Influence of Temperature in Xenon Testing

Abstract

The digital print industry is working toward the goal of adopting improved test methods for image permanence. As part of this effort, the new test methods are being designed to isolate the environmental variables that impact image permanence. The benefits of this approach are that it simplifies the test methods and test equipment while promoting test results that can be reproduced at other test laboratories. To understand which variables to isolate for a given test method, it is necessary to investigate a broad range of conditions which may affect the test results. This study focused on the impact of changing the temperature in Xenon testing while holding all other conditions constant. It was found that higher temperatures significantly increased the sample fade rate and that this test parameter will need to be tightly controlled. This research is part of ongoing work contributing to the development of standardized test methods for image permanence.