Re: Kodak Archival Stocks (Long)

[P3D <TimMaf@xxxxxxx>]

In a message dated 12/31/96 11:53:04 AM, you wrote:

>I know there have been discussions about the long-term stability of various
>films on this list, but would anyone like to summarize what we know about
>the various brands and film types?  That way I can make the best decision
>for longevity from now on.

And also:

>I'm almost certain this isn't completely true.  Kodak may not now

>make an archival negative stock (I'll have to call them to check), but

>they did!  In the early 80's, I remember reading an article

>about the problem of film stocks fading (in American Cinematographer

>or American Film maybe?)  In this article it mentioned that Kodak

>was selling an improved stability stock, but that Hollywood was not

>buying it due to increased cost.  The story did not mention just how

>improved it was though.  All new Kodak 35mm movie and still stocks

>seem to have improved stability over their predecessors, but I'm

>still worried about my E-6 stuff fading away

To deal with Motion Picture stock first:
According to my sources Eastman, prompted by director
Martin Scorsese (who was worried about stability issues), 
abandoned all print (movie) stocks in late '81 and introduced 
a whole new line of print stocks with a nearly tenfold 
increase in dye stability. According to tests they went from a 
scant 5 years longevity to over 45 years. In 1980 Eastman introduced
newer versions of its Neg. stocks which tests show a life span of about 
28 years. The same stock (in one case 5247) in 1974 had an 
estimated life of only 6 years. Stocks introduced in the last 7 years
generally have around 30 year life span. 

While there was great fanfare surrounding the introduction the
new stocks (largely due to the fact that Scorsese had lined
up many industry heavyweights to fight for stability issues),
there was no specific film neg. or pos. that was designated 
archival nor was as stable as Technicolor. Kodak 
(and Fuji too) were simply trying to respond to Scorsese's 
concerns about stability by coming out with improved 
products. Nothing I have shows that Kodak produced a
designated archival stock and through out the '80's they
gradually changed their entire line of neg., intermediate,
and print stocks to more stable versions.


As for still films generally Fuji products are more 
stable (this is also true of motion picture films but 
Eastman films are much more heavily used for a variety
of reasons). Kodak generally has more stabile print films but
Fuji and Konica have better printing papers. For prints from
slides, Ilfochrome is the best followed by Fuji's R papers. And
Agfa's products are considered to have the poorest stability. 


Kodachrome is still the champ of stability for all color
films (neg. and pos.) when it hasn't been projected and 
the worst if subjected to projection (as little as a 
cumulative 20 min.) Fuji films stand projection better
than Kodak's E-6 films. Some have said that E-6 films
have dyes that are more stable than Kodachrome's but
E-6 films of all flavors eventually develop a yellow
stain which effectively ruins the color reproduction. 
Kodachrome remains stain free. And for the record Ultrastable
Polaroid Permanent, and EverColor Pigment Prints are
considered the Most stable color photographs (as they
use color pigments rather than dyes). I've had an Evercolor
prints made and while it looks fantastic it is unbelievably
expensive.

What does this mean for our 3-D work? Keep in mind
that these are ideal conditions (stored in the
dark at 75deg F. at 40%RH) and one also needs to be
concerned with other environmental factors (like
what the slides will be stored in). Your mileage will
vary so I'd say be careful, check your stuff from time
to time. There was recently a story about a man who
had the only existing copy of one of the earliest silent
features. He'd kept it in a lined pit in the backyard and a
couple of times a year he would check it for signs
of deterioration intending to throw it out if he found
any. By doing this he inadvertently managed to keep
this film in great condition. On the other hand I have
actually transferred a Kodachrome home movie from
1938 that had been kept in its can in the worst closet 
in the house. This is one that is too hot in the summer 
and too cold in the winter and this was in 
Nebraska to boot. While the base had suffered some
buckling the color was wonderful and amazing.

The best source of information on fading as well
as methods for storage is Henry Wilhelm's "The
Permanence And Care of Color Photographs". A very
through book by an Independent researcher.

Fading away for now. Happy New Year
Tim Maffia


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