Digital BW, The Print

Michael wrote:
> Does it make sense to look at these side by side at actual pixel size or should I go further and make prints of the same size? While making prints is a necessary final step, I'd like to first make the best onscreen, side by side evaluation that I can. Thoughts?
>   

Make prints.

It's difficult to impossible to make any meaningful evaluation of 
"sharpness" on a monitor. The monitor dot pitch is too dissimilar from 
printing. This causes what you see on the monitor to be even farther 
enlarged (usually 3-5x more) than detail you'd see on a print. Which of 
course makes it "soft" on the monitor.

Once you've made prints and determined how your scanner settings effect 
the final print, you might be able to apply what you learned from making 
and evaluating the prints to what you see on the monitor. But even then, 
only in general terms.

This also applies to sharpening algorithms. The only way to tell what 
the real effect is, is make prints.
--
Bruce Watson