Re: war of dots in the real world? I don't think so

[rafeb <rafeb@channel1.com>]

At 12:58 PM 10/16/99 -0400, Phil Rose wrote:

>rafe,
>I thought that the print-life advisory statement (and promise to reprint)
>you give to customers is admirable and a good example for others to follow.
>However I'm puzzled by your "tempest in a teapot"  allegation with respect
>to print life. So, to help me to gauge the validity of a conclusion that
>longevity is not a "huge problem", can you tell me how long have you been
>selling your inkjet prints?


I sold my first framed Epson 8x10" print in June of this year.
Most have been sold in the last 2-3 months.

I have a number of framed Epson prints on the walls of our
kitchen at home.  They see a fair amount of incandescent light
and diffused daylight (through a sliding glass door.)  This current
batch has been up for about four months.

There's also a group of 12 of these prints up in the cafeteria
where I work.  These have been up since early July.  Lighting there
is mostly fluorescent, with a large amount daylight from
western-facing windows, floor-to-ceiling, along one entire
side of the cafeteria.  I don't believe these prints ever see
direct sunlight, however.

I've been giving these prints away to friends and relatives for
a year and a half now.  No comments from any of them about
fading, but perhaps politeness constrains this group.

Prints in dark storage have shown no visible degradation in the two
years or so that I've been working with Epsons.

As regards warranty replacements, my thought there is that,
if or when one of these comes back to me for re-printing, I'll
have mastered or at least gained some experience with archival
printing by then.  When all is said and done, the cost of the
print (paper plus ink) is minimal compared to the selling price
of the finished product.

Time will tell if this was a worthwhile gamble.  I do *not* warrant
the prints that are sold sans frame; I honestly believe the frame
makes a critical difference.

My "tempest-in-a-teapot" remark mostly addresses a difference in
attitude between the fine-arts crowd and, well, the rest of the world.
I honestly believe that the folks who buy my prints at crafts fairs do
*not* expect (or even desire) to be looking at the same print, ten
years from now.  Personally, this is one of the wonderful benefits
of being able to produce these inexpensive prints, at will.  With 
hundreds of images to draw from, why not rotate them as I please?


rafe b.
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