basis to identify and remove any films that are beginning
to visibly deteriorate. John M. Calhoun of Eastman Kodak
has described five distinct stages in the decomposition of
cellulose nitrate films:
10
1. Amber discoloration of the film occurs with fad-
ing of the picture image.
2. The emulsion becomes adhesive and the films tend
to stick together.
3. The film contains gas bubbles and emits a noxious
odor.
4. The film becomes soft, welded to adjacent film and
frequently covered with a viscous froth.
5. The film mass degenerates partially or entirely into
a brownish acrid powder.
Nitrate film that has reached the second or third stage
of decomposition is usually very brittle and must be handled
with care. According to Calhoun:
This type of film brittleness is permanent
and severe in contrast to the temporary de-
Source: John M. Calhoun, "Storage of Nitrate Amateur Still-
Camera Film Negatives," Journal of the Biological Photo-
graphic Association, Vol. 21, No. 3, August 1953, p. 2.
Table 19.5 Dates of Last Cellulose Nitrate Films
Manufactured by Eastman Kodak
Company in the United States
Type of Film Date
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crease in flexibility which occurs when film is
kept at very low relative humidities. The odor
mentioned under the third stage is very char-
acteristic of decomposing cellulose nitrate or
nitric acid and once known is easily recognized.
It is less pronounced but still noticeable in the
second stage of decomposition.
Nitrate negatives in the first or second stage and
even many in the third stage of deterioration can be
photographically duplicated.
11
Using a rather time-con-
suming process, it is possible to remove the emulsion from
a deteriorating cellulose nitrate (or acetate) negative and
transfer it to a new, stable support; a workable method has
been described by Vilia Reed of Eastman Kodak.
12
A nega-
tive should be duplicated before any attempt is made to
transfer the emulsion. Emulsion transfer is particularly
desirable for deteriorating negatives that have significant
artifact value (e.g., negatives made by well-known photog-
raphers or negatives of historical importance).
As nitrate film decomposes, nitrogen oxides are pro-
duced; nitrogen dioxide, together with nitric acid produced
by the combination of nitrogen dioxide with moisture from
the air, attacks the silver image, gelatin, and film base.
Nitrate still-camera negatives should be stored so that there
is reasonable air circulation between sheets to slow dete-
rioration; that is, the film should not be stored in sealed
containers. As explained by Calhoun:
The decomposition of cellulose nitrate is au-
tocatalytic, the evolved gases acting as cata-
lysts to accelerate further decomposition. This
means that as the decomposition proceeds the
reaction goes faster and faster unless these
gases are allowed to escape. This is a very
important factor in film storage because it means
that the life of nitrate negatives depends on the
ready escape of these fumes. This is one of the
reasons why the thicker sheet film negatives
are more likely to decompose than roll film or
film pack negatives. It also explains why a
quantity of film in close contact with itself, as
in a roll of motion picture film or a stack of non-
interleaved negatives, is more apt to decom-
pose than individual films stored in envelopes
where the nitrogen oxides have a better chance
to escape to the air.
13
New Research Shows That Nitrate Film
Is More Stable, and Modern Cellulose
Triacetate Film Is Less Stable,
Than Previously Believed
Because in the past most people believed that cellulose
nitrate film was inherently unstable and had only a short
life and because of worry about the fire hazards associ-
ated with the film it has often been advised that all
nitrate films be duplicated and the originals disposed of.
The recommendation was based on two assumptions, the
first being that nothing could be done to significantly ex-
tend the life of nitrate film, and the second being that mod-
ern triacetate safety film was essentially permanent. Re-
search published in 1991 and 1992 by Peter Z. Adelstein,
James M. Reilly, Douglas W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland
at the Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at the Rochester
Institute of Technology has shown than neither of these
assumptions is necessarily valid:
14
The chemical stability of different cellulose
ester base films is generally quite similar.
. . . there is no evidence to suggest that diac-
etate, triacetate or mixed esters have inher-
ently different stabilities because of their chemical
differences. The often-repeated statement that
the obsolete diacetate films are less stable than
more recent films is not supported by this study.
. . . it has been established that cellulose
nitrate film in storage will not necessarily de-
grade faster than other cellulose ester base
films.
The superior chemical stability of polyester
base films supports the conclusions of earlier
studies.
15
In a finding of major importance, Adelstein, Reilly, Nishi-
mura, and Erblands film base aging studies led them to
conclude that under common storage conditions, the life of
modern cellulose triacetate base film can be significantly
shorter than previously thought.
The Profound Influence of Storage
Temperature on the Life of Nitrate Film
Based on data from Arrhenius accelerated aging stud-
ies with a large number of cellulose triacetate and cellu-
lose nitrate film samples, Adelstein and his co-workers
reported that every 10F decrease in storage temperature
will increase film life by a factor of approximately two.
This research marked the first major application of the
multi-temperature Arrhenius test method to cellulose ni-
trate film. In the past, most testing of nitrate film was
done at a single, very high temperature (commonly 212F
[100C]) under either dry conditions or at 50% RH. When
subjected to this type of harsh, short-term incubation test,
nitrate film does indeed appear to be less stable than cellu-
lose acetate film.
Adelstein and his co-workers also showed that the rate
of film base decomposition is influenced by moisture con-
tent, and lowering the ambient relative humidity from 60%
to 40% RH should more than double the life of the film. The
benefits of low-temperature and low-humidity storage were
found to be additive. For long-term storage of all types of
film, 2030% RH is recommended.
In 1991, as a result of these studies, the American Na-
tional Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) standards pertain-
ing to photography adopted a maximum life expectancy
rating (LE rating) of 100 years for cellulose triacetate film.
For polyester-base films, a maximum LE rating of 500 years
was adopted. (The long-standing archival designation
for acetate and polyester-base films is being phased out of
ANSI photographic standards in favor of specific LE rat-
ings for different types of film, and for processing and stor-
age conditions.)
The findings of Adelstein and his co-workers are in striking
agreement with estimates of temperature dependence of
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To preserve the original cellulose nitrate negatives made by Clarence John Laughlin (19051985), the Historic
New Orleans Collection stores the negatives at 0F (18C) and 30% RH. The negatives have been pre-
conditioned and sealed in vapor-proof envelopes to avoid any possibility of damage to other materials in the vault
by gases that are slowly evolved from the nitrate negatives. Holding a package of negatives in the vault is curator
John Lawrence. Recent studies conducted with the Arrhenius test method have produced convincing evidence
that nitrate film still in good condition when placed in storage at 0F (18C) will last more than 1,000 years before
the film deteriorates to the point where the negatives no longer can be printed.
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The 0F vault for nitrate film storage is located inside the
larger 32F vault. The control panel on the right monitors
temperature and humidity levels in both vaults.
nitrate-base film decomposition in a 1953 technical article
by John M. Calhoun of Eastman Kodak:
The rate of decomposition of cellulose ni-
trate is also very dependent on temperature
and moisture content. The temperature coeffi-
cient of the reaction is about 4 per 10C or 2 per
10F which means that the rate of decomposi-
tion approximately doubles for every 10F in-
crease in storage temperature. Moisture ab-
sorbed from the air, the amount of which is
determined by the relative humidity, also ac-
celerates the decomposition reaction.
16
Permanent Preservation of
Nitrate Film in Cold Storage
The Arrhenius predictions given by Adelstein and his
co-workers for the life of nitrate film stored at various
temperatures, which correlate well with the earlier esti-
mates given by Calhoun, indicate that nitrate film should
last more than 50 times longer when stored at 25F (4C)
and at least 200 times longer when stored at 0F (18C)
than when the film is kept at 75F (24C). When stored
at 85F (29.5C), nitrate film is estimated to last only about
one-half as long as it will at 75F (24C).
17
These figures
are only estimates ongoing research should provide more
precise predictions but they do illustrate the dramatic
increase in the life of nitrate films afforded by low-tem-
perature, humidity-controlled storage.
The work by Adelstein and his co-workers is particu-
larly important because it shows clearly that the common
belief that nitrate film cannot be preserved is simply not
correct. A roll of nitrate motion picture film that today is
still in good enough condition to last another 6 years at
room temperature is predicted to remain in good condition
for at least a 1,000 years when stored at 0F (18C) and
30% RH. (The temperature coefficient of cellulose nitrate
decomposition appears to be not unlike that of the fading of
color photographs: both types of materials benefit greatly
from low-temperature storage.)
Duplication of Nitrate Motion Picture Films
Should Stop and a National Cold Storage
Program Be Established Immediately
A thorough discussion of the storage and handling of
large quantities of cellulose nitrate motion picture film is
beyond the scope of this book. It is this authors strong
belief, however, that the current practice of piecemeal du-
plication of nitrate motion pictures by assorted govern-
ment and private collecting institutions has been a slow
and wasteful process.
18
Furthermore, image-quality losses
are unavoidable in the duplication process and it is always
best to go back to the original (or as close to the original as
possible) when making copies. With the availability of im-
proved, electronic defect-suppression and image-enhance-
ment techniques, access to original materials for making
film copies, videotapes, and videodiscs will become even
more crucial in the future.
Instead of duplication, a far more effective and less ex-
pensive method of preserving large quantities of nitrate
film is to store it in a well-designed, humidity-controlled
cold storage facility with a temperature of 0F (18C) or
lower and a relative humidity of about 30%. Working cop-
ies or videotapes of the films can be made as needed and
as funding becomes available. Film vaults can be con-
structed in a manner that minimizes the possibility of a fire
starting in a storage area and, in the very unlikely event
that a fire should occur, that prevents it from harming
more than a small quantity of film.
It is particularly important that the many valuable color
motion pictures printed by Technicolor and other firms on
cellulose nitrate base be preserved in their original form;
color positive films cannot be duplicated without signifi-
cant losses in image quality. All of the Technicolor prints
made from 1932 until about 1951 were made on cellulose
nitrate film; these include such classics as Gone With the
Wind, Phantom of the Opera, and Joan of Arc, as well as
the early Walt Disney animated films such as Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, and
Cinderella.
A large, centralized, low-temperature film preservation
facility with duplication and video transfer capabilities would
be a far more efficient use of the millions of dollars that
will otherwise be consumed on nitrate duplication during
the coming decades. It would require a huge expenditure
money which simply is not available to immediately
duplicate all of the hundreds of millions of feet of nitrate
motion pictures still remaining in film archives and private
collections around the world. According to Susan Dalton,
director of preservation and archival projects for the Na-
tional Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American
Film Institute, as of mid-1989 the film archives held ap-
proximately 150 million feet of uncopied nitrate motion pic-
ture film awaiting duplication, and the laboratory costs to
duplicate the film will amount to at least $300 million.
19
Furthermore, as research on film base stability by Adel-
stein and his co-workers has shown, cold storage is also
required to preserve the many millions of feet of cellulose-
triacetate-base duplicates that have already been made.
Even duplicates made with polyester-base film should be
kept in cold storage to insure permanent preservation of
the gelatin emulsion and delicate silver images.
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The Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection stores its extremely valuable collection of between 3 and 4 million cellulose
nitrate negatives at 50F (10C) and about 50% RH. Pulling negatives from the files for printing are Joseph Schilling (left)
and George Gonzalez (right) of the Picture Collection staff. Time Inc. Magazines is part of Time Warner Inc.
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Recommended for safe storage of cellulose nitrate film is
the Lab-Line Explosion-Proof Freezer Model 3552, avail-
able from Lab-Line Instruments, Inc.
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The specially constructed
nitrate film storage vault
for the Time Inc. Maga-
zines Picture Collection
is located in rented space
in The Film Center, a com-
mercial motion picture
storage facility in New
York City. The downtown
building is equipped with
blow-out panels, fireproof
doors and walls, and
other fire-safety features.
Unless cold storage is provided for existing duplicates
and for the vast amount of nitrate film that has not yet
been duplicated, ever increasing numbers of motion pic-
ture films will deteriorate to the point where they can no
longer be used and satisfactory copies can no longer be
made. Only a relatively modest amount of money would be
required to build a low-temperature storage facility that
would prevent this ongoing and tragic loss.
Institutions Preserving Nitrate
Still-Camera Negatives in Cold Storage
When large numbers of negatives are involved, there
are many benefits to preserving the originals in cold stor-
age. An important advantage is that constructing and op-
erating a cold storage facility can be far less expensive
than duplicating a large quantity of negatives.
Every attempt should be made to preserve original ni-
trate negatives with important artifact value. An example
is the collection of 5,000 nitrate negatives documenting
early Peary-MacMillan expeditions in the Arctic and to the
North Pole: the negatives, which actually traveled with
Peary to the North Pole and on other expeditions, are cur-
rently housed at the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum at
Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
There are now a number of institutions in the United
States that store nitrate still-camera negatives at low tem-
peratures. The most sophisticated nitrate storage facility
is at The Historic New Orleans Collection in New Orleans,
Louisiana. The two-room, humidity-controlled cold stor-
age facility, which began operation in 1987, has a special
area maintained at 0F (18C) and 30% RH for storage of
the approximately 12,000 nitrate negatives and color mate-
rials in its collections. In spite of the fact that the vault is
humidity-controlled, the nitrate negatives were sealed in
vapor-proof laminated aluminum-foil bags before being placed
in the vault. This was done to protect other materials in
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the vault from damage that conceivably could be caused by
fumes released from the nitrate films over time, to simplify
access and prevent condensation on the negatives during
warm-up, and to protect the negatives from damage should
a water leak or other accident occur.
John Lawrence, curator of the collection, says that de-
spite the heat and humidity of the New Orleans area, many
of the nitrate negatives are still in very good condition,
although some are not. Duplicate working negatives have
been made of the more frequently printed nitrate nega-
tives so that the originals will not have to be repeatedly
withdrawn from the storage vault. According to Lawrence,
cellulose nitrate negatives in good condition are always
retained after duplication. The collection contains many
nitrate negatives made by the late Clarence John Laughlin,
a well-known photographer who lived and worked in the
New Orleans area. Lawrence says, We are preserving the
nitrate originals as artifacts.
20
A sizable collection of Edward Westons nitrate sheet-
film negatives (together with nitrate negatives taken by W.
Eugene Smith and a number of other photographers) is
stored in 0F (18C) freezers at the Center for Creative
Photography, which is associated with the University of
Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. The negatives are sealed in
vapor-proof envelopes for protection against moisture in
the non-humidity-controlled freezers. Although the Center
has duplicated the nitrate negatives in its collection, it
intends to preserve the nitrate negatives themselves for
as long as we possibly can because they are the actual
negatives made by the photographer, according to curator
Terence Pitts. The Center houses the archives of Edward
Weston, Ansel Adams, W. Eugene Smith, Harry Callahan,
Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Aaron Siskind, and a number of other
well-known photographers.
About 8,000 nitrate negatives taken by Joseph Dixon of
American Indians during the period 19081921 are preserved
in a 0F (18C) freezer at the W. H. Mathers Museum at
Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana..
Other institutions with 0F (18C) freezer storage for
cellulose nitrate films include the University Museum at
the University of Pennsylvania
21
and the Humanities Re-
search Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
22
The Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection keeps its
priceless collection of between 3 and 4 million cellulose
nitrate negatives in a New York City commercial film-stor-
age facility at 50F (10C) and about 50% RH; the negatives
are inspected periodically and any found to be obviously
deteriorating are removed and duplicated. The San Diego
Historical Society in San Diego, California stores its collec-
tion of nitrate still negatives at 55F (13C) and 40% RH.
George Eastman House Drops Plans to Build a
Cold Storage Vault in Its New Archives Building
When architects for the International Museum of Pho-
tography at George Eastman House in Rochester, New
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The Library of Congress Film Conservation Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio is the repository of
over 120,000 reels of valuable original cellulose nitrate black-and-white motion picture camera negatives, duplicate
negatives, release prints, Technicolor camera separation negatives, and full-color Technicolor imbibition prints. To reduce
fire hazard, the films are segregated in 96 separate fire-proof vaults, all of which are maintained at 50F (10C) and 30% RH.
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York drew up plans for the museums new $7.4 million
archives building, which was completed in 1988, the design
included a humidity-controlled cold storage vault (35F [1.7C]
and 25% RH) for the museums priceless collection of con-
temporary and historical color photographs. The vault
was also to be used to preserve the thousands of original
cellulose nitrate still-camera negatives in the Eastman House
collection. Among these negatives are photographs made
by Alvin Langdon Coburn (18821936), Nickolas Muray (1892
1965), Lewis Hine (18741940), and other historically im-
portant photographers. The collection also has a sizable
number of original nitrate negatives produced by George
Eastman (18541932), the founder of Eastman Kodak.
In spite of the fact that the stated purpose of the new
archives building was . . .to better preserve the vast col-
lections of historical photographs, films, technology and
library owned by the Museum, the vault was not con-
structed, apparently in an effort to cut costs.
In 1988, concerned about the inadequate storage condi-
tions provided in the new building, Michael Hager, the nega-
tive archivist at the museum, asked the museum to pur-
chase an explosion-proof freezer to preserve the George
Eastman negatives. The freezer was not acquired, and
Hager is no longer on the Eastman House staff. At the
time this book went to press in October 1992, the George
Eastman negatives and the other nitrate still negatives in
the museum's collections continued to be stored at room
temperature, without special protection. It is hoped that
Eastman House will soon find a way to provide proper,
refrigerated storage for its nitrate negative collection.
Special Explosion-Proof Freezers for
Safe Storage of Cellulose Nitrate Films
There are a number of suppliers of explosion-proof re-
frigerators and freezers that are safe for storing nitrate
films. Freezer units are recommended because their very
low operating temperatures will preserve nitrate films far
longer than will refrigerators.
A recommended freezer is the Lab-Line Explosion-Proof
Freezer Model 3552, available from Lab-Line Instruments,
Inc. of Melrose Park, Illinois.
23
The upright unit, which
cost $2,775 at the time this book went to press in 1992, is
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Jim Harwood, a vault collection attendant, holds a roll of
the original nitrate Technicolor camera separation nega-
tives from a color sequence in the 1939 MGM movie The
Wizard of Oz, which starred Judy Garland.
Evan Nesbitt, a vault collection attendant, returns reels of
nitrate film that had been withdrawn for duplication on
modern safety base film. In addition to its own films, the
Library of Congress facility also stores nitrate film for
Eastman House and the American Film Institute. The
original Technicolor camera separations negatives from
Gone With the Wind were stored here for some years
before they were returned to Eastman House in 1990.
Film vault manager Sam Tyler regularly checks the fire
alarm control panel. Sensors in each of the 96 vaults
will trigger an alarm if there is a mechanical failure in
the cooling equipment or if smoke or fire is detected.
Smoking is absolutely forbidden in the vault area.
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available in 110-volt (60 Hz) and 220-volt (50 Hz) models
and has 21 cubic feet of storage space with 18.8 square feet
of shelf space provided on four shelves; it is equipped with
a key-locked door.
The freezer has no internal electrical components that
could trigger a fire, and for maximum safety, all external
components are sealed so that it is safe to operate in an
environment where explosive vapors (e.g., natural gas fumes)
may be present; it meets National Fire Protection Associa-
tion Standards as specified in Articles 500501. The freezer
temperature can be set between 23 and 10F (5 and
23C); for storing of nitrate film, it is suggested that the
thermostat be set at the lowest possible temperature.
In the event of power outage or equipment failure, the
internal temperature of the freezer will gradually rise to
that of ambient conditions; in an air-conditioned building,
this should present no hazard. However, if the indoor tem-
perature should rise above 95F (35C), and the freezer is
not functioning, all nitrate film should be removed from the
freezer and taken from the building to a safe location.
Packaging Films for Freezer Storage
Because these freezers operate with a high internal rela-
tive humidity, films must be sealed in vapor-proof pack-
ages. Vapor-proof storage envelopes made of a paper/
aluminum-foil/polyethylene laminate are available in 4
3
4x
6
1
2-inch and 12x15-inch sizes from Light Impressions Cor-
poration,
24
and in 10x12-inch and custom-made larger sizes
from Conservation Resources International, Inc.,
25
Qual-
ity Packaging Supply Corporation,
26
and Shield Pack, Inc.
27
To minimize the danger of gradual moisture penetration
through pinholes or other punctures in a vapor-proof enve-
lope, films should always be double-sealed: that is, they
should be placed in an envelope and sealed, and the result-
ing package inserted into a second envelope and sealed.
Films should be interleaved with a high-quality, alkaline-
buffered paper such as Howard Paper Company Permalife.
Where possible, films should be pre-conditioned to a low
relative humidity prior to sealing them in the envelopes; in
cold months in temperate areas, when indoor relative hu-
midities are generally low, conditioning can be easily ac-
complished by spreading the films out on a table for a day
or two (open rolls of motion picture film should be pre-
conditioned for about 2 weeks). With still negatives, a
relative humidity of 3040% is recommended. If a low-
humidity environment is not available, a closed room with
a home dehumidifier and small air conditioner should be
able to provide a 45 or 50% RH atmosphere. While prefer-
able, it is by no means essential that nitrate films be pre-
conditioned before sealing them in vapor-proof envelopes;
if a low humidity environment is simply not available, then
the films should be sealed and placed in the freezer in
whatever condition they are in.
If paper interleaves are placed between sheets of film
and excess air is squeezed from the packages (or drawn
out with a hose connected to a vacuum pump) prior to
heat-sealing, there is no danger of moisture condensation
inside the packages when they are placed in the freezer.
(Even if paper interleaves are not used and excess air is
not withdrawn from the package prior to sealing, moisture
condensation could not occur unless there was only a small
piece of film in the package and a large amount of air was
sealed inside with the film.)
Upon removal from the freezer, packages must be per-
mitted to warm up to room temperature before they are
opened in order to avoid moisture condensation on the
cold films.
It has been stated frequently that nitrate films should
never be stored in a sealed container because accumula-
tions of gases resulting from decomposition of the film can
further accelerate the deterioration. However, storage at
0F (18C) or below virtually halts the decomposition pro-
cess, and this author believes that sealing films stored at
such a low temperature will have little detrimental effect
on their life. Certainly, nitrate films will last far longer
when they are sealed and stored at 0F (18C) than they
will when kept unsealed at normal room temperatures.
Notes and References for Appendix 19.1
1. David G. Horvath, The Acetate Negative Survey: Final Report,
University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 1987. The project was
funded by the University of Louisville and the National Museum Act.
Copies of the 91-page report may be purchased for $8 (which in-
cludes first class postage) from: University of Louisville, Photo-
graphic Archives, Ekstrom Library, Louisville, Kentucky 40292; tele-
phone: 502-588-6752.
2. J. F. Carroll and John M. Calhoun, Effect of Nitrogen Oxide Gases
on Processed Acetate Film, Journal of the SMPTE, Vol. 64, Sep-
tember 1965, pp. 501507.
3. Eastman Kodak Company, Conservation of Photographs, (George
pany, Rochester, New York, March 1985, pp. 8993.
4. G. L. Hutchison, L. Ellis, and S. A. Ashmore, The Surveillance of
Cinematograph Record Film During Storage, Journal of Applied
Chemistry, Vol. 8, January 1958, pp. 2434.
6. Originals of 329 Movies Burned, Rochester (New York) Times-
Union, May 30, 1978, pp. 1ff.
7. See, for example: J. M. Calhoun, Storage of Nitrate Amateur Still-
Camera Film Negatives, Journal of the Biological Photographic
Association, Vol. 21, No. 3, August 1953, pp. 113; J. I. Crabtree
and C. E. Ives, The Storage of Valuable Motion Picture Film, Jour-
nal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, Vol. 15, Septem-
ber 1930, pp. 289305; U.S. General Accounting Office, Valuable
Government-Owned Motion Picture Films Are Rapidly Deterio-
rating, Report to the Congress by the Comptroller General of the
United States, U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C.,
June 19, 1978; National Fire Protection Association, Standard for
the Storage and Handling of Cellulose Nitrate Motion Picture
Film, NFPA 40-1982,See also: John G. Bradley, Film Vaults: Con-
struction and Use, Journal of the SMPE, Vol. 53, August 1949, pp.
193206; and J. R. Hill and C. G. Weber, Stability of Motion Picture
Film, Journal of the SMPE, December 1936, pp. 678689.
8. M. C. Hudson and Robert MacClaren, Nitrate Film Testing for the
National Archives: December 1978 Fire Investigation, Indian
Head Technical Report 567, Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head,
Maryland, August 31, 1979. See also: J. W. Cummings, A. C. Hutton,
and H. Silfin, Spontaneous Ignition of Decomposing Cellulose Ni-
trate Film, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 54, March 1950, pp. 268274.
9. Eastman Kodak Company, Storage and Preservation of Motion
Picture Film, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, March
1957. (This is an excellent general reference for both nitrate motion
picture films and still-camera negatives; although out of print, it may
be available in libraries, or contact Eastman Kodak Company in
Rochester, New York.)
10. J. M. Calhoun, Storage of Nitrate Amateur Still-Camera Film Nega-
tives, Journal of the Biological Photographic Association, Vol.
21, No. 3, August 1953, p. 5. See also: J. M. Calhoun, Cold Storage
of Photographic Film, PSA Journal, Section B: Photographic Sci-
ence and Technique, Vol. 18B, No. 3, October 1952, pp. 8689.
11. For a thorough review of various films and procedures for duplicat-
ing negatives, see: Klaus B. Hendriks, Douglas R. Madeley, Fred
Toll, and Brian Thurgood, The Duplication of Historical Black-and-
White Negatives, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 12, No. 4,
August 1986, pp. 185199. See also: Larry Booth and Jane Booth,
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Duplication of Cellulose Nitrate Negatives, Picturescope, Vol. 30,
No. 1, Spring 1982, pp. 1218; Vernon Heger and Larry Booth,
Extending the Linear Exposure Scale of Kodak Professional Dupli-
cating Film SO-015, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineer-
ing, Vol. 9, No. 1, February 1983, pp. 1823; and Robert Alter,
Douglas Munson, Alan Newman, and Peter Krause (William Crawford,
ed.), Guidelines for the Duplication of Historical Negatives [ten-
tative title], to be published under the auspices of the Northeast
Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), Abbot Hall, School Street,
Andover, Massachusetts 01810; telephone: 508-470-1010.
See also: Henry Wilhelm, Problems with Long-Term Stability of
Kodak Professional Direct Duplicating Film [Type 4168, Formerly
SO-015], Picturescope, Vol. 30, No. 1, Spring 1982, pp. 2433.
This author believes it essential that Kodak 4168 (SO-015) negatives
be treated with an image-protective toner (e.g., Kodak Poly-Toner)
as a standard part of processing. Untreated negatives have very
poor image stability and are not suitable for long-term applications.
In 1990 Kodak replaced 4168 film with a new product, Kodak Profes-
sional B/W Duplicating Film SO-339. According to Kodak SO-339
film has much better image stability than 4168 film: Users will find
that image stability [of SO-339 film] is suitable for most long-term
applications with or without a supplemental toning step. Of course,
the image can be toned in the same manner as 4168 film for the
highest degree of image stability. Image stability is important for
negatives that will be considered for archival applications.
Of particular importance with respect to the stability of black-
and-white film and the protection of silver images with a polysulfide
toner treatment is: James M. Reilly and Kaspars M. Cupriks, Sulfiding
Protection for Silver Images Final Report to the Office of
Preservation, National Endowment for the Humanities (Grant #
PS-20152-87), March 28, 1991, Image Permanence Institute, Roch-
ester Institute of Technology, Frank E. Gannett Memorial Building,
P.O. Box 9887, Rochester, New York 14623-0887; telephone: 716-
475-5199; Fax: 716-475-7230. The polysulfide toner treatment for
microfilm devised by Reilly and his co-workers is called the IPI
SilverLock Image Protection System. Contact the Image Perma-
nence Institute for additional information.
See also: W. E. Lee, F. J. Drago, and A. T. Ram, New Proce-
dures for Processing and Storage of Kodak Spectroscopic Plates,
Type IIIa-J, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 1, Febru-
ary 1984, pp. 2228; F. J. Drago and W. E. Lee, Stability and
Restoration of Images on Kodak Professional B/W Duplicating Film
4168, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 1984,
pp. 113118; W. E. Lee, Beverly Wood, and F. J. Drago, Toner
Treatments for Photographic Images to Enhance Image Stability,
Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 10, No. 3, June 1984, pp.
119126; and F. J. Drago and W. E. Lee, Review of the Effects of
Processing on the Image Stability of Black-and-White Silver Materi-
als, Journal of Imaging Technology, Vol. 12, No. 1, February
1986, pp. 5765.
12. Vilia Reed, Restoring Old Negative Films, Photographic Retouching,
Kodak Publication No. E-97, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester,
New York 14650, August 1987, pp. 8895. See also: Vilia L. Reed,
How to Work Restoration Magic on Wrinkled Negatives, Profes-
sional Photographer, Vol. 107, No. 2018, July 1980, pp. 8789. For
other approaches to salvaging images from deteriorating nitrate and
acetate negatives see: James L. Gear, Robert H. MacClaren, and
Mary McKiel, Film Recovery of Some Deteriorated Black and White
Negatives, The American Archivist, Vol. 40, No. 3, July 1977, pp.
363368; Eugene Ostroff, Rescuing Nitrate Negatives, Museum
News, Vol. 57, No. 1, SeptemberOctober 1978, pp. 3436, 42.
13. J. M. Calhoun, see Note No. 10, p. 4.
14. P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura, and C. J. Erbland,
Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic Film: Part I Labora-
tory Testing Procedures, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 101, No. 5, May
1992, pp. 336346; and P. Z. Adelstein, J. M. Reilly, D. W. Nishimura,
and C. J. Erbland, Stability of Cellulose Ester Base Photographic
Film: Part II Practical Storage Considerations, SMPTE Journal,
Vol. 101, No. 5, May 1992, pp. 347353. See also: James M. Reilly,
Peter Z. Adelstein, and Douglas W. Nishimura, Preservation of
Safety Film Final Report to the Office of Preservation, Na-
tional Endowment for the Humanities (Grant # PS-20159-88),
March 28, 1991, Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
716-475-7230. See also: M. Edge, N. S. Allen, M. Hayes, P. N. K.
Riley, C. V. Horie, and J. Luc-Gardette, "Mechanisms of Deterioration
in Cellulose Nitrate Base Archival Cinematograph Film," European
Polymer Journal, Vol. 26, pp. 623630, 1990. See also: Karel A. H.
Brems, "The Archival Quality of Film Bases," SMPTE Journal, Vol.
97, No. 12, December 1988, pp. 991993.
15. P. Z. Adelstein, et al., see Note No. 14, p. 353.
16. J. M. Calhoun, see Note No. 10, p. 4.
17. Peter Z. Adelstein, telephone discussion with this author, June 24, 1991.
18. Henry Wilhelm, Color Photographs and Color Motion Pictures in the
and Preserving Materials in Nonbook Formats, (Kathryn Luther
Henderson and William T. Henderson, editors), pp. 105111, 1991.
The book contains the papers presented at the Allerton Park Insti-
tute (No. 30), sponsored by the University of Illinois Graduate School
of Library and Information Science, held November 69, 1988 at the
Chancellor Hotel and Convention Center, Champaign, Illinois. Pub-
lished by the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and
Information Science, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
19. Frank Thompson, Fade Out What's Being Done to Save Our
Motion-Picture Heritage?, American Film, Vol. XVI, No. 8, August
1991, pp. 3438, 46; see also in the same issue: Wolf Schneider,
Film Preservation Whose Responsibility Should it Be?, p. 2.
20. John Lawrence, curator, the Historic New Orleans Collection, tele-
phone discussions with this author, February 12, 1985, September
4, 1986, and January 23, 1987.
21. Ric Haynes, Emergency Storage for Nitrate Film, History News,
Vol. 36, No. 1, January 1981, pp. 3841. See also: Ric Haynes, A
Cold Storage Emergency Procedure for Still Camera Negatives Made
With Cellulose Nitrate, MASCA Journal, Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 146148,
December 1980. Published by the Museum Applied Science Center
for Archaeology, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
22. Siegfried Rempel, A Conservation Priority for HRCs Photography
Collection, Perspectives on Photography (Dave Oliphant and
Thomas Zigal, editors), Humanities Research Center, University of
Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 1982, pp. 167178.
23. Lab-Line Instruments, Inc., 15th and Bloomingdale Avenues, Melrose
Park, Illinois 60160-1491; telephone: 708-450-2600; Fax: 708-450-
0943. At somewhat lower cost, a Flammable Materials Storage
(FMS) version of the freezer (Model 3552-10) is also available from
Lab-Line; this unit, which cost $2,360 in 1992, has no interior electri-
cal components but is not certified as safe for operation in explosive
environments. For maximum safety, this author recommends the
Explosion-Proof units.
