ISO 105 B04, “Colour Fastness to Artificial Weathering: Xenon Arc Fading Lamp Test,” is a standard practice designed to test outdoor lightfastness of textiles. Unlike most textile tests, this test uses water spray. Q-SUN accelerated xenon tester models Xe-2 and Xe-3 can both meet the conditions of ISO 105 B04. However, the optical filter configurations of these testers used to meet ISO 105 B04 are different, as shown in the table below:

 

Tester	Window-B04 Filter	Window-B/SL Filter
Xe-2	Meets ISO 105 B04	Cannot Meet Temperature
Xe-3	N/A	Meets ISO 105 B04

 

The reason for the difference stems from how the light exposure is defined in ISO 105 B04. Three separate sections of the standard specify use of 1) a xenon arc lamp, 2) a Daylight optical filter with “cut on” wavelength between 290-300 nm, and a3)  heat filter that “steadily reduces” Infrared (IR) radiation. The heat filter is not precisely defined, but its intent is specifically noted as minimizing IR radiation to satisfy temperature conditions. An Xe-3 with Window – B/SL filter meets the irradiance and temperature conditions of ISO 105 B04 even without a heat filter and thus meets this standard.

In an Xe-2, the Window - B/SL filter results in insulated black panel (IBP, or “black standard”) temperatures outside the range specified by ISO 105 B04, so it can not be used to meet this standard. The Window - B04 optical filter lantern was designed specifically to meet the requirements of ISO 105 B04 in the Xe-2, and give the best match to historical user data from performing this test standard. If you are concerned with comparing test data in a Q-SUN to historic data collected in competitive tester, the best solution would be an Xe-2 with a Window - B04 lantern. Q-Lab also offers a special holder for mounting the blue wool reference material required by ISO 105 B04.

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