Ink Fade Test

[Arkanabar]

This is a sampler of each ink I have. At the bottom are a few non-FP inks. Overall, the red coloration is underexposed, and none of the reds are as red as they ought to be. This is especially true of the Sharpie Red and the Pilot Precise V5 Red, which ought to be almost red-orange. I don't have the skill to color-correct the image. I invite anyone who does to go and do so. All samples from Heart of Darkness to Noodler's Blue Ink were made with a Hunt C4 dip pen. My fingers are seriously inky.

Half of it will be hung in a north-facing window and I'll try to post scans every two weeks or so. I think it's helpful to know just how fast stuff fades, even if I'm not providing an accurate demonstration of just how they fade, except in comparison to my original, discolored scan.

 

Finally, I have my doubts that the "Waterman Bleu Effacable" (aka Waterman Florida Blue) is any such thing. It is richer, more saturated, and far more fade resistant than I would ever expect of this ink.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Arkanabar

[amberleadavis]

I AM TOTALLY EXCITED!

[amberleadavis]

When you are ready, please consider adding your results to this spreadsheet.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZnx0HqTLwmocX2rhk5rP1jUUCSzjA7CVrZX8gvKkWY/edit?usp=sharing

[Arkanabar]

Are you going to add estimated results for all the samples and papers that weren't fully exposed? Cos these are NOT getting exposure at all comparable to your windows facing south in the Nevada desert. This sample is in a north-facing window, starting in winter, and it faces a pretty steep bank.

Speaking of which, here it is after two weeks. I'm going to try to remember to scale these to 600px.

As you can see, the blue Quink cartridge and the Waterman Violet are clearly already fading a little bit.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Arkanabar

[amberleadavis]

Looks good, you have three known faders on that page.

 

Pilot Precise V5 (I think blue was the fastest)

Sheaffer Turquoise

Parker Blue

 

Looks like the Watermans may fade.

[Arkanabar]

I strongly suspect that the ink in the bottle labeled "Waterman Florida Blue/Bleu Effacable" is concentrated or mislabeled. It's a fair bit darker and more vibrant than I'd expect of a washable blue; it may well be darker and more vibrant than Noodler's Blue. And the last time I tried fading it, it really didn't.

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting test. Is there a specific reason you're using a north-facing window, other than the obvious one of it being the most even light over the course of the day (which is why artists tend to prefer studios with north windows)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

I strongly suspect that the ink in the bottle labeled "Waterman Florida Blue/Bleu Effacable" is concentrated or mislabeled. It's a fair bit darker and more vibrant than I'd expect of a washable blue; it may well be darker and more vibrant than Noodler's Blue. And the last time I tried fading it, it really didn't.

 

I think that Florida blue looks more like a blue black so I think you are correct that it's something different, but it looks good.

[Arkanabar]

As I said above, color values are nothing like accurate, especially for the reds. Both Sharpie Red and Pilot Precise V5 red are the sort of orangey, retina-searing reds you love.

 

Interesting test. Is there a specific reason you're using a north-facing window, other than the obvious one of it being the most even light over the course of the day (which is why artists tend to prefer studios with north windows)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

It also has less condensation, so it's less likely to wind up wet. And it's easier to hang the paper in the horizontal mini blinds.

[Arkanabar]

Latest scan. The Parker blue cart is probably washable blue, and it's fading fastest. The Waterman Purple is next. Less evident in the scan, but visible to the naked eye are slight fading in the MB-S Black and Quink Permanent Black, miniscule amounts of color loss in the Diamine Sherwood and De Atramentis Aubergine, and slightly increased shading in the Diamine Damson and Noodler's Violet and Purple Martin.

There is another reason for hanging this is a north-facing window. The last time I put one in the south-facing window, part of it was in shadow from the eaves and window frame. That won't happen where I have it.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Arkanabar

[LionRoar]

Happy to see that my most-used ink, the Waterman blue, is holding up fine.

 

But if you really want to see how fast ink fades, you need to let the sun shine on it. Standard accelerated lightfastness testing is done with sunlight.

Edited February 26, 2016 by LionRoar

[amberleadavis]

It's tough to do these because you need some inks that do fade so that you can make sure that you are actually getting sun. Thank you Arkanabar!

[Arkanabar]

In case y'all hadn't noticed, I've decided to scale these to 550px width, instead of 600px. Things look much the same as they did in the previous scan. But because my scanner isn't good with reds, the fading of the Sharpie Red Marker and the Pilot Precise V5 Red (both of which are brilliant, retina-searing, slightly orange reds in the original) is not as evident to you as it is to me. The fading in the Bic Black Medium BP is quite evident, even in the scan. The MontBlanc-Simplo black (which probably contains phenol and came in a gold-colored, conical plastic bottle) is the first of the blacks to fade. Again, it may not be obvious in the scan, but it's clear to me that it's more faded than the Quink Permanent Black. There is the slightest hint of color loss in the Precise V5 Black RB also, but it is holding on better than the MB-S black.

So what has surprised me with its strength?

That blue-black Sarasa gel pen. The Fisher Space Pen. And the HP inkjet ink, which I used to lay down faint grey 1/3" dotline grids on the paper.

