

Traditional reporting of the image permanence of photographs has tended to primarily focus on light stability. The reality of how consumers use and store prints is that the vast majority of the print's life is spent stored in the dark. The dark stability of traditional silver halide photographic paper is primarily driven by thermal affects. However, many of the newer digital materials used for photographic prints are susceptible to additional dark factor impacts including humidity and atmospheric pollutants. These can result in predicted life times being significantly shorter than reported by light stability data alone. This paper will discuss these additional dark factors and provide comparisons to traditional silver halide photographic paper.

LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting has been widely used as a major light source to illuminate photographic prints. But it is not clear how aggressive LED lighting affects to image stability of prints. The light stability tests were carried out using some commercially available white LED lamps and fading behavior was compared to the standardized xenon light testing which simulates indirect sunlight indoor. It was clarified that fading under LED lighting is less than xenon lighting but it correlates well to the xenon testing in the order of prints in light stability.

In general it is known that over time, the density, colour balance and whites of prints are gradually changing by degradation. The rate of deterioration is depending on the different technologies used for printing, paper quality, type of illumination and the different types of protection (such as framed under glass, UV filtered glass, acrylic, polycarbonate or totally uncovered). End-consumer don't know "how long will your photo prints last". The indoor light display permanence test results including the test method will be explained of silver halide technology prints as original photopaper.

Photo books have become the means to preserve photographs for future generations, replacing the scrapbooks of yesteryear. Photo books include photos along with related information creating a unique body of work often dedicated to a specific location, time period, or group of people. They provide a unique perspective on today's events. Unfortunately poorly constructed books with inferior bindings or unstable images will not survive the test of time. These books result when manufacturers use materials and manufacturing processes that they have not properly tested for long-term permanence. In some cases, manufacturers may not have the resources or expertise for testing; in other cases they may not consider it important. While it is impossible to address apathy, experts within the industry can provide general information that makes it easier to produce high-quality photo book.

The photographic industry has had a long-standing concern over the use of materials containing poly vinyl chloride (PVC) materials. This caution was warranted due to PVC materials and plasticizers causing damage to silver halide photographic prints in the 1970s and early 1980s, often from album covers and print storage sleeves, among others. Several international standards for safe storage of photographic materials specifically forbid the use of PVC-containing materials. However, as the photo book industry has grown, new imaging materials are now in use, such as pages produced with electrophotographic printing technologies. In addition the actual materials used in construction of the photo book itself have changed, including the use of modern PVC-containing materials. Given the historical concerns around the use of PVC, an extensive test was designed to explore a range of modern PVC-containing materials in combination with the typical range of imaging media in use today. This includes silver halide, electrophotographic, inkjet, and thermal dye transfer imaging systems. This paper will review the design, implementation, and results of this test, as well as provide recommendations and test procedures that can be used to determine the compatibility of photo book construction materials with various imaging systems.

Much has changed in the digital imaging industry in the last five years. This includes advances in cameras and optics and especially the continued tremendous growth in the use of smartphones. With smartphone in hand more people than ever have a camera ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Yet printing for long term preservation has not followed in this growth. While the number of hard copy prints, including prints and photo books, has increased, the rate of increase has not kept pace with the growth in capture. This means there is a bigger opportunity than ever for photo fulfillment through the production of prints and photo books. There have been positive signs in the industry in terms of photo organization, software for easier layout and design of photo books, and apps to make prints and photo books from the smartphone. But the awareness by end consumers on the risks of technology change and how to access their digital images 10 to 20 years from now is still very low. There have been positive signs on the web addressing this topic but uptake by social media remains low. This paper will discuss the positive trends seen on the web, ongoing trends in hard copy output from the last several years, and ways to further energize the digital photo fulfillment industry on the potential for printing for long term preservation.

There are a wide range of digital print technologies available today for use in photo books. This includes Inkjet, Electro Photographic, Dye Sublimation and Silver Halide. Silver halide paper, incorporates imaging technology and image quality that allows print providers to exceed consumer expectations for photo book image quality and the ability to offer a premium product in this growing, but crowed category. KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper is a silver halide photographic paper which incorporates new technology specifically for digital printing and continues to advance the state of the art of silver halide technology. Within the growing photo book market, the use of ENDURA Premier Paper provides the optimal balance of high image quality, long-term permanence, high productivity, and low cost, a combination that is sure to delight consumers. This paper will discuss the use of silver halide technology in the production of photo books, and specifically how KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper, meets the needs of the premium photo book market. In addition, the paper will discuss the critical attributes for longevity and the performance that KODAK PROFESSIONAL ENDURA Premier Paper provides when used in the creation of photo books. With premium photo books becoming the photo album of the 21st century, consumer needs for long-term preservation of digital image files have never been more important than they are today.

Original Photopaper is now leading Premium photo book segment, next developments will not only bring the medium segment in reach for Original Photopaper photo books, but will attract also new players into Original Photopaper technology. Listening to customer needs, listening to central lab needs, continuously innovating and the success of honest cost - margin calculations leading to new Original Photopaper developments and its applications. Since first time FUJIFILM is developing papers specific for central lab high speed printing equipment. Next to that FUJIFILM organizes cooperation of best in class Original Photopaper equipment manufacturers who will bring our industry into next era where central lab production will be leading in costs, quality and speed of fulfilling customers needs. It's also the era where pure digital printing companies decide to enter the Original Photopaper production technologies, as we see several companies starting with it the last couple of months.

Preservation of photo books extends beyond simply preserving the physical object Preservation requires understanding the photo book production process, which begins with taking digital photos, includes digital file creation, and extends to manufacturing the book in its final form. Unfortunately, the intermediate steps are often lost, with manufacturers generally unwilling to supply intermediate files in some false belief that doing so threatens future profitability. Overall, this business practice is short-sighted and is in fact counterproductive when it comes to photo book preservation.