Digital BW, The Print

Hi Gus,

> What about the source image. Was it truly 16 bits per channel? Most
> scanners output 12 to 14 bits. Digital cameras output 10 to 12 bits.
> They fit them into 16 bit words but the lower bits are all zeroes.

If they are raw images, that, in my experience, would not be the case...and
to get that bit depth, I believe you have to use raw data, at least from the
scanners/cameras I've used.  As I said in another post, the data is low bit
justified, not high bit justified.

> If
> you start with something like a 10 bit image (even though you are
> working in a "16 bit" space), and do some adjustments, especially gamma
> related, you are bound to see these bands.

If the data is as I say, low bit justified, then you must set the setpoints
first to spread the data out over the 16 bit range, as setting the setpoints
will basically high bit justify the remaining data between your
setpoints...then you can to tonal adjustments.  If you do tonal adjustments
to low bit justified data, you WILL drop data values, because the data will
either combine or leave gaps.

Austin