Inks

It is no longer a question of when Digital Photography will be a factor in our lives, it is a reality. In just the last few years, incredible technological breakthroughs have turned digital novelties in to serious photographic equipment, and turned office printers in to photo-quality print making tools. Both are now cost-effective enough to allow most of us to at least dabble in it or even incorporate it in to our "educational toolbox."

This segment, originally part of our inkjet printing and paper Advisor Booklet, will help you understand the basics of inkjet inks. It will also give practical knowledge to enable you to make informed choices about what tools and materials you should acquire to make the most of your Digital Photography experience.

The three prominent categories of ink on the market today are "Dye-Based," "Pigment-Based" and hybrid inks (sometimes called "pigmented" inks.) Each has advantages and disadvantages.

With Dye-Based inks, their coloration is dissolved in a liquid. This allows the ink to be fairly thin and flow easily into a paper's receiving layer. They generally produce vibrant colors, dry quickly and are compatible with a wide variety of papers on the market. Because they are easy to use and produce excellent initial results, a vast majority of inkjet printers are packaged with dye-based ink. (Interestingly, color snapshots also use dyes for color.) But like most dyes, fade resulting from UV exposure is a problem and careful display and storage is important. Expect a properly stored dye-based print from a quality paper and ink combination to last from 5-25 years. Displayed dye based prints will fade much faster.

Pigment-based inks have an insoluble powder pigment suspended (not dissolved) in an liquid vehicle. Thus, the color is more stable and resists fading much longer than dye-based ink. But their more viscous nature makes them more difficult for papers to absorb. This renders some papers totally incompatible. Generally matte papers work best with pigment-based inks, but other papers work well, too. The important benefit for pigment based inks is longevity. A properly stored pigment-based print from a quality paper and ink combination can last 150 years or more under test conditions. The trade-off is colors that are not quite as vibrant as dye-based inks.

The most recent advancement in inkjet printers is the hybrid (or pigmented) inks which combines the vibrancy of dye inks and longevity of pigment inks. The result is great color and respectable longevity -- up to 75 years, which is equivalent to what the best color photographic papers offer.

With the growth in popularity of inkjet printers has come a proliferation of second-party inks to the market. After some testing and research we found that the quality of these inks varies radically and print quality consistently suffered in sharpness, clarity, and brightness.

No matter which ink you decide to work with, one way to preserve your image is to also choose the right paper. A quality paper has a receiving layer that can protect ink from airborne contaminants, oils and lotions from hands, minor scuffs, and even light ultraviolet exposure.

Another way to prolong the life of your print - regardless of the type of ink used - is to avoid keeping it in direct light as much as possible. Prolonged exposure to light will cause the details & color to fade. If a print is to be displayed, a location away from direct light - even the light emitted by a light bulb - is most desireable. Also, putting the print under glass will be helpful in this respect as well.