Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Richard
Smallfield <r.smallfield@...> wrote:
> Re Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, I've gone through a box and a half and only
had flaking once or twice. It's well worth that attrition rate for the
results it gives, IMO.

How is it AFTER printing?  Is the coating still delicate and prone to
flaking during the matting and framing process? 

Can we be pretty sure that the flaking doesn't continue over time,
e.g., from micro-swelling of the fibers resulting from ordinary
humidity changes on the room where it's hung?

Maybe I'm just paranoid about it but as an oil painter I'm very aware
of how serious painters give a great deal of attention to properties
of their support (canvas or panel plus gesso) and paints and painting
techniques out of concern for longevity.  Some of the greatest artwork
in the world was lost to history because of bad guesses by the
original artists.  Da Vinci's Last Supper has almost entirely
disintegrated - it's just a ghost of the original.   And not long ago
I was at the MoMA in NY where many paintings from the 1930's are
already cracking badly.