It all comes down to which pack you pick. Packs start out with forty pictures. The kodak printer doesnt use traditional ink, it actually uses ribbon. The ink from the ribbon is transfered to special paper by heat, then a protective coat is layed over the final step for protection. Your picture last longer and is water resistant. Although without buying a bulk pack you end up paying about $0.58 per image, because you have to use the supplied ribbon and paper in each pack. Anything else wont work.