Summary: Ink jet printers. How long will inkjet prints last? Al Tompkins from the Florida-based Poynter Institute writes about his concerns for the photographic history of his family in the digital age.

PORTRAITSECRETS strives to keep abreast of the latest information and observations of professionals throughout the publishing industry.  Al Tompkins at the Poynter Institue wrote in July 2005 about the digital age and the concern for his family's photographic history in decades to come.

Tompkins writes...  How long will ink jet photos last? This is not an unimportant question given how many of us now print tons of pictures at home expecting them to last 100 years as our grandparents' pictures did. Could it be that, if we are wrong, our family's photographic history will be faded in a couple of decades? Ink jet inks are sensitive to ultraviolet light, so if you display your inkjet photos in sunlight (as I do in my office) then they won't last long.

Bandwagon of concern

As PC Magazine noted, we are in the process of raising a generation of children who will not be captured on "film." Do we have anything to worry about?

You should consider doing something on how to preserve your digital treasures. How to back up your photographic data and how to think through whether home inkjet printers are the best idea for photos you want to keep for a long time.

PC Magazine observes:  Traditional photos can last decades (easily). I have many pictures from the '60s and '70s and a handful going back to the '20s, '30s and '40s. CDs with data should last decades -- unless they get a deep scratch or two. Then they're useless.

Inkjet photos are vibrant and beautiful and should also last for decades, but only if you use the best paper and ink and only if you keep them well protected. That's little different from regular 35mm prints. The problem is that consumer inkjet photo prints have only been around 15 years or so. So while inkjet photos are actually rated to last longer than traditional prints (in controlled test environments), who really knows how long they will last? The only true test is time.

Video and storage media concerns

Digital videotape should last for a long time, but is vulnerable to temperature and water damage, and magnets can erase entire tapes. It's also just as likely to degrade over time as standard videotape. One bulwark against this inevitable decay is to archive digital video to DVD. DVDs are rated to last as long as CDs -- 100 years when kept at room temperature. Home-brewed DVD rewritables may have far shorter lifespans, but they're still supposed to last for decades.


Corporate claims and testimonials

A PC World article says:  "How long a photo printed with an inkjet printer will last depends on who you ask," says Cathy Martin, an analyst for InfoTrends.  She says there are no clear answers for consumers looking for the best, and longest-lasting, photo inkjet paper.  Photo paper is considered one of the crucial archival elements for photographs.

The "fade debate" is growing louder as companies like International Paper, Eastman Kodak and Staples have begun more heavily marketing their photo inkjet paper for use with printers made by manufacturers like Canon, Seiko-Epson, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark.

The latest salvo in the longstanding debate comes from HP and Epson; the companies dismiss claims by third-party paper vendors such as International Paper, Kodak and Staples that their papers will produce archival-quality prints on any inkjet printer.

Specifically, Epson and HP strongly dispute Kodak's claim that prints made on their printers with Kodak's special paper will last 120 years before fading. Similarly, the printer vendors dispute International Paper's claims that prints made on the company's recently introduced National Geographic Premium Paper High Gloss will last "more than 100 years." (Staples, while claiming that photos printed on its papers "resist fading," makes no specific claims as to how many years a photo printed on its paper will last before showing signs of fading.)

"We've heard a lot of promises from our competitors," says Nils Miller, HP's ink and media senior scientist. But so far he says he hasn't seen a "miracle paper" from a third-party supplier that can deliver the same print longevity and quality with all printers.

Epson says users of its paper, in combination with Epson premium inks, can expect images to last up to 104 years before showing signs of fading. HP says its premium inks used with HP photo paper will last 115 years. These claims are based on internal testing by Epson and HP and on tests by Wilhelm Imaging Research, an independent laboratory based in Grinell, Iowa.


A final word

The debate continues about how long our precious portraits and photos will last.  PORTRAITSECRETS can attest to the fading of all prints over time.  Protecting prints  on display from direct sunlight will help them last longer. Consult a custom framing shop for their best recommendations on preserving your photo memories on display.

But for now, we hope you will pick up the camera and keep shooting portraits and photos to be enjoyed for years to come.

Read more by Al Tompkins at poynter.org