The DARKROOM COOKBOOK, Third Edition

Archival Print Procedure
Appendix 15
There was never anything by the wit of man so well devised or so sure established,
which in continuance of time hath not been corrupted.
—Book of Common Prayer, 1549
To photographers archival usually means negatives and prints that will last at least a century.
Unfortunately, nobody knows for certain what will enable a print to last that long. Every time
defi nitive research is announced by Kodak, the Image Permanence Institute, Ilford, or anyone
else involved in archival research someone fi nds a spot on a print or negative that is supposedly
archival by the new standard.
Until recently it was thought that toning with selenium at high dilutions (1:19, 1:29, etc.)
would create an archival image. Research now shows that unless selenium is used to completion,
resulting in a color shift, the print is only partially protected.
It was believed that mounting on 100 percent rag board with tape hinges would create
an archival presentation for the image. It turns out that rag board absorbs and retains pollutants
and will pass them on to a print. In a day? No. But certainly well within the 100 years we
hope to achieve.
In the meantime, it has been discovered that dry mounting tissue can act as a barrier
to the pollutants in rag board—unless the tissue is itself full of contaminants and who is to
say that the mounting tissue companies have done their homework? There is no government
agency that says they can’t call their tissue archival even if it is made of wood pulp and
acid. And what happens to a print that is permanently mounted on a board when the board
becomes damaged?
And so on.
There are several reasons a photographer/artist would want their prints to last beyond
their years. The most obvious is that it raises the value of their art among collectors. It has
become de rigueur that a print be “archivally” processed in order to demand more in the
market place.
A second reason could be that a photographer/artist wishes to be remembered in 100
years. This is laudable. We all wish to be remembered. It is one of the reasons we have children
and hope for grandchildren. For some photographers their prints are their children.
Unfortunately for those who see their prints as a gateway to immortality it is doubtful that
any of us will be remembered in 100 years. Perhaps Ansel Adams. For the rest, hope springs
eternal.