Digital BW, The Print

> From: koloshor [mailto:wiz@...]
>
> After way too much screwing around with a print densitometer
> (X-Rite 414, Status A, for anyone interested) and a scanner
> (Epson 2400) to measure print densities, I'm beginning to think
> the very best density measurement tool is a digital camera.
>
> You need one with raw output, and reasonably low noise. I've been
> having some success with a Nikon D70.
<snip>
> Now, a camera, at a reasonable distance, and with a big, diffused
> light source, sees density much more like a real eye. And the
> curves I build from it don't lay down as much ink in the shadows.
>
> End result, the density doesn't change, relative to what a human
> sees, but there's more shadow detail. Although the lying
> densitometer says I've lost considerable DMAX, you can't see it.

You probably don't need to take an actual picture, just use the camera's
light meter. The density range you need to cover corresponds to about ten
stops, which is well within what any decent camera can do.

--

Ciao,               Paul D. DeRocco
Paul                mailto:pderocco@...