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Author Topic: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners  (Read 2312 times)

fdi

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Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« on: November 17, 2015, 04:54:41 pm »

I recently had a customer order UV-filter acrylic from my company for the first time and he was disappointed in the yellow cast it caused on his inkjet print. Turns out he was using Epson Exhibition Fiber paper which is full of optical brightening agents. I did some research and experimented with 8 different types of glass and acrylic on that paper. I have posted a photo and results here:
http://blog.framedestination.com/glazing/oba-inkjet-paper-and-framing-glass-choices/
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Mark Rogers
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Jager

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2015, 05:38:17 pm »

I've had Exhibition Fiber prints mounted and framed a number of times and they've looked fine.  Certainly not "yellowed and faded."  That said, you raise very legitimate concerns regarding OBA's, how the papers that include them depend upon UV spectrum for their brightness, and that glazing with UV-filtering materials will certainly affect the look.  You are to be lauded for trying to educate your customers.
 
You might want to double-check two statements in your paper...

Most inkjet papers have optical brighteners except for those marketed with something called “natural white”.

Most of the papers I use are free of OBA's.  None, to my knowledge, use the term "natural white" to describe that advantage.

"[OBA's]... they are dye-based instead of pigment-based, which means they are more prone to fading over time."

Dyes and pigments refer to the kinds of inks that will eventually be placed upon the paper.  To the best of my knowledge, they have nothing to do with OBA's.



fdi

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2015, 06:20:36 pm »

Jeff thanks for the feedback. My test is a worst case situation. No ink on the paper so it is as white as possible, and viewing under direct sunlight so it has the most UV-radiation possible. Since indoor light does not have as much UV-radiation the brightening effect of the OBA will be reduced anyway.

Interesting comment about low OBA and "natural white". I pulled that from another article but did not research it myself. I just have Epson "Hot Press Natural" and it does say "natural white surface" so I assumed it was more commonly used. Regardless, I think the better thing to look for is a claim of no optical brighteners.

In regards to the OBA being dye-based that might be a typo. That was based on information in an article Mark of Aardenburg Imaging archives wrote. It is not that OBAs are ink, but the technology to create or apply them is like that used in dye based ink and therefore they are susceptible to fading over time. I have reached out to Mark to get clarification about what he meant since his site went down and I can no longer view the article.
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Mark Rogers
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2015, 06:36:16 am »

To get a better overview of OBA content in inkjet (and analogue photo) papers you could use SpectrumViz, see my sig.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

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fdi

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2015, 02:47:11 pm »


You might want to double-check two statements in your paper...

Most inkjet papers have optical brighteners except for those marketed with something called “natural white”.

Most of the papers I use are free of OBA's.  None, to my knowledge, use the term "natural white" to describe that advantage.

"[OBA's]... they are dye-based instead of pigment-based, which means they are more prone to fading over time."

Jeff, I contacted Mark McCormick-Goodhart of (http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/) and here is his response. He is pretty tied up right now working on a new site, otherwise he would be chiming into this thread directly.

------ Mark McCormick quote:
Anyway, as for OBAs. Yes, they are dyes not pigments. So, like most dyes they are fugitive or at best only moderately lightfast.  Any photographer/printmaker who uses the term “archival pigment print” when referring to prints made with pigmented inks should be aware that if the paper contains OBAs then the print is really a dye/pigment hybrid system. The dyes (in this case the OBAs) will have different light fastness properties compared to the pigmented inks (which also typically vary from color to color), so a dye-pigment system almost certainly guarantees non linear fade rates. When fading is visually non linear in appearance as the print shows increasing fade, then single “years on display” light fastness ratings based on “easily noticeable” visual endpoint criteria for fade can sometimes be quite misleading. The AaI&A Conservation display ratings avoid this common industry rating trap by confining the allowable fade criteria to the early stages where the print still appears to be in excellent condition even though some fade has indeed taken place.


The "natural white” term is typically used by the media vendors when the media is OBA-free, but what other whitening and manufacturing methods are used (ie. degree of pulp bleaching and lignin purification, fillers like calcium carbonate, sizings, coatings like TiO2, baryta, and other minerals like the microporous silica and alumina) are not codified by the use of “natural white” in the product description.  Hence, without more information, the end user has no way of Knowing what the initial whitepoint for the product is or how likely the product will resist yellowing over time. That’s where product testing information for fade resistance including resistance to media yellowing (not only from loss of OBA fluorescence, but also additional yellowing due to stain formation) is so important for any print maker trying to choose “archival” media wisely.
--------------------
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Mark Rogers
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Jager

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2015, 05:30:56 pm »

Thanks, Mark.

