Analog Paper vs Digital Paper - What's The Diference? What's Simmiliar?

[mtbbrian]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this, but here goes...

So I bought some more digital photo paper today, not the first time I have done so.
But I bought some from Kodak, first time, and it got me wondering what the differences are between the two types of basically the same kind of paper.
I know the digital one doesn't have a light sensative silver halide layer, but does it have any of the other layers that analog paper does?
Just curious mostly!
Thanks!
Brian

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Inkjet papers don't have to hold up to liquids. The idea of handcoating inkjet papers seems attractive, but I've only heard of unsuccessful attempts, either because the paper can't stand up to the chemistry, or coatings on the paper prevent the emulsion from adhering.

 

[roteague]

Do you mean Ink Jet paper? In that case, I don't have a clue. If you mean a paper like Fuji Cystal Archive or Kodak Endura Metallic, then they are photographic papers, with real emulsion layers.

 

[Joe Lipka]

I do believe that the papers that are used with inkjet printers are coated with some form of brightener. These would make it most unsuitable for any type of traditional photographic process.

As David suggests, wet strength is one of the primary characteristics of a good paper for alt processes.

 

[Ian Grant]

OK whats the differance

Traditional wet processed papers, colour and B&W contain silver, are expensive to manufacture and are not cheap any more.

Inkjet papers can be coated on the same machines, contain no silver are cheap to manufacture and the users are mugs as they usually cost more than traditional papers.

On a more serious level most manufacturers now make RA-4 papers for digital minilabs, and these papers have a higher silver content.

Optical brighteners appear in many papers or are used in the stabiliser.

Ian

 

[Photo Engineer]

Papers intended for making digital prints from digital printers contain mordants, or chemicals to hold onto the dyes which are squirted from those little expensive tanks of ink in the printer.

The silver papers intended for optical or digital printing which are made by Kodak are virtually the same nowdays. It was basically a matter of matching reciprocity failure for the optical and shorter LED or Laser printing intended to be done by optical digital printers.

I have coated silver halide on about 5 varieties of digital inkjet papers. The emulsion holds onto the surface of the paper quite well, but the chemicals in the papers to cause ink adhesion mess up the photographic sensitivity and the mordants also hold on to any staining chemical that enters the paper during the process, so the dmin is high.

I guess that attempts to answer or answers 3 things brought up here.

PE