Dyes are by nature not lightfast and will fade with exposure to the ultra-violet rays of sunlight. Since the dyes are waterbased, giclee prints must also be kept from effects of water or humidity. The issue of permanence is a concern for artists and collectors. They bein to fade in two to three years. The printing industry is working to improve the inks, papers, and coatings to address this problem.
Studies indicate that inks are at their most stable on tradtional watercolor papers.
Coatings that reduce UV light may help but the inks are still sensitive to visible light and tests are inconclusive. In spite of these shortcomings, there are advantages to digital printing for the art market. Although the per piece expense is higher, the initial expense in scanning art and creating a giclee is much less than that of traditional offset printing methods. An artist could produce and market a giclee print while having just a few copies on hand at first. Then copies could be produced to meet orders as they came in.