As digital cameras replace film cameras, the lifespan of printed images becomes a worry. This is especially true if you pay top dollar for a photo-grade inkjet and splurge on expensive ink and coated photo paper.
If the greens become blues and reds become pinks in a year, who's to blame? Should we expect inkjet companies to give fade resistance assurances with their inks and papers?
The answer is yes, but only if you use their recommended (read: more expensive) inks and papers. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Canon and Epson have submitted their inks and papers to a firm called Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR), known in photography circles for their benchmark tests on photographic prints.
What is fade resistance?
HP calls it "fade resistance" and "color fastness". Canon calls it "color permanence." They all mean the same thing: The length of time prints will stay looking as good as the day they were printed.
Wilhelm Imaging Research subjects prints to simulated aging, in a virtual time machine process that compresses years into weeks. Prints are subjected to intense light bombardment, air and constant humidity, among other things, and long-term predictions are drawn.
When discussing fade resistance, say inkjet makers, it's essential to define the combination of ink (usually through the cartridge model) and the paper's product name. Also, there are various types of tests done by WIR; it's important to state the type of color permanence test when making claims.
For example, most stated results refer to aging tests done with the prints framed under glass, under very bright fluorescent bulbs, as if the print were hung on a wall. The glass protects the paper somewhat by filtering color-fading light as well as reducing contact with ozone in the air, which can bleach ink. Therefore, they should be taken with a pinch of salt by those of us who will be storing our prints in a more unprotected manner, say, in plastic file folder, or stacked on a shelf.
The Results
HP, Canon and Epson sent CNETAsia selected test results from WIR; some came from WIR itself. Canon also referred us to a PC World story published last year which has a table summarizing WIR test results for major manufacturers.
Canon
"Whether a printout is fade resistant depends on the quality of paper and the stability of the ink," said a Canon spokesman.
Canon offered results for their S800 photo printer, using Canon Photo Paper Pro paper (PR 101).
"When the photos are kept away from light (indoor conditions) they are fade resistant for up to 25 years," said the spokesman, quoting WIR results.
Hewlett-Packard
HP's results on WIR's test have an added twist. A HP spokesman said that they are the first to display results for unprotected prints--prints that are exposed to air and light without the glass frame, which is a for more realistic gauge of how users will typically store their prints.
From WIR, about HP Colorfast Photo Paper, used with HP 900-series and HP PhotoSmart printers:
"This ozone-resistant swellable-polymer coated photo paper is rated at 18-20 years when framed under glass and at 13-15 years when unframed and exposed to ambient air (bare-bulb). ColorFast Photo Paper also has significantly improved humidity-fastness properties when compared with previous HP photo papers."
Epson
Epson's ColorLife Photo Paper rated 25-27 years when displayed under glass before noticeable fading occurred, says WIR.
Said WIR: "When compared to Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper and other microporous photo papers, Epson ColorLife paper offers significantly increased resistance to fading caused by ozone and other atmospheric contaminants when displayed unframed and exposed to the open atmosphere.
"The new paper...is intended for use with the dye based inks in Epson 870/1270 and 890/1280 photo printers."
Epson also rated its newer Stylus Photo printers--the SP1290, SP895, SP820--at around 25 years, when used with Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight. However, these results are from Epson's own tests.
Conclusions
Yes, it's true--even photo prints on coated paper will fade, and in less than 10 years, in some cases.
From speaking to inkjet manufacturers, we learnt that more expensive printers tend to use more fade-resistant inks.
The ink composition of pricey (over AU$1,000), semi-pro printers such as the Epson SP2000P and wide format printers (A3 size and up) such as the Hewlett-Packard 5000 can offer results of over 100 years--a result that beats even film photo prints, according to WIR.
On the other end of the scale, cheaper inkjets that use cheaper cartridges, when used with the cheapest coated paper, will yield fade resistance scores of less than 10 years, as results from tests on HP and Epson printers bear out.
Also, it's still more expensive to print from an inkjet than it is to go to the photo lab. Tests results only refer to inks and photo-grade paper combos recommended by printer makers. This means that each 4R or 5R-sized print should cost around AU$1 to AU$3, something to remember when doing film print versus inkjet printer cost comparisons.
3%
2%
