5 USE OF THE FADING MONITOR

AT ALL TIMES THE monitor should be kept in the same temperature and relative humidity conditions as the print to which it has been assigned. When the print is on display, the monitor should be exposed to the same intensity of light of the same spectral distribution for exactly the same length of time. The monitor can be exposed to light in a room separate from the display area only if all conditions are identical. The light level on the monitor can be adjusted by varying the distance of the monitor from the light source; the level chosen should be equal to the light intensity on the most brightlyilluminated portion of the print. Most gallery and museum display areas do not provide completely uniform illumination on the entire surface of a print. If daylight is present in the display areas, it will probably be necessary to place the monitor on the wall adjacent to the print, as it is difficult to obtain identical lighting conditions at all times of the day in a different location. When the print is shipped to another location (for example, when it is loaned to another institution), the monitor must accompany the print during transit and storage; the monitor and the original print must be kept together at all times. The borrowing institution must be instructed as to the proper use of the monitor.

Initially, the fading monitor densities should be measured at least once a year to see how much change has taken place; experience with each type of print material and with the dark storage and display conditions to which the prints are subjected will indicate whether the monitor should be measured more or less frequently.