Re: [Leica] Preserving prints and transparancies

[Martin Howard <marho@ikp.liu.se>]

Michael Garmisa wrote:
> 
> JUst wondering the best way to store negatives (B&W) so that they do
> not deteriorate.  I assume that in negative sleeves and in the dark 
> would be optimal, are there other factors that should be taken into
> consideration.
> 

Yes, other factors do come into play.  Issues such as relative humidity,
air pollution, etc. can be significant when storing for long periods of
time.  Make sure that all boxes used for storage are of archival quality
and store prints flat with sheets of archival paper inbetween them.
Store in metal cabinets: some glues used in much wooden furniture
(especially chip-board) can give off fumes that can damage prints and
negs in only a few months.

> Also, as far as archiving prints, does using a toner make a
> significant difference in the longevity of the print?

The less silver in the print, the better: I don't know the intricacies
of the chemistry, but AFAIK, the idea is to either replace the silver
with dye, or to make the silver bond to other chemicals so that it will
not react with atmospheric oxygene.  Toning in a weak selenium solution
is typically done to improve archival quality.  I believe that sepia
toning also improves archival quality, for the same reason.  Some
alternative processes (other than silver gelatin that is) have better
archival qualities: bromoil transfer, for example, replaces all silver
with dye.

Check out Ilfords webpage: they have a section somewhere (I think in the
FAQ) about achieving archival quality prints.  They're supposed to last
a few hundred years.

M.

- -- 
Martin Howard, Grad. Schl. for Human-Machine Interaction,  |
HMI/IKP, Linkoping University, SE-581 83 Linkoping, Sweden.|    Just
Tel: +46 13 28 5741; Fax: +46 28 2579; ICQ: 354739         | say "DOOH"
E-mail: marho@ikp.liu.se; www.iav.ikp.liu.se/staff/marho/  +------------