New Batch Of Ink Fading Comparisons (Ongoing)

[Intensity]

I've started running my own fading tests now too long ago. Every new ink I use, I add a line to two sheets of paper--one control sheet in stored a closed notebook, and another is taped to a wall opposite two large windows. This location seems perfect for a realistic scenario of having writing in an exposed location but not direct sunlight. Specifically, the windows mostly have white cloth diffusing blinds over them with the exception of about 10" from the top which is exposed glass. There is bright daylight during the day and some sunlight in the afternoon. The wall with the taped paper is a good 16 feet away from the windows, so it gets a bit of everything: small amount of artificial light, daylight shade, and some diffuse sunlight.

 

The paper is Fabriano Bioprima, acid-free with alkaline reserve

 

 

Control sheet as of July 12, 2019:

 

 

Scanned exposed sheet on July 12, 2019

 

 

Comparison on July 12, 2019:

 

 

 

To be continued with more inks and scans over time.

 

Inks listed so far (for the search engine purposes), alphabetically by brand:

 

Colorverse Dark Energy

Graf von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green

J. Herbin Lie de The

KWZ Walk Over Vistula

Lamy Petrol

Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa

Sailor Ink Studio #573 , #970, #941

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena / Jentle ) Blue Black

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena ) Sepia brown

Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe #57 Hime Ajisai

Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiatto Musk Green

Papier Plume Sazerac

Edited July 12, 2019 by Intensity

[senzen]

Thank you for this, it's interesting; if I understand correctly they all do pretty good, except for that Ajisai...

[txomsy]

Thank you. It is a great review and (to me) most interesting. I'll follow it up closely.

[Intensity]

Probably too early to tell yet, but yes that Hydrangea Kobe ink is a quick fader. I expected Scabiosa to be too, by reputation, but so far it’s holding up well. I’m still adding more inks to the list and will be posting more scans along with alphabetized (by brand) lists with qualitative descriptions.

[inkstainedruth]

Very interesting results so far. I just got a sample of Walks Over Vistula, so I'm pleased to see that so far. it's doing well. Although, to my eye, most of the ones look pretty good (even the ones that are obiously starting to lose a little steam (Sailor Kobe Ajisai and the first sample of GvFC Deep Sea Green -- but the latter is not an ink I would have bought anyway).

Thanks for doing this.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Intensity]

A few have faded very slightly. GvFC Deep Sea Green difference on those photographs is more due to the fact that I used a pretty dry writing pen, and this ink is rather translucent to begin with. So the first words on the control sheet came out more saturated than the next words on the exposed sheet. To compensate for that inconsistency I added another few words written with that ink using a different pen. It's holding up well so far.

 

Yesterday I added

Diamine Salamander

KWZ Green Gold (IG)

KWZ Turquoise (IG)

KWZ Brown Pink

KWZ Honey

Krishna Christmas Eve

J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor

J. Herbin Rouille d'Ancre

J. Herbin Bleu des Profoundeurs

Edited July 18, 2019 by Intensity

[Intensity]

Some early results (I have more inks, but too early to scan those comparisons yet):

 

 

Qualitative Comparison: (ink name - test duration - qualitative fading results using Photoshop layer transparency to roughly estimate fading percentage):

 

Colorverse Dark Energy - 1 month - no fading

Graf von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Lie de The - 2 months - slight fading, ~5%

J. Herbin Vert de Gris - 2 months - slight fading, ~10%

KWZ Walk Over Vistula - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Lamy Petrol - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa - 2 months - noticeable fading, ~15%

Sailor Ink Studio #237 - 1 month - slight fading, ~10%, color shift toward blue

Sailor Ink Studio #573 - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor Ink Studio #941 - 1 month - no fading

Sailor Ink Studio #970 - 1 month - no fading

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena / Jentle ) B.B. - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena ) Sepia brown - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe #57 Hime Ajisai - 2 months - significant fading, ~50%, purple component fading faster, result is more blue

Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiatto - 1 month - no fading

Papier Plume Sazerac - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Edited July 23, 2019 by Intensity

[Tas]

Thank you. Not just for the fade test but for a really good reference page of inks.

[oregano]

Thank you very much for doing this. Also nice to see a wide range of brands represented! Speaking of fading, I saw significant fading of a few inks, especially Montblanc Burgundy red, fade in my Traveler's notebook Tomoe River Lightweight paper refill, from a closed book 1.5-two years ago. It makes me wonder how much lightweight paper can contribute to fading.

