I too have a bit of a problem with the statement that they haven't changed
formulas in 200+ years. Now it is true, as reported in several of my books,
that the conglomerate Arjomari-Prioux (Ar=Arches; Jo=Johannot; Ri-Rives,
etc.) was extremely reluctant to jump on the acid-free bandwagon of the 70s
(no I'm not talking about LSD;-))
They pointed to the fact that anyone make an acid-free paper that could
start rotting in less than a week. They were very unhappy with the wrong
public perception that their excellent (and expensive) papers could be
considered inferior because they were not loaded with alkaline chemicals
while crappy papers loaded with chalk could be considered archival...
This being said, market pressure is there and when the world's largest
paper customers (governments) come up with specs that have to be met,
manufacturers have to adapt. This affects everybody in the industry. The
whole picture gets a lot more complicated when you add environmental
concerns.
>Of course maybe we don't necessarily believe company info either. (Or
>maybe that river in France is full of Perrier water?) What does the pH pen
>say? Fact remains that for our cyanotype formula, Rives BFK often does not
>print well. It tends to white flecks, too.
>
>Meanwhile, an interesting point -- I've clipped an item from newspaper
>that says, "Sulfur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain, have been
>reduced by 2.6 million tons since 1990."
>
>Could it be all that "buffering" will soon be de trop?
Just saw on The Learning Channel that the last ice age happened over a
period of ten years, so everything is possible...
Luis