Graphics Atlas available from the Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology

The Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology has released its Graphics Atlas Web application. According to an announcement on the Archives & Archivists (A&A) List (02009 04 15):

Graphics Atlas is a new online resource that brings sophisticated print identification and characteristic exploration tools to archivists, curators, historians, collectors, conservators, educators, and the general public. Initial development of this resource began in 2006.
 
Graphics Atlas has two central web applications. The print identification application guides you through a concise set of representations that replicate the experience of identifying prints using common tools (i.e., a loupe and simple stereomicroscope).

A second application, the Object Explorer, allows you to browse and compare traits across processes using a set of 18 views made with various lighting techniques and magnifications. Characteristics including size, format, color, texture, sheen, and layer structure are explored logically. The Graphics Atlas contains additional web pages devoted to the history of printing technologies expressed through text, images, and diagrams.