Can you use a protective varnish on Kodak Endura photographic prints instead of framing under glass?
Asked 6/11/2012
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I’m looking for a way to protect photo prints without using glass. I’ve seen Hahnemühle’s protective varnish, but it is described for canvas inkjet prints and the manufacturer says it was only developed and tested for canvas inkjet output.
My prints are not canvas and not home inkjet prints—they are lab prints on Kodak Endura paper, often the metallic version. Is there any varnish, wax, or similar coating that is suitable for protecting this kind of photographic print, or is that mainly a canvas/inkjet solution?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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In the 'old' days, a kind of wax polish was used to 'deepen' the blacks and also to protect a little the emulsion of photographic prints. As it doesn't contains water it would not dissolve the ink of modern inkjet prints and would perhaps work on those Kodak prints too.
On those 'classic' baryta photographic prints, I use the "Vernis Céronis pour tableaux MAT" made by Lefranc&Bourgeois from Le Mans, France. This is a kind of bees wax based mixture as made for oil paintings; carefully apply with a soft cloth or a fine brush, and gently rub till it start to somewhat shine slightly (satiné). This wax is water repellent.
All tough, I never tried it on inkjet...
Good luck!
Originally by user9870. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user9870
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Based on the answers, varnish is mainly a canvas/inkjet product, and there’s no evidence here that it’s suitable for Kodak Endura photographic paper. Since the manufacturer only tested its product on canvas inkjet prints, using it on lab photo paper would be experimental and risky.
One answer notes that older darkroom prints were sometimes treated with wax polishes to slightly protect the emulsion and deepen blacks. A beeswax-based picture varnish/wax was mentioned for classic baryta prints, but the responder had not tried it on inkjet or on your type of Kodak print.
So the safest conclusion is: there is no clearly supported varnish recommendation here for Kodak Endura prints. If you want protection without glass, coatings used for canvas should not be assumed compatible with photographic paper, and wax/varnish options for traditional prints don’t confirm suitability for modern lab prints.
If preservation matters, test only on spare prints first and get guidance from the print lab or paper manufacturer before applying any coating.
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