The Framers Forum

Hello all,

I have customer that prints his own limited edition prints. Excellent quality and finish.He uses Somerset textured paper from St Cuthberts Mill and prints them on his Epson 130 printer with epson inks. He is concerned that these will fade too fast in comparison to gigclee prints. I admire his thoughtfulness as he only has the customer in mind. I have told him that all good framers will warn the customer of fading etc and I certainly always offer uv glass. He prints such a small scale that this obviously more cost effective for him to work like this. So my question is : will these fade any faster or are they of any less quality that gigclee prints?

Thanks in advance
Daisy

never heared of an epson 130

all inkjet prints are technically gilcee prints, as it just means to spray

BUT the important factor is the type of ink used, ie pigment based inks

I would say be careful. What for example will your customer do with any opinion you give to him as to the lightfastness of his inks. Will he rely on it when making his choice of materials and hold you responsible for any subsequent problems or will he perhaps pass it on to his customers and they rely on your opinion as some kind of professional 'warranty'. I would suggest you direct him instead to Epson so that he can obtain from them a formal performance statement on their inks which he can use as he prefers.

if you want 3rd party lightfastness test result for different ink/paper combinations, have a look at the wihelm research website

they do independent testing of various ink paper combinations

The best way to check lightfastness is to do an accelerated test. Nothing more technical than covering half the print and leaving it in a sunny location (windowsill?) for a few months.

The Epsom SX130 uses Durabright Ink which according to Epson website is a "resin coated pigmented ink"
They also claim it produces lab quality photo with 200 year lightfastness if kept in an album!

Although pigmented inks are far far more lightfast than dye dased inks it not just all about the inks.The same ink on different media can have quite varying levels of lightfastness.

I think prospero idea of leaving in a sunny place with half covered is a good test.

...or whip it down to the local tanning salon & give it a massive UV blast in a few minutes - seriously!!!

I was told, by a glass rep, that tanning salons' lamps are typically 97% UVA and 3% UVB and that glass (any glass) blocks UVA - it's UVB that is catered for in UV filtering glass.

Not saying a sunbed wouldn't fade the print without glass, just a dodgy factoid

I have produced small notices and price tickets for items in my shop window, using the Epson Dura Bright inks on an Epson Sylus C66 and these have proved to be very lightfast indeed. Some of these have been on permanent display in my shop window for several years and the colours are still strong and bright.

My shop windows get a lot of sun during the afternoon and early evenings, so it is a reallistic test. I also sell various vintage Dartmoor prints from the 1920's and 1930's which have been in storage for many decades and these can fade if I don't take precautions. I have adopted the policy of drymounting and heatsealing these prints, because these particular prints are on rather thin paper which can cockle and because experience has shown the heatsealing substantially improves the lightfastness of these prints.

Therefore heatsealing may be worth looking in to as an added precaution. The heatseal film I was using I have had for some considerable time and don't know what brand it may have been, so I don't know if this is typical for all brands. Might be as well to ask your supplier about this, just in case!

Be careful with heat sealing though. It will render any valuable print valueless to any discerning collector/customer.

Giclee prints are more likely to last for a long time, but we cant compare it with other prints, as the difference lies in quality of color and other factors.