The work aims to research the dispersion of pigments in water-based ink and its influence on ink printability. The factors affecting the dispersion were analyzed to outline some useful ways to promote the dispersion. The dispersion of pigment had significant impact on multiple factors of the ink printability, such as tinting strength, transparency and rheological properties. During the production of ink, the pigment with appropriate particle size and narrow particle size distribution should be selected and the viscosity of ink should be reasonably controlled. The surfactant, especially hyperdispersant can be used to effectively improve the dispersion of pigment in the water-based ink. With the development of nanotechnology, the rough treatment on the surface of pigment on nanometer scale could be an another significant way to achieve good dispersion.