24. Heat-sealable, vapor-proof envelopes called Light Impressions Heat
Seal Envelopes are available from Light Impressions Corporation,
439 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607-3717; telephone:
716-271-8960 (toll-free outside New York: 800-828-6216; toll-free
inside New York: 800-828-9629). Two standard sizes are supplied:
Code No. 3920 (4
3
4x6
1
2 inches; $6.30 for a package of 25) and Code
No. 3921 (12x15 inches; $13.25 for a package of 25). These enve-
lopes are true vapor-proof, heat-sealable, aluminum-foil/polyethyl-
ene laminated containers that can provide added security in a frost-
free refrigerator, or be used in a double-layer package in a non-
humidity-controlled refrigerator or freezer.
25. Vapor-proof envelopes called Containers for Freezing Photographic
Material, supplied in the 10x12-inch size (minimum order of 500
envelopes), and custom-made in almost any size, can be obtained
from Conservation Resources International, Inc., 8000-H Forbes Place,
Springfield, Virginia 22151; telephone: 703-321-7730 (toll-free tele-
phone: 800-634-6932). Conservation Resources has sales offices in
Ottawa, Ontario; Oxon, England; and Brisbane, Australia.
Kodak has given two sources for laminated paper/aluminum-foil/
polyethylene material suitable for making vapor-proof photographic
storage envelopes: Crown Zellerbach, Flexible Packaging Division,
Park 80 Plaza West I, Saddlebrook, New Jersey 07662; and North-
ern Packaging Corp., 777 Driving Park Avenue, Rochester, New York
14613. This material can be used to make custom-size storage
envelopes.
26. Custom-made heat-sealable, vapor-proof envelopes for films and
prints in any size or configuration are available under the XT-08
name (large-quantity orders only) from Quality Packaging Supply
Corporation, 24 Seneca Avenue, Rochester, New York 14621; tele-
phone: 716-544-2500 (California office: 3028 East 11th Street, Los
Angeles, California 90023; telephone: 213-264-1102). The puncture-
resistant XT-08 envelopes are made of a laminate consisting of
Tyvek on the outside, a heavy aluminum-foil vapor barrier, and a
heat-sealable polyethylene layer on the inside. Quality Packaging
has supplied XT-08 envelopes to Lorimar Telepictures Corporation
and MGM for packaging of motion picture films and videotapes. The
packages are used for protection during routine shipping as well as
for room-temperature and refrigerated storage.
27. Custom-made heat-sealable, vapor-proof envelopes for films and
prints in any size or configuration are also available (large-quantity
orders only) from Shield Pack, Inc., 2301 Downing Pines Road, West
Monroe, Louisiana 71291; telephone: 318-387-4743 (800-551-5185).
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A warning notice posted near the door to the 0F (18C)
cold storage vault at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library.
1
9
8
1
funds available for construction of cold storage facilities.
The preservation of color collections is increasingly view-
ed as a basic institutional responsibility by museum
directors.
The fact that most color materials require cold storage
for long-term survival is an unfortunate outcome of the
adoption of the chromogenic system of color photography
which began with Kodachrome film in 1935 and was fol-
lowed by Kodacolor, Ektachrome, and Agfacolor in the late
1930s and early 1940s. Chromogenic materials came into
almost universal use in the motion picture industry follow-
ing the introduction of Eastman color negative and color
print films in 1950.
Although Kodak, Fuji, Agfa-Gevaert, and Konica have
improved the dark fading stability of many of their color
materials during the last few years, most materials are
still not stable enough to survive long-term storage at room
temperature without objectionable fading and/or staining.
Improving color stability was a low priority with manufac-
turers during most of the 19351982 period, and museum
and archive personnel generally knew little about the stabil-
ity problem. With their attention focused on black-and-
white photography, many curators did not even consider
I kept seeing good color photographs, and I
thought, Well, we need to collect those, too.
Attending the conference in Toronto [in 1978 at
the Baldwin Street Gallery] was a fundamen-
tally important step in realizing that the solu-
tion to keeping color was not difficult you
just freeze it. . . .
Now that we have the cold vault, we cer-
tainly do not have to look at a color photograph
and say, That is a great picture, but it will fade
in 8 to 10 years and we will either have to show
it constantly, or we will have to parade people
in and out of the print study room just to get
the use out of it [before it fades]. Now we can
just say, Thats a great picture and it should
be in the collection . . . and it will automatically
be preserved. We can buy the most fragile color
photographs, and they will be saved.
With the vault, we have a great advantage in
collecting several photographers have said
they would make it very easy for us to acquire
their work, because at least there would be one
place where they know their work would sur-
vive. Some have even said they would give us
prints at cost. If there were 20 museums with
cold vaults, there would be no reason that we
would have this offered to us. But I dont want
to make photographers give us work for less
than they want to sell it for. I want them to feel
that their photographs are going to a place that
actually cares that their work lives for future
generations.
1
David Travis
Curator of Photography
Art Institute of Chicago
Since the middle 1970s, when the poor stability charac-
teristics of most color photographic materials became widely
known and discussed in the museum and archive field,
there has been a gradual recognition of the fact that the
only practical way to preserve color films and prints for
long periods is to keep them in the dark in cold storage.
Because of newspaper stories, magazine articles, and tele-
vision programs dealing with color fading, the general pub-
lic was alerted to the tragic consequences of the eventual
loss of the bulk of color motion pictures, television footage,
color prints, negatives, and slides of all types. This public
concern has encouraged museum administrators to make
20. Large-Scale, Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage
Facilities for the Permanent Preservation of B&W
and Color Films, Prints, and Motion Pictures
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Large-Scale, Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage Facilities Chapter 20 688
Allan B. Goodrich, audiovisual archivist at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, is shown inside the
0F (18C), 30% RH cold storage vault, which preserves the large collection of color negatives, prints, transparencies, and
motion pictures at the Library. According to data published by Eastman Kodak, storage at 0F will, for a given amount of
fading to occur, preserve color materials approximately 340 times longer than storage at 70F (21C) (e.g., the amount of
fading that would occur in 10 years at room temperature is predicted not to take place until about 3,400 years have passed in
a 0F vault). The controlled-humidity environment in the vault eliminates the need for pre-conditioning and sealing films and
prints in expensive vapor-proof containers before placing them in the vault.
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The prefabricated cold storage vault at the Kennedy Library is seen here during assembly. The vault was the worlds first
0F (18C) humidity-controlled (30% RH) storage facility for color photographic materials. When this book went to press in
1992, only five other such low-temperature vaults were in operation: three at NASA facilities in Houston, Texas and White
Sands, New Mexico; one at The Historic New Orleans Collection; and one at the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta, Georgia.
The John Fitzgerald Ken-
nedy Library, one of the
presidential libraries, was
built with private con-
tributions and is now
owned and operated by
the National Archives and
Records Administration.
When this photograph was
taken in 1979, exterior con-
struction of the $12 mil-
lion structure was nearly
complete after 2 years of
construction. The Library
is located at Columbia
Point, at the end of a pen-
insula in Boston Harbor.
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In storage at the warehouse, some framed portraits of Kennedy and his family were displayed on this wall together with
other artifacts. The Kennedy Library, in common with most other historical collections, emphasizes the preservation of its
negatives, motion pictures, and other original materials. Prints made from the negatives are to a certain extent considered
to be expendable. This approach differs from fine art collections, which stress preservation of original prints, usually made
by the photographer himself or herself. In most cases, fine art museums do not possess or otherwise have access to a
photographers negatives.
Allan B. Goodrich is seen here with the Kennedy White House negative
file, which in this 1979 photograph was being stored in an air-conditioned
government warehouse in Waltham, Massachusetts. Significant image
fading occurred in the color negatives in the collection during the 20-year
period from 1963 (when President Kennedy was assassinated) until the
negatives were put in the cold vault after completion of the Kennedy Library.
John Kennedy was the first U.S. President to
be photographed primarily in color; the White
House negative file, which consists mostly
of photographs taken by White House staff
photographers, is the most important collec-
tion of photographs in the Library. The file
contains about 35,000 photographs, of which
more than 18,000 are color negatives (mostly
Ektacolor Professional and Kodacolor-X films
in the 120 roll film format).
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Linked to temperature and relative humidity controls, an
automatic alarm system alerts security personnel if con-
ditions inside the vault exceed preset limits.
Entering the cold storage vault, Goodrich carries a small
roll of motion picture film and several boxes of color
slides. The very cold, fan-circulated air in the vault re-
quires that a jacket be worn, and visits are usually short.
color photography to be a serious medium. As was the
case during the cellulose nitrate black-and-white era be-
fore color, the entertainment motion picture industry, with
only a few exceptions, has continued to show little concern
about the preservation of its movies. Museums are now
trying to come to grips with the preservation of huge amounts
of color film from the past five decades, a significant por-
tion of which is already in a seriously faded condition. This
is the unfortunate legacy of years of neglecting the impor-
tance of good color stability and proper storage conditions
on the part of nearly everyone involved.
Museums and archives are faced with a simple choice:
either they follow the examples of the John Fitzgerald Ken-
nedy Library, the National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration (NASA), the Historic New Orleans Collection, the
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Har-
vard University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and a few
other farsighted institutions, which have constructed large-
scale, humidity-controlled cold storage facilities to halt further
deterioration of their collections, or they can continue to
store color materials at normal room temperatures as they
have always done.
If cold storage is not provided, one can properly ques-
tion the effort and expense of acquiring and administering
color collections in the first place since this is being
done with the certain knowledge that most of the color
films and still photographs in such collections will have
severely deteriorated by the time they are seen by future
generations. This do-nothing approach is particularly short-
sighted because the cost of constructing and operating a
cold storage facility is usually very small in relation to the
cost of the collections placed in it.
In the past, some institutions notably the American
Film Institute and the Library of Congress believed that
some future technology, such as electronic digital storage
or laser holographic separation techniques, would allow
copies of color motion pictures to be stored permanently at
room temperature with little or no quality loss and at a
lower cost than cold storage. Such thinking has now been
almost completely abandoned by knowledgeable people in
the preservation field. As Lawrence Karr, former director
of preservation for the American Film Institute and an
early proponent of the new technology approach, observed
in 1980: This represents a fundamental shift in the atti-
tude of the American archivists, in particular, since as late
as 1971 they felt that future technology would provide the
solution to the problem. Since this solution has failed to
materialize in the past nine years, the consensus now is
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The completed $12 million John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library is a modernistic glass and concrete structure. The Library,
which has numerous exhibits highlighting Kennedys life and a theater where a movie about Kennedy is shown, is
visited by tens of thousands of people every year far more than any of the other presidential libraries. The Library
houses the papers and official files of Kennedy from his early years through his presidency. The collection includes
nearly 150,000 still photographs and about 6,000 reels of motion picture film; in addition the Library has large numbers
of videotapes, audiotapes, books, and a series of more than 1,000 oral history interviews.
that cold storage must be employed as soon as possible.
2
In April 1980, the American Film Institute and the
Library of Congress jointly sponsored the Conference
on the Cold Storage of Motion Picture Films. Held in
Washington, D.C., the meeting was attended by film archi-
vists from all over the world; they discussed their experi-
ences and problems with cold storage of films and encour-
aged construction of cold storage facilities by institutions
that did not already have them. (Quite surprisingly, only
three years later, the American Film Institute seemed to
have forgotten the recommendations of the 1980 confer-
ence and said: There is no practical solution for preserv-
ing [modern] color film.
3
The Film Institute quickly re-
turned to its long-held notion that while some future tech-
nology may solve the problem of color preservation, there
was currently little that could be done to save color films.)
Low-temperature, humidity-controlled cold storage is
also practical for the permanent preservation of cellulose
nitrate film, cellulose diacetate film (an early type of safety
film), and cellulose triacetate film, all of which have inad-
equate stability when kept at normal room temperature
and humidity. With large quantities of material, it is much
less expensive to preserve the original films than to make
duplicates; in addition, cold storage allows preservation of
the original artifacts, and the subtle or sometimes major
image-quality losses that always occur when making
duplicates are avoided.
Estimates of the useful life of color photographs kept in
cold storage greatly exceed the expected life for most black-
and-white photographs stored at typical room temperature
and humidity. By placing color photographic materials
into a low-temperature vault, they will almost certainly
last longer than most other objects in a museum collection.
Ideally, all photographs in a museum both color and
black-and-white should be kept in cold storage, or at
least in an area with a controlled, moderate temperature
and a relative humidity of 3040%.
The Art Institute of Chicago has followed this approach
and has a humidity-controlled room for black-and-white
photographs with a temperature of 60F (15.5C) and 40%
RH in addition to an adjacent vault for color materials,
which currently is kept at 40F (4.4C), also at 40% RH.
(The color vault was designed to maintain 0F [18C], and
although it currently is operated at a warmer temperature
to afford more comfortable working conditions for the cu-
ratorial staff, the temperature will probably be reduced to
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Table 20.1 Estimated Number of Years for Just Noticeable Fading to Occur
in Various Kodak Color Materials Stored in the Dark at Room
Temperature and Three Cold-Storage Temperatures (40% RH)
Time Required for the Least Stable Image Dye to Fade 10% from an Original Density of 1.0
Boldface Type indicates products that were being marketed when this book went to press in 1992; the other products
listed had either been discontinued or replaced with newer materials. These estimates are for dye fading only and do
not take into account the gradual formation of yellowish stain. With print materials in particular (e.g., Ektacolor papers),
the level of stain may become objectionable before the least stable image dye has faded 10%.
75F 45F 35F 0F
Color Negative Films (24C) (7.2C) (1.7C) (18C)
Ektacolor 37 RC Paper 10 95 200 3,400
(Process EP-3)
processed by Kodak)
Ektacolor 78 and 74 RC Papers 8 75 160 2,700
(Process EP-2)
processed by Kodak)
Ektacolor Plus Paper 37 350 750 12,500
(Process EP-2)
(Kodacolor Print)
(Kodalux Print)
A
(Process RA-4, water wash)
(Kodalux Print)
A
(Process RA-4NP, Stabilizer rinse)
(Kodalux Print)
Ektachrome 2203 Paper 7 65 140 2,400
(Process R-100)
Ektachrome 14 Paper 10 95 200 3,400
(Process R-100)
Ektachrome Radiance Paper (not disclosed)
(Process R-3) (1991)
Ektachrome 22 Paper [improved] (not disclosed)
(Process R-3) (199192)
Ektachrome Copy Paper (R-3) 8 75 160 2,700
Ektachrome Prestige Paper
Ektachrome 22 Paper (198490)
75F 45F 35F 0F
Color Papers (24C) (7.2C) (1.7C) (18C)
Kodacolor II Film 6 55 120 2,000
Kodacolor VR 100, 200, 400 Films 17 160 340 5,800
Kodacolor VR-G 100 Film (initial type) 12 115 240 4,100
(Kodacolor Gold 100 Film in Europe)
B
C
(1992)
D
(1992)
E
(1992)
F
G
H
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L
Vericolor II Prof. Film Type S 6 55 120 2,000
Vericolor II Prof. Film Type L 3 28 60 1,000
Vericolor II Commercial Film Type S 3 28 60 1,000
Vericolor III Prof. Film Type S 23 220 460 7,800
Ektacolor Gold 160 Prof. Film
Vericolor 400 Prof. Film (1988) (not disclosed)
M
Vericolor HC Professional Film (not disclosed)
N
Vericolor Copy/ID Film (not disclosed)
Vericolor Internegative Film 6011 5 48 100 1,700
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75F 45F 35F 0F
Color Transparency Films (24C) (7.2C) (1.7C) (18C)
Motion Picture Print Films
Eastman Color Print Film 5381 & 7381
S
[5 48 100 1,700]
Eastman Color SP Print Film 5383 & 7383 5 48 100 1,700
Eastman Color Print Film 5384 & 7384 45 430 900 15,000
Eastman Color LC Print 45 430 900 15,000
Print Film 5380 & 7380
* Notes:
Motion Picture Laboratory 75F 45F 35F 0F
Intermediate Films (24C) (7.2C) (1.7C) (18C)
Eastman Color Reversal 8 75 160 2,500
Intermediate Film 5249 & 7249
Eastman Color Intermediate II 22 210 440 7,500
Film 5243 and 7243
Eastman Color Intermediate
Film 5243 and 7243 Improved (not disclosed)
O
5 48 100 1,700
P
15 140 300 5,100
Kodak Photomicrography 3 28 60 1,000
Color Film 2483 (Process E-4)
Ektachrome Films (Process E-6) 52 500 1,100 18,000
[Group I types since 1979]
Ektachrome Plus & HC Films
Q
110 1,000 2,200 37,000
Ektachrome 64X, 100X, & 400X Films
Ektachrome 64T and 320T Films
[Group II types since 1988] (Process E-6)
Kodachrome Films (Process K-14) 95 900 1,900 32,000
[all types]
Eastman Color Negative II Film 5247 (1974) 6 57 120 2,000
Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 28 270 550 9,500
(1985 name change)
R
Negative Film 5293
R
Negative Film 5294
R
Negative Film 5295
R
Negative Film 5297
Film 7247 (197483)
Eastman Color Negative II 50 475 1,000 17,000
Film 7291
R
Negative Film 7294
R
Negative Film 7292
R
Negative Film 7297
Film 5245 and 7245
Film 5248 and 7248
Eastman EXR High Speed Color 50 475 1,000 17,000
Negative Film 5296 & 7296
The estimates given here have been derived from data in Evalu-
ating Dye Stability of Kodak Color Products, Kodak Publication
No. CIS-50, January 1981, and subsequent CIS-50 series of dye-
stability data sheets through 1985; Kodak Ektacolor Plus and
Professional Papers for the Professional Finisher, Kodak Publi-
cation No. E-18, March 1986; Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman
Motion Picture Films (data sheets); Kodak Publications DS-100-1
through DS-100-9, May 29, 1981; Image-Stability Data: Koda-
chrome Films, Kodak Publication E-105 (1988); Image-Stability
Data: Ektachrome Films, Kodak Publication E-106 (1988); and other
published sources.
For many products, including Process E-6 Ektachrome films;
Vericolor III, Vericolor 400, Kodacolor VR, Kodacolor Gold (formerly
Kodacolor VR-G), Kodak Gold, and Kodak Gold Plus color negative
films; and Eastman color motion picture films, storage at 60% RH will
result in fading rates of the least stable dye (yellow) approximately
twice as great as those given here for 40% RH; that is, the estimated
storage time for reaching a 10% dye-density loss will be cut in half.
Furthermore, the dye stability data given here were based on
Arrhenius tests conducted with free-hanging film samples exposed to
circulating air. Research disclosed by Eastman Kodak in late 1992
showed that storing films in sealed or semi-sealed containers (e.g.,
vapor-proof bags and standard taped or untaped metal and plastic
motion picture film cans) could substantially increase the rates of dye
fading and film base deterioration. Therefore, the estimates given
here for color motion picture films probably considerably overstate
the actual stabilities of the films when they are stored in standard film
cans under the listed temperature and humidity conditions. (See: A.
Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and
California, December 10, 1992.) See Chapter 9 for further discussion.
A) Kodak declined to release stability data for Ektacolor 2001 Paper
introduced in 1986, or Ektacolor Edge Paper introduced in 1991
(processed with either the washless RA-4NP Stabilizer or with a
water wash). However, according to a Kodak press release dated
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End of Notes for Table 20.1
and 40% RH, a storage life of between 8 and 14 years may be
this case) occurs.
K) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 400 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, how-
ever, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990)
occurs.
L) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 1600 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has,
however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990)
occurs.
M) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Vericolor
400 Professional Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, however,
provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June 1990) which
indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40% RH,
a storage life of between 19 and 33 years may be expected before a
10% loss of the least stable image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
N) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Vericolor
HC Professional Film. Kodak has, however, provided data (Kodak
Publication E-107, dated June 1990) which indicates that when this
film is kept in the dark at 75F and 40% RH, a storage life of between
8 and 14 years may be expected before a 10% loss of the least stable
image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
O) The estimate for Process E3 Ektachrome films is from an article by
Charleton Bard et al. (Eastman Kodak) entitled: Predicting Long-
Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color Photographic
Products from Short-Term Tests, Journal of Applied Photo-
graphic Engineering, Vol. 6, No. 2, April 1980, p. 44. The
accelerated-test data given in the article were for Ektachrome
Duplicating Film 6120 (Process E-3) and are assumed to apply to
Process E-3 Ektachrome camera films; Kodak declined to release
dye-stability data for these films.
P) From Kodak sources; Kodak has not officially released dark fading
data for most Process E-4 Ektachrome films (e.g., Ektachrome-X and
High Speed Ektachrome).
Q) Kodak declined to release stain-formation data for its high-satura-
tion Group II Ektachrome 100 Plus Professional film and its
amateur counterpart, Ektachrome 100 HC Film, both of which were
introduced in 1988. Ektachrome 50 HC Film, Ektachrome 64X, 100X,
400X, 64T and 320T films, all of the Group II type, were introduced
during 19891992. This authors accelerated tests with these new
films indicate that when yellowish stain formation is considered, their
dark storage stability is, overall, similar to that of Ektachrome 100
and other Group I Ektachrome films.
R) Kodak declined to release stability data on which to base estimates
for low-temperature storage for these films; however, the company
has implied that the films have stability characteristics similar to
current Eastman Color Negative Film 5247 which for 40% RH
storage calculates to be about 270 years at 45F (7.2C), 550 years
at 35F (1.7C), and 9,500 years at 0F (18C).
S) Kodak declined to release stability data for Eastman Color Print Film
5381 and 7381; however, examination of films in collections indi-
cates that the stability of these film is certainly no better and is quite
possibly even worse than Eastman Color Print Film 5383 and 7383.
January 21, 1986, and titled New Kodak Color Paper/Chemicals
Offer Exceptionally Fast Processing, the stability of Ektacolor 2001
Paper (Processes RA-4 and RA-4NP) is comparable to Ektacolor
Plus Paper. This authors accelerated dark fading tests with 1988-
type Ektacolor 2001 Paper (processed in a Kodak Minilab with
Process RA-4NP washless chemicals) also indicate that the
stability of the paper is generally similar to that of Ektacolor Plus
Paper (processed in EP-2 chemicals with a water wash). Ektacolor
2001 Paper was introduced in mid-1986 for use in Kodak minilabs;
this was the first Process RA-4 (rapid access) color negative paper.
Ektacolor Portra Paper, a lower-contrast professional version of
Ektacolor 2001 Paper, was introduced in 1989. Ektacolor Supra,
Ektacolor Ultra, and Ektacolor Royal papers were introduced in
1989. Kodak Duraflex RA Print Material (a high-gloss, polyester-
base print material) was also introduced in 1989. Ektacolor Royal II
Paper was introduced in 1991 and Ektacolor Portra II Paper was
introduced in 1992.
B) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodacolor Gold
200 Film, introduced in 1986 under the Kodacolor VR-G 200 name.
This authors tests indicate that the stability of this film is similar to
that of Kodacolor VR-G 100 Film (i.e., 12 years storage at 75F [24C]
and 40% RH for a 10% loss of the yellow dye to occur).
C) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 100 Film
D) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 200 Film
E) Kodak declined to release stability data for Kodak Gold Plus 400 Film
F) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Gold 1600
Film, introduced under the Kodacolor Gold 1600 name in 1989.
Kodak has, however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated
June 1990) which indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at
75F and 40% RH, a storage life of between 19 and 33 years may be
this case) occurs.
G) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar 25
H) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar 125
I) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektar
1000 Film, introduced in 1988. Kodak has, however, provided data
of between 19 and 33 years may be expected before a 10% loss of
the least stable image dye (yellow in this case) occurs.
J) Kodak declined to release specific stability data for Kodak Ektapress
Gold 100 Professional Film, which was introduced in 1988. Kodak
has, however, provided data (Kodak Publication E-107, dated June
1990) which indicates that when this film is kept in the dark at 75F
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Figure 20.1 This graph, which illustrates color film and color print fading rates versus temperature at 40% RH, may be used
to calculate the approximate fading rate for a color material in cold storage at any selected temperature when an Arrhenius
estimate for that product is available (e.g., for storage at 24C [75F]). This graph is based on fading-rate temperature-
dependence data published by Eastman Kodak Company in Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman Motion Picture Films
(Kodak Publication DS-100 [May 1981]) and Conservation of Photographs (Kodak Publication F-40 [March 1985]).
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Who Should Install Cold Storage Facilities?
Motion picture studios and film libraries: Because of the
immense commercial value, future earnings potential, and cul-
tural importance of motion pictures and television productions,
it is inexcusable not to preserve these films in humidity-con-
trolled cold storage vaults. Cold storage affords simple and
accessible long-term preservation of original negatives, inter-
mediates, sound negatives, and magnetic tapes, and, perhaps
of equal importance, enables unprojected release prints to be
kept the way they looked the day they were made. The cost of
suitable facilities is small, and savings in retiming and reprinting
will quickly repay the initial investment. With films instantly
available in their brilliant, original condition, there will be no
delays in future releases, television broadcast, or conversion to
high-definition television or other future formats while costly
restoration efforts are made to salvage faded films. With cold
storage available, there is no need to make black-and-white
separations, which are not only extremely expensive but are a
much inferior method of preserving film images, compared with
cold storage of color originals. It is especially urgent that
movies made on pre-1985 film stocks (e.g., Eastman Color Print
Film 5383 and previous Eastman Color print films), which in
general are far less stable than current materials, be refrigerated
without further delay.
Museums and archives: Cold storage is the only way to
preserve color photographs in their original form for long peri-
ods of time. It is absolutely essential that institutions with
valuable color photographs or motion pictures in their collec-
tions provide humidity-controlled cold storage. Neglecting to
do so is shortsighted and irresponsible. Cold storage not only
preserves color images but also preserves plastic film base, RC
paper, and other support materials. Albumen prints and other
unstable 19th-century prints indeed, all black-and-white pho-
tographs as well as books, manuscripts, and works of art on
paper will last far longer if they are kept in cold storage.
Restoration and conservation projects involving various works
of art can be documented precisely on color film and be pre-
served unchanged for the benefit of future generations of con-
servators. Color photographic calibration standards for densi-
tometric print monitoring can also be preserved unchanged to
maintain the long-term accuracy of a monitoring program. It is
highly unlikely that museums without cold storage facilities will
in the future be offered photographers archives or significant
donations of color photographs. No photographer or benefac-
tor wants to donate work to an institution that is unwilling to
properly care for it.
Commercial picture collections: Many of the worlds most
historically and culturally important photographs are found in
newspaper and magazine picture collections and in the files of
commercial picture agencies the priceless collections at Time
Warner Inc., the National Geographic Society, and the Magnum
and Black Star picture agencies are prime examples. For many
reasons, commercial picture collections should operate with
duplicates and not send precious originals to clients, or other-
wise handle them any more than absolutely necessary. Cold
storage of inactive originals ensures that they will always be
available in excellent condition. It is crucial that particularly
unstable films, such as Process E-1, E-2, E-3, and E-4 Ekta-
chrome films and all color negatives prior to around 1985, be
refrigerated without delay to prevent further deterioration. Many
commercial collections have large quantities of extremely un-
stable Process E-3 Ektachrome sheet and roll films (19591977)
in their files. The cost of suitable cold storage facilities is very
small in relation to the benefits.
Microfilm archives: Because of the inherently poor stability of
the fine-grain silver images of black-and-white microfilms, as
well as increasing concern about the long-term stability of cellu-
lose triacetate and earlier types of acetate film base in typical
storage conditions, it is strongly recommended that microfilms
be kept in humidity-controlled cold storage (e.g., at 40F [4.4C]
and 30% RH). With microfilms, it is particularly important that
the relative humidity in storage areas be kept at a low level
never above 40% RH.
Nitrate film storage: Cellulose nitrate film still in good condi-
tion can be preserved almost indefinitely when stored at or
below 0F (18C), with the relative humidity in the range of 30 to
40%, in explosion-proof freezers (see Appendix 19.1 at the end
of Chapter 19). When large quantities of nitrate film are in-
volved, storage vaults should be constructed in isolated areas,
away from other storage facilities. It is strongly recommended
that original nitrate negatives and motion pictures be perma-
nently preserved, with duplicate copies made as required for
printing, projection, or other applications. It is particularly im-
portant to save all of the nitrate Technicolor imbibition prints
and the original nitrate camera separation negatives that still
survive (see Chapters 9 and 10).
Containers for Motion Picture Films in
Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage Vaults
Packaging: For long-term storage in humidity-controlled cold
storage facilities, color and black-and-white motion picture films
should be placed in vented plastic cans or vapor-permeable
cardboard containers. Standard metal and plastic film cans
(taped or untaped), vapor-proof bags, and other sealed contain-
ers are not recommended for the long-term storage of acetate-
base motion picture films (see page 321 in Chapter 9 for an
important discussion concerning the detrimental effects of sealed
containers on dye stability and film base stability).
Storage Temperature and Relative Humidity
Temperature: For museums, archives, and motion picture li-
braries most of which have a variety of color materials in their
collections a temperature of 0F (18C) or lower is recom-
mended. This will afford essentially permanent preservation of
even the most unstable types of color films and prints. Large
collections may find it economical to segregate color materials
in groups, according to their dark fading stability characteristics.
The most unstable products should be stored at low tempera-
tures and, for economy, the more stable materials can be kept in
more moderate conditions. Although many factors can influ-
ence the choice of a specific storage temperature, some are
difficult to quantify (e.g., how long a particular color print or
motion picture should be preserved and how much fading can
be tolerated); it is therefore always best to opt for the lowest
temperature that funds permit.
Relative humidity: In most situations, 30% RH is recommended.
For older motion picture films, which may become excessively
brittle at very low humidities, 40% RH is suggested. If materials
will be subjected to higher relative humidities in work and study
areas when they are withdrawn from a vault, it is preferable to
Recommendations
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the zero-degree level in the future.)
Cold storage not only preserves the photographic image
but also correspondingly lengthens the life of gelatin emul-
sions, paper supports, film bases, mount board, photograph
albums, mounting adhesives, and so forth.
Increases in the Life of Color Materials
Afforded by Cold Storage
The stability characteristics of color photographic ma-
terials have been discussed in detail in Section I of this
book. Dark fading data for a representative group of Kodak
color film and print materials are given for four different
temperatures in Table 20.1; the estimated times are com-
puted from the day the material was processed. The esti-
mates given in Table 20.1 are for a 10% loss, or just no-
ticeable fading, of the least stable image dye. Most of the
dark fading data elsewhere in this book are given in terms
of a 20% loss of the least stable image dye; however, this
author believes that for critical museum and archive appli-
cations, a 20% dye loss is in most cases unacceptable, and
that a 10% loss is a more meaningful basis on which to
calculate storage times.
Kodak has not yet released estimates of minimum-den-
sity stain formation (almost always yellowish in color) dur-
ing long-term dark storage. In critical museum and com-
mercial applications, yellow stain is a more serious prob-
lem than dye fading with most products, especially color
prints (e.g., Kodak Ektacolor prints and similar chromo-
genic materials made by other manufacturers). Rates of
stain formation with most color materials are directly re-
lated to storage temperature and relative humidity, and
cold storage at low humidity will probably reduce stain
formation to a degree that approximates the reductions
given in Table 20.1 for dye fading.
Many Color Films and Prints Will Have
Already Faded More Than 10% by the Time
They Arrive in a Museum or Archive
In many instances, a color film or print will already
have surpassed a 10% image dye loss and/or suffered ex-
cessive yellowish stain by the time it arrives at a museum,
archive, or film library. If further deterioration is to be
prevented, the color materials must immediately be placed
in low-temperature storage. To obtain approximately the
same life for a variety of products which may have dis-
tinctly different fading rates larger institutions may want
to have two or more storage vaults which can be operated
at different temperatures. For example, to reduce the rate
of fading to approximately the same level, it is necessary to
store motion picture negatives and prints that have inher-
ently very poor image stability (e.g., most Eastman color
film stocks in use prior to about 1985) at a lower tempera-
ture than is necessary with more recent Eastman and Fuji
color negative and print films, nearly all of which have
improved stability compared with the earlier products.
The greatly extended keeping times made possible by
very-low-temperature storage (in the range of 0F [18C])
are obvious from Table 20.1. In most cases the addi-
tional expenses of constructing and operating a very-low-
temperature facility instead of one that can maintain a
avoid wide-range humidity cycling by selecting a higher rela-
tive humidity in the vault for storage. The reduction in image
stability caused by the higher humidity can be compensated
for by maintaining a lower storage temperature. Recent stud-
ies of emulsion stress and moisture relationships conducted
by Mark McCormick-Goodhart of the Smithsonian Conserva-
tion Analytical Lab have underscored the dangers to prints
and films posed by storage in cycling or in very low
relative humidities. For reasons discussed in this chapter and
in Chapter 9, the practice of pre-conditioning materials to a
low moisture content, packaging them in vapor-proof contain-
ers, and then storing the packages in vaults with high, uncon-
trolled relative humidity generally is not recommended.
