The following notes apply to all the stocks we print on, and also to our mats and pages. See below for suggested language for your retail website.
Conservation quality
We normally describe the stocks we use as “conservation quality” — a term carefully defined by national standards around the world — to align with our manufacturers’ own substantiated claims. What makes it so relevant to the printing, storage and display of photographic prints is that conservation quality stocks are “pH-buffered”. In other words they're made with an alkaline buffer to remain “acid-free” throughout their normal life, not just at the time of manufacture.
Sometimes we may describe a stock as “pH-buffered”. Normally this applies to stocks made specifically for Queensberry. The quality is the same.
Why buffering is essential: Products that are acid-free when manufactured but not pH-buffered will become acidic over time when exposed to the real world environment in which we live.
Our paper and card stocks come from sustainable forests. We do not use recycled stocks as these do not have sufficient strength for products designed to last for generations.
We do not use off-label inks. We only source inks from Epson, or in the case of our latex-printed canvas options, from Hewlett-Packard. Just as important, our printers are carefully maintained, serviced and regularly calibrated to ensure high quality.
Silver-halide prints: True photographic printing has been constantly refined for well over a century. The prints are created using light-sensitive paper and silver-based chemistry and have proven colour-fastness, longevity and durability.
Recycling: To reduce both our costs and environmental impact we closely monitor all production inputs, and recycle all recyclable waste, such as the silver from our Lab, and paper and card from the Bindery. (Local schools and kindergartens love our offcuts!)
Care and Handling: Fine Art Inkjet prints are more delicate than traditional photo prints and should be handled with care. We recommend that they be framed or matted to protect them. We offer them in our box and frame products, and as loose prints from 10x8" (25x20cm) up to 60x40" (152x102cm). We also offer Fine Art Paper in our Flushmount albums.
Suggested language for your retail website
This text is necessarily general. We prefer to keep the language simple, but feel free to check out our website for more about specific products. Please delete the Fine Art or Silver Halide paragraphs if they don’t apply to you!
Designed to last for generations
All our prints, pages and mats are created using Conservation Quality, ph-Buffered stocks, meaning they are made with an alkaline buffer to remain acid-free throughout their lifetime.
All our prints are created by skilled professionals on equipment that is carefully maintained, serviced and calibrated to ensure consistent, high quality prints. Wherever possible please keep them out of direct sunlight to protect them from ultraviolet light.
Fine Art Inkjet prints are more delicate than traditional photo prints and should be handled with care. We recommend that they be framed or matted to protect them.
Our true photographic (Silver Halide) prints are based on a technology that has been refined for over a century, and offers constant colour, unmatched longevity and durability.
Further information
Are your albums museum/archival quality? “The true test of an album, and the images in it, is two-fold. Is it an object of great desire and value in the eyes of your customers? And will it be a safe place for your images — an heirloom to be treasured by future generations?”
Are Queensberry’s products “fine art”? The short answer is yes, the long answer depends on what you mean by fine art! You can certainly call our prints “fine art” if all you're selling is matte or textured inkjet prints. And if you're offering lustre inkjet or silver halide prints alongside them, as we do, it's perfectly fine to call them all "fine art". In this article we explain why. These are marketing words — use the ones that, in good conscience, speak to and support your brand.
Alexandria
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