Image Permanence InstituteOctober 24, 2010

The Stability of Print-on-Demand Books

Douglas W. Nishimura

Print-on-Demand

• No warehousing costs for books

• Press runs better match demand– Inexpensive for small

press runs

• Corrections and updates easy

• Popular for photo books

Technology

• Once Off-set Lithography only game in town.

Digital Press Technology

• Current– Electrophotography

• Kodak Nexpress: solid toner• Xerox iGen: solid toner• HP Indigo: liquid tone

• New– Ink-Jet

• Late 2008 - Kodak Stream: Pigment ink• Spring 2009 – HP T300 Ink-jet web press

Electrophotography

Ink Jet

History in Photographic Field

Lawsuits

• At least two major class-action suits against photographic manufacturers

• Claims that advertising implied high stability that didn’t exist

• Manufactures knew how to produce higher stability products, but knowingly sold products with poor stability.

Slow Fires

• Rapid disintegration of acid-processed paper particularly in books.

• Could have spilled into printing industry

Survey

• 2008 survey of libraries, museums, archives– 95% confidence– Maximum error of ± 7.3%– 87.4% have digital print collections– 81.1% of those have observed at least one

form of deterioration.– Print-on-demand books are the progeny of

these materials.

Two types of accelerated tests

• Predictive• Comparative

Predictive

• Difficult• Time and resource

consuming• How does it relate to

“real life”?

• 10

• 100

• 1,000

• 10

• 1

• 100

• 1,000

• 10,000

• 100,000

• 1,000,000

• 1/K

• 0.0025

• 100• 90• 80• 70• 60• 50 • 20

• 0.0030 • 0.0035

• °C

• 1,000 Years

•D

ays

to 6

6% T

ou

gh

nes

s R

eten

tio

n

•Y

ears

• British Film Institute nitrate film

Comparative Testing

• Easier• Single condition

and time• Interpretation?

Comparative Test Example

Product 1Product 2Product 3

Time

Ph

ys

ica

l/Im

ag

e Q

ua

lity

Accelerated Testing

• Based on assumptions about “real life” for the book.

Acceleration

• Heat• Humidity• High intensity or

concentration

Endpoint

• Very subjective– Psychophysical testing often needed

• Last acceptable point?• First unacceptable point?

Digital Press EP 400 cycles, 4 psi

Offset Lithography

Unexposed

Offset Lithography

Assumed 450 lux for 12 hours per day

Unfiltered cool white fluorescent light

for 52 simulated years

Digital Press

52 Simulated Years

Yellowed page in digitally printed book

Ink Jet

• More complex– Stability a function of interaction between ink

and paper.• Affected by Ink strength and color combinations.

Water Disaster

• Traditional color print exposed to water for 24 hours.

Water disaster

• Digital press image after 24 hours in water.

Abrasion

• Pigment ink-jet tends to abrade easily.

Conclusions

• Virtually no work so far on the stability of print-on-demand books.

• Long and difficult road ahead.• Given available choices in printing

technology, stability could be critical in the future.

• Printing industry should be aware of issues.

Digital Print Portal Project

• Supported by the IMLS and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

• http://www.dp3project.org/• http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/