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Print Longevity, research programs, etc.
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Hi all,
For those of you interested in print longevity, there’s a severe shortage of information out there on the longevity of particular printer/paper/ink combinations. People generally agree that pigment inks are longer lasting than dye inks, but may be slightly lagging behind in colour gamut. Here’s a couple of sites that I’ve been keeping an eye on in this regard:http://www.wilhelm-research.com/ – Henry Wilhelm – longstanding researcher into digital printing.
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/ – relatively new research program, testing various combinations of paper/ink/printer.The difference between these two is mostly in their methods. Wilhelm tends to use OEM inks in the printers, an the little research that has been done on third party inks tends not use combinations that people actually use. Mark McCormick-Goodhart (Aarderburg), on the other hand, invites his members to submit samples that he will put through his labs and log the degradation over time, producing a report on progress every couple of months.
It’s worth having a look at the “accelerated ageing tests” section of Mark’s site to see the type of information available, although you won’t be able to access all the reports, as his research is supported by members subscriptions. I’ve a couple of samples in there, both from Epson Photo printers, both on Epson Premium Luster paper, but one is with OEM Claria Dye, and one is with a cheap third-party dye off ebay through a CISS. The differences are nothing short of astounding. The Claria holds up very well against other dyes, but still not quite as good as pigment, but not far off. The 3rd party sample is brutal. I’ll certainly be looking for an alternative ink for my CISS when the current batch runs out.. There’s a sample of Fujicolor Crystal Archive Pro just gone into testing, and it’ll be interesting to see how that holds up against all the others, as that’s very common in print labs around ireland.
If you’re using a CISS (Continuous Ink Supply System) with your printer, it’s almost essential reading, and even more so if you sell/give/donate/distribute prints that are going to be displayed for any length of time.
Rgds,
Dave.
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