The Portland Metro Photographic News

Nearly every photographer who sells images uses the term "archival" somewhere in his or her marketing material.  If the print includes a "Certificate of Authenticity", the certificate may use the wording "archival" to denote the print's permanency to affect the collector's perceived investment value.  Having spent a good deal of my photography life in high-end and well-known professional print labs, I have seen the term "archival" become less of a quality and permanency designator and more and more of a marketing ploy -- much like the term "Giclée".

Harald Johnson, a colleague and author of several respected books on ink jet printing in photography, says it this way, "Archival photographic print" is hard to pin down. Why? Because there's no uniformly accepted definition of what is "archival" and what is not. In fact, the word "archival" just means something that is in an archive, being stored, not necessarily monitored or preserved."

David Saffir, an exceptional fine art photographer and noted ink jet printing instructor, finds similar misgivings about the term "archival". "Archival is a term which can be kind of wobbly.  Fact is, no one knows what this term really means, as modern materials have not stood the test of time."

In fact, Wikipedia offers no definition of an "archival photograph".  That's because there is no industry accepted definition of this seemingly important (by virtue of its constant use) trait of a collectable work of photographic art.

If the term "archival" is intended to denote a particular photographic print's ability to endure the ages, then it's even more difficult to wrap your arms around the concept.  ANY photographic print can be cared for in such a way as to give it centuries of acceptable life.  As Mark McCormick-Goodhart, the Director of the image permanency research organization Aardenburg Imaging & Archives, so correctly points out, "even the picture on the front page of your local newspaper can be preserved almost indefinitely."

Although the need is there, no accepted definition of "archival photographic print" appears to be on the horizon.  This presents a dilemma for the forthright photographer who is attempting to convey to potential buyers the genuine care and technical concern given to his/her printmaking.  It also presents a similar problem for galleries, museums and collectors.  How do you sort out what is marketing hype and what is an authentic attempt to convey true life expectancy information?

We didn't have these problems when someone said, "This is a platinum print."  The name itself describes the process and is a good indicator to both the photographer and buyer of the permanency characteristics to be expected.  This held true through the latest traditional, darkroom/chemical-based C- prints.  "This was printed on Kodak color paper." or "This mage was printed using Fuji Crystal Archive color paper." constructed definable fences around the print and provided the photographer and collector with reasonable lifetime expectations.

Everything changed with the advent of digital photographic printing.  Saying, "This is an ink jet print" provides no information about the archival nature of the print.  There are ink jet prints that will experience a long life, and others that will exhibit very short life expectancies.  When pigment inks became available for ink jet printers, it seemed that this technology might hold the answer to print permanency.  Wrong.  There are just too many variables in ink jet printmaking to allow for a simple definition of "archival".  The words "250 Years Life Expectancy" on a box of fine art ink jet paper is little assurance.  The 250 years is an accelerated test estimate relating only to the specific print that was tested and, to duplicate the results, would require using exactly the same paper, inks and test lighting conditions.  Let's say, for example, in your printmaking you use an HP pigment ink printer but you prefer Epson's fine art paper.  Then, the entire 250 year estimate is no longer applicable.  You changed the conditions.

Organizations like the Wilhelm Research Institute and Mark's Aardenburg Imaging & Archives attempt to address this issue by strenuous and controlled testing of various combinations of printers, inks and papers.  But they each caution that to truly define a specific print's ability to survive requires an in-depth understanding of the many contributing factors that impact ink jet print permanency:

• the printer
• the ink set
  
• the paper
• the profiles being used
• the print's exhibit conditions (temperature, light levels/intensity, humidity, etc.)

Each of these contributors has a dramatic impact on how any print will endure over time.  Mark uses the example of a singe digital image made into 4 identical prints, and each hung on a wall in 4 different locations within a home.  Even though the prints are identical in all ways, the print hung in the basement, the print hung in a dark hallway, the print hung in an average living room and the print hung on a sun porch will all demonstrate different rates of fade and deterioration.  In many cases, dramatically different.

Throw into this mix the characteristics of different printer, paper, ink and printer profiles, and you soon have an incalculable number of prints with totally different life expectancies.

For the term "archival print" to have real life expectancy meaning, all of these factors must be conveyed by the photographer to the collector.  Both the photographer and the collector must have an understanding of how to apply this information.  That's where the work of organizations like the Aardenburg Imaging & Archives and the data they collect can make a difference.  They test these combinations and provide data that will place realistic expectations of the true "archival" nature of a print.

So feel free to call your ink jet print "archival", "Giclée" or whatever term you like, BUT if your intentions are to add value to your images and convey the print life a buyer should reasonably expect, INCLUDE the printing metadata with EVERY print.  By doing this, the informed gallery, museum or collector can reference your process details with the conservation test results obtained by formal research groups like Aardenburg.

Taking the mystery out of "archival print" in today's collecting market boils down to some simple precautions.

To the Photographer: Include your printmaking information!  If you provide "Certificates of Authenticity" (which you should), make this information a permanent part of your documentation. Galleries, museums and collectors are becoming more and more educated and concerned about the topics of permanency and conservation.  Information that is important includes:

• the printer used (manufacturer and model number)
  
• the paper used (manufacturer and paper's trade name)
  
• the ink set used (pigment or dye, manufacturer, ink's trade name)
• the method of mounting the image (100% cotton board, buffered/non-buffered, etc.)

Taken collectively, this data speaks directly (and objectively) to the "archival" nature of the print. 

Note: Just because you bought a printer which uses pigment inks does not automatically designate prints that exit the machine as truly archival.  As mentioned, there are many other factors involved.

To Galleries, Museums and Collectors:  If printing information is not a part of a print's documentation, ask for it.  If this information can't be obtained, be skeptical.  You can easily combine the photographer's printing information with the details of YOUR specific print exhibiting environment and cross reference that information with test results from organizations like Aardenburg to determine how to best protect your print investment.  Doing this type of photographic research is part of your "due diligence" and as important to your investment as knowing the history of the photographer and the location the picture was taken.

Someday, an objective and agreed on definition of "archival print" may be universally accepted.  Until then, both the photographer and buyer can take these simple precautions to ensure a clear presentation of the facts that will provide the technical information required to enhance the print's life and safeguard its value.