| One of the last domains of Ciba/Ilfochrome
and in recent years Lightjet color prints was the longevity of those
prints (30 - 60 years). No major gallery or museum would accept prints
which might just last 1-15 years. Of course this is also a major concern
of the the fine art photographer. Recently new inks (pigmented inks)
and paper were introduced to allow inkjet prints to last even longer
that 60 years. The authority in this area is Wilhelm Imaging Research
(www.wilhelm-research.com).
Also they had some major problems judging some recent paper/ink combinations
and the influence of ozone to their longevity.
Of course nobody could really test these data. But some tests indicate
that these figures might be somehow realistic. We only use pigmented
inks right now which gives us a good feel that our customers will enjoy
their photos over a long period of time. We don't think it is important
that these prints do not fade in direct sun light as this is not where
you would display fine art prints anyway.
Sometimes we hear the argument that the buyers don't ask/care about
the longevity issue. Yes, some might not know that this is an issue
but assume these prints will last forever. Be sure they will care once
they love your prints and it starts to fade. My parents had a Cibachrome
print of this photo | 
