To continue a thought from the last post, I would like to restate that the act of preserving implies that we are stewards of the information that we preserve, and as such we should be fluent in the techniques required to care for our charges. That said, I would like to take a moment to speak briefly about digital photographic prints. These types of prints are rapidly becoming the primary form of photographic print (Scoblete, 2004), yet they require radically different care than traditional photographs (Portell, 2003).
Because of the technology used to create these prints, special considerations must be made in the event of water damage. Floods, hurricanes, sprinkler malfunctions, drinks, fingers, humidity - all of these may be a source of water damage for a digitally generate photographic print. With proper care and storage, preservation of these materials is not overly different than many other graphic information items, but in the event of water damage, special steps must be taken in orde to salvage the print as much as possible (IPI, 2007).
What happens when they get wet?
Digital printers use either a dye or a pigment to create an image on paper. These materials are deposited using a liquid that immediately evaporates once the materials have been put down on the paper (Fritsch, 2006). Depending on the type of paper used, different things may happen. Two common types of papers used for digital printing are uncoated (normal copy paper), coated, which comes in two varieties, swellable and porous.
With swellable paper, the ink sits on the surface, which is highly glossy, and will run with the slightest application of moisture. Microporous papers allow the dye to sink into the paper, which prevents running, or blurring, when wet, but does result in flaking off of the ink if touched by anything when still wet (IPI, 2007).
Is there any way to repair them?
Unfortunately, no, once an inkjet print has suffered water damage there is no way to repair that damage. Dirt can be removed, but some color transfer may occur or in some cases the color can flake off the surface of the paper (IPI, 2007). In the case of digital prints, prevention of damage is the key to preservation...
works cited:
Fritsch, E. (2006). Professional Photography. Retrieved July 1, 2008 from http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/graphicarts/archive/2006/10/26/HPPost1808.aspx?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
Image Permanence Institute. (2007). A consumer guide for the recovery of water damaged traditional and digital prints.
Portell, J. D. (2003). Prior repairs: when should they be preserved?. Journal of the American Institute of Conservation, 42(10), 363-80.
Scoblete, G. (2004). Online Printing Grows As Retail Solution. Twice, 19(8), 30-30.
3 comments:
This information is fascinating. It is really sad that with all the technology we have today we can't save or protect everything. If the most important of our items, our history cannot be digitized is it in danger of being lost forever. Its almost like original celluloid film that they used in the old black and white movies that are decaying in old vaults in hollywood. One of the oldest cities/states in American(a Napoleonic state) was devastaed by Hurricane Katrina and we,laymen could do nothing to prevent it. Imagine what we lost due to the fragility of the historical items it contained.
Jenny
This is a great topic with digital photographs becoming more common. I know I personally select my favorite digital photos and take them to a place that can print actual photographs from my disk, not just inkjet photos. I do use an inkjet printer for photos I want to stick on the fridge or in frames around the house. But, if I want to preserve the photo, I get the photograph professionally printed.
Wow! I didn't know this. Scary that digital prints can't be saved at all if they get wet. I guess one could reprint them if the original digital copy is still available, but if it is not...
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