Canon "Chromalife Inks" discussion.

[Manuchau]

Well, it looks like Canon's new line of printers will all be using the longer-lasting Chromalife inks, the reason being to increase fade resistance and compete with Epson's Inks. This is not a big deal yet, since most of the newer printers won't be out until September, but I'd like to know if anyone has found replacement archival inks that will work in these printers.

Also, if anyone has tried these "fade-resistant" inks in any model using the BCI-6 cartridge, that would be useful to a lot of people here. I'm starting to sell prints using genuine Canon BCI-6 inks with my i9900, and am worried that in a few months, customers will bring them back.

Finding an archival ink that will work in thee BCI-6 carts is VERY important for me....and it will become important to a lot of other people here.

Also - does anyone know the difference betwen the ClI-88, CLI 51-52, PG-50, PG-40, and PGI-5
inks?
This is going to make me dizzy soon.

Thanks

 

[Tysonic]

What paper are you using for the prints you're selling?

Are they framed before you give them to the customer?

Do you have a disclaimer about 'all prints fade over time..blah...blah...blah'?

If you really don't want the worry of them coming back, then you have to use this paper:
http://tinyurl.com/aud9c

Ilford's Classic Pearl/glossy.

Tyson

 

[tyamada]

You might want to check Weink.com, they claim their bulk ink will last quite awhile if you use Red River Paper.
http://www.weink.com/ecom/catalog/ultra-flo_for_canon_light_fast_inkjet_ink_3628928.htm

They also have bulk ink for the new Canon printers.

 

[Grandad35]

You might want to read Livick's test procedures and results at (http://www.livick.com/method/inkjet/pg2h.htm), Kodak's test procedures at (
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/63/0900688a801caf63/ULTIMAWhitePaper012804.pdf) and Wilhelm's procedures at (http://www.wilhelm-research.com/) before relying on Weink's numbers, since they don't give their test procedures. For example, Weink puts the pictures behing glass, while Kodak and Livick don't (and weink admits that this can cause a 2/3 reduction in the life of their inks). Kodak and Wilhelm use fluorescent light while Livick uses sunlight - what does Weink use?

From the published work by the 3 groups mentioned above, to maximize your print's longevity (with your existing printer and the inks that are available for it) you should use a swellable paper (e.g. Ilford Classic Pearl or equivalent), OEM ink, coat the picture with a UV resistant clear coat after the pictures dry and frame them behind glass. There may be inks that are better than the OEM inks for longevity, but I would want to see data with a direct comparison to OEM inks before I switched.

Note that I think that it will eventually be possible for bulk ink suppliers to match the OEM ink's performance, but only after they make a concerted effort to find appropriate stabilizers to add to their inks. I doubt that this is a very big blip on their radar screen at this time.

BTW, have you considered sending out your "critical" prints to an outside lab? When you use OEM ink, it can be less expensive to have Costco print your pictures than to print them yourself. Since they are printed using a conventional photographic process, very few people would reject them as having an unacceptable longevity.

 

[Manuchau]

That is excellent advice..I thank all of you. Yes, I have just started using using Ilford papers, and the result is terriffic. I'm also using Epson's "Luster" paper, and that is excellent as well.

Sad to say, I can't send them out to a professional printing outfit. I live in a tiny community in a very remote setting. The nearest Costco would be about 400 miles away. In any case, I'm letting every print dry for 24 hrs (all are (13 x 19), and then they are put in glass clip frames. If they do start to come back in the future, I'll post the ink and paper combos and their longevity here. I'm just hoping that by that time, there will be more of a choice for "archival-type" inks for the i990 and other models using the BC!-6 cartridges.

Stay tuned.

 

[Grandad35]

There have been some reports of "fogging" on the inside of the glass when swellable papers are framed behing glass after only 1 day of drying. It has been recommended to wait 3-4 days to allow more time for some of the glycols to evaporate.

 

[Manuchau]

Thanks, Grandad 35 - I'll follow your excellent advice, as usual.

I've actually seen this "fogging" phenomenon lately, when I took some prints out of the glass frames to inspect them before a show.

These were on the Genuine Canon and Imation papers. Interestingly enough, there was no fogging on the prints I did with Epson Luster paper. Interesting.

 

[Nifty]

I saw this fogging really bad a few years ago using first generation HP glossy photo paper (the kind that was glossy looking but rough to the touch). A few month of having it under glass the image had out gassed so much there was almost a duplicate image on the inside of the glass.