Your baby’s ultrasound pictures are some of the very first pictures you’ll ever have of them. That’s why at Enlightened 4D Imaging, we print every ultrasound picture on 4×6 photo paper instead of thermal paper.
The Problem With Thermal Paper
Most ultrasound pictures, including the ones from your doctor’s office, are printed on thermal paper. It’s the same paper used for store receipts, and just like a receipt, it isn’t made to last.
Thermal paper has a coating that turns dark when it’s heated, and that coating keeps reacting over time. So your pictures can fade until you can barely see baby, turn gray or yellow, or disappear completely.
Heat, sunlight, humidity, and even the oils on your hands can make it happen faster. Plastic sleeves and laminating can damage them too. And even if you keep them somewhere safe, like a baby book in a temperature controlled house, they can still fade.
We Learned This the Hard Way
Stefanie, our office manager and licensed phlebotomist, recently came across her daughter’s ultrasound pictures from 2007 and her son’s from 2010. They had been kept in a baby book, indoors, the whole time. Some had faded completely, some had mostly faded, and some had white streaks where the picture broke down. She’s lost most of her original ultrasound pictures.
One of the blank squares in that baby book still has her handwritten note next to it: “Sucking your thumb!” In Stefanie’s words: “Someday your first baby will have just graduated high school, and you’ll want to look back at those pictures and cry a little. Don’t ask me how I know… I’m still not ok.”
See more of Stefanie’s pictures on our Facebook page.
Why We Use 4×6 Photo Paper
We print on photo paper because we want you to still have these pictures when your baby is the one graduating. Photo paper doesn’t fade like a receipt, the pictures come out clearer, and a 4×6 fits right into a frame, album, or baby book. (Grandma will want one too!)
Not every ultrasound studio prints on photo paper, so if you’re shopping around, it’s worth asking!
Love the Ultrasound Strip Look? You Can Still Have It!
Ultrasound strips are really popular right now for pregnancy announcements and maternity pictures, and it’s easy to see why. They’re cute! You can still get that look with our 4×6 prints, and it will actually last. Just pick your favorites, line them up in a column, and tape them together on the back.
Now you have your announcement strip AND pictures that will still be around for baby’s first scrapbook. No need to choose one or the other!
How to Keep Your Pictures Looking Good
- Keep them out of direct sunlight.
- Put them in a photo safe album or frame.
- Take a picture or scan your favorites so you always have a backup.
- Already have thermal prints from your doctor’s office? Scan them now, before they fade any more.
Come See Us!
Every ultrasound at Enlightened 4D Imaging comes with pictures printed on 4×6 photo paper, so you can keep them for years, not months.
Whether you’re right here in Bloomington, MN or coming in from anywhere in the Twin Cities, we would love to see you! Book online, or text, call, or chat with us anytime.