AIC's 46th Annual Meeting

The yellowing of inkjet papers is a documented problem for cultural institutions and the conservation community. This study investigated two commercially available inkjet papers that had yellowed naturally under different conditions. A double-coated fine art paper Moab Entrada Natural 300gsm, developed a yellow stain within one year of printing, after unprotected exposure to light and atmospheric pollutants in a home environment. A roll of Harman Inkjet glossy fine art fibre warmtone paper by Hahnemühle yellowed when the packaging material, a polyethylene bag, was in contact with the paper during shipping. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV-VIS reflection measurements were used to characterize the naturally yellowed papers. Attempts were also made to purposefully drive the yellowing reactions in fresh samples of these papers. Fresh paper samples were exposed separately to short wave UV light, long wave UV light, and NO₂ gas (to simulate atmospheric pollution). The SEM of the cross sectioned papers revealed complex microstructure in the coatings of the papers. Chemical analyses suggest that neither UV nor NO₂ exposure alone were the sole reason of the naturally yellowed paper. The pattern of chemical changes from XPS line scans of cross sections of the naturally yellowed paper suggested that the cause of the yellowing was diffusing into the paper making atmospheric pollutants a more likely cause. We suggest that the increased porosity of inkjet papers may have made them more susceptible to oxidizing gases in atmospheric pollution or outgassing from packaging materials as compared to more traditional paper formulations.