Digital BW, The Print

Austin Franklin wrote:

>Hi Tyler,
>  
>
>>>      
>>>
>>Austin, starting with a 16 bit grayscale file, then preparing it
>>for quad printing though a RIP remaining entirely in 16 bit in
>>very much the same way Piezography does for you behind the
>>scenes, yeilds a file that has 29,037 "unique colors" (levels).
>>    
>>
>
>Well, no, 16 bits is 64k unique levels.  Anyway, that isn't relevant.  The
>printer simply can not produce that many different levels, without
>sacrificing overall output resolution, and besides, the human eye can
>absolutely not discern them.
>  
>

64k Unique greyscale levels?  What would the point be to that?  

The human eye would be unable to distinguish between the VAST majority 
of them... AFAIK the human eye will only discern about 256 levels of 
luminance/grey..

I don't know anyone making prints for remote sensing detector 
devices....  Although it's definitely an untouched niche market..

>  
>
>>This is determined with a cool little utility written by Bruce Linbloom.
>>Even after converting it to 8 bit, it reports 1,495 levels.
>>    
>>
>
>8 bits only allows 256 levels.  It is PHYSICALLY impossible to get more than
>256 levels from 8 bits.
>  
>
EXACTLY

Of course if you add a chroma value things get all screwy...  

Tyler are you sure that those measurements are ONLY of 
luminance/greyscale..?

Remember, that if you read a quadset print in RGB, the inks will have 
some chroma tones as will the paper/media... That could easily give you 
the numbers of which you speak, but that isn't really greyscale..

Keith
 
 



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