Contributions to the 5th AICCM Book, Paper and Photographic Materials Symposium. Editors: Prue McKay and Alana Treasure. Canberra, ACT: AICCM (Inc.), 2008.
Abstract
The explosion in popularity of digital photography and printing has meant that people produce, use and buy digital output prints without really thinking about what they have in their hands. Is it inkjet or electrophotographic, chromogenic or dye diffusion? Although most home-made images are produced on inkjet printers, there are still a variety of media and support types that we need to be familiar with. Each of these types has different treatment, storage and display issues, so an accurate identification of the print type is essential. This presentation will provide an introduction to some of the various output systems, covering the possible paper and ink types, and how the image is produced on the paper. It will then move into preservation concerns for this new media. It will also pose the question g ‘are these prints really photographs at all?’