Archivability of E-6?

[tetrisattack]

Okay, so in the Kodachrome thread that's still on the front page somebody pointed out that Kodachrome was designed to be archivally stable for 75 years, while E-6 is understood to be 20-30 years. I've heard this figure bandied around elsewhere, too, probably photo.net, so it seems to be the commonly accepted archival term for slides.

But the other month, I unearthed some mounted slides at work that were just rattling around in a cardboard box. According to the printed labels on the slide mounts, they were shot in May of 1974, apparently on Ektachrome X. A tour of the high school library system! Fascinating stuff! 😉

Even stored as they were, these slides look fine over 31 years later, aside from questionable exposure and the forgiveable tungsten/fluorescent color cast. Blacks are still black, whites are still white, and the contrast still seems about right. So where does that 30 year estimate come from? And would I be safe in assuming that (professionally processed, carefully stored) slides made from current emulsion films will live even longer, perhaps 40 or 50 years?

 

[phototone]

If I am not mistaken, in 1974 the Ektachrome process was E-4, which was considerably different, longer times, process.

The current E-6 process has gone through some modifications in its long life, the most significant one being the change from having the final rinse be the dye-stabilizing function, to the dye-stabilizing being done in the pre-bleach solution, and the final rinse just being a wetting agent. Also the chemical structure of the films themselves have been constantly improved over the years. It is entirely possible that the most current E-6 films, properly processed and dark stored might have quite a long life. I have been shooting and processing E-6 films since they were introduced, mainly large format such as 8x10 and 4x5, and I do not have a single transparency that has faded, although unlike 35mm slides, these large transparencies were never subjected to projection with bright hot lights. Certainly the E-6 films (at least from Kodak) have far greater stability than C-41 films do. I have many faded color negatives from the 1980's. I would also like to add, that in my personal photos (as opposed to my professional work), I have Ektachrome E-4 transparencies from the early 1970's that are just fine, also. I cannot speak for my professional E-4 slides, as the clients would have all of those, thus rendering them unavailable for me to evaluate, if they still exist at all.

 

[djon]

I don't believe Kodachrome has any inherent archival advantage over E6 or E4. The fact that claims to contrary are made in pop photo mags supports my belief 😉

I do see slight fading/loss of contrast in Kodachromes from the Seventies. ...Kodachrome PRINTS (yes) of me as an infant (I'm 62) look great, though my father's Kodachrome slides from Korean War era are significantly fading.

I ran a very fine Ektachrome E4/slide dupe lab in San Francisco the early Seventies (Media Generalists)...those slides look at least as good as my Kodachromes from that era.

In 1976 custom lab work (Faulkner, also San Francisco) I did see nearly terminal 4X5 and 8X10 chromes from the Fifties that needed a lot of work to restore in large format duplication, but I also saw gorgeous examples..some of this sheet film was something earlier than E3, perhaps Anscochrome.

 

[Theo-Prof]

I believe that the conventional wisdom of K-14 versus E-6 is that in "dark" storage Kodachrome outlasts E-6 process films, but that E-6 stand up much better to projection.

Kevin

 

[zeos 386sx]

Archivability is a can of worms. There are so many different factors that affect it that I'm surprised anyone dares to have opinions about how long anything will last.

Best bet, keep them cool, dry, and in a dark place without too many noxious chemicals floating around, and make both analog and digital backups. Store your backups in a different location from the original. That way, no matter how long the original might last, you have something from which to restore the image.

 

[djon]

The silliness of "conventional wisdom" becomes obvious when it addresses dark storage Vs projection...hardly any film is regularly projected, almost all film is dark-stored.

 

[Trius]

I too have some old E6 slides that have survived quite well. I'd have to look for K-12 and K-14 slides that have faded; there probably are some, but I don't recall seeing any. Some of my Agfa E6 slides are badly faded, others are OK ... go figure.

I too have a Kodachrome print. The original was taken in 1947 or so, and the print was made later, IIRC. The colours are rather muted, but I don't know if that is fading of the print, the condition of the original, or just the true colours from the slide.

Trius

 

[djon]

Deciding between color films based on longevity is essentially a distraction. Everything fades eventually UNLESS it's digital. Then the game becomes multiple format storage and periodic recopying (digital doesn't lose in copying if you're going from TIFF to TIFF).