A method of forming a hardcopy image (text or graphics) by generating very small drops of ink and precisely depositing them on a substrate. This concept was introduced commercially in the mid-1980s to replace dot-matrix (low cost but slow and noisy) and laser-based (high speed and high resolution but also high hardware cost) printing systems for home and office applications. As inkjet colour inks and photographic-quality paper development progressed, a new goal of supplanting traditional silver halide photographs was established. Today, the home photographer can produce inkjet prints that exceed the quality and light-fade stability of colour photographic prints.