Abstract. The harmful effects of ozone on inkjet photographs have been well documented. This project expands on that research by performing ozone tests on a greater variety of digital prints including colour electrophotographic and dye sublimation. The sensitivities of these materials are compared to traditionally printed materials (black-and-white electrophotographic, colour photographic and offset lithographic) to determine if the digital prints require special care practices. In general, the digital prints were more sensitive to ozone than traditional prints. Dye inkjet prints were more sensitive to fade than pigment inkjet, though pigment was not immune. The dye sublimation, colour electrophotographic (dry and liquid toner), and traditional print systems were relatively resistant to ozone. Text-based documents were evaluated in addition to photographic images, since little work has been done to determine if the type of object (image or text) has an impact on its sensitivity to ozone. The results showed that documents can be more resistant to ozone than photographs even when created using the same printer and inks. It is recommended that cultural heritage institutions not expose their porous-coated, dye-based inkjet photos to open air for extended periods of time. Other inkjet prints should be monitored for early signs of change.
There have been numerous reports on the effects of atmospheric pollutants on digitally printed materials that describe fading of colorants, yellowing of substrates, colorant bleed, and delamination of the ink-receiving layer on some digital prints. In 2010, the Image Permanence Institute published the results of an experiment on the effects of ozone and nitrogen dioxide on various digital print types. While it was not the intent of that experiment to determine the longterm effects of pre-exposure to pollutants, it was discovered after publishing the research that some of the samples dramatically yellowed while in storage. This research studied how those same digital prints stored at controlled room conditions changed after being exposed to ozone or nitrogen dioxide prior to storage. The yellowing of papers exposed to ozone before storage was previously documented in studies directed toward the development of test methods for accelerated aging. This paper documents real-time observation of digital prints after several hundred days in storage and addresses the potential damage to digital prints over time after exposure to ozone or nitrogen dioxide. The test samples included inkjet, color and black-andwhite electrophotography, dye sublimation, digital press, chromogenic, and offset lithography prints. Paper yellowing, colorant change, further colorant bleed, and additional disintegration of the colorant layer of some prints were observed. Porous-coated materials exposed to ozone yellowed more dramatically in storage than when under direct exposure. This illustrates that initial results of change in these materials do not describe the whole story.
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