Are My Prints Archival?

Are the fine art prints we produce as giclee prints archival? And if so, what makes them archival? This is a frequent inquiry people have. The loose answer would be yes, but with the understanding that paper brands occasionally take liberties with the word Archival, sometimes referring to Conservation Grade papers as Archival. Either way, thanks to the high-quality papers and inks we use, our giclée prints have the potential for the longest lifespan a print can have today. However, it is important to emphasize that while these prints are will last for years to come without noticeable fading or yellowing, they are also many times more delicate than some other types of prints. That’s why it’s crucial to display and handle them with care, minimizing the risk of damage during shipping or everyday handling. But what exactly makes these delicate prints—so highly valued by collectors, galleries, and museums—so archival?

If you really want to know, the international standard for “archival” paper, is ISO 11108. You can google this if you want to view all the technical stuff behind this, but some off-brand paper manufacturers don’t adhere to these standards while still labeling their paper as archival.  Moab, Canson and Hahnemuhleare examples of brands that take this word very seriously. Since they are all reputable companies in the fine art and photo printing industry we know the papers provided to us by them are archival when they say they are. I have seen some varied definitions of describing archival papers but any truly archival paper is going to fall under the camp of archival grade or at least conservation grade.

When taken literally, archival grade is distinguished by being made of cotton pulp. Sometimes it may also be referred to as museum grade. If you see in the description terms like “cotton rag” that is going to be a good indicator of this type of paper. Not all will look alike. Some might be smooth, some might be textured and they can yield different results when printed when it comes to color gamut and tonal range capabilities. For instance, the Somerset Velvet which we recently had a special on is 100% cotton paper. And you can tell because of the feel and the way it tears if you try to give a print a deckled or torn edge. Another all-cotton paper that looks and behaves very differently is our Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper. Not only does it have a different feel but it is far less absorbent so yields a printed image with more contrast due to the inks not being absorbed as much by the paper. When torn it appears less fibrous so having a cotton base may be less obvious.

Conservation grade is considered to be alpha-cellulose in nature which means it is a wood pulp base and has been chemically treated to be acid-free. It too can be molded into various textures and brightness levels. My personal favorite paper at the moment is the Hahnemuhle Torchon which is a classic example of this type of paper. It has a parchment-like feel. Another example of this paper but very different in its appearance is the resin-coated Satin Luster Paper (Moab’s Lasal EXHIBITION LUSTER 300) which seems to be a favorite among many of our photographers due to its satin or luster gloss surface. With that paper, you would not have a clue as to what it is made of since it tears very differently.

I guess I can mention a third category should be in order which is a hybrid of the two. When the paper is milled it will combine elements of both cotton as well as alpha-cellulose. A good example of this is our Cotton Etching which is actually only 25% cotton and 75% alpha-cellulose. Why does the brand that we get this from call it Cotton Etching and not alpha-cellulose Etching other than maybe it sounds better? We chose to stick with the name it has since there is a specific demand for this paper by name by interior designers and gallery curators we have served in the past.

When it comes to a paper being archival, that does not mean archival prints last forever. All paper deteriorates over time since by nature it is usually a plant-based product. The difference is these fine art papers for giclee printing break down at a much slower rate than other papers. How fast it does varies based on environmental conditions as well as the overall makeup of the paper. Just understand also that there is no set time frame which decides when a paper is archival or not archival but under ideal conditions a giclee print on one of these papers we use should last at least a hundred years.

What used to impact the ability of an image to withstand the test of time more so was not if it was archival or not. Instead, the brightening agents (called optical brighteners agents or OBAs) would give the paper its white point. Papers like our Ultrasmooth Fine Art Paper and even the Fredrix canvas we use are OBA-free but these tend to be exceptions with most giclee or fine art paper containing OBAs at some level. While OBAs have had controversy surrounding them in the past the truth is they have been a major part of the photo paper makeup since the 1950s. The concern was that they would break down or “evaporate” over time therefore causing the image to “be yellow” which simply means the image begins to acquire the natural paper color. Some of these concerns we well founded in past decades but not today. Today the OBAs tend to be infused into the paper base and not applied as a mere top coating. Because they are now so widely relied on by even the big-name papers, international institutions such as ISO, DIN, and the Library of Congress have made allowances for these brightening agents.

It should be noted In many instances the term archival gets thrown around quite loosely by the brands selling the paper. One organization actually tests a paper’s ability to be archival in relation to printing. That organization is Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR) based in Grinnell, Iowa. They are considered the foremost authority on archival and preservation for the photographic, digital, and printing industries. Name brands such as Canon and Epson rely extensively on them to conduct tests to determine how well their inks will withstand the test of time on certain media types. Granted when it comes to time, these are accelerated tests that only simulate a print’s lifespan but if you are very technical-minded and venture through their website you will know that they know what they are doing.

The final determining factor will be the inks themselves. The good news is the inks we have used have always been name-brand formulas which have been extensively tested by WIR. Many of the testing you see on the fine art media will be done with either Canon Lucia or Epson Ultrachrome inks which were engineered with longevity in mind. When giclee prints were first introduced to the market in the 80s and 90s they were using sub-par inks. While I can’t say for sure, it does seem to be that once the new archival grade inks appeared giclee prints became an acceptable format by museums and galleries. Off-brand inks may be cheaper, but for us sticking with the brand intended for the printer ensures they are not going to be evaporating or images will discolor.

So if someone ever asks you if the giclee prints produced at FinerWorks are archival, you can definitively say yes. Adhering to the standards set forth above as well as sticking with the name brand papers have guaranteed this when printed with the inks we use today.