Ink Sample Fading Test

[Jared]

Test Conclusion

This has been a very interesting experiment. After 30 days in the sun, here are the results:

 

Significant Fading:

Private Reserve Ebony Purple

Private Reserve Tanzanite

Waterman Purple

Diamine Lavender

Pelikan Blue-Black

Diamine Prussian Blue

Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris

Sheaffer Blue-Black

Diamine Imperial Blue

J. Herbin Sapphire

Diamine Umber

Diamine Emerald

Diamine Pumpkin

J. Herbin Poussière de Lune

 

Noticeable Fading:

J. Herbin Perle Noire

Aurora Black

Montblanc Black

Sailor Shigure (limited edition)

Noodler's Van Gogh Starry Night Blue (FPN exclusive)

Diamine Midnight

Sheaffer Blue

J. Herbin Vert Empire

Montblanc British Racing Green (discontinued)

Diamine Delamere Green

Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake

J. Herbin Lie de The

Diamine Monaco Red

Diamine Poppy Red

Sheaffer Red

Rohrer & Klingner Morinda

Rohrer & Klingner Alt Bordeaux

 

No Fading:

Noodler's Heart of Darkness

Noodler's Old Manhattan Black (fountainpenhospital.com exclusive)

Sailor Kiwa-Guro Carbon Black

Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng

Noodler's Legal Lapis (pendemonium.com exclusive)

Sailor Sei-Boku Nano Blue-Black

Noodler's Bad Blue Heron

Noodler's Army Green

Private Reserve Avacado

Noodler's American Eel Green

J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage

Diamine Kelly Green

Noodler's Apache Sunset

Diamine Vermillion

J. Herbin Orange Indien

Noodler's Cayenne

Noodler's Burma Road Brown

Diamine Chocolate Brown

Noodler's #41 Brown

Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil

Caran d' Ache Grand Canyon

Waterman Havana

Noodler's Widow Maker

J. Herbin Opera (rose scented)

Noodler's Dumas Tulipe Noire (FPN exclusive)

Diamine Damson

 

The remaining lines on the paper in the area exposed to the sun are pencil marks. The paper (Clairefontaine) yellowed a little in the sun. The labeling ink is Noodler's OMB.

Ink Samples-2.jpg.pdf

[opus7600]

Thanks so much for doing this. What a great experiment.

[Scrawler]

That is excellent. Thank your for this. The loss of colour in some of the samples is very noticeable.

[Yoda4561]

I'm rather surprised at how well most of the Red/Orange/Magenta inks held up. It's generally been my experience in regards to color fading in the Florida sun that reds are the first to go. Though that's mostly in regards to car paints I kinda figured the same trend would apply here.

[Jared]

I'd love to see what happens to this after, say, a year. However, I am not in a position to continue this experiment. If any of you are willing to take the torch, so to speak, I would be willing to send you this sheet to allow you to continue the test. I am thinking that the best location may be a sunny state, such as Florida, Colorado, Arizona, etc., and placed in an attic, garage or office window with long exposure to the sun's rays. I am not interested in receiving this sheet back, but would be very interested in a scan or photograph of the results, posted here for everyone's benefit. Noodler's states that their ink is "UV Resistant." I'd like to see what a year of sun does to it. Please PM if you are interested in continuing this experiment.

[DwarvenChef]

Cool test, defiantly something to consider when getting an ink for a specific task.

 

I'm thinking of doing one here in central CA with my current inks.

Edited December 31, 2010 by DwarvenChef

[rmullins]

Kind of surprising Burma Road Brown did as well as it did since it is not 'technically' an 'archival' (fade-resistant) ink.

[amberleadavis]

This is a wonderful test and thank you for the work!