David,
I'll answer this on list, as it may be important to some of our researchers out there.
According to my printer friend, the finished negatives that were used to burn in the offset plates were not of the same robust quality as the ones we keep in our closets and dresser drawers. They were highly reworked and manipulated, and were very perishable. On base storage was in climate controlled lockers, and they were kept on file in case a plate wore out, but when a production run was over, the stuff was usually recycled for the high silver content, just like xray films. You'll notice that later tm's on the same end item seldom if ever use the older photos. Still, it IS an alluring thought that some of these might still be around! Sadly, all that remains of Raritan today is a long defunct Fedders air conditioner factory.
Jack
In a message dated Fri, 4 Jan 2002 11:15:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, DDoyle9570 writes:
>
> Jack,
> Thanks for all the information. Now for the big question, where did all the negatives for these go when Raritan closed?
> Thanks,
> David
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