Sunday, June 19, 2005
Natural archival media for giclee
We often get calls regarding the archival properties of our materials. First off, let me explain where those 75 + years ratings for some papers come from.
The giclee process has been around for about 20 years and most of the canvas and watercolors made to print with this technology for less than that. The pigmented inks are constantly changing as well. When Iris was first used to print giclees only dyes were available, which meant sure fading in a matter of a couple of years. With the new inks, accelerated simulations point at great longevity.
What do I mean by accelerated simulations? Basically the labs put giclees in extremely high UV environments. Humidity levels and temperature are also manipulated to see in a short time what would happen over the natural life of a print. The tests are pretty accurate and have been around for a long time. Some of the most respected companies who do archival testing have been able to fine tune their procedure way before giclee, by testing ie photographic papers. Are the tests fool proof? Of course not, but considering we now are able to see giclees made with pigments that have aged over a decade, we are learning that this process is stable. As a matter of fact we believe this is the most archival process available and it will quickly become the natural choice for anyone interested in producing long lasting, beautiful artwork.
The giclee process has been around for about 20 years and most of the canvas and watercolors made to print with this technology for less than that. The pigmented inks are constantly changing as well. When Iris was first used to print giclees only dyes were available, which meant sure fading in a matter of a couple of years. With the new inks, accelerated simulations point at great longevity.
What do I mean by accelerated simulations? Basically the labs put giclees in extremely high UV environments. Humidity levels and temperature are also manipulated to see in a short time what would happen over the natural life of a print. The tests are pretty accurate and have been around for a long time. Some of the most respected companies who do archival testing have been able to fine tune their procedure way before giclee, by testing ie photographic papers. Are the tests fool proof? Of course not, but considering we now are able to see giclees made with pigments that have aged over a decade, we are learning that this process is stable. As a matter of fact we believe this is the most archival process available and it will quickly become the natural choice for anyone interested in producing long lasting, beautiful artwork.
