Laminating an A4 Printed Photo. Will it last longer fading wise ??

  • Thread starter Thread starter On Holidays
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On Holidays

Can you put a light filter or somthing ontop of the photo to stop
fading ???

Iam going to use a Pixma I8500 Canon to do the printing.

Thanks.
 
On Holidays said:
Can you put a light filter or somthing ontop of the photo to stop
fading ???

Iam going to use a Pixma I8500 Canon to do the printing.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yes - depending on the laminate you use. There is the risk that the plastic
you use could off-gas and cause fading itself.
 
Caitlin said:
Yes - depending on the laminate you use. There is the risk that the plastic
you use could off-gas and cause fading itself.
Click to expand...

... but who likes to look at laminated photos? Tacky of what. Mount it behind
glass in a decent frame or in an album. You can also get acid free paper or
mylar sleeve designed for archival storage.
 
Yes, even simply framers glass will reduce fading.

Better still are some UV filtering glasses and plastics, and also some
types of sprays and lacquers.

Also, be aware that some papers hold ink dyes better than others.


Art
 
Laminates usually are composed of more thermal adhesive by thickness and
weight than plastic. The problem is those adhesives vary quite a bit in
their chemical make up and so the way they will react with the colorants
is not well studied.

Art
 
A well applied laminate can look as good as a high gloss, silk, semi
matte or matte photographic surface. Framing behind glass is great, if
the person is after framing behind glass. However, if they have another
look or design in mind, laminate, at least from the POV of the look, can
be fine. Whether it will successfully protect the image from fading, or
hold up against yellowing, is still another issue.

Art
 
Arthur Entlich said:
A well applied laminate can look as good as a high gloss, silk, semi
matte or matte photographic surface.
Click to expand...

Ok. Perhaps I've never seen good quality laminating. All those I've seen
have had or developed tiny white bubbles.
 
Can you put a light filter or somthing ontop of the photo to stop
fading ???

Iam going to use a Pixma I8500 Canon to do the printing.
Click to expand...

OH-

Mounting behind glass, laminating and spray-coating are ways to reduce the
effects of UV. However, there is still UV getting through, and you only
reduce the process a relatively small amount.

Suppose a print fades to an unacceptable level after a week of exposure to
direct sunlight. By "protecting" it, you may extend that to eight or ten
days.

Your printer should produce longer-lasting prints than this, but the
increase will be about the same percentage. With longer lasting colors,
you then need to consider the paper's effects on print life.

If you are serious about optimizing your print life, do some experiments
and see just how fast various combinations fade.

Fred
 
Fred McKenzie said:
OH-

Mounting behind glass, laminating and spray-coating are ways to reduce the
effects of UV. However, there is still UV getting through, and you only
reduce the process a relatively small amount.

Suppose a print fades to an unacceptable level after a week of exposure to
direct sunlight. By "protecting" it, you may extend that to eight or ten
days.
Click to expand...


In fact it will increase it's life significantly more than that. But you are
right that it will still fade.
 
That is usually the result of either underheating, causing the laminate
adhesive not to liquefy fully and therefore not to adhere to the image
surface or overheating during the lamination process causing the
adhesive to boil. Some papers also are not compatible with laminating
and may separate from the adhesive even after it has cooled. Inkjet
papers are tricky, due to the many coatings they often contain, but a
good combination can look fine.

Art
 
Caitlin said:
In fact it will increase it's life significantly more than that. But you are
right that it will still fade.
Click to expand...

I would expect lamination to be about as good as mounting behind glass for
UV protection, and it would keep out air. I don't think spray-on UV
coatings would be very effective by comparison.

It is hard to do a test in direct sunlight around here since it rains
quite often! A while back I did a crude test by putting three prints
inside the rear window of my car, which sat outdoors in the Florida sun
while I was at work. In other words, they were protected by a layer of
glass.

In about 1 week, the print from a Canon BJC-85 was noticeably faded. In
about 4 weeks the print from an Epson C-60 (pre-durabrite) was faded.
After one year, the print from an Epson Photo 2000P (pigmented ink)
appeared to be unfaded unless you compared it with a control print that
had been kept in the dark.

My point is that there are other factors more critical to print life than
a protective coating. The paper used for the print also affects life of
the ink. In the case of my year-old prints in the hot car, their surface
had turned to chalk, and was easily damaged by a fingernail.

Fred
 
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