Design of Humidity-Controlled
Cold Storage Facilities
Dehumidifiers: Cargocaire automatic dry-desiccant dehu-
midifiers with HEPA filters in the air stream are recommended.
Redundant systems should always be specified in the event
that one unit fails (which eventually it most certainly will), the
second unit will automatically take over. In most instances, it
is recommended that dehumidifier units be installed outside
of the storage vault; this will simplify service and also elimi-
nate a potential source of fire danger.
Refrigeration and air filtration equipment: Vaults should
be equipped with redundant, independent refrigeration sys-
tems. When one system fails, the other should automatically
take over. The two systems should be designed so that one
can be serviced and even disassembled without impairing the
operation of the other. Air filtration systems to remove acetic
acid vapors and oxidizing gases should be provided.
Alarms and automatic shutdown systems: It is essential
that all cold storage facilities for photographs or motion pic-
tures be provided with fail-safe automatic shutdown systems
that will cut off electrical power to all refrigeration and dehu-
midification equipment, vault door-frame heaters, interior lights,
etc. if pre-set limits of temperature or relative humidity devia-
tion are exceeded. At the same time, alarms should sound to
alert personnel of the malfunction. Automatic shutdown sys-
tems should be tested periodically to be certain they are
functioning properly. In the event of an equipment or power
failure, the vault door should be kept closed until the interior
of the vault reaches ambient temperature; this will prevent
excessive humidity levels from developing in the vault and
prevent moisture condensation on film cans, print boxes, and
other containers within the vault. Storage vaults should be
provided with continuous recorders for temperature and RH.
Recommended vault contractors: The design and con-
struction of a properly functioning humidity-controlled cold
storage vault for photographic materials involve special ex-
pertise, and it is essential that an experienced contractor be
selected. Bonner Systems, Inc. is recommended. Bruce
Bonner, head of Bonner Systems, Inc., supervised the design
and construction of the cold storage vaults at the John Fitz-
gerald Kennedy Library, the Peabody Museum of Archaeol-
ogy and Ethnology at Harvard University, and the Art Institute
of Chicago, among other institutions. For large installations,
Turner Construction Company of New York City is recom-
mended. Turner was the general contractor for the construc-
tion of the sophisticated archive buildings for the cold storage
of motion picture film at the Warner Bros. and Paramount
Pictures movie studios in California.
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more moderate temperature of 35F (1.7C) are rela-
tively small. However, for the same amount of dye fading,
a given color photograph will last approximately 17 times
longer at the lower temperature. An Ektacolor 74 RC print,
which will show a noticeable loss of cyan dye in about 8
years when stored at room temperature, will last about
160 years at 35F before the same amount of fading takes
place. Even 160 years is not an adequate life in terms of a
permanent museum collection. At 0F, however, the print
is calculated to last about 2,700 years before the same
just noticeable amount of fading takes place. Figure
20.1, which is based on data published by Kodak, shows the
approximate fading rate factor for any selected storage
temperature.
In some cases particularly for already-deteriorated
materials that have poor inherent stability tempera-
tures below 0F (18C) may be advised. The often-recom-
mended 0F temperature is a rather arbitrary figure that
had its origin in the frozen food industry. Many food prod-
ucts have only a limited storage life if kept at temperatures
just below the freezing point of water, but it was found that
colder temperatures could meet most commercial storage
requirements. As a result, much of the commercial equip-
ment designed for food storage operates at approximately
0F. Kodak has recommended storage temperatures as
low as 15F (26C) to maximize the life of color materials;
at this extremely low temperature, Kodak estimates the
life of color films and prints will be approximately 1,000
times greater than when stored at 75F (24C).
4
The Moisture Content of Films and Prints
as Influenced by Temperature
and Ambient Relative Humidity
Films and prints normally contain significant amounts
of moisture (as a percentage of weight) in the emulsion
and support materials. With films, the gelatin emulsion
accounts for most of the moisture uptake, but even solid
plastic support materials absorb some moisture. Archi-
vists have occasionally expressed fears about possible ad-
verse effects of low-temperature storage on photographic
materials, and a frequent concern is that the moisture con-
tent of films and prints will rise as the storage temperature
drops (in a manner analogous to the way the relative hu-
midity in a closed container of air rises as the temperature
decreases see the discussion of relative humidity in
Chapter 16).
It is important to note, however, that the moisture con-
tent of paper, film base, gelatin emulsions, and many other
solids is not affected by changes in temperature alone.
5
Even the actual moisture content, or absolute humidity, is
not the critical factor. Instead, the moisture content of
most photographic materials is determined by the relative
humidity of the surrounding air. Therefore, film stored
with the surrounding air at a temperature of 0F (18C)
and a relative humidity of 60% will have almost the same
moisture content as film stored at 90F (32C) and a rela-
tive humidity of 60%. Although the relative humidity of the
air is the same 60% at both temperatures, the warmer air
would contain about 20 times the moisture content by weight
as the colder air. Nonetheless, the moisture content of the
films is nearly the same at both temperatures.
Figure 20.2 Effect of storage temperature on moisture
content of typical motion picture color negative film on
cellulose triacetate base. When stored at 60% RH, changes
in storage temperature have very little effect; at lower
humidities the effect is negligible. (From: Adelstein,
Graham, and West, Preservation of Motion-Picture Color
Films Having Permanent Value, Journal of the SMPTE,
Vol. 79, November 1970. With permission of SMPTE.)
Film sealed with little excess air in a vapor-proof can at
room temperature and placed in a freezer at a tempera-
ture of 0F (18C) will not experience any increase in moisture
content. The moisture content of a typical motion picture
film stored at three different temperatures and at various
relative humidities is illustrated in Figure 20.2. The gen-
eral relationship shown also applies at temperatures be-
low freezing.
The reader may wonder what happens to the relative
humidity of the air which is contained in a film can along
with the film itself. The answer is that as long as the can
does not leak air, the relative humidity of the air packed in
the can with the film will remain essentially unchanged
regardless of the storage temperature. This is because
the moisture-holding capacity of the air is exceedingly small
compared with that of the film, when equal volumes of air
and film are compared.
For example, film in equilibrium with air at 50% RH
might contain 3% moisture by weight.
6
Thus a reel of film
weighing 1 kg (2.2 lb.) would contain about 30 grams of
moisture. Assuming this reel of film occupies a volume of
1048 cc, the amount of air in the can might be about 174 cc,
or one-seventh of the total volume of the can. If the can
were sealed with the 174 cc of air at 70F (21C) and 50%
RH, the volume of air in the can would contain only about
0.0015 gram of moisture. This is about
1
20,000 the quantity
of moisture in the film.
When a can containing film and a comparatively small
quantity of air is put in a refrigerator or cold storage vault,
the relative humidity of the air starts to rise as the tem-
perature drops. The film (principally the gelatin emulsion)
then begins to absorb moisture from the air to re-establish
equilibrium with the relative humidity of the air. Because
of the large moisture-holding capacity of the film, virtually
all the excess moisture in the air is quickly absorbed by the
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film, resulting in essentially no change in relative humidity
of the air, or in the moisture content of the film by weight.
The important point here is that the equilibrium moisture
content of a roll of film in a sealed container is determined
by the ambient relative humidity where the film was stored
before being placed in the cold storage vault.
If, however, a single strip of film containing only a few
frames were placed in a large and otherwise empty film
can, and then put in a refrigerator and cooled, there would
be a significant rise in both the relative humidity of the air
and the actual moisture content of the small piece of film.
This is because of the proportionately very small volume of
film compared with the volume of air. The problem can be
easily avoided by keeping free air space in packages to a
minimum; if necessary, crumpled paper of good quality
can fill excess space.
Can Moisture in Films Form Ice Crystals
at Temperatures Below Freezing?
An often-voiced fear is that moisture contained within
an emulsion might form ice crystals at temperatures below
freezing (the way water in fruits and vegetables crystal-
lizes when it freezes) and that such crystal formation could
distort, blister, or otherwise damage films.
Unlike frozen food, which may contain 90% or more wa-
ter by weight, a gelatin emulsion contains only about 15%
moisture by weight when equilibrated with air at 80% RH.
Even if stored in air with a relative humidity as high as
95%, there will not be enough moisture in a film or print to
form ice crystals. John Calhoun of Eastman Kodak wrote
in 1952 that:
. . . ice crystals or damage from ice forma-
tion has never been found in photographic film
stored at below freezing temperatures. The
small amount of moisture normally found in
photographic emulsions or dry gelatin is not
present in the form of liquid droplets but is
molecularly adsorbed within the colloid.
In one experiment made by the Eastman Kodak
Company in 1939 several types of film were stored
for three weeks completely surrounded with
dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) in an insulated
container. Thermocouples indicated the film to
be at a temperature below 100F [73C]. After
removal the film was subjected to microscopic
examination and no change in the emulsion struc-
ture found. Exhaustive photographic tests, and
physical tests made on the film before and af-
ter processing, showed no detrimental effect of
any kind.
. . . there has been considerable practical
experience in the storage of film at low tem-
peratures, in some cases for as long as three
years at 10F. Never has any detrimental ef-
fect been found, provided that the film was pro-
tected from the penetration of moisture from
outside the package. It makes no difference
whether the film is cooled slowly or is quickly
frozen in dry ice, or how low a temperature is
used.
7
Physical Effects of Low-Temperature Storage
on Films and Prints
Some film archivists have also expressed vague worries
that storage of photographic materials at temperatures
below freezing especially if films and prints are repeat-
edly taken in and out of cold storage, producing tempera-
ture fluctuations over a wide range could eventually
cause the following: the emulsion to fall off of films; the
base to become so brittle that (even after the film has
warmed up to room temperature) the film would break;
rolls of motion picture films to become deformed; or other
types of physical damage.
There is no published evidence that any of these things
have actually occurred as a consequence of cold storage,
even though many people have an intuitive feeling that
rapid fluctuations between 0F (18C) and room tempera-
ture must put terrific physical stress on rolls of film, and
that this stress will eventually cause damage. Such fears
probably arise because people themselves feel uncomfort-
able, and can be harmed, as a result of exposure to very
low temperatures, and therefore they think that cold stor-
age must be harmful to film, also.
In 1981, in response to this authors questions about
possible adverse effects on motion picture film of repeat-
edly cycling storage temperatures over a wide range, Kodak
said:
Based on our lab data, no physical harm is
predicted. We cycle these films repeatedly from
deep freeze to room temperatures without de-
tecting any problems. Of course, its important
to protect the film from moisture condensation
during the warm-up period.
We have tested 35mm (but not 70mm) thou-
sand-foot rolls of processed film, cycling re-
peatedly from deep freeze (as low as 61F
[52C]) and observing them physically, our
main interest being roll integrity (spoking,
for instance). . . . On shorter lengths (from
several feet to several hundred feet), we have
examined the film for all physical properties
image stability, emulsion adhesion, support
stability, etc.
There is no demonstrated advantage to low-
ering or raising the temperature of rolls of film
in gradual stages.
8
Kodak went on to say that in the companys experience
over many years, cold storage poses no problems if care is
exercised to prevent condensation during warm-up. A great
deal of processed and unprocessed film is shipped in the
winter, and during transit the temperature of the film may
occasionally drop below 30F (34.4C); Kodak reports that
it is unaware of any damage caused by this. Roll and
motion picture films have also been extensively used in the
Space Shuttle, manned trips to the Moon, and other space
flight missions where at times films have been subjected to
extremely low temperatures; again, Kodak indicates that
no problems have been reported.
More recently, Kopperl and Bard of Eastman Kodak
published results of a number of freeze/thaw cycling tests
conducted by the company.
9
In one experiment, samples
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Humidity-Controlled Storage versus Sealing
Films and Prints in Vapor-Proof Packages for
Storage in Uncontrolled Environments
For many years the standard cold storage facility for
motion picture films was a vault with a temperature of
about 55F (13C) and relative humidity in the range of 45
60%. Refrigeration equipment with cool-and-reheat sys-
tems provided marginal control of relative humidity. Films
were generally placed in taped cans (which are not totally
vapor-proof), and no attempt was made to pre-condition
the films at a low relative humidity before placing them in
the vault. This was and still is typical of refriger-
ated storage facilities in the motion picture industry in
Hollywood and elsewhere. Actually, most of the color ma-
terial produced by the entertainment film industry world-
wide is not even stored in refrigerated vaults; instead it is
kept in air-conditioned buildings at about 70F (21C), or
even in totally uncontrolled warehouses. With only rare
exceptions, still negatives and prints have not been stored
in refrigerated environments.
The development of continuous high-volume dry-desic-
cant dehumidifiers has made it economically feasible to
maintain constant and low relative humidity in a vault,
regardless of the temperature even if the temperature
is well below 0F (18C).
Given the total cost of building a cold storage vault, the
additional expense of a desiccant humidity control system
is not great typically about 10% of the total vault cost for
large-scale installations. Assuming that the walls, ceiling,
and floor of the vault have low moisture permeability (as is
the case with the low-cost steel- or aluminum-covered pre-
fabricated-panel vaults in virtually all the cold storage fa-
cilities constructed in the U.S. in recent years), the added
electrical energy required for dehumidification is compara-
tively small. Once the vault is in operation and the relative
humidity is brought down to the desired level, the only
additional moisture that must be removed is that which
enters the vault when the door is opened, and the very
small amount that diffuses through the seals joining the
metal vault panels and that seeps in through small leaks.
Little or no fan-forced air exchange is needed in most in-
stallations. High levels of air exchange with the outside
(sometimes called makeup air) will of course increase
dehumidification and refrigeration costs.
Maintaining the relative humidity in a low-temperature
storage facility at the recommended level of 30% offers a
number of important advantages:
1. The need for vapor-proof storage containers is elimi-
nated, saving time, labor, and, in large collections, con-
siderable expense. Commonly used heat-sealable, lami-
nated paper/aluminum-foil/polyethylene bags and en-
velopes are cumbersome, waste storage space inside a
vault, and must be replaced each time a film or print is
accessed. If one follows the recommendations of Kodak
and this author, films and prints destined for low-tem-
perature storage with uncontrolled humidity must first
be heat-sealed inside one vapor-proof bag or envelope,
and then that package must be heat-sealed inside a
second vapor-proof container to minimize risk of a de-
fective seal or puncture. This double-sealing proce-
of film and papers included in the Image Stability Techni-
cal Centers long-range sample collection were stored in
heat-sealed foil bags in a freezer and removed, thawed,
and measured approximately annually for 10 to 15 years.
No adverse effects on image stability were seen. In an-
other test:
Samples of seven films and one color paper
were pre-equilibrated at 24C [75F] and 45%
RH, heat-sealed in foil envelopes, and stored in
a freezer at 15 to 12C [5 to 10F] for 6 months.
During each working day, the samples were
removed from the freezer for 4 hours. This was
sufficient time for the samples to be at room
temperature for several hours during each cycle.
They were then replaced in the freezer. Wedge
brittleness, mushiness, and wet and dry cycle
adhesion tests, similar to those in ANSI PH1.41
[ANSI IT9.1-1991], as well as image stability
tests, were performed after the 6 months of
cycling. No adverse effects were seen as a
result of the freeze/thaw cycling.
In other experiments, rolls of processed black-and-white
(Type 5302) and color (Type 5384) motion picture films in
taped cans, untaped cans (which afford little protection
from moisture), and cans sealed in vapor-proof foil bags
were cycled 100 times in and out of a freezer with high,
uncontrolled relative humidity. After each 25 cycles, the
films were projected and then machine-rewound to simu-
late actual customer use. No projection problems or physical
defects were observed upon projection of any of the test
samples, regardless of the storage method. The films
were tested for coefficient of friction, humidity curl, brittle-
ness, and multimetric scratch properties. The slight dif-
ferences observed between the cycled films and control
samples were not considered to be significant. Image
stability tests on the cycled films were also reported, and
no significant changes in density were observed.
Does the Moisture Content Matter if Film
Is Stored at Temperatures Below Freezing?
It has been suggested that at temperatures below freez-
ing, the moisture content of film and the relative humidity
of the storage environment may not matter. In fact, there
could be serious problems. If a film were stored at 0F
(18C) with an ambient relative humidity of 95%, the film
would eventually reach equilibrium with the 95% RH air.
The moisture content of the film would then be essentially
the same as if it were stored at room temperature at 95%
RH. Upon removal from the freezer, the film would stick
together, swell, and likely support fungus growth. This
was dramatically illustrated a few years ago when a large
quantity of cellulose nitrate motion picture film was found
buried in permafrost in the Canadian Yukon. Much of the
film was in good physical condition even though satu-
rated with frozen moisture when the find was uncov-
ered. However, once the film was dug up and allowed to
thaw, some of it was ruined by the moisture it had ab-
sorbed during burial. Films and prints must always be
protected from excessive humidity, regardless of the tem-
perature.
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dure requires additional expense and labor. Also, sheet
films, short strips of films, and prints can be damaged
or destroyed should they accidentally slip into the heated
area when an envelope is being sealed.
2. There is no danger of damage to films and prints, as
could occur if a vapor-proof package failed in an uncon-
trolled, high-humidity storage vault, especially a vault
operated at temperatures above freezing. A defective
seal or puncture in a vapor-proof package stored in
uncontrolled conditions could go unnoticed for years,
allowing the contents to slowly absorb moisture until
they have equilibrated at near 100% RH which likely
would result in the destruction of the materials. Stor-
age in two individually sealed vapor-proof bags or enve-
lopes (one inside the other) minimizes, but does not
eliminate, this potentially catastrophic hazard.
3. Films and prints need not be pre-conditioned at a low
relative humidity before placing them in a low-humid-
ity vault. This not only saves time and labor (pre-condi-
tioning a reel of 35mm motion picture film may require
up to 4 weeks) but also greatly simplifies access to
materials. The need for expensive pre-conditioning equip-
ment or special conditioning rooms is eliminated. Films
that have previously been stored in high relative hu-
midity environments will slowly re-equilibrate to the
lower relative humidity inside a low-humidity vault, even
if the films are in taped metal film cans. Still photo-
graphs in the usual paper or plastic enclosures will
generally re-equilibrate to the lower humidity in only a
few days.
4. Steel film cans, cabinets, shelving, other equipment,
and even the walls of the vault itself will not corrode
over time in 30% RH. This eliminates the need for
replacement of film cans and other equipment and keeps
the storage area free of abrasive rust particles.
The two principal advantages of sealing films in vapor-
proof packages are: (1) a humidity-control system in the
storage vault is not needed, thereby reducing the initial
cost and complexity of the vault and somewhat reducing
the cost of operation, and (2) the films will be better pro-
tected from water damage which might result from burst
pipes in the area, roof leaks, floods, and other disasters.
Sealed films are also protected from airborne pollutants;
depending on the storage conditions, this may be of value
for black-and-white materials. With color films, however,
especially when contained in motion picture cans, normally
encountered levels of air pollutants are probably of negli-
gible significance.
Vapor-proof bags, envelopes, or other containers for stor-
ing films and prints must be made of materials that have
no adverse effects on image stability. Although acceler-
ated test data have not been published, it is generally be-
lieved that vapor-proof bags made of a paper/aluminum-
foil/polyethylene laminate are adequate for long-term stor-
age of color materials.
Finally, it should be noted that some researchers have
expressed concern that cellulose acetate safety-base films
may be subject to increased rates of base decomposition if
they are sealed in air-tight containers during long-term
storage. This is based on the fact that some of the decom-
position reactions are autocatalytic and if gaseous decom-
position products are not allowed to escape, the rate of
deterioration could accelerate (in a manner similar to that
which has been documented with cellulose nitrate films).
But compared with room-temperature storage with films
packaged in sealed containers or not low-temperature
storage will greatly slow the rate of film-base deterioration
(and will also greatly slow the rate of image deterioration).
Pre-Conditioning Films or Prints Before
Sealing in Vapor-Proof Bags or Envelopes
Although it has often been recommended that films and
prints be pre-conditioned (or pre-equilibrated) in a 30
40% RH environment before sealing in vapor-proof pack-
ages, it has never been demonstrated that in fact this is
actually necessary.
At any given temperature, storage at 30% RH, instead
of, for example, 60% RH, will slow color image fading and
staining, discoloration and fading of black-and-white im-
ages, and film-base deterioration. However, with color ma-
terials in cold storage, it is the low temperature of storage
that is primarily responsible for the slowing of deteriora-
tion. The increase in the life of the image afforded by pre-
conditioning to a low relative humidity is small by compari-
son. Moreover, with the majority of older color materials,
such as most pre-1983 Eastman Color print and negative
films, the cyan dye is the least stable image dye, and the
fading rates of the cyan dyes in these products are not
greatly influenced by the level of relative humidity; pre-
conditioning to a low moisture content will be of little
benefit.
There also is concern that pre-conditioning fragile his-
torical films and prints to a very low moisture content
and then periodically taking them out of cold storage and
placing them into work areas or darkrooms with signifi-
cantly higher relative humidity could cause unwanted
physical stress on the emulsions, increase the amount of
curl of films and prints without gelatin anti-curl backings,
and possibly cause other kinds of physical damage. The
ANSI film-storage standards caution against widely cycling
relative humidity. From a physical point of view it might
indeed be safer to keep films in cold storage under ap-
proximately the same moisture conditions that (hopefully)
are found in work areas and darkrooms in collecting
institutions.
Whatever gain in storage life that might be afforded by
pre-conditioning to a low relative humidity can more sim-
ply be achieved by lowering the temperature of the storage
vault 5 or 10F. Insofar as the fading rate of a particular
color film or print material is concerned, the equilibrium
moisture content and the temperature at which it is stored
are two essentially unrelated subjects and they should
be thought of separately. The reader is referred to Chap-
ters 2 and 5 for a more detailed discussion of the specific
effects of temperature and relative humidity on color
image stability.
In large collections in particular, omitting the pre-con-
ditioning step will avoid a great deal of extra handling and
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midifier cost about $11,000. The high-quality, vapor-proof
bags available from the Swedish Film Institute, on the other
hand, cost $1.30 each (shipping from Sweden additional).
For the 17,300 cans of film that eventually will be stored in
the vault, the bags would cost $22,490. If one were to follow
Eastman Kodaks recommendations for cold storage in non-
humidity-controlled facilities, and use two bags for each
roll of film (with the film sealed inside one bag and the
resulting package sealed inside a second bag to minimize
the chance that a tiny pinhole puncture or defective seal
could ultimately lead to the destruction of the film), the
bag expense would double to a total of $44,980.
Expenditures associated with the equipment and labor
to pre-condition and package the films would increase the
total cost of the vapor-proof bag method even more. In
addition, each time a film is withdrawn from the vault, the
bag is destroyed when it is opened and a new $1.30 bag is
required when the film goes back to storage. The number
of rolls of film than can be kept in a vault is also reduced
because a roll of film sealed in a vapor-proof bag requires
more space than a roll in a film can.
By controlling the humidity in the vault with an $11,000
dehumidifier, the Archives saved at least $11,500 in addi-
tional costs for vapor-proof bags (and that savings assumes
only a single bag for each roll of film). If one adds to that
figure the $72,600 cost of the Swedish FICA film-condition-
ing machine discussed later in this chapter, a total of $84,100
was saved. Labor costs associated with the film condition-
ing and bag sealing process would almost certainly push
the actual savings to above $100,000 enough for the Na-
tional Archives to build a second humidity-controlled vault
capable of storing an additional 17,300 rolls of film!
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Constructed in 1987, the cold
storage vault serving the
Moving Image, Data and Au-
dio Conservation Division of
the National Archives of
Canada in Ottawa is kept at
28F (2.2C) and 28% RH.
William OFarrell, head of the
Film Unit, wheels film into
the vault. The National Ar-
chives is responsible for the
preservation of films pro-
duced by the National Film
Board of Canada, the Cana-
dian Broadcasting Corpora-
tion, and other government
agencies. Canadian feature
films are also acquired for
the collection. In late 1996
the unit will move to a large
new National Archives instal-
lation in nearby Gatineau,
Quebec. The motion pic-
ture vault in the new facility
will operate at 0F (18C)
and 25% RH. An advanced
air-filtration system will be
employed to remove acetic
acid vapors, nitrogen oxides,
ozone, dust, and other air-
borne contaminants.
expense. Many films and prints have been stored for years
in environments with uncontrolled relative humidity, and
there is no compelling need to pre-condition them to a low
moisture content simply because the decision has been
made to place them in cold storage; in terms of the future
life of the materials, the most important consideration is
simply to put them in cold storage as soon as possible
and to keep the temperature as low as possible.
Furthermore, as discussed on page 321 in Chapter 9,
recent research conducted by Eastman Kodak has shown
that storing color films in sealed containers (e.g., ordinary
taped or untaped metal and plastic film cans or vapor-
proof laminated bags) can markedly increase rates of both
color image dye fading and acetate film base deterioration!
A Study at the National Archives of Canada
Indicates That Vapor-Proof Bags for a Collection
Could Cost More Than an Entire Film Vault
In 1986, in the course of planning a new cold storage
vault to house the rapidly growing collection of the Moving
Image, Data and Audio Conservation Division at the Na-
tional Archives of Canada in Ottawa, the staff of the Film
Section examined the costs of pre-conditioning motion pic-
ture films and packaging them in vapor-proof bags versus
the expense of adding humidity-control equipment to the
vault and thereby eliminating the need for the bags.
Capable of housing approximately 17,300 one-thousand-
foot cans of 35mm motion picture film and maintaining a
temperature of 28F (2.2C) with a relative humidity of
28%, the new vault cost about $100,000. Of that amount, the
Cargocaire HC-1125-EBA continuous dry-desiccant dehu-
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Sign on the vault door. A study conducted by the Film
Section of the Moving Image, Data and Audio Conservation
Division in Ottawa showed that it was far less expensive and
much less labor-intensive to control the humidity in the vault
than it would be to pre-condition and package films in vapor-
proof bags for storage in a vault with uncontrolled humidity.
Old metal film cans are replaced with new, color-coded
plastic cans, which are stored horizontally on shelves
within the vault. The vault can accommodate approxi-
mately 17,300 one-thousand-foot cans of 35mm film.
Four refrigeration compressors operating in a redundant
mode cool the vault at the National Archives of Canada.
Behind the compressors is a Cargocaire dry-desiccant
dehumidifier that maintains 28% RH in the vault.
A computer-based catalog system tracks the films in the
Archives. Operator Dennis Waugh inputs film titles and other
data manually at a Hewlett-Packard computer terminal and
uses a lightpen to read data from standardized preprinted bar
codes. The bar-code labels are then affixed to the film cans.
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A Swedish FICA film-conditioning and vacuum-sealing
machine at the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded
Sound Division of the Library of Congress in Washington,
D.C. Film technician David Lee Reese prepares to vacuum-
seal a vapor-proof bag containing a roll of film that has
been equilibrated to a low moisture content in the ma-
chine. The system is no longer used by the Library.
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7
fied buildings during the winter, the indoor relative humid-
ity is normally at a very low level; for example, as this was
being written in Iowa in the winter of 1992, the relative
humidity in this authors office was about 25% the hu-
midity generally remains below 30% for 5 months of the
year. Films and prints may be pre-conditioned simply by
laying them in the open for a period of a few weeks they
are then ready for sealing in vapor-proof containers. Dur-
ing warm months, when indoor relative humidity is higher,
materials destined for cold storage can be accumulated
until the next winter; the amount of fading that might oc-
cur during an additional few months of storage at room
temperature is negligible.
A pre-conditioning method that has been suggested by
Eastman Kodak requires placing film in a sealed container
along with a measured amount of activated silica gel; the
amount of silica gel required is computed from (a) the
amount of film being conditioned, (b) the relative humidity
in which the film has been stored in the past, and (c) the
final humidity desired at equilibrium.
11
Particularly when
large amounts of motion picture film are involved, this is a
laborious and time-consuming procedure.
Other suppliers of vapor-proof bags have quoted prices
for bags as low as $0.64 each when purchased in quantities
of 50,000 or more at one time (made of less-expensive ma-
terials, these bags are less durable than the $1.30 Swedish
Film Institute bags, which are heavy-duty bags made with
a double layer of aluminum foil to minimize the chance of
pinhole punctures). But even at $0.64 each, the cost of
17,300 bags comes to $11,072 about the same as the price
of the Cargocaire dehumidifier in the new Archives vault.
According to William OFarrell of the Film Section, the
comparison of the two storage methods made it clear that
it was much simpler and far less expensive to incorporate
a desiccation dehumidifier into the design of the vault.
10
Headed by Roger Easton, the Moving Image, Data and
Audio Conservation Division of the National Archives of
Canada is the Canadian governments central repository
for motion picture films and videotapes, with new material
arriving weekly from the National Film Board of Canada,
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, various govern-
ment agencies, and even from private citizens. Prints from
more than 1,000 Canadian feature films have also been
purchased by the Archives and are now preserved in the
cold storage vault (unlike the U.S. and some other coun-
tries, Canada does not have a mandatory copyright deposit
law, and all films must be purchased from their produc-
ers). OFarrell says there are over 200,000 cans of film in
the collection, of which perhaps one-third are in color. We
are looking at another few years to identify exactly what
additional color films in our collection warrant being placed
in the cold storage vault.
The Moving Image, Data and Audio Conservation Divi-
sion is replacing old metal film cans with new color-coded
plastic cans, as a visual identifier for different types of
films and also acts as a deterrent to the deterioration of
acetate film base, according to OFarrell. Everything is
recanned because many of the original cans are rusted,
dented, or otherwise in poor condition. To simplify record
keeping as films are moved in and out of the vault, com-
puter bar-code labels have been applied to the new cans.
Methods of Pre-Conditioning Films and Prints
If proper humidity-controlled cold storage is simply not
available and it is necessary to pre-condition films or prints
before sealing them in vapor-proof containers, there are
several methods of accomplishing this. The most obvious
way is to store the materials for a period of time in a room
in which the desired relative humidity is maintained. Con-
ditioning times may range from a few hours for individual
films and prints that are open to the air, to a month or
longer for 1,000- or 2,000-foot rolls of 35mm motion picture
film. In most geographic locations, maintaining low rela-
tive humidity (e.g., 25% RH) on a year-round basis requires
the use of a continuous dry-desiccant dehumidifier. If a
more moderate level of relative humidity is acceptable,
one or more home-type refrigeration dehumidifiers may be
placed in a small, air-conditioned room; home dehumidifi-
ers are much less expensive than desiccant units and are
capable of reducing the relative humidity to about 45%.
In temperate climates, the simplest solution of all is to
restrict the time that materials are sealed in vapor-proof
containers to the cold months of the year. In non-humidi-
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Because films sealed in vapor-proof bags are too bulky to fit in standard film cans, the Library had to purchase custom-made
boxes and further added to the overall cost of the FICA procedure. After using the FICA system for several years, the Library
was forced to give up the procedure because of insufficient staff. David Parker, a film curator at the Library of Congress, is
shown here with color films packaged in the FICA vapor-proof bags (left) in the Librarys large, 37F (2.8C) cold storage
facility in Landover, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. Although the vault is controlled at 25% RH and sealing films in
vapor-proof containers was not necessary to protect them from moisture, the Library staff felt that the FICA system was
worthwhile because of the protection afforded to films by the waterproof bags in the event of a mishap during shipping, or of
flooding caused by a burst water pipe near the vault. Films are now placed in the vault in standard metal or plastic film cans.
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The Swedish Film Institute Film
Conditioning Apparatus (FICA)
A more sophisticated pre-conditioning method, currently
in operation at the Swedish Film Institute (Svenska
Filminstitutet) in Stockholm, Sweden, involves a specially
constructed temperature- and humidity-controlled condi-
tioning cabinet to re-equilibrate rolls of motion picture film
in 25% RH air before double-sealing the films in vapor-
proof bags in a vacuum chamber.
12
Called the Film Condi-
tioning Apparatus (FICA), the unit incorporates a continu-
ous desiccant dehumidifier; a Purafil air filter to remove
airborne contaminants; an air conditioner to remove heat
produced by the dehumidifier and other mechanical equip-
ment, and to maintain the temperature inside the cabinet
at 68F (20C); a device to rewind film under controlled
tension; and a vacuum-chamber and heat-sealing unit with
which to double-seal rolls of film in vapor-proof bags.
