Digital BW, The Print

I would not consider 140 low.  It is also the luminance for an LCD
recommended by GM.  At a D50 white point, my Apple 23in HD Cinema Display
barely pulls 115...WYSIWYG is much more related to white point than
luminance.  Either way, as a starting point GM probably know something about
the issue and without a good reason for doing otherwise I would suggest
following their advice.


> From: Phil Rose <pjrose@...>
> Reply-To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 05:04:50 -0000
> To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Setting brightness level on a mac display
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Steve Kale
> <stevekale@b...> wrote:
>> 
>> You should target the luminance according to the instructions in the i1
>> software.
> 
> I don't exactly know what i1 software "instructs" about the white
> luminance target values, but IMHO it's always best to target the
> luminance for what works _best_ for your environment rather than
> accept the calibration software's (possibly) arbitrary instructions.
> Here's what one reviewer
> (http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/monitor_calibration_tools.htm)
> wrote about the i1 software's luminance setting procedure:
> 
> "The recommended luminance levels are often too high; drop down to a
> more sensible value if necessary. A quibble is that the possible
> luminance values are given in steps of 10. This precludes selecting
> useful values for CRT monitors such as 85 or 95 cd/m^2. Avoid the
> "Easy" mode, as this chooses the default, overly bright settings."
> 
> Keeping that in mind, if the goal is to have a setting that's "best
> for WYSIWYG", the luminance commonly needs to be aimed at a relatively
> low value; perhaps something not more than 140 cd/m2 (unless you work
> in an extremely brighly lit environment and  evaluate your prints
> under _very_ bright lighting). What's best for you will require some
> trial (printing) and error (compare and readjust) to settle on a good
> luminance. Compared to good ol' CRTs, adjusting an LCD monitor to
> sufficiently low white luminance values can be a problem (depending on
> make and model).
> 
> Phil