[BKARTS] Inkjet print life

[Larry Preuss <lpreuss@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Date:    Tue, 27 May 2003 00:26:17 -0700
> From:    Gerald Lange <Bieler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Introduction and Inkjet print life
>
> Katie
>
> I had a question about archival matters (in regard to something else)
> and I went to the Huntington Museum and asked a conservator there. She
> said, "put it in a microwave." Must be a quick and dirty way to reveal
> what will eventually happen. Never actually tried it.
>
> Hard to know if archival ink jet will last 200 years. Way back when
> there was a controversy between parchment and the new upstart, paper,
> there was a critical question proffered as to how long paper could
> possibly last. The proposed "two hundred years?" didn't seem long enough
> at the time. And some of that paper is still around.
>
> But I have noticed that there is a yellowish transfer to the facing page
> from ink jet images over a relative short period of time. This could
> happen with any printing process, to some extent (depending on...), but
> this may be an overlooked bit of concern.
>
> Gerald
>
> By "forever," I mean forty years - Mark Twain
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 27 May 2003 01:20:38 -0700
> From:    Mark Wilden <mark@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: Introduction and Inkjet print life
>
> From: "Gerald Lange" <Bieler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >  I had a question about archival matters (in regard to something else)
> >  and I went to the Huntington Museum and asked a conservator there. She
> >  said, "put it in a microwave." Must be a quick and dirty way to reveal
> >  what will eventually happen. Never actually tried it.
>
> Gosh--why not?? I just did. Wife walks in and asks what I doing. "I'm
> microwaving the Epson test page". "Of course you are, dear--good-night..."
>
> Having done so, I can report that the results proved without question that
> the Windows logo as printed by my Epson will last at least 200 years (if the
> Huntington conservator can be trusted).

As an allergist, I don't find this advice surprising, and would treat
it not as a test but as a treatment. Some people have acute
respiratory symptoms when exposed to fresh, but not to aged, printed
matter. I advise such patients to bake their fresh newspapers and
magazines before reading them. I have not been able to identify the
specific volatile material involved in the reaction, and am not sure
if it represents true allergy or a response of the irritated allergic
nose to non-specific volatiles, but if the ink is completely dry
before people are exposed to it the symptoms will not occur. I prefer
the oven to the microwave, as it is provided with exhaust capability
that the microwave is not. I don't know exactly how long it takes for
a treatment, but I usually advise fifteen minutes at 250 degrees. For
those who worry about fire I point out that we bake muffins at a
higher temperature than this. I would certainly think that ink dried
to the paper would retain its crisp appearance longer than damp ink
closed on itself on a folded page.

Wife walks in and asks, "Where's the newspaper?"
"It's not out of the oven yet."
                Larry

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