The lack of ink longevity numbers from Canon is a bit shocking at this point. These printers has be out for over a year.
Aardenburg has three media in light fade testing printed with a Canon Pro-1000 printer using Canon's latest Lucia Pro-11 ink set (same ink set used in the Pro-2000 and Pro-4000). One paper is an OEM RC photo paper, another is a fine art matte paper, and the third is a Fine Art glossy paper. They are paired together with three of the same media printed with Epson's latest UCHD inks, and one paper was further printed with the older Lucia EX pigmented ink set as well using a Canon iPF8300. Plus, there are additional comparative samples using the Canon ink set from the Canon Pro-1 printer model. You can find the whole test suite of samples placed in testing late last year at this link:
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/portfolio/inks-and-media-testing-2017/ Not shown in the 2017 inks and media table is a "stealth" sample I recently added into the design matrix which uses the same Moab Entrada Rag Natural fine art matte media except printed with the HP Vivera/Chromata red ink set after we recently acquired an HPZ3200PS printer in late December, 2017. Hence, the study has a direct-comparison component to it that will help to reveal relative differences in performance between the three most current OEM aqueous pigmented ink sets.
This research project is coming up on the 40 megalux hour mark in testing, but for a number of reasons, I don't expect to publish any results until we collect at least 50 megalux hours of total exposure dose on this batch of samples. It will take a few more months to reach that goal. The study is less than 20% funded at this time, but at least all the samples are in test. Light fade tests on modern media can take quite a while
It's just the nature of the work. The manufacturers can start those tests much sooner by performing tests in house or by contracting the studies early with fee-for-service testing labs. The community-sponsored testing model that Aardenburg Imaging uses to help fund our tests takes longer to get the project started because we have to wait for new printers, inks, media, and the funding necessary to independently purchase all materials and supplies on the open market. That said, I hope what our approach lacks in speed is made up for by thoroughness and independent integrity of our published research.
I would also caution that it would be good to sample more media with all of the latest OEM ink sets in order to give a better statistical evaluation of the comparative strengths and weakness of the latest inks on a variety of modern media. Both inks and Media play a critical role in print longevity. Perhaps for the upcoming 2018 calendar year, we may be able to start another new round of testing.
cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com