Digital BW, The Print

Yep.  There are so many steps in the process that can be wrong: bad
settings, incorrect ambient light, bad profiles etc etc.  A lot of variables
and a lot of noise.  But I stress again that I think the big issue is not
the last 10% of the problem (issues like does your room lighting actually
have the same temperature as the monitor's white point? Or have you really
got the best monitor profile you can have?).  The first c90% is that a print
to something like matte paper will NEVER look like the display (even on a
perfectly profiled monitor) unless you have a proper/decent soft proof up.
The unfortunate reality is that the paper isn't as white and the black isn't
as black.  So the question then becomes do you think about a soft proof or
do you try to "tweak" the monitor.  I strongly suggest the former for
reasons I have outlined.


> From: Tyler Boley <tyler@...>
 
> 
> 
> I was at a presentation by Bruce Fraser once, one of the leading gurus
> in our industry for those who may not know. He probably does this all
> the time so forgive me if you've heard the story...
> The first words out of his mouth were-
> 
> how many of you here just want your prints to match your monitor?
> 
> Literally everyone raised their hand. The next words out of his mouth
> were-
> 
> OK, the first thing you have to do is learn is how to LOWER your
> expectations.
> 
> 
> just thought I'd throw that out, seemed a little hot in here.
> Tyler