Color shift of images printed by an Epson Photo 960

[Don Pyeatt]

After printing photos that contain a lot of sky background (aircraft in
flight), the prints shift the color of the blue sky to an emerald green.
This shift occurs within 2 days of being printed. I am using genuine
Epson inks and Epson Premium Glossy photo paper - the expensive kind.

Any ideas, comments?

Don
www.B-36peacemakermuseum.org
http://www.cowtown.net/proweb/B36_Home.htm

 

[Burt]

I have seen posts about the Premium glossy paper being a problem. I read
that this paper was reformulated sometime last year and was improved. I
would also try the cheaper Epson glossy photo paper. The surface is a bit
pebbled, but this is the paper I used most with my Epson printer. Also -
where were the prints when they went through the color shift? In the sun,
possibly?

 

[Don Pyeatt]

I have seen posts about the Premium glossy paper being a problem. I read
that this paper was reformulated sometime last year and was improved. I
would also try the cheaper Epson glossy photo paper. The surface is a bit
pebbled, but this is the paper I used most with my Epson printer. Also -
where were the prints when they went through the color shift? In the sun,
possibly?

Some of the prints were on display inside a hangar at a local airshow.
They were exposed to bright sunlight but in the shade of the hangar.
The other prints were stored in boxes - all the prints turned green.

Don

 

[David Chien]

1. Color shifts in inkjet prints continue to occur as the ink dries over
the course of a week. Until then, you can expect subtle color shifts
until dry. Naturally, this is not the same as fading.

2. http://members.cox.net/rmeyer9/epson/index.html
All inkjet prints fade over time. Those using Dye-based inks (vs.
pigment-based inks) tend to fade quicker. Light breaks down the
chemical bonds in the colors, resulting in fading. Same with
environmental components like humidity, ozone, etc. in the air.

Even the latest Digital Camera magazine in Japan finds that the
latest 8-color Epsons with clear coat fades to a degree over time in
both indirect and direct sunlight exposure. And even the pigmented,
archival inks sold by www.inkjetmall.com fade (see their own tests along
with those posted at www.wilhelm-research.com).

3. Benchmarks by vendors and 3rd parties tend to be very 'optimistic'.
I would not bet my life or savings on the tooted 20+ year lifespans of
any of these tests! Expect a good decade or so if stored in a sealed
box in a cool environment; about 1-3 years max in open display.

 

[Ed Ruf]

Some of the prints were on display inside a hangar at a local airshow.
They were exposed to bright sunlight but in the shade of the hangar.
The other prints were stored in boxes - all the prints turned green.

Lot's of wind flowing through. Much of the fading reported with the PGPP
was with the 870/890/1270/1290 dye based inkjet printers and appears to
more associated with gas fastness vs. exposure to light. I used a 1270
before getting an R800 and had a similar problem with prints just taped to
the wall of my inside hallway office compared to those right next to them
behind glass. Are you possibly using old PGPP paper? It was reformulated to
help with this.

 

[SamSez]

After printing photos that contain a lot of sky background (aircraft in
flight), the prints shift the color of the blue sky to an emerald green.
This shift occurs within 2 days of being printed. I am using genuine
Epson inks and Epson Premium Glossy photo paper - the expensive kind.

Any ideas, comments?

Don
www.B-36peacemakermuseum.org
http://www.cowtown.net/proweb/B36_Home.htm

Switch to epson color life paper. Takes nearly overnight to dry, but once dry,
the surface protects the dyes from gas fading [which is the only kind of fading
I have seen work that fast].

 

[Don Pyeatt]

Lot's of wind flowing through. Much of the fading reported with the PGPP
was with the 870/890/1270/1290 dye based inkjet printers and appears to
more associated with gas fastness vs. exposure to light. I used a 1270
before getting an R800 and had a similar problem with prints just taped to
the wall of my inside hallway office compared to those right next to them
behind glass. Are you possibly using old PGPP paper? It was reformulated to
help with this.

The paper and a complete set of ink was ordered online from Epson less
than six weeks ago. Is it possible Epson is still selling the old
paper? Is there a date code on the package?

Don

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Yes. This sounds like the light dye load cyan ink failure that made
international news for several months a few years back. How old are
these ink cartridges?

Is it possible they are counterfeits?

I can suggest two fixes, but Epson's ink formulas were to have resolved
this problem a good while ago, so I'm suspicious as to if your
cartridges are either quite old stock, or not true Epson (they have a
problem with counterfeiting of the ink cartridges).

1) Try covering the print surface with some non-acid paper until it
dries (give it several) days, or place the print in an envelope, or
otherwise keep it away from stiff drafts/breezes or Ozone sources or
other chemical or gases that they might be coming in contact with. Do
you have a known source of Ozone in your location (like an air purifier
of some sort?).

2) Try using Epson Colorlife paper, which is a sellable polymer paper
technology and much less likely to fade.


Art

 

[measekite]

Why doesn't he just call Epson, explain what happened and request
replacement print carts.

 

[Stanley Krute]

Hi Don

After printing photos that contain a lot of sky background (aircraft in
flight), the prints shift the color of the blue sky to an emerald green.
This shift occurs within 2 days of being printed. I am using genuine
Epson inks and Epson Premium Glossy photo paper - the expensive kind.

Odds are high that you're seeing an ozone-induced fading of
the cyan dyes. Gas fading is another phrase to google on.

With Epson's dye-based printers, the solution is to use
their ColorLife paper.

-- stan