Second, some ink sets are paired with resin coated (RC) media where the media whitepoint properties are expected to shift during light exposure due to more rapid fading of the optical brighteners (OBAs) in the media, but also further change is expected to occur in dark storage due to their RC-layer polyethylene (PE) with incorporated titanium dioxide(TiO2), and optical brighteners (OBAs). Thus, these media should better reveal fundamental light fade properties of the inks themselves with less confounding of the results due to poor media stability. Some of the choices represent a direct paired ink set comparison on specific media, notably Moab Entrada Rag Natural and Red River Palo Duro Soft Gloss Rag which are both OBA-free and expected to have stable media white point properties. First, there are specific comparative tests of three different Canon pigmented ink formulations (including the latest Canon LUCIA Pro-11 set made on or new Canon Pro-1000 printer purchased in 2016) to Epson’s newest UltraChrome HD ink set with its significantly improved yellow pigment ink. Underlying the choice of these 16 samples are some deliberate experimental design objectives.

Canon printer ink test