Optical Brightener Additives: A Candid Discussion
A lot of giclee printing professionals are curious about whether the presence of optical brightener additives in a giclee canvas matters to them. As the innovators of the world’s first white optical brightener free canvas, let us help explain our reasons behind the breakthrough technology.
What most people dont know is that optical brighteners are bleaches. These bleaches, which are also found in white t-shirts and other textiles and laundry detergents, absorb ultraviolet (UV) light and emit back visible blue light. They trick your eye into thinking that something is whiter than it really is. These bleaches only last so long, until the point that they actually burn out and no longer do anything. These bleaches are also harmful to the environment because when they are used in manufacturing, they are often found in domestic waste waters, and are toxic to fish and other animals.
Now let’s look from an art perspective. In terms of giclee, just imagine a valued fine art giclee piece where the bleaches have burned out of the inkjet receptive coating. What happens is the canvas becomes its natural color (which would appear as a yellow color to the eye), and the colors would shift. Now, the fine art print wont look as it was originally intended to look – and instead it will look yellow. Over time, this will happen to an inkjet canvas manufactured with optical brighteners whether it has been laminated with a giclee varnish or not (put a giclee print of this nature in direct sunlight for about one week and you will see for yourself). Is yellowing like this acceptable for the fine art market? In our opinion: Decor – Yes. Fine Art – No.
Then there’s the metamerism issue with the optical brighteners. Optical Brightners excaerbate the effects of metamerism. See, optical brighteners require UV in order to “fire”, or appear to our eyes. If there’s no UV exposure, the optical brighteners will not “fire” and the giclee print looks just as it would without optical brighteners – a more yellow color. Is color shifting like this acceptable for the fine art market? In our opinion: Decor – Yes. Fine Art – No.