Designed by Roland Gooes and Hans-Evert Bloman of
the Swedish Film Institute, the FICA unit is available from
the Institute for about $75,000 (with shipping from Sweden
additional).
13
The time required to pre-condition (equili-
brate) rolls of film to the desired 25% RH varies from 4 to 7
days, depending on the prior storage conditions of the film.
The 80x30inch cabinet can accommodate more than fifty
1,000foot rolls of film at one time. For greater capacity,
up to four satellite conditioning cabinets, which cost $20,200
each, can be attached to a central FICA unit.
The heavy-duty vapor-proof bags supplied by the Swed-
ish Film Institute for the FICA unit cost $1.30 each (price
applies to any quantity, with shipping additional). When a
roll of film is first placed in the cabinet, it is rewound under
controlled 10.5-ounce tension. After pre-conditioning and
sealing in the vapor-proof bags, films may safely be stored
in non-humidity-controlled, low-temperature vaults.
The Swedish Film Institute is attempting to preserve all
Swedish motion picture films; the major funding for the
Institute (which is also heavily involved in film production)
comes from a 10% tax on all box office receipts and a set
fee paid by the video industry for each videocassette sold
to the public.
14
The Institute developed the FICA machine
to pre-condition and seal camera negatives and printing
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Figure 20.3 A schematic of a moderate-size humidity-controlled cold storage vault, similar to the installation at the Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. Although this drawing shows a dry-desiccant dehumidifier
inside the vault, the author recommends that dehumidifiers be located outside of a vault. (Courtesy Harris Environmental
Systems, Inc.)
masters for storage in its preservation facility in Stockholm
(the color film vaults are kept at 23F (5C) and 40% RH).
In 1986 a FICA unit was purchased by the Library of
Congress for pre-conditioning films prior to placing them
in the Librarys cold storage vaults in Landover, Maryland.
Even though the Library of Congress storage vault for color
film is maintained at 25% RH and vapor-proof containers
are not necessary in such an environment, the Library felt
that pre-conditioning color films in the FICA unit and then
sealing the film in vapor-proof bags afforded added protec-
tion to the films. According to Paul Spehr, assistant chief
of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound
Division of the Library, sealing films is sort of a double
insurance it offers the film some protection against wa-
ter and other types of damage that may happen.
15
Citing a basement flood a few years ago at the Chicago
Historical Society caused by a large water main outside
the building that fractured during a construction project,
Spehr said that the Library of Congress has had problems
with malfunctioning fire sprinklers and burst pipes (al-
though to date there has been no damage to films in the
cold storage vaults). Spehr noted that one difficulty with
films sealed in the bags is that they no longer fit in stan-
dard film cans or film boxes, so the Library had to pur-
chase costly, specially made, oversize boxes. After using
the FICA system for a few years, the Library was forced to
abandon the procedure because of budget constraints.
Construction of Cold Storage Vaults
Most of the photographic cold storage vaults built in
recent years have been constructed with prefabricated
metal-clad panels with 4- or 5-inch-thick polyurethane foam
insulating cores similar in structure to the walk-in re-
frigerators found in food stores and restaurants. Indeed,
one of the major suppliers of such refrigerated vaults, Bally
Engineered Structures, Inc., sells most of its equipment to
the food industry; Bally introduced its first urethane foam-
core sectional prefabricated vault in 1962. The units are
available in virtually any size, up to and including large
drive-in buildings.
The aluminum, galvanized steel, or stainless steel cov-
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A pressure-relief vent in the wall of the vault is provided
to equalize air pressure differences that occur when warm,
room-temperature air enters the vault and is cooled when
the door to the vault is opened.
The cold storage vault in operation (although built to
maintain 0F [18C] and 30% RH, the vault currently is
operated at 60F [15.6C] and 35% RH).
Picture collection staff member George Gonzalez in the
interior of the cold storage vault at the Time Inc. Maga-
zines Picture Collection; when this photograph was taken
in 1981, the vault was in the final stages of construction.
The floor plan for the vault shows locations of the file
cabinets containing more than one million color transpar-
encies that were moved into the vault after its completion
and testing.
An exterior view of the vault. A vestibule and door in front
of the vault door provide an air lock to minimize the influx
of room-temperature air when the vault is entered. The
vault is located in the Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collec-
tion in the Time & Life building in New York City.
ering on both sides of the vault walls not only provides a
rigid surface and structural support but also serves as an
effective moisture barrier to prevent outside water vapor
from entering the vault, thus reducing the dehumidifica-
tion requirements of the facility. In low-temperature in-
stallations, the floor as well as the walls must be insulated.
Vaults of this design can be readily constructed in al-
most any part of an already-existing building. When lo-
cated on the ground floor or in the basement of a building,
additional floor insulation may be required to prevent the
earth beneath the floor from freezing and expanding, pos-
sibly causing structural damage to the building; the vault
supplier can give advice on this point. The prefabricated
vaults can be disassembled and moved to another location
with relative ease, and sections can be added in order to
expand the size of the vault. The load-bearing capacity of
the building floor must be considered in deciding where to
locate a vault particularly when large quantities of mo-
tion picture film are to be stored on high-density movable
shelving, the weight of the materials in a vault can be
considerable.
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build in some redundancy or you can expect it
to quit every once in a while. You simply can-
not put in all of the refrigeration and dehumidi-
fication equipment, smoke and temperature
alarms, air filters, and everything else and not
expect some of this mechanical stuff to break
down every now and then. The mistake is to
have someone build a vault and present you
with the key and then expect it to work abso-
lutely perfectly forever. If we have a tempera-
ture where our Ektachrome slides will last 500
years there isnt a piece of equipment made
that will last even a fraction of that time.
16
Wallace went on to say that the staff should understand
the equipment and have both the knowledge and spare
parts to do simple repairs. In addition, procedures for
handling the collection in the vault during equipment fail-
ures should be worked out in advance.
Should all the equipment fail or in the event of a
prolonged power outage no harm need be done. The
temperature inside the vault will gradually rise to ambient
conditions and the fading rates of the color materials in-
side will increase accordingly for as long as the vault is out
of operation. A few months at room temperature during a
hundred-year period will be of no great significance. If the
vault door is kept closed until the inside of the vault has
reached room temperature, the relative humidity in the
vault will not rise to unacceptable levels during the warm-
up period.
Allan Goodrich of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
reported that during a power outage, which lasted 2 days,
the temperature inside the Librarys 0F (18C) cold stor-
age vault rose to about 30F (1.1C) before the electricity
was restored; the relative humidity inside the vault re-
mained low throughout the 2-day period.
17
As discussed below, every vault should be equipped with
temperature and relative humidity indicators that can be
read from the outside as well as fail-safe automatic high-
and low-level temperature electrical shutdown systems and
alarms which will sound both at the vault and at a remote
location to alert the maintenance staff immediately should
conditions in the vault reach unacceptable levels.
High-Volume Dry-Desiccant Dehumidifiers
for Humidity Control in Cold Storage Vaults
Ordinary refrigerated vaults and freezers do not have
any system of humidity control, and relative humidities are
often close to 100% far too high for safe storage of unpro-
tected photographs. Conventional refrigeration-type de-
humidifiers do not function efficiently at low temperatures,
and with most designs it is impossible to obtain relative
humidities as low as 30%. In addition, refrigeration dehu-
midifiers with heated defrost cycles consume large amounts
of electricity during operation.
Much more satisfactory are continuous high-volume dry-
desiccant dehumidifiers, principally the lithium-chloride-
impregnated wheel machines invented by Carl Munters in
Sweden and manufactured in the U.S. by Cargocaire Engi-
neering Corporation, Amesbury, Massachusetts (for a de-
scription of these machines, see Chapter 16). Cargocaire
The roof of the vault should be waterproof to protect the
contents from water dripping on the top as a result of burst
pipes, leaking building roofs, fire-extinguishing water sprin-
kler systems, etc. There are several ways to waterproof
the top of a vault: if the vault is not too large, covering it
with a large sheet of plastic may suffice. The best ap-
proach is to install an outdoor roof on the vault; such
roofs are available from most vault manufacturers. In
general, photographic storage vaults should not be installed
in basements because of the danger of flooding from natu-
ral causes (e.g., hurricanes), broken water mains, or backed-
up sewers. Should a fire break out in the building, a base-
ment may flood with tons of water released by automatic
sprinkler systems or with water poured into the building
by firefighters.
The design of a typical photographic storage vault is
shown in Figure 20.3. Ideally, a vault should have a sec-
ond door with a small air-lock section to reduce the air
exchange each time the vault is entered. Doors should be
large enough to accommodate shelves, file cabinets, or
other equipment that must be moved in and out of the
vault. Low-temperature vaults require a pressure-relief
port to allow changes in air pressure (caused by sudden
temperature changes when the door is opened) to equalize
with the air pressure outside the vault.
For the lowest electrical requirements and operating
costs, the urethane foam-insulated walls, ceiling, and floor
of the vault should be as thick as possible a minimum of
5 inches is recommended (5 inches is currently the thick-
est panel construction offered by Bally Case and Cooler,
Inc. and most other suppliers).
Refrigeration and Dehumidification Equipment
The refrigeration equipment for photographic storage
facilities is usually of fairly typical design and can be either
air or water cooled. It is suggested that two or even
three completely independent, redundant refrigeration
and dehumidification systems be installed so that in the
event of mechanical failure, one system will remain oper-
ating while the other is being repaired. In many facilities
installed recently in the U.S., the equipment has been de-
signed so that the dual refrigeration compressors alter-
nate after each running period. If an upper temperature
limit is reached, both compressors will switch on at the
same time. Should one compressor fail, the other auto-
matically takes over and will continue to cool the facility
until the defective compressor can be returned to service.
Dehumidification equipment should also operate as a
redundant system with two or more units. Because the
photographs in storage will probably be kept for many hun-
dreds of years if not forever many equipment failures
will occur as the years pass, and this must be taken into
account both in the design of the vault and in the mainte-
nance procedures adopted for the equipment. As James
Wallace, Curator/Director of the Smithsonian Institutions
Department of Photographic Services in Washington, D.C.,
said about the design of a cold storage system:
You have to remember that a cold storage
room is a mechanical thing like an automo-
bile. It runs all the time and you either have to
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The Department of Photographic Services at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. constructed this humidity-
controlled cold storage vault in 1982 (40F [4.4C] and 27% RH). James H. Wallace, Jr., director and curator of Photographic
Services, pulls negatives from an upper-level file cabinet in the vault. Color slides, large-format color transparencies, color
negatives, black-and-white negatives, and safety-film duplicates of historical cellulose nitrate negatives are stored in the vault.
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Constructed in 1982, the humidity-controlled cold storage vault at the Art Institute of Chicago was the first facility of this type
in any fine art museum in the world. Shown here are Douglas Severson, conservator (left), and David Travis, curator of
photography, looking at Kodak Ektacolor prints in the collection. Although now being operated at 40F (4.4C) and 40% RH
for the convenience of the curatorial staff, the vault is capable of operating at 0F (18C), and it is likely that in the future the
temperature will be lowered to this level. A second, larger vault operating at the more moderate temperature of 60F (15.6C)
and 40% RH contains all of the black-and-white photographs in the collection.
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power to refrigeration equipment, dehumidifiers, air make-
up fans, door-frame heaters, lights, and all other electrical
equipment in a vault, should either the temperature or
relative humidity exceed pre-set upper or lower limits. The
shutdown limits should be set somewhat outside of the
maximum temperature and humidity fluctuations observed
in normal operation. The limits should be sufficiently wide
so that the system does not unnecessarily shut down when,
for example, the vault is frequently entered and exited
during a short period.
The shutdown system should sound an alarm when acti-
vated and must operate independently and be separate from
the controls that normally regulate vault temperature and
relative humidity, or that are incorporated in dehumidifi-
ers and other equipment. To make certain the shutdown
system is functioning properly, it should be tested periodi-
cally by separately forcing temperature and relative hu-
midity levels in the vault to exceed the pre-set upper and
lower limits. With total system shutdown, failure of a de-
humidifier, for example, will not result in the relative hu-
midity inside the vault reaching dangerously high levels.
If a vault shuts down, the door should remain closed
until the interior temperature rises to that of the ambient
room temperature (during this period the materials stored
dehumidifiers have been installed in most of the photo-
graphic cold storage facilities built in the United States
during the past 10 years.
A number of institutions, including the Art Institute of
Chicago and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Eth-
nology at Harvard University (see below), have reported
failures with the reactivation heaters in Cargocaire dehu-
midifiers. Reactivation heaters drive moisture off the ro-
tating lithium-chloride-impregnated wheel in the Cargo-
caire units when the heaters fail, the dehumidifiers cease
to function. Humidity control in the vault will be lost and,
unless backup dehumidifiers have been installed, the vault
will have to be shut down until repairs are made.
Cargocaire acknowledged the problems with the reacti-
vation heaters and introduced several redesigned models
in 1989 which, according to the company, should prove to
be far more reliable in cold storage applications (for fur-
ther discussion, see Chapter 16).
Cold Storage Vaults Must Have
a Fail-Safe Automatic Shutdown System
It is essential that cold storage facilities be equipped
with a fail-safe shutdown system to cut off all electrical
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Cargocaire dry-desiccant dehumidifiers and refrigeration
compressors for the Art Institute facility are located in a
room adjacent to the vaults. Two compressors are used
for each vault; the compressors operate in a redundant
mode and if one of the units should fail, the other auto-
matically takes over.
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in the vault are in no danger as long as the doors are left
shut during the warm-up period, the interior relative hu-
midity will probably even drop somewhat as the air tem-
perature rises to ambient conditions).
When a Dehumidifier Failed and the
Relative Humidity Went Out of Control
at Harvards Peabody Museum
The importance of a total-shutdown system was dra-
matically illustrated to Daniel W. Jones, Jr., photographic
archivist at Harvard Universitys Peabody Museum of Ar-
chaeology and Ethnology, when, during a hot and humid
July weekend, the Cargocaire dehumidifier in the vault
ceased to function (the vault normally operates at 35F
[1.7C] and 25% RH). Improper wiring in the vault control
circuitry caused a failure in the vaults supposed fail-safe
shutdown system, and the refrigeration compressors con-
tinued to cool the vault. According to Jones, The warm
and humid makeup air kept coming in and the walls inside
the vault became dripping wet. When I came in and saw
the mess, I was mortified.
18
Fortunately, the malfunction was detected before dam-
age was done to the collection. Some of the motion picture
film cans in the vault became rusted, but the films inside
were not harmed. Color slides mounted in slide pages
inside of cardboard boxes were also spared from damage.
The defects in the control system have since been cor-
rected and Jones says that now, If anything goes awry,
the whole system shuts down.
Jones stressed the need to periodically test vault con-
trol systems in various failure modes, saying that with the
Peabody vault, Nobody had ever put it through its paces
to see what would happen. He also advised that a single
contractor be hired to perform all aspects of the vault in-
stallation, doing both the mechanical and electrical work.
When you get a lot of subcontractors involved, you greatly
increase the chances of things going wrong.
Cost of Complete Cold Storage Installations
Most of the museum and archive cold storage vaults
constructed in the past few years have cost between $35,000
and $125,000. Harris Environmental Systems, Inc., which
built the storage vaults at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Library, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Peabody Museum,
and a number of other institutions, gives the following price
estimates for complete installed systems:
19
About $42,000 for a 12x12foot vault with dual refrigera-
tion equipment, and a single 150 CFM (cubic feet per
minute) dehumidifier capable of maintaining 38F
(3.3C) and 30% RH. Operating costs are estimated at
about $285 per month.
About $55,000 for a 12x12foot vault with dual refrigera-
tion equipment, a higher-capacity dehumidifier, and a
vault air lock capable of maintaining 0F (18C) and
30% RH. Operating costs are estimated at about $410
per month.
About $125,000 for a 25x25foot vault with dual refrig-
eration equipment, a 500 CFM dehumidifier, and a tem-
perature- and humidity-controlled vestibule capable
of maintaining 0F (18C) and 30% RH. Operating costs
are estimated at about $1,250 per month.
As can be seen by comparing the first two examples, the
cost of building and operating a 0F (18C) vault is not
much greater than the cost of a 38F (3.3C) vault. The
colder storage temperature, however, can add thousands
of years to the useful life of color films and prints. From a
cost-effectiveness point of view given the cultural and
monetary worth of most photographic collections it would
seem foolish to build the higher-temperature facility sim-
ply to save a little money.
Access to Materials in Cold Storage
Materials to be stored in a humidity-controlled low-tem-
perature vault should be placed in boxes, portfolio cases,
motion picture film cans, and other types of containers
that are suitable for the long-term storage of photographs
(see Chapter 15). Vapor-proof packing is not necessary,
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Daniel W. Jones, Jr., photography curator at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard
University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, looking at a page of color slides in the Museums cold storage vault (35F
[1.7C] and 25% RH). Completed in 1979, this was the first example of a humidity-controlled cold storage vault for
photographs to be built at an educational institution. For a description of the Peabodys innovative method for
making compact color reference copies of the slides kept in the vault, see Chapter 18 (page 638).
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Jones changes the charts in the recorder for temperature
and humidity in the control panel outside the vault door.
Signs on the vault door. The vault was constructed with a
grant from the National Science Foundation.
1
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and under normal circumstances should not be used. Pack-
ages can be put in ordinary polyethylene bags if desired.
Cans of motion picture films should be placed horizontally
on shelves, with not more than ten cans in a stack.
When a package is removed from a vault, it must be
protected from moisture condensation until it has warmed
to room temperature or at least until it has warmed
above the dew point of the ambient air. Internal warm-up
times from 0F (18C) to room temperature for a number
of different types of packages are given in Table 20.2 on
page 715. With a walk-in cold storage vault, a supply of
polyethylene bags can be kept inside the vault for wrap-
ping packages. Ziploc bags, which can be quickly sealed
with the top-locking seam, are handy for this purpose.
A package or can of motion picture film should be placed
in a polyethylene bag during warm-up even if the package
itself is adequate for protecting its contents from moisture.
Moisture condensation on a steel film can will produce rust
in areas where the can has been scratched or abraded.
Moisture can also harm package labels, cause ink to run or
smear, and lead to other damage.
With proper planning, most institutions will find it prac-
tical to accumulate requests for material from the vault
during each working day and then to remove all the mate-
rial to the warm-up area at the end of the day. By the next
morning, all except very large packages will have warmed
to ambient conditions and can be opened. Smaller pack-
ages (e.g., a single print or 35mm slide in a plastic bag),
which have very short warm-up times, can be available for
use almost immediately upon removal from cold storage.
Zero-Degree F (18C), Humidity-Controlled
Cold Storage Facilities for the Permanent
Preservation of Color and B&W Motion
Pictures and Still-Camera Photographs
At the time this book went to press in 1992, institutions
in the United States and Canada with cold storage facili-
ties that were operating (or planned) with the temperature
and relative humidity conditions recommended by this au-
thor for the permanent preservation of color and black-
and-white photographic materials included:
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston, Mas-
sachusetts. This was the first collecting institution in the
world to have a humidity-controlled, low-temperature stor-
age facility. Opened in 1979, the Kennedy Library vault
operates at 0F (18C) and 30% RH (an outer vestibule is
maintained at about 55F [12.8C] and 30% RH). The thirty-
fifth President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was
in office from 1961 until November 22, 1963, when he was
assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Hous-
ton, Texas. A color film storage vault maintained at 0F
(18C) and 20% RH was constructed in 1982, replacing a
facility built in 1963 which was operated at 55F (12.8C)
and 50% RH. In 1987, two new 0F (18C) and 20% RH
vaults were constructed one located in a remote corner
of the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the other at
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Table 20. 2 Approximate Warm-Up Times
to Room Temperature for
Various Types of Packages
From From
0F to 75F 35F to 75F
Type of Package (18C to 24C) (1.7C to 24C)
36-exp. box of slides . . . . . . . . . . 1 hour 45 min.
in Kodak paper box
Single slide or negative . . . . . . . . 8 min. 5 min.
strip in polyester or
acetate sleeve
Envelope with 6 strips of . . . . . . 20 min. 15 min.
35mm film in polyester or
acetate sleeves inside envelope
1,000-ft. reel of 35mm motion . . 5 hours 3 hours
picture film in metal film can
1,000-ft. reel of 16mm motion . . 2 hours 1
1
2 hours
picture film in metal film can
10 paper prints in flat . . . . . . . 1
1
2 hours 1 hour
cardboard box
100 paper prints in flat . . . . . . . 5 hours 3 hours
cardboard box
Approximate warm-up times are for single containers of the types
listed, with the container wrapped in a single-layer polyethylene
bag to prevent moisture condensation on the package during
warm-up and placed on a table so air can freely circulate around
the container. Do not stack containers during the warm-up
period unless much longer warm-up times are provided. The
listed times will allow the package to warm up to a temperature
above the dew point of air at 75F (24C) and a relative humidity
not above 60%; somewhat longer warm-up times may be needed
if more humid conditions are present in the work or study area.
the NASA test facility in White Sands, New Mexico. These
two vaults house duplicate sets of the more than 150,000
feet of spaceflight originals preserved in the primary NASA
vault. These off-site duplicates serve as backups to insure
that the color images of the first humans to set foot on the
moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and other price-
less still photographs and motion pictures from space, will
not be lost in the event of fire, tornado, earthquake, war,
sabotage, theft, or other disaster.
NASA has also made sets of polyester-base black-and-
white separations from color films made during space mis-
sions that took place from 1961 until 1975 (see page 323);
these separations are stored at 70F (21C) and 50% RH in a
separate building located in NASAs Houston complex.
The Historic New Orleans Collection, in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Completed in 1987, one vault is used to store
color photographs, early safety-base film, and cellulose ni-
trate negatives and is maintained at 0F (18C) and 30%
RH. A second, larger vault, kept at 30F (1.1C) and 30%
RH, is for storage of modern black-and-white prints and
safety-base film.
The Jimmy Carter Library at the Jimmy Carter Presi-
dential Center, in Atlanta, Georgia. A vault maintained at
0F (18C) and 30% RH is provided for color negatives,
transparencies, and motion pictures; the vault was placed
in operation in 1990. Another vault, which began operation
in 1987, is kept at 55F (13C) and 30% RH and is used to
store black-and-white materials and replaceable color films
and prints. The thirty-ninth President of the United States,
Jimmy Carter was in office from 1977 to 1981. The Jimmy
Carter Library opened in 1986. (Carter and his wife Rosalynn
are residents of Plains, Georgia.)
The National Archives of Canada Moving Image,
Data and Audio Conservation Division, in Gatineau, Quebec.
In late 1996 the National Archives of Canada will open a
new Archives building in Gatineau, near Ottawa, that is to
include what will probably be the worlds best large-scale
motion picture and color photography preservation facil-
ity. A large vault maintained at 0F (18C) and 25% RH
will be provided for the Archives vast collection of color
and black-and-white motion pictures; the vault will also be
used for still photographic materials and to preserve se-
lected paper documents.
Other temperature- and humidity-controlled vaults will
be provided for storage of audio materials, videotapes, and
computer tapes, disks, and other EDP records. A separate
storage area maintained at 65.5F (18C) and 50% RH will
be used to store oil paintings. In all, the new building will
have eight separate controlled-environment zones, each of
which will meet specific requirements for temperature and
relative humidity. A sophisticated air-filtration system will
keep airborne contaminants at low levels in all storage and
laboratory areas.
The new National Archives of Canada facility, which
will establish new standards for motion picture preserva-
tion in film libraries, archives, and museums worldwide,
will replace the present 28F (2.2C) and 28% RH color
film storage vault located in Ottawa. The current National
Archives of Canada motion picture film storage facility is
discussed elsewhere in this chapter and in Chapter 9.
Medium-Temperature, 25 to 45F (3.9 to 7.2C)
Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage Facilities for
the Long-Term Preservation of Color and B&W
Motion Pictures and Still-Camera Photographs
Institutions in the U.S. and Canada with medium-tem-
perature, humidity-controlled cold storage facilities include:
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas.
The photographic storage vault for color films and prints
in the Librarys collections is maintained at 45F (7.2C)
and 50% RH. Lyndon B. Johnson served as Vice-President
under President John F. Kennedy. Johnson became the
thirty-sixth President of the United States after Kennedy
was assassinated on November 22, 1963; Johnson contin-
ued to serve as president until 1969. The Lyndon Baines
Johnson Library, located on the campus of the University
of Texas in Austin, opened in 1971. Johnson died in 1973.
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NASA staff members Frank Zehentner (left) and Terry Slezak prepare to remove an aluminum case containing rolls of
original color film from the primary NASA humidity-controlled cold storage vault built for the permanent preservation of
spaceflight films. This is one of the two vaults maintained at 0F (18C) and 20% RH located at the NASA facility in Houston,
Texas; the other vault, situated in a remote corner of the NASA property, is used to store a complete duplicate set of the
films, together with written documentation. A third NASA vault at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, which also
operates at 0F (18C) and 20% RH, houses a second duplicate set of backup copies and documentation of the spaceflight
films. See Chapter 9 for additional information on NASAs outstanding preservation program for color materials.
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The cold storage vault at the National Anthropological Film Center at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Constructed in 1975 under the guidance of E. Richard Sorenson, at the time the director of the center, the vault operated at
39F (3.4C), and a dry-desiccant dehumidifier was used to keep the relative humidity at 50%. In 1985 the archive was
moved to a different location in the Smithsonian and is now called the Human Studies Film Archive (35F [1.7C] and 25%
RH). The original 1975 vault is pictured here. Most of the film in the vault is 16mm Eastman Color Negative Film 7247 which,
when stored at room temperature, has very poor image stability. This vault, and the cold storage facility at the Cinematheque
Quebecoise in Montreal, Quebec, also completed in 1975, are believed to have been the first humidity-controlled cold
storage vaults for color film constructed anywhere in the world.
and 25% RH. Three additional vaults capable of housing
between 150,000 and 175,000 cans of 35mm motion picture
film were constructed in 1986. These vaults are used to
store black-and-white motion picture film and operate at
55F (12.8C) and 25% RH. The Library of Congress also
operates a storage facility for cellulose nitrate motion pic-
ture film at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton,
Ohio (see Appendix 19.1 at the end of Chapter 19).
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnol-
ogy at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Constructed in 1979 with the aid of a grant from the Na-
tional Science Foundation, the vault is used for storing
color slides and color motion pictures and is maintained at
35F (1.7C) and 25% RH.
The Gerald R. Ford Library, on the campus of the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Opened in
1981, the cold storage vault is maintained at 40F (4.4C)
and 40% RH; all films in the collection, including black-and-
white negatives, color negatives, and color transparencies,
are stored in the vault. Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth Presi-
dent of the United States, had served as Vice-President
The Human Studies Film Archive, Smithsonian Insti-
tution, in Washington, D.C. A storage vault built in 1975
and operated at 39F (3.4C) and 50% RH was replaced in
1985 by a new vault in a different building which is main-
tained at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH. The Human Studies
Film Archive was formerly known as the National Anthropo-
logical Film Center. The original 1975 vault, and the
Cinematheque Quebecoise facility described below, also
completed in 1975, are believed to have been the first hu-
midity-controlled cold storage vaults for color film con-
structed anywhere in the world.
The Cinematheque Quebecoise in Montreal, Quebec.
In 1975 the Cinematheque began operation of a cold stor-
age facility for motion picture film. A vault maintained at
35F (1.7C) and 35% RH is provided for color films, and
other vaults operating at 50F (10C) and 50% RH are used
for cellulose nitrate films and black-and-white safety films.
The Library of Congress in Landover, Maryland. Lo-
cated in Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C., this
large facility was opened in 1978. The vault for color mate-
rials (mostly motion picture film) is operated at 37F (2.8C)
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The Records Center of Kansas City (a division of Underground Vaults & Storage, Inc. of Hutchinson, Kansas) operates a
cold storage facility maintained at 38F (3.3C) and 40% RH in an inactive portion of a huge underground limestone mine on
the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri, and rents space at moderate cost. Among the collections stored in the high-security
facility is the backup color film archive for the Los Angeles based Turner Entertainment Co. Film Library, which includes
original color negatives, interpositives, and other pre-print elements for such films as Gone With the Wind, 2001: A Space
Odyssey, The Wizard of Oz, The Maltese Falcon, Ben Hur, and other classics (see Chapter 9). Black-and-white
separations (YCMs), sound negatives, and other black-and-white film elements from the Turner Entertainment Co. Film
Library are stored in the Underground Vaults & Storage, Inc. high-security underground facility in Hutchinson, Kansas.
under Richard M. Nixon. Ford became president upon the
resignation of Nixon on August 9, 1974 because of the
Watergate scandal; Ford served as president until 1977.
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The
cold storage vault, constructed in 1982, was the first facility
of its kind in an art museum. The vault was designed to
maintain a temperature of 0F (18C) and a relative hu-
midity of 20 to 40%. However, at the time this book went to
press in 1992, the unit was being operated at 40F (4.4C)
and 40% RH to make access to the color prints stored in the
vault more convenient for the curatorial staff. At some
point in the future, however, the temperature of the vault
probably will be lowered to 0F (18C). Adjacent to the
low-temperature vault is a larger vault housing all of the
black-and-white collection; this vault is maintained at 60F
(15.6C) and 40% RH.
The Smithsonian Institution, Photographic Services
Department, in Washington, D.C. Constructed in 1982 and
operated at 40F (4.4C) and 27% RH, the cold storage vault
houses the large collection of color transparencies and
negatives produced by the staff of the Photographic Ser-
vices Department. The vault is also used for storing mod-
ern black-and-white negatives as well as duplicate nega-
tives made from cellulose-nitrate-base negatives (the ni-
trate originals were disposed of after duplication). The
vault was expanded in 1992. (Note: The Photographic Ser-
vices Department is not part of the Smithsonians Division
of Photographic History, which, at the time this book went
to press in 1992, did not have a cold storage facility for its
important collection of color photographs.)
Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection, Rockefeller
Center, in New York City. Constructed in 1983 and de-
signed to operate at 0F (18C) and 30% RH, the vault
provisionally is being operated at 60F [15.6C] and 35% RH
to simplify access. The facility is used by the Picture Col-
lection to store the more than one million 35mm slides and
roll and sheet film color transparencies from Time, Sports
Illustrated, Life, People, Fortune, and other Time Inc. maga-
zines; some of the transparencies date back to the 1930s.
(Time Inc. Magazines is a part of Time Warner Inc.)
The San Diego Historical Society in San Diego, Cali-
fornia. A cold storage vault for color materials, early safety
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National Archives and Records Administration staff member Frank Stephens entering one of the three large humidity-
controlled cold-storage vaults for motion pictures at the National Archives temporary facility in Alexandria, Virginia, just
across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Two of the vaults, for color motion pictures, are maintained at 35F (1.7C)
and 30% RH; the third vault, for black-and-white films, is kept at 50F (10C) and 30% RH.
Records Center of Kansas City (a division of Under-
ground Vaults & Storage, Inc.)
20
in Kansas City, Missouri.
Located in a high-security complex constructed 175 feet
below ground in a worked-out section of a huge limestone
mine on the outskirts of Kansas City, RCKC operates a
large refrigerated vault, constructed in 1986, that main-
tains a temperature of 38F (3.3C) and 40% RH. For small
amounts of film or other material, space in the Kansas City
vault is rented for $5 per cubic foot per year; the cost is
reduced to $3 per cubic foot per year when 2,500 cubic feet
or more of space is rented. RCKC handles retrievals, ship-
ping, and refiling of stored materials.
Among the materials stored in the Kansas City cold
storage vault are original color negatives, interpositives,
and other color pre-print elements for films in the Turner
Entertainment Co. Film Library that was acquired when
Turner Broadcasting System Inc. purchased MGM/UA in
1986 (retaining the film library, Turner subsequently sold
most of the other assets acquired in the purchase; MGM
Communications Inc. now operates as an independent com-
pany). The Turner Entertainment Co. Film Library, which
is valued at more than $1 billion, now contains more than
3,300 feature films, including such motion picture classics
as Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon,
2001: A Space Odyssey, Ben Hur, and The Wizard of Oz.
films, and cellulose nitrate negatives is maintained at 55F
(12.8C) and 40% RH; the vault was constructed in 1983
under the direction of Larry and Jane Booth of the Histori-
cal Society.
Stokes Imaging Services in Austin, Texas. With a cold
storage facility operating at 45F (7.2C) and 35% RH, Stokes
is believed to be the only commercial color processing lab
in the world with a humidity-controlled cold storage vault
for storage of processed color negatives, internegatives,
and transparencies. The vault was constructed in 1983.
