20 Years in 30 days fading test

[Ink stained Fingers]

You are definitely on the safe side with OEM inks in regards to longevity/UV/ozone stability, but it had been discussed already elsewhere whether those additional measures would compensate the poor performance of 3rd party ink in this respect - no - they don't - if you loose x% of saturation in xx days with 3rd party inks and x% in y months with OEM ink, and you can double that with coating etc, you are getting months and months more with OEM ink, but only xx days more with 3rd party inks, that's probably not even worth the spray.

 

[peter D]

You are definitely on the safe side with OEM inks in regards to longevity/UV/ozone stability, but it had been discussed already elsewhere whether those additional measures would compensate the poor performance of 3rd party ink in this respect - no - they don't - if you loose x% of saturation in xx days with 3rd party inks and x% in y months with OEM ink, and you can double that with coating etc, you are getting months and months more with OEM ink, but only xx days more with 3rd party inks, that's probably not even worth the spray.

Coating of prints made using 3rd party inks to reduce fading.

I tend to agree with Paul who is conducting fade tests on prints made with OEM inks when he comments that the major fading agent appears to be the effect of exposure to the atmosphere. He even suggests sealing the rear side of prints with laquer to help prevent this.
I've had prints mounted under glass (with a regular photo mat card) that were made with PC dye inks printed on various Canon papers last surprisingly well with no signs of fading after 2 years of display indoors.
I've also had severe fading issues with the same ink set used on Ilford Gallerie Smooth Fine Art paper where the print has been exposed to the atmosphere indoors away from direct sunlight but close to a poorly ventilated kitchen area. Similarly with a print made with PC inks on Canon Pro Platinum paper unprotected from the atmosphere and exposed to a salt air environment close to a surf beach.
The latest information I have on these examples of extreme fading is a friend's demonstration of a print made with the same paper (Ilford smooth Fine Art) and ink set exposed to the same conditions but this time half of the print was sprayed with Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish. The friend that did this test advised that she sprayed an average thickness coat on to the print and after 6 months of exposure there is as dramatic difference in the fade rate between the coated and uncoated parts of the print. Interestingly the difference in reflectivity of the print surface is only slight where it has been sprayed with this gloss product.
The MSDS for this product can be found here :
http://www.creativityunlimited.com.au/files/files/MSDS/Helmar/4%
20Helmar%20Crystal%20Kote%20Gloss%20MSDS.pdf
Those safety conscious folks amongst us will note that the product is a S5 poison according to Aussie regulations and is not particularly human friendly.
It is one of a small suite of products used for protecting art work.
Included is the Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative spray which I have used in the past to protect mat card and photos that on public display, but not behind glass, from finger marks left by an over enthusiastic public. This product has very little effect on the surface of matte photo paper and isn't too bad for Lustre paper but definitely dulls a gloss paper.
This product has a very different formulation and I have not ascertained whether it is of any practical application to the fading issue. It may turn out to be a suitable primer for subsequent application of the Helmar mat or gloss varnish.
This Helmar range is billed as "archival safe", non yellowing and suitable for photographs, fine art prints, water colours etc. but you definitely need to test the effect on the surface of the paper before proceeding further.

I'll report back on this forum as I find out more regards the efficacy of Helmar Crystal Kote products for reducing the fading issues.

In New Zealand these Australian produced Helmar products seem to be the only products readily available for print protection use. Importation of alternatives (especially in aerosol form) doesn't seem to be an option.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Responsible for fading are both UV radiation and agents like ozone or formaldehyde, but it is typically difficult to separate the influence of those, you don't just have UV in the outside but as well inside from neon tubes/bulbs or halogene lamps .
The extensive testing done by the Wilhelrm Research institute or the Aardenburg facility show the impact of those factors. But it is as well the type of coating on the paper - the microporous/instant dry type making a big diference to the swelling papers which last much longer, but such papers are practically not available anymore on the market, or only as specialty varieties. These swellable papers effectively have their own UV/gas protective shield as part of the coating. I can confirm that from a test I did some months ago as part of a bigger test sequence with Epson inks and their fading properties, I used very old sheets of a photo paper with a swellable surface, and I tested an ink claimed to be UV resistant, it actually was a fast fade ink, you could observe the fading within a few days in the outside on a typical microporous type, but the fading took much longer on the swellable paper. I'm not using it, you need to take the prints one by one out of the printer, the surface is uneven, the paper is pretty yellow, but with that test it directly showed a significant difference. And I don't know whether I would gain even more by putting such paper under glass or coating it, I wouldn't think so, once you keep UV/ozone away from the print a second layer won't do any more.

 

[3dogs]

Well, here we go again, same old same old....I have prints stored in boxes, in Art Sleeves, on walls behind glass and laying about on shelves dating back to 2007. In summer we have dry heat up to 40C and in winter we have damp and cold to -1C. 99% of my prints are Cone Pigment on a variety of matt papers from Xerox Plain Inkjet 200gsm to Canson Watercolour and Canon Matte and some old Ilford. The House faces N-S and the downstairs gets serious morning and afternoon sun. My studio gets it full on 24/7 rain hail or shine. Oh! and in winter we have a combustion wood fired stove going day and night.

My daughter lives in our house about a mile from the sea, she has my prints, other daughter lives in Canberra.

I agree that atmosphere is a factor...........we don't get acid rain yet.

What fading?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

acid rain - I got another one - formaldehyde was some 30 etc years ago - last millenium - a contributing factor why color prints were fading, in the cabinets at home, pressed wood boards/Ikea style furniture was emanating that stuff for years and years , and that was not only a health risk but as well killed those color prints when everybody was thinking those pictures were kept at a safe place....and lots of color slides stored there got killed as well, only Kodachrome was surviving that agent. Formaldyde has been eliminated since then from the production process.