[DannyRaphael]

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...&modelid=11641

Features 100 year photo-life inks, something that's been a knock on Canon for several years.

[Caitlin]

Well this is very interesting, I just popped over there to quote some of the information I read on that page a couple of days ago, and these releases have been edited already. When I read it on Tuesday, that 100 year claim sounded rather weak to me. When I looked at this link then, it had a lot more detail in the fine print about fade resistence testing. Maybe because it had details like only having a 30 year life under glass, and that their light testing was out of direct light etc. It had a lot of detail about the exact testing conditions like temperature, light, humidity, gases (which did not sound nearly as rigourous as the Wilhelm tests). Someone on high must have decided it did not look good (which it didn't) and had it removed.

All it says now is:
"Based on accelerated testing by Canon in dark storage under controlled temperature, humidity and gas conditions, simulating storage in an album with plastic sleeves. Canon cannot guarantee the longevity of prints; results may vary depending on printed image, drying time, display/storage conditions and environmental factors." - very woolly.

Note that they do their own testing under their own conditions, and don't use Wilhelm like Epson and HP.

[Cassidy]

Keep in Mind that originally CD's had a presumed lifetime of 100 years compared to tape, but after approx 3 years, many burned cd's actually dropped the data written, as I think you will find with the traditional silver hallide process has been proven to withstand the test of time. Until the inks have been tested over a 100 year period, they will not be proven. If you read between the lines, no guarantees are ever given. I have an Epson printer with uv resistant inks, but after 12 months, the advertising posters I have printed are still nearly 40% desaturated after sitting in a display window which does not catch direct sunlight.

[Kraellin]

Keep in Mind that originally CD's had a presumed lifetime of 100 years compared to tape, but after approx 3 years, many burned cd's actually dropped the data written,

i saw a report on thescreensavers.com (tech tv, now called attack of the show), where even after as little as 18 months, some cd's had lost integrity.

i have a dutch friend that only buys a specific japanese brand that is guaranteed for much longer, like 50 years or more. sorry, i forget the specific brand name at the moment.

so, i would guess that papers and inks and printing follow along the same lines; some are better, some are worse. HP was touting 75 year integrity for a while, but not sure what they're saying now or under what conditions that 75 years might apply to.

Craig