Digital BW, The Print

Frank,

>Does anyone have a spectrophotometrically or colorimetrically 
>analyzed step scale that they would be willing to send or sell me? It 
>should be near neutral, not heavily toned, but exact R=G=B isn't 
>necessary. Perhaps you have some previously printed test scales that 
>you have analyzed that would be discarded anyway?

I would think this would be a business MIS ought to be in.  Having a
standard against which to visually measure modified step wedges seems like
an obvious product.  (On the other hand, I can imagine the calls and
complaints MIS might get if everyone was comparing their outputs to an ideal
step wedge.)  

Step wedges change slightly with time and can get badly scuffed in the mail.
To be done right, the wedges should be allowed to dry for at least a day.
To protect them they ought to be sprayed.  Then when all the ink and coating
material have had plenty of time to dry and cure, the measurements should be
made.

Glossy paper is going to need separate step-wedges.  Here the decrease in
the dmax over time will be a problem.  I think it settles down over a few
days.  I suspect it is glycol slowly evaporating, so plain-paper (a glycol
"sponge") pressed on top of the print for a night might be a good idea --
before the spraying.

To protect the test strip in the mail, some care is needed.  The Post Office
tells me it's the automatic stamp canceling machines that do the most
damage.  For important prints in envelopes I sometimes have them hand
cancelled.  I'm sure that good packaging can reasonably protect them, but
that requires more than just putting a test strip in an envelope.

In short, an old test strip might have some value, but to do it right, in a
business-like manner, it takes some care.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com