INKjet photo paper w/o oba

While OBA’s appear to be an effective solution for enhancing the whiteness of inkjet media, OBAs can pose a serious threat to the integrity and longevity of a fine art print by causing metamerism, which leads to color shifts and by accelerating yellowing over time.

What are OBA’s?

Optical Brightener Additives (commonly referred to as “OBA’s”) are widely used in paper and canvas coatings, textiles, and laundry detergents to increase the perceived “whiteness” of the treated products. OBA’s work by absorbing light from the (invisible) ultra-violet end of the spectrum and emitting light in the (visible) blue/white range of the spectrum. This “shift” in the frequency of light energy, results in a whiter and brighter appearance of the treated product.

PAPER SELECTION FOR INVISIBLE INK / FLUORESCENT INK

When printing with invisible ink or fluorescent ink, please be aware that most white copy paper has OBA's to make the paper look whiter. These brighteners are usually fluorescent blue, so the invisible inks can be hard to detect on bright white paper. So we would suggest users choose papers without optical brighteners added for invisible ink / fluorescent ink printings.