Desktop Inkjet Art Prints: Longevity?

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J

J

Hi,

can any point me to information regarding longevity of art prints produced
on lower-end inkjet printers? I am considering retailing prints produced in
this way, I have seen printing services that guarantee 70 year or 150 year
lightfastness etc, but not which printers produce them.

Thanks

J
 
J said:
Hi,

can any point me to information regarding longevity of art prints produced
on lower-end inkjet printers? I am considering retailing prints produced in
this way, I have seen printing services that guarantee 70 year or 150 year
lightfastness etc, but not which printers produce them.
Click to expand...

Although you have the so-so tests from www.wilhelm-research.com (keep in
mind that the original set of data was completely pulled after the Epson
orange-fading incident - see http://www.p-o-v-image.com/epson/links.htm
epson orange fading, http://members.cox.net/rmeyer9/epson/ , and oddly,
replaced with 'better sounding' results for the latest printers), the
data from www.inkjetmall.com and other places, =nobody= has actually had
an inkjet print for over 20+ years of storage since the technology
wasn't even out longer than that.

Add to that, even though a company like Epson previously said in their
website and publications that you can get 20+ years of life off their
prints (from the older Epson 870/1270/etc generation), today, even
they're putting down their own printers.

(see http://www.i-love-epson.co.jp/products/printer/inkjet/colorio/
their latest P-series inks are all tooted to last longer and "not fade"
to orange/yellow ,like their samples show, as fast as their older
printers; and yes, makes anyone worried when Epson calls me and hundreds
of other Epson 870/etc. owners up that very year we all found out and
saw for our own eyes the orange fading prints, and offer us 100% =full=
purchase price buybacks of the printer!)

What is known is this -- if you keep the inkjet prints in any folder in
storage for years/decade+, then there will be minimal fading, usually
nothing noticable or objectionable. I've got HP Paintjet (1st home
color inkjet made decade+ ago) prints that still look decent for the
years, and many other inkjet prints from the years in between that look
great.

What is known is that the moment you display the baby under any sort of
'normal' environment -- fridge, wall, work, home, etc. -- they all fade
in a few years/few months/few days flat (speed of fading depends on
printer, paper, ink used). Those who 'bet' their inkjet prints will
last more than 5+ years in open display have got to be kidding themselves.

Simply put, don't bet your life on one and you'll be fine. If you're
doing archival prints for the purpose of sales, well, pray that they'll
last under glass for 10+ years because the moment they're exposed to
anything but museum conditions under low lighting levels, expect them to
start fading.

Now, today, you have the option of going with pigmented or encaspulated
inks. Pigmented inkjets will last longer (chemistry & physics alone) so
here, www.inkjetmall.com selection of pigmented inks may help you
achieve longer print lifespans. You can also go with Epson's high-end
wide-body 7+ color inkjets that use the latest encapsulated inks, but
who knows about these since encapsulated inks have not been around for
more than a decade? You'll have to use pH neutral archival papers as
well, and frame them under glass with the proper spacing to keep the
paper from touching the glass, and proper matting to help minimize any
airflow. (airflow & humidity changes will kill a print faster than you
can say fading!)

Basically, if you can store it like the Constitution and Bill of Rights
(titanium, sealed, temperature, atmosphere, and lighting controlled),
then you can expect any inkjet print to last eons.

Otherwise, maybe 20 years is the most I'd guarentee anything under
framed conditions, if not 10.

(Here, because consumer inkjets have only been around only ~two decades,
I would seriously look at guarenteeing them for only 5 years, max 10.
No lifespan testing can really say they =will= last that long, so no
point putting money on it either.)

What we can say today is that no inkjet print will last beyond 5+ years
in normal, open-air display conditions at home or work, so don't go
betting too much on this.

---

Fuji Pictrography and Dye-Sub technologies, as well as imaging to
regular photo papers (esp. longer lasting Fuji Crystal Archive, etc) are
the better bets. These all use imaging technologies which physically
last longer and withstand fading better.
 
What we can say today is that no inkjet print will last beyond 5+ years in
normal, open-air display conditions at home or work, so don't go betting too
much on this.
Click to expand...

The above statement is just wrong. I have inkjet prints made nearly ten years
ago, in an open office environment that have not faded. The inks used in these
prints are about four generations old in terms of lightfastness, where each
generation has made a factor of two or more improvements in lightfastness.
There are certainly many five year old prints out there that have not
noticeably faded.

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP
 
What we can say today is that no inkjet print will last beyond 5+ years in
The above statement is just wrong. I have inkjet prints made nearly ten years
ago, in an open office environment that have not faded. The inks used in these
prints are about four generations old in terms of lightfastness, where each
Click to expand...

Well, there you go. One example of the opposite.

The problem that still remains is the reliability of achieving
long-lasting, fade-proof prints that will last for the typical user
under all conditions. This yet remains an unpredictable matter, and
here, prints from Canon, Epson and HP posted on the walls of the office,
using both OEM inks & papers as well as 3rd party papers have all faded
noticably within a few months/years after they've been put up on the wall.

A key difference that Kodak has taken into account in their recent
Colorlife paper testing is the varying differences in humidity and
airborne pollutants in various locations in the world. Maybe here in
Southern California, the smog just kills all of the prints on our walls..?

One thing no manufacturer has put out is a blanket statement saying
that their inkjet prints under any 'normal' viewing/display (not just
glass framed) conditions will last for ## number of years. Heck, even
car makers guarentee their cars for several years after purchase if
anything out of the ordinary goes wrong, so it makes you wonder just how
permenant inkjet prints really are....

In any case, Wilhelm's test results for the common HP 56/57/58 inks
used in most of the photo prints HP makes today are here:
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/WIR_HP5550_2002_12_15.pdf

Note the 11 year expected life of the 4 color prints in open display
conditions; note the unusual 49 years of expected life of the 6 color
prints (unusual since most 6-color prints don't last as long as 4-color
prints in past experience). Anyways, these tests are not made under
conditions with ozone or other air pollutants, just a bare light bulb,
so don't expect prints in real-life to last anywhere as long as the
expected ratings stated in this test. (Unless you just happen to live
in a museum or other location with stable humidity and temperature all
year round.)

Note that no manufacturer will even guarentee a print for half that
rated expected lifespan, despite data from these various longevity tests.

Note that the fluorescent bulb they used in these tests markedly
differ from incadescent lighting and sunlight in the actual wavelengths
of light and intensity at each wavelength they produce (generally,
incadescent and sunlight produce far greater IR, and sunlight has far
greater of both IR and UV rays, all of which lead to faster print fading).

----

Anyways, that said, I would not guarentee a print for more than a few
years at any rate based on even the 'ideal' test data that has been
produced specifcally for the HP printer ink sets. Realistically, you're
betting quite a lot on what has not been 'time tested', only
experimentally estimated, so no point having your business going under
when a lawsuit hits if you had actually been dumb enough to warranty a
print that has faded for longer than, oh, let's say, 5 years.

Maybe in real-life these prints will actually last years and years
(nobody knows since these inks have not been sold for more than 5
years), but as a smart business person, don't oversell what you don't
know for sure.
 
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