[Leica] If You Really Want Your Pictures to Last...

[jonathan at openhealth.org (Jonathan Borden)]

Mark Rabiner wrote:

> Lets not forget boys and girls that a silver image imbedded in film 
> has much
> less trouble lasting than a silver image embedded in paper. Hard to 
> get that
> stuff out out out!
>
> I fix my film twice and fully expect the stuff to be printable using 
> the
> latest antimatter holographic technology in the year 2525.
>
> I'll be in my grave but somehow I'm sure still paying taxes.
>
That's about right. Indeed given the resolution of film, there is no 
reason not to consider *film* an excellent archival mechanism for 
digital images themselves -- who really cares if a few bits get 
changed, those low order bits are much like Brian's huffman codes in 
any case. Indeed, have a llook at:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/05/06/disc.rot.ap/index.html

(if you still believe that CDs/DVDs will actually last forever)

and


http://www.oprit.rug.nl/otten/Comparison.html

(if you still believe that a 5 megapixel camera has the same resolution 
as 35mm film).

Now of course you could simply "archive" your digital images by 
printing them out on an inkjet printer using a Pictorico film (or 
something similar) and an Epson 2200/4000 etc. at 8.5x11 and indeed 
these digital images might last a reasonably long time.

Jonathan