The long-term stability of inkjet photographic prints is known to be sensitive to a variety of factors. These factors include chemical composition of the inks and media, as well as the ambient environmental conditions – light, heat, humidity, and air quality – under which the prints are stored and/or displayed. In order to correlate the results of accelerated testing in the laboratory with what actually happens to a photographic print under long-term, real-world conditions, it is necessary to better understand the typical ambient environmental conditions under which the prints are being displayed and/or stored. In Phase I of this study, light levels, spectral energy distributions, temperatures, humidities, and ozone levels were monitored for 6 – 12 months in eight homes in each of four cities around the world. For Phase II, eight homes in each of four additional cities (Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Atlanta, and Tokyo) were monitored for 10-12 months. These additional data reinforce the Phase I conclusions that ambient home display conditions are dominated by relatively low intensity, indirect, window-filtered daylight. In addition, we will describe an appropriate filtration package for use with high intensity Xenon arc lamps that more closely matches the average home spectral energy distribution. This combination of source and filter will be proposed for the next generation accelerated light fade standard.
D. E. Bugner, Joseph LaBarca, Jonathan Phillips, Thomas Kaltenbach, Adam Bush, Jon Kapecki, "Survey of Environmental Conditions Relative to Display of Photographs in Consumer Homes – Phase II" in Proc. IS&T Archiving 2005, 2005, pp 179 - 183, https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2168-3204.2005.2.1.art00039