Darkroom prints are made with traditional techniques of sensitized paper and chemicals in the darkroom, exactly like fine art photographers have used for over a century. Digital prints are made by a digital photo printer. Silver gelatin darkroom prints are the preferred medium for fine art and investment quality photography. Digital prints are the most cost effective way of obtaining excellent archival prints for decoration and display. Q: How do Ultrachrome prints compare with digital prints made on desktop photo printers? Ultrachrome digital prints are made with pigments that have archival permanence ratings. They are much different than ordinary color digital prints made by desktop printers using dye inks, which fade relatively quickly. Dye prints can exhibit measurable fading in just three weeks, many people can see the fading within a year, and most people can see the print turning brown within five years.