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Contrary to ads promising fade-resistant, long-lasting photos, color prints made with several Epson Stylus Photo ink jets turn orange in locations with heavy concentrations of ozone in the air, Epson officials confirm. The company offers to buy your printer if you're not satisfied with several recommended fixes, including using new types of paper Epson will introduce this fall.

The problem came to light when some owners of Epson's Stylus Photo 870, 875DC, and 1270 reported photos they printed were turning orange. Sometimes it occurs after a day or two, sometimes after a few weeks. But the problem didn't occur at all for many printer owners.

The printers shipped in May and were touted as economical alternatives to professional photo developing and printing. (See "Epson Launches New Photo Ink Jet Printers.")

The complaints initially puzzled Epson, which had hired a well-respected lab to torture-test the specialized inks and papers for the new Stylus Photo models. Based on those tests, the company was so confident in the results that its ads boast photos printed using the 870 "[would] be beautiful and fade-resistant for years to come--as long lasting, in fact, as traditional color photo lab prints." Other ads described the 1270's prints as "fade-resistant media rivaling anything you've seen on standard color photo lab prints."

Lab Didn't Mimic Life

Why did some customers' real-world experiences fall so far short of Epson's test results? The lab, following proper procedure to test any ink and paper designed for indoor display, kept the test sample prints under glass while bombarding them with "accelerated" lighting. But the glass also protected the prints from air--and Epson now believes free-floating ozone is the culprit. The gas apparently destroys the dye in cyan (blue) ink and leaves behind the magenta (red) and yellow. That creates an orange cast.

The orange shift only occurs where there's enough ozone at ground level. Weather, other natural and human-generated chemicals in the environment, indoor air quality, and other factors can affect ozone levels. That probably explains why many Stylus Photo users haven't seen the orange shift. Ironically, in smoggy areas with high levels of atmospheric ozone, the problem can be less severe since other pollutants may interfere with the ozone's ink-eating ability.

Altering Ink Not an Answer

One Web developer, who asked not to be identified, wrote PC World that in his work--developing Web sites--he photographs many products, and "It is standard practice to send higher resolution prints to the clients for their own use."

He says prints that turned orange in transit have cost him several clients, adding, "The sad thing is, the Epson 1270 delivers absolutely spectacular prints--until the ozone attacks them. I guess I'm really hoping that they come up with a real solution."

The ideal solution would be an ink that won't break down from ozone exposure. But a change in ink isn't as simple as it sounds, says Greg McCoy, Epson's senior product manager for consumables (ink and paper).

The printer software that controls the ink mix to look right on each type of paper would have to be rewritten for a new formula. And there's no way to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of people who own the affected models will download and install the new software.

"With any change to an ink it would be impossible to maintain the overall quality of the printer," says McCoy. "It would be a catastrophe."