Longevity Question - print in sunroom

I have a lady who is wanting to order a larger print of mine for her sunroom.  She says it will definitely be getting morning sun exposure and is asking what would be best in that situation.  She would prefer canvas, but will purchase whichever is best suited for the situation.  I realize that putting it somewhere else is the best answer, but she wants it in her sunroom.  I'm thinking a good quality framed archival print on archival paper behind UV glass might be best, but I would be worried about possible condensation.  The other possibilities would be canvas, metal, or acrylic.  Does anyone have a thought on which way would be the best?

She's looking at a 48 x31 of this print:

hello bill, I personal would print this image on Epson's velvet fine art paper this 100% cotton fiber features an acid-free base with an elegant velvet surface, again I used this paper for all my bird shots because it has great paper texture and a wide color gamut for superb result, just to help on the condensation side of things don't use any glass that should help a lot and it will give a more appealing look when viewing this image at any angle, I hope that this helps in any way.

peter

Thank you very much, Peter.

Bill, I don't like glass over my prints so I spray them with CleatJet Fine Art UV Protective Coating.  I spray the the mat and print at the same time.  I have been doing this on all my prints for years.  Les Les Voorhis who ran Focus West Gallery and was a moderator here on the Printing forum recommended this way of doing "glassless mounting".  This was the way he did all of the prints he sold in his gallery.
The ClearJet spray comes in different finishes from full gloss to full mat.  I would think that a semi-mat or full mat would work well on a canvas print.  Here's a link to where I buy my spray.
https://www.dtgweb.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=+clear+jet
Make sure spray your print outdoors.  Much better to spray a number of light thin coats rather than one thick coat.
If you are having someone print the canvas for you many print services offer UV coating.

I, too, suggest to not mount behind glass. I have used Premier Art Gloss Eco Print Shield purchased from Altex.com. This product is a liquid that rolls on with a soft roller. I apply 3 thin coats with about 30 minutes drying between applications. It has protected from UV, ozone, and other contaminants and when dry is waterproof. Nice image by the way.

You also asked, How long will the print last?
Of course no one can answer this question with any certainty but we can make an educated guess.
First, most high quality prints/ink will last 100 years when not in bright light.
A Sunroom is bright so this diminishes the prints life by at least half probably more.
If the sun shines directly on the print its life is cut considerably shorter probably down to 8-10 years give or take.
A print with UV coating will extend its life BUT it all depends on how bright the room is and how long each day it stays bright.
If the sun shines directly on the wall where the print will be hung, I would tell her she needs to hang it somewhere else.
Also you need to find out whether the glass in the sunroom has a UV film/coating.  Much of the glass used today for windows and sunrooms has a UV film adhered to it. This UV film is pretty good at preventing fading.
If the glass is UV coated and the print has UV protection and the sun does not shine directly on the print then I think that the print may last long enough for the people to get bored by the print before the print fades noticeably.
I use to be in the sign business and fading was always an issue when the sun shone directly on a sign face.  
One other thing in your favor is that there is no red in the print as red fades very quickly.  The dominate colors are blue and green - these colors withstand fading/bright light reasonable well.

Dick & Ed, thanks for your suggestions. I have had one printer apply a similar product before but haven't done so myself yet. I got back with the lady and asked her more questions, and it turns out her sunroom is NOT heated or cooled, so I think a canvas print is out of the question. Here in Florida, the heat and humidity in summer is oppressive and I'm not sure any print would survive in those conditions. If so, I think it would probably have to be metal or maybe acrylic, but I think even those are probably not viable options.

Thank you all who commented.

Bill, there is one option that might work and that is a metal print. You should check with the printer to make sure but prints made on aluminum should be able to with stand the extremes in temperature and humidity I would think but like I said you need to check with the printer.

Another option, but expensive is a print on Corning Gorilla Glass. every print I have seen has just glowed with light shining on it.

   I made a print on metal for someone in Hawaii to go on a wall with direct sunlight from Bay Photo.  They have what they call
"Performance EXT Metal which is specially engineered for extended life in the elements".  However, even with this metal print I was told it "will last 2-3 years in direct sunlight without noticeable fading."

Over the past 3-4 years nearly 90% of my sales have been canvas. People still really like them for good reason. If a customer really wants a canvas print I would make sure I provided the canvas print they wanted and needed. Having said that, I would not even consider a paper print behind glass and obviously not metal. Metal would be a very bad choice for something like a sunroom. Obviously she wants a canvas for the aesthetics that canvas provides.  

I have had hundreds of canvas prints made over the past 5 years from APC and I would not hesitate to put one in a sunroom if that is what a customer wanted. A properly printed, stretched, and finished canvas would be fine even with sun on it during the day.

I have mentioned APC in the past when folks have wondered about canvas printing. I really can not image any company producing a better canvas print than APC. I work with Reed Art & Imaging as well for traditional prints on paper, plaque mounts, and diasec acrylic. Reed is one of the few printers in the Country that produce diasec acrylic mounted art. The only metal prints I offer are "Contemporary Metal Prints" that are produced by Reed. Most all online printers only produce dye sublimation metal prints which simply an inferior quality prints.

Even though I could have canvas prints produced by Reed which I know would be of the highest quality I still get all my canvas made by APC. They have been a wonderful company to do business with and they deserve my continued business.

If you have any questions it is never a problem to give APC a call and talk to someone about it. Which in this case would probably be a good idea.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth on this.

Artistic Photo Canvas (APC)
Reed Art & Imaging

Brad, I agree APC is an excellent printer but I don't believe you must have read my later comment when I found out the sunroom is neither heated or cooled.  For that reason I don't believe canvas would work at all, especially here in the south where it is so humid.

Dick, I am checking with several metal printers.  So far, the only one I've found that "might" work is Metalmouth Metal Printers.  They have a process call FMK which, if I'm understanding it correctly, is a thicker metal print with an acrylic front that is completely weather proof, cleaner proof, etc.  I intend to call them tomorrow to chat with them about the process and to find out about the cost, as I understand it's rather expensive. 

Thanks Ed, I will definitely check into the glass.  I've seen some glass prints, but I don't know if they were on Corning Gorilla Glass or not.

Thanks Ricardo, but I don't think this lady would be willing to pay a bunch for only 2-3 years of color retention.

Moved to the Printing Forum

I haven't used this company yet, but based on reviews, they might be worth checking out. They do metal, canvas, etc.

http://www.ArtbeatStudios.com/

Sorry I'm late to the party here, but thought I'd throw in my two cents in case the issue comes up again.

Unfortunately, no matter what print medium you choose, sunlight contains infrared radiation and ultraviolet light which will fade and damage a print. Photographic prints should never be placed on a wall that receives direct sunlight, even if it's only a couple hours a day.

Even UV resistant laminates, glass, or acrylics will not fully protect the print from fading. Sad but true.

For weather longevity, the most durable print medium by far would be a dye-sublimated metal print. They are tough as nails and waterproof. But again, they will fade in the sun eventually.

Bay Photo has some of the best pricing out there for dye-subs.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Dean, for your input.