Longevity Research- cross posted

[Tyler Boley]

Most of you may already know about this, but I intend to make some noise about it-
http://aardenburg-imaging.com/
That the opening page has such a discussion of specialty B&W ink speaks volumes right off the bat. Mark developed the standard Wilhelm is now moving to, while taking little of the public credit. This is exactly the kind of independent testing we have been looking for for years, and open to as many kinds of inks and papers as his subscription level can support. He also hes the first viable approach to B&W testing we've seen as an independent, Wilhelm's told us nothing of hue shift in his previous testing, very important to us B&W folks, particularly those using processes with some level of color inks involved. Obvioulsy most of his work is with color. Some of you are probably already members. I realize to have a voluntary subscription effort like this is this economy makes for a difficult future, but isn't this exactly what we need to keep things honest?
This is extremely important work, the only impartial, thorough, and rational approach to evaluating the future of our print art since the radical switch to digital. Times are very tough, I managed to find a way to subscribe and stay alive, it's not much.
I think we should constantly support his efforts on the forums when we discuss materials, subscribe of course at least at the minimum if at all possible, and mention we are members on our sites and blogs. We would be his support, since he can't be a constant salesman and maintain the level of integrity required to give his work and results the impartial level of integrity required for widespread acceptance.
Thanks for listening, go join, and proudly chat up your membership... maybe he needs a certificate we can put on our sites.. a decoder ring at least?
Tyler
http://www.custom-digital.com/

[Sal Santamaura]

I selected this thread as the most appropriate vehicle to disseminate important information in early 2015.

Many of you are aware that Epson has just begun delivering its P600 printer


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1091547-REG/epson_c11ce21201_surecolor_p600_inkjet_printer.html,

which uses a new, reportedly improved Ultrachrome HD ink set. Anyone interested in the longevity of inkjet prints realizes that thorough, independent testing is needed to establish a useful estimate of the actual life expectancy prints made with those inks will exhibit. Mark McCormick-Goodhart has plans to perform that testing, but lacks sufficient funding to begin. I've done my part with an initial contribution, but encourage other to jump in too and help things along financially. See Mark's latest update on the Aardenburg Imaging & Archives home page:


http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/index.html

Thanks for any support you provide to this worthwhile project.

[Oren Grad]

Thanks for this update/reminder, Sal. I've just renewed my support for this important work and join you and Tyler in urging others to contribute.

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks I will help out too.

[jnantz]

best of luck with you efforts !

[Ken Lee]

Thread moved to Kickstarter Announcements which now exists. Thanks for the update.

Please keep in mind that discourteous posters get banned briefly at first, then banned entirely from this forum.

[Kirk Gittings]

Well done Ken!

[Ray Heath]

Yeh, well done Ken!

My post actually included a reasoned response to the OP.

Maybe you guys should restate your bias so that the rest of us will know what opinions we are not permitted to express.

[Peter De Smidt]

The Aardenburg research is very important for anyone who makes digital prints. He even has data on some C41 prints. I use the inkset that I do mainly because it does extremely well in his tests.

[Kirk Gittings]

Yeh, well done Ken!

My post actually included a reasoned response to the OP.

Maybe you guys should restate your bias so that the rest of us will know what opinions we are not permitted to express.

I don't remember what exactly was in yours but if you quote a post that is getting the axe then yours will get the axe too.

[sanking]

Yeh, well done Ken!

My post actually included a reasoned response to the OP.

Maybe you guys should restate your bias so that the rest of us will know what opinions we are not permitted to express.

Ray,

You should not take it personally. In the French reign of terror of Maximilien de Robespierre, and the Comité de salut public, everybody got their head lopped off, liberals, moderates and conservatives. Even Monsieur Robespierre eventually lost his!! And finally, after too much "guillontine chic" the tide turned.

Sandy

[rdenney]

Yeh, well done Ken!

My post actually included a reasoned response to the OP.

Maybe you guys should restate your bias so that the rest of us will know what opinions we are not permitted to express.

Okay. When a food-fight starts, rather than trying to sort it all out, we draw a line, and delete most of what follows. Sometimes the wheat gets thrown out with the chaff. But, to be honest, I, at least, didn't notice much wheat in what Ken deleted.

One of the issues you raised has already been addressed by relocating the thread to the appropriate forum.

But a post being deleted isn't a matter of what is "not permitted". The guidelines require decorum, and that is a quality, not a standard. Don't take it personally if, this time, a post of yours gets swept up in a major pruning effort.

Rick "moderators may sometimes be arbitrary but are rarely capricious or whimsical" Denney

[Sal Santamaura]

According to AI&A's home page


http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/index.html

funding for the test has reached 80% of threshold. Just a few more interested parties could push it over the top and get things started.

[Sal Santamaura]

A mere $20 to go:


http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com/index.html

Anyone? :)

[Ken Lee]

I just sent $20.

[Sal Santamaura]

Way to go Ken! :D

[invisibleflash]

From my testing Canon was very slightly better in the yellow than Epson.

http://fadetesting.tumblr.com/

In any case, dye transfer prints were TERRIBLE with fade resistance. Only thing worse was 1970's vintage Freestyle C (Probably Agfacolor.) Don't quibble over Epson or Canon inkjets. They are superb in archival fade testing. Real fade testing to boot...Bob Pace style.

[Sal Santamaura]

...Epson has just begun delivering its P600 printer...which uses a new, reportedly improved Ultrachrome HD ink set...


From my testing Canon was very slightly better in the yellow than Epson...No one, including you, has tested the fade resistance of Epson's new Ultrachrome HD ink set. It was just introduced with the new printer. Whether or not yellow stability of the HD version has been improved compared to Epson's previous K3VM iteration can now be tested, thanks to Ken putting AI&I project funding "over the top."

[Sal Santamaura]

I just sent $20.


Way to go Ken! :DThanks to Ken and others who responded to AI&A's appeal, its test of the new ink set can now begin. A burst of donations brought the total to $145 more than needed for ordering a printer and initial media. Mark McCormick-Goodhart wrote this yesterday morning about how the process will proceed:


"...I will be starting round two of the funding effort (applying the excess funds from round 1) in order to expand the number of media that we will ultimately be able to test. For now, I'm going to start with two media, namely Hanemuhle Photo Rag Pearl, and Epson Exhibition WaterColor Paper. HNphPearl is a luster type non RC paper (one of my favorites I keep in stock) that will use the PK black, while EEW is a relatively recently introduced fine art matt paper with some "mould made" texture that will invoke the MK black. I have never tested it before, so I thought it would be a good pick. Both papers are OBA-free, so we should get a better handle on the ink/ink receptor coating performance without confounding the result with OBA burnout problems. I will pair the two samples made on the P600 side-by-side two samples with same paper batch but printed on an an Epson 3880. Although the initial sample size in test will be small until I can build up more funds for testing additional media, this paired-comparison testing approach should begin to reveal by about mid summer whether the new UltraChrome HD ink set substantially outperforms the older K3 ink set with respect to light fade resistance..."