Re: accelerated fading problem

[dfanger@world.std.com (David M Fanger)]

Regarding the recent exchange about accelerated "fading" on Epson prints:

I'm beginning to believe that high humidity has a marked and fast-acting
effect on the color of Epson prints -- at least on some Epson papers. I first
noticed this a year or so ago when I put three glossy film images printed
on my Stylus Color 800 with Epson inks on the kitchen display board. Within
a few days, all three had developed a strong red cast. I reprinted on what
was then known as glossy paper, posted them in the same location and a year
later they're relatively unchanged.

Early last winter I began using the new Epson glossy photo paper almost
exclusively. Images printed on this paper were stable and unchanging -- until
the middle of June when the temperature in Massachussetts shot up into the
90's and the humidity followed suit. And suddenly I began seeing a similar
reddening of new prints propped up for my admiration around my computer work
area. One such print was a grey-scale image printed in RGB on my 900. I had
been working on CMY adjustments in the Epson driver necessary to give neutral
greys in prints from black and white negatives. I achieved the required
neutrality on a Tuesday and propped up the print for display. On Wednesday
I was taken aback that I had apparently added too much magenta and yellow
and had somehow failed to perceive the imbalance the day before. On Thursday
the print had turned unambiguously red. It wasn't my adjustments that were at
fault, the damned print was changing color.

Interestingly, these changes don't occur on laminated prints -- and they
don't seem to occur on images that have aged for several weeks before being
subjected to high humidity. (I think the humidity alone is the problem, since
my work area is in the basement where the temperature never goes above about
75 F but the humidity is probably even greater than it is outdoors.)

My guess is that the recent posts regarding rapid color shifts may be
rooted in this problem, but I'm surprized that the color calibrationists
among us haven't posted any remarks about it. I suppose Dan Culbertson and
David Tobie work in air-conditioned environments to protect their massive
investments in computer and printer hardware, but there must be other
less pampered Epsonologists who have the same environmental problems that
I do. . . ???

Dave F.

___________

Dave Fanger (dfanger@world.std.com)
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