Imagemine Loc: St. Louis USA

does anyone know of a good uv protective spray for my photo prints made on my Canon pro 100 dye inkjet printer that will keep them from fading & won't change the colors, appreciate any suggestions thanx in advance

Gallimaufry Loc: Denver, CO

Jose Rodriguez the printing guru (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz9YXaSulpM90vC24lmAeZA) has tested a bunch and determined the best to be Moab Desert Varnish. I got it through Adorama. But check with your local camera stores to avoid shipping charges.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

You could also use a photo finish paper for your printer that will not fade or change color. I believe many Canon printer instruction sheets have that information.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The dye ink that is used in the Pro 100 is rated and 100 yrs plus, as long as you use Canon paper, and archival materials for matting and mounting, and the print frame has a back on it. Keeping it in dark storage obviously will extend the life of the print, but defeats the purpose of printing for display and sale. Please note, acid-free materials are NOT archival, they are just buffered to be pH neutral. Over time, the chemical buffers leach out and can damage a print.

UV is just one of the factors that will diminish print longevity. Humdity, heat, air quality, dust and other contaminants, etc will all affect print longevity.

How long do you want your prints to last? Are you using a 100% archival workflow for matting and framing the prints? Are you using Canon paper and ink?

Imagemine Loc: St. Louis USA

thanx for the info. is very helpful

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

The additive to inks to stabilize re-UV is not expensive and my bet is that 3d party inks have it. Dye inks are not a super secrete formulation and the OEM inks are farmed out not being made in the printer assembly shop. Epson and Canon rely on ink manufacturers to have knowledge of ink formulations.

Some special glow in the dark inks may, however, be made by the Shakespeare Ink Company in their Macbeth factory that employs “weird sisters” who lurk with dark thoughts and unconscious temptations to enhance the evils of UV light. Their formulation in part stems from their supernatural powers but this is not the typical 3rd party ink supplier.

Imagemine, have you experienced fading? Have you done a double printing and stored one copy in an envelope for 6 months of summer and found fading to be a problem. If you have a Xenon Arc lamp in your living room then fading may be a problem or if you mount and display your photos facing south on a rooftop.. yes, they may fade.

I use expensive paraffin [$2 a pound] and a short nap flat paint pad applicator to give a very thin coating to my photos to inhibit UV, Water Absorption, and Ozone degradation. living in Florida the heat and humidity and mold are not conducive to long life, mine or my photos.

From Journal of Materials Chemistry ... Royal Society of Chemistry
"CA/wax composite exhibits very high solar radiation absorption in the whole UV-Vis-NIR range. ... Paraffin wax only shows several absorption peaks at UV and NIR light range, no absorption peak is seen at visible light range (400~800 nm). "

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/getauthorversionpdf/C4TA00839A

tcthome Loc: NJ

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Try Krylon Gallery Series UV Archival Varnish. I use 1377 satin and purchased from Amazon. The I used previously was banned by the EPA for toxic fumes, this one solves that issue.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you will be displaying your prints, you probably should be framing them under glass (with an air space, such as a mat provides... the print should not be in contact with the glass).

There is UV filtering glass available that will provide the same or better protection than any spray on the print itself. This is sometimes called "museum glass" or "conservation glass". There is some added cost for UV filtering coated glazing. Note: If framing a particularly large size, for lighter weight you may want to consider acrylic instead of glass. It's also available with UV filtering coatings. Acrylic is more susceptible to scratching or other damage by strong cleaners, so needs to be cleaned more carefully than glass. It also costs more, but isn't as fragile and reduces weight quite a bit.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

That’s what I use. My oldest print is 4 years old and there’s been no change.

edrobinsonjr Loc: Boise, Idaho

The Moab Desert Varnish is on Amazon for $24.86 for a 400Ml spray can. Right next to it is Krylon's UV spray 11 ounces for $11.99.

I certainly can't vouch for either of them.

Ed