Photoprocessing at Target - Archivable? What's their process?

[ThurlFan]

I'm trying to figure out what exactly the process is they use at Target to make their 1-hour prints. The folks that run the machines (that I've talked to) don't actually know what the process is, they just know there's some kind of ribbon that has to get changed now and then.

We often get our snaps printed at Walgreens because the process they use projects the image onto reactive photo paper and makes an actual photo of the same type you would get from a negative (or so I'm told - open to being corrected on that also).

Does anyone have a good guess as to what our Target is doing, and the likely shelf life of the pictures we got recently (they worked out to be free, so there's no loss). I've already told Mrs Thurl not to plan on using them for scrapbooking because some or all of the colors may not last more than a few years.

Thanks for any info anyone wants to volunteer...

 

[ssanders79]

Not sure if this helps, the the last batch of 1-hour prints I sent to Target are printed on Kodak XtraLife II paper.

I found references to the paper at the following sites.
http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/KODAK_Quality_Prints_That_Last_A_Lifetime.htm
http://logix-usa.com/KPK/apex.html

The process could also vary between Target locations as they probably replace/upgrade printers when need not all at once unless there is a deal in place to keep update machines in place.