Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Kevin Gulstene

> 1. Does anyone know what the resolving power of the Epson 
> printers are (4 lp/mm 10lp/mm, 20 lp/mm)?

Because the printers resample to fixed resolutions, they are lower 
than their DPI numbers suggest.   Depending on the printer most 
Epson resample to either 720 of 1440 DPI.  You can do the math from 
there.

See my experiments in printing resolution.  (they're a bit out of 
date now but they should give you an idea.
http://studio-nelson.com/inkjet/prnres0.htm

The important question is whether modern printer resolution exceeds 
human visual acuity.  I think under most practical circumstances it 
does.   So you could say the viewer is a weaker link in the chain.

As far as limitations go, each component inserts a DIFFERENT 
limitation.  For instance, despite your focus on printer resolution, 
the imager or scanner probably introduces the most serious 
resolution problem, at least for large prints.    Imagine a 12 MP 
camera - 3000x4000 pixels.   At 300 PPI that's only a 10 x 13 
print.  And any modern printer can certainly do better than 300 
PPI.    And few people own a 12 MP camera. 

On the other hand, the printer introduces a serious dynamic range 
problem.   The difference between the blackest black and whitest 
white you can get on a print is way narrower than most original 
scenes.   

Color gamut is another weak link in the chain.

Thern there are focus and optical defects introduced by the camera 
lens.

Every component introduces its own special limitation.