Iris prints

We are about to travel a set of 85 Iris prints for a three year
tour. We are concerned about the care requirements for these
materials. They will be printed on watercolor paper and floated.
Most of the prints will be about 17 x 22 inches in size. We  are
wondering if anyone has done any experiments on these materials and
if you have any suggestions for :

    1.  Climate-control levels. Would you recommend that we can ship
        them by freight or display them in non-climate control
        conditions?

    2.  Color longevity. What is the standard rate of color
        denigration? According to "The Permanence and Care of Color
        Photographs" by Wilhelm and Browser the rate is less than
        three years with standard UV controls? Has the color
        permanency of the dyes improved? If so what is the rate?

    3.  What light levels would you recommend for this type of
        imagery? 15-20 foot candles?Can we get away with higher or
        is this the higher range?

These may seem like basic questions, but they are being strongly
debated right now,  especially the idea that these are just
glorified colored photocopies and should be treated as such.  Any
advice that can be offered for the care and feeding of these
materials would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance for
your assistance.

Karen Whitehair,
Registrar/Project Director
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
1100 Jefferson Dr., SW
Washington, DC  20560
202-357-3168 x155

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:56
                 Distributed: Tuesday, January 5, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-56-018
                                  ***