Photo Paper and Inkjet Paper

Inkjet technology is commonly used to print photographs at home. Input starts as a digital photo, or a traditional photo scanned into a computer. A series of printheads sprays droplets of ink onto paper to re-create the image, typically using cyan, magenta, yellow and black colors. The printer electronics control the position of the printhead and ejection of droplets to dispense the ink in the right amount, at the right time, and in the right positions.

Some inkjet printing - especially printing of text documents - is done on plain paper. For printing pictures, Kodak and others offer special photo inkjet paper that gives the look and feel of a photographic print. Layers of polymers coated onto the photo paper help reduce the amount inks "bleed" into one another or into the paper. This avoids wrinkling, improves image quality, and gives the print a glossy look. The polymers also interact with the inks to make the image last longer and resist fading.