Wilhelm Wednesday- 4×6prints
Published May 3rd, 2006 in Life in general, Wilhelm Wednesday, photography, preservation, scrapbook marketing, scrapbooking craft, teachingHow long do you expect your 4 x 6 photos to last? 50 years? 100 years?
The top ten rated printers produce photos that will last anywhere from 104 to 16 years. That is a large difference in longevity, especially when the cost of supplies do not vary that much from printer to printer. If you want the prints that will last 104 years, you will need to look to Epson.
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 ”Canon U.S.A., Inc. Endorses the Independent WIR Certified Image Permanence Testing Program and Seal, Joining Epson, Hewlett-Packard, and Lexmark in Providing Consumers with Standardized Print Longevity Ratings
GRINNELL, Iowa — (BUSINESS WIRE) — April 8, 2005 —- Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. (WIR), an independent test methods development and product testing company, today announced that Canon U.S.A., Inc. will participate in the new WIR Certified Image Permanence Testing Program. With comprehensive test data provided by Wilhelm Imaging Research, Canon will begin using the WIR Certification Seal with a range of qualified photo printing products.”  Entire press release
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The matter of print longevity is a big deal. What if the pictures taken of your newborn will fade and experience color shift before your child graduates from high school? That’s just not right, we all need to know where to get our pictures developed so that they last longer, at least during OUR lifetimes.
 Standards have been lacking in this industry for many years. I can look back at photos of my childhood where the color is horribly faded and distorted. Are your photos archival or long-lasting? How do you know? A little education on this topic will give you some background info. Please read this article from Digital Photo Pro .
Will my inkjet photos last as long as professional photos?
Yes but only if you use the right printer, papers and inks. If you are printing out a photo to display in your living room or printing a photo to use on a coaster it won’t be important to you to use the printer/ ink/ paper combo that produces the longest longevity. However, I’m assuming that most of us are reading this blog because we are scrapbookers. What has compelled me to write this blog entry are the number of postings I see on message boards where people ask “Where can I get the cheapest ink refills?” or “What’s the best paper to use in my Canon printer?” The answer depends on your usage and if you want this photo to have a shot at lasting during your lifetime and your children’s lifetime then Henry Wilhelm is the man who can make sure that you will not be disappointed. So often I will answer a post and refer people to use the inks and papers that are branded to go with their printers or their pictures will not last. And so often 20 people post behind me telling the original poster where to get cheap supplies that will fade in no time, in some cases they will fade in just HOURS of exposure. Look at the HP papers compared to Staples papers here . That green photo at the top right of the photo samples is less than 24 hours old. I don’t care how cheap the supplies are, you want your pictures to look better than that for at least 24 hours, don’t you?
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