Prints of mine that I have framed are yellowing, after a period of approximately 6 months. I have duplicate prints from the same development run - those that are framed are yellowing, those that are not framed are not yellowing. Sun exposure is not the cause - the damaged photos have not been displayed in areas of high sun exposure. The framing vendor I work with claims the frames are acid free, but the above would suggest that something in the framing environment is damaging the prints.

Where can I go to have the prints and frames tested to determine the cause of the yellowing?

-- gus (abf@ibm.net), September 13, 1999

Answers

Are they RC paper? Are the prints directly against glass? Photo paper, RC at least, fiber maybe, release gasses as they age (outgas). The paper needs to breathe. Use matte board or thin strips to hold the prints off the glass so the gasses can find a way out and fresh air can find its way in.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), September 14, 1999.

Another possibility, if these are genuine silver-gelatin prints, is that they weren't properly fixed. Can you describe the yellowing, or better yet point us to a scan? Does the yellowing show in the highlights? Or is it deepest in the shadows? Is it fairly even, or blotchy?

If you have kept a print from that run on a shelf or somewhere, in the light but not framed, does it show the yellowing?

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), September 17, 1999.