Light-Induced Media Discoloration in Archival Pigment and other Fine Art Prints

Market Sorely in Need of Resin Coated(RC) OBA-Free Media

I am currently writing a paper on light induced discoloration in modern media and its implications for high quality long lasting prints. Light-induced staining in the image highlight areas on modern media is an underreported issue in the photo conservation literature and print longevity ratings reports because it often goes undetected in accelerated light fade studies. High intensity light levels can bleach some stain forming compounds back to more colorless states, but these colorless forms are metastable and will quickly return to their colored state under lower illumination levels, thus causing yellowish stain on the print. Hence, additional dark storage periods and additional sample measurements are required during the light fade testing procedure in order to detect further discoloration that may arise under the lower illumination levels commonly encountered in real word display and storage conditions.

This project is the culmination of several years of digital print research here at Aardenburg Imagng & Archives.

Mark H. McCormick-Goodhart
Director, Aardenburg Imaging & Archives

Donations for this project will be accepted through 2017 Inks and Media, which includes I* Metric testing of media exhibiting the phenomenon of light-induced low intensity staining.

In the 2017 Inks and Media project, individual samples of each printer/ink/media combination will be removed permanently from light fade test units at 20, 50, and 100 megalux hours, retired to dark storage, and measured at 6 month intervals for color and tonal accuracy in comparison to their corresponding dark storage control samples.

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