Digital Prints

3. Set up test conditions and apparatus. I built a crude light-testing apparatus with full-spectrum
fluorescent tubes and standard window glass over the target samples (see Figure 5.11).
4. Prepare and print the targets. I created my own test target in Adobe Photoshop combining
personal and stock images and “color ramps” (pure color patches of varying densities).
5. Run Test. With the targets in place, I turned on the lights and didn’t turn them off, checking
in each day and rotating the targets under the lights each week to make sure they all
received the same average exposure.
6. Terminate test and make evaluations. On the 100th day (the equivalent of 6.7 “Wilhelm
Years” at my light intensity), I turned off the lights and compared the test specimens along
with the dark-stored references in my viewing booth and decided which ones looked best
(see Figure 5.12). Those that matched their controls the closest had faded the least.
Chapter 5 ■ Determining Print Permanence 173
Figure 5.11 The author’s fluorescent
light-fading test unit. Fluorescents
should only be used if the intended
display environment relies on this type
of lighting.
Figure 5.12 Visually comparing the
targets after the lightfastness test is
over.