The National Archives and Records Administration
in Alexandria, Virginia (across the Potomac River from
Washington, D.C.). This large storage facility constructed
in 1985 consists of two vaults maintained at 35F (1.7C)
and 30% RH, and one vault kept at 50F (10C) and 30% RH.
In December 1993 the National Archives will open a large
new facility (to be called Archives II) in nearby College
Park, Maryland. Color motion pictures will be stored at
25F (3.9C) and 30% RH in the new building. Color still
photographs will be stored at 38F (3.3C) and 35% RH;
general storage for black-and-white prints, negatives, and
glass plate negatives will be maintained at 65F (18.3C)
and 35% RH. After the move to College Park is completed,
the Alexandria cold storage facility will be closed.
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The three National Archives cold storage vaults were constructed in 1984 in a rented building. Film storage will be relocated
to the new National Archives and Records Administration facility located 8 miles northeast of Washington D.C. in College
Park, Maryland; it is scheduled to open in December 1993. The National Archives has been designated as the eventual
repository for much of the motion picture film, still photographs, and videotapes produced by U.S. government agencies.
The National Archives of Canada Moving Image,
Data and Audio Conservation Division, in Ottawa, On-
tario. In 1986 the Conservation Division of the National
Archives (at the time known as the Public Archives of Canada)
constructed a color motion picture storage vault which main-
tains a temperature of 28F (2.2C) and 28% RH. As dis-
cussed on page 715, in 1996 the National Archives will open
a large new facility in nearby Gatineau, Quebec, that will
provide 0F (18C) and 25% RH storage for its vast collec-
tion of motion pictures and still-camera photographs.
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gal-
lery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.
Constructed in 1987, the cold storage vault was designed to
maintain 40F (4.4C) and 30% RH. The vault serves both
the Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery.
The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian
Institution, in Washington, D.C. Constructed in 1987, the
cold storage vault is maintained at 42F (5.6C) and 28%
RH. Color and black-and-white motion pictures, 35mm color
slides, black-and-white negatives, glass lantern slides, and
videotapes are stored in the facility.
The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario.
For preservation of the National Gallery Photograph Col-
lection, two temperature- and humidity-controlled vaults
were provided in the new National Gallery building, com-
pleted in 1988. For storage of 19th-century prints and con-
temporary black-and-white photographs, one vault is main-
tained at 59F (15C) and 40% RH; for storing color materi-
als, a smaller vault operates at 39F (4C) and 40% RH.
The Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal,
Quebec. With construction of its new building completed
in 1988, the Centre has two temperature- and humidity-
controlled vaults for its photographic collection. The larger
vault, for black-and-white materials, is maintained at 55F
(12.8C) and 40% RH. A smaller vault for storing chromo-
genic color prints is kept at 40F (4.4C) and 40% RH.
National Underground Storage, Inc. in Boyers, Penn-
sylvania.
21
Located in an abandoned limestone mine 220
feet below the hills of western Pennsylvania 57 miles north
of Pittsburgh, National Underground Storage provides com-
mercial and governmental clients with high-security stor-
age for vital records. Rental space for color and black-and-
white motion picture films and other photographic materi-
als is available in vaults maintained at 40F (4.4C) and 25%
RH and 50F (10C) and 35% RH. Some private clients have
their own film storage vaults in the underground facility,
and at least one well-known movie director stores film here
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The color film storage vault in the Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive, located on the Paramount Pictures studio lot
on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. The color film vault, one of nine vaults in the high-security building, is maintained at 40F
(4.4C) and 25% RH. The Paramount archive building, which was Hollywoods first adequate preservation facility for color
motion pictures, went into operation in June 1990. Shown here in a section of the color film vault, which is equipped with
movable shelving to conserve space, is Robert McCracken, a supervisor in Archive Operations. McCracken and Bill Weber,
Director of Operations Resources at Paramount, manage the operation of the multi-million dollar, 40,000-square-foot
facility. See Chapter 9 for further discussion of the motion picture preservation program at Paramount Pictures.
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in a vault kept at 0F (18C). The Social Security Adminis-
tration, the U.S. Patent Office, the National Archives, and
other government agencies store vast quantities of micro-
film and other types of records at National Underground
Storage. It is also a high-security repository for black-and-
white separations (YCMs) and other backup film elements
for many of the major Hollywood movie studios.
Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, California. In June
1990, Paramount Pictures began operating a new cold stor-
age facility on its Melrose Avenue studio lot in Hollywood
for the preservation of its vast film and videotape collec-
tion. Consisting of nine vaults, which operate at different
temperature and humidity conditions depending upon the
film or videotape elements stored in them and how long it
is expected that the items will be retained, the facility cur-
rently houses over 270,000 reels of motion picture film, as
well as a huge amount of videotape from television produc-
tions. The facility, which was built at the behest of former
Paramount studio head Frank Mancuso, was designed with
enough space to accommodate Paramounts expected film
and videotape production for the next 20 years.
Color film intended for long-term keeping is stored at
40F (4.4C) and 25% RH. Black-and-white films are stored
at either 50F (10C) and 40% RH for long-term keeping, or
60F (15.5C) and 50% RH for medium-term keeping. Para-
mount is continuing its policy of making a set of fully timed
separations (YCMs) for all of its feature films.
Like most other Hollywood studios, Paramount has a
strict policy of dividing the various preprint elements for a
given film between two or more geographic locations. For
example, an original camera negative is kept in Paramounts
Hollywood cold storage vault, and the separations are stored
in a high-security underground storage facility on the east
coast. In recent years the Hollywood studios have become
acutely aware of the potential for catastrophic loss of their
irreplaceable collections because of fires, earthquakes, or
other disasters. The Paramount Pictures cold storage fa-
cility is discussed in more detail in Chapter 9.
Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley/Thousand Oaks,
California. A vault maintained at 35F (1.7C) and 45% RH
is used for storage of color negatives, black-and-white nega-
tives, color transparencies, and color and black-and-white
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1
9
9
2
(1.7C) and 25% RH. A second vault is used for separations
(YCMs) and other black-and-white materials and is main-
tained at 45F (7.2C) and 25% RH. The third vault is used
to store less-critical duplicate film elements and circulat-
ing materials and is kept at 50F (10C) and 45% RH. An
advanced air-filtration system is provided to remove any
acetic acid or other gases resulting from film degradation,
from Los Angeles air pollution, or from other sources.
Like Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. has for a long
time stored sets of black-and-white separations (YCMs)
for each of its feature films in a high-security underground
storage facility in Pennsylvania. Warner Bros. is a part of
Time Warner Inc. which, with its Home Box Office (HBO)
movie service for cable TV subscribers, a far-flung cable
TV system, and extensive magazine publishing operations,
is the worlds largest entertainment company. The archi-
tect for the Warner Bros. film storage building was
Archisystems International, of Santa Monica, California.
22
As was the case with the Paramount Film and Tape Ar-
chives building, the general contractor for the Warner Bros.
motion picture films (some of which date back to the 1950s).
Videotapes, audiotapes, replaceable motion picture prints,
and black-and-white prints are kept in a second vault main-
tained at 60F (15.6C) and 45% RH. Manuscripts, books,
magazines, newspapers, and other paper documents are
stored at 70F (21.1C) and 45% RH. The Reagan Library
collection includes 1,560,000 still photographs; 88,000 feet
of motion picture film; 20,000 videotapes; 22,000 audiotapes;
47 million pages (23,500 linear feet) of manuscripts; 15,000
books; and 25,000 serial publications and other items. Ronald
Reagan, who was the fortieth President of the United States,
was in office from 1981 until 1989. The Reagan Library was
opened in 1991.
Warner Bros., Burbank, California. The Warner Bros.
motion picture studio opened a new high-security cold storage
facility on its Burbank studio lot in October 1992 (Burbank
is adjacent to Hollywood, just north of Los Angeles). The
sophisticated Warner Bros. facility consists of three vaults,
one of which is for color film and is maintained at 35F
One of the three film storage vaults in the new Warner Bros. high-security motion picture cold storage building on the Warner
Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California. The color film vault, which is maintained at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH, and the other
vaults were operating and in the final phase of testing when this photograph was taken on October 8, 1992. Warner Bros.
began moving its film collection into the vaults a few weeks later. Shown here in the larger black-and-white film vault, which,
like the two other vaults in the building, is equipped with movable shelving that permits high-density film loading, are John
Belknap, manager of Film Vaults/Assets, and Bill Hartman, manager of Asset Inventory Management and Research in
Corporate Film Video Services at Warner Bros. The $9-million cold storage facility was designed under the direction of Peter
R. Gardiner, vice president of Operations in Corporate Film Video Services at Warner Bros. (a division of Time Warner Inc.).
See Chapter 9 for additional discussion of the film preservation program at Warner Bros.
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River from Washington, D.C. All of the original color nega-
tives, color transparencies, black-and-white negatives, au-
diotapes, and many of the videotapes have been duplicated
for reference and study purposes. In 1993 the Nixon mate-
rials will be transferred to the new National Archives and
Records Administration building in nearby College Park,
Maryland. There, the color still photographs will be placed
in a cold storage vault maintained at 38F (3.3C) and 35%
RH. Color and black-and-white motion pictures will be
stored at 25F (3.9C) and 30% RH.
Many duplicate White House photographs have been
supplied by private collections to the Richard Nixon Li-
brary & Birthplace, a privately constructed and adminis-
tered museum and archive in Yorba Linda, California that
opened in 1990. This library, which is not part of the feder-
ally administered presidential libraries program, also con-
tains an extensive collection of photographs, manuscripts,
and other materials that predate Nixons presidency. Ad-
ditional materials from the years following his resignation
in 1974 continue to be added to the collection.
Future libraries for President George Bush and Presi-
dent Bill Clinton. George Bush, the forty-first President
of the United States and in office from 1989 until 1993, will
have a library dedicated in his honor in Texas. Bill Clinton,
who will be inaugurated as the forty-second President of
the United States on January 20, 1993, is expected to have
a library established in Arkansas after he leaves office.
Both of these future presidential libraries are almost cer-
tain to include low-temperature, humidity-controlled cold
storage facilities to preserve their collections of color and
black-and-white still photographs, videotapes, audio tapes,
and motion pictures.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California. The
Getty Museum is constructing a new museum complex in
Brentwood (near Los Angeles), and tentative plans call for
a 40F (4.4C) and 40% RH cold storage vault to be provided
for the color photographs in its collection. The new build-
ing is scheduled for completion in 1996. At the time this
book went to press in 1992, the museums collection of
mostly black-and-white photographs was being temporarily
housed in an office building in Santa Monica, California;
the temperature in the photograph storage area is main-
tained at 68F (20C) and 40% RH.
In keeping with the collecting philosophy of the Getty
Museum, which is generally to refrain from acquiring con-
temporary art, the museums Department of Photographs
has purchased mostly 19th-century photographs and 20th-
century photographs up until around 1950. Because color
photography did not gain serious attention in the fine art
world until the 1970s, the Getty collection, focused as it is
on earlier black-and-white periods, presently contains com-
paratively few color photographs.
The Gettys modest collection of contemporary color
photographs came into the museum as a result of the pur-
chase of several major private collections in 1984, such as
those of Chicago collector Arnold Crane and the late New
York City collector Samuel Wagstaff. Weston J. Naef, Cu-
rator of the museums Department of Photographs, ac-
knowledges that contemporary photographs presently are
not a high priority for his department in terms of new
facility was Turner Construction Company, which is based
in New York City (see Suppliers list on page 726 at the end
of this chapter). The Warner Bros. motion picture preser-
vation facility is discussed in more detail in Chapter 9.
Eastman Kodak Company, Hollywood, California. In
May 1993, Eastman Kodak will open a new building adja-
cent to the companys Hollywood Marketing and Technol-
ogy Center that will include three motion picture film stor-
age vaults, totaling 12,000 square feet, in which space will
be available on a rental basis.
23
Two of the vaults will be
maintained at 45F (7.2C) and 25% RH; the third vault will
operate at 32F (0C) and 25% RH. Operation of a film
storage rental facility is a new type of business for Kodak.
In announcing the new cold storage facility, Kodak said,
We expect to identify and develop products, practices,
and services for asset protection of images and sound origi-
nated on motion picture film and magnetic media.
The Richard M. Nixon Presidential Materials Project,
under the auspices of the Office of Presidential Libraries
of the National Archives and Records Administration in
Washington, D.C. Richard M. Nixon, the thirty-seventh
President of the United States, held office from 1969 until
he resigned on August 9, 1974 because of the Watergate
scandal. The controversy surrounding his administration
and the legal proceedings that began while he was still
president and continued after his resignation effectively
prevented the establishment of a presidential library for
Nixon along the lines of those built for Kennedy, Johnson,
Ford, Carter, and Reagan.
Traditionally, the construction of a presidential library
is financed with privately raised funds, and the project
generally is completed within a few years after a president
leaves office. The Ronald Reagan Library, for example,
cost $40 million and was completed in less than 3 years
after Reagan left office in 1989. Although construction is
privately financed, after completion the presidential librar-
ies are maintained and operated by the National Archives
and Records Administration through its Office of Presiden-
tial Libraries.
At the time this book went to press in 1992, there were
nine presidential libraries, the oldest being the Franklin D.
Roosevelt Library, which is located in Hyde Park, New
York, and was dedicated in 1941. Franklin Roosevelt was
the thirty-second President of the United States and was in
office from 1933 until 1945. Hyde Park was Roosevelts
birthplace. There is also a presidential library for Herbert
Hoover, who was the thirty-first President of the United
States. Hoover, who was in office from 1929 until 1933, died
in 1964. Located at Hoovers birthplace in West Branch,
Iowa, the Herbert Hoover Library was not dedicated until
1962, many years after the Roosevelt Library was estab-
lished. Presidential libraries are usually located in the
presidents home state.
In the case of President Nixon, the photographs, motion
pictures, audiotapes, videotapes, and manuscripts from the
White House years were retained by the government and
are handled by the Nixon Presidential Materials Staff in
the Office of Presidential Libraries of the National Archives.
The materials have been stored at 70F (21C) and 50% RH
in a building in Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac
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acquisitions, but he says that this emphasis could change
in the future.
24
The Getty Museum, as a beneficiary of the
J. Paul Getty Trust, is said to have the largest acquisitions
and conservation budget of any art museum in the world.
Also supported by the Getty Trust is the Getty Conserva-
tion Institute, a major center for conservation research
located in Marina del Rey, California.
Cold Storage Facilities in Other Countries
Cold storage facilities for preserving color motion pic-
tures and still photographs are also found in a number of
other countries, including England, Germany, Japan, Nor-
way, Russia, and Sweden. It is not possible to describe
most of them here.
In 1970, the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm, Swe-
den opened a large motion picture preservation facility
which is maintained at 23F (5C) and 40% RH.
In 1987, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo,
Japan, began operating a large cold storage facility for
motion picture films. Part of the museums Film Center-
Archive in Fuchinobe, Japan, the two-story underground
vault can accommodate 120,000 two-thousand-foot cans of
35mm film (approximately 22,000 feature films). One floor
of the archive is used to store color film and is kept at
41F (5C) and 40% RH. The second floor is for black-
and-white film and operates at 54F (12C) and 40% RH.
George Eastman House Sets Aside Plans for
a Critically Needed Cold Storage Vault
in Its New $7.4 Million Archives Building
In late 1988 the International Museum of Photography at
George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, completed
construction of a new $7.4 million archives building. The
original plans for the building called for a cold storage vault
for the museums priceless collection of historical and fine
art color photographs; the vault was also to be used to store
cellulose nitrate still-camera negatives (including a large
number of nitrate negatives made by George Eastman, the
founder of Eastman Kodak Company). Tentative specifica-
tions for the vault were set at 35F (1.7C) and 25% RH.
When the new building opened, however, the cold stor-
age vault was nowhere to be seen. Despite protests from
the conservation staff, plans for the vault had been set
aside; apparently, dropping the vault was seen as a conve-
nient way to reduce construction costs.
As a consequence of years of neglect, many of the early
color prints and transparencies in the Eastman House col-
lection have already suffered substantial image deteriora-
tion. The image stability of many of these early materials is
very poor and, with no cold storage provided, deterioration
continues at a steady rate. At the time this book went to
press in 1992, the Eastman House color motion picture and
still photograph collections continued to be stored and
to deteriorate without adequate cold storage. It is ear-
nestly hoped that Eastman House will find a way to correct
this very unfortunate situation.
Conclusion
The commitment to build and maintain a cold storage
vault for preserving photographs has far-reaching implica-
tions. It tells the general public in no uncertain terms that
the collections have lasting value and that the institu-
tion will take whatever steps necessary to maintain them
for generations far into the future.
Once a color photograph or motion picture has
been placed in a low-temperature storage vault, it is very
likely that it will be preserved forever. The longer the
photograph is in a cold storage vault, the more significant
it will become. Materials that have not been refrigerated
will progressively fade until they become useless. Four or
five hundred years from now, after most color photographs
and motion pictures from this era have faded into oblivion,
those relatively few refrigerated movies and photographs
that remain in pristine condition will be so prized that their
caretakers will see to it that they are refrigerated at
very low temperatures forever.
Even if perfect electronic systems become available
for recording and storing high-resolution photographs with
no discernible loss of image quality, the original color pho-
tographs and motion picture films of the 20th century will
continue to have great value as artifacts.
One can cite a number of important collections of color
photographs that are now being preserved in humidity-
controlled cold storage: Ektachrome transparencies pho-
tographed on the surface of the moon by astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin on July 20, 1969, now securely
stored in darkness at 0F (18C) and 25% RH at the Lyndon
B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas (with backup
sets of color duplicates stored under identical conditions
at another site at the NASA facility in Houston, and at
White Sands, New Mexico); and Life magazines color pho-
tographs of Martin Luther Kings nonviolent demonstra-
tions in Selma, Alabama in 1965 (which led to the passage
of the Voting Rights Act by Congress), now being preserved
in the cold storage vault at the Time Inc. Magazines Pic-
ture Collection in New York City.
One can also cite the Ektachrome 35mm color slides
photographed by the late Larry Burrows during the Viet-
nam War, preserved under refrigeration by the Larry Bur-
rows Estate in New York City and by the Time Inc. Maga-
zines Picture Collection; the Joel Meyerowitz and Stephen
Shore Ektacolor 37 RC and 74 RC prints in cold storage at
the Art Institute of Chicago; the Kennedy White House
color negatives, preserved at 0F (18C) and 30% RH at
the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library; the thousands of
color movies in the Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros.,
and Turner Entertainment Co. film libraries; and the color
motion pictures of the Stone Age Dani people of western
New Guinea, filmed by Robert Gardner in 1961 and now
preserved in cold storage at the Peabody Museum of Ar-
chaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University.
It is not wishful thinking to believe that these important
color images from our time will be preserved, quite liter-
ally, forever.
1. David Travis, curator of photography, Art Institute of Chicago, inter-
viewed by this author in Chicago, Illinois, May 19, 1982. The confer-
ence referred to by Travis was a workshop conducted by this author
and Klaus B. Hendriks, Director of the Conservation Research Divi-
sion of the National Archives of Canada (at that time called the
Public Archives of Canada), August 78, 1978; the workshop was
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sponsored by the Baldwin Street Gallery of Photography, Toronto,
Ontario. The Baldwin Street Gallery, one of Canadas first photogra-
phy galleries, was founded in 1969 by American immigrants John
Phillips and Laura Jones and continued in operation until 1979. An
article by Gail Fisher-Taylor entitled Colour A Fading Memory?
and based on the presentations at the workshop was published in
Canadian Photography, January 1979, pp. 1011.
2. Lawrence F. Karr, ed., Proceedings: Conference on the Cold
Storage of Motion Picture Films, American Film Institute and
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 2123, 1980, p. 3.
3. The American Film Institute, Moving Image Preservation A
Backgrounder (press release for the inauguration of The Decade
of Preservation program), the American Film Institute, Los Angeles,
California, 1983.
York, 1979, p. 39.
5. ASHRAE Guide and Data Book: Fundamentals and Equipment
for 1965 and 1966, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, New York, New York, pp. 411412, 487,
489.
6. Peter Z. Adelstein, C. Loren Graham, and Lloyd E. West, Preserva-
tion of Motion-Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value, Jour-
nal of the SMPTE, Vol. 79, No. 11, November 1970, pp. 10111018.
7. J. M. Calhoun, Cold Storage of Photographic Film, PSA Journal,
Section B: Photographic Science and Technique, Vol. 18B, No. 3,
October 1952, pp. 8689.
8. Henry J. Kaska, director, Public Information, Corporate Communica-
tions, Eastman Kodak Company, letter to this author, September 23,
1981.
9. David F. Kopperl and Charleton C. Bard, Freeze/Thaw Cycling of
Motion-Picture Films, SMPTE Journal, Vol. 94, No. 8, August 1985,
pp. 826827.
10. William OFarrell, Conservation Branch, Technical Operations Divi-
sion, National Archives of Canada (serving the Moving Image and
Sound Archives Division), telephone discussions with this author,
January 23, 1987 and March 11, 1987.
11. Paul Gordon, ed., The Book of Film Care, Kodak Publication No. H-
23, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, June 1983, p.
116.
12. Roland Gooes and Hans-Evert Bloman, An Inexpensive Method for
Preservation and Long-Term Storage of Color Film, SMPTE Jour-
nal, Vol. 92, No. 12, December 1983, pp. 13141316. (Roland Gooes
and Bengt O. Orhall gave an updated presentation on the FICA unit,
An Inexpensive Method for Preservation and Long-Term Storage of
Colour Films, at the 128th SMPTE Technical Conference, New York
City, October 2429, 1986; an audio cassette of the presentation is
available from the SMPTE.)
13. The Film Conditioning Apparatus (FICA) machine is available from
the Swedish Film Institute: Svenska Filminstitutet, Box 27126, 10252
Stockholm 27, Sweden. The FICA machine is manufactured for the
Swedish Film Institute by AB Film-Teknik, P.O. Box 1328, S17126,
Solna, Sweden; telephone: 01-146-827-2820 (Stephen Lund, world-
wide marketing director).
14. Anthony Slide, Swedens Unique Film Institute, American Cin-
ematographer, Vol. 68, No. 3, March 1987, pp. 8084.
15. Paul Spehr, assistant chief of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and
Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, telephone discus-
sion with this author, November 5, 1986.
16. James H. Wallace, Jr., Smithsonian Institution, telephone discussion
with this author, September 20, 1983.
17. Allan B. Goodrich, audiovisual archivist, John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Library, telephone discussion with this author, February 14, 1985.
18. Daniel W. Jones, Jr., photographic archivist, Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology, telephone discussions with this author,
April 13, 1987, October 5, 1987, and October 29, 1988.
19. Bruce Bonner, Jr., Harris Environmental Systems, Inc., telephone
discussion with this author, February 21, 1985. The cost estimates
are updated figures based on the typical vault designs and costs
given by Bonner in The Application of Environmental Control Tech-
nology to Archival Storage Requirements, presented at the Inter-
graphic Images, sponsored by the Society of Photographic Scien-
tists and Engineers (SPSE), Ottawa, Ontario, August 30, 1982. SPSE
is now known as the Society for Imaging Science and Technology
(IS&T).
20. Records Center of Kansas City (RCKC), a division of Underground
Vaults & Storage, Inc., P.O. Box 1723, Hutchinson, Kansas 67504-
1723; telephone: 316-662-6769 (toll-free: 800-873-0906). The refrig-
erated vault in the Kansas City facility replaced a refrigerated vault
leased to the MGM Film Library for many years at the Underground
Vaults & Storage, Inc. facility located 600 feet underground in an
abandoned section of a working salt mine in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The Records Center of Kansas City also has available a microfilm
and magnetic media storage vault with a temperature of 66F (19C)
and 40% RH.
21. National Underground Storage, Inc., P.O. Box 6, Boyers, Pennsylva-
nia 16020; telephone: 412-794-8474 (Fax: 412-794-2838).
22. Archisystems International, 1106 Broadway, Santa Monica, Califor-
nia 90401; telephone: 310-395-7088.
23. Eastman Kodak Company, 6700 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood,
California 90038; telephone: 213-464-6131 (Fax: 213-464-5886).
24. Weston J. Naef, Curator of Photographs in the Department of Photo-
graphs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Santa Monica, California, tele-
phone discussion with this author, October 15, 1992.
John Alderson, Preserving Photos at the Museum, Chicago Sun-Times,
April 23, 1982, Photography Section, p. 12.
Anon., Chicago Art Institute, Photographs A Collectors Newslet-
ter, Vol. 1, No. 4, June 1982, pp. 13.
Anon., Cold Vault Keeps Film Color from Fading, Harvard University
Gazette, Vol. LXXVI, No. 29, April 10, 1981, pp. 1, 7.
Anon., Calm, Very Cool, and Collected . . . to Save Film Legacies,
Technology and Conservation, Spring 1981, pp. 56, 8.
Alan G. Artner, Art Institute Builds Top Home for Photos, Chicago
Tribune, April 18, 1982, Arts and Books Section.
David Elliott, A New Beginning for Photography at the Art Institute,
Chicago Sun-Times, April 18, 1982, Show Section, p. 2.
David Elliott, A Collectors Collection at Art Institute, Chicago Sun-
Times, April 23, 1982.
Douglas Davis and Maggie Malone, Chicagos Picture Palace, News-
week, May 17, 1982, pp. 108109.
FIAF (Federation Internationale des Archives du Film), A Handbook for
Film Archives edited by Eileen Bowser and John Kuiper, FIAF,
Coudenberg 70, B1000, Brussels, Belgium, 1980.
FIAF (Federation Internationale des Archives du Film), The Preserva-
tion and Restoration of Colour and Sound in Films, FIAF,
Coudenberg 70, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium, 1981.
Allan B. Goodrich, Audiovisual Records at the John F. Kennedy Library:
A Profile, Picturescope, Vol. 28, No. 3, Fall 1980, pp. 67.
Allan B. Goodrich, Is Color Fugitive? History News, December 1977,
pp. 341342.
Andy Grundberg, A Museum Puts Its Color Prints on Ice, The New
York Times, July 18, 1982, pp. H2526.
Christopher Lyon, Not Fade Away: Making Sure That Art Endures, The
Reader, April 22, 1982.
Munters Cargocaire, The Dehumidification Handbook Second Edi-
tion, 1990. Cargocaire Engineering Corporation, 79 Monroe Street,
P.O. Box 640, Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913-0640; telephone:
508-388-0600 (toll-free: 800-843-5360); Fax: 508-388-4556.
William Poe, Preservation of Research Sources: Film and Videotape,
Humanities Report, Vol. 3, No. 10, October 1981, pp. 1317.
A. Tulsi Ram, D. Kopperl, R. Sehlin, S. Masaryk-Morris, J. Vincent, and
California, December 10, 1992.
Douglas Severson, Temperature and Humidity Conditions in the Pho-
tography Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago (Information
Sheet), Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, January 10, 1983.
David E. Sanger, Kennedy Library: A New Hit in Boston, The New York
Times, December 16, 1979, Sec. 10, pp. 1, 15.
William Widmayer, Cold Storage Protects Color Negatives, American
Cinematographer, March 1961.
Henry Wilhelm, A Cost-Effective Approach to the Long-Term Preserva-
tion of Color Motion Pictures, a presentation at the 123rd Confer-
ence and Equipment Exhibit of the Society of Motion Picture
and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Los Angeles, California, Octo-
ber 2530, 1981.
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Suppliers
Vapor-Proof, Heat-Sealable Bags
for Cold Storage
8000-H Forbes Place
Telephone: 703-321-7730
(large quantities only)
439 Monroe Avenue
Telephone: 716-271-8960
Toll-free: 800-828-6216
(several sizes; available in small or large quantities)
Quality Packaging Supply Corporation
24 Seneca Avenue
Telephone: 716-544-2500
(custom-made; flexible packaging)
Shield Pack, Inc.
411 Downing Pines Road
West Monroe, Louisiana 71292
Telephone: 318-387-4743
Toll-free: 800-551-5185 (outside Louisiana)
(custom-made; large quantities only)
Equipment and General Contractors for
Humidity-Controlled Cold Storage Facilities
Bonner Systems, Inc.
7 Doris Drive Suite 2
N. Chelmsford, Massachusetts 01863
Telephone: 508-251-1199
(Bonner is recommended by this author
as a designer and general contractor for
humidity-controlled cold storage vaults.)
Turner Construction Company
375 Hudson Street
Telephone: 212-229-6000
(Turner is recommended by this author as a general
contractor for large, humidity-controlled cold storage
installations and archive buildings.)
Archisystems International
1106 Broadway
Santa Monica, California 90401
Telephone: 310-395-7088
(Archisystems is recommended by this author as an architect
for large, humidity-controlled cold storage buildings.)
Harris Environmental Systems, Inc.
11 Connector Road
Andover, Massachusetts 01810
Telephone: 508-475-0104
Cargocaire Engineering Corporation
79 Monroe Street
P.O. Box 640
Amesbury, Massachusetts 01913
Telephone: 508-388-0600
(Cargocaire is recommended by this author as a
manufacturer of dry-desiccant dehumidifiers for
humidity-controlled cold storage vaults and buildings.)
Bally Engineered Structures, Inc.
P.O. Box 98
Bally, Pennsylvania 19503
Telephone: 215-845-2311
Kester/Dominion Refrigeration Corporation
2929 Eskridge Road, Suite P-3
Fairfax, Virginia 22031
Telephone: 703-560-6644
Southeast Cooler Corporation
1520 Westfork Drive
Lithia Springs, Georgia 30057
Telephone: 404-941-6703
Toll-free: 800-241-9778 (outside Georgia)
North Brothers Company
P.O. Box 105557
Atlanta, Georgia 30348
Telephone: 404-622-4611
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727 The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Index
INDEX
This index was compiled by Rus Caughron for Carlisle Publishers
Services, and was edited by John Wolf, Henry Wilhelm, and Carol Brower.
Many of the color films, color papers, and other products appear in this
book far too many times to be able to include all page references. The
reader is referred to the Table of Contents (pages viii and ix) for addi-
tional guidance on where to find image stability data and other informa-
tion for specific products.
