Like the Pileated Woodpecker in our back yard, we’ve been hard at work hammering away at the i* data! Over 2.5 years in test, our latest reports for 17 new printer / ink / media combinations have just been released and are now available to Aardenburg Members.
Our new extended testing protocol combines i* Metric analysis of color and tonal accuracy in an industry-first achievement with standardized testing of Light Induced Low-Intensity Staining (LILIS). Due to complex chemical interactions between Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and Optical Brighteners (OBA’s), all RC (resin-coated) and some non-RC media containing both TiO2 and OBA’s will develop LILIS, eventually showing significant yellowing in real world storage and display conditions.
In short, OBA’s and TiO2 do not play well together. Many media on the market today, especially when printed with high stability ink sets, have been given overly optimistic light fastness ratings, because conventional approaches to accelerated light fade testing have failed to consider LILIS. Our new extended testing protocol remedies this longstanding oversight in the industry.
To access the new reports at our website, click the image below to go to the Light Fade Test Database. (Search on “P” or “Q” in the “batch” field to access the new reports.)
