Article updated on 2025/1/5
(Taiwan’s temperature and humidity statistics have been updated on 2021/1/17)

What is digital output/printing?

Definition of Digital Output/Digital Printing

Digital output is a broad concept that covers methods of printing directly from digital files onto various substrates. Specifically, digital output refers to the process of converting digitally processed images and data into physical objects through various output devices, such as printers. This allows digital images to be presented in the form of physical photographs, posters, canvases, etc.

Digital printing usually refers to professional printing. Compared with traditional printing, its main advantage is that it does not require plate making, thus saving time and cost, and is suitable for relatively small amounts of printing needs. Printers can range from large or high-volume laser or inkjet printers to small office desktop laser or inkjet printers. Therefore, the application range of digital output is very wide, which will be briefly introduced below.

The development and application of digital output/digital printing

The development of digital output can be traced back to the middle of the 20th century. With the advancement of computer technology, digital image processing technology has gradually matured. Early digital output devices were expensive and rare, but as technology advanced, the price of these devices gradually decreased and the output effects continued to improve. After 2000, further development of hardware has led to the digitalization of most image processing. Today, digital output technology has been widely used in various fields and has become one of the most diverse and affordable output methods.

Digital output has long been widely used in our work and life, including:

• Everyday Printing: Low-cost home and office printing
• Office stationery: including business cards and letter paper
• Customized printing: photo books or small quantities of customized books
• Art creation: art giclee printing and photo paper printing
• Advertising production: large outdoor advertising and event signs
• Photo output: digital photo output and printing
• Architectural design: wall hangings and floor patterns

Reference: Wiki Digital Image Processing

As a professional digital image output and printing manufacturer, we continue to research and organize relevant information on high-end digital image output. Therefore, what we will discuss in this article will be the digital image and photo paper output related to the above-mentioned "artistic creation" and "photo output".

Types of digital image output

There are three main ways to output digital images:

1. Inkjet Prints

Inkjet output uses nozzles to deposit ink onto paper or other substrates. The printer's nozzle does not directly contact the paper, but instead prints ink onto the paper through the air. Therefore, the size of the ink dots, the distance between the nozzle and the paper, and the accuracy of the ink dot printing will affect the final quality of the inkjet output.

How inkjet output works:

1. Computer control : The computer breaks down the digital image into millions of tiny dots and accurately calculates the ink color and position required for each dot.
2. Inkjet : The printer's nozzle sprays tiny particles of ink onto the material. The size, quantity and position of ink drops are all controlled by computer
3. Multiple materials : Inkjet output can be used on a variety of materials such as paper, plastic, cloth, etc.

This technology is currently widely used in professional printing equipment. If you are interested in learning more about digital printing, please visit the following topics:

Art giclee print is a high-quality digital inkjet output of images . We have a dedicated article discussing art giclee print, so we won’t list the details here. If you are interested in learning more about the details of “ art giclee print ”, please refer to the following article!

Read the article "A Comprehensive Analysis of Art Giclee"

2. Laser Printing

• Laser output printing is based on electrostatic photography, which was first invented by Chester Carlson in 1938.
• Digitalization began in 1969 when Xerox created the first laser printer using a computer-driven laser to expose the photosensitive drum of a photocopier.
• IBM was the first to commercialize laser printers in 1976

How laser output printing works :

• Laser printing uses toner to form an image and heat to fuse the toner to the substrate.
• Digital laser printers use similar technology to analog photocopiers, with the main difference being the way the photosensitive drum is exposed. Laser printers use a computer-controlled laser to scan a photosensitive drum, while photocopiers use light reflected from a
• Color laser printers use four toners: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black , which are transferred separately to produce full-color images.

If you are interested in learning more about laser output printing, please expand the following topics:

In summary, image-related laser printing technology has also been applied to large-scale digital printing machines. These devices can perform single or large-scale printing, and each printed product can be unique, that is, it can be customized for single printing, and does not require a certain quantity to be printed.

This makes laser printing competitive in customized products such as photos and personal albums.

3. Dye Sublimation Prints

Dye-sublimation printing is a digital printing technology that uses heat to transfer dye from a ribbon to the print paper. This printing technology can be traced back to 1957. It was not until 1986 that thermal sublimation technology really entered the commercial market and began to be widely used in image output.

How does thermal sublimation output work?

1. Pigment transfer : In thermal sublimation printing, the printer uses a ribbon coated with solid dyes, usually cyan, magenta and yellow.
2. Thermal Control : The printer uses heat to transfer these dyes from the ribbon to a special paper surface. The temperature and time of heating will affect the concentration of the pigment, allowing each color to be accurately superimposed to present a complete and colorful image.
3. Receiving layer : The surface of the sublimation paper has a polyester coating, which can effectively absorb the vaporized dye from the ribbon.
4. Protective coating : After printing, a layer of transparent protective coating will be added to prevent damage caused by moisture and air pollution.

Current status of photo printing/output in Taiwan

In order to help everyone better understand the classification of photos in their hands or at home, and thus master the best preservation methods, we have conducted some research on the current status of photo printing in Taiwan.

Photo studio/traditional photo studio: traditional photos

Most photo labs, whether in-store or online, don't list the models they use, so it's not easy to get direct information.

However, we infer that most quick-printing shops and traditional photo studios in Taiwan still use traditional photo production technology to develop photos, such as 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 inches, that is, traditional printing technology that uses chemical agents for development and fixing.

We infer this because most photo labs use the following papers, which are suitable for traditional photo printing techniques:

Traditional photo printing

• Kodak Professional Endura Premier Paper
• Kodak Royal Digital Paper
• Fujicolor Crystal Archive Paper Type II

Therefore, we can infer and understand the photo printing methods of these photo printing shops and photo studios through photo paper!

Convenience store instant printing: Laser photos

As for the instant photo printing services provided by convenience stores, the most convenient services include:

• 7-11: ibon self-service machine
• FamilyMart: FamiPort self-service kiosk

The official websites of these two companies do not clearly state the printing technology used, so we cannot be sure. However, generally speaking, commercial self-service printing devices mostly use laser printing technology because it is faster and more suitable for large-scale printing needs. Therefore, we infer that they may use laser printing technology and provide it for your reference!

Professional digital output: inkjet output

The art microspray used by photographers, artists, and graphic creators are all inkjet output.

The inkjet output method includes different details, among which microjet is a high-quality digital inkjet output of images . We have a special article discussing "Giclee Art". If you are interested in learning more about " Giclee Art ", please refer to the following article.

Read the article "A Comprehensive Analysis of Art Giclee"

Deterioration of digital photos

Regardless of the type of photo, over time, it will deteriorate in different ways due to environmental factors, including temperature, humidity, and air pollutants, including the following:

• Yellowing: The yellowing of paper or images over time
• Cracking: Cracks or breaks appear on the surface of a material
• Delamination: Separation of different layers of material
• Bleed: Ink spreads from the intended area, causing blurred edges
• Blocking: Prints or images stick together in high temperature or high humidity environments
• Ferrotyping: The printed surface becomes shiny or has glossy spots.
• Mold: mold grows on the surface of the material due to moisture
• Fading: The color becomes lighter or disappears over time

We will explain the degradation examples provided by IPI Image Research Institute one by one.