Digital Prints

Solid Ink: For What and for Whom? With ink that sits on top of the paper creating a
definite relief effect, the colors are brilliant and sharp since the ink drops don’t spread or
bleed. However, even at 2400 dpi, “near-photographic” might better describe the image
quality. Solid ink inkjet is fast, it prints on a variety of media, and it yields highly saturated
images that some photographers, designers, and illustrators love. Disadvantages
include limited output size (letter/legal) and relatively poor image permanence (Xerox
claims only “a year or more” with office lighting, “over several years” with dark storage).
With all this new, accumulated information about pixels, hardware, and printing technology
under our belts, let’s move our attention to what it takes to create and process a
digital image.
Chapter 2 ■ Understanding Digital Printing 73
The inner workings of the Xerox
Phaser 8400 solid-ink color printer.
Courtesy of Xerox Corporation