Fade Resistant Inks

From the comp.periphs.printers - FAQ v3.09:
Color inkjet printouts are not as long-lasting as photographs. Some can withstand light, but are undone by humidity. Others fade quickly in bright light. Laminating can extend the life of the output. Generally speaking, modern color ink jet printers haven't been around long enough to test the longevity of the newest inks.

If you believe Epson promotional materials, its (original) paper and ink combo have been rated at 2 years before noticeable fade happens. However, anyone who has subjected an Epson inkjet print to UV light will notice substantial fading long before that -- a problem that particularly plagues users of the company's Premium Glossy Photo Paper. And, not to pick on Epson -- many other types of colour prints are far worse. Output created in 1994 from a Primera dye sublimation printer and left exposed to UV light is now so blotchy and faded as to be practically unrecognizable.

To address this problem, Epson in Feb. 2000, released a series of new Stylus Photo printers. Of them, the company says: "Using new Epson 6-Color Photo Inks and new Epson fade-resistant medias, these printers produce photos that compare in lightfastness to standard color prints from photo labs, with color quality and detail which rival, and in many cases exceed, lab prints." However, a Feb. 11th MacFixit report cautions users of older models: "The new fade resistant inks are only available for the specific printer models being released. [Epson does] not recommend the use of the new ink cartridges in any of the older printer models.'"

Royce Bair of Inkjet Art Solutions (www.inkjetart.com) writes of tests done on Epson's standard inks at his location. In the comp.periphs.printers
newsgroup, he wrote:

"Our controlled testing (complete with photos and densitometer readings) show that the "weak link" (in the quest for greater archival permanence) in the [standard] Epson inks is the magenta dye. The magenta fades much faster than the other Epson dyes. This weak link is particularly a problem in the 6-color Epson Color Stylus Photo 700 and the Photo EX printers which use 2 magenta inks -- a regular magenta and a light magenta ink (in the 5-color cartridge, #SO20110). This causes the 6-color "photo" prints to fade much faster than prints made by 4-color Epson printers, which use only one magenta ink instead of two. See for yourself at: http://www.tssphoto.com/sp/dg/fade.html

While the 6-color "photo" prints do fade faster than the same prints made on the 4-color Epson printers (i.e. the 600, 800, 1520 & 3000), I for one, can't give up the beautiful and smooth tones that the "photo" models produce over the 4-color models. These 6-color prints still work great for my portfolio, even though they won't last on the wall (as I require for my fine-art work). Epson's original goal has been to produce a color-accurate ink and paper combination, which they have done very well. They are just now starting to address the problems of longevity. It's hard to get both great color gamut and longevity, but a few third-party companies are starting to come close to achieving that goal, and I hope Epson is not far behind. Their latest improvements in their new "longer lasting" Photo Paper (#S041141) proves that they are concerned about longevity. "

Other companies are moving to address this issue that Epson seems to be dragging its heels on. At the high end, the Evercolor process and the ink and paper formulations used in Iris printers have demonstrated modest levels of permanence. Fortunately, there is a similar trend afoot at the low end, too. Prints from HP's PhotoSmart printer are, according to those who've compared them to prints and papers from Epson and others, holding up very well, a fact that a study quoted in a recent HP press release confirms.

Indeed, the HP website claims:

"HP PhotoSmart prints can be handled without smudging and displayed in indoor lighting conditions for about three years without any perceivable fading. Traditional photographs begin to fade in about seven and one-half years. In dark storage, such as a photo album, time to fade for HP PhotoSmart prints is equal to traditional photographs. However, unlike traditional photographs, HP PhotoSmart prints do not yellow in dark storage."

While such marketing materials aren't exactly  concrete, objective evidence, it does suggest that HP's PhotoSmart system is at least intended to deliver more fade-resistant than the output from competing inks and papers.

A 1997 Hewlett-Packard document claims "HP tests have demonstrated that other inkjet prints that claim to be photo quality are subject to significant image loss and color degradation in as few as four months..." and maintains that "the study indicates that PhotoSmart prints have significantly greater display than earlier generations of inkjet color prints."

