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Lightfastness Testing


EbonitePen

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Hello everyone,

 

I am currently conducting a lightfastness testing of 46 inks across brands to determine the durability of ink dyes and pigments against prolonged exposure to UV. This is not a scientific testing but I have a methodology that should provide satisfying results where practicality is concerned. As an artist, I'm conducting these tests to establish the permanence of inks and gain some perspective as to the reliability when used for artwork but also documents and other important documents. When selecting my paints, lightfastness is one of the most important considerations and it bothers me that this information is not provided by the manufacturers, although I understand why that is so.

 

Please, if you're interested in learning more, follow this direct link to the article on my website or simply visit my website (link in the description). I won't be copying the article here because it's way too long and contains too many images. If this is against forum rules for whatever reason I apologize. Please let me know what you think here or in the comment section on my website.

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  • EbonitePen

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A great idea. I'm very interested in this subject and will be following your progress.

Love all, trust a few, do harm to none. Shakespeare

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Amazingly comprehensive! Thanks for doing this.

What time frame are you using to chart your progress? Weekly? Monthly? A variety of checks, or just once at the beginning and end?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks all for the interest. My apologies for not replying any sooner, I was not notified about your replies!

 

Hello Ruth, as for the updates, I take notes weekly for my own records but will probably share them after the testing is complete. Public updates are going to be posted monthly to my website. I post pictures of those inks that already reached termination.

 

In fact, I have just posted a 1 month update. You can find it on this link or search for it. Also, if you're not into art (but I also have pen and ink reviews) and don't want to browse through my website, here's a link filtering out everything but the lightfastness posts.

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I'll be interested to see how this project turns out. I hope you'll remind us about it here from time to time as we might forget to return to the web site.

Edited by vjones
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  • 2 weeks later...

20171014_184636-an1200x900an-white.jpg

 

Month 2 update of my great fountain pen ink lightfastness project now live on my website. There are some interesting results already after mere 8 weeks!

Check it out on ateliernovotny.com. Direct link.

Edited by EbonitePen
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It's interesting that Baystate Blue is fading so quickly. I'm not surprised Salix is fading - that's been my unfortunate experience with both Salix and Scabiosa, even without this type of light exposure.

 

Which inks do you think are holding up best at month 2? Does it seems like blues in general don't do well?

 

Thanks for keeping us updated.

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I'm surprised that (modern) Quink Blue last as long as it did....

Thanks for doing this -- it's very comprehensive. I'm sort of sad that some of the inks I really like, such as Edelstein Tanzanite) did not hold up as well, but very pleased about KWZI IG Blue Black.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Thanks for checking it out.

 

Yes, it is safe to say blues are not doing well. In general blue dyes have a hard time with UV exposure. Green-blues are doing better. An excellent example is Pilot Iroshizuku kon-peki which seems to hold up very well so far. The same goes for Noodler's Turquoise (the Eel series). Pretty much all blue-blacks and true blues are gone at this point. The only blues that remain are pigmented Sailor Sei-Boku and Montblanc's Permanent Blue.

 

As for other inks that do well... Greens hold up surprisingly well overall. PW Akkerman's #15 is pretty much uneffected at this point. Noodler's Warden inks, of course, as well as the other bulletproof inks hold up well. There's more, you can consult the list in the blog post if you're interested in any specific ink I'm testing. Or feel free to ask here.

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Fabulous test and website. I've just subscribed to your newsletter.

 

Looking forward to following your progress and seeing your new artwork.

 

Your ink samples are spot on for colour :wub:

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Much appreciated Tas. Looking forward to seeing you around.

 

All images on my website are color corrected via industry standard color reference target. Thanks for noticing.

 

:)

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  • 3 months later...

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