----- Original Message -----
From: "Juan J. Buhler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2001 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: Guess what? Granny kept the negatives too!
> On Sat, 20 Jan 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> > Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Granny reaches under her bed,
pulls
> > out one of her many shoeboxes...
>
> So, I'm still shooting film, and I see myself doing so for a
while,
> but have a question:
>
> What is the longevity of c41 negatives? Isn't it about 50
years or so?
Hard to say. Under ideal processing and storage conditions, I
would expect at least that long. I have C-41 negs dating back to
the introduction of the process that are still good. I also have
a bunch of my father's old Ektachromes that have faded past
usability, some to the point that there is no image at all, just
clear acetate.
Film processing has become a bit of a nightmare for the person
interested in archiving. We no longer give the films as thorough
a wash as we should (minilabs especially, though wholesale labs
are likely not much better), and we no longer use formaldehyde
based stabilizers. While I will not comment about the
environmental and long term health benefits WRT the changes in
chemicals used, I have no reason to believe the stability of the
colour dyes is improved by these changes.
William Robb
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