Digital BW, The Print

Steve,

> I must admit I find this subject of perceived/observed colouration in a
> greyscale comprising colour dots rather interesting and, at times,
> amusing.
> With regard to the former, Clayton (for one) is claiming that he can
> readily
> sense the use of colour dots in the greyscale even when these individual
> dots are not observable at 6x magnification at a distance of 2 inches.

I'm reminded of the debate with respect to how much "sharpness" the eye can
detect.  While most find that humans can separate only about 5 line pairs
per millimeter at normal viewing distance, the consensus is that we can
detect edge sharpness increases up to at least the equivalent to 30 lp/mm,
with some claims going up to 100 lp/mm.

So, I think there may be an argument that color dots have some sort of
impact beyond what can actually be "seen" as individual dots.

> ... I am sure this would make
> interesting fodder for those who scientifically study colour and human
> vision.  I am sure that such people could construct some appropriate
> rigorous tests.

Probably, but in a simple double-blind test that included BO, I'll bet the
BO aficionados would prefer BO every time.  This is because the BO style,
which I think of as the "Tri-X" look, is usually rather distinctive not only
in its texture but also in the hue of the ink.  The more interesting test
would be just between 2400 v. a blended B&W inkset with no color dots but
color mixed into the inks.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com