Preserving the Identity of Digital Prints

The objective of this paper is to present a variety of aspects relating to digital print: light-fastness of inks, the relationship of ink on paper and alternative methods of presenting print, and research on print in a digital format. The paper refers to an exhibition Digital Print, Traditional Print, which was presented at the recent Computers and Art and Design Education conference (CADE) in Glasgow (2001). The paper also draws on issues raised at a conference relating to the conservation of inkjet prints at the Institute of Physics London (2001), and work undertaken on the impact of inkjet ink on archival artist's printmaking papers at the Centre For Fine Print Research (CFPR) is also described. The last section of the paper presents alternative methods for the dissemination of research, in particular electronic resources. Examples are shown of recently produced CD-ROMS, including the Impact Proceedings 1999 and Tate Gallery Archive, which records the print collection by process. The paper concludes by suggesting that there should be some form of 'best practice' for artists when making and selling work. 1. DIGITAL PRINT TRADITIONAL PRINT Fig.1. Michael McGraw, Suspension Reflection (View from the Portway). Photolitho, 2000. Firstly, I have an admission that I do not like the surface quality of an inkjet print, where colour is rendered uniformly and the substrate is very flat. The relationship of image on screen to two-dimensional print is often disappointing, the colour unbalanced, the commercial paper surface unsympathetic to the image, and the ink on paper dull and lifeless. The inkjet print is equivalent to listening to an