Image permanence

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 definitive research is announced by Kodak, the Image Permanence Institute, Ilford, or anyone else involved in archival research someone finds a spot on a print or negative that is supposedly archival by the new standard. 

Reilly, James M., Douglas W. Nishimura, Kaspars M. Cupriks, and Peter Z. Adelstein. Stability of Black and white Photographic Images, with Special Reference to Microfilm. Image Permanence Institute, RIT. 

Nishimura, Douglas W. Toning and Permanence of Silver Gelatin Prints. Image Permanence Institute, RIT. 

After the toner particles are transferred to the receiver, some form of fusing is required to render the image permanent. Tins can be accomplished by pressure,... 

Image Permanence Institute. (2007). A-D Strips [online]. Available from http //www. imagepermanenceinstitute.org/shtml sub/cat adstrips.asp [Accessed 2 August 2007]. 

An emerging application is as the colorant in jet printer inks. The requirement of extremely high quality dispersion meant that the original black inks were dyes. The image permanence of carbon blacks lead to the displacement of dyes when techniques were developed that assured the stability of excellent, water-based dispersion. 

Large dimensional changes can be induced by radiation which distorts the object and changes the image permanently. This is a serious effect in polymer microscopy because it can be accidentally overlooked. Loss of mass is difficult to miss and the transient crystallographic contrast details require the operator to be concerned about radiation damage. But the distortion may be instantaneous under the viewing conditions normally used and the result is a stable and maybe mislead-... 

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