Do Inkjet Printer Prints Fade?

A PRINTER USER ASKED:

I want to make sure the prints I am printing on my ink jet printer will last as long as possible, but I've heard that the ink on these printers doesn't last as long as color laser printers or traditional prints. Do the prints fade?

OUR PRINTER EXPERTS ANSWER:

Do digital prints fade?

by Florie Lyn Masarate

Let us talk about inkjet photo prints. Since they are considered as one of the best digital printers for all printing needs, chances are, you may want to have your business cards printed in one. And why not? With all the reviews these printers are getting, you want some piece of the action. Do digital prints fade?

It is difficult to give an accurate estimate for either of this types of prints. First, because manufacturers are constantly improving ink longevity. However, in the general sense, it can be said that the best pigment-based inks, used with their appropriate photo print papers, have a lifetime of more than 100 years before noticeable fading occurs. While a top-grade dye-based ink provides prints that last about a decade or two under good conditions.

Note that inkjet inks are engineered for best longevity when used with particular photo print papers. This is because the paper is designed to absorb and "lock in" the ink formulation.

Most printer manufacturers want you to use their brand of ink and paper. However, as long as both the ink and paper are from quality independent suppliers and are compatible, they are just as reliable. The third-party brands are often more economical.

A type of digital color photo is the thermal dye-sublimation print. This is most often made on small desktop printers that produce 4-by-6-inch snapshots. This at-home printer employs a print-wide ribbon with three dye panels of magenta, cyan, and yellow.

Some printers have a fourth clear panel that lays down a protective coating on the prints surface. With a computer or direct camera hookup to the printer, each dye layer is transferred by heat onto the paper one color at a time, producing the color photo.

At best, dye-sublimation prints, when displayed under glass, have a life without noticeable fading of about five to 20 years, depending on the dyes used by the manufacturers.

Digital color prints do fade, to answer the question. But then, so does everything else. That much depends upon how the prints are protected. Two major causes of color fading are long, continuous exposure to bright sunlight or ultraviolet light, and high heat and humidity.

Just try to know the different steps and techniques you can use to make your prints last a long time. Nothing like a solid and strong card to stand the time that the company itself is capable also.

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Florie Lyn Masarate got the flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.