Archival properties

Different types of photographic paper have varying degrees of susceptibility to fading over time. The main cause of this is exposure to UV (ultra violet) light, although humidity, temperature, pollution and acidity are all contributing factors. Exposure to direct sunlight should be avoided, and UV-resistant glass can be used when framing.

Similar Posts

  • Digital Inkjet

    Digital printing that produces images directly on to the material (e.g. canvas or special paper surfaces) from a digital file through a stream of very fine dye drops controlled by the computer system. (See also Giclée prints)

  • Heliogravure or photogravure

    Also known as heliogravure, photogravure is arguably the finest photomechanical means of reproducing a photograph in large editions. Copper plates are acid-etched directly from an original silver print; the etched areas then hold differing amounts of ink in order to correspond to the tones of the original print. If prints remain untrimmed, the impression of…

  • Silver type prints

    Silver salts Silver salts are light sensitive chemical compounds. When exposed to light – either in a camera (in the case of film and negatives) or in the dark room (photographic papers) – the silver salts react by darkening in proportion to the amount of light reflected from the subject. Silver bromide Print Silver bromides…

  • CMYK

    CMYK is an industry standard abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These are the colours used in standard four-colour printing (as in inkjet and Iris printers).

  • Dye-based inks

    Dye, unlike pigment, dissolves completely in solution (pigment-based inks leave tiny particles floating in the solution). This means that dye-based inks are entirely absorbed into the paper that they are printed on – the image is in fact a highly controlled stain. The resulting images can thus appear very slick and even, with a vast…