Fine art paper: where to start?

[Mark Lindquist]

Those wanting prints that are very long lived while on display where light is present should avoid inkjet printing.  Also all silver photographic processes. Also any implied or specific promise of display longevity to clients, beyond "about 10 years."  Those seeking display longevity in the century+ range should learn to draw on the purest of substrates with chalk pastels which have already turned to dust.

I meant to reply to this long ago. 

Bill - this is one of the funniest, yet most prescient things I have seen you write on this forum yet.

Bravo!  Try hanging any print, in direct Florida sunlight.  It is the truth. 

[Stefan Ohlsson]

I meant to reply to this long ago. 

Bill - this is one of the funniest, yet most prescient things I have seen you write on this forum yet.

Bravo!  Try hanging any print, in direct Florida sunlight.  It is the truth. 

There is a huge difference between the phrases ”Where light is present” and ”direct Florida sunlight”. If we educate our customers about how to place artwork, they can be viewed for years and years. Compared to other art forms, today's pigment prints on acid free papers have about the same longevity. Maybe not oils, but most other art forms.

[JRSmit]

There is a huge difference between the phrases ”Where light is present” and ”direct Florida sunlight”. If we educate our customers about how to place artwork, they can be viewed for years and years. Compared to other art forms, today's pigment prints on acid free papers have about the same longevity. Maybe not oils, but most other art forms.

when we cleared my parent appartement after their Demis the images that stood out after years of sunlight weer the one printed with pigment. All other inluding those from wet dark rooms or c-prints weer fader.  Some very badly.

[dwswager]

Depending on a lot of factors, a high quality generic profile might be better than a piss poor custom profile or even a good custom profile.  That said, a high quality custom profile that accounts for current printer condition, current inks and current media is a good thing.  But of course, that means a new profile for each batch run of media, each batch run of ink, each change in printer condition.  And all profiles only account for continuous error in the printer and not spurious error.

I have never seen a "quality" manufacturer's profile that was perfect for my printer.  The ones I make are close to perfect especially in shadow detail and highlight detail, and in the most subtle tonalities and colors.  Using wide gamut media the screen to print match is perfect.  For my specific printer.  That's not quite the case for manufacturers' profiles, even though some are close by One Hour Photo standards.

The manufacturer generated profiles were probably made months or years ago on a different sample of my printer and possibly on the very first batch of the media.  Since then there have likely been slipstream changes in printer and media manufacturing.  If one wants to hang out a "Fine Art" sign, then a profiling system or service is imperative, and should be used at regular intervals such as whenever the media starts showing up in a different style of box, or with a new smell.  Or in the case of 8300, where one head is now over 600 working days old, and the other is new.

I say this on the basis of having recently tested a big sample of media.  AFAIK, printing without printer-specific profiles is a waste of quality media and disqualifies one from being a Fine Art Printer, whatever those lofty sounding words might mean.  Personally, I print art and I'm mighty fine, thanks.

[dwswager]

There is a huge difference between the phrases ”Where light is present” and ”direct Florida sunlight”. If we educate our customers about how to place artwork, they can be viewed for years and years. Compared to other art forms, today's pigment prints on acid free papers have about the same longevity. Maybe not oils, but most other art forms.

One of the unaccounted for factors is heat.  The worst fading I have ever seen of a pigmented ink print on acid free paper was not due to light, but heat.  The home owner hung it above a LCD Rear Projection TV.  It received no direct sunlight, but got almost constant heat from TV.  Two years later it was badly faded and yellowed.  A print under glass in sunlight is not only getting light (UV), but heat as well.

BTW, this is why accelerated testing needs to be adjusted for the higher heat the print gets with high intensity light over a shorter period of time versus low intensity light over an extended period.