Vivera Ink made by HP is the highest quality ink produced by HP for photo printing. The ink uses proprietary dyes which make the printed products resistant to fading over a long period of time and also results in a very wide range of colors. The use of dyes-instead of pigments like many printer inks-provide a very smooth and uniform high-gloss finish on glossy photo papers.
To ensure the quality of each ink cartridge, HP employs multiple purification stages and a proprietary process to fill each cartridge it produces. HP also does not believe in creating lighter inks from darker originals by diluting the ink. Diluting ink can impact how long a photo is able to resist fading. To produce their lighter ink colors, they begin at the light end of the spectrum and then progress step-by-step to darken the color. As with most printer and paper manufacturers, the best results do come when used in conjunction with their own brand.
About William Elward
Founder of Castle Ink, William Elward has 20 years experience in the printer industry. He's been featured on CNN Money, Yahoo, PC World, Computer World, and other top publications and frequently blogs about printers and ink cartridges. He's an expert at diagnosing printer issues and has published guides to fixing common printer issues across the internet. A graduate of Bryant University and Columbia's Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program, he's held various leadership positions at The College Board, Bankrate, Zocdoc, and Everyday Health. Follow him on Twitter at William Elward's Twitter Profile