Archival digital inkjet printing........

[Kirk Gittings]

In case you missed this developement-I did. The numbers below are for an inkset developed by Paul Roark on a No OBA mat cotton paper. The significance, as I understand it, is that these numbers approach the test results of traditional silver prints processed archivally. Thats after 120 megalux hours of exposure-like some 51 years. No shit. Now this is not a Wilhelm test-this is Aardenberg the gold standard.

For the the most lightfast inkjet prints, specify maximum carbon content, matte paper, and no third party color including blended gray inks. See http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/ for comparative fade testing. While ultimate longevity is not the most important factor for most prints, where it is critical, do the research. As a benchmark, see test ID#144 (click on AaI_20091208_SN003Lf) and note the average delta-e of 0.3 after 120 Mega Lux hours of exposure. Not all 100% carbon pigment inks and prints do quite as well as this, but the real trouble may be from the colors in gray inks that can fade differentially, causing a print tone shift, sometimes to greenish. It takes a lot of good R&D to match the fade rates of color pigments that are used to cool carbon, with HP Z3200 gray/PK pigments probably being on top of that list and what I use. Also not that it generally takes more color to cool carbon on glossy paper than on the best matte papers.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/

[paulr]

Ink on paper has been around a long, long time. I'm not surprised.

I think the biggest wildcard is the paper coatings. We don't what those are or how they'll behave.

Of course we have no idea what crap our gelatin silver are made out of, either! At least the inkjet paper companies give us some clues about the contents of the paper base, the acid neutrality, if there are OBAs or not, etc ...

[Kirk Gittings]

Aardenberg"s tests includes testing of uninked paper base. On this paper its color/tone shift etc. fell in that same delta-e .3 shift-virtually the same shift silver paper base shows.

[Kirk Gittings]

Of course we have no idea what crap our gelatin silver are made out of, either! At least the inkjet paper companies give us some clues about the contents of the paper base, the acid neutrality, if there are OBAs or not, etc ...

so true.

[Peter De Smidt]

I think the biggest wildcard is the paper coatings. We don't what those are or how they'll behave.

I agree with this, and so does Paul Roark. With that in mind he regularly prints on Arches water color paper, a paper with no inkjet coating. I've tried it, and the results are pretty good, but not as good in side-to-side comparison with a print made on, say, Epson Hot Press Natural. (Kirk can comment on that as he has sample prints on both papers.)

How much does all of this matters to print buyers? Sure, no one wants a print that looks bad after a few months or years, but if we're good to beyond 20 years or so before obvious degradation occurs, do buyers care?

[paulr]

Another wildcard is resistance to atmospheric pollutants. In general, oxidants are the enemy of silver prints the way UV light is the enemy of dyes and pigments … but there could be exceptions, and I don't hear much about people testing for them.

The truth is, we never know for sure. Even if we see a print that's lasted 150 years, those exact materials are not available today. And we can only speculate about the exact processing. Painters at least benefit from a technology that evolves slowly if at all. The same pigments are available today that were available in the renaissance. They can see, for example, what white pigments will yellow less than titanium dioxide if they hang their painting in a castle for 400 years.

[Kirk Gittings]

How much does all of this matters to print buyers? Sure, no one wants a print that looks bad after a few months or years, but if we're good to beyond 20 years or so before obvious degradation occurs, do buyers care?

I believe in my case, in my price range, that this does matter to collectors.

[Brian K]

I've been using Aardenberg's reviews for a few years now. You should see just how badly Fuji Crystal Archive does.

[Ken Lee]

Has anyone here used this solution ?

I am a bit confused by the web site. Perhaps I have overlooked some important pages or documents. Are only late-model Epson printers supported ? Since this solution depends on the Quadtone RIP, is there a list somewhere of papers and printers which have already been profiled ?

When Paul Roark says "It takes a lot of good R&D to match the fade rates of color pigments that are used to cool carbon, with HP Z3200 gray/PK pigments probably being on top of that list and what I use.", does that mean he actually uses the HPZ3200 printer - or only their pigments ? If so, why not just get an HPZ3200 printer ? (Aside from the fact that it costs several thousand dollars and makes prints much larger than many of us will ever need.)

For the upcoming show at the Valley Photo Center I printed entirely on Canson Rag Photographique, a matte 100% rag paper with no OBAs. Under glass, as Paul Roark mentions, the difference in density range between glossy and matte papers is diminished, and with matte paper there is no bronzing, no appreciable metamerism, and... no glare.

So for some of us, there's no problem with matte paper. I'd like to know what options are available. It sounds great.

[Kirk Gittings]

I have asked him to jump in here, but haven't heard back from him. I believe he is using a custom mix of his pure carbon inks which are warm tone (as all pure carbon ink is) cooled down with the best OTC ink (which is the HP) custom mixed and profiled in his Epson printers.