Recommended Reading

Archiving 2006 - Final Program and Proceedings

This conference of the Society of Imaging Science and Technology presents expert perspectives on topics such as storage, obsolescence, sustainable business models, and formats and standards. Techniques for producing, capturing, preserving, indexing, and accessing digital objects and images are explored in depth. Archiving is a blend of invited focal papers, keynote talks, and refereed oral and interactive display presentations.

Available for purchase online from the Society of Imaging Science and Technology.

The Digital Print: Identification and Preservation by Martin C. Jürgens (2009)

This invaluable resource demystifies the complex, rapidly changing, and sometimes confusing world of digital print technologies. It describes the major digital printing processes used by photographers and artists over the past forty years, explaining and illustrating materials and their deterioration, methods of identification, and options for acquiring and preserving digital prints. A removable poster provides a ready reference for identifying specific processes and materials.

Available for purchase online from The Getty.

Print Unchained Print Unchained - Fifty Years of Digital Printing, 1950-2000 and Beyond: A Saga of Invention and Enterprise by Edward Webster (2001)

A thorough discussion of the history of digital printing technologies. This volume provides context for all of the digitally printed materials created in the last half century. It also includes a glossary and bibliography.

Available for purchase online from the Society of Imaging Science and Technology.

The Office Copying Revolution: History, Identification, and Preservation by Ian Batterham (2008)

This history of office copying with all its invention and variation – from typewriters to laser printers – is an invaluable reference manual. It is a comprehensive history of office technology throughout the twentieth century, with detailed descriptions of the copies produced. Companies that made the equipment and copy products, as well as trade names, copying methods, papers, dyes, and stencils are all covered in this richly illustrated book with more than 400 images. The volume also includes an extensive print identification section.

Available for purchase online from the National Archives of Australia.

Handbook of Print Media by Helumt Kipphan (editor) (2001)

This is the comprehensive guide to both the traditional and the new digital printing technologies. This book covers in detail all aspects of the printing process from typography to print finishing. An accompanying CD-Rom enables the reader to perform a full text search within the entire book, and guides through the comprehensive texts and pictures.

Available for purchase online from the Society of Imaging Science and Technology.

The Atlas of Water Damage on Inkjet-printed Fine Art by Meghan Connor and Daniel Burge (2016)

This atlas is intended to help readers become aware of the various ways that inkjet prints can be harmed during water emergencies. Each page highlights a different form of water damage that an affect inkjet-printed photographs and fine art. Every water emergency will be different, so prior familiarization with all potential types of damage will help disaster responders understand what has occurred to an object as well as how best to react to and recover their materials during the actual event. Funding provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. (Access the online version to look inside the book!) 53 pages, softcover, 8” x 8”. Price: $25.

Available for purchase online from the Image Permanence Institute.

Digital Imaging for Photographic Collections: Foundations for Technical Standards, Second Edition by Franziska S. Frey and James M. Reilly (2006)

While intended as a resource for libraries, archives, and museums who are considering digitization as a viable option for preserving deteriorating traditional photograph collections, this booklet will be useful to the producer or collector of digitally printed materials for its discussion of important issues related to image quality.

This publication is the result of research conducted by the Image Permanence Institute and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. All cited internet resources and references have been updated for the second edition.

Available for purchase online from the Image Permanence Institute.

The Stability of Photocopied and Laser-printed Documents and Images: General Guidelines by David Grattan

This bulletin reviews the technology of photocopiers and laser printers, and discusses the stability and preservation of copies. The conclusion is that black-and-white copies (i.e. those using carbon-based toner) on alkaline paper form very stable records, but color photocopies do not. The bulletin also includes a list of preservation concerns that will be useful to archivists responsible for the care of photocopied documents, and a number of current technical references that discuss the topic in more depth.

Available for purchase online from the Canadian Conservation Institute.

The Storage Guide for Color Photographic Materials by James M. Reilly (1998)

This 48-page book with its accompanying wheel of environmental conditions provides an overview of the stability of traditional color photographic materials and explains how and why these images fade, why they need special storage, and what can be done to make them last as long as possible.

This publication (with wheel) is no longer in print. You can download the PDF version for free below (no wheel).

Available for download from the Image Permanence Institute.