[NHCOLL-L:685] More on Archival Inks and Inkjet Printers

[Diana Horton]

In response to my previous msg., someone suggested what I think may be a 
commonly held notion, that the difference in sharpness of text reflects the 
fact that inkjet print 'bleeds' into the paper and laserjet 
doesn't.  However, when I compared samples of print from the two types of 
printers under the microscope (using sample text from the Lexmark Z52 for 
the example of inkjet print), both produce slightly fuzzy margins along the 
edge of letters to about the same degree.  The difference in sharpness 
seems to reflect the fact that there is a much denser (thicker) coating of 
ink applied with a laserjet, whereas the colour of the paper 'shows 
through' the inkjet print, so it appears less black.  I am wondering if 
this sample from the Z52 is indicative of what one should expect with this 
printer - that these printers just don't apply enough ink to make the 
letters really *black*.

Diana Horton
  Herbarium and Biological Sciences
312 CB
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242-1297