Digital BW, The Print

> > > 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.
>
> okay, you're alot further off than I thought you were. You need to read
> more carefully or something.

I did not see any distinction that you were talking about taking the entire
raw data, as opposed to just the image data.  Obviously, if you are talking
about just raw data, then no data is lost.

> I was talking about expanding the entire
> range the scanner is capable of capturing. It has nothing to do with
> the image itself,

Then that is nothing but high bit justifying the data.  Some scanners
ALREADY DO THAT with their raw data.  Viewscan does that!  (I specifically
asked Ed, and he concurred)

I wouldn't really call that "expanding", like you do when you apply your
setpoints...that's really expanding...but I guess it could be called that.
Expansion, to me, is a more of an algorithmic process.  I did mentioned a
dozen times about setpoints...and setpoints have nothing to do with the raw
data.  Too bad you didn't catch that earlier on, and could have clarified
your point.

> chances are very good you will still end up needing
> to set the set points and expand (unless you don't want to for some
> reason)

Chances?  Probably about 100000 to 1 you need to set the setpoints for a
scanned image!

> nothing is getting dumbed down at all. I am surprised more scanners
> don't do it automatically because it makes the scanner look better.

Probably because no one really cared.  It's a no brainer operation in PS,
and now that I know what you are talking about, as I said above, some
scanners already do that.  That's one reason why I didn't believe that was
what you meant...why you'd be asking for something that already existed!