...but how long will they last on the wall?

Everywhere I look, I see ads regarding printers, inks and papers claiming they will last 100 years or more if archived in an album. Who the hell does that? I want to hang them on the wall or maybe even sell some.

How long will they last on the wall in a frame with acid free paper and matting etc. 10 days? 10 years? What?

ETS wrote in post #14723801
Everywhere I look, I see ads regarding printers, inks and papers claiming they will last 100 years or more if archived in an album. Who the hell does that?

Me...

You might find this helpful:

http://www.epson.com …nding/PrintPerm​anence.jsp

i have a picture hanging on my fridge that i printed with my old canon 10 years ago... The colors are still as bright as the day i printed

zrock wrote in post #14724124
i have a picture hanging on my fridge that i printed with my old canon 10 years ago... The colors are still as bright as the day i printed

If you were to reprint it today I guarantee you would see a difference. Paper yellows over time and inks fade...fact. With some papers and inks you will see a difference within 6 months, some inks are created to withstand more of a beating from UV light and are considered good for 2 - 3 years. Bottom line, if you want to print something and hang it - do it. Don't worry about longevity to the point that it prevents you from printing your art. You can always re-print something down the road if you happen to notice one day that it looks flat and dull or yellow.

Allegedly pigment inks last massively longer. But everything hangs on the word "allegedly". I've not seen any proof that it will really stand the test of time and ultraviolet light. We trust those that tell us this because we have no other option.

Rimmer wrote in post #14723912
You might find this helpful:

http://www.epson.com …nding/PrintPerm​anence.jsp

This is a very interesting article. I've only read about half of it so far and already a lot of my questions or concerns have been answered. Basically, they are telling me that the prints that I can do at home will be as good and as long lasting as anywhere as long as the type of ink used is matched with the right paper. Assuming, of course, that quality inks and paper are used. Correct?

LV Moose wrote in post #14723813
Me...

Of course you do, and so do I actually. I was just being a little sarcastic.

ETS wrote in post #14725137
This is a very interesting article. I've only read about half of it so far and already a lot of my questions or concerns have been answered. Basically, they are telling me that the prints that I can do at home will be as good and as long lasting as anywhere as long as the type of ink used is matched with the right paper. Assuming, of course, that quality inks and paper are used. Correct?

In a nut shell, but there are specially formulated inks that are created to be more resistant to UV light - think signage that is put in windows / malls across the nation.. If you were to put your home based print up against something like that you would be the loser. I do not believe you have anything to be overly-concerned about.

But then you have to know where you will hang the photo. In daylight, a darkened room, incandescent light, under or above a "museum oil paining or print light, with or without glass, plexiglass, plastic", ad nauseum... Oh My, maybe I should just store them... but wait, don't CDs and other types of media deteriorate with age? So should I move then to a new storage device every few years??? but don't I lose pixels, especially with JPG, each time I open, coppy, move, my photos??? Maybe I should simply give up photography... I am sooo confused now

GilBean

ETS wrote in post #14725137
This is a very interesting article. I've only read about half of it so far and already a lot of my questions or concerns have been answered. Basically, they are telling me that the prints that I can do at home will be as good and as long lasting as anywhere as long as the type of ink used is matched with the right paper. Assuming, of course, that quality inks and paper are used. Correct?

I just finished reading the New Epson Complete Guide to Digital Printing (2011 edition) by Rob Sheppard. I like Rob's work and I think it's a good book even though there is a bit of Epson cheer leading in it. On the subject of longevity, one thing he talks about in those cases where you want to display an image but also want to ensure that it lasts as long as possible is making two prints, one for display and one to be stored under the best possible conditions. Another consideration is: will you be able to read your digital copies 10, 50, 100 years from now? A properly stored print will probably outlast digital storage media and/or the ability to read the original file format. A print, on the other hand, can always be re-photographed (although probably with some loss of image quality compared with the original file).

It's an interesting subject and one that we all should think about. I have negatives and prints of my grandparents that are almost 100 years old, but I can no longer read a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk that has archive copies of some DOS programs I wrote probably 15 years ago (and couldn't run them anywhere if I could read it -- not that I would want to do so anyway).

But I agree, it's interesting to see just how much improvement has been made in inks and papers compared to just a short time ago, and good to know that we can expect ink jet prints to hold up for a reasonable period of time.

Yeah, I have several prints stuck on my fridge that are terribly faded after less than a year. I don't mind so much for myself as I can always reprint those. But, if I spend a significant amount of money printing, matting and framing an image I would hate to have to keep reprinting it that often. Further, I would hate to sell a print for $200 and have the customer complain that it disappeared 6 mo. later. That is the real reason for my original post and I've already learned enough from this thread to prevent that from happening.

ETS wrote in post #14725644
Yeah, I have several prints stuck on my fridge that are terribly faded after less than a year. I don't mind so much for myself as I can always reprint those. But, if I spend a significant amount of money printing, matting and framing an image I would hate to have to keep reprinting it that often. Further, I would hate to sell a print for $200 and have the customer complain that it disappeared 6 mo. later. That is the real reason for my original post and I've already learned enough from this thread to prevent that from happening.

I don't like the cold much myself.

But you are right, as long as we can reprint it matters little for ourselves.

But I have been lucky enough to have sold a few framed examples of my work. Now of course its not just about me, its a much more serious issue because I've taken money from others and cannot control where they place them but I want them to be able to enjoy the images for a long time to come. I use materials of high quality (or as high as I can purchase) and can only trust that the "100 year" quotes are sort of right.

ETS wrote in post #14725644
Yeah, I have several prints stuck on my fridge that are terribly faded after less than a year. I don't mind so much for myself as I can always reprint those. But, if I spend a significant amount of money printing, matting and framing an image I would hate to have to keep reprinting it that often. Further, I would hate to sell a print for $200 and have the customer complain that it disappeared 6 mo. later. That is the real reason for my original post and I've already learned enough from this thread to prevent that from happening.

Lowner wrote in post #14727993
I don't like the cold much myself.

But you are right, as long as we can reprint it matters little for ourselves.

But I have been lucky enough to have sold a few framed examples of my work. Now of course its not just about me, its a much more serious issue because I've taken money from others and cannot control where they place them but I want them to be able to enjoy the images for a long time to come. I use materials of high quality (or as high as I can purchase) and can only trust that the "100 year" quotes are sort of right.

So, your final choice is to have it printed by a "Professional Printing Co." if you are selling the prints? (Assuming you do not have the equipment to print) Then who would you use online? (assuming one lives in an area where there are no "professional" camera/printing retail outlets) I come from a town of about 3,000 people.

GilBean

Gil Bean wrote in post #14741254
So, your final choice is to have it printed by a "Professional Printing Co." if you are selling the prints? (Assuming you do not have the equipment to print) Then who would you use online? (assuming one lives in an area where there are no "professional" camera/printing retail outlets) I come from a town of about 3,000 people.

GilBean

I've been using Mpix.com for any prints I sell.
I just purchased a Canon Pro9000 II which will do 13 x 19" prints and after doing this thread and some further research, I am confident will do the job for me. Anything larger than that I'll refer to Mpix. They do a nice job.
Anyway, the key to quality, long lasting prints appears to be the use of the proper inks matched to the right paper.