Photos left at home for half a year, will fade?
Friends who usually like to print photos with color spray printers must have a deep understanding of this. Especially for photos that have been exposed to the air for a long time, the discoloration will be more obvious, and the photos collected in the album can remain vivid and do not fade for a long time. Why?
In fact, this is due to the nature of inkjet printer ink, the current common inkjet printer ink has two types, respectively dye ink and pigment ink.
Dye ink: Composed of specific molecules, the colorant of the dye ink is dissolved in water. At the same time, due to the simple production process of dye ink and low cost, some compatible consumables manufacturers will use black dye ink.
Pigment ink: Compared with dye ink, the colorant of pigment ink is insoluble in water or pigment, and can be suspended in water with the help of dispersant, which is an opaque liquid. Pigment ink is more durable, waterproof, fade-resistant and longer stored.
The difference between the two
1) Waterproof performance
In fact, as mentioned above, dye ink is easily soluble in water and other chemical reagents, so it is not easy to clog the printer nozzle, and the printing is smoother. However, in terms of waterproof performance, it is easy to dissolve after dipping in water. Most of the pigment inks use special polymer adhesives, so that the pigments have a strong adhesion, and the print head is stable and not clogged, and when the ink dries, a protective film will be formed on the surface of the pigment, which plays an effective role in waterproofing.
2) Anti-fading performance
Since the colorant of the dye ink is directly exposed to the air, under the action of light and oxygen, the chemical chain of the colorant may break, resulting in discoloration. Manuscripts printed over a long period of time will fade, which is not conducive to long-term preservation. The colorant of the pigment ink is a highly crushed mineral, which has high stability, and the outer layer of the colorant is wrapped in the resin layer to avoid contact with the air, reducing the possibility of chemical chain breakage, so it is not easy to produce fading.
How to choose?
1) Pigment inks have more advantages in terms of waterproofing and anti-fading, but in terms of bright colors and smooth printing, dye inks are better and cheaper.
2) In addition, if the file needs to be saved for a long time, the pigment ink is the most suitable, if it is used once, the dye ink with low cost and good color is a good choice.
brief summary:
In general, most of the current consumer printers use black ink is pigment ink, the printed content is waterproof, and can be stored for a long time, color ink uses dye ink, printing photos is more economical.
In order to ensure the long-term preservation of documents, PPTs, etc., the ink used in some office inkjet printers is generally pigment ink.
Therefore, why the photo will fade after half a year at home, everyone should know it, the reason is on the ink.