Longevity of framed prints?

[KirbyKrieger]

Hi.  I'm an artist -- painter -- who stumbled into photography.  I have now begun to sell (one or two) prints.  The buyer wants to know how long the prints will last, whether they can be displayed in a room with sunlight, and how best to protect them.

Anyone?

I'm printing with an Epson 3880, always on fine art paper, always with matte black ink.  I have suggested framing them under UV glass (does this affect the color?).

Thanks.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Hi.  I'm an artist -- painter -- who stumbled into photography.  I have now begun to sell (one or two) prints.  The buyer wants to know how long the prints will last, whether they can be displayed in a room with sunlight, and how best to protect them.

Anyone?

I'm printing with an Epson 3880, always on fine art paper, always with matte black ink.  I have suggested framing them under UV glass (does this affect the color?).

Thanks.

Depending on the paper, UV glass will have an impact.  If the paper has optical brightening agents (OBAs), the answer is yes.  Direct sunlight is a real No-No as it will cause fading at a more rapid pace than would normally occur.  I frame using good quality plexi as it's lighter in weight and there is no danger of breakage.

There are a number of discussion threads on print permanency over in the Printers, Papers, and Inks section of this forum.  The best data out there on fading is at:  http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/index.html  There is a small membership fee to get access to the entire database, but it's a project well worth supporting.

Alan

[mediumcool]

And there is Henry Wilhelm ...

[riddell]

Personally I am not convienced of the longativity of inkjet prints. In the past I have tried every combination of ink / paper you can think of, including all the most expensive ones and supposedly best.

I've used various coatings as well.

And within 3 -5 years I think every single one has started to degrade in one way or another. More importantly I've had customer complaints.

Now I only use professional labs, proper traditional prints, and high commercial grade printers for large formats.

The difference is plain to see, not only is the quality better in the first place, I have seen no issues with longetivity.

Actually as I write this, I'll retract one part of the above statement. Inkjets on canvas seem to be fine. But everything else no.

Paul. www.photographybyriddell.co.uk

[WestMoon]

Personally I am not convienced of the longativity of inkjet prints. In the past I have tried every combination of ink / paper you can think of, including all the most expensive ones and supposedly best.

I've used various coatings as well.

And within 3 -5 years I think every single one has started to degrade in one way or another. More importantly I've had customer complaints.

Now I only use professional labs, proper traditional prints, and high commercial grade printers for large formats.

The difference is plain to see, not only is the quality better in the first place, I have seen no issues with longetivity.

Actually as I write this, I'll retract one part of the above statement. Inkjets on canvas seem to be fine. But everything else no.

Paul. www.photographybyriddell.co.uk

Yes, I think the latest commercial inkjets are the only option for stability. You should get results which far surpass any tech in the history of photography.

It is not only photography which confronts this issue of course, eg watercolour and printing arts are notoriously unstable. Heck your CDs-DVDs full of priceless data are fast becoming unreadable!

Neil

[JeffKohn]

Personally I am not convienced of the longativity of inkjet prints. In the past I have tried every combination of ink / paper you can think of, including all the most expensive ones and supposedly best.

I've used various coatings as well.

And within 3 -5 years I think every single one has started to degrade in one way or another. More importantly I've had customer complaints.

Now I only use professional labs, proper traditional prints, and high commercial grade printers for large formats.

The difference is plain to see, not only is the quality better in the first place, I have seen no issues with longetivity.

Actually as I write this, I'll retract one part of the above statement. Inkjets on canvas seem to be fine. But everything else no.

IMHO your experience/opinions are a bit out of date with regard to inkjet technology. Inkjet technology has come along way even in the last 5 years. If your prints showed fading or other deterioration in a matter of a few years, I have to wonder if they were using dye inks, and/or papers very high levels of OBA's that "burned out".

With the newer pigment inksets (Epson K3 and HDR, Canon Lucia/EX, etc) and appropriately selected papers, today's inkjets have substantially better permanence than color Lightjet/RA4 prints.  These pigment inksets also have better DMax and color gamut as well. And while the latest inkjets cannot match the resolution of a wet print from a large negative, they can meet or exceed the resolution of the digital RA-4 printers.

[Chipper1002]

Why not offer a guarantee to replace the photo in the event it becomes deteriorated. It only costs you a bit of time and effort to re-print it. The customer would undoubtedly not have to be concerned about it. Everyone is much happier!

[NikoJorj]

The best data out there on fading is at:  http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/index.html  There is a small membership fee to get access to the entire database, but it's a project well worth supporting.

And best of all it is now free to access!

With the newer pigment inksets (Epson K3 and HDR, Canon Lucia/EX, etc) and appropriately selected papers, today's inkjets have substantially better permanence than color Lightjet/RA4 prints.  These pigment inksets also have better DMax and color gamut as well. And while the latest inkjets cannot match the resolution of a wet print from a large negative, they can meet or exceed the resolution of the digital RA-4 printers.

Ditto...