Fade Test: 4800 ABW v. UT7
2005-12-24 by Paul Roark
This fade test had several interesting parts and results. The ones reported here relate to Epson 4800 ABW test strips v. MIS UT7 on EEM and Premier Art 205. (I'll also report some interesting results relating to MIS 2400 inks later. The running time for the next report is different than this one, so I'm segregating the results.) This part of the test ran for a total time being about equal to 20 Wilhelm years. Non-filtered fluorescent light was used, as usual for me. All readings are in Lab. I'm not certain how much the paper tone changes affect the image, but it is likely the EEM yellowing has a significant impact on the tone (hue) changes of the tests. The changes in the paper readings (test strip minus control) are as follows: EEM change: 0.05, 2.03, 5.72 (EEM has obviously become much warmer with the light, with yellowing being the most significant change.) Premier Art change: 0.17, -0.02, -0.48 (This non-OBA paper became slightly cooler.) Epson Enhanced Matte test strips: 4800, EEM control: 53.74, 0.66, 0.57 4800, EEN test: 55.07, 0.31, 2.35 4800, EEM change: 1.33, -0.35, 1.78 UT7, EEM control: 54.15, 2.0, -0.14 UT7, EEM test: 54.38, 1.05, 2.43 UT7, EEM change 0.23, -.95, 2.57 Premier Art Fine Art Hot Press 205 test strips: 4800, PA control: 54.78, 0.21, 1.77 4800, PA test: 55.93, 0.33, 1.25 4800, PA change: 1.15, 0.12, -0.52 UT7, PA control: 59.87, 1.25, 0.63 UT7, PA test: 60.32, 1.12, 0.70 UT7, PA change: 0.45, -0.13, 0.07 Looking just at the fade in density (the first of the Lab change numbers), UT7 did much better than the k3 inks. On EEM the difference was over 5 times. On Premier Art (which I believe to have essentially the same coating as Epson UltraSmooth) the UT7 still faded less than half as much as the k3 "Advanced B&W" mode prints. The additional color inks the ABW mode uses probably accounts for part of this difference. Looking at the changes in the tones or hues of the test strips, however, the k3 ABW print did considerably better on EEM, but not on Premier Art. One thing that stands out is how different the tone or hue changes are from EEM to Premier Art. Part of the difference is no doubt the yellowing of EEM. However, the differences are probably also a result of the acidity of EEM. The bottom line is that the tones are much more stable on the acid free paper, especially for UT7. Paul www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]