Alan Tonnesen Photography

Inkjet prints in 2005 equal or surpass the quality of silver-halide prints in many respects. Ink chemistry, paper technology, and printer design are improving rapidly. The old objections to inkjet prints compared to silver-halide prints were two-fold: poorer resolution, and less fade resistance.

Resolution of injet prints has improved to the point that one needs a magnifying glass to detect the differences from a conventional print.

At the same time, manufacturers have drastically improved print longevity. Color prints made on high quality paper with matched inks now have fade resistant life spans equivalent or longer than silver-halide prints in accelerated aging tests. Wilhelm Imaging Research (www.wilhelm-research.com) is an independent testing lab widely quoted when discussing image permance.

The inks, papers and printers that I use are rated to have no perceptible fading for 34-45 years when displayed indoors with no protection. When covered with normal glass this increases to 61-106 years, and using UV protection, 110-165 years. Obviously, I can't say I have personally watched prints for this long, but these numbers are similar to or better than silver-halide prints on professional paper. Black and white inkjet prints last even longer, as do silver-halide black and white prints.

In addition, the inkjet prints have a larger color gamut (the range of colors that can be accurately represented) than silver-halide papers, allowing improved color appearance and are capable of producing blacks as dark or darker than silver-halide prints.

My conclusion is that the inkjet prints produced with professional grade paper and ink are currently the equal of silver-halide prints. In addition, even museums now include inkjet prints in their collections.