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Print Stability - think what you are buying, selling or making! - part 2 of 1 2 3

by Mike McNamee Published 10/04/2015

All Canson papers deliver fade lifetimes in excess of 250 years using Epson(Ultrachrome), Canon (Lucia Pigments) or HP (Vivera) ink sets. Indigo, whichis used to make some photobooks, has a dark storage life of more than 200years. On display under glass, the fade lifetimes are listed as follows:

So what is to be done?
As professional photographers providing a paid-for service to our clients weare both morally and legally obliged to provide them with product that isfit for purpose. We make treasured possessions, the first thing that peoplerescue as they run from a burning home - this sounds melodramatic butis true, (although the dog would actually be the first thing grabbed in thishouse!). We owe it to our clients to use the best materials available and alsoto ensure that they are what we think they are. If a laboratory changes itspaper stock you should know about it, if a paper provider changes sourcemill you should know about it. In my experience company representativeshave lied to me about the sources of their materials and output methods.A simple question to a photobook manufacturer "Do you use an Indigopress?" should require a one-word answer but rarely does. If they reply thatthey "are using the most modern technology available" but are actuallyfeeding the cheapest paper they can lay their hands on, then all may belost. If they fade test with premium paper and then some bean-counterrealises they can inch up their profits by using a paper sourced from theback of beyond you might be in trouble. With cheap labour and no healthand safety, or environmental disposal checks, how do you know that thestock provided is acid free, they are after all breaking all the other rules ofbusiness.

If you imagine that people would not behave in such a manner ask yourselfhow Kodak and Agfa, two of the most trusted and famous names of thelast century, managed to hoodwink the bulk of professional photographersinto using paper with a fade resistance better measured in days ratherthan years AND largely managed to steer clear of trouble in the courts! Mygrandchildren will have images of their great-great-great-aunt Julia but noimages at all from my wedding day, something that ticks me off quite a lotwhen I stop and think about it!

Two pictures which say it all! On the left, your Editor and Mrs Editor on theirwedding day in 1974, a full colour image that has been dark stored andseen no more than 60 minutes of exposure to light in 40 years. Three ofthe people in the image are no longer alive and this is one of the very fewimages which shows them all togther. The print condition is truly appallingand this is one of the better ones in the album!

On the right the wedding of the great-great-aunt of your editor, a printwhich has been around for over 100 years and is still in near pristinecondition, despite being in a shoe box for most of its life!

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1st Published 10/04/2015
last update 09/12/2022 14:58:15

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