Print Permanence A Summary of the Epson White

Photographs are among people’s most valued possessions. The result was that by the 1970s and ’80s countless cherished During times of natural disaster, such as fires and hurricanes, photographic memories, important historical records and works heroic efforts are often made to save photos because while of art had faded and, in some cases, virtually disappeared. many material possessions can be replaced, photographic prints are usually irreplaceable. Negatives are lost, the hard Today, inkjet prints made from digital files can be made on a drives or digital media on which digital images are stored can wide variety of with different types of inks. How long one be damaged, or file formats become obsolete. Photographic of these prints will last is determined by the ink formulation, the prints, however, are easy to store and always easy to view, so paper on which the image is printed, the manner in which the they continue to be the best way to preserve memories. printer lays the ink down on the paper and the storage/display conditions under which the photo is kept. Inkjet manufacturers People expect the prints of their visual memories to last, design their printers, inks and paper as a system to maximize whether hung on a wall, displayed on a desk, or stored in an print permanence and image quality. Therefore, buyers should album. Epson’s print permanence advances have been beware of any one-size-fits-all claims of a non-system product designed to keep important memories lasting a lifetime. But for longevity and quality because variables in any of these answering the question of how long photographic prints will last factors can yield drastically different results. is a complicated matter, and most people have not been fully aware of the weaknesses in print durability since the The primary factors that affect print longevity are , water, introduction of in the 1950s. pollution (including ozone), temperature, and humidity. Epson’s state of the art -based inks offer an unmatched Because of our commitment to research and development to resistance to damage from to light, water, temperature improve print permanence, Epson wants the public to be extremes, humidity and provide good resistance to ozone. We informed about the many factors that can affect the longevity of recognize that ozone is a threat to the longevity of prints using their photos and to be aware of potentially misleading print certain Epson paper and -based ink combinations. Placing permanence claims so they can take the appropriate steps to these type of prints (as well as prints made with other ensure their important memories last for generations. Epson manufacturers’ dye-based inkjet prints) in a frame behind glass believes there should be tough standards for measuring print provides adequate protection against atmospheric longevity instead of making imaging products with inferior print contaminants. Therefore, we want to be sure customers have permanence look better by lowering industry accepted practices. the right information to make the best choices to meet their needs, which is one reason we don’t want to see industry Until the 1950s most were in . If accepted practices for print permanence lowered. When properly processed, these black and white prints had incredible displayed behind glass or in dark storage, prints made with resistance to the elements that cause fading: light, water and Epson pigment-based inks printed on papers designed for atmospheric gasses. In fact, many of these early photographs pigment-based inks yield the industry's leading image remain in excellent condition today and still reside in family permanence ratings. collections and museums. The challenge in determining print permanence is that real time Color prints came into widespread use during the late 1950s. testing is not practical. All manufacturers must use accelerated The leading photographic manufacturers of the time settled on methods for predicting print longevity. Epson endorses the use a dye-based system of producing color prints. The prints were, of industry accepted practices that simulate exposing a print to indeed, attractive; but they unfortunately had significantly less at least 450 lux - a measurement of the amount of illumination - permanence than the black and white prints to which for 10 to 12 hours a day to predict how long a print will last. consumers were accustomed. Eastman Kodak has chosen to dramatically depart from industry

1 accepted practices and publishes their own data using a 120 We at Epson believe consumers should have access to lux calculation, which is 3.7 times less illumination. Eastman unbiased comparative print permanence data based on Kodak also conducts its print longevity tests at a much higher uniform rigorous test criteria so they can make informed degree of acceleration over a shorter period of time which adds choices about the photographic materials on which they more error to their simulated dimly lit room. In addition, they do print their precious memories. The long-term survival of not follow general industry practices by providing test results photographs and our photographic heritage must not be only with 100% Ultraviolet (UV) filtration, which blocks the shortchanged by overstating the permanence characteristics damaging effects of UV on all photographic materials. of any paper, ink, other imaging material, or their combinations. These deviations from industry accepted practices enable Photographs are simply too important to our civilization Eastman Kodak to make display life predictions that are up to to be subjected to undisclosed compromises about their 5 times longer than they would be under industry accepted longevity. practices. A print with what most would consider a realistic lightfastness rating of 20 years under industry accepted practices will suddenly be rated at over 100 years. In other For more detailed information please refer to “Print Permanence words, those lower standards make an inferior product look like White Paper” which can be downloaded separately from it is on par with Epson's leading archival solutions. If Epson www.epson.com/printpermanence were to use Eastman Kodak's testing conditions, some Epson prints could have lightfastness ratings over 1,000 years. While that may make good advertising copy, we do not believe it is credible, and we refuse to mislead customers that way.

Currently there is no ISO print permanence standard for digitally printed photographs, and there is no prediction as to when, or even if an ISO standard will be established. Until there is an ISO standard, Epson chooses to use rigorous test practices for print permanence because consumers’ memories and professionals’ reputations are at stake. After several real-time decades of observation, most have seen how traditional silver- halide color prints fade in a variety of everyday environments. So far, these observed rates of fading seem in alignment with the rates of fade predicted by current industry accepted practices for print permanence.

We highly recommend consumers and professionals look to independent third-party laboratories that do comparative apples to apples testing using accepted industry practices rather than any testing that is based on a single manufacturer's attempt to set a lower standard. The latter is much like an automobile manufacturer setting up their own biased methods to determine a more favorable miles per gallon rating.

Of course, not all prints have to last forever, but often one does not know the importance of a print until many years in the future. Sadly, many of the most important prints are displayed in well-lit environments suitable for enjoying photography, not the dimly lit Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Third party and conditions Eastman Kodak uses for its display life predictions. product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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