Fading of laser printed images

[Michael Hopper]

I know there is a lot of information available on the light sensivity
of ink jet printers at the Wilhelm Laboratories web site, but is there
any site that documents the fading properties of laser prints?

My interest is in the archival properties of such prints and what
steps can be taken to stabilize prints made with these devices.

Recently I visited a site that had housed a graphics arts design
studio. On the wall was a poster of a large laser printer that had
been posted on the wall that had been the home for the hardware. This
poster was not printed digitally and the magenta color had faded
totally from the print. Alongside this poster was a print that
supposedly came from the printer and appeared to have faded far less
that the poster. Maybe it had been on the wall for less time but
still showed some sign of age.

 

[Joel]

Monochrome B&W laser prints are unlikely to fade, the pigment
contains carbon black which doesn't change colour. It would
however be advisable to print on archieval quality paper to avoid
yellowing and physical deterioration with age, reameber also
that laser images can transfer/stick to some plastics. Storage
under controlled conditions would be a good idea.

Colour laser images can deteriorate like coloured plastics, they
are not light fast.

If you want it to last for centuries keep a copy on archieval
quality optical media, and regenerate the material onto
fresh media every few years.

B&W may take longer to be faded but just like the real life everything
will be faded by time (including human and better print like money).

Color, some color may fade faster than other.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Although color laser printers vary in the fabrication of the toner.

Some use dyes, some pigments, some a mixture of both, plus thermal waxes
and plastics, so, just like inkjet printers, there is some variation in
the longevity of the color component.

In a general sense, color laser prints will have better fade resistance
than the average inkjet print. Most color laser printer toners do use
pigment in the toners, which is pretty stable. Also, the waxes and
plastics which the pigment is encased in when the toner is fused onto
the paper.

The original poster you saw was very likely offset printed. Offset inks
are usually very fugitive. Typically, the yellow and or magenta fail,
leaving the cyan and black behind. My experience is that color laser
output will typically outlast both dye inkjet and most offset inks. The
paper substrate may yellow or degrade however, because it often is lower
quality bond paper.

Art





If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

 

[NBC]

Always keep in mind:

Photos don't fade when stored in digital format on a hard disk drive or
equivalent digital media.

By archiving the digital data a new print can be rendered at anytime.

Flat screen electronic displays are the future of image reproduction, so
use them instead of paper.

Fresh paper images can be printed when needed from stored digital
formats.

FF

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Interesting you should mention these things. I was having the same
conversation with someone just today.

We were wondering how long the magnetic imprint on a hard drive would
last is just kept stored and used as needed (not in regular use, but
used an an archive.)

Secondly, I agree with you that the future is OLED or other electronic
display technologies, which is going to make display art images worth
about 10 cents each, just like what has happened to stock imagery.
People will change their decor with the click of a remote (and not just
images, but also wallpaper styles, etc).

The bigger question is what method of file archiving will be used, in
terms of both medium and format. All well and good to have a file
archived away, but if software which reads and prints the file, let
alone the device that does the printing, are regularly being upgraded,
best of luck in getting the file back into hard copy, and reproducing
the image in the same color and manner.

I don't think people collecting daguerreotypes would be too happy with a
inkjet print of one as a substitute, nor a silver print being replaced
with a laser print.

Basically, collectors will be also wishing to keep the historical
relevance of the medium used at a certain time and date, and as such,
the idea of an archival print still has some merit.

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

 

[PhotoSci]

Always keep in mind:

Photos don't fade when stored in digital format on a hard disk drive or
equivalent digital media.

By archiving the digital data a new print can be rendered at anytime.

As I posted to another Usenet group on a similar topic:

Good luck. Dyes in optical media fade, magnetic domains drift, hard
disks crash, and digital media in general becomes obsolete enough
with
time that the equipment to read it becomes unavailable or unuseable.

And once a few bits are lost here and there, the entire image or
image
collection may be history.

The nice thing about film or prints are that they are humanly-
readable
and with the use of digital techniques can often be restored to near-
new condition.

 

[Joel]

As I posted to another Usenet group on a similar topic:

Good luck. Dyes in optical media fade, magnetic domains drift, hard
disks crash, and digital media in general becomes obsolete enough
with
time that the equipment to read it becomes unavailable or unuseable.

And once a few bits are lost here and there, the entire image or
image
collection may be history.

The nice thing about film or prints are that they are humanly-
readable
and with the use of digital techniques can often be restored to near-
new condition.

It sounds like you have learned more than what you really need to learn.
Yes, everything will be obsolete and become unusable by the time, just like
us human will get old then die by the time.

Same with film, you often won't get near new comparing the the digital as
long as you can read then you will get 100% of the original even if you
stored it from hundreds of years ago (not film).