Thermal head
Printing paper
Only 6 colours
Full-colour prints
Sony Digital Photo Printer
403 dpi x 403 dpi
Ink Jet Printer
4800 dpi x 1200 dpi, 6 colour Ink
x 150
Heat
Ink ribbon
Paper
Ink ribbon
Ink
ribbon
Platen roller
Sony Dye Sublimation Printing
(with lamination)
Silver Halide Photo
Red
Magenta
Cyan
Green
Colour Reproduction Chart
CLE Lab colour space
Sony Dye Sublimation
Printer
Silver Halide
Photo
Ink Jet Printer
* Each measurement sample is printed with same image data
Brilliant Colour
Red
Magenta
+b*
100
80
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
-b*
Yellow
-a* -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 20 40 60 80 100 +a*
Blue
One of the key benefits of dye sublimation
printing is the wide range of colour
reproduction that the technology makes
possible. The SnapLab uses this printing
method to maximum effect, producing
brilliant, crisp and clear colour prints.
Dye sublimation printing produces truly
photographic-quality prints thanks to a
unique process: ink is converted into a gas
by each heat element on the thermal head
which can apply 256 different densities. This
produces incredibly rich colours with a tonal
range of up to 256 gradations. These
gradations are used to reproduce the tonal
changes and neutral colours that are vital for
creating photo-quality prints.
Each of the dye colours – cyan, magenta
and yellow – has a tone range of up to 256
gradations, and Sony dye sublimation
printing blends each and every one of them
to make true full-colour prints.
Other printing methods, such as inkjet,
cannot gradate each dot or blend the colour
dots – that’s why they simply can’t achieve
the same results.
Sony dye sublimation printing technology is
also environmentally-friendly. Liquid
chemicals are not used, so there’s no
chemical waste to be disposed of, and no
drainage needs too be considered when
installing the printer.
Dye sublimation provides rich colour reproduction with 403 dpi resolution
and 16.77 million colour processing for each dot. Compare this to the 7-
colour inkjet method which requires a resolution as high as 4550 dpi
(403x11.3) to reproduce prints of similar quality.
Superior Colour Reproduction
Sony Dye Sublimation Printing Technology
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