Influence of disinfection methods on the stability of black and white silver gelatin prints

Disinfection methods commonly used in paper conservation are employed to disinfect silver gelatin prints, but their influence on individual photographic layers is little understood. In this paper, we examine the effect of disinfection methods on the optical properties of the two layers of black and white silver gelatin prints: an image layer with a photosensitive substance dispersed in gelatin and a paper support layer with baryta coating. Three methods of disinfection were used: disinfection by γ-radiation, by ethylene oxide and by butanol vapors. Optical properties (total colour difference, UV-VIS reflectance) were measured after disinfection and again after subsequent artificial aging by moist heat and by light. The optical properties of the photographic image and paper support remained unchanged after disinfection in butanol vapors, which suggests that this is a promising disinfection method for silver gelatin photographic prints.