What is the difference between pigment and dye based ink?



Pigment ink is made up of solid, opaque particles that sit on top of the paper, instead of being absorbed into a paper’s fibres, which is what happens with dye ink.

The advantages and disadvantages of the two inks are as follows:

Advantages of Pigment Inks:

• Longer lasting print and a better colour stability.
• Resistant to fade when subjected to UV light (sunlight).
• The ink is more smudge and water resistant.
• Pigment black inks offer better print quality for printing images.

Disadvantages of Pigment Inks:

• More expensive than dye inks.
• Currently only available in Black.
• Slower to dry.
• Not recommended for use on Gloss papers.

Advantages of Dye Inks:

• More vibrant colours than pigment inks.
• Dye-based black inks offer better print quality for printing text.
• Quicker to dry.
• When used with Gloss Paper is resistant against water and oils.

Disadvantages of Dye Inks:

• The print can fade in time if subject to UV (sunlight).

The table below gives a summary of how the different inks can be used:

	Dye	Pigment
Black Ink
Colour Ink
Primera LX400 Printer
Primera LX800 Printer
VIP VP2020 / VP485 Printer
Matt Paper
Gloss Paper
Fade Resistant to UV Light

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