Several dyes containing Quinolineimidazopyridinium moiety (QIPD) have been synthesized and evaluated as photoinitiators for free radical polymerization induced with the visible emission of a commercial dental lamp. The tested dyes were tested as photoinitiators in the presence of selected electron donors. Different substituents introduced into both the pyridine ring and quinoline moieties of the dyes influence photophysical properties of the investigated systems. Several different groups were tested including heavy atoms (-Cl, -Br, -I) and electron accepting (-NO2) group. Analysis of the properties of the tested dyes allows one to conclude that there is a significant heavy atom effect on their photo-initiation efficiency. The type of the applied counter-ion has no effect on the overall performance of the photoinitiating system. QIPDs possess broad structured spectra with long-wavelength part located at the boundary of visible and UV parts of light spectrum. This makes QIPDs good candidates for the use as photoinitiating systems for dental restorative materials. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.