How long do regular inks last?

[Avastgard]

I see people saying how they like to use bulletproof inks for stuff they want to last a long time. That made me wonder how long do the regular inks last on the paper? And by "regular" inks, I mean non-bulletproof, non-eternal and whatnot inks.

[Pendragon]

Do you mean how long does ink last under "normal" conditions before fading away? My mother has letters and notes that were written in the 1950s using a fountain pen, well before Noodler's inks appeared. The letters are still perfectly legible. I have also seen things written by my grandfather during WW I, but am not sure if those were written with a dip pen or fountain pen. These items are kept in a drawer most of the time and hence not exposed to light.

Greg Clark measured fading resistance in sunlight and water resistance for the inks shown in his Fountain Pen Ink Sampler. There was supposed to be an additional version of the Fountain Pen Ink Sampler published by someone other than Greg. It looks like that turned out to be a scam, however. Maybe there are other ink samplers now available that also measure fading resistance to sun and water?

[Avastgard]

Yeah, I meant under normal circumstances. But, if a non-bullletproof ink would last up to 60 years on paper, that's enough for me. I was just worried that it would vanish in ten years or something like that.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Light is usually the devil for anything written. Kept in the dark, it will last a lot longer, as long as the paper holds up.

[oldstoat]

I found a children's prayerbook given to my father when he was about 7 years old. A note in it from his mother is faded but legible. So some inks on ordinary paper last at least 78 years. I've no idea what the ink would have been but it's too pale to have been an iron-gall ink

[Jon Szanto]

It depends on many factors. There is no one answer.

[fountainpenkid]

It totally depends...Diamine Coral faded after just 7 months for me(it was exposed to the sun at some points in the day though.)

[whych]

Like the guys say - it depends on whether it's exposed to the sun or not. Also, if in the sun, it will depend on your altitude and how close you are to the equator.
Even printed matter fades in the sun.
Generally, writing that is in a closed book should last pretty well.
I have had more trouble with some ballpoint inks bleeding and gumming/sticking to pages over time than with fountain pen inks fading.

[6of1]

I have things I wrote in Skrip Blue 30 years ago that still look fine as they did when they were written. Also, in my collection I have a postcard dated 1912 that is penned in black (non-irongall) ink that looks great. Light and paper degradation are your enemies here, as mentioned. Cotton rag paper is going to be your best bet -- I don't have much trust of modern bleached woodpulp to be very archival.