You make some very good points Oren. We have little insight into what manufacturers are using in their emulsions today vs. what was used in the past. That alone is a major point of consideration. In the age of Wilhelm Institute claiming 400+ years of archival permanence of inkjet prints, us old analog guys need to at least be versed on these matters when customers or collectors ask about our silver prints.

After printing 100 sheets of the new Ilford 5th gen Multigrade RC emulsion, I really like the aesthetic/tonal values as compared to my exact prints on their classic fiber paper. This is what has surfaced all these issues for me. In effect, I want to do everything I can to maximize the life of these new RC prints and have credible information to share with my customers.

This has been really helpful and I look forward to any more thoughts and input from the group here.

-Larry


Quote Originally Posted by Oren Grad View Post
Larry, keep in mind that we don't really know what to say about the permanence of current FB papers either. AFAIK there is no information available to the public about the characteristics of the paper base used by the remaining manufacturers of silver-gelatin paper. We cannot assume that it is the same as paper base from decades ago, to which people refer in arguing that FB papers have been shown to have great longevity. We do know that current FB papers are generally loaded with brighteners (RC papers too!), which will deteriorate over time. That won't affect the physical integrity of the base, but it will affect the appearance of the print, especially if your printing habits are tuned precisely to the perceived brilliance of the paper as it comes out of the box.

In my view it's not appropriate to make sweeping claims about very-long-term permanence of any silver prints. If one is selling prints, best to acknowledge the uncertainties and also include information about the role of storage and display conditions in maximizing the life of prints.

If one is determined to sell photographic works on paper that have the maximum possible permanence, the most robust medium is probably Pt/Pd prints made on rag-based papers.

I prefer silver prints myself, actually RC for most of my work. So I do the best I can, within reason - I selenium-tone all of my keepers and store them in acid-free boxes under reasonable environmental conditions. But I don't have a climate-controlled vault, and I'm under no illusion that I am making prints that are somehow guaranteed to last many tens or hundreds of years. I would never be comfortable claiming such.