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Re: [macblaze] Printing Photo Books and Calendars in China:
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pico23
Dec 1, 2008, 5:41 AM
Views: 8733
Registered: Mar 14, 2003
Posts: 2378
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macblaze wrote: karlbaba wrote: blondgecko wrote: I remember seriously considering getting some big prints done when I visited China due to the really cheap prices, but what eventually stopped me was worries about the ink quality. Will the prints actually last the distance, or will they bleach out over time? Somehow I doubt that they're using archival-quality inks. On a similar note, I've got a photo on my fridge at the moment that was printed at one of the 15c-a-photo kiosks right here in Australia, which has steadily turned almost completely red over the course of a year or two.  I've got prints done by the same printer. They use Fuji Crystal archive paper and so ink isn't an issue, it's a photographic process that should last as long as anything available. How they print the books is an unknown and don't know when you were in china last. I was there for the olympics and in Beijing, things seemed more modern in some ways than in any american city. Those guys have Trillions on the bank. peace karl No, ink is an issue. The paper is just the substrate. The paper might last forever but depending on the printer (the actual machine) you use you will find huge differences in colorfastness and UV resistance. Not that you won't see the same issues with traditional CMYK ink on paper (he says looking at his faded books) but it can be quite rapid with some brands dye sub and inkjet printers which is what 90% of the photo quality printing is these days. And no, its not a photographic process, it just looks like one.
Huh,
Um, prints done on Fuji Crystal archive paper have NO INK.
The use the same silver process that has been used for a century, plus they add all sorts of goodies like lasers and what not.
But there is abosolutely no ink in the process except the ribbon that prints the date on the back. That's it!
Having worked on those machines as well as AGFA machines, I can assure you I never changed "ink". I did clear a ton of silver waste out of the machine though (those things piss more than I do), and poured the silver waste into a silver reclaimer. So this would possibly disprove your theory that there is "Ink" involved!
Now, the thermal sub printers like the Kodak Kiosk also don't truly use ink. it's a dry process, and the used "ink" looks like saran wrap. Those (edit) CAN fade, and are not silver based. But the Kodak prints I have still look good after a few years. I mostly printed them just to test the color fastness. You clearly used a cheaper process!
The frontiers are a photographic process, and the core print is still largely old school, the lasers and modern tech in the machine just yields more DR and better colors but the prints last just as long or longer than stuff from 20 years ago!!!
(This post was edited by pico23 on Dec 1, 2008, 5:43 AM)
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Post edited by pico23
() on Dec 1, 2008, 5:43 AM
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