[Intensity]

Montblanc Lavender Purple having poor lightfastness is why I haven't gotten a bottle of it, despite being intrigued by the color, and I've read the same being the case with Burgundy Red. Interesting about your writing fading even in a closed notebook, some inks do that too. I haven't read anything negative about Tomoe River and ink fading yet, and when I tried searching for more information about the paper, I couldn't definitively find whether it's acid-free/archival.

[oregano]

Thanks for the response, Intensity! I had no idea when I got it that those colors had a reputation for fading. I wouldn't be surprised if the lightweight paper is not all that resistant to fading over time, since it was originally developed as advertising copy paper. But who knows? It's pure conjecture on my part.

[Intensity]

July 20, 2019 update - 2 full sheets now, more on the way.

 

Control/closed notebook on the right, test/exposed to light on the left. Paper is Fabriano Bioprima acid-free with alkaline reserve.

 

Sheet 1:

 

Sheet 2:

 

Qualitative Comparison after approximately whole months since testing began

(ink name - test duration - qualitative fading results using Photoshop layer transparency to roughly estimate fading percentage):

 

Colorverse Dark Energy - 2 months - no fading

Diamine Salamander - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Diamine Syrah - 1 month - very slight fading, ~5%

Graf von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green - 3 months - very slight fading, ~5%

J. Herbin Bleu des Profoundeurs - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Lie de The - 3 months - slight fading, ~5% after 2 months, ~10% after 3 months

J. Herbin Rouille d'Ancre - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Vert de Gris - 3 months - slight fading, ~10% after 2 months, no further noticeable change after 3 months

Krishna Christmas Eve - 1 month - very slight fading, ~5%, loss of vibrancy

KWZ Brown Pink - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ IG Green Gold - 1 month - very slight fading, ~5%

KWZ Honey - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ IG Turquoise - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ Walk Over Vistula - 3 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Lamy Petrol - 3 months - slight fading toward a lighter color, around 5-10%

Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi - 3 months - ~5% fading after 3 months.

Platinum pigment Carbon Black - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa - 3 months - noticeable fading, ~15% after 2 months, stabilized at the same amount after 3 months

Sailor Ink Studio #237 - 2 months - slight fading, ~10%, color shift toward blue after 2 months, ~15% after 3 months

Sailor Ink Studio #573 - 2 months - red component is slightly diminished, small color shift toward more caramel brown, no change in darkness

Sailor Ink Studio #941 - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor Ink Studio #970 - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor nano-pigment Sou Boku - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena / Jentle ) B.B. - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena ) Sepia brown - 2 months - barely discernible fading, mostly in color vibrancy rather than darkness

Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe #57 Hime Ajisai - 3 months - significant fading, ~50%, purple component fading faster, result is gradually toward pale blue

Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiatto - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Papier Plume Sazerac - 2 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

 

[Intensity]

I've been fairly busy lately and have been delaying posting these, as I don't have time to try to do percentages for this round. But I thought it'd be useful to post progress scans anyway. There are more inks added since the last time. Most of the inks are faring quite well. Some are real surprise faders.

 

 

 

 

Both of the polychromatic Troublemaker inks faded and changed color dramatically in very little time, or else some of their color components did. Remains to be seen if what's left will be more fade-proof. Since those two inks are made up of multiple dyes, it's possible that some have better fading resistance than others. If you are using Troublemaker polychromatic inks for art, please be sure to store your work in a closed notebook or use some kind of a UV coating / museum glass over it.

 

I will edit with a table of comparisons soon. In the meantime you can look at the penciled dates to judge how much time has passed. As a reminder, the exposed sheets are stored not in direct sunlight but rather in a well-lit room on a wall opposite from 2 large windows that let in a lot of bright reflected sunlight in early mornings. The rest of the day there's diffuse shade with white cloth blinds distributing the light evenly across the room. Basically a non-extreme averaged environment of a place that could be your average office space or home space.

Edited October 24, 2019 by Intensity

[bizhe]

I appreciate these tests.

[Arkanabar]

I know from experience that these test are surprisingly demanding, Intensity. Kudos to you for taking this on.

 

I'm a little surprised at how well Murasaki Shikibu is holding on. In Amber's fade test, it was mediocre.

[Intensity]

I should do another round of scans!

 

My fading tests are more for realistic conditions in an average room, to get a rate of fading. Some people test by exposing sheets to as much direct sunlight as possible, which accelerates fading.

 

Mine are not taped to a window but to a wall opposite of a window, and barely any direct sunlight. So the inks you see fading on my scans really dont stand up to being exposed to any light in most rooms for long.

