Pigmented
Archival UV Inks for
fine art giclée printing
How
can you avoid having your nice inkjet print fade? What inks are best
for UV protection? Ilford Archival, EnduraChrome from Colorspan, Gold
inks from American Ink Jet Corporation? Its not good for repeat
business if your expensive prints lose their color after a few weeks
on the wall.
Here is a display
print which has been on a wall for several months. More than that,
this is in Guatemala, where you get plenty of tropical sunlight. And
it is unlikely that the fluorescent lighting is UV shielded either.
Yet this print still displays its original colors. So what ink offers
these results?
This
print is from the Ilford OEM version of an Encad 600-series. I presume
we were using Archival inks, as this was printed at the German offices
of Ilford Imaging, outside Frankfurt. The print was made in summer
'99.The print was still looking just fine when I last saw it in late
summer 2002. The print has no lamination whatsoever.
The picture is
a direct digital rollout photograph of a 10th century pre-Columbian
vase in the Museo Popol Vuh, a photograph by Nicholas Hellmuth from
the FLAAR Photo Archive. It hangs on the wall of the Rector's office,
Universidad Francisco Marroquin. FLAAR has its test, evaluation, and
review center to cover the Latin American market at this university.
We will check in again this summer and see how the print is holding
up. If you go to www.wide-format-printers.org you can see other color
ink jet prints there.
Ilford inks are
known throughout the industry for their long-lasting qualities. Actually
the ink here is only one of the fine inks from Ilford. They now have
a newer ink that lasts even longer. Endurachrome inks from Colorspan
are talked about as well but until they are available in our own facility
we cannot judge them. If you work with ICC profiles, be sure to get
this information as well.
The fasting fading
prints in the world are those of Epson desktop printers, their infamous "fast fade" inks or "disappearing inks." Epson
prints we had on a wall, with shielded fluorescent lights, with no
window to the outside whatsoever (so no sunlight, not even indirect),
faded after a few months. We have read reports of Epson inkjet prints
fading within a day if put outside in the full sun.
The FLAAR testing
program does not involve any accelerated tests, no fancy instruments.
Furthermore, we do not ask for, nor accept, money from ink manufacturers
for longevity estimates.
Instead
we use real-life situations, namely we hang an actual wide format
inkjet print on an actual wall in a real office. We have prints from
an Encad
NovaJetPro, using Encad GA inks circa 1997, and the pictures are
still hanging on the wall at the Museo Popol Vuh in Guatemala. The
images are unlikely still in their original brilliance, since GA inks
are not intended to be archival. Thus a 3-year lifespan already exceeds
their advertised life cycle. If we had used Encad GO inks and on the
specific paper that this ink is intended to be used with, the prints
will last for decades. I should add that the Encad GO inks offer a
wide color spectrum and no one who viewed the GO pictures noticed
they were with an outdoor ink (most people consider that outdoor inks,
that is usually pigmented inks, have colors which are less vibrant).
I can only say that the Encad GO inks are more than colorful enough
to attract attention, which, after all, is the goal of a poster or
sign.
But the newer
pigmented inks from Encad and especially from Ilford are even better
nowadays.
If
you wish up to 6 free FLAAR First Level Reports, fill out the
inquiry-survey form, let us know what kind of printing you are
interested in, specify what printers you wish to know about, and we
will respond with the appropriate information.
Where
to buy your longer-lasting inks?
Generations inks
are considered archival as well. The better inks are made to work
with specific papers. Thus, if you select Archiva inks from Ilford
Imaging (a good choice), then you get the best results if you also
use media from Ilford. Ilford also makes an ingenious four-color set
of inks to produce monochrome black (that's right, four different
flavors of black to produce a naturally better black). Ilford is the
only company that has worked this out. Since Ilford is a world leader
in black-and-white photography with traditional film, it is perhaps
natural that Ilford would become a leader in the digital arena as
well. Ilford inks also work well with Hahnemuehle watercolor papers,
available from Dia-Nielsen USA
MIS inks are another
in the rapidly growing list of "archival" inks. Archival
means that they don't fade as fast as Epson inks. Archival means that
by the time the colors do fade you and your company won't have to
worry about it because it will be in the next century. We do not recommend
that you simply buy inks and try them. This is because each ink reacts
differently to every different kind of media. You need ICC profiles
to get proper results. Thus it is best to get your inks and media
together from the same place. That way their technical staff can assist
you with the color management aspects.
If you have an
Epson
3000, 7000,
or 9000
printer, then you can use after-market inks. Try Parrot Digigraphic.
However if you have an Epson 7500, 9500, or 10000, no after-market
inks will work other than Staedtler inks for the Epson 7500 and 9500.
Take longevity
with a grain of salt. The "tests" are estimates. The tests
are based on light levels in a semi-darkened museum setting. If your
prints will be displayed with actual lights in an office or a place
that has normal lighting, the print will fade more quickly. If your
prints get sunlight, and if they are placed outside, then check on
the 3M guarantees. When you get a written guarantee you know that
the prints will really last that long. How many of the test institutes
offer a written money-back guarantee???
Nonetheless, all
color fades, even from a 4-color press. If you wish a candid review
of some of the longevity claims which are touted in advertising claims.
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| If you want the newer inks that do last longer, peruse the following list. |
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Last
updated Jan. 6, 2003,
Last checked by webdesigner Nov. 15, 2002 
