from Hacker News

Lightfastness Testing of Colored Pencils

by picture on 7/4/25, 11:15 PM with 47 comments

  • by smokel on 7/7/25, 9:24 PM

    I did similar testing with ball-point pens. Eventually I ran into the ISO 12757-2 standard on archival ink, thinking that it would be a great idea to use such pens for my intricate drawings.

    Turns out the drawings, some of which I actually sold, faded into oblivion within about a year. After slightly more careful reading of the actual standard, I learned that the drawings were supposed to be archived, i.e. kept in a box or a drawer, and not to be framed for full-time viewing pleasure.

    The typical blue ink in the famous BIC ball-point pens (i.e. non-ISO 12757) turns black after some time of sunlight exposure, which seems fine.

  • by hoistbypetard on 7/7/25, 4:12 PM

    I really enjoyed reading this even though I have no direct interest in the lightfastness of the pigments in colored pencils.

    It was just fun to see what someone who is deeply invested thought important to test, explain and research about something I'd have previously called a matter of aesthetic preference (as opposed to a thing you can benchmark).

  • by humblebeekeeper on 7/7/25, 8:47 PM

    As someone who is heavily tattooed, I'd LOVE to see this analysis for tattoo inks.

    Fun fact: UV light makes tattoo particles smaller, which makes them easier for your lymphatic system to carry them to your lymph nodes. The particles are easy to transport into the lymph nodes, but difficult for your body to remove from your lymph nodes, meaning that for heavily tattooed people like myself, surgeries can be a potentially very colorful endeavor! (Or, if you have primarily black tattoos, it can be a spooky endeavor, I suppose.)

  • by sllabres on 7/7/25, 4:28 PM

    What a effort. I did something similar for some pens and different inkjet colors a long time ago, but not nearly as broad or as methodical. The inkjet inks (especially red) were already blown after a short time (>4 months). But black still holds up 20 years later till now, only a little bit faded, so one can see the tracks of each row.

    Foils (laminate or adhesive foils) or protective spray (UV) did not change the result at all. But one film tore and gave the whole thing an interesting, crackle-like appearance. However, the colors all faded in the same way, whatever protective used compared to direct exposure to sunlight.

  • by chris_st on 7/8/25, 12:24 AM

    There's a book where the author tested watercolors which my watercolor teacher said was extremely controversial when it came out, but she was able to replicate some of his results, and so changed which colors she bought.

    I tried the colors she recommended, and got good results. I also tested various black pens, and found (25 years ago!) that Micron pens were colorfast. Some black (gel, IIRC) pens faded to a nice sepia.

  • by wrp on 7/7/25, 6:44 PM

    I did this for colored mechanical pencil leads. Short answer, use the Staedtler Mars Micro Color if you need lightfastness.

  • by dylan604 on 7/7/25, 6:57 PM

    It's interesting how pink tends to be the worst of the colors according to the charts. I wonder what it really looks like on paper. Does it disappear completely so it is very hard to see, or is it just invisible in the data as it rounds to 0 but leaves something visible on the paper? If you did an image in pink duotone with the worst offenders, would you have a blank sheet of paper after 26 weeks? Or does it look like something done in white duotone?

  • by mattgrice on 7/8/25, 6:34 PM

    Pinks and oranges are notoriously not lightfast. Unless you use cadmium, which is kind of not something you want to be handing out to people who might be licking their pencils. Ever notice why yellow cars always end up looking pale lemon-yellow? Lightfast non-toxic cheap red pigments aren't that easy.

    Many rose/fuschia colors are not lightfast. Pigments that are not permanent are called 'fugitive' in the arts. Rose madder and alizarin crimson are not lightfast. So are a lot of others: cochineal, geranium lake. That's why you see 'green' cherubs when you visit the Getty museum also why Van Gogh's paintings are not the color they were when he painted them. Most reds for art are now quinacridone or cadmium.

    One of Windsor and Newton's (oldschool paint supply manufacturer, its fun to browse history on their website) most expensive paints is 'rose madder geniune.' They claim it is permanent but I don't know how they did it.

    Note: x 'lake' means x dye turned into a pigment.

  • by CGMthrowaway on 7/8/25, 3:51 PM

    It's my understanding that natural pigments are in general less colorfast than synthetic ones. If one prefers the color quality of natural pigments, would choosing the "worst" pencils here be indicative of that?

  • by bayindirh on 7/8/25, 7:42 AM

    In short, Caran d'Ache has a name and that price tag for a reason.

  • by __mharrison__ on 7/8/25, 4:13 AM

    Sad. I was raised that Prismacolors were the end all be all of colored pencils.

  • by hoppyhoppy2 on 7/7/25, 3:03 PM

  • by burnt-resistor on 7/9/25, 12:39 AM

    Project Farm: art edition. I love it!

  • by gennarro on 7/7/25, 3:10 PM

    Very spammy images. Is this a legit resource? The test is interesting though 6 hrs/day in sunlight is very extreme for artwork.

    Also I’m wondering is a fixer would help or hurt the testing. This is common with some art, like pastels.