Terry
You have no doubt read Henry Wilhelm's summary of his tests on Iris and
other inkjets with various papers and inks. These show that their display
life can be around 50% greater than most RA4 papers (though still
considerably less than some Fuji materials). Whether around 24 years
represents a 'significant period of time' for display is I suppose
arguable, but it should of course be possible to keep the digital files
for longer and replace the prints.
And - as I've been saying - output from a digital file using an LED
printer onto Fuji photo paper can not only give longer lasting prints but
is capable of quality comparable if not superior to lens-based imaging
systems.
As you say, what is all the fuss about?
Peter Marshall
On Fixing Shadows and elsewhere:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~ds8s
Family Pictures, German Indications, London demonstrations &
The Buildings of London etc: http://www.spelthorne.ac.uk/pm/