Note especially the recommendations for the longest-lasting color
films, color papers, and digital printing systems listed in Chapter 1 (pages
36). In addition, special recommendations sections can be found in
most chapters (see Table of Contents for Recommendations page num-
bers). Also refer to the Suppliers lists located at the end of Chapters 4,
8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, and 20 for the names, addresses, and telephone
numbers of manufacturers, distributors, and other sources of products.
light fading with north daylight illumination, 143144
light fading stability of current EP-2 papers, 132
light fading stability of current RA-4 papers, 131
light fading stability of discontinued papers, 134
and reciprocity failure in light fading and light-induced staining, 74
and stabilizers and water wash, 173
tungsten versus fluorescent illumination, 142
and UV protection, 145, 147, 152, 156, 159
Agfa AgfaProof and EverColor Pigment Color Prints, 14, 122123, 135, 185
Agfa Brovira black-and-white paper, 375, 409, 593
Agfa Corporation (Agfa-Gevaert AG), 6667
Agfa Corporation (address and telephone number), 293
and basic image stability data, 24
challenging Eastman Kodak, 78
and Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Agfa products, 195196
and inherent dye stability, 7
and listing of longest-lasting color films, 28
poor quality of color motion picture films, 26, 34, 316
Agfa Digital Printing Systems, 5
Agfa-Gevaert AG, 6, 2829, 34, 66, 67, 97, 165, 195196, 594
Agfa-Gevaert Colloidal Silver test strips, 565568
Agfa MSP printers, 45
Agfa Portriga-Rapid B&W paper, 409, 593
Agfa Print color motion picture films, table of, 316
Agin, Joerg D., 299
Air conditioners, 555557
Air pollution, 539, 562568
Albright, Gary E., 397, 506
Albumen prints, 455, 471472, 530, 608609, 611, 614
Albums, 511, 53033
Aldrin, Edwin E., Jr., 33, 327
Alexander, Max, 345, 360
Alexanderson, Ernst, 40
Allen, Casey, 163
Allen, Norman, 320
Allen, Vijaya, 642
Allen, Woody, 310
Allred, Donald R., 67
Altena, W.F. van, 501502
Aluminum backing sheets, in frames, 520
Aluminum frames, 51314
American Archives of the Factual Film, The, 299
American Association of Museums, 539
American Broadcasting Company (ABC), 40
American Cinematographer, 310, 314
American Film, 299, 306
American Film Institute, 34, 302, 684, 691, 692
American Institute for Conservation Photographic Materials Group (AIC-
PMG), 34, 263, 439, 471, 527, 540
ANSI IT9.9-1990, American National Standard for Imaging MediaStability of
Color Photographic ImagesMethods for Measuring, 6567, 109, 151,
166167, 221, 230, 313314
ANSI IT9.2-1991, American National Standard for Photography (Process-
ing)Processed Films, Plates, and PapersFiling Enclosures and
Containers for Storage, 455, 648
ANSI PH1.42-1969, American National Standard Method for Comparing the
Color Stabilities of Photographs, 65, 83, 9193, 166167, 233
American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 37, 6567, 83, 9193, 109,
151, 166167, 221, 230, 314, 460, 543544, 599602 and color stability
accelerated test methods standard, 6567, 83, 9193
and life expectancy (LE) ratings, 9293, 460, 543544
recommendations for environmental conditions for storage of paper-
based archival materials, 563
See also ANSI publications preceding
ANSI Photographic Activity Test (in ANSI IT9.2-1991), 373374, 440,
457460, 466467, 494, 498499, 503504, 513
American Paper Institute (API), 413
Americas Museums: The Belmont Report, 539
Ampex Corporation, 39
Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center, Claremont College, 548
Anderson, Richard, 112
Anderson, Ronald, 370
Anderson, Stanton, 112
Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead. See ANW/Crestwood
ANSI. See American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
ANW/Crestwood (papers and boards), 409410, 414415, 417, 440, 442,
475477, 479480
Abrasives, resistance of print coatings to, 156, 158, 160
Academic slide libraries, 644645
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 636, 649, 659660
Accelerated test methods, 61100
and ANSI standards, 6567
color image fading and staining, 6164
and correlation with normal display conditions, 72
and dark fading test methods, 8387, 166167
and fluorescent illumination, 81, 111112
light fading, 8081, 101144
need for, 64
and projector-caused fading of color slides, 229230
types of, 64
Acetate Negative Survey: Final Report, The, 675
Adair, William, 403
Adams, Ansel, v, 371373, 376, 384, 385, 387, 389, 403, 405, 410, 431,
469, 493, 594599, 612
Adelstein, Peter Z., 33, 37, 66, 67, 85, 320, 321, 322, 459, 471, 546, 678
Ademco dry mounting tissues, 375, 376
Ademco-Seal, Ltd., 153, 376, 377
Adhesives, and plastic laminates, 152153. See also Print mounting
Adobe Photoshop software, 42, 47, 52, 54
Advertisements for Kodak Ektacolor papers, 18, 170, 273274
Agfa. See Agfa Corporation and Agfa-Gevaert AG
Agfa Agfachrome papers for printing color transparencies
Agfas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 195
dark fading and yellowish staining of, 186
light fading of, 13536
Agfa Agfachrome color slide and color transparency films
and projector-fading stability of color slide films, 216
and slides, 213, 627628
Agfa Agfachrome CU-410 silver dye-bleach color print process
and abandonment of worlds most stable conventionally-processed
color print material, 28
light fading stability of, 135
Agfa Agfachrome-Speed Color prints
fading with incandescent tungsten illumination, 141
fading with tungsten versus fluorescent illumination, 142
Agfa Agfacolor color negative films
dark fading of current color negative films, 189
dark fading of discontinued color negative films, 190191
Agfa Agfacolor Neu color transparency film
and beginning of modern era of color photography, 2022
Agfa Agfacolor papers
Agfacolor PE Paper Type 4, the worst color paper in modern times, 16,
2829, 134, 184
dark fading and yellowish staining of current EP-2 papers, 182
dark fading and yellowish staining of current RA-4 papers, 180
dark fading and yellowish staining of discontinued papers, 183184
and light fading, 70, 71, 80, 103
light fading with incandescent tungsten illumination, 140
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Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures Index 728
Aono, Toshiaki, 71
Aperture, Inc., 397, 405
Apple Macintosh computers, iv, 47, 52, 53, 54, 283
Apollo, mission to the moon, 323327
Architecture & Allied Arts Library, 646
Archival, ANSI replaces term with LE ratings, 9293, 460, 543544
Archival Medium, and ANSI ratings, 92
ArchivalMount, 376
Archivart (boards and papers), 409410, 414416, 433, 440, 442, 477480
Archive collections, conservation recommendations summary, 480
Archives
limits of color print fading and staining for, 255260
monitoring collections in, 239366
Armstrong, Neil A., 33, 327
Arnold, Eve, 443
Aronson, Emily, 402
Arrhenius, Svante August, 8485
Arrhenius accelerated dark fading and yellowish staining tests, 65, 8488,
167168, 169, 177179, 195209
dark fading predictions for Agfa products, 195196, 316
dark fading predictions for Fuji products, 87, 168169, 19798, 316
dark fading predictions for Ilford products, 199200
dark fading predictions for Kodak products, 86, 201204, 315,
661663, 693696
dark fading predictions for Konica products, 61, 8789, 177, 205206
dark fading predictions for Polaroid products, 207208
dark fading predictions for 3M products, 209
Art Business News, 477
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 720
Art Institute of Chicago, 37, 38, 85, 239, 240, 248, 251, 261264, 394,
398, 509, 510, 529, 540, 548, 566, 598, 610, 613, 687, 711, 712, 718
Artists, limits of color print fading and staining for, 255260
Art of Black-and-White Enlarging, The, 389
Art of Photography: Past and Present, From the Collection of the
Art Institute of Chicago, 261, 262
Art slide libraries. See Slides
Associated Press Leafdesk Digital Darkroom, 47
Ataraxia Studio, Inc., Polaroid Permanent-Color lab (address and
telephone number), 293
Ataraxia Studio Collectors Color (Polaroid Permanent-Color) prints, 51, 121
light fading with incandescent tungsten lamps, 139
Atlantis Paper Company, and products, 410, 416, 433, 440, 478481, 525,
529
Atlas Fadeometer, 156, 159
Auer, John H., 66, 67
Australian Colour Laboratories, UltraStable lab (address and
telephone number), 293
Autochromes, 20, 242, 260
Autologic imagesetter, 47
Azochrome. See Kodak Azochrome
Back-illuminated transparencies, and advertising, 109
Backlit Displays with Kodak Materials, 154
Bainbridge. See Nielsen & Bainbridge
Baird, John Logie, 39
Ball, J.A., and Technicolor camera, 355
Balogh, Karen, 603
Banks, Paul, 571
Barbanel, Josh, 408
Barcham Green & Company, Ltd., interleaving papers, 440
Bard, Charleton C., 32, 3536, 66, 85, 87, 178
Bark Frameworks, Inc., 421
Barney, Tina, 103
Barrier sheets, 519
Barrow, Thomas, 395, 399, 442
Barrow, William, 470
Bartos, Adam, 655
Barth, Miles, 373, 395
Baruch, Jacques and Anne, 600
Bass, Lea, 282
Beckett Paper Company, and products, 414
Becky Sharp, 27, 41, 356357, 365
Beecher, Thomas, 163, 164, 486
Beeler, Robert, 229
Belknap, John, 333, 564, 722
Ben-David, Arnon, 403, 440
Berger, Charles, 14, 15, 50, 51, 96, 289
Berns, Roy S., 603
Bettmann Archive, 625
Bischofberger, Bruno, 443
Billboards, 154, 155
Bill of Rights of the United States, 110, 245, 516
Bjorndal, Mark, vii
Black
black printer in 4-color images, 15
and in UltraStable Permanent Color prints, 5051
Black-and-white films
ANSI life expectancy (LE) ratings for, 9293
and cold storage, 32829
Black-and-white movies, and colorization, 19
Black-and-white photography, conversion to color photography, 1719, 284
Black-and-white prints, 575624
conservation recommendations summary, 480
display of. See Display
facilities for long-term preservation, 715724
framing and storage of, 509513, 518
frost-free refrigerators for storing, 655686
large-scale storage for permanent preservation of, 687726
and life expectancy (LE) ratings, 9293, 460, 543544
and metallic silver images, 2
and monitoring in museums and archives, 239266
and relative humidity, 545
Black-and-white RC prints, display of, 578580, 582
brownish base staining of developer-incorporated B&W RC prints, 585
cracking of RC prints, 580
discolored B&W RC prints (color reproductions of), 600601
drying methods of, 591592
image discoloration of, 581588
Kodaks early claims concerning B&W RC papers, 588
Black-and-white separations (YCMs), and motion pictures, 301302322329
Black Star Publishing Company, 625
Black Pirate, The, 351
Blancophores (optical bleaches), 604
Bleach, and controlled-diffusion bleach of Kodachrome, 21
Bleckner, Fern, 580
Bonner Systems, Inc., and cold-storage vaults, 658, 667
Booth, Larry and Jane, 504, 685686
Borger, Irene, 400
Boston Globe, 299
Boxes. See Storage
Brandt, Bill, 403, 404
Brannan, Beverly W., 164, 486
Bravo, Manuel Alvarez, 443
Bremson Laser Color Recorders, 5
Brooks, Ellen, 655
Brotmeyer, Gary, 401
Brower, Carol, v, vii, 83, 95, 373, 393, 441, 451, 473474, 477,
484, 529, 531, 585
Brown, Max, 912, 14, 30, 36, 268, 270272, back cover
Brownish base-stain in developer-incorporated RC papers, 585
Brown Photo, 157
Bruno, Tony, 34, 308
Burgi, Sergio, 260, 261, 471, 608
Burrell, Donald J., Burrell Colour, Inc., 290291
Burrows, Larry, 401, 439, 655656
Burrows, Russell, 655656
Burrows, Victoria, 656
Bush, George, vi. See also Presidential Libraries
Cabinets and shelves for photographs, 511, 53335
and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 612613
Cactus Digital Color Printing System, 5, 55
Cadena, Sue, 268, 282
Calhoun, John M., 677678, 680
Callahan, Christy, at WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, 271
Callahan, Harry, 396, 397, 425
Calloway, Lisa, 529
Camcorders, 39, 48
Camera negative films, list of, 313
Camera 35, 497
Camera Work, 409
Cameron, Joe, 580
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Cameron, Julia Margaret, 240, 264
Canadian Centre for Architecture, 548, 720
Canadian Conservation Institute, 499, 648
Canon Color Laser Copier/Printers, 5, 15, 55, 123, 146
Canon Color Laser Copier/Printers, color prints (output), 5
Canson, boards and papers, 410
Caponigro, Paul, 595
Cardboard boxes, for storing photographs, 525526
Cardboard mounts, 645
Cardcrafts, Inc., 414415
Cardillo, Robert, technical director of Project VIREO, 660
Care and Identification of 19th-Century Photographic Prints, 36, 597598
Cargocaire dehumidifiers, 334, 338, 559560, 712
Carter, Jimmy, vi. See also Presidential Libraries
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, 402, 405
Cartwright, Guenther, v
Castelli, Leo and Toiny, 423
Castelli Gallery, 105
Castelli Graphics, v, 423, 442
Cataloging, with CD-ROM and Photo CD, 56, 640643
Cathode-ray tube (CRT), 40
CD-ROM
cataloging and distribution with, 640643
printing from, 56, 56
Cellulose acetate motion picture film, 319320
Cellulose nitrate motion picture film, 320, 361
Cellulose nitrate, as a component of print lacquers, 148, 150
Cellulose nitrate still-camera negatives, and freezer storage, 675686
Cellulose triacetate enclosure materials, 490, 49394
Center for Creative Photography, 442, 548, 683
Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques, 86
Ceramic color photographs, 123
Chandler, Colby, 294, 308
Charge-coupled device (CCD) sensors, 42, 43, 47, 53, 56, 244, 246
Charters of Freedom, monitoring of, 244246
Chen, Chi C., 412, 413, 420, 477
Chlorinated hydrocarbons in print lacquers, 149
Chrisman, Paul V., 340
Christenberry, William, 386, 397
Christo, 443
ChromaPro slide duplicator, 636
Chromogenic development, and color image dyes, 20, 2123
Chromogenic dyes, and instability in dark storage, 23
Chromogenic prints
and reciprocity failures in light fading, 7374
Chubb, Caldecot, 397, 442
Cibachrome. See Ilford Cibachrome and Ilford Ilfochrome
Ciba-Geigy Cibacolor silver dye-bleach prints, 2930
Cieciuch, Ronald, 66, 67
Cieply, Michael, 300
Cinecolor. See Motion Pictures, early processes
Cinematheque Quebecoise, 717
CJ Laser Corp., 156, 159
Clamshell boxes, 530
Clark, Mike, 345
Clark, Walter, 25, 470
Clearman, June, vii, 94, 99
Climo, David, 463
Clinton, Bill, vi. See also Presidential Libraries
Coda, Inc., 147, 153
Coda Overlam, 153
Coda plastic films, 147, 153
Coe, Brian, 598, 612
Cohn, Lawrence, 345
Cold storage
facilities for long-term preservation, ii, 33, 38, 564, 687726, 715724
and fail-safe automatic shutdown system, 711712
and motion picture films, 301, 317, 328
and motion picture films, cost of, 328329
in other countries, 724
suppliers, 726
vault construction, 707709
Yukon discovery, 322
Cold Storage of Motion Picture Films conference in 1980, 34
Collecting color photographs, 3738
Collectors, limits of color print fading and staining for, 255260
T. J. Collings, silver-tarnishing tests, 437, 456
Collins, Glenn, 509, 531
Collins, Tom, 357
Colloquium on the Collection and Preservation of Color Photographs, 3132
Color As Form: A History of Color Photography, 37, 242, 260, 576, 612
Color couplers, 2123
Color electrophotography. See Electrophotography
Color hardcopy. See Photorealistic digital color prints
Colorization, and movies, 19, 350
ColorMount Dry Mounting Tissue, 376377
Color negatives. See Negatives
Color offset printing, light fading stability of, 137138
Color photography
historical replacement of black-and-white photography, 1719
modern era of, 2021
Color Place, The (lab in Dallas, Texas), 20
Color prints. See Prints and associated entries
Color slides. See Slides and Transparencies
Color transparencies. See Transparencies and Slides
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 40
Columbia Pictures, 303
Columbia Corporation, 414
Comandini, Peter, 350, 361
Compact discs (CDs), 123
Comparative tests, versus predictive tests, 64
Computer-generated images (hardcopy output)
and dark fading, 174176, 187188
Computers
and acquisition and processing of densitometer data, 9496
and analysis of densitometer data, 94, 99100
and colorization process, 19
digital color images from, vi, 56, 4244
and image processing, 4244, 4656
and ink jet color printers, 5254
and Kodak film scanner, 47
Comstock, Daniel F., 349
Conde Museum, 613
Conservation matting, 393450
aesthetic considerations, 400411
attitudes regarding care of photographs, 393399
board texture, 409410
board tone or color, 410411
constructing a mat, 416439
and dry mounting, 403404
erasers, 421, 426
handling photographs, 395398
image cropping, 406408
interleaving paper, 439440
mount boards. See Mount boards
physical damage to prints, 396397
portfolios, 402403
presentation of photographs, 400411
of private collection, 398399
recommendations and summary, 441442
signature, 404406
survey regarding care of prints, 393, 447
Conservation matting, construction, 416439
basic steps, 421
binding a mat, 428431
blades, 426427
board grain, 418
corner mounting, 432436
cutting board to size, 417419
cutting the window, 423428
for delicate prints, 438
designing a mat, 422425
cloth tape, taping, 428430
hinges, 432, 436437
mount board thickness, 422, 430, 448
paperweights, 432
polyester barriers, 438
portfolio matting, 438439
print borders, 422425
standard sizes, 399, 418419
suppliers, list of, 448450
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working environment, 420421
See also Print Mounting
Conservation of Photographs, 149, 587, 594
Conservation Resources, Inc., and products, 417, 440, 442, 480, 504, 520
Conserving Works of Art on Paper, 437
Constitution of the United States, 110, 245, 516
Consumer Reports, and the poor stability of Kodak instant color prints, 31
Controlled-diffusion bleach, development method for Kodachrome, 20, 21
Cool White fluorescent lamps, 108
Copiers, 56, 15, 44, 55, 503, 566
dark fading and yellowish staining of prints, 188
and print mounting, 383
Copies, display of, 37, 613, 614
Coppola, Francis Ford, 35, 310, 332, 365
Corcoran Gallery of Art, 37, 242, 260, 510, 576, 580, 612
Corner mounting. See Conservation matting construction and Print mounting
Corrugated board, 521
Cosindas, Marie, 125
Costello, Mark del, 34, 308
Cotton fiber boards vs. wood pulp boards, 412413, 468469
Counter-mounting of prints. See Print mounting
Couplers. See Chromogenic development
Coupling color development. See Chromogenic development
CPAC, Inc., 155156, 159
CPAC FilmCOAT, 156, 159
Craig, Thomas, 67
Crane, Arnold, 723
Crescent Cardboard Company, and products, 410, 412415, 473477, 480
Crestwood Paper Company. See ANW/Crestwood
Cropping of photographs, 406408
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 52, 53
Cruz, Carlos, 463
C. S. Osborne & Company, 248
Ctein, 585
Culhane, John, 358
Cullison, Bonnie Jo, 569, 570, 571
Cunningham, Ed, 334
Cunningham, Imogen, 404
Curl, prevention of, 524
Custom Craft Photography, Mac McKinley, 281
CVI Color Lab (Dye Transfer color lab in New York City), 603
Cyan
and color coupler, 23
dark fading of, 471
fading characteristics of, 63
and image layers in color photographs, 15
and image-life limits, 8990
and light fading of Ektacolor portraits, 7880
objectionable factors of staining, 8990
reciprocity failures in light fading and light-induced staining, 7375
and stability of color slide films, 215216
and Technicolor, 351
and UltraStable Permanent Color prints, 5051
Dacar Chemical Company, 155
Dacar ImageGARD, 155
Dacar REZCOAT, 155
Daguerre, Louis, 17
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., 67
Damage to prints, 561562, 569570, 677. See also Conservation matting
Dame, Ferne, 212
Dark aging tests, 153
Dark fading, 163209
and chromogenic dyes, 23
of color negative print papers, 172
and color transparencies, 13
and computer-generated images, 174176
and digitized images, 174176
and Ektacolor RC papers, 16, 76, 79, 180184
and Ektacolor 74 RC papers, 76, 79, 184
and Ektaprint EP-3 Stabilizer, 170, 173, 184
fading and staining described, 6164
Fujicolor and Ektacolor compared, 1112
and ink-jet color images, 174176, 188
Kodak unpublished estimates of discontinued films and papers, 204
and manufacturers Arrhenius predictions, 177179, 195209
color microfilm stability, 176
and color motion pictures, 312, 315316, 318
and print lacquering, 151, 152
stability tables (Agfa-Gevaert), 195196
stability tables (chromogenic reversal), 185186
stability tables (color offset printing), 187188
stability tables (current color negative films), 180, 181182, 189190
stability tables (digital copier/printer color prints), 183184, 187188,
191192
stability tables (dye-imbibition), 185186
stability tables (EverColor), 185186
stability tables (Fuji), 197198
stability tables (Ilford), 199200
stability tables (ink jet prints), 187188
stability tables (Kodak), 201204, 205206, 226
stability tables (Mead Cycolor prints), 187188
stability tables (Polaroid), 185186, 207208
stability tables (silver dye-bleach), 185186
stability tables (thermal dye transfer [dye sublimation]), 187188
stability tables (3M Scotch), 209
stability tables (transparencies), 193196
stability tables (UltraStable), 185186
and stabilizers, 173
test methods and staining characteristics, 8384, 166167
and thermal dye transfer (dye sublimation), 174176
See also Yellowish stain formation
Dark fading stability, defined, 163
Dark Stability of Photographic Color Prints from the Viewpoint of Stain
Formation, 168
Dark storage yellowish stain formation, defined, 163165
Dark storage stability
and dye fading, 16, 63
and post-processing treatment, 64
and effects of relative humidity, 8889, 178
and effects of temperature, 178
and yellowish stain formation, 63
Dater, Judy, 569
Davey Corporation, and binders board, 529
Daylight. See Indoor daylight tests and North daylight and
Outdoor daylight tests
Dayton, Richard, 357
Declaration of Independence, 110, 244245, 454, 516
Dehumidification equipment, 709711, 712
DeMenil Foundation, 402
DeNiro, Robert, 35, 332
Densitometers
and Arrhenius tests, 87
computer acquisition and processing of data, 9496
computer analysis of data, 94, 99100
and densitometric correction for yellowish stain, 9394
and filters and response drift, 253255
and freezer check samples, 94
for measuring fading and staining, 94
MacBeth TR924, 248, 256
and monitoring museums and archives, 241, 247260
and photographic densitometers, 247
recommended, 241
response variations of four color densitometers, 260
Density losses, and framing effect and original density, 7778
Density measurements, and projector-caused fading of transparencies, 230
Density units, 77, 256
Desiccant dehumidifiers, 558559
Deterioration limits, for color prints, 255260
Development, chromogenic. See Chromogenic development
Dexter mat cutter, 426428
Dieu Donne Press & Paper, 409
Dieuzaide, Jean, 596
Digital color images from computers, 56, 4244, 4654
Digital copier/printer color prints, light fading stability of, 137138
Digital Equipment Corporation VAX, 283
Digital imaging
and definition of what constitutes a photograph, 44
ink jet color printers, 5254
digital imaging systems, 4244, 637640
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and tricolor carbro prints, 20, 50
See also Kodak Dye Transfer
Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center, 504
Eastman Color motion picture color negative, intermediate, and color print
films, 3, 305308, 313314
table of, 313, 315, 318
See also Motion Picture Films
dates of introduction, 313
processes and major problems, 2627
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 315
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for color motion picture
films kept in humidity-controlled cold storage, 318, 694
unpublished Kodak Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 204
Eastman Ektachrome Video News Film, 39
Eastman House. See International Museum of Photography
Eastman Kodak Company, 6667
Eastman Kodak Company (address and telephone number) 293
and Arrhenius equation application, 8586
and IS&T conference, 34
See also Kodak
Eastman Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, 374375
Eastman, George, 611
Eaton, George, 454, 468, 472
Echave, John, 637
Edge effect, 582583
Edge, Michele, 320
Edison, Thomas, 305, 350
Edward Steichen Photography Center, 394
Eggleston, William, 38, 51
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 39
faded portrait of, 36
Eisenstaedt, Alfred, 104, 531
Eisner, Michael, 299
Ektachrome. See entries under Kodak
Ektacolor. See entries under Kodak
Electrocolor process, 27
Electronic imaging, 56
Electronic news gathering (ENG), 8, 39
Electronic printmaking, and definition of photograph, 44
Electronics, and photography, 3940
Electronic still camera, 56, 4243
Electrophotography, 27, 55
Elias, Paul A., 500
Elite Fine-Art Paper, 375
Elman, Matthew R., 43
Emerson, Ronald, 260, 415
Encapsulation of photographs, 504
Enchave. John, and National Digital system, 637
Enclosure effect. See Framing effect
Enclosures, for films and prints, 485508
polyester enclosures, 438, 485, 490493
polyester film encapsulation, 504
polyethylene and polypropylene album pages, 532
polyethylene enclosures, 496499
polyethylene slide pages, 650
polypropylene enclosures, 494496
polypropylene slide pages, recommended, 648650
recommendations, 485
Enhancement. See Print enhancement
Envelopes
diagram of, 492
for storing films and prints, 485508
vapor-proof packages and freezing, 701705
Environmental control, 301, 539574
Epstein, Mitch, 438, 441, 529, 655
Erbland, C. J., 678
Evaluating Dye Stability of Kodak Color ProductsTransparencies on These
Kodak Ektachrome Films, 233
Evaluating Image Stability of Kodak Color Photographic Products, 92
Evans, Frederick H., 405, 406, 408
EverColor Corporation, 14, 51
EverColor Corporation (address and telephone number), 293
EverColor Pigment Color prints, 5, 14, 15, 51, 122123, 135136, 279, 289290
light fading for prints, 135136
Extended-Term Storage Conditions, and ANSI ratings, 92
digital image storage systems, 56, 329330
digitized pictorial images, light fading stability of, 137138
and motion picture industry, 329
transmission of slide and negative images, 637640
Digital television broadcast standards, 4142
Display of black-and-white and color photographs, 575624
of albumen prints, 455, 471472, 608609, 611, 614
ANSI recommendations for viewing and exhibiting color prints, 599602
of black-and-white RC prints, 578579, 580, 582
design of area, 610612
drying and RC prints, 590592
dye fading and RC base cracking compared, 129
of expendable color prints, 575
and facsimile copies, 241, 613614
fluorescent lamps for, 606607
and fluorescent brighteners in prints, 603605
and Ilford Galerie paper, 596597
illumination levels for, recommendations, 241, 577578, 597602
lamp placement, 609
and light exposure tests, 583585
and light fading stability, 6163, 72, 10144
longest-lasting materials, 5, 103104
and museums/archives/fine art photographers, 593596, 603
and print monitoring, 239266, 577
of nonreplaceable color prints, 575578
normal conditions considered, 107111
and Plexiglas, 607608
predicted years of, 131144
printing photographs for, 602603
quartz halogen lamps for, 605606
RC papers and fiber-base papers, 585587, 593596
standard display conditions for predictive tests, 8283
survey of lighting conditions in display areas, 83, 620624
tungsten lamps recommended for, 605
UV radiation and UV filters, 607
D-min correction, 9394
Draber, Edgar, 67
Drivers licenses, and plastic laminates, 152
Drying, of RC prints, 590592
Dry mounting. See Print mounting
Drytac Corp., 153
Ducos du Hauron, Louis, 4950
Duganne, Jack, 52, 53
Duggal, Baldev, 157
Duggal Color Projects, Inc., color lab in New York City, 156157
Dunlap Society, 226227
Duplicating films (duplication)
dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 203
of films and slides, 634637
and transparencies, 659660
unpublished estimates of dark fading time, 204
DuPont Mylar, 152
DuPont Tyvek, 501502
Dust, control of, 539, 568569
Dust-spotting prints, dyes for, 389390
Duvall, Robert, 332
Dye density, and light fading, 7778
Dye diffusion-transfer prints, and reciprocity failure in light fading, 75
Dye fading
and dark storage, 63
and RC base cracking compared, 129
Dye-imbibition processes, and dark fading, 185186
Dye-imbibition motion picture color print process, 345366. See also Motion
picture films
Dye-imbibition prints
and light fading, 135136
and reciprocity failure in light fading, 74
Dyes
and chromogenic development, 2123
for dust-spotting prints, 389390
magenta dye percentage losses in Ektacolor, 259
used as inks, 386
Dye Stability of Kodak and Eastman Motion Picture Films, 86
Dye-transfer prints, 20, 44, 362
and dark fading, 13, 174176, 187188
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Facsimile copies, and display, 509, 608, 613614
Fadeometer, 156, 158, 159
Fading, 150151, 153, 157, 158
densitometers for measuring, 94
monitoring in museums and archives, 239266
and normal display and dark storage, 16
Photogard claims regarding, 156
and portraits and weddings, 267298
recommended limits for, 255260
tungsten versus fluorescent, 142
See also Dark fading and Light fading and Yellowish Stain Formation
Fading Away, 406
Fading monitor, 243244, 250252, 253
Fail-safe automatic shutdown system, 711712
Fallon, Walter, 294, 308
Family of Man, The, 403
Far East Laboratories, 157
Farm Security Administration, 21
Faulkner, Douglas, 655
Faurer, Louis, 405
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 40
Fehrenbach, Robert and Bernice, 2, 128, 267268, 269, 270, 294
Fehrenbach, Thomas, 270
Fehrenbach Studios, 16, 30, 267, 269
Feldman, Larry, 534, 586
Fiber-base prints, and RC prints, 585587
Fiedor, Joseph B., 477
Film cleaning, recommendations for, 369, 387388
Film Comment, 306
Film Conditioning Apparatus (FICA), 706707
Film Foundation, The, 310
Filters, for UV display illumination, 607
Fink, Larry, 403, 404
Fire
danger of, 327, 569570, 677
at Design Conspiracy Color Lab, 569
at International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, 676
at Los Angeles Public Library, 569570
at National Fire Protection Association, 570
at U.S. National Archives, 677
at Vosburg Lumber Yard, 601
Fischer, Rudolf, 21, 22
Fisher, Bob, 329
Fiske, Betty, 393
Flack, Audrey, 440
Fleckal, Ron, 281
Fleming, Charles, 304
Flieder, F., 86
Flood damage, 570
Fluorescent brighteners, in prints and mount boards, 411, 469, 603605
Fluorescent illumination, 104, 111112, 142, 150
lamps and displays, 606607
and light fading, 104, 111112
and print lacquers, 150
and tungsten compared, 142
Fluorinated hydrocarbons, 149
Fome-Cor laminate boards, 520521
Fontani, Walter, 67
Ford, Gerald R., vi. See Presidential Libraries
Ford, Milton, 66
Formica-covered cabinets and shelves, 534535
Fortson, Judith, 509, 531
Fortune, 626, 718
Fotoflat, 376
Fox Photo, Inc., 284
Framing of prints, 509524, 577
and ferrotyping, 521
with glass and Plexiglas, 521523
recommendations for cleaning glass and plastic, 523
of lacquered prints, 146149
materials and storage, 509538
for personal collection. See Conservation matting
See also Chapter 17
Framing effect, in light fading, 30, 7677, 106
Frederick H. Evans, 405, 408
Freer Gallery of Art, 720
Freezer check samples, for densitometer calibration, 94
Freezer storage, and permanent preservation, 675686
Fresson, Atelier Michel, 123
Fresson, Atelier Michel (address and telephone number) 130
Fresson Quadrichromie Color Pigment prints, 123, 410, 599, 658
Friedlander, Lee, 396
Friends of Photography Gallery, 612
Frith, Francis, 240
Fugitive Color exhibition at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 35
Fuji. See Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
Fuji Fujichrome color transparency films, 3, 213, 629
Fujis Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 198
longest life color slides when projected, 211238
Fujichrome Velvia Professional film, 3, 215, 628630
Fujichrome versus Kodachrome in projector-fading, 215216
projector-fading stability of, 215
Fuji Fujichrome Duplicating film, Fujis Arrhenius dark fading
predictions for, 198
Fuji Fujichrome papers for printing color transparencies, 4
dark fading and yellowish staining of, 13, 185186
Fuji Fujicolor Internegative film, 4
Fuji Fujicolor color negative films, 6, 301
dark fading stability of current color negative films, 189190
dark fading stability of discontinued color negative films, 191192
Fuji motion picture films, table of, 316
Fuji Fujicolor papers for printing color negatives, 4
