Pink fingerprints on photographic print

Tim Vitale <tjvitale [at] ix__netcom__com> writes

>I have seen a few pink fingerprints on B&W prints before, but I've
>never had to define the source.

Those responsible for BW paper technology at AGFA told me some years
ago, that not only their company has stopped investments into the
development of new bw paper products a long time ago. Thus, it seems
unlikely that the pink colour can be attributed to a certain modern
emulsion, which would react so differently from the regular
materials. Since the pink colour would mean a larger and rather
homogenous particle size than the usual yellowish-brown tone, I
assume that the person responsible for those fingerprints did not
only leave NaCl or KCl but also some other substance on the
photographic surface, which then reacted with the image silver to
form this unusual colour.

Klaus Pollmeier
State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart
Conservation of New Media and Digital Information
Hoehenstrasse 16
D-70736 Fellbach
Germany
+49 711 664638 16
Fax: +49 711 586453


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:10
                Distributed: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-19-10-009
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