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Old 02-09-2019, 09:15 AM
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sil (Steve)
Not even a speck of dust

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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1,474
I fade tested many cheap options including Rihac CIS and without fail they ALL faded on photo prints except the Epson inks. I also tested various photo papers and print quality and life was clearly related to price. The cheap officeworks ones were inconsistent in results likely due to multiple sources they use for their pricepoint.

Depends what you want and how long you want the prints to last. Indoors you rarely get direct sunlight on prints and they seem to last, plus windows now require certain level of UV protection so it all "depends" there too but outside the worst I had looked great from the printer with little muddying of colour gradients but after a few hours outside in direct sunlight faded drastically.

I also had the rihac CIS seals degrade in time and flood my A3+ photoprinter. So if you're asking the question then you've already decided you are only going to use the cheapest anyway. It may appear to be a good decision at first but if longevity is important it will depend on use and contact to sunlight.

Then theres the issue of how often the inks are run through the printer as they will dry and crust in the head which will result in clogs (like a white stroke) likewise changing ink sources you cant know what chemical reactions will occur that may causeproblems as some ink left in your printer system mixing with a different type may cause problems. Unless the printer in question uses cartiridges with built in heads.

All my prints on Ilford papers are still fresh looking and the few I have that receive sunlight show little fading (they used epson inks), all officeworks papers show fading whether exposed to any light or not regardless of ink but again epson inks show less fading than CIS and cheap alternatives. Photography was what I did before my stroke and a colour fast and colour accurate print service was something I had to ensure for my own standards anyway. In the long run there is little cost difference to be certain a print I made would last for years. The CIS worked (until its tubing system biodegraded and leaked) but the prints always faded in months. A single print on the wal may look ok for years but take it down and look at it outside of next to a fresh print and you'll notice the dark areas are clearly not as they should be.
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