October 2013 Fadetest

[mrcharlie]

I started a fadetest in Maryland US on October 6, 2013. The inks being tested are:

• De Atramentis Aubergine
• Parker Quink Washable Blue (cartridge)
• Pilot Cartridge OEM with 78G Fine (presumably Pilot/Namiki Black)
• Diamine Ancient Copper
• De Atramentis Dianthus
• De Atramentis Robert Louis Stevenson South Sea Blue
• Levenger Gemstone Green
• Noodler's Turquoise Eel
• Noodler's Habanero
• Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black

 

I re-scanned the page on October 19, and again on November 9. This was not a high amount of sunshine month; the days are getting shorter and the weather was wet or cloudy more than other times of the year. The test page is still in the window and will be re-scanned periodically.

 

So far the Parker Blue is already mostly faded away, Dianthus is significantly faded, and both Robert Louis Stevenson and Gemstone Green have changed color. The others are either holding up or only slightly changed or faded so far.

 

Following are the initial scans and these first two scans after exposure. You can click on them to see the original full size scan, or find them at my website.

 

The initial test page:
http://imageshack.us/a/img31/1083/eusb.jpg

 

The scan on October 19:

http://imageshack.us/a/img198/4258/mw60.jpg

 

The scan on November 9, approximately one month:

http://imageshack.us/a/img46/1601/5oyn.jpg

 

[ethernautrix]

Very, very cool. Thanks for doing this.

[alexander_k]

Many thanks for this excellent comparison. I remember my shock at seeing nothing on a sheet of paper I had left on my desk during a couple of weeks one summer, while I knew well that it was an extensive list of things to do after the holidays. That's when I realized that Quink Washable Blue wasn't just washable.

[amberleadavis]

Wow, that Habanero stands up well.

[mrcharlie]

I can't tell if the Habanero is changed a bit already or not (someone with normal color vision click on it to get the big scan and tell me). Worst case is that it is one of the slow faders, which is cool. I also can't easily see any difference with Turquoise Eel or Ancient Copper so far, but I think I see some change in both.

 

I would be surprised if any of these colors last for more than six months. None of them are claimed to be lightfast, and I doubt there are any "Siren Blue" type surprises here. But I do like getting a sense of the relative speed of the fading.

Edited November 20, 2013 by mrcharlie