Edited December 26, 2019 by Intensity

[Arkanabar]

Yeah, my fade test was in a north-facing window, all indirect sunlight, for a number of reasons. Every test reveals something new.

[Intensity]

Latest round of scans. As a reminder, these show the difference in ink appearance between the dates marked in pencil on the right side of the scans and the date of this post (December 31, 2019 -- Happy New Year, everyone!)

 

Now that enough time has gone by, relatively speaking, more inks are visibly fading, whereas it was difficult to tell before whether they were. Murasaki Shikibu is indeed among those.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Intensity

[Intensity]

December 31, 2019 summary:

Qualitative Comparison after approximately whole months since testing began

(ink name - test duration - rough observation):

 

Colorverse Dark Energy - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Colorverse Albert - <1 month - tbd

Colorverse Brunch Date - <1 month - tbd

Diamine Salamander - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Diamine Syrah - 5 months - very slight fading initially, ~5%; seemingly stable since

Graf von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green - 7 months - very slight fading, ~5% (ignore top line, it was a pen not writing well)

Graf von Faber-Castell Hazelnut Brown - 1.5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green - 1.5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey - 1.5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Graf von Faber-Castell Olive Green - 1.5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Bleu des Profoundeurs - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Lie de The - 3 months - slight fading, ~5% after 2 months, ~10% after 3 months

J. Herbin Rouille d'Ancre - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

J. Herbin Vert de Gris - 7 months - Visible fading, ~10% after 2 months, noticeably more now

Jacques Herbin Caroube de Chypre - 5 months - slight fading, lighter

Krishna Christmas Eve - 5 months - loss of vibrancy, lighter

KWZ Brown Pink - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ IG Green Gold - 5 months - starting to look somewhat faded after 6 months, vibrant but lighter

KWZ Honey - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ IG Turquoise - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

KWZ Walk Over Vistula - 7 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Lamy Petrol - 7 months - slight fading toward a lighter color, around 5-10%

Montblanc Chinese Blue - 1 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Papier Plume Sazerac - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Papier Plume Pecan - 4 months - very slight fading

Papier Plume Moss Green - <1 month - tbd

Papier Plume Bayou Nightfall - <1 month - tbd

Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine - 3 months - slight fading, loss of saturation of the blue component

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz - 1.5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi - 7 months - ~5% fading after 3 months, more over time but very slowly

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo - 5 months - slight fading, lighter and some loss of saturation

Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-Ro - 5 months - slight fading, lighter and some loss of saturation

Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku - 5 months - slight fading, lighter and some loss of saturation

Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin - 5 months - slight fading, lighter and some loss of saturation

Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu - 5 months - slight fading: loss of blue component, shift toward pink-purple

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo - 5 months - slight fading, lighter and some loss of saturation

Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same - 3 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Guri - 5 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Platinum pigment Carbon Black - 7 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Platinum classic IG Khaki Black - 4 months - slight fading, lighter

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa - 7 months - noticeable fading

Sailor Ink Studio #123 - <1 month - significant fading, of purple-pink component, shift toward teal-gray

Sailor Ink Studio #237 - 6 months - significant fading, ~10%, color shift toward blue after 2 months, ~15% after 3 months, at least 50% faded after 6 months

Sailor Ink Studio #241 - 4 months - slight fading, paler

Sailor Ink Studio #573 - 6 months - red-orange component is diminished, color shift toward more grayed caramel brown

Sailor Ink Studio #673 - 3 months - very slight fading, paler

Sailor Ink Studio #941 - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor Ink Studio #970 - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor nano-pigment Sou Boku - 5 month - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible; unsure with this one

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena / Jentle ) B.B. - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Sailor ( Maruzen Athena ) Sepia brown - 6 months - barely discernible fading, mostly in color vibrancy rather than darkness

Sailor Jentle Tokiwa-Matsu - <1 month - tbd

Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe #57 Hime Ajisai - 7 months - very significant fading, purple component faded first, result is gradually toward pale blue-gray

Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiatto - 6 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Troublemaker Kelp Tea - 5 months - significant fading, loss of brown component, bright green remains

Troublemaker Milky Ocean - 3 months - fading of the purple component, paler

Troublemaker Petrichor - 5 months - significant fading, loss of gray component, pale teal remains

Troublemaker Hanging Rice - 3 months - either no fading or very slight fading, barely discernible

Waterman Permanent Blue-Black vintage - 5 months - blue is fading toward gray, lighter

Waterman Serenity Blue - 3 months - very slight fading: loss of saturation

 

[OCArt]

Super work, a very useful comparison and chart!