Long Beach, CA—Epson America achieved a milestone in its photographic ink technology and print longevity with preliminary print permanence ratings for its new Epson UltraChrome HD pigment ink technology, according to tests conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. (WIR), the leading independent permanence testing laboratory.
Epson UltraChrome HD ink is used in Epson’s new professional suite of large-format photographic inkjet printers—the SureColor P600 13-inch photo printer and SureColor P800 17-inch photo printer—and will continue in future product releases.
While accelerated display permanence tests are ongoing, the data accumulated indicates that UltraChrome HD pigment inks can provide up to twice the WIR Display Permanence Ratings of previous generations of Epson UltraChrome inks with most Epson photo and fine art papers.
In addition, preliminary data from ongoing tests indicate that, depending on the specific paper, WIR Display Permanence Ratings for black-and-white prints made with UltraChrome HD inks using Epson’s “advanced black-and-white print mode” will likely exceed 400 years.
“Epson continues to develop photographic printing and ink technologies that inspire photographers to print their art,” said Mark Radogna, group manager, Epson Professional Imaging. “Utilizing eight newly developed high-stability pigment inks—cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, light black, and light light black—the latest Epson UltraChrome HD inkset offers professionals an amazing tool to produce stunning prints that will preserve their photographic legacy far into the future.”
WIR’s multifactor print permanence test procedures, which go beyond the effects of accelerated light exposure, evaluate all of the display and storage factors that can affect the life of a print over time. Prints made on Epson fine art photo papers and canvas with the new UltraChrome HD pigment inks are also expected to have WIR Album and Dark Storage Permanence Ratings in excess of 200 years.
“With the increased Dmax, wider color gamut and reduced metamerism provided by the new Epson UltraChrome HD pigment inks—which taken together serve to significantly enhance the visual brilliance of both color and black-and-white images—the increased overall permanence of the prints represents a significant contribution to photography,” said Henry Wilhelm, founder and director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research. “We look forward to posting print permanence test results for the new inks on a variety of media as the data become available. It is one of the realities of the print permanence testing field that the more stable the print, the longer the tests take to complete.” wilhelm-research.com
