Digital BW, The Print

> I have on two occasions had people look at my
> sample prints and ask something like "How did you get such good
> blacks, I use the same ink and don't get that?"  In both cases I
> recommended they check the RGB values, and in both cases they reported
> back that indeed, the values were around 5 to 7 (looked black on
> screen) and when they lowered them to 0 they got the deep black.

Clayton pointed this out to me after I sent him one of my prints, and
it turns out I had overcompensated for the black point in the curve I
made for PowerRIP. When I investigated more closely it turns out I
could distinguish values all the way down do 1-2%... Try printing 1%
step-wedges from 0-5% and examine them closely, most likely you'll be
able to tell them apart. After this experience I always measure the
black points with the densitometer in Photoshop before I make a print.
Very often I need to bring the black down by up to 10% to get a true
black, even though I percieve the color as black on my calibrated screen.