Use of Ecofont software in digital printing on permanent papers

Abstract

The durability of paper and permanence of printed text is important for publications and documents in libraries and archives, among them for long-lasting correspondence, that is mostly produced by using digital printing techniques. Nowadays, a very important issue is sustainability, that requires a sustainable graphic design of printed documents. The use of Ecofont software enables printing text documents with up to 50 % less use of printing ink. The purpose of the presented research was to establish the permanence of text, which was printed on permanent paper in two different font types (Times New Roman and Arial) and four sizes, from 8 pt to 14 pt. Two printing techniques were used for each font type, inkjet, and electrophotography, along with the Ecofont software. The research has shown that the use of the Ecofont software is appropriate for printing documents with the requirement for longer stability period, but the choice of printing technique, material and type combination is important and must be taken into consideration. In our research, the best combination was font Arial in size 12 pt printed with Ecofont software using inkjet technique. Generally, the combination of Ecofont software and electrophotography resulted in lower durability than Ecofont software-processed text printed with inkjet technique.