Dye-subs vs photo inkjets

	Inkjet	Dye-Sublimation
Technology	An inkjet printer employs a non-impact method. It sprays extremely small ink droplets out of nozzles onto paper to create an image.	Dye-sub printers use dyes that are particularly stable and highly resistant to fading. The prints are made by applying heat to a ribbon. This produces a colored gas that dries on the specially coated paper.
Advantages	• Low cost. • Ideal for businesses with low-volume printing solutions.	• Best-quality photo prints. • Reproduces good, subtle and continuous tone images.
Disadvantages	• Due to the fibrous nature of paper, the sprayed-on ink dots are absorbed, yielding less sharp edges and faded colors. Specially coated papers will most definitely be required for photo prints. • Inkjet speeds are very slow. • Printing transparencies is much slower as the density of ink needs to be increased.	• Expensive. • Require specially coated paper.
Recommended for	Home or SOHO users. These printers are great for those who just require the occasional photo but who mainly do document prints.	• Graphic artists and publishers who require the best-quality continuous tone output. • Professional photographers using digital cameras will appreciate the subtle details that dye-sub printers can produce.

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