Longevity of coulour v. B&W prints

[thefizz]

It may seem a strange question but how do colour prints compare to B&W (not toned) for longevity if both have been washed a fixed correctly and both hand printed. Which would last the longest.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[Paul Howell]

Depends on the medium. Old fashion paper based prints fade very quickly in light, newer RC much longer, Fuji claims 75 years for crystal archive. Cibracrome/Ilforicrome 40 years, dye transfer 75 years or longer. I still have color prints that my father took in the 50's that are holding up, and I have prints from the 60s and 70s that show no fading at all. My early cibracrome look as good at the day I printed them.

Regards

Paul

 

[Donald Miller]

It may seem a strange question but how do colour prints compare to B&W (not toned) for longevity if both have been washed a fixed correctly and both hand printed. Which would last the longest.

Thanks,
Peter

Your question fails to establish certain important parameters. The first would be the type of color process the second would be the characteristics of the black and white image. By that I mean RC or Fiber. Silver Gelatin, Pt/Pd, or inkjet. All of the foregoing would be considered black and white images.

If we were to assume that you meant silver gelatin printed on fiber paper compared to conventional color images then the silver gelatin print would last longer.

 

[thefizz]

Sorry for the vagueness, I meant RC B&W and standard colour prints from negs (not cibachrome).

 

[jd callow]

Just my guess but...
RC B7W i believe will still have an edge because it is silver infused where as the RA4 image is produced via dyes.

Eventually the surface will deteriorate on both.

 

[Claire Senft]

Just a guess

I would rather put my faith in a properly processed Crystal Archive print than I would in any untoned B&W RC print.

 

[jd callow]

Kodak is now making claims that the endura papers have even longer shelf life than CA.

 

[psvensson]

I'm with Claire. Silver is more susceptible to attack from gases in air than the dyes in color prints. An untoned, unframed B&W print hanging on my fridge door is showing discoloration after a couple of years, something I've never seen in color prints. I now treat my prints with Sistan, but haven't used it long enough to know if it makes a difference.

 

[thefizz]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
Peter