Experience the joy of photography with
the latest in inkjet printers and papers
By Ibarionex R. Perello
I was 12 years old when
I created my first print. The small darkroom was filled with the
red glow of the safelight and the strong chemical scent of fixer.
I looked down at the developing tray, the liquid sloshing back and
forth over the submersed white paper. Slowly, I saw it, the first
hints of an emerging image. As I agitated the plastic tray, the moment
I had captured with my camera came to life in front of my eyes.
Even after all these years, the rush I felt creating that first print
has never left me. Although I’ve switched from a wet darkroom
with its enlargers, safelight and chemicals to a digital darkroom
and its computer, card reader and inkjet printer, creating a print
is as wonderful as it has ever been.
The inkjet printer, along with the personal computer, provides each
of us the kind of control that was once only available to a photo
lab or a photographer with his or her own personal darkroom. We can
do more than create good prints from our digital image. We can produce
excellent prints that reflect the richness and wonder of those captured
moments of time.
An inkjet printer is more than just a way of making a copy of a picture
recorded by a digital camera; it allows us to creatively share with
others what excites us about the world.
Inkjet Technologies
Digital cameras have changed tremendously in the last decade, and
inkjet printers weren’t left behind in terms of innovation
and improvements in quality. Each new generation of printers has
delivered better color, faster print speeds and improved fade resistance.
Inkjet prints now are displayed on gallery and museum walls, not
only because of the beauty of the photographs, but because they
offer what’s essential to serious photographers: quality,
control and longevity.
These improvements are available to all of us. Whether the print
is destined for the Getty Museum or our living room wall, inkjet
printers and papers deliver prints that once were only possible through
a custom photofinisher.
Each of the major printer manufacturers have improved on their designs.
Their printers are faster, deliver improved color accuracy and longer
fade-resistance, and make it easier to create prints without the
need of a computer. As well as creating printers that deliver beautiful
prints, each manufacturer is introducing new features to distinguish
themselves from their competitors.
Changing Inks
One of the ways that inkjet printers have changed is with their inks.
Inkjets have evolved from a single tank holding cyan, magenta, yellow
and black inks to six, seven or eight ink tanks that hold the individual
colors and promise a more cost-effective use of inks. Beyond the
basic four inks, most have also included light magenta, light cyan
and varying shades of gray. This increase results in better continuous
tones and colors, providing a smooth and natural progression from
light to dark, which eliminates abrupt shifts that produce distracting
elements in the final print.
Canon’s ChromaPLUS system adds red and green inks to its cyan,
magenta, yellow, light magenta and light cyan inks, increasing the
color gamut, or the range of color that can be accurately reproduced
by the printer. The additional two inks deliver colors with more
saturation and brilliance and offer more natural greens for subjects
such as foliage.
Epson’s UltraChrome K3 inks add three shades of black, rather
than red and green inks, to its new printers. Not only does this
achieve better color fidelity, but it also produces black-and-white
prints that rival traditional silver-based prints.
The photo black or matte black inks are complemented with a light
black and a light, light black ink, which results in much better
gray balance and accurately portrays gradual shifts in tone, a quality
that’s essential for superior black-and-white prints.
Hewlett-Packard’s Vivera inks add three gray inks and bring
improved archival quality to its line of inkjet printers. As well
as delivering impressive monochromatic prints, these inks produce
a high-gloss finish on glossy paper that makes both color and black-and-white
prints pop.
The inks’ resistance to fading from exposure to light and pollutants
also has been significantly improved, resulting in prints than can
last for decades.
In fact, the inks from all these manufacturers have improved when
it comes to lightfastness, or the ability of a print to resist fading.
It’s important to remember that a print’s longevity is
impacted by a variety of factors, including the paper and how it’s
exhibited. If your prints are destined to hang on a wall, use archival
mattes and UV-resistant glass. If the print is left unprotected and
exposed to direct sunlight, its days as a pristine example of your
photography are numbered.
Resolutions And Ink Delivery
One of the specifications that’s overhyped is an inkjet printer’s
resolution. Although higher resolution on a digital camera means
larger prints, higher resolution on an inkjet printer doesn’t
result in a better print. In fact, printers with resolutions beyond
2,880 dpi (dots per inch) are more successful in using up ink than
they are in actually producing a visibly superior print. The reason
is that our eyes have difficulty differentiating between prints produced
beyond a certain resolution.
More important than resolution is the manner in which the inks are
delivered to the paper surface. Measured in picoliters (a trillionth
of a liter), these ultra-small droplets create those continuous-tone
prints that we all crave. Droplet sizes have been reduced to as small
as 1.5 picoliters. Printers that deliver droplets in sizes of four
picoliters and less produce more controlled and natural transitions
between colors and tones.
Imagine dropping ink onto a piece of watercolor paper using a turkey
baster compared to using an eye dropper. I’m exaggerating the
difference, but it immediately gives you a sense of the level of
control that’s available when applying ink in such small amounts.
Printing Made Easy
Manufacturers are making it easier to make quality prints without
the need of a computer. Whether a camera is connected to a printer
via a USB cable or a memory card is inserted into a built-in media
slot, prints are produced with excellent color and contrast at the
touch of a button.
One element that makes this possible is the inclusion of PictBridge
technology in many new digital cameras and inkjet printers. Adopted
by manufacturers as an industry standard, the technology streamlines
communication between cameras and printers, even if they’re
made by different makers. By using the controls found on the camera
or the printer, you can crop, adjust brightness and contrast, and
choose a print size and quantity with ease. This technology eliminates
the need to labor over a photo-editing application when all you want
is a quick print.
Paper Makes The Difference
The most important choice that impacts the look and quality of your
prints is the paper. The same printer, the same image file and the
same inks produce different results on different papers. Even if
seven different glossy papers are used, you’ll be surprised
at the varied look each delivers.
A paper’s whiteness, weight, thickness and surface all have
an impact on the final look of the print. Although comparing specifications
may provide an idea of the differences, nothing replaces the experience
of actually making a print.
There is no best paper. If you don’t want to worry about it,
however, you can stick to the printer manufacturer’s papers
to achieve excellent results. This is paramount if archivability
is a concern, as the official lightfastness of a print is based on
the manufacturer’s own papers. Check with the independent paper
manufacturer for information on the compatibility of the paper with
a new printer. For thorough lightfastness tests, visit Wilhelm Imaging
Research (www.wilhelm-research.com), which provides its own independent
evaluations.
Experimenting with other brands of papers, especially those you might
not normally consider, produces wonderful results. For example, Pictorico’s
Premium PolySilk Fabric paper creates a print that feels like silk.
The unique look of the print makes a strong photograph even more
interesting. Media Street’s Royal Canvas delivers a medium
glossy surface. It includes a 100 percent acid-free base and is stretchable
for framing.
As new printers and papers are released, one must determine what
profile is available or recommended for the paper type. When printing,
the printer’s driver software opens and offers you choices
as to the type of paper on which you intend to print. This enables
the printer to accurately interpret the colors it’s trying
to reproduce and allows it to make adjustments for the different
paper surfaces. Some paper manufacturers provide their own profiles
for specific printers, which are available for download.
Whether or not you’ve ever stepped into a darkroom, the satisfaction
of creating a beautiful print is available using an inkjet printer.
The bottom line is it’s both gratifying and fun, and it always
will be.
