Digital BW, The Print

"mantinieri" <mantinieri@...> wrote:

>...
> 3) Arches 88 (also 100% Cotton)

That's the only one of the papers you mentioned that I've tested.  The dmax was very low.  Too bad, because the tone was amazingly neutral.

Do you have before and after dmax readings for your washing technique?  I have not done enough experimenting to nail down the time-loss curve.

Thanks for sharing your washing technique.  

Note that I'm not at all sure I'm going to be using any washing as a routine procedure.  While there does seem to be an immediate positive effect of reducing rub-off, the net effects of washing, both short and long run, are not at all clear to me. Among other things, I've found no information that suggests what the long term impact of the inkjet base chemicals (like glycerol, glycol and surfactants) is on longevity, if any.  (Chemists' opinions include that they'll just evaporate or stay on the paper as essentially inert components.  I'll probably do some fade testing at some point to see if I can detect any differences there.  I'm not particularly concerned with the marketing issues.)  At a minimum, it's nice to know that the Arches (and probably other un-coated watercolor paper) prints can be washed without significant impact to the image.  


Paul
www.PaulRoark.com