P3D Why B/W?

[Steven Stultz <steven@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Rod Sage wrote...

> I have been wondering if anyone has information on the permanence of
> modern color prints. I know that most color prints fron the 50's-60's
> are fading unless they are Kodachrome prints. Does anyone know if
there
> have been improvements made to help longevity? Does it matter whether
> they are matte or glossy? One-hour or pro lab proccesed? It seems that

> many B&W prints last indefinitely and that some forms of tinting
> (selenium?) can increase that. It seems I've heard that
> Cibachrome/Ilfochrome color prints have a long permanence.


As a general rule color dyes fade and are much less archival than the
B/W process.  Silver, which is the basis for B/W printing, is much more
stable form the standpoint of archivibility than color dyes, but some
photographers do indeed take it a step further and replace the silver in
their prints with some other metal that is even more stable than
silver.  Some of the iron compounds are like this, and that is where we
get sepia- it's an iron based toner that lasts even longer than silver.
Cyanide is another- which gives us a bluish color print.  Ferric
Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferrocyanide are used together for this
purpose (with extreme caution and proper protection, that is).  Working
with some of these alternative and antique prographic processes (and
many many other unmentioned) is very rewarding and highly intersting.  I
have photographs in my paper collection from the early 1900's in sepia,
standard silver b/w, and cyanide that look as good as the day they were
printed.


Steven Stultz
Fletcher Photography

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