Digital BW, The Print

Hey Sarah,

I've used noise successfully to solve some banding issues.  Inkjet 
prints seem to be able to handle quite a bit of noise before it 
becomes noticable on the print.  You can also use it to smooth banding 
in layer masks - this banding can be visible in the print if you don't 
take care of it.  Can you see banding in Photoshop prior to printing?  

To use the filter add a new layer (using Layer->New Layer), set the 
blend mode to overlay in the dialog and check the box to fill with 50% 
neutral gray (I'm not in front of Photoshop while I'm writing this so 
I hope I have it right!).  You can then add noise to that layer - 
Filter->Add Noise...I use Gaussian distribution and between .5 and 2 
for the amount.  I also check the monochromatic box.  You can then use 
a layer mask to block out areas that wouldn't benefit from the 
addition of noise (and be sure to add noise to the mask afterwards to 
eliminate any banding in the mask!)  I find that zooming to 100% works 
best.

On the other hand, the problem could be a result of less than perfect 
linearization of the printer and someone else would have to help with 
that ;-)

Hope this helps...

Brian
http://www.brianchapmanphotography.com



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "sagaface" 
<sagaface@...> wrote:
>
> Can someone explain or point me to a source for reading about how to 
use this filter to 
> minimize banding? I just Googled but diidn't find anythiing specific.
> 
>  Before I got my own 2200, I had a friend who works at the 
Photographic Workshops in 
> Maine do some printing for me on his 2200. I saw that he used this 
filter but wasn't really 
> paying attention. Now that I have my own 2200 I'd like to know what 
he did, as I often get 
> banding in solid areas of midtone, and his prints were band-free.
> 
> Thank you!
> Sarah
>