Ink life expectancy

The life expectancy of the inks we use will vary due to a number of factors. One factor is the pigments used in the inks. Some pigments are more light fast than others. Another factor is the amount of light the printed piece is exposed to, especially bright light and sunlight. I would guess that another factor is the amount of excess heat and humidity the piece is exposed to.

The following link, I think, is especially interesting. It is by Gans, and it is for litho inks (which we mostly use anyway).

http://www.gansink.com/documentation/Fade%20Resist%20Ink%20Basics.pdf

(I don’t have too much experience with Gans, but my impression is that they are a very good company. As an aside, since I come from industry, I tend to gravitate toward industrial ink companies rather than art supply ink companies. I’m getting off the subject, but another reason I gravitate toward industrial ink companies is because they sell a lot of ink for food packaging, where the toxicity of the inks is regulated and controlled, so to my mind this is some assurance that the ink I use is safe).

As per the Gans article above, Phthalo Blue (process blue), Phthalo Green (Pantone Green) and Carbon Black (which is in pretty-much all of the pigmented blacks we use) have excellent fade resistance, so if you want that property without paying extra for it, use those colors.

Some examples of life expectancy: old books seldom have degraded pigments, because the pigments are protected and kept dark most of the time. On the other hand, posters which are kept in bright light or placed in sunny windows, become faded much more often. Even without external forces, pigments may change slightly over time, but probably not enough to be a concern for most applications (this is, however, one of the reasons why it is recommended to get new PMS books every year or so).

Pantone (and probably PMS also), are registered trademarks of Pantone, Inc.

Thanks very much for that Geoffrey
I hadn’t realised that the inks were that vulnerable, but maybe it goes some way to explaining why (digital) Epson inks are so expensive!
Appreciated

Hi etinink,

I just want to mention that you can do some experimenting to see for yourself how your colors bear up under light exposure. I used to do this all the time with watercolors, which vary tremendously from color to color for lightfastness. Just print some large solids and take them out into bright sunlight, covering half of the solid with a book or something. With some colors you may see changes in a matter of days if not hours.

I’ve always framed my watercolors under UV glass, so you might do the same with your linocut prints. You’ll notice that if you’ve ever gone to a museum display of watercolors or any paper-based artwork, the lighting is very low.

Barbara

Etinink, if I were you, I think I would also test the Epson inks using BarbHauser’s method above.

Do you have any idea what conditions were used to test Epson’s inks for an 80+ year expectancy, or what their basis is for making this claim? Under Epson’s test conditions, or using the same information, data, etc., which they used to make this claim, I have no doubt that their claim is valid, because they are a great company, and one for which I have great respect. However, their test conditions, information, data, etc., may not be those under which your prints will be placed.

If you do test Epson’s inks, I would love to know what the results are. Please post your test conditions, the colors you tested, and the results.

Ever notice a poster that’s been in a window or on a wall near a windows for a long time and it looks very “purpley” or very “bluish?” That’s becuase the first thing to fade away was the yellow ink and then the red will next. The cyan holds up better and the black is practically indestructable.
The long exposure to UV light literally ate the ink off of the paper.

Rick

Geoff - just to clarify, the Epson inks are for the digital side (“the dark side”) of the business, and they claim virtual museum quality, but I’ll torture a sample and see what happens because nothing is that good!

Barbara - UV glass is noted. Thank you

Rick - I have a picture of a sunflower on my conservatory wall, and over 5 years or so I have watched it do exactly what you describe, without really knowing why! (It is now at the cyan and black stage, and it was this that set my curiosity going… :o) Appreciated