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The Latest Longevity Test Results
From Wilhelm Imaging Research
Updated October 29, 1999
Excerpts from Dr. Henry Wilhelm's "The Intimate Relationships of Inks and Papers: You Can't Talk About the Permanence of One Without Considering the Other":
"...the 6-ink systems provide less image stability -- typically two to three times less -- than do 4-ink printers using the same basic ink formulations.
"With a given inkset, the difference in light fading rates between the longest-lasting paper and the least stable paper can exceed 20 to 1. That is, the amount of fading that will take place in 20 years with the best papers can occur in only one year -- or even less -- with the worst!"
Now for the results --
(Taken from: "Inks and Media for Desktop Inkjet Printers: Years of Print Display Before Noticeable Fading Occurs" (For Members of the International Association of Fine Art Digital Printmakers Distributed at the March 6, 1999 IAFADP Meeting in New York -- Updated October 29, 1999) Copyright by Wilhelm Image Research, Inc.)
Comments from Royce Bair @ Inkjet Art Solutions: Can you believe that Lyson's own "matched" fine art paper (similar to Luminos' "Classic Velour") not testing much better than the Epson Photo Paper! And a discontinued standard "photo grade" DW glossy inkjet paper lasting greater than 120 years (instead of one of their premium "Preservation Series" papers)! This is an example of what Henry meant by "With a given inkset, the difference in light fading rates between the longest-lasting paper and the least stable paper can exceed 20 to 1." By the way, Luminos was so impressed by The Wilhelm Research Institute's finding, that they've decided to bring back their Premium DW Glossy. Both of those two great-testing Luminos papers are now available here. The word "tentative" after Tapestry X means that the tests are still continuing, and both of these papers still show no signs of fading!
It is startling to see the differences papers can make on the same inkset. Many of us had concluded before this data that "paper" had less of a determining factor on whether an inkjet image would last (not fade) than the INKSET. Now we can see that the paper and its coating can be a much greater factor! The race to find which inksets and papers are truly "archivally" matched is on!
Here's a clarification recently received from Wilhelm Imaging Research: Whenever you see the "greater than" symbol (>) in The Wilhelm Research Institute's tests it means that "the tests are still in progress", and the media (with that inkset) has reached that number of years in their accelerated fade tests, WITHOUT showing noticeable signs of fading. Therefore, the ">25 years" test result for Somerset Velvet means Somerset has hit that mark (at least 25 years) at the end of this testing period, and the "fade-O-meter" is still running. Once the media/inkset reaches the next mark in Wilhelm's tests (or finally shows noticeable fading), that information will be given in the next reporting period -- or as Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."
More NEW Wilhelm Test Results --
Comments from Royce Bair @ Inkjet Art Solutions: One should not give up on the beautiful Lysonic Standard Fine Art Papers (or the rest of the trio -- "Soft" and "Rough") as it appears Lyson is working on "new, improved-stability" versions. Until then, these papers (including the similar Luminos "Classic Velour", "Museum Parchment" and "Flaxen Weave") have probably been relegated from archival fine art papers to "portfolio" status. (A similar scenario happened with the development of Legion's Liege paper a few years ago, when it was discovered that its coating would sometimes start to yellow after a few years -- turning it from a fine art "giclee" paper to a "job-getting" portfolio paper.)
Just as Wilhelm had said, "...the 6-ink systems provide less image stability -- typically two to three times less -- than do 4-ink printers using the same basic ink formulations." It will be interesting to see how well the non-coated papers like Arches and Somerset hold up using the Fotonic 4-inks and 6-inks.
Can you believe what a difference a change of inkset can make? Compare the test results with the three papers in the "Quad monochrome" inkset to test results on the SAME papers using color inksets (like Lysonic E and Fotonic)! The Quad inks consist of a black and 3 shades of neutral gray ink, so there is less chance of one "color" fading faster than another -- causing a color shift, and indicating "noticeable fading".
For complete Wilhelm test results (all 4 pages -- showing test results with Iris, wide-format printers, and older desktop products), download this PDF file.
Click here to obtain the free Adobe Acrobat reader for viewing and printing ".pdf" files.
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