and Ektacolor papers compared for light fading, 810, back cover
and Ektacolor papers compared for dark fading, 1112, back cover
dye fading versus yellowish stain formation, 168170
light fading characteristics, 113, 116
light fading of current EP-2 papers, 132
light fading of current RA-4 papers, 131
light fading of discontinued papers, 133134
reduction in rates of yellowish stain formation in dark storage
compared with Ektacolor and other color papers, 168170
and stabilizers and water wash, 173
used by H&H Color Lab, 102, 146
and UV protection, 145, 146, 147, 148, 152, 159
Fuji Fujicolor Positive Film LP, the longest-lasting motion
picture color print film, 6, 301
Fuji Fujitrans SFA3 Display Material, 5
Fuji Fujix Pictrography Digital Printers, 5
Fuji-Inax Photocera Color Photographs, 5, 44, 123, 135136, 185, 198
Fuji Instant Color prints
Fuji Fujicolor Internegative film, 4
Fuji Minilabs, 46
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., 6667
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc. (address and telephone number), 293
and longest-lasting color films and color papers, 28
Fujis Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Fuji color films
and papers, 197198
Fuji Pictrography color prints, dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 198
Fuji Research Laboratories, 168
Fumes, and print lacquers, 151152
Fungicides, 561
Fungus
Photogard resistance to, 149, 154, 156, 159, 160
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prevention of, 539, 560561
Fuqua Industries Inc., 45
Fusion Ultra, 376
GAF Color Slide films, stability, dark fading, and yellowish staining of, 193, 216
Galassi, Peter, 532, 657, 658
Galleries, limits for color print fading and staining for, 255260
Gamma-Liason, Inc., 625
Gamble, Myrna, 283
Gardiner, Peter R., 333, 564, 722
Gatorfoam, 520521
Gee, Helen, 403
Genovese Drugstores, Inc., 157
George Eastman House. See International Museum of Photography
Gerber, Betty J., 29
Gerlach, Klaus, 103, 165
Germann, Robert, 268, 269
Gettner, Monah and Alan, 442
Getty, J. Paul, Museum, 478, 723
Gevacolor Print film, stability of, 218, 219
Giacherio, David J., 67
Gibson, Ralph, 373, 402403, 409
Gigliotti, Donna, 34, 308
Ginsburg, Michael S., 415
Gioli, Paolo, 261
Gitt, Robert, 357, 365
Glass
cleaning and framing, 521523
and framing effect, 7677
and north daylight, 143144
Glassine paper, 375, 440, 467, 502504. See also interleaving paper
Glass mounts, 645
with tape bindings, 645
and open-frame mounts, 221
Glick, Earl, 19
Godfather, Part II, The, 35, 332, 365
Godowsky, Leo, Jr., 20
Goldsmith, Arthur, 586, 593594
Goldwyn, Samuel, 352
Gone With the Wind, 305, 336, 358361, 680
Gonzalez, George, 681, 708
Goodrich, Allan B., ii, 33, 688, 690691
Gowin, Emmet, 409
Graham, C. Loren, 85, 322
Granite Mountain Records Vault, 548
Gray, Glen, 470
Greenewalt, Crawford H., 660
Griffiths, Philip Jones, 642
Grinnell College, v, 39, 65, 9596, 581
Grum, Franc, 603
Grundberg, Andy, 397, 408, 442
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, v
Gulf Between, The, 349
Gulker, Chris, 46, 47
Haeften, Dorothea von, 397
Hagen, Remon, 66, 67
Hallmark Cards, Inc., 533
Halogen lamps, and display lighting, 605606
Hal Roach Studios, 19
Hamilton, Alden, 412, 414
Hammermill Paper Company, 440
Hammond, Howell, 66, 85, 178
H&H Color Lab, 102, 146, 507
letter to customers, 298
switches to Fuji paper from Kodak, 268, 280283
Handling prints. See Conservation matting
Hansen, Francis, 465
Hanson, David, 655
Hardcopy. See Photorealistic color prints
Harder, Susan, 395, 401, 407, 409
Harris Environmental Systems, Inc., 540, 726
Harris, Robert, 314
Hart, Frank R., 440
Hartman, Bill, 333, 564, 722
Harvard University. See Peabody Museum
Harwood, Jim, 684
Hasselblad, Victor, 660
Haub, Wayne B., 268, 280281, 298
Haylon gas, fire-suppression system, 334, 567
HDTV (high-definition television), 41, 302, 304
Heat, and projector-caused fading, 211
Heat-sealable bags for cold storage, 726
Heiferman, Marvin, 397, 442
Heisler, Gregory, 1
Helyar, John, 300
Hendriks, Klaus B., v, vii, 16, 22, 28, 3334, 42, 6667, 78, 212,
456, 466, 470, 570, 582, 601
Henry, Richard J., 604
Heralding Our Mills, 415
Hermetically sealed frames, 51416
Hight, C. A., 349
Hill, Thomas, 31, 533
Hine, Lewis, exhibition, 368
Hinges, 432, 43637
Hinging and Mounting of Paper Objects, The, 437
Historic New Orleans Collection, 394, 527528, 548, 566, 567, 613614,
679, 689, 691, 715
Hodierne, Robert, 13, 40
Hodsoll, Frank, 299, 305
Hoffman, Michael, 397
Holbert, R. Mac, 52, 53
Hollinger boxes, 470, 526527
Holz, George, 53
Hoover, Herbert, vi, 36. See also Presidential Libraries
Hoover Institution, 509
Horvath, David G., and survey of film deterioration, 320, 675
Hosoe, Eikoh, 409
Hotkiss, Donald R., 27, 66
Howard Paper Mills, Inc., 414, 433, 470
H. S. Crocker printing company, 51
Huffer, Robert L., 270, 271
Humanities Research Center Photography Collection, 533, 643
Human Studies Film Archive, 548, 717
Humidity. See Relative humidity
Hunter Associates Laboratory, Inc., v
Huntington Hartfords Gallery of Modern Art, 410
Hunt Manufacturing Company, 376
Hurlock Company, and mount boards, 414, 442
Huttemann, Thomas J., 66
Hydrocarbons, 149
Hygrometers, 552553
recording thermohygrographs, 552553
IBM, and computer software, 53
ICI Acrylics, Inc., 155
ICI Melinex, 152
Idelson, Martin, 66
Identification badges, and plastic laminates, 152
Ilford. See Ilford Photo Corporation and Ilford AG
Ilford AG, 6667
Ilford Digital Imager, 5
Ilford Galerie B&W fiber-base paper, 596597
Ilford Ilfochrome Classic and Ilfochrome Rapid silver dye-bleach color
print and transparent/translucent display materials (formerly called
Cibachrome materials), 46, 13, 25, 49, 63
dark fading and yellowish stain formation of, 13, 185
Ilfords Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 199200
and light fading of prints, 70, 76, 105, 120, 125, 135136
light fading with incandescent tungsten lamps, 139
light fading with incandescent tungsten versus fluorescent
illumination, 142
reciprocity failures in light fading and light-induced staining, 74
and types of accelerated tests, 64
and UV protection, 145, 152153
Ilford Cibacopy RC papers, Ilfords Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 200
Ilford Ilfocolor and Colorluxe chromogenic materials for
printing color negatives
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Ilford Ilfochrome Color Slide films, dark fading and yellowish
staining of, 194
Ilford Ilfochrome Micrographic films, 6
projection stability of, 218219
Ilford Photo Corporation, 66, 67
and Cibacolor color negative print process, 2930
and dark fading stability data tables, 199200
and longest-lasting color films, 28
products dark fading stability based on Arrhenius tests, 199200. See
also Ilford AG
Illumination levels, and display. See Display
Image
layers of color photographs, 1516
cropping of, 406408
and digital storage systems, 56
fading and staining of, 6164
image permanence and selection of film and paper, 7
and scanning, 5254
See also Imaging
Image Bank, 625
ImageGARD, 155
ImageGuard rigid plastic slide holders, 647648
Image-life end points, 65
Image-life limits for fading, 9092
Image-life parameters, determining failure points for, 100
Image permanence, and selection of film and paper, 7
Image Permanence Institute (IPI), 3637, 66, 67, 86, 87, 88, 320,
321, 455, 509, 546, 568, 588, 678
Imagesetters, 47
Image-Stability Data: Kodachrome Films, 111
Image Stability Technical Center (at Eastman Kodak Company), 87
Image Transform Ltd., 54
Imaging
and digital imaging, 44
electronic, 56
See also Image
Imaging Processes and Materials-Neblettes Eighth Edition, 34
Impact of Modern High-Speed and Washless Processing on the Dye
Stability of Different Colour Papers, 97
Inax Corporation, 123
Incandescent tungsten lamps, 108
Inch, Dennis, 415, 517, 519
Index slide system, 638, 639, 640
India ink. See Print mounting
Indoor daylight tests, 82
Infrared film, dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 203
Ink jet color printers, 5, 15, 5254, 146
dark fading and yellow staining of, 174176, 187188
light fading stability of, 137138, 138
Inks, dyes used as, 386
Insects, damage to photographs by, 561562
Instant color prints
and Consumer Reports article, 31
Fuji dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 198
longest-lasting, 6
north daylight, 144
and patent infringement suit, 31
Polaroid Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 201, 207
Instant color slide film, and stability of color slide films, 216
Interleaving paper, 439440, 445, 467. See also Conservation matting
Intermediate films, 301, 313
International Center of Photography (ICP), 34, 395
International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House
(IMP-GEH), 25, 26, 3132, 37, 50, 107, 239, 242, 260, 359361, 406,
523, 529, 540542, 575576, 611612, 676, 683684, 724
International Paper Company, 521
Internegative film
and duplication, 634637
Fuji and Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 198
Kodak and Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 202, 203
longest-lasting, 4
slides from, 630631
Interpolation methods, and densitometer data in computer analysis, 99
Investigation of Commercially Available Dry Mount Tissues, An, 374
Iris Graphics, Inc., 52, 67
Iris Graphics Ink Jet Color Printers, 5, 5253, 123124
Iris Ink Jet Color prints, 15, 5254
Iska, James, 398
Its a Wonderful Life, 19
Iwano, Haruhiko, 66, 67
Jackson, William Henry, 240, 264
Jacobson, Harlan, 307
James River Corporation, papers and boards, 412415, 475476
J.C. Penney. See Portrait photographers, and mass-market
Jedermann Collection, 399, 400
Jenkins, C. Francis, 3940
Jenkins, William, 31
Jentink, Roger, 377
Jenshel, Len, 106
Johnson, Lyndon Baines, vi, 36. See also Presidential Libraries
Jones, Daniel W., 638, 639, 712, 713, 714
Jones, Harold, 397, 401, 442, 447
Jones, Peter C., 397
Journal of Imaging Technology, 110
Journal of the SMPTE, 85
Julia and Julia, 41
Kahl, N. Philip, 660
Kalmus, Herbert T., 349, 352, 363
Karmel, Pepe, 395, 655
Karstetter, Mrs. Lloyd, 1
Kaska, Henry, 300, 470
Katcher, Philip, 403
Katz, Robert, 314
Kauffman, Richard N., 51, 289
Keaton, Diane, 332
Keefe, Laurence E., Jr., 517, 519
Kelly, Tom, 26
Kennedy, John F., ii, 32, 249
faded portrait of, 36
See also Presidential Libraries
Keppler, Herbert, 500
Kertesz, Andre, 4068, 409, 410, 495
Kilborn Photo Products Inc., 50, 51
Killeen, Marty, 36
Kimac sleeves, for slides, 647
King, Rodney G., 46, 48
Kismaric, Carole, 397
Kismaric, Susan, 373
Klett, Mark, 402, 404
K-Mart. See Portrait photographers, and mass-market
Knight, Keith, 442
Knoll, Tom and John, 46
Koch, Edward I., 1
Kodak
cold-storage temperatures and fading of various materials, 693695, 696
and competition from other manufacturers, 78
and Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 201204
facility for long-term preservation of motion pictures, 723
and Fugitive Color exhibition, 35
guidelines for color image fading, 9092
lacquering recommendations of, 148150, 151
and modern era of color photography, 2021
poor quality of motion picture films, 26, 34
and portrait and wedding photograph complaints, 267298
and projector-caused fading of transparencies, 226
See also Eastman Kodak
Kodak Azochrome color print process, 25
Kodak black-and-white RC papers, 592593
Kodak Cineon Digital Film System, 329330
Kodak ColorEdge Copier/Printer, 5, 15
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Kodak Color Print Material Type C, 25
Kodak Colorwatch System, 277
Kodak Disc cameras, 45
Kodak Dry Mounting Tissue, 369, 374375. See also Print mounting
Kodak Dye Transfer prints, 13, 44, 49, 63, 261, 264, 290, 441, 472
and reciprocity failures in light fading and light-induced staining, 74
and types of tests, 64
and UV protection, 145
Kodak color negative films (Kodak Gold, Vericolor, Kodacolor,
and Ektacolor), 3
dark fading of current Kodak color negative films, 189190
dark fading of discontinued Kodak color negative films, 191192
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 202203, 204,
661663, 693696
Kodak Ektachrome color transparency films, 3, 2526, 215, 627628
Elite color slide films, vii
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 203204,
661663, 693696
Lumiere professional color transparency films, vii
projector-caused fading of, 215216
replacing Kodachrome films, 20
Kodak Ektachrome Duplicating film, Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading
Kodak Ektachrome EF and MS films, 33, 204
Kodak Ektachrome EPV film (Press and Video film), Kodaks Arrhenius
dark fading predictions for, 203
Kodak Ektachrome Infrared film, Kodaks Arrhenius dark
fading predictions for, 203
Kodak Ektachrome Movie film, unpublished Kodak Arrhenius
dark fading predictions for, 204
Kodak Ektachrome papers
661663, 693696
Kodak Ektacolor papers
and cross-section of an Ektacolor RC print, 16
examples of prints that have faded during normal display, 16
and Fujicolor compared for dark fading, 1112
and Fujicolor compared for light fading, 810
and light fading patterns of portraits, 30, 36, 78, 79, 80
and light fading of fiber-base and RC-base papers compared, 30
661663, 693696
light fading stability for current RA-4 papers, 131
light fading stability for current EP-2 papers, 132
light fading stability for discontinued papers, 133134
and reciprocity failures in light fading and light-induced staining, 74
and UV protection, 111, 145148, 150155, 159
made in the 1960s and 1970s, 30, 36
Kodak Ektaprint EP-3 Stabilizer, 77, 119, 170, 173
Kodak Ektatherm Electronic color print papers, 44, 48, 63, 123
and UV protection, 109, 112, 145146
Kodak Elite Fine-Art black-and-white paper, 593, 604
Kodak Film Scanner, 47
Kodak Instant Color prints
Consumer Reports article about poor stability of, 31
north daylight stability of, 144
tungsten versus fluorescent, 142
Kodak Internegative films, Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 203
Kodak Kodachrome films, 3, 21, 23, 2526, 213, 626627
unpublished Kodak Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 204
and controlled-diffusion bleach, processing, 21
differences in permanence of many types marketed, 2324
and modern era of color photography, 20
replaced by Fujichrome and Ektachrome, 20
Kodak Kodacolor prints, 2324
dark fading and severe yellowish staining of, 16, 23
Kodak Kotavachrome prints, 20, 260, 261
Kodak LVT Digital Film Recorders, 5
Kodak Minicolor prints, 260
Kodak Photo CD system, vi, 42, 56, 123
Kodak Photomicrography Color film, dark fading stability and Kodaks
Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 203
Kodak Polycontrast Rapid RC paper. See Black-and-White RC papers
Kodak Polymax RC paper, 512513
Kodak Polyprint RC paper, 592593
Kodak Poly-Toner, 578, 587588
Kodak Print Lacquer, 150
Kodak Professional DCS 200 Digital Camera, 42, 47
Kodak Rapid Color Processor, 96
Kodak Rapid Mounting Cement, recommendations, 369. See also Print
mounting
Kodak Reflection Densitometer Check Plaque, 252, 254
Kodak Studio Light, 1, 18, 101
Kodak XL 7700-series Digital Printers, vi, 5, 44
Kohno, Junichi, 66, 67
Koike, Masato, 67
Kolody, David, 263, 638
Kolstad, Charles, 276
Komenich, Kim, 46, 48
Konica. See Konica Corporation
Konica Chrome color transparency films
Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 206
Konica Chrome paper for printing color transparencies
Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 177, 206
Konica Color color negative films, 3
dark fading stability of, 191, 192
Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 206
Konica Color Paper Type SR, 4
and Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 61, 8789, 177, 205206
and reciprocity failures in light fading and light-induced
staining, 73, 7576
and washless stabilizers and water wash, 173174
Konica Color color papers for printing color negatives, 4
Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 61, 8789, 177, 205206
and light fading, 71, 76, 117, 118
light fading with tungsten versus fluorescent, 142
Konicas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 177, 205206
and pH, 471
and washless stabilizers, 76, 77
and UV protection, 145, 147, 152, 159
Konica Corporation, 6667
Konica U.S.A., Inc. (address and telephone number) 293
and Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 205206
Kopperl, David F., 66, 67, 516
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Koshofer, Gert, 28
Kotavachrome prints, 20
Krause, Peter, 57, 6667, 533, 590591
Krider Studios, 297
KSH UV-absorbing polystyrene framing sheets, 147, 154155
KSH-UVF Picture Saver Panels, 147, 154155
Kubrick, Stanley, 310, 314
Kulicke, Robert, frames, 513514
Kula, Sam, 322
Kurihara, Linda, 627
Lab-Line Instruments, 682
Laboratory intermediate films, 301, 313
LaClaire, David B., 49, 290
LaClaire Laboratories, Inc. (address and telephone number), 293
LaClaire Laboratories, Inc., 290
Lacquering, 14647
Lacquer-Mat lacquers, 147, 148, 151153
Lacquer-Mat Systems, Inc., 148
Lacquers, with cabinets and shelves, 533534
Lacquers, print. See Print lacquers
Lamar, Noel, 323, 504
Laminates, plastic. See Plastic laminates
Laminating, and sizing, 467
Land, Edwin H., 1
Langmore, Bank, 291
Lannom, Charles, vii
Lannom, Sharp, IV, v, vii, 442
Lannom, Thomas, vii
Lannom, William, vii
Laporte, Ron, 465
Larson, George W., 32, 85, 178
Laughlin, Clarence John, 679
Laurence Miller Gallery, 106, 401, 404, 439, 655
Lavedrine, B., 86
Lawrence, John H., 528, 567, 683
Lawrence of Arabia, 314
Leafdesk Digital Darkroom, 47
Leaf Digital Studio Camera, 43
Leaf Systems, Inc, 47
Lee, David, 281
Lee, Russell, 21
Lee, William, 513, 521, 529
Lenzner, Robert, 299
Lesser, Brian, 570
Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 613
Leveque, Margaret A., 534
Levin, Hugh Lauter, 443
Levitt, Helen, 397, 409
Lewis, Charles, 277
Lewis, Greg, 46
Lewis, Paul, 613
Library of Congress, 26, 34, 67, 163, 486, 504, 530, 548, 649650,
705, 706, 717
Film Conservation Center, 683, 684
and motion picture preservation, 339340
Lieberman, Ken, Laboratories, Inc. (address and telephone number), 293
LIFE magazine, 26, 401, 406, 655, 626, 718
Life expectancy (LE) ratings, 9293, 460, 543544
Life of a Photograph, The, 517
LIFE: The First Decade, exhibition, 401
LIFE Gallery of Photography, v, 406, 531, 606
Lifetime warranties, 290291
Lig-free Type II boxboard, 520, 527528
Light
and destruction of the silver images of RC prints, 581582
and display. See Display
fluorescent, 104, 111112, 150
intensity and spectral distribution compared, 106, 108
and projector-caused fading, 211212
and projector lamp intensity, 227228
slides directly exposed to, 651
and ultraviolet (UV) protection, 145
and visible light, 607
visible and UV, 145
Light exposure tests, and display, 583585
Light fading
and accelerated testing, 67
and dark fading compared, 101103, 163165
and display, 6163
and disproportionate losses at low densities, 7778
of Ektacolor RC portraits, 16, 7880
framing effects in, 7677
and monitoring in color prints, 243
of mount boards. See Mount boards
of neutral gray image areas versus pure cyan, magenta, and yellow
image areas, 7980
Photogard, lack of resistance to, 157159
and post-processing treatment, 64
and projection. See Projector-caused fading
and reciprocity failures in light fading, 6771, 7375
and skin color, 80, 115117
stability tables (interpreting), 105106
and starting density of tests, 7879, 80
tests, 150151, 153154, 157159
Light Gallery, v, 397, 425, 491, 495, 513, 515516, 528530
Light Impressions Corporation, and products, 410, 412, 414415, 417, 432,
440, 442, 479481
Light-induced cracking, and RC papers, 101144
Light-induced staining, of color prints, 7375
Lighting of photographs. See Display
Light intensity
and spectral distribution compared, 106, 108
types of tests, 8081
Lignin, in paper products, 467
Liles, Robert, 51
Liles, Robert, Photography and Printmaking lab (address
and telephone number), 293
Limelight Gallery, 403
Link, O. Winston, 386
Linn Photo, 45, 496
Linotronic imagesetter, 47
Lipsky, Larry, 634
Living Color Labs, 157
Lloyd, Harold, 54
LOOK magazine, 163, 339, 486
Lowery, Isabel, 227
Lucas, George, 310, 359
Lumiere Autochrome, 20, 242, 260
Lumiere brothers, 20
Lyndon Baines Johnson Space Center, 504, 714715
Macbeth ColorChecker, 95, 115, 116, 117, 247, 248, 253, 256, 260
MacDonald, Bruce K., 17
MacGill, Peter, 393, 402, 408, 442
MACtac CoolMount, 152153
MACtac PermaColor, 147, 152154
light fading data from, 153154
plastic laminating films by, 147
MACtac PermaGard, 153
Madeley, Douglas, 456
Magenta
fading characteristics, 63
and image composition layers, 15
and Kodachrome projector-fading stability, 220
and light fading of Ektacolor portraits, 78, 79, 80
reciprocity failure in light fading and light-induced staining, 7375
Magnacolor, 352
Magnetic image storage, 56
Magnum Photos, Inc., 500, 625, 641, 642
Mailliet, Anne-Marie, 546
Maloney, Joe, 402, 530
Mamoulian, Rouben, 357
Mancuso, Frank, 331
Mannes, Leopold D., 20
Manning Paper Company, interleaving papers, 439440
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Marcos, Ferdinand and Imelda, 48
Markers. See Print mounting
Markle, Wilson, 19
Masking couplers, 21
Mason, Ken, 34, 308
Materials for the Arts, distribution of materials, 418
Matting. See Conservation matting
Mayer, Robert E., 387
McCabe, Constance, 373
McCamy,C.S., 546
McCarthy, Kate, 413
McClintock, Jack, 153
McComb, Robert E., 67
McCord, James, 504
McCormick-Goodhart, Mark, 67, 544, 698
McCracken, Robert, 35, 300, 331, 332, 721
McDonald International, Inc., 150
McDonald Photo Products, Inc., 148, 151, 153
McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote Florentine, 146
McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote print lacquer, 150
McDonald Pro-Texture Lacquer, 146
McDonald UV-absorbing print lacquers of, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152
McDonald UV-filtering print lacquers of, 149, 150
McElhone, John, 264
McGonegal, Mary Jane, 627
McLaughlin, Peter, 464
McMillian, Paul, Van Deusen Photography, 281
Mead Cycolor prints
dark fading stability and yellowish staining of, 187188
light fading stability of, 137138, 138
Medium-Term Storage Conditions, and ANSI ratings, 92
Mehta, Ashwani K., 158
Meisel Photographic Corporation, 284, 291
Metal print-storage boxes, 530
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 408, 443
Metrum FotoPrint Digital Printer, 5, 44
Metzker, Ray, 404
Meyer, Armin, 29
Meyerowitz, Joel, 17, 240, 261, 655, 664
MGM/UA. See Turner EntertainmentCo.
Michals, Duane, 406
Microfiche
longest-lasting films, 6
Photogard-coated, 160
Microfilm
cellulose acetate-base deterioration, 319
dark fading stability of, 176, 177
longest-lasting films, 6
Photogard-coated, 155, 160
and projection stability, 218219
Micrographic film
stability of, 218, 219
Mid-America Art Slide Libraries, 628
Miller Cardboard Company, and boards, 412415, 442, 474476
Miller, Laurence G., 401, 404, 439, 442
Miller, Mark, 465
Milwaukee Center for Photography, 398
Minilabs, 45, 46, 63
Minotto, Claude, 419
Misrach, Richard, 569
Mitsubishi Color papers (emulsion components manufactured by Konica)
and washless stabilizers and water wash, 173
Modern Photography, 165, 397, 499, 500
Modulation transfer function (MTF), 7
Mohawk Paper Company, and products, 414
Moisture, and freezing, 700701
Monadnock Paper Mills, papers and boards, 414415
Monitoring photographs, in museum and archive collections, 239266, 577
and early processes, 364
table of density changes, 262
Monroe, Marilyn, 26, 54
Monroe, Robert B., 39
Montanari, Marie-Claire, 397
Moonrise, photograph by Ansel Adams, 371
Moor, Ian and Angela, 478
Morgan, Barbara, 404, 502
Morilla Company, and boards, 410, 414
Morris, Patrick, 570
Moser, Paul, 270, 271
Motion picture color negative and print films, poor quality of, 26
Motion picture films, 3, 39, 4041, 301302
Agfas Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Agfa motion
picture films, 316
and Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 85, 88
and black-and-white separations, 301302, 311, 319, 322329
causes of fading, 312313
and cellulose nitrate motion picture films, 361
and cold storage, costs of, 328330
and cold storage rental, 328, 719, 723
and cold storage vaults, 301, 317, 545, 548, 564, 680682, 714724
large-scale cold storage for permanent preservation of, 687726
and colorization, 19, 350
and digital technology, 329330
early motion picture processes, 352
and Eastman Color history, 310312
Eastman color negative/laboratory intermediate/ and color
print films, dates of introduction, 313
and freezer storage, 675686
Fujis Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Fujicolor
motion picture films, 316318
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Eastman color
motion picture films, 315
Kodaks Arrhenius dark fading predictions for Eastman color
motion picture films kept in cold storage, 318
and motion picture preservation at the Library
of Congress, 339340, 705707
and modern technology for preservation, 329330
and motion picture preservation at the National Archives and
Records Administration, 323327, 719720
and motion picture preservation at the National Archives
of Canada, 337338, 548, 703705, 715
and color film preservation at NASA, 33, 323327, 714716
and the Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive, 331332, 721
and Outline for a Preservation Strategy, 343344
and the Turner Entertainment Co. backup film library
in Kansas, 335336
and the Warner Bros. film library, 333334, 722
Photogard-coated, 155, 160
recommendations for the permanent preservation of color motion
picture films, 301302, 319, 697698
and relative humidity, 301302, 317321, 322, 327, 545, 564
and separation negatives and Technicolor, 347
and sound, 352354
and Spartacus camera color negative fading, 314
and storage temperature, 301302, 314317, 319321, 322, 327, 545,
564
and Technicolor dye-imbibition motion picture color print
process, 27, 345366
unpublished Kodak Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 204
Yukon discovery of nitrate film, 322
Mount boards, 451484, 409422
board color, 410411, 451, 453, 469, 473477
board grain, 418
cotton fiber, wood pulp, and rag content, 412413, 468469
descriptive terms, 412413
labeling board, 420
letter to paper companies, regarding, 484
manufacture of Strathmore Museum Board, 460466
museum board manufacturing industry, 414416, 477481
pH, 451, 456, 460, 469473
PPFA Survey on Mat/Mount Boards, 474, 480
proprietary labeling, 414416, 481
recommendations, 453, 480481
standard sizes, 417419
suppliers, 448450
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testing of, 455460, 466467
texture, 409410
thickness, 409, 417, 422, 430, 448
See also Conservation matting and Conservation matting construction
Mounting prints. See Conservation matting and Conservation matting
construction and Print mounting
Mormon Church, genealogical records collection, 548
Movies. See Motion picture films
Mowbray, Alan, 27
Muir, Ward, 408
MultiMount, 376
Mulvin, Edward J., 271
Munich Archives, 565
Museum board manufacturing industry, 414
Museum collections, conservation recommendations summary, 480
Museum Environment, The, 553
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), 17, 31, 368, 395396, 402, 410, 442, 473,
534
Museum of Fine Arts (New Mexico), New Mexico Survey Project, 672
Museum of Modern Art (New York), 3738, 50, 103, 157, 394, 403, 406,
407, 408, 452, 454, 502, 512516, 529, 532, 543, 548, 576, 655659
Museums
limits of color print fading and staining for, 255260
monitoring collections, 239266
responding to color problems, 3738
Mustardo, Peter, 242
Myers, Dee, 283
Mystic Seaport Museum, 548
Naef, Weston J., 723
Nakamura, Kotaro, 168
Nakamura, Shinichi, 66
Namuth, Hans, 105, 405
Nash, Graham, 52, 53
Nash Editions, 52, 53, 54, 123
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 33, 85, 244, 323
327, 504, 516, 526, 548, 689, 691, 714715, 716
National Anthropological Film Center, 717
National Archives and Records Administration, 66, 67, 110, 244246, 548,
564, 719, 720
National Archives of Canada, 22, 33, 34, 66, 67, 301, 311, 322, 337338,
466, 510, 548, 601, 703705, 715, 720
National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 40
National Endowment for the Arts, 299
National Film Board of Canada, 311, 337
National Gallery of Canada, 38, 264, 394, 548, 720
National Geographic, 163
National Geographic Society, 26, 66, 67, 212, 625, 644, 647, 651
National Museum of African Art, 548, 720
National Museum of Art (Osaka), 261, 262
National Television Systems Committee (NTSC), 40
National Underground Storage, 548, 720721
Negative sleeves, 155
Nesbitt, Evan, 684
Newbanks, Rob, 268, 282, 283
Newberry Library, 568, 569, 570, 571
Newhall, Beaumont, 402, 405, 406, 407, 408, 442443
Newman, Alan B., 442, 566, 679680
Newman, Arnold, 32, 373, 395, 404, 405
New Orleans Collection, Historic. See Historic New Orleans Collection
New Orleans Museum of Art, 473
Newspaper publishing, 4648, 593
New York Times, 345, 356, 358360, 397, 408, 509, 531, 593, 613
Nieboer, Jim, 290
Nielson & Bainbridge, and boards, 409, 410, 412415, 467, 474476, 480
Niepce, Claude, 17
Niepce, Joseph Nicephore, 17
Nikon film scanner, 47
Nishimura, Douglas W., 37, 455459, 546, 506, 678
Nitrate film, aging of, 677678
Nitrate still-camera negatives, and freezer storage, 675686
Nitrogen-flushed frames, 514516
Nixon, Nicholas, 513
Nixon, Richard M., vi. See also Presidential Libraries
Noctovision, 40
Nord Photo Engineering, 156
Norris, Debbie Hess, 506
North daylight
and stability of color prints, 143144
Northeast Document Conservation Center, 397
OBrian, Richard S., 39
OConnell, Bill, 305306
OConnor, Dennis, 414
OConnor, Thom, 220, 628
OFarrell, William, 337
Offset printing, color. See Color offset printing
Oldenburg, Richard, 407
ONeil, Doris C., 401
Onyx Graphics digital printing systems, 55
Open-frame mounts, 221, 645
Optical bleaches, 604
Orminda Corporation, 409
Ormsby, Mark, 67, 245246
Ortiz, Fran, 47
Ostroff, Eugene, 66, 67, 467, 503
Outdoor displays of photographs, 154
Outdoor Photographer, 628, 634
Outdoor sunlight tests, 82
Outline for a Preservation Strategy, 343344
Ovens, and temperature control, 8384
Owens, Darrell, 282, 507
Pace/MacGill Gallery, 393, 402, 408
Pacino, Al, 35, 332
Packaging films, for freezer storage, 685
Packard, Clarence, 85, 178
Pako Leader Belt Processor, 268, 282
PAL, 40
Papageorge, Tod, 396
Paper products, used with photographs, 451484
for interleaving. See Interleaving paper
for longest-lasting color negatives, 4
for longest-lasting color transparencies, 4
and pH, 469472
recommendations summary, 480481
ANSI requirements for, 460, 466467
See also Mount boards
Paper Technologies, Inc., 416, 417, 433, 440, 442
Paramount Pictures Film and Tape Archive, 35, 42, 300, 303, 331332, 548,
721
Parker, David, 339, 340, 706
Parks, Gordon, exhibition, 408
Parsons Paper Company, boards, 410, 414415, 442, 475476, 479481
Particle board cabinets and shelves, 534535
PCA International, Inc., 29, 275276
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, 85, 548, 638, 639, 707,
712714, 717
Pedzich, Joan, 439
Peterson, Roger Tory, 660
Pencils. See Print mounting
Penn, Irving, 410
Pens. See Print mounting
Perils and Pleasures of Collecting Color, The, 37
Perkinson, Roy L., 395, 396, 410, 437
PermaColor Corporation, 514515. See also MACtac
Permanence of Color Technologys Challenge, the Photographers
and Collectors Dilemma, The, 34
Pfahl, John, 261
pH, of paper, 469472
and Dye Transfer prints, 441
and Ektaprint 3 Stabilizer, 173
and interleaving paper, 440
of mount boards. See Mount boards
Phocus, 34
Photech hot-seal plastic sleeving machine, 507
Photo CD, vi, 42
cataloging and distribution with, 640643
long-term usability problems, 56, 56
printing from, vi, 56
Photocera ceramic color print process (Fuji-Inax), 44, 123, 135, 185
Photo District News, 1, 101, 220, 628, 637
Photofinishing, 45
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Photofinishing News, 112
Photogard, 3M. See 3M Photogard
Photograph, definition of, 44
Photographers
and historical replacement of black-and-white photography by color
photography, 1719
and Museum of Modern Art statement, 38
See also Portrait photographers
Photographic Arts, Inc., Dye Transfer and UltraStable lab (address
and telephone number), 293
