Digital BW, The Print

I did a quick comparison of the 2400 in ABW mode against the 2200 with the
4K+ and IJC.  I used a 720 ppi, 1 inch high version of my Rainbow Falls
shot.  It has smooth (moving water) highlights and sharp dark rocks.  I just
used ABW at "neutral" and "normal" darkness, which seemed to generally match
the 2200 image, but I did not do a detailed comparison of the relative
profiles.  The 2400 did well in the smooth highlights (of course there are
color dots there, but I can't see them in the real print), but the dark
rocks with ABW mode show an amazing loss of fine detail compared to the 2200
and IJC.  I can see the difference at normal viewing distance.  I don't
think I would have noticed the lower performance in an actual print that was
not compared side-by-side, but my very initial results tend to confirm
Tyler's observations.  I confess I'm surprised at the degree of difference.


 

I might add that both prints, of course, show a tremendous loss of
information compared to the original file when viewed with a loupe or a
high-resolution scan.  It makes me wonder how much more might be achievable
with even better equipment.  I recall the old arguments about how much
detail the eye can see.   Some tests suggest that we can only "see"
resolutions up to about 5 line pairs per millimeter at normal viewing
distance.  On the other hand, some have claimed that we can "detect" edge
sharpness up to the equivalent of from 30 to 100 lp/mm.  Perhaps there is
more room for improvement in our equipment than we think.

 

Paul

www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>  

 

 

  _____  

From: .Tyler Boley



.

http://tylerboley. <http://tylerboley.com/info/RGB_Quad.jpg>
com/info/RGB_Quad.jpg

these are sections about .8" high, one from the 9800 UCK3 w/ RGB
driver and custom profile on HPR, the other a straight quad on the
9600, also HPR. Both at 1440, drum scanned at 2000 dpi and downsized
to 1000dpi for posting here. 4000 dpi would have described the dots
better and the difference would have been greater.
The difference is obvious. Clearly there is photographic information
in the file that the RGB driver operating normally is incapable of
describing on paper. . 



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