UV fade. And preventing it, inkjet prints

[ikcdab]

I have several card buildings covered in scalescenes brick papers printed with brother OEM Inkjet inks.

I have a window in my layout room which gets sun in the later afternoons.  I worry about the inks fading in the UV sun.

I could just add blinds but I'm also thinking of putting UV film on the glass.

Has anyone tried this or looked into it? Does UV film cut down daylight?

I always have the lights on in the room anyway.

Ian

[MartinRS]

I have read that spraying the finished building with matt varnish can help fix the colour.

[Derekl]

I have UV film on the windows of my shed for the same reason. I found it quite easy to install. It is invisible once fitted and has no visible effect on light levels. I haven't noticed any fading on any colours, but it may be that it is early days yet - I have had it for about 18 months.

[Dave John]

I used Ghiant inkjet fixative on backscenes and other inkjet prints, it is UV protective. 

 

No fading so far. Time will tell. 

[kitpw]

17 minutes ago, Dave John said:

I used Ghiant inkjet fixative on backscenes and other inkjet prints, it is UV protective. 

 

2 hours ago, ikcdab said:

I always have the lights on in the room anyway.

 

Light from the sun and the sky is one thing but I've found that both wood stain (applied to sleepers and timber built platforms) and inkjet printed material have faded under artifical light, in my case, mostly fluorescent (the railway room has windows facing north only). Dave John's suggestion of uv protection to individual items within the space therefore strikes me as being a better bet than film on the glass.

[ikcdab]

1 hour ago, kitpw said:

 

 

Light from the sun and the sky is one thing but I've found that both wood stain (applied to sleepers and timber built platforms) and inkjet printed material have faded under artifical light, in my case, mostly fluorescent (the railway room has windows facing north only). Dave John's suggestion of uv protection to individual items within the space therefore strikes me as being a better bet than film on the glass.

I hadn't thought about artificial light. I use LED battens, daylight temperature. I really don't see how those would fade stuff. Maybe flourescent light is different?

Ian

[kitpw]

44 minutes ago, ikcdab said:

I use LED battens, daylight temperature.

I've been considering a change to LED, my main concern being to reduce electricity consumption.  However, I found this paper: 'Spectral Light Fading of Inkjet Prints' https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/4/209 which is a study concerned with museum conservation of inkjet prints under LED lighting. It has this:  "All of the color patches were very sensitive to the wavelength range between 385 nm–420 nm. UV light is normally not present in LED lighting, but short wavelength blue light is. Long wavelength cut-off filters, as are used today in museum displays for daylight, fluorescent, and tungsten illumination, should also be considered for LED lighting."  I can't say I fully understand the paper but the conclusion seems pretty clear.

Edited March 29, 2023 by kitpw

[Dave John]

Older types of fluorescent lamps did emit a small amount of UV, more modern fluorescent lamps emit less UV. They are being withdrawn from sale as of last year and will no longer be manufactured in time. 

 

White LEDS used for lighting only emit a tiny amount of UV, the manufacturers have developed phosphors which give high yields in converting the blue light from the LED chips to the white spectrum. 

 

Strong sunlight is the serious problem for colour fade. Blocking it with film or blinds is really the only answer. 

 

Even so, some pigments are more prone to fading than others and can fade due to oxidisation without UV.

 

Note also that the Lumen output of LED lamps does reduce over the lifetime of a lamp and there may be a shift in the colour from the lamp. More noticeable in commercial applications where lamps are on for long periods, but something to bear in mind over time.

 

One last simple point. LEDS last a long time but they do accumulate dirt. A rub over with a damp cloth works wonders. 

[kitpw]

20 minutes ago, Dave John said:

Older types of fluorescent lamps

Our posts crossed! 

 

My lighting is definitely "older types", maybe 15 years old at least.  Sleepers stained with black oak 4 years ago are now almost back to birch colour with no exposure to sunlight.  I have wondered about humidity and pollution as possible causes and I use extraction for fumy things like soldering and a dehumidifier from time to time. I do know that water colour paintings should be framed under glass and made as air tight as possible as pigments can fade from pollutants as well as sunlight. Maybe both film on the glass and Ghiant fix would be prudent.

[ikcdab]

so those of you who have used UV film, does it reduce the amlount of general daylight coming in?

Or maybe I should say, how much does it reduce the daylight coming in?

Ian

[kitpw]

29 minutes ago, ikcdab said:

does it reduce the amlount of general daylight coming in?

The quoted visible light transmission is 84% for the material reference here: https://activewindowfilms.co.uk/122-museum-clear-uv-ultra-violet-995-anti-fading-uv-protection-window-film-clear-heat-rejection-sticky-back-film.html.  (A complete specificaion in pdf format is downloadable).