Photographic Activity Test. See ANSI
Photographic Materials Group (PMG). See American Institution for
Conservation
Photographic Processing magazine, 170, 277
Photokina trade show, 29, 41, 42, 44, 55
Photometrics, Ltd., 53
Photomicrography color film, dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 203
Photorealistic digital color prints (color hardcopy), vi, 5, 44, 5254
Photorealistic ink jet printers, 5, 44
Pierce, Bill, 220
Pigment color prints, 4951, 121, 135136
Pioneer Pictures, 355356
Plastic
cleaning and framing, 52223
and framing effect, 7677
and slide pages, 648
Plastic enclosure materials, 489490
Plastic filters, UV-absorbing. See UV-absorbing plastic filters
Plastic laminates, 154
effects on color prints, 145146, 147, 152153, 154
pressure-sensitive, 152153, 154
Plexiglas, and display, 607608
Plexiglas UF-3 UV filter, and UV protection, 145, 153, 411, 469, 522523,
607608
Plywood cabinets and shelves, 534535
Polaroid. See Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation, 1, 66, 67
and dark storage stability tables, 207208
longest-lasting prints, 6
Polaroid ER Instant prints, dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 207
Polaroid HighDefinition Chrome film
Polaroid HighDefinition Color print film, dark fading stability and Arrhenius
tests, 189, 191, 208
Polaroid color prints, 6
Arrhenius dark storage tests, 207208
internal image-receiving layer cracking of Polaroid
SX-70 prints, 31, 124125
humidity, spectral effects, and reciprocity failures
in accelerated light fading, 69, 75
storage under normal conditions, 174
light fading with tungsten versus fluorescent illumination, 142
Polaroid Instant 35mm Color Slide film, dark fading stability
and Arrhenius tests, 208
Polaroid OneFilm color negative film, dark fading stability
and Arrhenius tests, 189, 192, 208
Polaroid Permanent-Color prints, 5, 14, 51, 135136, 279, 289290
Arrhenius dark fading tests, 207
invention of, 51, 96
Polaroid PolaChrome Instant Color Slide films, 630
projector-fading stability, 216
problems with PolaChrome slides, 235236
Polaroid Museum Replica prints, 31
Pollack, Sydney, 310
Pollution, air. See Air pollution
Polyamide, for dry mounting tissue, 374
Polyester overlay sheet, and densitometer head, 247248
Polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene pages. See Enclosure materials
Polyethylene plastic (RC) layer, introduced, 16
Polyfiber Paper, 375
Polystyrene foam laminate boards, 520521
Polystyrene framing sheets, 147, 154155
Polyvinyl acetate (PVA), for dry mounting tissue, 374
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) enclosures, hazards of, 152, 499501, 648
Pope, C.I., 522
Popular Photography, 24, 83, 376, 582, 586, 592, 594, 596
Porter, Eliot, 261, 264, 660
Porter, Mary Kay, 410, 471, 506
Portfolios
portfolio cases, 511, 529530
portfolio matting, 438439
See also Conservation matting
Portrait and wedding photographers, 78, 79, 80, 267298
and historical replacement of black-and-white
photography by color photography, 1719
and mass-market operations, 274277, 286288
and prints returned from irate customers, 30, 36
recommendations to, 279280
See also Photographers and Wedding photographers
Portraits, Photogard-coated, 160
Postal, Matthew, 106, 401, 439
Postprocessing treatments, 64
Pottenger, David, 413
Pouradier, Jacques, 546
Pre-conditioning of films and prints, 702703, 705707
Predicted years of display, and papers, 131144
Predicting Long-Term Dark Storage Dye Stability Characteristics of Color
Photographic Products from Short-Term Tests, 178
Predictive tests
and dark storage stability, 65, 84, 167168
defined, 64, 8487
and display, 8283
Presentation of photographs. See Conservation matting
Preservation of Motion Picture Color Films Having Permanent Value, 33,
85
Preservation of Photographs, 148
Preservation of Safety Film, 546
Preservation Publishing Company, v, 62, 66, 67, 68, 96
Presidential libraries
George Bush, future library, 723
Jimmy Carter Library, 301, 394, 689, 715
Bill Clinton, future library, 723
Gerald R. Ford Library, 526, 717718
Herbert Hoover Library, 723
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library, 36, 715
John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library, ii, 33, 85, 249, 301, 548, 687692,
394, 714
Richard M. Nixon Presidential Materials Project, 718, 723
Ronald Reagan Library, 721722, 723
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, 723
Pressure-sensitive plastic laminates, 152153
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, deteriorated black-and-white RC print of,
601
Print borders, 424
Print enhancement, 147
Print coatings, anti-static, 156
Printers, 56, 15, 44, 45, 5254, 55, 63
dark fading and yellowish staining of prints, 188
light fading stability of prints, 137
photorealistic ink jet, 5
Print lacquers (and lacquering), 104105, 146147
effects on color prints, 14517
and fumes, 151152
and image fading and discoloration, 104105
Kodak recommendations, 14850
laminates recommended over, 147, 154
UV-filtering print lacquers, 150152
Printmaking, and definition of what constitutes a photograph, 44
Print mounting
adhesive requirements, 369, 373, 381383
borders, 369, 378, 424
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cleaning and scratches, 387388
cold mount pressure-sensitive products, 377
copiers, 383
corner mounting, 369, 372, 432436
counter-mounting, 381
dry mounting, 36781, 403404, 408409
dry mounting, potential drawbacks, 368374
dry mounting tissues, 373377
equipment and techniques, 377379
marking board, 420, 425426
marking prints, 369, 383386
and presentation, 403404
rubber stamps, 369, 386387
Seal Products Incorporated, 376377
step-by-step procedures, 379381
suppliers, 448450
temperature ideal, 378379
testing of, 373
tissues, 373377
See also Conservation Matting, Construction
Print retouching. See Retouching
Prints
Agfa-Gevaert dark fading stability data tables, 195196
albumen, 608609
black-and-white. See Black-and-white prints
cleaning and scratches. See Print mounting
counter-mounting. See Print mounting
dark fading and yellowish stain formation, 163209
display of. See Display
dyes for spotting prints, 369, 389391
encapsulation of, 504
envelopes for, 485508
fading monitors for color prints, 250251
fading with tungsten versus fluorescent, 142
and fluorescent brighteners, 469
fluorescent brighteners in, 603605
and framing effect under glass or plastic, 30, 7677
framing and storage of, 509
frost-free refrigerators for storing, 655686
Fuji dark fading stability data tables, 197198
Ilford dark fading stability data tables, 199200
image-life limits for fading and staining, 90
Kodak dark fading stability data tables, 201204
Konica dark fading stability data tables, 205206
large-scale storage for permanent preservation of, 687726
and lifetime warranties, 290291
and light fading stability with incandescent tungsten lamps, 139141
light-induced staining of, 7375
limits for deterioration of color print images, 255260
matting. See Conservation matting
and monitoring in museums and archives, 239266
mounting. See Print mounting
objectionable fading and staining, 8990
Polaroid dark fading stability data tables, 207208
pre-conditioning for storage, 7023, 705707
and predicted years of display, 131144
RC print and fiber-base compared, 585587
and reciprocity failure in light fading. See Reciprocity Factor (RF)
recommendations, 36
and recommended limits for deterioration, 255260
recommended deterioration limits, table of, 258
and scratches, 486487
and secrecy of permanence, 2425
sleeves for, 485508
stability of current papers, 112113
3M dark fading stability data tables, 209
translucent material, 154
and UV protection myth, 145162
See also specific brand names of prints
Print spotting. See Retouching
Print texturing, 147
Private labeling, of papers and boards, 414416, 481
Problems of the Ektacolor Print System, The, 35
Procedures for Processing and Storing Black-and-White Photographs for
Maximum Permanence, v
Processing methods
choice of and shortcomings, 63
and postprocessing treatments, 64
Processing of test samples
and dark fading, 171172
Process Materials Corporation, and boards, 409410, 414415, 475480
Professional Photographer, 61, 145, 172
Professional Photographers of America, petition and recommendations, 295,
296
Professional Photographers of Wisconsin, 148
Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA), 474, 480
Professional portrait and wedding photographers, 267298
Project VIREO. See VIREO
Projection
of slides, 632634
Projector-caused fading of transparencies
evaluation methods of fading, 214, 219
Fujichrome films best of all, 219220
glass mounts versus open-frame mounts, 221
and Kodachrome, 220, 222, 226228
and lamp intensity, 227228
and measurement of density changes, 230
reciprocity failure in light fading in, 23033
stability of projected color slide films, 215218
stability of projected negative-positive slide print films and Ilford
Ilfochrome color microfilm, 218219
and test procedures and methods, 229235
useful life of projected slides, 212214
See also Transparencies
Projectors, 227
Psychrometers, 551
Psychrometric charts, 549550, 670
Puglia, Steven, 67
Purcell, Carl, 637
Qualex Inc., 45, 96, 4284, 96
Quark XPress software, 46
Quartz halogen, and display lighting, 605606
Queen Elizabeth II, deteriorated black-and-white RC print of, 601
Radio Company of America (RCA), 40
Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), 41
Rag content of paper, defined, 412414, 468
Ram, A. Tulsi, 66, 67, 88, 321322
Rau, William, exhibition, 394
RC papers and prints
RC-base-associated fading and staining, 30, 72, 7577, 580590
base cracking and dye fading compared, 129
brownish base-staining in developer-incorporated RC papers, 585
and displayed prints, 579580, 582
and drying, 590592
and edge effect, 582583
and fiber-base prints, 30, 585587
framing of, 30, 509513
light fading and yellowish stain formation, 71, 72, 7576
light-induced cracking, 101144
and stamp-pad inks, 387
and UV protection, 145, 148, 150151
Reagan, Ronald, Library. See Presidential Libraries
Reciprocity failure factor (RF)
in light fading and light-induced stain formation, 6771, 7375
in projector-caused fading of transparencies, 230233
in RC-base-associated fading and staining, 30, 72, 7577, 580590
Records Center of Kansas City, 335336, 359, 718, 719
Redford, Robert, 310
Reed, Vilia, 148, 390, 678
Reese, David Lee, 705
Reference Information from KodakImage Stability Data: Kodak Ektachrome
Films, 233
Refrigeration
cautions when using frost-free refrigerators, table of, 669
equipment, 709711
frost-free refrigerators suitable for the storage of photographs, 655686
list of suitable Sears frost-free refrigerators, 673674
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and fading of Kodak color materials, table of, 661663
psychrometric chart, 670
recommended refrigerators, 658, 666667
and warm-up times, table of, 667
Regent, Jacques, 596
Reilly, James M., 36, 37, 66, 67, 88, 320, 321, 374, 455459, 466, 472, 477
506, 509, 531, 546, 547, 568, 597598, 608609, 678
Reinhold, Nancy, 374, 376
Relative humidity (RH), 151, 153, 159, 539, 540, 542543, 545560
ANSI recommendations for film storage, 545
and cold storage, 696, 699700
and dark fading of Polaroid instant color prints, 174
dark storage tests, 8889
dehumidification equipment, 709711, 712
and deterioration, 546547
and influence on rates of dye fading, 178
and electronic humidity indicators, 553
and facilities for long-term preservation, 715724
and fading rates of typical Kodak chromogenic yellow dyes, 178
and humidity indicator papers, 553
Mark McCormick-Goodharts concerns about low humidity, 544, 698
measurement and control of, 548560
and print curling, 523524
and motion picture fading, 301302, 317319
and Polacolor ER, 69
and refrigeration, 661663, 668669, 672
and slides, 627
Restoration and Preservation of Photographic Images, 36
Retouching, 146, 147, 155, 159, 283
Photographic Retouching, Kodak, 148, 391
Fuji Professional Retouching Guide, The, 390
imaging fading and discoloration caused by, 104105
light fading of Spotone B-&-W retouching dyes, 389
Photogard and, 155, 159
spotting black-and-white and color prints, 389391
Richards, Thomas, 462, 466
Rickard, Marty, 145
Rising Paper Company, mount boards, 409415, 420, 442, 473481
Rivera, Ani, 397, 403, 440
Robert Miller Gallery, 51
Robinson, H. P., 406
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), 3637, 5859, 8688, 321, 509,
546, 568, 678
Rodan, Don, 395, 423
Rodents, and damage to photographs, 561562
Roessler, Arno, 416, 477, 479
Rohm and Haas Company, 84
Rohm and Haas Plexiglas, 105
Roman, Susan, 1, 101
Romer, Grant B., 239, 242, 260, 373, 575
Roosevelt, Franklin D., faded portrait of, 36. See also Presidential Libraries
Rothschild, Norman, 26
Rothstein, Arthur, 163
Rotunno, Giuseppe, 41
Roudaush, Robert L., 562
Rowell, Galen, 628, 637
Rowell, Kurt, 603
Royal Journey, 41, 311, 362363
Royal Photographic Society, 31
Rubber stamp. See Print mounting
Rubenstein, Meridel, 569
Rubinfien, Leo, 655
Rupaco Paper Company, and mount boards, 414
Sackler Museum, 534
Safety
and application of print lacquers, 151
and fire danger, 569570, 677
Saf-T-Stor rigid polypropylene slide pages, 649650
Sakai, Nobuo, 168
Sakuracolor paper. See Konica Sakuracolor paper
Sandack Inc., art slide producer, 631
San Diego Historical Society, 718719
San Francisco Examiner, 4648
Santiago, Mario, 417
Saudek, Jan, deteriorated black-and-white RC print by, 600
Sawyer, William A., 270
Scanned images, printing of, vi, 4648, 5254
Schad, Tennyson, 425
Schaefer, Kurt R., 413, 477
Schallhorn, Charles H., 67
Scheer, Stephen, 655
Scheneck, Kimberly, 373
Schieman, Arnold, 311
Schill, Allen, 397
Schilling, Joseph, 681
Schlesinger, Jeffrey, 642
Schlowsky, Bob and Lois, 43
School Pictures, Inc., 160
Schoonmaker, Thelma, 308
Schrager, Victor A., 397, 419, 655
Schwalberg, Bob, vii, 83, 95, 592
Schwarzenegger, Arnold, 303
Scitex Corporation, Inc., 43, 52, 67
Scorsese, Martin, v, 26, 3435, 300, 306310, 343344
Scratches, 486487. See also Film
Scully, Ed, 165, 499
Seal Colormount, recommended, 369, 376. See also Print mounting
Sealeze Print Shield-UV, 153
Seal Print Guard, 153
Seal Products Inc., 153, 376377
Sears Roebuck
refrigerators, 655, 658660, 672674
See also Portrait photographers, and mass-market
SECAM, 40
Secrecy regarding color stability, 2425
Selenium toner used with B&W prints, 451, 480, 518, 578, 587588, 596
Seloff, Gary, 504
Seoka, Yoshio, 71, 168
Separation negatives, and preservation of Technicolor dye-imbibition motion
picture color prints, 347
Separation negatives and positives (YCMs) for the preservation of
color motion picture images, 322323
problems with separations for long-term preservation, 301302, 322330
Severson, Douglas G., 38, 239, 240, 248, 251252, 261, 264, 509, 531,
540, 547, 711
Sherman, Cindy, 657
Shickman Gallery, 444445
Shipp, Robert D., 499
Shore, Stephen, 443, 5513, 69, 657
Siegel, Robin, 651
Siegrist, Hans, 21
Signature, on photographs, 404406
Silica gel, 557558
Sillages (Marc Bruhat, owner), UltraStable color lab
in Paris, France (address and telephone number), 293
Silver image B&W photography versus organic dye image
color photography, 22
Silver dye-bleach color print processes, 4, 120
and Agfa process abandoned, 28
Ciba-Geigy (Cibacolor), 29
and dark fading of, 177, 185186
and Kodak Azochrome, 25
and light fading of, 135136
and reciprocity failures in light fading, 74
Silver halide-based photography, 22
Sinclair, Barry, 592
Singer, Sidney, 403, 440
Skin color, and light fading, 80, 115, 116, 117
Sleeves, for storing films and prints, 45, 485508
diagram of, 492
sizes of, 491
and American Museum of Natural History, 494
Sleeving machine, 507
Slezak, Terry, 326, 716
Slide mounts, 629, 645647
Slide pages, 62930, 648650
Slide projectors, 227
Slides, 625654
Agfachrome, 2022, 215218, 627628
cataloging and distribution, 640643
and CD-ROMs and Photo CDs, 640643
Carnegie Corporation, Arts of the United States
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collection types, 643644
and color negatives, 625, 630631
digital transmission of images, 637640
duplication of, 634637
Ektachrome films, 2526, 215218, 627628
fading. See Projector-caused fading of transparencies
film choice, 625
Fujichrome films, 3, 215218, 626630
Fujichrome Velvia Professional film, 3, 628360
and glass mounts, 644647
handling and preservation of color slide collections, 625654
and ImageGuard rigid plastic slide holders, 647648
and index slide system, 638, 639, 640
and internegatives, 630631
and Kimac Sleeves, 647
Kodachrome films, 2021, 215218, 626627
and light exposure, 651
motion picture color negative films used for slides, 632
and plastic sleeves, 648649
PolaChrome Instant Slide films, 215218, 235
projection of, 632634. See also Projector-caused fading of
transparencies
recommendations for longest-lasting color transparency films, 23, 213
recommendations for handling and preservation of collections, 629630
slide libraries, 643644
and slide mounts. See Slide mounts
slide pages. See Slide pages
slide storage boxes, 650651
slide storage cabinets, 651
3M dark fading stability and Arrhenius tests, 209
3M Photogard, 647
3M ScotchChrome films, 215218, 627628
See also Transparencies
Smith, Marthe M., 406, 531
Smith, Merrett T., 1, 101
Smith, Merrily, 382
Smith, W. Eugene, 403, 595
Smith, Zavell, 16, 270, 273
Smithsonian Institution, 50, 56, 66, 67, 503, 633, 710, 717, 718, 720
SMPTE Journal, 39
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 354, 35859, 680
Social Graces, 403
Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), 3334, 36, 37
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), 349
Society of Photographic Scientists and Engineers (SPSE), 3334
Sodium dichromate solution, and humidity, 553
Sokolov, Raymond, 406
Solander boxes, 528530
Sony Betamax, 4041
Sony Camcorder, 48
Sony Mavica still video camera, 42
Sony Mavigraph Still Video Color prints
Sony Pictures Entertainment, 303
Sound, and motion pictures, 352354
SourcebookKodak Ektagraphic Slide Projectors, The, 227
Spartacus, 314
Speckman, J.A., 546
Spectral distribution, and intensity compared, 106, 108
Spehr, Paul, 306
Spielberg, Steven, 300, 303, 310
Spills, and print coatings, 156, 160
Spinc & Gaborc, Inc., boxes for storing photographs, 528529
Spline-fit curve smoothing method, 100
Sports Illustrated, 626, 718
Spotting. See Retouching
Stability and Preservation of Photographic Materials, session at the 1978
SPSE annual conference in Washington, D.C., 3334
Stability tests, types of, 64
Stabilizers, 76, 77, 173
Stain correction (d-min stain correction in densitometry), 9394
Staining (yellowish stain formation)
densitometers for measuring, 94
monitoring in museums and archives, 239266
recommended limits for, 255260
Stanclift, Sharla M., 267
Stanford University, 509
Static, and print coatings, 156
Steenwyk, Bob, 290
Steichen, Edward, 394, 403, 423
Steiger, Fred H., 84, 85
Stephens, Frank, 719
Stevens, Nancy, 37
Stieglitz, Alfred, 240, 402, 405, 407, 409, 452, 454
Stiff, Robert, 477478, 480
Still video prints, dark fading and yellowish staining of, 188
Stokes Imaging Services, 719
Storage, 539574
National Institute of Standards and Technology recommendations for
paper-based archival materials, 563564
ANSI recommendations for temperature and relative humidity, 545
boxes, 511, 524530, 570, 650651
digital sources for, 56
facilities for long-term preservation, 330, 715724
and fail-safe automatic shutdown system, 711712
freezer storage for permanent preservation, 675686
refrigerators for color and black-and-white films and prints, 655686
general considerations, 524
and motion pictures, 314317, 321322
in other countries, 724
packaging films for, 685
slide storage boxes and cabinets, 650651
See also Cold storage
Storage and Care of Kodak Color Films, 226
Stork Ink Jet Color prints
Stork Ink Jet Printer, 15
Stoughton, Cecil, 249
Strand, Paul, 397, 402, 423
Strathmore Paper Company, boards and papers, 413415, 460466, 473477
Stretch, Bonnie Barrett, 393
Stricherz, Guy, 603
Sundt, Christine L., 646
Sunlight, as a source of illumination, 108
Sureguard Inc., 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153
Sureguard-McDonald Pro-Tecta-Cote 900-series non-cellulose-nitrate
print lacquers, 147, 148, 151
Swedish Film Institute Film Conditioning Apparatus (FICA), 706707
Sygma Photo News, Inc., 625
SyQuest, 43
Szarkowski, John, 38, 407, 452, 658
Take a Moment Out of Time and Make It Last Forever, Kodak
advertisement, 17
TALAS (Division of Technical Library Services, Inc.), 416417, 442, 491
Talbot, Fox, 261, 284
Talbot, George, 32
Tanning developer, 122
Tapes, 369, 373, 381383, 430431, 437, 504, 519
Taping. See Conservation Matting, Construction
Tarr, Thomas, 361, 363, 365
Tatiner, Peter, 637
Technicolor dye-imbibition motion picture prints and separation negatives,
recommendations, 347. See also Motion picture films
Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, 26, 345, 349, 365
Technicolor, 319, 345366
beginnings of, 349
and Hollywood, 350351
modern imbibition printing plant constructed in China, 348349
Technicolor three-strip camera, 352, 355
Tekippe, Pete, 271
Tektronix Phaser, 5
Television, 19, 3944, 332333, 338
Temperature, 539, 54243, 545, 555
ANSI recommendations, 545
and cold storage, 696, 699700
control methods in storage areas, 555
and dye fading rates, 178
fading of various Kodak materials, 693695, 696
freezing and ice crystals, 700701
and motion picture storage, 314317
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Tungsten, and display lighting, 605
Tungsten illumination, 8182, 126, 139141, 142
and fluorescent compared, 142
Tungsten lamps, 108
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., 350, 359
Turner Entertainment Company, 335336, 358, 360361, 718
Turner Entertainment Co. Film Library, 335, 350, 358, 718
and colorization of movies, 19
Turner Construction Company, 334
Turner, Richard, 299
Turner, Ted, 300, 350
Twentieth (20th) Century Plastics, Inc. See Slide pages and Slides
Tyler, Sam, 684
Tyvek, for making storage envelopes, 501502, 530
Ultra Screen UV-absorbing lacquer, 150
UCLA Film, Television, and Radio Archives, 350, 356357, 365
UltraStable Color Systems, Inc. (address and telephone number), 293
UltraStable Permanent Color prints, 5, 14, 15, 4951, 135136, 279, 289
290
with incandescent tungsten lamps, 139
invention of, 96
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation
and display illumination, 607
filters, 607
UV-absorbing plastic filters, 145146, 147, 607608
UV color prints and protection myth, 145162
UV-filtered tests, 105
UV-filtering print lacquers, 150152
UV stabilizers, 152
yellowing and, 151
Umemoto, Makoto, 168
Underground Vaults and Storage, Inc., 359361
United Artists. See Turner Entertainment Company
Universal Studios, 303
University Microfilms International, Inc., 548
University of Michigan, Fugitive Color exhibition, 35
University Products, Inc., 414, 417, 433, 440, 442, 475476, 479
University of Oregon, 646
University of Texas, 533, 649
Unterberg, Susan, 404
Upton, John, 242, 260, 576, 612
USA Today, 345
U.S. News & World Report, 637
Valenzuela, Steve, 283
Valley of the Giants, 346
Vapor-proof packages, 701705, 726
Variety, 26, 303, 304, 307, 309, 322, 345
Veiling, of blacks in RC prints, 590
Ventilation, and print lacquers, 151152
Vergne, Frederic, 613
Versatec print, 55
Vestal, David, 376, 389, 404, 582, 593596
Victoria and Albert Museum, 31
Video cassette recorder (VCR), and videocassettes, 8, 4041, 304
Video color prints, light fading stability of, 138
Video preservation, 337338
Video prints, dark fading and yellowish staining of, 188
Video Shack, in New York City, 304
Video sources, 56
Videotape copies for film reference, 340
Vietnam War, 13, 40, 401, 439, 655656
VIREO (Visual Resources for Ornithology), at the Academy of Natural
Sciences, 636, 649, 659, 660
Visible light
and display illumination, 607
and UV light, 145
Vogue magazine, 26
Volz, Wolfgang, 443
Wagner, Sarah, 67
Wagstaff, Samuel, Jr., 398, 723
and cellulose nitrate film, 678680
and normal room temperature, 65
and print mounting, 378-379
and refrigeration, 661663, 667, 670, 678680
Tests
accelerated. See Accelerated tests
Arrhenius. See Arrhenius tests
comparative. See Comparative tests and Dark fading and Light fading
and Yellowish stain formation
Photographic Activity Test. See Photographic Activity Test
predictive. See Light fading and Predictive tests
and temperatures of ovens, 83
Texas Professional Photographers Association, petition sent by, 270273,
295
Texturing, 147
Texturizing treatments, 64
Thermal dye transfer
no UV-absorbing overcoat on, 146
Thermohygrographs, 552553
Thompson, Frank, 299, 319
Thomson, Garry, 553, 568
3M. See 3M Company
3M Color Laser Imager, 5
3M Color Laser Imager Paper and Transparency Film,
Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 209
3M Company, 66, 67
Arrhenius dark fading predictions, 209
statements about print mounting products. See Print mounting
3M Digital Matchprint, 27, 55
3M Dry Silver Color Materials, Arrhenius dark fading
3M Electrocolor prints
processes, 27, 55
3M Post-it notepads, 531
3M ScotchChrome Color slide films,
3Ms Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 209
3M ScotchColor Color negative films, 3
dark fading of current color negative films, 189
dark fading of discontinued color negative films, 191192
3Ms Arrhenius dark fading predictions for, 209
3M FlashBacks Brand Photo Albums, 531
3M Photogard
for coating slides, 647
effects on color prints, 14546, 147, 155160
light-fading characteristics of, 157159
3M Scotch Magic Transparent Tape, 382
3M-Sipley Collection, 32
Tierney, Idalee, 67
Tillmany, Jack, 299
Time magazine, 220, 626, 718
Time Inc. Magazines Picture Collection, 531, 625626, 644, 655, 681683,
708, 718
Time Warner Inc., 26, 333, 531, 626
Tissues, dry mounting. See Print mounting
Toll of the Sea, 350
Toxicity, and print lacquers, 151152
Trannois, C., 86
Translucencies, and advertising, 109
Translucent/transparent color display materials, longest-lasting, 5
Translucent color display materials, 154
Transmission, digital. See Digital transmission
Travis, David, 38, 261, 610, 687, 711
Tricolor carbro prints, 20, 50
Tromnau, Rudolf, 66
Trott, James H., 66
Truman, Harry S., faded portrait of, 36
Truth-in-labeling recommendations, 416, 481
Tuggle, Steve, 102
Tuite, Robert J., 34, 71, 168
Tulagin, Vsevolod, 27
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Wallace, James H., Jr., 56, 67, 503, 633, 710
Wall Street Journal, 299, 300, 357, 406
Wal-Mart. See Portrait photographers, and mass-market operations
Walt Disney Company, 299, 353, 354, 357358, 680
Walter Cronkites Universe, 36, 268, 272
Walther, Thomas, 424
Warhol, Andy, 443
Warner Bros., 300, 303, 333334, 548, 564, 722723
Warranties, 290291
Washless processing, 63
Water damage, 570
Waters, Peter, 649650
Waugh, Dennis, 338, 704
Weatherometer, 153, 154
Weber, Bill, 300, 721
Webway Family Archival albums, 532
Wechsler, Douglas, director of Project VIREO, 636, 660
Wedding photographers. See Portrait and wedding photographers
Welch, Stuart, 479
Welty, Eudora, UltraStable portrait of, 51
Wernicke, Ubbo T., 97
Wess Archival slide mount, 646647
West, Lloyd E., 85, 322
Westcott, W. Burton, 349
Wester, Rick, 397
Westinghouse, 40
Weston Brett, 596
Weston, Edward, 376, 402, 403, 404, 406
West Side Story, 27, 336
Weyde, Edith, 457, 522, 534, 565566
White, Minor, 372
White, Tom, 146
Whitted, Barbara, 504
Wilder, Michael, 405
Wiley, S.R., 546
Wilhelm, Charles, iv, vii
Wilhelm, David, iv, vii, 95
Wilhelm, Donald, IV, 28
Wilhelm, Donna Jo, 28
Wilhelm, Henry G., v, vi, 62, 66, 67, 9495, 106, 395396, 441442, 451,
470473
Wilhelm, Jane Gilmer, vii
Wilhelm, Sarah, iv, vii, 16
Wilkinson, Maurice, 376
Williams, R. Scott, 599, 648
Wilper, Chandra, 283
Wilsey, Peter, 393, 395, 397, 404, 529
Winter, Clark and Teresa, 39
Wisconsin Committee on Faded and Cracked Photographs, cover letter and
petition, 294
Wisconsin Professional Photographers Association, 128, 270
Wisconsin State Historical Society, 33
Witkin, Lee D. (the late founder of the Witkin Gallery in New York City), 403
Wittmer, Albert, 25
Wizard of Oz, The, 684
Wolf, John, vii, 23, 442
Wolf, Virginia, 23
Wong, Anna May, 350
Wood frames, 514
Wood pulp and cotton fiber, compared, 468469
World Print Council, 413
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 339, 548, 683684
Xenon-arc Fadeometer, 156, 158, 159
Xenon-arc Weatherometer, 153, 154
Xerographic color copier, 146
Xerox Color Copier, 642
Xerox Digital Copier, 15
Xerox/Versatec printer, 55
Yankee Doodle Dandy, 19
Yates, Stanley, 299
Yates, Steve, 672
YCM Laboratories, 357, 361
Yellow
fading characteristics, 63
and image composition layers, 15
and light fading of Ektacolor portraits, 78, 79, 80
reciprocity failure in light fading and light-induced staining, 7375
Yellowish stain formation, 151, 152, 163209
and dark storage, 63, 471
and densitometric correction, 9394
and dye fading, 168171
of Ektacolor Professional prints, 151
fading and staining introduced, 6164
Fujicolor and Ektacolor compared, 1112
light-induced yellowish stain formation, 63
and lost Kodacolor print era, 2324
and papers for printing color transparencies, 13
and Polaroid SX-70 prints, 31
and RC papers, 16, 72, 7576
and secrecy of stability data, 2425
stability tables. See Dark fading stability tables for color films and
papers in Chapter 5
and UV radiation, 151
See also Dark fading
Yosemite and the Range of Light, 371
Young, F.J., silver-tarnishing tests, 456
Youso, Richard, 66
Zarcone, Beth, 627
Zehentner, Frank, 326, 716
Zeno, George, 627
Ziegfield, Florenz, 352
Ziploc polyethylene bags, 666, 668
Zworykin, Vladimir K., 40
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ISBN Bar Code
100%
Unfaded print made with Fujicolor SFA3
Unfaded print made with Kodak Ektacolor
Kodak Ektacolor print after 240 days in
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719 State Street P.O. Box 567
Grinnell, Iowa 50112-0567 U. S. A.
Telephone: 641-236-5575 (Fax: 641-236-7052)
Some color photographs last far longer
than others. Some fade when exposed
to light on display but are very stable
when stored in the dark. Several new
color print processes, which employ high-
stability pigments instead of organic dyes
to form the color image, will probably
last for hundreds of years, both when
displayed under normal conditions in a
home, office, or museum and when kept
in dark storage.
But most color films and papers on
the market today gradually fade and de-
velop overall yellowish stain when they
are exposed to light or when they are
stored in the dark. In most cases there
are no differences in image stability be-
tween the color prints sold by profes-
sional portrait and wedding photogra-
phers most of whose prints are made
with Kodak Ektacolor professional pa-
per and may sell for many hundreds of
dollars and the 35 Ektacolor prints
available through the local drugstore.
Worse still, because most professional
portraits have been retouched and lac-
quered, they may deteriorate even faster
than amateur color snapshots.
The result of more than 20 years of
research, this is the first major book to
evaluate the light fading and dark fad-
ing/yellowing characteristics of color
transparency films, color negative films,
and color papers. Recommendations are
given for the longest-lasting products.
High-resolution ink jet, dye-sublimation,
color electrophotographic, and other digi-
tal imaging technologies are discussed.
The humidity-controlled cold storage
facilities for the long-term preservation
of color photographs and motion pictures
at the John F. Kennedy Library, NASA,
the Art Institute of Chicago, Paramount
Pictures, Turner Entertainment, and
Warner Bros. are described. Also dis-
cussed are conservation matting, mount
boards, framing, slide pages, negative
and print enclosures, storage boxes,
densitometric monitoring of black-and-
white and color prints in museum and
archive collections, the discoloration and
cracking of black-and-white RC prints,
the care of color slide collections, the
permanent preservation of color motion
pictures, the historic Technicolor print
process, the preservation of cellulose
nitrate films, and many other topics.
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