preserving e6 slides

Is there any substance one can coat a transparency (e6 process) to preserve the life

of it? I understand that Kodachrome is given a coat for preservation. What is that?

I don't think there's any such coating on current Kodachrome. 1950s and earlier Kodachromes have some sort of coating because the early emulsion was extremely fragile and prone to scratches but I don't think that's an issue for E6.

Lacquering hasn't been done to Kodachromes for years. It was really physical protection, not chemical. Also provides some protection against fungus.

 

Lacquering was never done to Ektachrome films. The failure modes of the dyes wouldn't be much changed by them.

 

Cold temperature and low humidity are the way to protect Ektachromes. The colder the better. Some important archives are considering storage well below freezing.

 

That said, current E-6 Ektachromes are pretty stable. It's the E-3 and earlier ones that are very touchy. Even for them, storage conditions are important. The Ektachromes of the Kennedy White House are in danger, for instance. On the other hand, I just received an Ektachrome slide from 1961, and it looks great. It would be the original Ektachrome, probably process E-2, but maybe E-3.

 

Processing quality also matters for Ektachrome stability, especially for the old E-3 and earlier processes. The 1961 slide I just got was processed by Kodak, who I assure you did it "right".

<p>The best starting point for studying how to store color films safely is Henry Wilhelm, <i><a href="http://www.wilhelm-research.com/book_toc.html">The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures</a></i>.</p>

the storage temperature, relative humidity and exposure to light (dark storage) are

important. b/w film is more susceptible to humidity--color leans towards temp. every ten

degree drop in temp, doubles the life expectancy, but the RH should be pretty low as

well--30-50% or so. basically, if you freeze the film, at low RH and it's kept in the dark,

it will last longest--not as easy as it sounds, if you plan on accessing it much, or have

a lot of it to store as well--but it can be done on a small scale with a frost-free

refrigerator or freezer and the appropriate kind of enclosures--Light Impressions,

Gaylord Bros, University Products, Metal Edge and others all used (still do?) sell

"freezer kits" for film. Some like Gaylord or Hollinger had pamphlets also, outlining

storage issues. Probably currently, the best source for information would be the Image

Permanence Institute, in addition to a bunch of free downloads, like the "Preservation

Calculator" and the abbreviated version of the acetate film storage guide, they have a

publication on color film storage that is more current than Wilhlem's book, although

that's really quite good as well, and worth it for the parts about enclosure products and

cold storage. Hope this helps--my opinions only/even at home.

 

http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/shtml_sub/cat_pubs.asp#color

Shoot Fuji Astia if you want to have E6 slides that will last the longest. They

are supposed to last almost as long as Kodachrome in the dark, and much longer

that Kodachrome if projected now and then. Plus, it is probably the greatest

slide film on the market. (I normally shoot Sensia which looks like Astia but

much cheaper where I live)