----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Stenquist" Subject: Re: Modern RC Papers
> I just finished writing an article about a drag racing driver who was > rather well known from the early sixties to the early seventies. In > conjunction with this, I had to sort through his stacks of old > photographs lookng for some to illustrate the article. The prints from > the early to mid sixties were all on fiber based paper. They had been > taken by magazine photographers and track photographer, guys you'd call > semi pros. I'm sure some of them were printed by good custom labs. At > least half of them were yellowed, probably due to insufficient washing. > Many were cracked or split. Most of the prints from the late sixties and > early seventies were on RC papers. Out of perhaps a hundred, a few were > discolored. A couple that appeared to have been overwashed were > separating. Most were in very good condition. In fact, overall, a higher > percentage of the RC prints had survived than had the fiber based. Of > course they were five or six years younger on average. But there was a > substantial difference. Regarding the yellowing due to insufficent washing, that can hardly be blamed on the material. Anyway, the bronzing issue is (was anyway) very real, and Ilford RC was (is) the worst offender. This, according to no less than Ctein, who I tend to put a lot of faith in. The article I read on the subject was written afew years ago in DCCT, I believe. Mike Johnson might have a better idea, he would have been the editor at the time. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate that particular issue in my pile of dreck that I call a filing system. He did say that the problem was with framed behind glass prints. I have seen it with framed, unframed and laminated prints that have come out of my darkroom. It is not a problem with bad handling or insufficient fixing or washing. It is a problem inherent to the RC substrate itself. Ctein said the only paper he had found that didn't do it was PolyMax RC. I think the problem cropped up with the introduction of the series 4 Ilford paper, and its competitors, so the older papers are likely not affected anyway. OTOH, they have substrate yellowing and delamination issues.... William Robb - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
