Quantitative Characterization of the Effects of Ink Penetration in Ink Jet Printing

Ink penetration has been known as one of the most critical factors that affect quality of color reproduction in ink-jet printing, when ordinary paper (say office copy-paper) is used as substrate. The effects of ink penetration can be sorted into two groups, color shift and reduction of color saturation. In this report we propose a method characterizing the effects of ink penetration, including depth of ink penetration and the optical properties of ink-paper mixture resulting from ink penetration. The method provides us with a framework for simulating ink-paper mixture from properties of corresponding components: inks and paper. With help of simulations, comparative studies of prints with and without ink penetration have been made.