Kodak Polymax II RC (Images are Turning Yellow)

[RalphLambrecht]

Have you had similar experiences with Kodak Polymax II RC?

Out of over 100 of my mounted images, a set of 12 are turning yellow in the highlights, and some have some mirroring at the borders of shadows and highlights. Please don't try to explain why this happens or what to do to prevent it, that is already known and not the concern of this thread.

I have used Kodak, Ilford and Agfa RC and FB papers. They all have been selenium toned. All are mounted on 100% cotton boards and stored at ambient, in the dark, in archival boxes (unless on display). The fading prints all have two things in common.

1. They were all printed on Kodak Polymax II RC from 1997 to 1998
2. They all hung in a freshly decorated house (new paint and carpet)

All other prints are fine. Even the Polymax prints, which didn't hang in that house are fine. Prints made on other papers, but hung next to the ones in question, are fine. Consequently, the two conditions above had to be met for the print to prematurely die.

Here is my question in more detail again:

Do you have mounted prints on Polymax II RC that are at least 8 years old?
Did they hang on walls in rooms which were decorated years ago?
Do the highlights look a bit on the yellow side too?
Can you see some mirroring at the light borders?

Thanks for taking the time to look.

 

[DKT]

Ralph, I have some polymax II prints from the 90s, when we used that paper at work--we also used polymax I, polycontrast III, MG III and IV. Out of all those papers, the polymax II prints seemed to the most prone to having problems--but ONLY if they were untoned.

the stuff I saw happen was not a yellowing of highlights---but what I think of as a peroxide type attack--a reddish orange stain that also causes some silvering out in the d-max areas...there are a couple of prints on display right now, that are mounted in some very inconvenient areas, otherwise they'd be replaced by now--but these prints have this slowly happening to them over a period of almost ten years now. there are about 600 prints in this particular exhibit, 60% of them produced on the same materials at the same period more or less, mounted the same way in an exhibit full of artifacts that had the materials offgassed prior to installation-- and yet these 2 prints for some reason have this deterioration.

you got me why it happened, but it did.

fwiw--I did a toner ringaround using a half dozen RC papers in 1995 or so--the controls were untoned. after a year and a half or so--the polymax II control silvered out--all the other control prints (untoned and processed at the same time in an Ilford 2150 machine) are still fine to this day.

KT

 

[photomc]

Seem to recall a discussion where this happened. Not at home right now, but will look up the reference when I get home.

OK, did a google at lunch and it is in the book by Ctein - "Post Exposure : Advanced Techniques for the Photographic Printer"

 

[jmailand]

I had some Kodak BW prints that were made for me in 1998 that were hung on a wall turn yellow this year. The print were not selenium toned. These print were made before I had gotten back into darkroom work. So I don't know how good they were processed but since they were RC prints I would have to assume they were fixed and wash properly. One print from this time frame is still in good shape but it is hung in a different older house. I figure I'll have to reprint that picture myself anyway.

James,