Digital BW, The Print

> > From: Steve Kale [mailto:stevekale@...]
> >
> > Had to use my 1Ds as my spot meter battery died.  ISO 100 @ F2.8.  Both
> > readings from working distance with full room lighting.
> >
> > 100% white:  1/100th of a sec.  (monitor calibrated to D50 white point)
> >
> > 100% black:  0"8 secs
> >
> > (With the lights off but with still some residual ambient light 100%
> black
> > went to 1"3)

Paul D. DeRocco wrote:
> 
> So that's a "density" of 1.90 and 2.11.

The range Steve measured is, I assume, from a LCD.  He gets about 6+ stops.
Using the same techniques, I get about 4+ stops with my CRT.  I've been told
LCDs can be about 50% brighter than CRTs.  Oddly, part of this difference in
my case is due to the calibration procedure (Spyder2Pro), which resulted in
me setting the brightness at just above 80%.

If I have the lights off and wear a black shirt, the CRT range approaches
what Steve measured.  But the reflections wipe out that black point
advantage when I use the computer in my normal fashion.

As noted, the range Steve measured is more than the matte papers we use but
less than the glossy papers -- but only under ideal lighting such as used by
the densitometers/spectrophotometers.  Using the spot meter on prints in
typical office or home viewing conditions, I get closer to a 4+ stop range
for both matte and glossy (glass framing would reduce that).  So, my CRT is
really not that far off in terms of its display of the dynamic range of what
we see in practice.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com