9500 Prints Darkening?

[Deepsouth]

I am suspecting that some of my Pixma Pro 9500 prints, especially on glossy paper, are darkening just a tad over time, (6 months or so) regardless if they are in sleeves in a binder or under fluorescent light 12 hours a day. I really don't have any scientific controls set up to measure this, it's just a suspicion at this point. Anybody else have this thought?

[Bruce Watson]

I am suspecting that some of my Pixma Pro 9500 prints, especially on glossy paper, are darkening just a tad over time, (6 months or so) regardless if they are in sleeves in a binder or under fluorescent light 12 hours a day. I really don't have any scientific controls set up to measure this, it's just a suspicion at this point. Anybody else have this thought?

Pigment ink dry-down. All pigment inks do this, most so that it's not really noticeable. The Cone PiezoTones are very prone to this. Speculation is that it's a function of the glycols and glycerines in the ink carrier. These take a very long time to evaporate and dissipate. They also appear to be the cause of "ghosting" of framed prints onto the interior side of the glazing. The only cure is heat and air movement (think hand-held hair dryer). Alternatively you can hang the prints and wait. But remember that anti-freeze spill you saw in your youth that just sat there day after day? That's what we're talking about here.

With the Piezotones you can literally watch the shadows darken while you use the hair dryer. The mid-tones and highlights seem to develop more local contrast -- like a veil being lifted from the print. Which is pretty much what is happening. I'm just saying that the effect isn't linear - the shadows show this much more than the highlights.

[Deepsouth]

Pigment ink dry-down. All pigment inks do this, most so that it's not really noticeable. The Cone PiezoTones are very prone to this. Speculation is that it's a function of the glycols and glycerines in the ink carrier. These take a very long time to evaporate and dissipate. They also appear to be the cause of "ghosting" of framed prints onto the interior side of the glazing. The only cure is heat and air movement (think hand-held hair dryer). Alternatively you can hang the prints and wait. But remember that anti-freeze spill you saw in your youth that just sat there day after day? That's what we're talking about here.

With the Piezotones you can literally watch the shadows darken while you use the hair dryer. The mid-tones and highlights seem to develop more local contrast -- like a veil being lifted from the print. Which is pretty much what is happening. I'm just saying that the effect isn't linear - the shadows show this much more than the highlights.

Bruce,
thanks...is there some "ripening" time that I should observe prior to framing? I'm a casual user so my prints may wait, in archival sleeves, for weeks or months prior to framing. Like most printers, my 9500 compresses gamma a bit, so I increase gamma by 1/10 or 2/20ths of a step prior to printing (but don't save in the file). Maybe I should increase gamma even more since the print will darken down and hopefully move to where the balance should be.

BTW, I noticed a complementary effect with the dye prints of my old S9000. The prints were very close to WYSIWYG when they ejected, but then over about 30 minutes or so, got better looking, like a veil was being lifted (to borrow a phrase)

[Bruce Watson]

Bruce,
thanks...is there some "ripening" time that I should observe prior to framing? I'm a casual user so my prints may wait, in archival sleeves, for weeks or months prior to framing.

There doesn't appear to be such a time. It's too dependent on temperature and air movement (and somewhat surprisingly, not on relative humidity). Some people report that hanging the print "to dry" for a couple of days is enough. Others have reported "ghosting" on the inside of the frame's glazing even when the print was hanging in the studio from a drying line for six weeks prior to framing.

The archival sleeves probably prolong the agony -- they restrict air movement so the glycols and glycerins can't get away from the print. If they do manage to vaporize, they are reabsorbed into the print -- no where else to go. Better perhaps to use a clip to hang the print from a "clothesline" for a few days. Keep good records and you'll establish the dwell time that works best for you.

The joy of using a hand-held hair dryer, especially on smaller proof prints, is you immediately get to the final result. You don't have to guess where the shadows will end up, or how open the mid-tones are really going to become. Why guess when you can know?

[Deepsouth]

There doesn't appear to be such a time. It's too dependent on temperature and air movement (and somewhat surprisingly, not on relative humidity). Some people report that hanging the print "to dry" for a couple of days is enough. Others have reported "ghosting" on the inside of the frame's glazing even when the print was hanging in the studio from a drying line for six weeks prior to framing.

The archival sleeves probably prolong the agony -- they restrict air movement so the glycols and glycerins can't get away from the print. If they do manage to vaporize, they are reabsorbed into the print -- no where else to go. Better perhaps to use a clip to hang the print from a "clothesline" for a few days. Keep good records and you'll establish the dwell time that works best for you.

The joy of using a hand-held hair dryer, especially on smaller proof prints, is you immediately get to the final result. You don't have to guess where the shadows will end up, or how open the mid-tones are really going to become. Why guess when you can know?

good points...I will dig out the hairdryer from wherever I left it

maybe the next market upgrade will be a combo pigment printer/convection oven  

[digitaldog]

Pigment ink dry-down. All pigment inks do this, most so that it's not really noticeable.

Well at least with the Epson K3 and HDR inks, its the opposite, prints drive a tad lighter but that shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.

[digitaldog]

Bruce,
thanks...is there some "ripening" time that I should observe prior to framing?

There is an "out-gassing" that one should observe over the course of 24-48 hours, at least with some pigmented inks. Place some white butcher paper on the prints for that time prior to framing. Otherwise, you'll sometimes notice a "film" over the inner surface for the glass after framing.