Inkjet fine-art printing
1991 (Nash Editions, Iris printer); 2000s (pigment inkjets)
Printers that spray tiny drops of ink became good enough for gallery prints. Photographers could print colour at home and control every step, without a darkroom.
How it began
In 1991 the musician Graham Nash and printer Mac Holbert began printing photographs on an Iris printer, made for proofing. Their studio, Nash Editions, showed that inkjet could make fine prints. Pigment ink printers from Epson and others followed around 2000.
How it works
The print head fires millions of tiny drops of ink in several colours, placed in patterns so fine that the eye blends them. Pigment inks resist fading far better than early dye inks.
Why it mattered
Colour printing had needed a professional lab. With Photoshop and an inkjet, photographers controlled the whole process at home, and museums began to collect and show inkjet prints.
Limits and what replaced it
Early prints faded quickly, and the medium was looked down on at first. Better inks and papers changed that; it remains the main fine-art printing method.
Today
Most exhibition photo prints are now pigment inkjet prints, often called giclée.