Digital BW, The Print

I suppose it's bad form to answer your own question but I found most
of what I was looking for in a long thread called "Linearization -
mathematical or perceptual?" from April of this year.


Thanks.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "gulstenek"
<keving@d...> wrote:
> Is there an ideal, or optimal, greyscale ramp?
> 
> This is really a question about linearization.  The visual difference
> between an ink density of .1 and .16 is obvious and easily seen.  The
> visual difference between an ink density of 1.8 and 1.86 is not
> obvious and may not even be discernable.  Is there an "optimal" ramp
> rate for density to increase?
> 
> When linearizing curves with IJC/OPM there is a factor which can be
> applied to change the rate at which density increases (slow increase
> with small density and higher increase with increasing density). 
> Something like gamma I suppose.  As I do more testing and curve making
> a couple of questions have arisen.
> 
> 1. Does this gamma or ramp rate change depending on Dmax?  The rate at
> which denisyt changes near the Dmax point needs to be steeper with a
> larger Dmax - I think?
> 
> 2. Is it possible to create a gamma or ramp rate which matches a
> hardware calibrated monitor at some specific gamma (1.8 or 2.2 or
> whatever)?  Is that undesirable for some reason?
> 
> 3. Is there a "formula" based on human perception that can be used to
> determine what an optimal greyscale ramp would look like?
> 
> As always, thanks for your help while I try and nut these things out.