RE: [Leica] Darkroom prints versus digital prints

["Patrick G. Sobalvarro" <pgs@sobalvarro.org>]

> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of
> srlondon@ibm.net

> In terms of my own personal experience with fading, I printed two
> photos on regular document paper when I purchased my first inkjet
> printer (a HP, which while fast, had banding problems when
> printing photos) three years ago.  These prints were literally
> tacked on the front of a refrigerator. While the color print
> seems somewhat less vibrant than the original print was, it is
> not noticably so (nobody looks at the print and says "oooh...
> that's faded").  The black print appears as it did originally, if
> possibly the blacks are somewhat less dense.  I would like to
> pick up some of the UV print coater and see if it makes a marked
> difference in the longevity of these prints.

My own experience is with an Epson Stylus Color, which I've had for a year
and a half.  Color prints on the wall where they occasionally receive
sunlight fade very noticeably in a few months.  Black and white prints turn
dark brown and white in sunlight.  That doesn't stop me from putting them on
the wall, but it does stop me from framing them nicely.

- -Patrick