Hand Oiling is a near lost art! ~ And is the only true color archival process proven through the tests of time!

Properly executed, a hand oil must begin with a museum grade, archivally certified black and white image. After the black & white image is completed, it then receives additional processing to convert the image into a "brown tone". Once the brown tone image is mounted on museum grade backing it is ready for hand oiling. Oils used for this process are of the same lasting quality as any other museum quality oil painting, providing an heirloom print capable of lasting over a century without any significant deterioration.

So what would be the result if a "black & white" were oiled instead of a "brown tone" image?

A comparison is shown on the right (the far right being the B&W print). The most obvious difference is the representation of skin tones. While the oiled flesh tones of the brown tone print appears warm and natural, the black & white has a cold, bluish, almost cadaverish cast.