Wilhelm fade tests

Iowa based image-stability researcher Henry Wilhelm is a well known expert on photography and ink print permanence He is a member of both the ANSI and ISO standards committees and a consultant to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

His Wilhelm Imaging Research or (WIR) is well known throughout the industry for their independent accelerated fade tests, which often end up as advertisement claims used by varies manufacturers.

WIR accelerated test results report the number of years before visually noticeable fading occurs when a paper/ink combination is exposed to 450 lux of light for a 12-hour period each day. The results are labeled DPR, or Display Permanence Ratings. As recent as the summer of 2002, WIR rated a traditional chromogenic color print made on an archival gelatine-coated RC photo paper with a lower DPR then all of our current paper/ink combinations as reported in the November 1, 2003 rating.

We are confident that when stored properly under glass and under proper display lighting conditions our Ultrachrome pigment Ink prints will last, depending on media used, between 60-100 years before noticeable visual fading occurs.

To view what proper display conditions are, please see our resource page on PRINT CARE >

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