".....Epson prints will last for 1000 years....", I don't think Henry quite meant that but if we take Kodak's testing methods then this is what the life for expectancy for Epson prints will be.

Journalists were treated to a revealing seminar given by Henry Wilhelm organised by EPSON UK. Mr Wilhelm talked about print permanence and his testing techniques, emphasizing that his testing was totally independent and that his Institute is not influenced by any manufacturer in their testing procedures. Mr Wilhelm has been involved with archival qualities of photographic materials since the early 1960's and has written the definitive text book "The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs" the book covers traditional and digital colour prints, colour negatives, slides and motion pictures. Mr Wilhelm has advised many museums and photo libraries on the best methods for archiving large and valuable collections of photographs. No one can doubt Mr Wilhelm's expertise in matters concerning photo permanence.

In recent years Mr Wilhelm has devoted much of his testing procedures towards digital inkjet printing, any manufacturer who makes a claim for longevity will have probably had their media tested by the Wilhelm Research Institute. Their tests are regarded as definitive.

Mr Wilhelm regards today's photographic quality printers as being "a better enlarger, a better darkroom", Mr Wilhelm continued "the quality that today's printers are offering the consumer is astonishing. Using a conventional enlarger for colour printing the user had little or no control on contrast of colour saturation, unless complex masking techniques are employed " Of course today, even with entry level imaging applications, we have full control over every aspect of the imaging process.

Mr Wilhelm expanded the topic into talking about the un stability of dyes on the early inkjet printers from every manufacturer, these early colour printers had poor permanence qualities. The printer manufacturers (Epson, HP, Lexmark & Canon) all came from a plain paper office printer background. Photo printing was a totally new topic and just seen as a "we can do this too". Today photo quality printers are a whole new market and manufacturers have had to refine their printers and inks into what we have today.

Interestingly Mr Wilhelm refers to the inkjet print as a photograph and not as an inkjet print. I have been thinking about this very subject for several months now and have not come to any conclusion as yet. My initial thinking was that we should still refer to wet chemistry as a photograph and give a new name to a digital print. But Mr Wilhelm went on to say, that in a few years time the inkjet print will be the only kind of photograph that most people will know - does it then cease to become an inkjet print or do we rename the original wet chemistry picture as something else? The debate is wide open.

Regarding print permanence, Mr Wilhelm went on to say "it's not just the inks or the paper, but it is a combination of the two and how they interact together". Using a multitude of different paper from different manufacturers on the same printer produced a considerable difference in print permanence. A Canon S900 printer with their own branded paper will produce a print that will last for 38 years, with Staples Office supplies paper this is dramatically reduced to three years. Again with HP printers and their own paper, the life of a print is rated at 73 years, with the same office paper this is reduced down to 2 years. These are tests on the papers alone, put in a third party refill cartridge and the lifespan of the print will reduce by a comparable amount. On the Epson C64 the ink life is rated at 92 years, using a third party ink this was reduced to 1 years. Epson uses pigment inks whereas the refills are dye inks. The average consumer will probably be unaware of the poor quality on offer from third party products, the only influence will be the low price point.

Perhaps the biggest shock for most people comes from Kodak themselves. Kodak is a brand name that all photographers have grown up with and come to trust. Kodak launched a range of Photo Quality paper called the Ultima inkjet paper which is being marketed as Brilliant Colour photographs that will last for 100 years on any printer platform, on any ink set. This claim is based on a distortion of the test method, based on Kodak's testing the new EPSON Picture Mate would have a print life of 500 or possibly 800 years. Kodak states that a 100 year lifespan is available for any printer and lists the printers on the back, including the Lexmark printers. According to Mr Wilhelm, that even using Kodak's own testing method, there is no Lexmark printer that could even come close to that. Kodak's claim is simply false and there is no disclaimer for that.

Wilhelm's testing method use a constant light source of 450 lux day. Kodak uses 120 lux per day with a UV filter over their lights, this gives a 3.75 over 4X advantage. Based on Kodak's test method an Epson Pro 4000 print on fine art paper would last for over 1000 years. Of course we can laugh at this fiasco, but the worrying fact is that consumers will see their prints fade and therefore trust across the board will be lost. There are many consumers who still place a large amount of trust in a major brand name such as Kodak, and for this company to cash in on this is in my opinion unforgivable.

Mr Wilhelm's talk was stimulating and thought provoking, I learnt a lot from him and I will share this information with you. Mr Wilhelm also very generously gave me a (signed) copy of his excellent 744 page book, and added that he had visited photo-i on many occasions and enjoyed the enthusiasm on the forums and the site content. A PDF copy of Mr Wilhelm's book can be downloaded from www.wilhelm-research.com