Applied Research

A color comparison between inkjet and dye sublimation on non-paper substrates after environmental exposure

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Abstract

This study originated with a need to achieve archival quality for full color, fine art photography and art when printed on non-traditional substrates. In order to better understand how environmental factors affect color fastness and accuracy across two common photo production processes–dye sublimation and inkjet–the authors compared color shifts on targets printed on glass, metal, tile, and wood after exposure to humidity or full spectrum UV light. After coating and printing on the substrates, a spectrophotometer was used to record pre-exposure LAB readings from the printed targets. Post-exposure readings were recorded using the same device after each sample was exposed to 500 consecutive hours of either humidity or UV light. A regression analysis and paired T-tests were used to analyze the shift in color after environmental exposure across substrates and printing processes. Before environmental exposure, the authors found that dye sublimation, especially on metal substrates, produced visually richer colors compared with the inkjet process. This observation was confirmed quantitatively when all substrates printed with inkjet produced lower average densities than those printed using dye sublimation, with wood and metal having overall higher color densities than glass and tile. With regards to substrate performance, tile printed with either process performed similarly across both environmental conditions with minimal degradation during exposure. Dye sublimated wood under UV and inkjet-printed metal exposed to humidity degraded the most significantly across all the variable combinations. The authors concluded that even though some process and substrate combinations perform better than others, exposure to certain environmental factors can lead to significant color degradation and therefore, fine art prints should be protected to ensure longevity when there is an expected environmental condition. However, an artist or collector can choose substrate and print process combinations that are more likely to withstand environmental conditions yet still provide the intended visual impact.

Keywords: color reproduction, photography, substrates, archival, print reproduction

How to Cite:

Walker, E. B., Bridges, A. W. & Smith, D. H., (2025) “A color comparison between inkjet and dye sublimation on non-paper substrates after environmental exposure”, The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering 2(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/jtmae.16889