Life expectency of photos

[megantess]

Hi All
Does anyone know the life expectency of photos printed on ordinary photo paper and ink, i want to sell some and dont want them fading after 6 months
should i be using different 'long life' ink etc.
Regards Richard :)

[Doodle]

Hard to say, depends on a number of factors.


Type of ink
Colours in photograph (different colour pigments fade a different rates)
Type of photo paper (should really be acid free)
Where picture is to be displayed (in direct light, half light, photo album, under glass, open to the air etc)


Here's some links that might be useful

http://www.vividlight.com/articles/3214.htm
http://www.inkjetart.com/news/archive/IJN_10-26-01.html
http://aabc.bc.ca/aabc/newsletter/15_1/preservation_issues_and_ink_jet.htm

On the other hand if you get your digital prints developed in your local processing lab they should have the same life as traditional prints.

[fairytails]

Keep any injet prints away from heat, especially if they are stacked one on top of another. A lot of clients like to do that, especially while waiting for an album (if they didn't want one from you). I've seen images transfer through paper before at "car temperatures" and make a mess of things. Of course, they shouldn't have put them in the glove box to begin with!