This is a question that gets asked all the time by many different people. When you look at the different types of ink available on the market today and compare them to the papers that are available on the market today, you will notice right away that a lot of companies manufacture both. HP, Epson and a number of other well known companies are in the business of creating both ink and paper for their printers.

Now, a number of people will go even further to notice that when you are looking at the prices of different products, some products for one company might be cheaper and others more expensive. This might lead people to buy a combination across companies; HP ink and Epson printing paper for example. Some people however, say that buying two things from the same company (i.e. buying both printer ink and paper from HP) will result in a higher quality print of what they are after; the question really becomes, are they right in making that assumption?

Well, the short answer is that yes indeed they are correct in making that assumption. The longer answer considers a number of factors that are inherently better for people that are looking to buy both printing paper and printing ink from the same company; a company such as HP.

The first factor to consider is the factor that is scientifically referred to as adhesion. Just because both Epson and HP make a glossy printing paper doesn't mean that the chemical components that create that glossy surface are the same in both Epson and HP papers. Nor does this also mean that even if they are the same components, that they are present in exactly the same proportions in both sheets of glossy paper. The fact of the matter is that each company is different and this also means that HP ink will adhere better to HP paper and the same holds true for any other company that makes both products. Better adhesion will result in lower running of ink and therefore an ultimately higher quality print.

In addition to the adhesion factor, there is also the combination factor. Both the ink and the paper are made up of small particles known as atoms. These atoms then combine to form things called compounds and ultimately those compounds are the basis for the particles that are located in both the ink and the paper. Compounds, even if they don't end up mixing with each other and combining, might exist in the same space as each other and therefore anything about the atomic structure of one might affect the atomic structure of another. A company makes their ink to have a neutral atomic affect on the paper, which once again serves to hold everything in place and prevent things like leaking and smudging; both detriments to getting a good picture.