|
|
Longevity Test
OF THE
NEW
EPSON PHOTO PAPER
| 20
January 1999 . Epson
makes a thick (about 9mil) "Photo Paper" product that simulates the look
of a real photographic glossy print (Epson calls it "Photo Lab Quality").
The product is #SO41141 in the 8.5" x 11" size and #SO41156 in the 11"
x 17" ledger or "B" size. (This thick, glossy paper should not be confused
with Epson's thinner, "Photo Quality Glossy Paper" [#SO41124 in the 8.5"
x 11"], which is also made in 11" x 17", 13" x 19", and the large A2 or
16.5" x 23.4" size.)
The Epson papers have been rated by Henry Wilheim as having only a 1 - 3 year life before noticeable fading occurs. In fact, exposure to air (after the package is open) causes the bright white paper to stain or yellow within just a few months. These longevity problems are not surprising since Epson's original goal was to produce a paper that was very accurate in its color gamut and tonal range, and archival results were not their first priority. They have been very successful with their present ink and paper combinations in achieving accurate colors and smooth tones. However, to reach this first goal, most of their original paper coatings had an acidic pH of 5.8, and their inks were very subject to fading. A New and Improved Epson "Photo Paper" It was with considerable interest that members of the Epson-Inkjet mail list received this message on 24 Dec 1999 by Richard Earney about Epson's efforts to bring out a new and improved "Photo Paper." New "Longer Life" Epson Photo Paper Arrives In Stores. On 27 Dec 1998, William Robinson announces that the new Epson "Photo Paper" has hit the stores, and explains how to identify it (since it has the same catalog number as its predecessor) Buyers should be aware that there my be some stores that have the old paper (which has the same product number), and may be offering it at a discount as Louis J. Brazil mentions in his 27 Dec 1999 post:
Yes it is! Our controlled testing shows that the "Improved" Photo Paper does fade considerably less than the older product. However, the beautiful Epson inks are still the "weak link" in the quest for greater archival permeance. This weak link is particularly true in the case of the light magenta dye used in the 5-color cartridge (#SO20110) used in the 6-color Epson Color Stylus Photo 700 and the Photo EX printers. The regular magenta dye (used in the 4-color Epson printers) is the most susceptible to fading of the all the 4-color inks, but the light magenta appears to be even worse according to our controlled tests. How Our Tests Were Conducted Test prints were made that included a short gray scale, pure primary and secondary colors, plus various shades and tints of these colors.
Test prints were made using:
The Test Results Here are the test results (see
for yourself). We've placed the two halves of the test prints back together,
scanned them, and placed them here for your inspection:
You'll notice that the two gray patches (made up of all 4 or 6 colors), quickly reveals which ink color is the most vulnerable to fading. Because the magenta dyes fade the quickest, the gray patches fade to a green color (showing a loss of magenta). You'll notice that the 4-color ink prints fade less than the 6-color prints. The faster fading in the 6-color ink prints appears to be caused by the lighter magenta dye. Densitometer readings show
these 5-year (simulated) density losses (percent of color density loss
as compared to the unexposed control group):
*We did not run "black
ink only tests" in this experiment, and because of this our densitometer
readings could have some error in the CMY readings, as the black ink will
have some affect on those readings.
Our Conclusions: The new "Improved" and "longer Lasting" Epson Photo Paper appeared to significantly reduce the magenta dye fading. Magenta dye fading for the 6-color inks was reduced to almost 1/3 the fade level of its predecessor, and overall (for all three color inks) fading was reduce to almost 1/2. When using the 4-color inks, the improvement was less dramatic (probably because of a lack of the less stable light magenta dye). But even here the magenta fading was reduced by more than 1/2; and overall, fading was reduced by about 1/3. We did not conclude in this accelerated experiment whether there remained a "yellowing" problem (the coated white base turning yellow after prolong exposure to the air) in the "improved" version. Side NOTE: The Epson 6-color inks appear to be much less stable than the Epson 4-color inks (black and 3-colors). The "weak link" in the 6-color inks appears to be the light magenta dye. This is not an independent lab test. The Stock Solution is not an independent testing lab. We are, however, dedicated to finding "archival solutions for inkjet printing"; and we feel our tests are carefully controlled experiments to achieve truthful results. Many of the things that have been used to make Iris "Giclee" prints more archival (i.e. Lysonic inks, specially treated watercolor papers, the UltraStable canvas, and top coatings) are being used to do achieve similar results for desktop inkjet prints. We also carry the fine line of Weber-Valentine papers that have been specially coated to produce photo-realistic results. We are doing similar longevity tests on all of these papers, and we plan to publish those results in the near future. We think the new "improved" and
"longer lasting" Epson
Photo Paper is a great improvement. You can purchase
this product from us, as well as genuine
Epson OEM inks. While these Epson products are not as archival as some
third party products, the Epson products are very accurate in color and
tones, and produce great product prints, portfolio prints and other advertising
pieces. Some artists, for instance, like to print their promotional pieces
with products that have a short display life, so as not to compete with
their final fine art or for-sale prints.
By Royce Bair
Well, right after reading Royce's website, I wrote to him (via the Leben mailist) with the following query:- "What would you say (approximately) is the lightfastness of the new photo paper? Eg, if the old photo paper is 1-3 years (Wilhem study), then what would you say is the lightfastness of the new Photo Paper in terms of years to noticeable fading?"Royce's reply was informative and definitely worth sharing with everyone:- Royce's Reply As you can
see, no one agrees (one says 3 years, another 1.8 years, and another 10
years), because they are probably all using different standards of what
is "acceptable fading". My fade test (see the above article) simulated
5 years of exposure to450 lux (a fairly high amount of interior lighting
(some home interiors get half this amount of light). As you can see
from the published results, the fading on the new paper was just barely
noticeable (make your own
*It should
be be noted that the "1-3 years I had quoted was an average for all three
of the Epson papers that Wilhelm had teste (see wilhelm's
site). Those tests were using the 4-color ESC 3000 printer. Wilhelm
had rated the Epson Photo Quality Glossy Paper (a light-weight version
of the Photo Paper) at "2 years", using the 4-color inks. Now Wilhelm
is rating the new Photo Paper (according to the British Journal of Photography
article) at
Royce
Bair <royce@tssphoto.com>
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
..........................................
All Rights Reserved Tham Kok Leong 1998@Singapore
These test prints were cut in half lengthwise. The right half was placed
in dark storage, while the left half was placed in a light chamber that
exposed it to a full spectrum, daylight balanced light (5000K). This is
an accelerated testing chamber, where the light reaching the test prints
has a level of about 51,200 lux. This level is about 114 times greater
than the intensity used in a typical indoor display condition of about
450 lux. (24 hours in this accelerated testing chamber is equivalent to
about 6 hours of direct, mid-day sunlight on a summer day.)