However, a separate HP document warns, "If the colors in the printed photographs fade or change over time, HP Premium InkJet Paper was probably used. For best results, use HP Photo Paper, HP Premium Glossy paper, or plain paper."

Elsewhere in comp.periphs.printers, Edward Bigelow notes:

"[A test] using a 'simulated 5 years of typical interior wall display,' showed a 21% fade on an image from a six-color printer using the 'old' Epson paper (the only type available here in California until last month,) and a 9.6% fade for an image from a 4-color printer using the same paper. The 6-color inks faded 2.1875x more. Using the "new" papers showed up how poorly the old acid rich paper holds up in light.

A WARNING to all those who print on non-archival paper! In this sample the 6-color had 10.9% fade and the 4-color had 6%. The 6 color faded 1.816667x more. So a print made before this month with a 6-color printer would have a 21% fade and one printed today on a 4-color printer with new Epson paper would have a 6% fade. This 6-color image would fade 3.5x faster than the 4-color. Unfortunately the real world is not comprised of a 'simulated 5 years of typical interior wall display,' and anyone exposing inkjet images directly to sun will normally see significant fade in a day or so - less than 16 hours exposure! In comparison a color copy (Canon or Kodak) will last MONTHS in direct sun with no color degradation."

Other possible solutions include the application of a UV-protecting coating, such as mounting behind UV Clear Acrylic or Conservation Glass. Conservation glass is coated with a special material which filters out 97% of ultra-violet radiation. Another possible solution is to use a spray-on such as Krylon UV Resistant Clear Acrylic 1305 (check a sample page for colour-fastness before sacrificing your masterpiece!).

For further reading:
Epson Printers Score and Fumble, says David Em in an article at ZoneZero on the topic of Epson's Latest Printers. It's worthwhile reading if you're in the market for an inkjet.

Wilhelm Permanence Research - The best research being done on the life expectancy of media and inks for Fine Art Imaging.

HP Inkjet Print Cartridges - Will The Inks Fade Over Time?
SUMMARY: Ink fading and hue shift will occur over time. Many factors contribute to the amount of time before visible changes occur to printed materials. Different ink colors will begin to fade at varying times.

HP PhotoSmart C3844A and C3845A InkJet Print Cartridges - Ink Light Fastness, Fade Resistance, and Archivability
SUMMARY: PhotoSmart photos (printed with HP PhotoSmart ink on genuine PhotoSmart photographic paper) can be displayed in indoor light conditions for about three years without any perceivable fading. In dark storage, such as a photo album, time to fade for HP PhotoSmart prints is equal to traditional photographs. The testing revealed that PhotoSmart prints significantly outlasted the dye-sublimation prints we tested and actually approached the display life of conventional photographic ...

http://welcome.to/digitaldarkroom
SUMMARY: A website dedicated to inkjet printing with emphasis on photo-realism. Primarily focused on the use and optimization of the Epson Photo EX/700 and HP's Photosmart scanner.

Macintouch: Print Permanence special report.

Inkjet Mall: Archival Luminos Preservation Silver and Preservation Platinum inks for the Epson Photo 750.

May 8, 2000: Press Release: New HP Inks Will Last More Than 200 Years, Says Study

June 20, 2000: MacWEEK: Color Geek: Ozone alert!

Sept. 8, 2000: MacWEEK: Color Geek: An open letter to Seiko-Epson regarding its exaggerated colour-fastness claims.

Sept. 13, 2000:  PCWorld: Lost in the Ozone: Epson Photos Fade (includes recommended fixes for the problem.)

Dec. 5, 2000: MacInTouch: Bob Meyer has posted new ozone and fade tests for Epson and third-party papers used in conjunction with the Photo Stylus 870/1270 inkjet printers.

May 26, 2001:  Refilling Inks - a reader report on how to refill ink cartridges.

Oct. 7, 2002: PCWorld: The Fade Factor: Ink jet photos can last for years--or a few months, depending on the printer, ink, and paper. We identify the best products and deals