Air Ionizers cause inkjet print fading.

Heads UP! If you use Ionizer air cleaners in the space with your inkjet printing, you may find the prints changing colors. Some time ago I had been printing a large order and almost overnight found the colors changing radically. I hadn't changed paper or ink, so it had to be atmosphere. After investigating my workflow & space, the only change had been turning on the Ionizer air cleaner after turning off air conditioning at the end of summer. All the prints in the room with the Ionizer changed overnight. Prints in a room removed from the air cleaner did not fade.

Since many homes use ionizers in their central systems, there may be a lot of fading in various media that are ink based. It didn't seem to affect photographic processed prints. We can choose not to use the ionizers, but it your sell prints, some of your customers may have fading issues. Unless the print is sealed air-tight in a frame it can still fade.

I spoke with my ink supplier, but they have not addressed the issue.
Some of you techi-types may find some answers or solutions.

Regards,
Pat Warfield

I assume that these air ionizers work by adding ozone to the air and are sold by proponents of all the whoopla over ozone and the benefits of "ozonification" of air, water, food, drugs. Whether or not that's all true, ozone is a dandy oxidizer, and I'd expect it to raise cobb with inks.

They put Ozone into the air? Yikes... never heard of that before. Seems silly since Ozone is also an irritant and can cause burning eyes and coughing (not to mention that it could oxidize us... ).

Basil

From EPA's web site:
Are Ozone Generators Effective in Controlling Indoor Air Pollution?

Available scientific evidence shows that at concentrations that do not exceed public health standards, ozone has little potential to remove indoor air contaminants.

http://tinyurl.com/rovaq

Just a little more about ions. This may be of interest to fellow outdoor photographers - nature lovers. Science has found that places in nature that has moving water - ie. rivers, streams, lakes & oceans - has a (measurably) higher proportion of negative ions than most other places, which seem to have a calming & beneficial effect on people. Researchers have found higher quantities of negative ions in natives' sacred sites, often located in high places with nearby moving water.

I used to wonder why going to the mountains or seashore makes me feel so good. It's not just the view or the pictures I can capture - I can arrive in the dark & still get a good feeling just breathing the air.

The concept of ionizer machines - ie. creating negative ions - was not initially manufactured for cleaning the air, but as machines used to give a sense of well-being for users, like taking the mountain air home, or to calm certain patients.

Then ionizers became a catch-phrase or selling feature for manufacturers. Some air cleaners have added ionizers to their units supposedly for a clean mountain air smell & which 'may' cause airborn dust & such to collect on washable filters. Can't say that they really work.

I quit using my machine when I found it degraded my photos & maybe other things as well! I'll just physically go to the mountains or seashore.

Pat Warfield