[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Preservation negatives



Title: RE: Preservation negatives

One thing you might do is shop around for a new vendor that will fill your needs, and let the present vendor know you are doing so.  Of course I don't know your history with the present lab, but if there compelling reasons for staying with them (price, physical proximity to the archive, etc.) it is to be hoped that they will make an effort to keep your business.

Of course many labs are turning into largely digital operations, but they should be flexible and those that deal with archives and fine art usually have customers who demand high-quality traditional photographic services.

Currently, I am looking at some different vendors but going the other way:  Since I'll be creating high-resolution scans here from the originals for inclusion in a database, my preference for customer imaging is to send out digital files on disk for printing, rather than the original, as has been done in the past.  The fact is that we already have copy negs for many of our early photos, and digitizing here keeps the originals in the archive, which I like very much.  It's a trade-off, and we still have access to a traditional b/w lab that we have been very satisfied with, but quite frankly the time and cost of shipping originals to a vendor safely are quite high.  However, if creating your own digital files is either not an option, or not something that you're interested in doing at this point, then you should be getting more than a digital file (over which you have no control) for you trouble sending one of your precious originals out of the archive.

In all of this, I am not disregarding the value of obtaining a preservation negative for the collection.  However, there are other approaches to filling this need other than the traditional customer-driven model of getting copy negatives made only when a patron requests it.  This is different for each collection.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Peter F. Schmid, CA
Visual Resources Archivist 
Providence Archives
4800 37th Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98126-2793
Tel:  206-937-4600 ext. 1225
Fax:  206-923-4001
<mailto:pschmid@providence.org>



>-----Original Message-----
>From: Catherine Bruck [mailto:bruck@IIT.EDU]
>Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 7:15 AM
>To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
>Subject: Preservation negatives
>
>
>I had a someone distrubing conversation yesterday with my
>contact at the
>professional photo lab where I send my photo orders, and I'm
>wondering if
>others are encountering this situation.  When I need a copy of
>a historic
>image, and the only thing I have to start with is the vintage
>print, I send
>it to this lab and ask them to make a copy negative (traditional film
>negative) and make the prints from that interneg.  That's been the
>proceedure for three years now.  Last week instead of getting
>the negative
>back as usual, I got a small paper printout of the image
>referencing the
>file number the lab had assigned to the scanned image (which
>they will hold
>for one year).  The photographic prints I received had been
>made from the
>scan obviously.
>
>When I called to explain the error and let them know I needed the film
>negative as originally requested, there followed a long
>explanation of the
>(lab's) preference for digital imaging and detailed
>explanations of how the
>images could be put on CD-ROMs, stored on my hard drive, done
>in low res
>and high res, etc., etc.  -- all of which I knew and didn't
>need explained
>to me.  I countered with the explanation that the archival
>field's current
>recommendation continues to be a film negative FOR
>PRESERVATION PURPOSES,
>even if a digital image is available FOR ACCESS PURPOSES.
>
>The outcome is this:  the lab will continue to make film
>negatives at my
>insistence, but I was getting the message that they will not do this
>indefinately.  Furthermore, even if I send a vintage print and
>they make a
>film negative for me, they will make the prints from a scanned
>image, not
>from the negative.
>
>Help!  What do the rest of you think?
>
>A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
>
>To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to
>listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
>      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
>                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
>To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
>
>Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
>     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
>
>Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>
 ****************************************************************************This message is intended for the sole use of the individual and entity to whom it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law.  If you are not the intended addressee, nor authorized to receive for the intended addressee, you are hereby notified that you may not use, copy, disclose or distribute to anyone the message or any information contained in the message.  If you have received this message in error, please immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete the message.  Thank you very much.                                                                       ****************************************************************************