Photos and sun

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave Weller
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Dave Weller

Hi all,

I had the bad surprise to see a picture I printed with my i850 on Canon Pro
photo paper that was facing a window inside my room.

After 3 days of sun on it, the colors faded.

What is the reason ? The ink ? The paper ? Or the printer ?

Thanks
 
It's the ink. Do a search for "archival ink". For best results, keep
prints in binders or behind glass and out of direct sunlight.

Bryan

Dave Weller said:
Hi all,
Click to expand...
I had the bad surprise to see a picture I printed with my i850 on Canon Pro
photo paper that was facing a window inside my room.
Click to expand...
After 3 days of sun on it, the colors faded.
Click to expand...
 
It's the ink. Do a search for "archival ink". For best results, keep
prints in binders or behind glass and out of direct sunlight.

Bryan
Click to expand...

Yes, I discovered that too. In three months half the color was gone,
even though I used genuine ink and photo paper pro. Surprisingly
others printed on Epson Photo Paper and Kodak had not changed.
I guess Canon's claim of 25 year longevity is only valid if you keep
them locked up in a dark, air-conditioned room with controlled
humidity. Yes, we all live in a perfect world....

I'm guessing the paper because other photos printed on Epson
and Kodak papers were fine. Also, one printed on my Lexmark
with generic inks on Epson paper had not faded.

If they fade like this, what more proof do you need that
your wasting your money buying the more expensive Canon inks
and fancy papers. I get wonderful results with alternatives
that cost peanuts... well okay, cashews.

-Taliesyn
 
I am doing a test. I am using Red River paper and after three days out side
in the heat and direct sun I don't see any change yet. That is about 30
hours of direct sunlight. I have refilled Yellow and Photo Cyan and replaced
photo magenta with Canon ink so I have mixed ink from two sources. This is
with an i950 printer. I'll let you know what happens. Not sure why it hasn't
had any effect yet. I really hope it is the paper because this paper is half
the price of Canon Paper Pro and looks very good.
 
My wife just showed me two pictures that I ran off on my Epson 870 slightly
less than three years ago. They've been sitting on a shelf, but not exposed
to sunlight at all. Much to my horror, the paper itself (Epson Glossy Photo,
the 6x4 stuff) has turned quite yellow. I'm not sure if the ink has faded or
not, the yellowed paper made the whole picture look awful.

I thought that those prints were good for a few years, at least, and I never
would have expected the paper to turn.
 
It may be a mixture of the ink and the paper. Both are involved in how
the color dyes or pigments "hold". Some papers can prolong the fade
resistance to inks that might fade more rapidly otherwise.

In general, dye inks are more fugitive than pigmented or dye pigment
mixes. There are some new dye inks coming onto the market soon which
are supposed to have very good fade resistance.

There are numerous inks made for Epson printers by 3rd parties (and some
by Epson) which have very long lives under light. I believe now that
Canon is becoming a printer of choice for some photographers and
artists, that some new inks to address this problem are beginning to
make their appearance for Canon printers.

Art
 
There are many things that can influence how paper responds. Obviously,
if there are smokers in the house, or the images are kept near the
kitchen, which often generates a lot of grease and residual matter in
the air, this can settle on and damage papers.

In some cases, the type of heating or burners you have can make a
difference. Obviously, some papers are just not designed to handle aging
very well. My experience with Epson Photo paper (it has a glossy
surface, but it is not the "premium" glossy) has been reasonable so far,
and I have some old images on it that have Benin exposed to the normal
household "elements".

Art
 
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