P3D RE: Prints vs slides - Archival Qualities

["Ivester, Paul" <ivestep@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am surprised to read of such noticeable fading being seen on
Kodachrome slides.  I do have a couple of View-Master reels that have a
slight faded appearance, my assumption is that they were either
defective when manufactured, 
or were stored under very harsh conditions.  

I have a collection of 16mm films.  The majority of the color films are
on 
Eastmancolor, which has a life of about 20 years under typical storage 
conditions.  The earliest color films I have are mostly Kodachrome.  The

earliest Kodachrome is from 1937, and is still saturated and contrasty,
as 
are all the Kodachrome prints and originals.  I have Anscochromes from
the 
1940's that are all magenta, but Anscochromes from the 1950's have quite

good color (though grainier than Kodachrome).  I have Ektachromes from
the 
1950's that are badly faded, but those from the 1960's look good.  I
don't 
have any Fuji earlier than the 1970's.  The most sought after stock for 
film collectors is Technicolor, which is a dye transfer process
(discontinued 
in 1972) that is archival for all practical purposes, as are the
separation 
negatives used to make Technicolor prints.

In general, the cyan dye fades first under dark storage, then the yellow
goes, 
and nothing but the magenta remains.  If there is some cyan left, there
may 
still be some hope of digital restoration. Once it is gone, you might be
able 
to salvage a grey scale image, but the sensitivity will not have been 
panchromatic.

Paul Ivester
Seattle, Wash, USA
ivestep@xxxxxxxxxxx

PS:  It has been a while since I checked, but 4-spline Bristol wrenches
were 
available a few years ago from Snap-On Tools.  These are the special 
wrenches needed to disassemble Revere / Wollensak stereo cameras.





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