paulr
29-Aug-2006, 09:07
I've been doing an informal lightfastness test for a little over a year now ... some prints and step wedges cut in half, with one half taped in a sunny window and the other in a drawer. It's been 14 months now, and I thought i'd share the current results.
selenium toned silver print--fortezo grade 3: no visible change
platinum print--not sure what kind of paper: paper bleached during the first two weeks, shifting the image tone to a cooler color. no visible change after that.
carbon inkjet print--piezo inks with portfolio black (metal compound enhanced deep black) on photorag: no visible change, except some scuffing/burnishing of darkest tones where print rubbed against window.
varnished carbon inkjet print--same as above, with several coats of airbrushed uv-blocking varnish (lascaux fixativ plus golden aqueous varnish): no visible change
c-print--kodak royal paper: no visible change for first six months. finally after a year, the sky faded and shifted radically toward yellow. areas of the print with more density show much less change.
Unfortunately I don't have any color pigment inkjet prints to test.
they're back in the window. i'll check them in another year.
the most surprising result i think is the c-print. not that long ago i remember c-prints being completely destroyed by an afternoon worth of direct sun. whatever they've done differently seems to work.
selenium toned silver print--fortezo grade 3: no visible change
platinum print--not sure what kind of paper: paper bleached during the first two weeks, shifting the image tone to a cooler color. no visible change after that.
carbon inkjet print--piezo inks with portfolio black (metal compound enhanced deep black) on photorag: no visible change, except some scuffing/burnishing of darkest tones where print rubbed against window.
varnished carbon inkjet print--same as above, with several coats of airbrushed uv-blocking varnish (lascaux fixativ plus golden aqueous varnish): no visible change
c-print--kodak royal paper: no visible change for first six months. finally after a year, the sky faded and shifted radically toward yellow. areas of the print with more density show much less change.
Unfortunately I don't have any color pigment inkjet prints to test.
they're back in the window. i'll check them in another year.
the most surprising result i think is the c-print. not that long ago i remember c-prints being completely destroyed by an afternoon worth of direct sun. whatever they've done differently seems to work.