Digital BW, The Print

JF-

When I first got my 1280, it came with epson's newly formulated ink
(dye). I used the ink to make many colorful art prints, and a few test
prints that I put in a South Window that gets sunlight all day. After a
month, there was no noticeable fading at all compared to a dark storage
print of the same image. The image was full of brilliantly colored
objects on a blue and cyan background... Absolutely no difference in the
two prints.  We have never had any orange shift problems in North Dakota
that I'm aware of. I would think that under glass in a low light
environment the colors wouldn't fade for many years. I've tried the same
print with Generations and MIS inks for 3 months in a sunny south
window, with no fading. The Epson Archival Matte paper on which these
prints were made did turn a slightly buff color in the areas that had no
image on them, but the colors themselves didn't change. 

This is an extreme test, as nobody is going to display any work of art
in bright sunlight, I hope!

If a print can withstand 3 months in the sun with little or no fading,
That inkset is good enough for me. It's probably as good as we're going
to get now. I'm sure it will get better in the future.

I'm about to order a set of Generations 5 inks and a new 1280 printer,
and I don't think I'll even be concerned about print longevity again.
I've gone though as many tests as I plan on going through, and now I'm
just going to print.

Jerry


. After printing several
> beautiful 8x10s from an Epson 880, with the original Epson cartridge,
> in color, and leaving them out on a lawn chair in the sun for 10
> days, day and night, I see zero fading or degradation of any kind.
> None. 'Even one unexpected rainstorm failed to deteriorate the prints.

> Have I missed a point regarding potential fading here ?

No the new epson inks are much better than the previous ones. You should
see what prints from the first epsons look like. Totally worthless, even
those in dark storage!

I really do doubt that any dye inks are going to last anywhere near as
long as the Generations 5 inks or the MIS archival pigment inks though.