Community Newsletter: Q&A forum: 2/10/06 How long do digital pictures last on paper?

I have had a C64 and a C84. Both started to print faint. Right after I replaced with Brand-New genuine cartridges. they both STOPPED printing. Not even a faint trace of ink!

I have since switched to Canon Pixma 4000 which does not have a killer chip.

I have a 6 month old Epson Photo RX430 and find it's using so much ink to print photos that I have resorted to using commercial printers-Harvey Norman etc-my old printer Epson Stylus 40 SX seemed to be much more economical -any reason or suggestions for other settings on my new model?

My friend recommended an Epson, but he warned me that if you don't print several times a week, you'll deal with a clogged head.

I bought an Epson and had those problems.

On the other hand, you get pigment based beautiful photo quality printing. It is a trade off.

So, yes Epsons have a reputation for clogging up. My friend knew that. Now I experienced it first hand.

You complain about the author saying that Epsons have that reputation, but then you don't actually respond to that, you go off on something else entirely.

I now use a Canon because I got tired of clearing the clogs on my Epson. There are two ways: take the printer all apart and clean the print heads. This is a huge job, but it gives you a chance to clean out the little (and I mean little) sponge that soaks up the ink the sprays to clean the heads every time you start up. I won't go into it here, because there is an easier way.

Get yourself a nice clean cotton rag with no frayed edges. Cut it as long as your carriage is wide and a few inches wide. If you look down on your carriage (the shiny bar that the print head rides on) there is a plastic trough. Roll up the piece of rag and see if it fits in there. If it is too fat (to get the print head over it) then cut it narrower, but just enough. Then soak it in water, wring it out a bit, and put it back. Next, you have to run the print head over the rag. I found this easiest by starting the change-ink cycle (to unlock the print head from the right side) and then unplugging the printer. With no power to the motor, you can just grab the print head and run it side to side over the rag. It will get YUCKY. Remove it, rinse it, put it back and do it again until all the yuck (dried ink) is gone. The rag will be stained; rinse it, let it dry and wear it as a psychodelic do-rag. Or save it for next time.

Next, if your feel ambitious, take the cover off, move the print head away from the right side and use long forceps to pull the sponge out of the little holder. ALL the ink that was ever used in cleaning the printer is in this little sponge. Rince it for about 1 hour under the tap (ok maybe 10 minutes) and then put it back but BE WARNED getting it back is very fussy. It may be easier if you press it in an old book (between plenty of paper towels) until it is dry an stiff and thin and then it will be a little easier to handle. If this sounds intimidating then skip the sponge cleaning bit.

There you go, all ready to print. Repower the printer and away you go. I don't think that this cycle will make the printer reject the ink cartidge BUT I have not played with the latest Epson printers, so to be safe do this just before you are ready to change cartridges.

Or get a Canon printer. Printer heaven!

I must have bought the only good one made this year. Mine sometimes sits for a couple of weeks. Never a problem.

Since you are addressing the stellar quality of the Epson and nothing else, I'll assume you're not understanding the statement you pointed out as being in error. ''Clogging'' refers to the obstruction of the tiny orifices that pass ink/pigment/dye from print cartridge to paper with dried or partially dried ink/pigment/dye. If your Epson has never clogged, good for you, but every epson I've used or discussed with others has had the ''Clogging'' problem. I do agree with you that the print quality of Epson is excellent.

Hi, the problem with the Epson printig comes from not using your printer often enough. I suggest to my clients to use their printer at least once a week and use up their cartridges within the six months from the date they open them.

I have been using my Epson R300 since it came out.
I have no problem what so ever with clogging.
I use only Epson ink and HP premium paper . Maybe someone is using generic ink??You only get what you pay for.

I bought an Epson CX4600 all-in-one. I took it home, printed a few articles then the printer refused to ever print the correct colors again. It clogged, got it unclogged, then it drank ink. Within 2 weeks I had to replace all cartridges. The good news: I called Epson and followed their tech's advice on how to clean but nothing worked. I was given a ticket number and an 800 number to call. I called, no questions asked and Epson shipped me a new Epson CX4800 all-in-one in a matter of days. The CX4800 works great, not one clog. I do not use it very often and still on the original ink cartridges. Cudos to Epson for their fast response and replacing their printer. I even got to the keep the non-working CX4600.

If you're ink jet nozzles don't clog it is nothing short of miraculous. I've used an Epson Stylus Photo 750 for years and the nozzles clog on a regular basis. Several friends and relatives have the same problem with their Epson Ink Jets. The only way I've been able to keep them working is to clean the clogged nozzles every 6 months or so. The only thing I've found that works is available at:
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/
I have no connection with this supplier but have used their cleaning solution with good results.

