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One of the most important factors in producing high quality archival inkjet prints is the quality of the paper being used. Specialty inkjet papers use special materials and manufacturing processes as well as special coating to provide both brilliant long lasting colors as well as scratch, water and smudge resistance.

Inkjet paper coatings play a huge role in the look of the final prints. When you use regular low cost office paper, the small droplets of ink released by your printer spread out as they hit the paper. While some spreading (dot gain) is desirable for proper paper coverage, too much will cause the colors to bleed into one another and give your photo a fuzzy, and dull appearance. The coatings used on high quality photo inkjet papers prevent these ink droplets from spreading too far, thus giving photos a sharper more brilliant look.

The last thing to look at when purchasing matte archival papers is that the papers is Acid and Lignin Free. Papers that are acid free will usually indicate that they are buffered with an agent that neutralizes the acids that are naturally found in papers. These acids will eventually cause the ink to fade, even if it is a high quality ink. Lignin is the natural "glue" that holds wood fiber papers together. Lignin can begin to yellow with time, and can cause the paper to become brittle and crack. Just because a paper is not acid/lignin free does not mean that it is not a good paper. Many users print on non acid/lignin free papers and get excellent results. The only variable that the acid/lignin effect is the permanence and archivability of the final print.

Below are a few papers that are recommended for use in scrapbooking applications. For more paper options or more information Click Here.

For home printing users there are two types of inks available, Dye Based or Pigment. Picking the correct ink for your application is one of the most important steps in producing the best print possible.

Water-soluble Dye Based inks were the first color inkjet inks to be produced and are the most common inks found in desktop printers today. These inks provide the user with the widest color gamut available at a very inexpensive price. Unfortunately, as with everything in life these vibrant colors come at a price. Dyebase inks have some of the weakest longevity (permanence) ratings and have the poorest UV resistance, which leads to fading at a drastically faster rate as compared to newer ink technologies. Many dyebase prints will begin to exhibit fading only weeks after being printed. Many manufactures have started to produce "Archival Dye Based" inks in the past year, but most of these inks require that the print be made with the manufactures ink, on their paper, and the print must be stored in a dark temperature controlled location or under UV filtering glass with minimal exposure to natural or florescent light. Even with all of these stipulations the ink only claims to last 30 years.

There are some products on the market that can be used to increase the archivability and longevity of Dye Based prints. One of these products is Premier Art's Print Shield. It is designed specifically for protecting inkjet prints. Protects against moisture, UV light, humidity, finger prints, and atmospheric contaminants while maintaining the original look.

Pigment inks have been around for several years now, primarily in Epson printers, but they represent the latest technology available in inkjet printing. Pigment inks are different from Dye Based inks in that they use a colored pigment particle to place color on the paper (imagine a tiny colored BB) rather than coloring the paper coating directly. These little Pigment particles have the added advantage of being highly UV resistant giving pigment inks the longest longevity (permanence) ratings as well as the greatest stability available in inkjet inks. Most Pigment inks sold by MIS Associates have ratings well above 100 years, even with direct exposure to natural or florescent light. Even will all of the benefits that Pigment inks have over their Dyebase counterparts they do have one downside. The particles used in Pigment inks are not yet capable of the same brilliant and vibrant colors that Dye Based inks produce. This is not to say that the colors are unacceptable, but it should be noted that there is a trade off for the high archival rating that is achieved with Pigment inks.

Many paper manufactures will recommend the types of inks that will work best with their papers, and it is always best to ensure that the paper that is being used is compatable with the ink that is loaded in the printer. It is easy for users to make the mistake of assuming that all inks and all papers are compatable, and this is not the case.

For a list of inks that will work with your printer or for more information on inks Click Here.

Canon, Epson and HP are among the most common desktop printer manufactures in todays inkjet industry, but with so many manufacturer, paper and ink choices it is important to have a system to choose which printer will fit your needs.

Printers can be divided into several different groups by:
Color Configuration

It is important to pick a printer that will use the type of ink that you want (Dye Based or Pigment) while supporting the paper size that you will be printing on. A good example of this is printing on 12" x 12" scrapbooking papers. Most desktop printers are designed to print on 8.5" x 11" (letter) sized paper only, so unless a printer was choosen that had the capability to print 12" x 12" images, this paper would not be an option.

While we have discussed ink configurations (Dye Base vs Pigment) it is important to look at the number of colors that the printer uses as well. Most printers are configured for one of three purposes.

The matrix below covers a selection of popular photo printer manufactures, models, ink types, and color configurations (Note that many of the printers below may come in a Multifunction configuration).