Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Pieris
Berreitter" <pieris@y...> wrote:
> 
> Hm, so there are RIPs that print 16-bit images... I know QTR uses
> 8-bit TIFFs and I assumed the Epson printer driver is 8-bit only. I
> had assumed 16-bit workflows are only useful during manipulation, and
> I guess that's valid unless you have a 16-bit RIP.

The Profiles are 16-bit and so is the RIP so that it maps the 8bit
tiff smoothly.

> 
> Roy made a good point that I hadn't considered: you need to (at least)
> double the number of grays we can distinguish between to prevent the
> eye from seeing banding in continuous-tone regions.
> 
> "Metrology mania" aside, I have so far not seen a case of banding that
> couldn't be tracked back to the image file.

I have seen many cases of banding that are printer related.
The problem with a generalisation like this
is that it is almost certainly going to be wrong.

> 
> -Pieris
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
> <paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> > Pieris,
> > 
> > >How many discrete levels of gray ... do we get out of a quadtone
> inkjet?
> > ...
> > 
> > I printed a 256 test chart with the C86 and EZ inks.  My X-Rite (DPT
> 22) was
> > able to measure the difference between all the steps with 2
> exceptions.  The
> > top and bottom 2 steps were essentially the same. 
> > 
> > I was amazed at how well the little printer did.
> > 
> > A more interesting question might be whether the most expensive
RIPs can
> > match the C86.
> > 
> > I, for sure, don't have the patience to see if one of the 16 bit
> printing
> > utilities (like IJC) can separate all those levels.
> > 
> > Paul
> > www.PaulRoark.com