Digital BW, The Print

I apologize for taking a shot at you; that is not my nature, and I’m sorry I
wrote it that way.
Specifically, there are 16-bit print drivers today, and more coming soon.

Here are my thoughts on why LS-8000/9000 scans should be stored at 16 bit.
What fits on a CD is a red herring; that storage capacity is “old”, and we
are addressing image quality, which has noting to do with storage.

To preserve the quality of the scan, more than 8-bits are required; there is
no other option.

Print quality is dependent on print size.  Just as there is relationship
between negative size and acceptable maximum print size, the same
relationship occurs between the number of grayscale steps and gradient size;
notice I did not say print size.  It is this spatial aspect that is
witnessed as visible improvements; K7 over quads, quads over Kk, etc.  Fewer
gray levels limit the spatial size a gradient can be before perceptual steps
appear, and are dependent on the inkset and dither pattern.  An 8x10 print
of a woodland scene compared to a very fair skin portrait with shadow
details at 16x20 would be examples of where the number of gray levels would
make a difference.


Best regards,
John Moody

-----Original Message-----
From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
ginnylady33
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 8:34 PM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: Archiving images on DVD?

"You are quoting things again that are not true"

'Again'?

What are you referring to John? Be specific. If you are going to take
a shot at me, be specific.

  As I said,  I could not tell a 16 bit from an 8 bit print. Not one
of my discerning photographer friends could tell a 16 bit from an 8
bit print. If neither myself nor any of my 3 critical photographer
friends can tell an 8 bit from a 16 bit print, I'm not going to store
finished images at 16 bits. I value most what my eyes tell me
regarding image quality. The prints made from 8-bit files look just great!
I welcome you to store your images in 16 bit format. But, I would
seriously doubt that one can tell the difference between a 16 bit and
8 bit print.
Let's really investigate the matter...setup a double blind study.
Let's do it. It must truly be double-blinded. Prints made from 16 bit
files vs. prints made from 8 bit files from the same image. Let's see
if anyone can consistently tell the difference.

  Best Regards
  Ginny





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