Happy to see that my most-used ink, the Waterman blue, is holding up fine.

 

But if you really want to see how fast ink fades, you need to let the sun shine on it. Standard accelerated lightfastness testing is done with sunlight.

As I said in the OP, I think the "Waterman Florida Blue" is almost certainly either concentrated or mislabeled. The line is darker and possibly more saturated than Noodler's Blue, which I'm pretty sure is not the norm between those two inks. Once the Lenten Ink Fast is over, I plan to load my blue pen with it, and make myself some comparisons in my journals. If you'll PM me your address, I'll send you a writing sample. Amber's results from her monster 2013 fade test (Fair) are what I'd usually expect from a washable blue, or at least something closer to what's happening with the Parker Quink blue cartridge.

 

Strictly speaking, all the light these samples are getting IS sunlight, just not direct sunlight. Some of it is diffused by the sky, and some is reflected off the ground and other solid objects in the environment, but it's still all sunlight. If I had to put my sample sheet in a south-facing window for direct sunlight, and ensure that it was never in the shadow of the window frame and/or eaves, I don't think I could be bothered to put forth the effort.

 

Differences in latitude and terrain ensure that no two people's ink fade results are going to be perfectly, directly comparable anyway. That's one reason I only really offer these in reference to each other. I figure it's better than nothing.

[LionRoar]

As I said in the OP, I think the "Waterman Florida Blue" is almost certainly either concentrated or mislabeled. The line is darker and possibly more saturated than Noodler's Blue, which I'm pretty sure is not the norm between those two inks. Once the Lenten Ink Fast is over, I plan to load my blue pen with it, and make myself some comparisons in my journals. If you'll PM me your address, I'll send you a writing sample. Amber's results from her monster 2013 fade test (Fair) are what I'd usually expect from a washable blue, or at least something closer to what's happening with the Parker Quink blue cartridge.

 

Strictly speaking, all the light these samples are getting IS sunlight, just not direct sunlight. Some of it is diffused by the sky, and some is reflected off the ground and other solid objects in the environment, but it's still all sunlight. If I had to put my sample sheet in a south-facing window for direct sunlight, and ensure that it was never in the shadow of the window frame and/or eaves, I don't think I could be bothered to put forth the effort.

 

"Washable" just means the ink is supposed to be very water soluble, it doesn't mean that it's not lightfast. But I guess you could have done something wrong. In your scan, it looks slightly darker and lower chroma than the Florida Blue that I'm used to, but that could be a color balance problem so I don't know.

 

The searing direct light of the sun fades stuff a lot faster. Yes, it's still legitimate to use north light, but the test will take a lot longer to see results.

[Arkanabar]

I always thought that washable blues were the ones that can be made transparent with ink erasers. Such inks are also usually quite prone to fading. The scanner does fairly well on blues and even purples; it's the reds that it horribly fails to capture. If you have and use Noodler's Blue or Vmail Midway Blue you have something you can use to gauge the other blues in the samples.

 

Given the slow fading, I may stretch the interval to every four weeks, but at least I know the whole sheet all gets the same amount of sun.

[LionRoar]

I always thought that washable blues were the ones that can be made transparent with ink erasers. Such inks are also usually quite prone to fading.

 

I thought it meant that it washes out of your clothing without staining if you have an accident.

 

In any event, that's a property of the dye that's independent of its lightfastness, although it may be that the most commonly used "washable" blue dye is also very fugitive.

[Arkanabar]

Yes, I've spread the scans out to every four weeks.

Everything remains legible. The Parker has faded to a weak bluish grey. The MontBlanc-Simplo Black has become a slightly yellowish grey. The Noodler's Widow Maker is showing a very slight color loss. The Skrip turquoise is plainly faded. The Diamine Damson is looking more and more shaded; it may well wind up winning the four-way purple fade-off. So is the Noodler's Violet, though a bit of color loss is also evident. The DeAtramentis Aubergine is clearly lightening. The Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku is ever so slightly lighter than it used to be. The Diamine Sherwood is also clearly faded; I'd say it's color loss is about apace with the DeAt Aubergine. The (alleged) Waterman Florida Blue is holding on tight. The Waterman Violet is getting pretty light. The Noodler's Red-Black is looking more shaded. The Bad Black Moccasin and the Quink Permanent Black are both just barely starting to lose a bit of contrast. The Red Sharpie is getting lighter, and orange. The Bic medium black ballpoint is losing legibility. The Sarasa 0.7mm blue-black gel is holding on. The Pilot Precise V5 RBs are both slightly faded.

[amberleadavis]

Looking good.

[Arkanabar]

I went back and looked. Even in the first scan, the Ink Test lines for Damson, Violet, and Purple Martin were all showing shading. I will want to be careful what I compare from the test to the controls.

 

My guess is that Damson is going to win the fade-off.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Arkanabar

[Arkanabar]

I scanned this really early Monday morning, before sunrise. I was super busy. I will post observations based on the originals later today. I just want to throw it up here right now.

ETA: There is one difference I can sort of see -- I can see the inkjet lines I printed on the page in the "Photo" version.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Arkanabar