Mark McCormick-Goodhart is a frequent visitor here.  I consider his posts to be among the most helpful and insightful on the forum.  And I look to his research there at Aardenburg-Imaging to be the most definitive that exists.  Certainly more valuable and on-point for fine art photographers than the better known Wilhelm Imaging Research.  Perhaps Mark will have a chance to add something to the thread at some point.

In the meantime, I'm not a chemist so I'll defer to Mark's judgment that OBA's are "dyes."  I have just never heard them referred to as such.  We (meaning I) learn something every day!

I'm still not so sure about the term "natural white."  Certainly it would be helpful to have an industry-standard term or phrase to describe papers that contain no OBA's.  Alas, I don't think any such phrase reliably exists.  I just picked up boxes of two of my most-used, OBA-free papers (Canson Platine Fibre Rag and Epson Hot Press Natural).  Neither have the phrase 'natural white' displayed anywhere.  Not to be overly pedantic... it's certainly not going to be an issue for the typical visitor to a forum such as this; but to the extent that you're trying to educate your clientele, I'm not sure I would depend upon that phrase.  At the very least it's not comprehensive. 

Regardless, again, you are to be congratulated for trying to look out for them...
« Last Edit: November 18, 2015, 06:45:25 pm by Jager »
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fdi

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2015, 06:32:26 pm »

Yeah Jeff, I agree and also consider Mark McCormick the best resource. He will not take money from the paper/ink manufacturers so he is the most unbiased I am aware of and I try to support him with my company when I can. Good luck on the "natural white", that is just one of many virtually useless marketing terms. Don't get me started on "acid free"!
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Mark Rogers
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MHMG

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Re: Framing inkjet paper that has optical brighteners
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2015, 08:06:03 pm »

Thanks, Mark.

I'm still not so sure about the term "natural white."  Certainly it would be helpful to have an industry-standard term or phrase to describe papers that contain no OBA's.  Alas, I don't think any such phrase reliably exists.  I just picked up boxes of two of my most-used, OBA-free papers (Canson Platine Fibre Rag and Epson Hot Press Natural).  Neither have the phrase 'natural white' displayed anywhere.  Not to be overly pedantic... it's certainly not going to be an issue for the typical visitor to a forum such as this; but to the extent that you're trying to educate your clientele, I'm not sure I would depend upon that phrase.  At the very least it's not comprehensive. 

Regardless, again, you are to be congratulated for trying to look out for them...

Hi guys,

yes, I slightly mis spoke when I replied to Mark in our earlier private conversation. The most common hint that media is OBA-free is the vendor's use of the word "natural" not "natural white" in the product name, or the vendor will actually boast that the product is OBA-free somewhere in other description verbage.  A common hint that the product does contain OBAs is when the term "bright" is used somewhere in the product name or product description, but none of this advice is a hard and fast rule by any means.

It's really easy for the enduser to confirm the presence of OBAs with a low cost blacklight. So, when in doubt, buy a sample pack, shine a blackight on the media, and see how strongly it glows.  You can use a known OBA-free product like Epson hot (or cold press) "natural" and compare to product with low amount (HN photo rag) or high (Epson premium presentation matte paper) to strengthen your confidence in the black light technique. Note: if you buy an LED blacklight, there are two common varieties, one emitting with a peak output at 365 nm, and others emitting around 395nm. The latter produce a more significant output also in the visible blue region, so this Blacklight test is harder to interpret with the 395nm LED output because even the OBA-free papers start to reflect their radiation (rather than emit) in the blue wavelengths. With practice, one can still use either for the test, but I much prefer the 365 nm variety which match the OBA UV absorption peak very closely, and OBA-free papers will appear with virtually no bluish glow using the 365nm LED devices. Google "UV 365nm LED flashlight", for example, to find these portable UV lamps.

Other ways to confirm OBAs: 1) if you have a spectrophotometer like a Colormunki or Eye-one Pro (used without a UV cut filter, the b* value for the media color will become negative. The best OBA-free papers turn in b* values of 0, 1, or 2, but never negative values. High OBA content papers will measure -5 to -10 or more!  2) check out Ernst's wonderful Spectrum Viz tool (http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm ), or 3) you can check the lightfade database at Aardenburg Imaging & Archives.  Each AaI&A record lists OBA fluorescence and whether it's none (i.e. OBA-free paper), low, medium, or high.  Ernst's spectral plot database is more complete with respect to OBA content information than the Aardenburg database because I only measure samples that also go through the full light fade test protocol. That's been a big undertaking, so I can't check out as many samples as I'd like to.

I hope to have the Aardenburg website back on line in the next day or so. The redesign and deployment of the new site on a different hosting platform has been a big project for me.

cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

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