An aqueous ink composition including water; a co-solvent; and an aqueous submicron colorant wax dispersion comprising a plurality of colorant wax particles comprising a colorant core surrounded by a wax shell, wherein the colorant wax particles exhibit a particle size distribution of from about 150 nanometers to less than about 300 nanometers; wherein the aqueous submicron colorant wax dispersion is prepared by (a) melting and mixing a dry colorant with at least one wax to form a colorant concentrate, wherein the colorant concentrate contains at least 25 percent by weight of colorant; (b) milling the colorant concentrate of step (a) to form a milled colorant concentrate; (c) combining the milled colorant concentrate of (b) with water and dispersing to form the colorant wax dispersion; wherein the melting and mixing of step (a) and the milling of step (b) is done in an immersion media mill or a horizontal mill; and wherein the combining of step (c) is done using a piston homogenizer.