Help! Photos fading badly.

[hippyshake]

Hello

Can anyone explain this?

I have a Canon pixma ip3600, using a CISS with Fotorite ink. I have a number of friends in my camera club who use the same printer, ink, and paper as me but I am the only one who has a problem with printed photos fading badly.

I put out 2 test photos - one BW and the other colour - in my office which has no direct light coming into it, just some very diffused borrowed light from the covered patio outside. Both prints have faded badly over the last 6 months. None of my friends have this problem and we're baffled as to why it's happening. :/

 

[jtoolman]

Do your friends whose prints are outlasting yours use the same paper?
I remember back when I bought my first Epson 870 and 1270, it was thought the cyan was causing them so many problems that hordes of owners were about ready to riot. It turned out to be more due to the paper itself rather than the inks themselves.
Try some other good known quality papers and maybe give one of your friends a duplicate print to test under your, and their environmental conditions.
My early prints would fade like crazy in my work office but not at home.

 

[hippyshake]

Yes, we all use the same paper from a German manufacturer called Sihl.

I could try printing the same pic on my printer and one of their's and do a comparison over time. It's really annoying as I can't print anything out to give to models or clients as I don't trust it not to fade.

 

[msmart]

A bad batch of paper? Give your friends some of your paper to print and compare.

 

[qwertydude]

I've actually done a comparison of OEM dye inks and cheap dye ink refills. This was on several different papers. My conclusion is actually that the paper has much more to do with fade resistance than the ink. Comparing on the same paper the OEM ink pretty much faded as fast as the cheap dye refill ink. But the big difference is the paper. The cheap Meritline paper experienced significant fading withing 2 weeks of sun exposure. Canon photo paper plus glossy II paper actually faded just a tad faster than Kirkland at a couple months, but the absolute champ was the HP premium. The HP is a swellable type, it may not be water resistant and it may take forever to dry, but it seems to most completely lock the ink in and prevent fading. It went 6 months and still looked almost like a fresh print, and this was with direct sun exposure in the hot California sun. So if you're worried about fading try a swellable paper.

 

[hippyshake]

That's interesting about the HP paper. I'll look out for it and try some - at least for giving to clients as it will be a lot more expensive. The great thing about the Sihl paper is it only costs 5.99 for 50 sheets! I just had a look on the back of the packet (which I haven't done before!) and it says that if the prints aren't laminated or put in a frame behind glass, they can fade. Not sure if that applies to any paper though. I did wonder why the prints I have sitting in frames were OK whilst the test sheets sitting next to them had faded but that could be an explanation. I'll have to get a few of my friends to print out the same pic and leave it lying out for a few months to see what happens. They haven't noticed any problems but I know at least one of them has all his prints framed on a wall or laminated which might explain it.

Thanks for your help.

 

[PhilC]

Hi guys co incidentally I m one of the people she s talking about in her camera club and the one who originally found a recomended the Canon ip 3600 and Fotorite CISS which we all use, 7 of use now I think. We all also use the same Sihl 280gm glossy paper made by Sihl and bought from the same Lidl supermarket here in Spain and at the same time.

I did a load of tests comparing Canon and Fotorite ( same as IS ) ink on about 15 different types of paper cheap and expensive and could see virtually no difference between the Sihl (Lidl) paper and the expensive stuff including HP Premium Plus. I still have the test sheets stored in the office, they are now 2.5yrs old and none of them is noticably faded. They have been kept in a folder on a shelf and looked at occasionally, probably about as much as an album of old photo would have been.

I also have a couple of dozen prints framed behind glass on the office walls that are over 2 yrs old and again not faded significantly.

I think the answer to the problem mentioned is that her faded prints have been left out unprotected whereas the rest of us either frame or keep our in albums. I did test some prints by leaving them out in direct summer sun here in Spain, and they faded very badly in days. I have nt tried it with a HP print but shall now its been brought up as I still have my 2yr old test print. I ve just put it out in the sun ( 95F+ ) half covered and expect to notice fading quite quickly based on previous tests on other papers but it would be great if it did nt.

 

[fish]

I totally agree with qwertydude! I tested several ink/paper combinations - the quick fading in Hawaii is most likely caused by ozone, although also affected by UV. While many have good results with Kirkland paper (Costco), I have very fast fading when exposed (no glass or protection). In general OEM lasted longer than refills, but not absolute. I now use Ilford Classic (swellable) for keepers, even with refill ink.

 

[bsanotrun]

I've actually done a comparison of OEM dye inks and cheap dye ink refills. This was on several different papers. My conclusion is actually that the paper has much more to do with fade resistance than the ink.

Had a look at the fade test i have been doing for the last 3 months today.
they have been in a glass frame facing outwards in a south facing window, paper was very cheap tesco supermarket
going to do another one with lidl paper to see how that behaves.
I was quite surprised how some of the colours had changed completely.

 

[PhilC]

Interesting comment by Fish re ozone. Hippyshake does live on the coast nearer the sea ( less than 1km), than the rest of us so ozone may be a factor for her as well. I have an ioiser that produces ozone I ll have to put a print near it to see what happens.