Digital BW, The Print

> > > But if that is all it can capture, then why not spread that out?
> >
> > WHY spread it out?  Why have the scanner do something you may
> not want it to
> > do, or do it not optimally?  For 8 bit data, this is done...but
> you have to
> > set the setpoints...or you lose data that you may or may not
> have wanted.
>
> There is nothing not optimal about it

Yes there is, it's an operation, and you're asking the scanner to decide
what valid image data is.  That's non-optimal.

> it doesn't hurt the data in any
> way.

WRONG.  How do you know that the scanner can just so happen to pick out the
EXACT edges of the image data.  It absolutely CAN lose data.

> > > If you
> > > want half your histogram empty you can always compress it with levels
> > > later
> >
> > I don't want my histograms compressed.  I don't understand why you would
> > either.  What I want is to set the setpoints, and then expand
> the data to
> > fill the histogram.  It can be done automatically, or manually.
>
> YOUR histograms start out compressed (with a raw scan)

But you said you could compress them if you wanted to. I was answering that.
That is entirely different than the raw compressed histogram.

> Im not talking about setting setpoints and expanding your image. Im
> talking about expanding the entire range the scanner is capable of.
> If, for an unknown reason, you don't want the entire range used and you
> want your whites to be gray, you can compress the range later (which is
> why I said that, not because I want to)

How do you decide the setpoints?

> > > and you'll end up with the same thing. Why is the whitest a
> > > scanner can capture NEVER white in raw scan mode? same with black?
> >
> > Because it's in the middle of the space.
>
> yes, but why do it that way? All it does is confuse beginners.

Cripes.  Beginners shouldn't be using raw data.  There is a certain level of
understanding one has to have to understand how to do this right.  You're
saying we should dumb down the imaging software simply for beginners?
Please.