Epson Clossy vs. Kodak Ultima paper

[george]

Office Depot was doing a closeout on Kodak Ultima Photo Paper. It
claims Brilliant color photos that last over 100 years with a
disclaimer to see their web site. The web site makes some claim about
being a swellable polymer plus paper. My favorite paper is Epson
Glossy Photo Paper which is a micropourous paper. From what I have
read the swellable polymer should give better life.

I printed solid bands of C Y M and K at 23, 50, 75 and 100%. I
printed with Canon Chromalife100 ink using an IP4200 and MIS ink using
an IP5000. I let the samples dry for 24 hours. Initially all the
colors looked good. The Kodak paper printed noticeably darker in all
the colors. Which printer or ink used made little difference.

First test was running hot water for 30 seconds. The Kodak with the
canon ink lost all its ink. The Kodak with MIS ink left a magenta
smudge. The Epson samples were visually unchanged. Next I soaked the
samples in cold water for a half hour. The Kodak samples lost all the
cyan and most of the yellow. The Kodak samples looked similar except
that the solid black of MIS ink turned deep purple. The Epson samples
were visually unchanged.

Next I subjected samples to 2 hours of broad spectrum UV. Canon ink
on Epson paper had a barely noticeable fade mostly in magenta. The
Canon ink on Kodak paper had a fade and color shift that was 2 to 3
times more than the Epson paper. The MIS ink had a magenta fade about
20 times as much as the Canon ink with the Epson paper. The Kodak
paper MIS ink did not fade as much as the Epson MIS, but
significantly worse than Kodak paper with anon ink.

My conclusion is Kodak paper is unacceptable because of poor moisture
resistance. Kodak paper was more fade resistant with the MIS ink. In
my mind the clear winner was Epson paper with Canon ink. MIS ink is
fine for my less critical needs.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

george wrote:

(post snipped)

George, you've got me really confused now. I have no idea what printers
you used or which ink with what.

Let's see: you printed with Canon ink in an Epson printer, and Epson ink
in a Canon printer, right? MIS ink formulated for an Epson in the Canon,
but MIS ink for the Canon also in the Canon.

What?

Richard

 

[Paul Rubin]

George, you've got me really confused now. I have no idea what
printers you used or which ink with what.

The post is clear, you need to re-read it.

Let's see: you printed with Canon ink in an Epson printer, and Epson
ink in a Canon printer, right? MIS ink formulated for an Epson in the
Canon, but MIS ink for the Canon also in the Canon.

No. No Epson printers were used anywhere in the post. Epson paper,
yes. Epson printers, no.

 

[george]

george wrote:

(post snipped)

George, you've got me really confused now. I have no idea what printers
you used or which ink with what.

Let's see: you printed with Canon ink in an Epson printer, and Epson ink
in a Canon printer, right? MIS ink formulated for an Epson in the Canon,
but MIS ink for the Canon also in the Canon.

What?

Richard

Sorry to confuse. Canon and MIS ink were used to print on Kodak and
Epson paper with Canon printers.

 

[Ron Baird]

Greetings George,

Longevity of a print is affected by many variables- ozone, humidity, and
light, to name a few. Print life will vary based on the printer/ink/media
combination, as well as the storage conditions before and after printing. No
testing was done for prints under water.

It is suggested that you keep printed and unprinted paper at room
temperature at relative humidities between 40% and 60%. Keep media
protected. Unprinted media should remain boxed and printed media should be
kept behind glass or in an album.

As to the recent Colorlast technology, it is quite good and impressive. The
Kodak web site clearly helps you understand the technology that is used in
Kodak Inkjet paper. Rather than go into a long review, and if anyone is
interested, please visit the following URL for a full understanding. The
information should be read fully to grasp the full impact of the features of
this now paper.

http://www.kodak.com/go/colorlast

Talk to you soon, George,

Ron Baird