Abstract: The use of fluorescent dye in printing buffer used to print spots of a protein microarray permits the presence, location and morphology of individual spots to be detected based on the fluorescent response of the spots. This information can be used to perform quality control of protein microarrays. In addition, the fluorescent response of the spots can prevent poor spots from being used in a protein assay or prevents faulty data from being accepted. The size of the spots can also be used to normalize the results obtained in a protein assay. The position of the spots can be used to establish anchors in detecting the chemiluminescent response of spots to which biological samples have been applied.