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Hewlett-Packard (HP), Canon, Epson and Kodak are the top vendors of photo printers. Each one has its own unique photo printing system. Lexmark offers printers that print photos with special inks, but they are largely considered inferior to other photo printers because of the company's reputation for scaling back engineering quality to keep its printers at a low price point.
HP photo printing works best on its Photosmart printers and uses its HP Vivera inks and premium photo papers to produce long-lasting, quality photos. HP Vivera inks are also commonly identified as O2 inks on their packaging and by salespeople.
In 2008, Canon upgraded its ChromaLife 100 ink and paper system to ChromaLife 100+. The new ChromaLife100+ system uses Canon dye inks and boasts on its website of an album life of up to 300 years. Depending on the age of your Canon printer, your best bet for quality photo printing is to use ChromaLife 100 or ChromaLife 100+ inks and high-quality photo paper.
Epson's standard DuraBrite inks are good for everyday printing and can be used for photo printing. However, for longevity and photo-album worthy results, you should use Epson's Claria Hi-Definition Inks on one of their Artisan Series photo printers.
Currently, Kodak does not offer a line of specific photo printers like its competitors. However, almost all of its inkjet all-in-one systems have photo printing capability. According to its website, "Most other guys use dyes, kinda like your clothes. So just like your favorite shirt, your pictures will fade. Kodak uses proprietary pigment-based inks---so the vivid colors of your pictures and documents will last a lifetime." For now, Kodak only offers one brand of ink that is used for everyday and photo printings.
Lexmark printers with photo printing capability use its Vizix ink cartridges to achieve the best possible photo results.
No matter which brand of printer you own, it is universally agreed that you should use inks made by the company and not re-manufactured or generic refillable ink cartridges. While these types of cartridges are less expensive and suitable for everyday document printing, they are not made to produce high-quality photo prints that don't fade quickly.
