PRESS ROOM STORY
HARMAN PHOTO PAPERS. GOOD FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS*
22nd December 2008
HARMAN PHOTO PAPERS. GOOD FOR MORE THAN 200 YEARS*
Wilhem Imaging Research awards HARMAN technology’s fiber base Baryta inkjet papers a permanence rating in excess of 200 years*
HARMAN PHOTO, the digital brand of HARMAN technology Limited, has gained formal certification as to the archival properties of its professional inkjet papers. Four products within the range – the HARMAN PHOTO MATT FB Mp, HARMAN PHOTO MATT FB Mp WARMTONE, HARMAN PHOTO GLOSS FB AI and HARMAN PHOTO GLOSS FB AI WARMTONE – all secured permanence ratings of more 200 years* in tests recently concluded by Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR). (Full test results can be viewed at www.wilhelm-research.com)
This impressive figure relates to the time taken before noticeable fading and/or changes in color balance occurs and *applies to prints produced using HP inks and then displayed under glass, framed with a UV filter or stored in an album or under dark conditions. Following WIR’s Certified Image Permanence Testing Program, the world’s foremost authority on image permanence also certified the papers as having a very high resistance to humidity and as being able to resist the powerful oxidizing affects of Ozone for at least 100 years.
The recent findings serve to offer the global photographic community total reassurance as to the incredible longevity of HARMAN PHOTO professional inkjet papers as well as the ability to make instant comparisons against products from other manufacturers. A totally independent organisation, WIR has researched the stability and preservation of traditional and digitally printed photographs and films for a wide range of clients over the last 35 years. This includes products submitted by Canon, Epson, Fuji, Kodak, Hahnemuehle, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark, ultimately enabling it to provide consumers with unbiased ratings across an enormous array of media.
HARMAN technology attributes the success of its HARMAN PHOTO professional inkjet papers to the quality-focused method of their production, to their fiber base and in particular to their use of a complete Baryta coating. More commonly associated with darkroom developed photographic papers, Baryta not only ensures greater detail and definition and an extended tonal range, it also prevents image degradation. This has led to Baryta fiber base papers becoming the benchmark for archival photographic images.
Speaking of the certification, Director of Marketing at HARMAN technology, Steven Brierley, said: "We are delighted with the results from the recent testing of the HARMAN PHOTO professional range by Wilhelm Imaging Research. Their rigorous testing program now covers more than 90% of the world’s leading inkjet printer, ink and inkjet photo paper producers, and has become arguably one of the most respected ways of making like-for-like comparisons between different manufacturer’s products.
”To be awarded a permanence rating of 200 years across all four of our high-end digital papers is fantastic news. Not only does it give photographers independent verification of our own internal testing, but it also highlights how we’ve taken all the experience, insight and coating expertise acquired producing ILFORD black and white photography products for over 100 years and encapsulated it in a truly high-performance inkjet range.”
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IMAGE & CAPTION:
HARMAN WIR tested.jpg – Lasting performance. HARMAN PHOTO fiber base Baryta inkjet papers receive formal certification on their impressive archival properties from Wilhelm Imaging Research.
For more information on this story, please contact Wayne Mohammed at Manifest Communications on
01484 469601 or email wayne@manifestcomms.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS –
HARMAN technology Limited is a pioneering imaging specialist based in Mobberley, Cheshire. The company - which was born of the ILFORD formed by Alfred Harman in 1879 - now includes three, separate and well known brands: ILFORD PHOTO which manufactures traditional monochrome photographic products; HARMAN PHOTO which produces a range of high-end inkjet media for both colour and monochrome prints; and KENTMERE PHOTOGRAPHIC who produce a range of photography and inkjet papers, including K.Opaljet.
The ILFORD range of inkjet products, including ‘ILFORD Galerie’, is not associated with HARMAN technology in any way, and is actually manufactured and marketed by a separate business based in Switzerland.
For more information on HARMAN technology and its brands, visit:
www.harmantechnology.com // www.harman-inkjet.com // www.ilfordphoto.com // www.kentmere.co.uk
Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. has for over 35 years conducted research on the stability and preservation of traditional and digitally printed colour and black-and-white photographs and motion pictures. A major activity of WIR is the development of improved accelerated image permanence tests and advanced, full tonal scale, colorimetric analysis methods for the fading and staining that occurs with colour and black-and-white photographic images over time. As an independent testing laboratory, WIR publishes brand name-specific, comparative permanence data for desktop and large-format inkjet printers and other digital printing devices. WIR has provided standardized test data to many of the world’s leading imaging and photographic companies, including Canon, Epson, Fuji, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark, Ilford, Arches Paper Company, Premier Imaging Products, and others.
Wilhelm Imaging Research also provides consulting services to museums, archives, and commercial collections on sub-zero cold storage for the long-term preservation of still photographs and motion pictures.
President and co-founder of the company, Henry Wilhelm appears frequently as a speaker on inkjet printing technologies and print permanence at industry conferences, trade shows, and museum conservation meetings. His 744-page book, “The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures” is a standard reference in the field. The complete book, originally published in 1993, may be downloaded at no charge from www.wilhelm-research.com.