Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
extrapolated to a reference display condition of 450 lux for 12 hours per day and represent
“the years of display for easily noticeable fading, changes in color balance, and/or staining
to occur.” (WIR also conducts separate tests of other environmental conditions.)
While there may be debate about the applicability of WIR’s predictive ratings, I believe
they can be valuable when used for relative comparisons. For example, if WIR rates
ink/paper combination “A” at 73 years and ink/paper combination “B” at 25 years, then
if I’m interested in a print’s permanence, I will choose ink/paper combination “A” for my
production, all other things being equal. In other words, don’t use the WIR years for actual
service-life predictions; use them as a basis for comparison and choice of materials. Also,
look for significant differences in ratings. If one material is rated at 70 years and another
at 75 years, both may, in fact, perform similarly.
IPI/RIT
The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is
a university-based, nonprofit research laboratory in Rochester, New York, that’s devoted
to scientific research in the preservation of visual and other forms of recorded information.
Under the direction of James Reilly, IPI is the world’s largest independent lab with
this specific scope, and they have sponsors who include the likes of Eastman Kodak
Company, 3M Company, Fuji Photo Film Company, and Polaroid Corporation.
The IPI tests for lightfastness (using high-intensity xenon arc and fluorescent) and the
effects of pollutants and heat and humidity on photos, inkjet prints, and other imaging
media. Normal test conditions used for high-intensity fluorescent tests include exposing
color samples for 10 or 14 weeks to 50 klux light with normal airflow. IPI is one of the
few facilities in the world equipped to test materials for gas pollutants at different concentrations,
temperatures, and humidities. They can study the effects of sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and ozone.
Instead of publicizing any test results as WIR sometimes does, IPI only provides them to
the companies that contract for the tests. Those companies then—not IPI—are free to
draw their own conclusions and use them in their marketing claims. For example, Red
River Paper and inkjet ink supplier MIS both promote the longevity of their respective
products as tested by IPI/RIT, and they show the results of those tests on their websites.
Q-Lab Weathering
Research Service
The testing service of this
Ohio-based company is an
accredited independent lab
and run as a separate division
of Q-Panel Lab Products,
which makes testing products
such as xenon arc chambers.
Q-Lab Weathering Research
Service performs accelerated
laboratory light-stability and
Q-Panel’s Eric Everett and a Q-Sun
table-top xenon arc test chamber.
Courtesy of Q-Panel Lab Products