Any chance of getting you to share how you went about cleaning with the vinegar? I removed the cartridges and had a small needle and syringe and tried just lightly squirting vinegar around the tops and sides of the posts that penetrate the ink cartridge, but it did not help. Does the carrier need to be removed or something? I figure if I tear it up trying to fix it I have not lost anything. No more Espons for me. I never had an HP do this to me.

Using paper based black and white stock for printing and treating with a selenium toner will vastly increase the length of time a black and white print lasts. This could be up to 200 years.

TTFN

Chris

Don't be conned into spending extra money on the most expensive long-lasting photopaper. Invest in ways to keep your digital images secure and manageable instead. You can print a photo out again anytime you want, and both printing and photo-enhancement technologies will continue to get better and cheaper over time. Image file types are industry standard so a jpg will still be useable in 20 years, and file conversion utilities will be widely available to migrate to newer file types anyway. I have had the luxury of using an archive program called Alchemy (Was IMR, now Captaris) for years and though a bit expensive for casual users it has been fantastic because I give a brief description of every photo- who, what, where, when, and can find and view photos quickly and easily (online and offline), and re-print on demand. I have them stored on CD, DVD and hard disk. I keep the original cds and dvds stored out of the light and even the first cds I wrote 12 years ago are working perfectly. And occasionally I migrate. To copy old files from 20cds to 4 Dvds was only a morning's work, and after 10 years that was a small price to pay. In another 10 years I'll migrate the dvds to the next high-capacity offline storage medium. And storing thousands of photos in such a small and accessible space is wonderful. I am gradually backscanning the old photos, which I'll never have to do again, thank heavens, now that we have digital photography. Another tip - take all your photos in the highest reolution your camera can support.It's easy to compress them later, but not so easy to enhance low-res ones. When that special occasion comes up that you want to print some very large prints, to put on the wall for an anniversary celebration for example, you'll be grateful for the hi-res. That little extra money you spent on having enough storage will seem trivial compared to the pleasure it brings down the line.

I can't believe nobody seems to have mentioned this, in regard to the comparison between film based photographic prints and digital based prints. And that is simply that any digital image, whether on a memory card, or CD, etc., can be taken to a photo shop and printed on the same paper and with the same process as is used for film. The only difference is the image source is digital. And the issue here isn't whether conventional film based prints will fade, but the prints made using consumer available printing equipment fading. In any case, there is no reason at all to abandon digital photography and return to film. That is moot.

And, I don't know if anyone else has mentioned printing photos with color laser. I have no idea what their life span would be, but it is a completely different process from any of the others. (Yes, I know they use dyes, but it still may be different.) Laser may suffer the same fate as inkjet; I don't know. It would be worth investigating though. Color laser is capable of producing some absolutely stunning prints with very saturated (brilliant, deep) colors.

All prints should be protected anyway, regardless of their source or composition. And if you are concerned about uv affects in displayed frames, here is a thought. It may be possible to get uv-blocking glass (or plastic) for your frame. That would provide some protection.

Here is another thought. These little specialized 4X6 printers that only print photographs, like from HP and Kodak, cover the photo after the color is applied, with a thin sheet of protective material. My guess is this also blocks uv. So possibly these prints would last much longer than those produced by ink jet, or anything else. Too bad they only have printers for 4X6. It would probably be too expensive for anything else. And if you need anything else, you can always go to the print shop. Especially now that these little key ring USB drives are so cheap. Just copy some pictures to your thumb drive. Many of these print places are self help now. You load in the pictures, tell it what you want, come back a little later and pick them up.

There will always be that potential trade-off between high tech and low tech. The digital images themselves on digitial media could be made to last a thousand years, as long as there is technology around to read it. But film, for instance, even though it may be subject to fading, if it could be protected from that, would still be ''readable'' without high technology. Maybe we are learning that writing on clay tablets wasn't such a dumb idea after all.

It there a "spray coating" that would put a protective shield on top of a digital photo and increase its life?

I have used "blair" (a Loctite Corp. firm) clear gloss spray for art/craft projects and for "some" photos.The label says: "Use to protect drawings,
layouts, tempera, water colors, prints, PHOTOS (emphasis added). Simulates gloss inks or varnish". I can't really say whether or not is has done any good ... the photos have not deteriorated in a couple
of years.

Jim/San Diego