Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 4/10/07 10:59:30 AM, aansell@... writes:


> A fascinating debate this and I might be overlooking something fundamental 
> here, but in an attempt to ensure I am following this correctly: Is this 
> discussion about 8-bit images in what is referred to as 8-bit TrueColor ie that 
> each pixel has a value described by 8 bits to represent its RGB value. If so - 
> or if in some other case - then how can data be considered to be 'shifted' 
> or 'hidden'? If it cannot be described in 8 bits, then surely it cannot exist 
> within the current colour space?
> 

8 bits per channel, means 256 levels per color channel. Anything more is 
treated as 16 bits per channel by Photoshop. So 10 to 12 bit camera files rattle 
around in 16 bit space; while 8 bit files converted to 16 rattle even more. But 
we can only see 8 bits per channel of even our high bit files; photoshop 
deals with that as the "displayable" portion, while dragging whatever else is in 
between along for the ride. And we can only print about (notice I said ABOUT I 
don't care to argue exactly how much data can be printed yet again! <G>) 8 
bits per channel worth, so whether any data dumped, as I said earlier, through 
the cracks in the 8 bit/channel visible floorboards of our 16 bit/channel 
Photoshop image, into the Midden of Extra Bits Below, may or may not ever resurface 
to do us any good. 

Sorry to be waxing quite so analogous today, but the 'Midden of Extra Bits 
Below' is nearly as much fun as the '8 bit floorboards' that Ernst was 
complementing earlier! <G>

C. David Tobie
Product Technology Manager
ColorVision Business Unit
Datacolor Inc.
CDTobie@...
www.colorvision.com


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