… And this is how we know it works

You may ask how we can possibly know that 100 years from now, your ChromaLife100 photo will not have faded (when stored in a photo album). The answer is that we use ‘accelerated testing’.

What is accelerated testing?

Instead of waiting 10, 30 or 100 years, the Canon scientists estimate the longevity of photos by increasing the intensity of factors that cause fading: light, high temperature, humidity or gases in the air, whilst keeping other conditions constant. It is a common method throughout industry.

What is meant by ‘fading’?
When the colours of a photo lose strength, we speak about fading or ‘colour fading.’ Fading is determined by the rate of decrease of optical density (OD). When, according to set criteria, a photo has faded we speak of ‘failure’.

When do we consider a photo ‘faded’?
Failure is based on the endpoint criteria of Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. (“WIR Visually-Weighted Endpoint Criteria Set v3.0”):
- The point where monochromatic/ reflective optical density shows loss of 20-35 % (figures set respectively for each colour, starting density of 1.0 and 0.6).
- The point where the difference in colour balance between yellow, magenta and cyan (each component in composite black) reaches 12-18 %.

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