# Why does sunlight cause pictures etc to fade?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-sunlight-cause-pictures-etc-to-fade/197074>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 23, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-sunlight-cause-pictures-etc-to-fade/197074 "2003-08-23T02:06:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-sunlight-cause-pictures-etc-to-fade/197074/1 "2003-08-23T02:06:57Z")

</div>

As I look at this, there is no OP. Absorption of UV light (in sunlight) can stimulate many chemical reactions. So, the UV causes, in the situation I’m most familiar with, the ink from my old HP650c to lighten.