[Izzy]

The chemical composition of inks, as with photographic emulsions, will cause the colours to change/fade/degrade over time even if kept in total darkness. However in the shorter term coating the printed surface with a UV resistant fixative will slow down and help prevent much faster degradation due to exposure to any form of light.

 

Bob

[Harlequin]

This is the sort of thing artists, and some well-respected people on RMWeb, use:

https://www.jacksonsart.com/winsor-newton-professional-acrylic-matt-uv-varnish-125ml

 

[ISW]

On 29/03/2023 at 16:27, ikcdab said:

I have several card buildings covered in scalescenes brick papers printed with brother OEM Inkjet inks.

I have a window in my layout room which gets sun in the later afternoons.  I worry about the inks fading in the UV sun.

I could just add blinds but I'm also thinking of putting UV film on the glass.

Has anyone tried this or looked into it? Does UV film cut down daylight?

I always have the lights on in the room anyway.

Ian

Ian,

 

I have some inkjet printed texture-clad buildings I made in ~2015 that are still 'colour fast', even though they've been stored on a windowsill for ~5-years (but with a white curtain in the way). After I made them I simply sprayed them with general purpose 'waterproofing spray'; the sort of stuff used to waterproof jackets, shoes, umbrellas, and the like. Cheap and effective.

 

The ink was OEM Canon ink, although I suspect that's not relevant.

 

Ian

[ikcdab]

14 minutes ago, ISW said:

Ian,

 

I have some inkjet printed texture-clad buildings I made in ~2015 that are still 'colour fast', even though they've been stored on a windowsill for ~5-years (but with a white curtain in the way). After I made them I simply sprayed them with general purpose 'waterproofing spray'; the sort of stuff used to waterproof jackets, shoes, umbrellas, and the like. Cheap and effective.

 

The ink was OEM Canon ink, although I suspect that's not relevant.

 

Ian

Hi Ian thanks.  That's useful.  Bearing in mind the price I pay for the OEM ink, I hope it does make a difference!

And having spoken to a manufacturer of compatible ink, they confirmed that it is "watered" down. Ok for ordinary printing, but definitely inferior for brick papers.

Ian

[ISW]

1 minute ago, ikcdab said:

And having spoken to a manufacturer of compatible ink, they confirmed that it is "watered" down. Ok for ordinary printing, but definitely inferior for brick papers.

Ian,

 

I've always used OEM inks, but not their cartridges. I simply refilled the cartridges that came with the printer (actually, I had quite a few of each colour cartridge on 'rotation'). All that was needed was 'widget' to reset the cartridge (available on AliExpress ...). I my case this was my only option as my printer was bought in Taiwan, and printer manufacturers make the cartridges 'regional' (just like DVDs). I could get cartridges for the printer in Hong Kong and Malaysia, but not in the UK!

 

All that was in the days before the printer manufacturers finally released printers with refillable 'tanks'. I now use an Epson EcoTank model printer/scanner combo.

 

Ian

[grahame]

I know very little about UV penetration but have suffered bleaching of brick papers in the past which is very annoying. Apparently glass is pretty good at blocking UVB, and UVC is absorbed by the atmosphere, but glass is no good against UVA allowing about 75% to pass. However it can be treated to reduce UVA (but not tinting as it gets through that) so I suspect the best thing is the block out sunlight and keep it off models.

 

[spsmiler]

Has anyone experience of inkjets that use pigment inks - this type of ink is said to be more fade resistant than the dye type of ink used in most inkjet printers

[fulton]

On 30/03/2023 at 19:37, ISW said:

 

 

All that was in the days before the printer manufacturers finally released printers with refillable 'tanks'. I now use an Epson EcoTank model printer/scanner combo.

I had a Canon refillable printer, the only problem was when the print head blocked, I did try all the cleaning cycles and tips on You Tube, nothing worked, a new print head was more expensive than a new printer! at least with the normal expensive ink cartridges they each have their own print head, either way ink jet printers can be expensive to run.

[spsmiler]

On 29/03/2023 at 18:10, Dave John said:

I used Ghiant inkjet fixative on backscenes and other inkjet prints, it is UV protective. 

 

 

No fading so far. Time will tell. 

 

On reading the Amazon questions and answers section I've seen many positive results, at least one from someone using this on Scalescenes 'print at home' model railway buildings.

 

But one reoccurring comment is that it only works on inkjet coated papers - not ordinary papers.

[RobinofLoxley]

On 30/03/2023 at 08:15, Harlequin said:

This is the sort of thing artists, and some well-respected people on RMWeb, use:

https://www.jacksonsart.com/winsor-newton-professional-acrylic-matt-uv-varnish-125ml

 

Can you spray this or do you brush it on. I wondered what the result would be if you put a brushed overcoat onto a standard 80gm copy paper inkjet printed. I have used spray varnish exactly as per this thread but I'm not satisfied with the results