In my experience it is exposure to UV light (both sunshine and regular incandescent lights) causes the fading.. Almost all lights will give off some amount of UV. There is a reason, for example, that art galleries do not allow flash photographs and use very subdued indirect light. I protect my paper models by spraying them with a matte lacquer finish of some sort (Dulcote, for example). This blocks much of the UV. I have paper models on my layout that are over 10 years old with no fading after this process.
Trevor As Jim said, UV light does effect color. Not just the color of paper models, but everything. The stronger the light the greater the effect. That is just physics. But also, as he mentioned, coating your models with any kind of protective spray will minimize any fading. We mention in all of out tips and instructions that to help preserve the model, apply some type of clear flat coating. This does many things. It helps seal the paper against humidity, kills any unwanted shine, hides any ACC smears and provides some UV protection. I still have the very first kit ever produced by Clever Models LLC some 12 years ago and it looks as good as the same model built months ago. So, it is always a good idea to minimize exposure to direct sunlight and do coat your models with some type of protective lacquer.
Another advantage to a sealer sprayed on before cutting is that it will prevent the marker that you use to color the edges to bleed thru to the front surface.
Trevor, I don't want to throw stones, but I've experienced the same problem of ink fade on some of my earlier builds. They were starting to fade after a couple MONTHS. Since I've changed brands of printer and ink, I have not noticed any fading issues, even with prints that were NOT over-sprayed with a clear sealer.
David I'm wondering what was the brand of the printer, before and after. One of the reasons we have always recommended EPSON printers AND EPSON ink is the exceptional resistance to fading. Epson ink is probably the most expensive on the market. Resistance to fading may be one of the reasons. I have done many, many printer tests and my recommendation has not changed. By the way, I have no ties to that company and don't receive anything from them. I am just a big, big fan. One other thing about EPSON ink is that it is totally impervious to ACC glue. If I get ACC on a printed surface, I just wipe it off and keep building.
Dave, the "before" printer is an HP G-55 Office Jet. I still have it and it works OK, except the HP ink it uses fades a lot and fades rapidly. The only way I could prevent fading was to keep the prints forever in the dark. Even a clear over-spray didn't stop the fading, just slowed it down. At the time I changed to an Epson WF-3520 printer and DURA-Brite ink, it was primarily due to the expense of the HP ink, not the fading issue which I didn't encounter till later. The HP printer uses a single cartridge for all three colors and was constantly running out of one color before the other two. This resulted in a lot of ruined, off-color prints. To restore correct color I would have to purchase a new cartridge for $70 ($55 now) and I really didn't get a lot of prints for the cost.
When I started looking for a new printer, I took your advice and went with the Epson - I'm glad I did. Since I purchased it I have printed over 5000 pages in color and almost 2000 in black with no problems. I researched the features I wanted in a printer and came up with the WF-3520.
Let me take this a step further. When I recommend an EPSON printer, I guess I should really say and OLDER, EPSON printer. Unfortunately with the advances in technology, sometimes we get too much of a good thing. Personally, I try to stay away from the all-in-one types. Just more stuff to break. If your fax goes out, you've lost your printer, etc. Currently, I use an EPSON Workforce 30. Great printer with individual ink cartridges, but, in my opinion, not as good as the old CS-66. Both of these are no longer in production, but you can find old stock of the Workforce and used or rebuilt CS-66. In fact the old CS series was so good that EPSON actually re-introduced the CS-88 a few years ago, for a short while, You can usually get any of these on E-bay for under $100.00 and new ink is still available from EPSON.
I use a Canon printer and have done so for some time now, a Pixma IP 8750 mine is several years old now and used 6 ink cartridges including a grey. I do not use Canon ink as I do not want to go bust!! Oh, the printer is a one job only unit and that is to PRINT.
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As Jim said, UV light does effect color. Not just the color of paper models, but everything. The stronger the light the greater the effect. That is just physics. But also, as he mentioned, coating your models with any kind of protective spray will minimize any fading. We mention in all of out tips and instructions that to help preserve the model, apply some type of clear flat coating. This does many things. It helps seal the paper against humidity, kills any unwanted shine, hides any ACC smears and provides some UV protection. I still have the very first kit ever produced by Clever Models LLC some 12 years ago and it looks as good as the same model built months ago. So, it is always a good idea to minimize exposure to direct sunlight and do coat your models with some type of protective lacquer.
I'm wondering what was the brand of the printer, before and after. One of the reasons we have always recommended EPSON printers AND EPSON ink is the exceptional resistance to fading. Epson ink is probably the most expensive on the market. Resistance to fading may be one of the reasons. I have done many, many printer tests and my recommendation has not changed. By the way, I have no ties to that company and don't receive anything from them. I am just a big, big fan. One other thing about EPSON ink is that it is totally impervious to ACC glue. If I get ACC on a printed surface, I just wipe it off and keep building.
When I started looking for a new printer, I took your advice and went with the Epson - I'm glad I did. Since I purchased it I have printed over 5000 pages in color and almost 2000 in black with no problems. I researched the features I wanted in a printer and came up with the WF-3520.