I was always looking for a good overview on inkjet printing to help explain how it’s come of age. Especially since many of the old technologies like the Iris prints have had fading and other issues that many of the new inkjet printers do not have.
Pay special attention to the last entries in the history, IE. the Epson Ultrachrome K3 and the Canon Lucia 12 ink printers. The print permanence is beyond previous color photographic processes:
The pigment ink prints from the latest Epson and Canon printers (Ultrachrome K3, and Lucia ink-sets) that I work with are very light stable, waterfast, and can endure high temperature. But they do have one weakness that the photography conservation community has identified. The receiving layer (the layer on the surface of the paper that holds and binds the ink) remains absorbant after printing and will absorb pollutants exposed to the prints.
Upon a recent visit to one of my clients I noticed that prints were being stored in non-archival cardboard. The cardboard had gotten damp and it caused some yellowing on the edge of the print. the print was acting like a blotter and sucking the extra moister out of the cardboard. To avoid this I now deliver all prints in Polyethylene (PE) bags. Please, if you are storing prints place them in archival bags, or better yet put them in a nice frame behind glass so we can all enjoy them!
Also, when ordering prints in the future, if you plan to store the prints for long term, please ask me for archival packing in addition to the Polyethylene bags. There is an extra charge, but it’s a minor charge to protect these prints that will last for hundreds of years.
Resources:
http://talasonline.com/
Vic and Collier were kind enough to enrich our Mellon conference on conservation of digital prints, by discussing their experiences. The photographic conservation community can do more in sharing information. Certainly, we are all concerned about our limited knowledge and the need for additional research, but we have our preliminary information is useful.
I believe it’s important to describe the light fastness of the new pigment ink processes. There is still too much confusion, because of the fading problems of dye ink prints, like the Iris prints. We also have to confront the photo labs that are pushing the traditional chromogenic dye processes which still have fading problems.
