Digital BW, The Print

"Greg" <dfaprinting@...> wrote:

> ... It takes a certain amount of light to be reflected for the
> eye to be able to see the detail....
 
> As far as the tonal curves go, I would prefer a linear 
> graduation from the blackest to the lightest, because I 
> do not like to see the detail get all plugged up in the shadows.

I had a negative reaction to the non-linear Gray Gamma 2.2 space at first too, mostly based on coming from the 8 bit world where we started out some years ago.  The compressed shadows seemed a real waste of precious steps.  

However, I've changed my mind.  With 16 bit now being standard, we have enough steps to not worry about it.  And, what I've found is that the GG 2.2 space combined with high dmax glossy paper allows one to pack a lot of information in those deep shadows.  While this deep shadow detail may be invisible inside, if I go out into the bright outside light, I can "see into" the shadows rather well.  There is detail down there.  With a matte paper or linear space, they are more likely to lack much detail or look smokey gray.  So, for my brochures I now use glossy paper, and I think the images look better when people take them into very bright sunlight.  (At least that's my theory, for what it's worth.)


Paul
www.PaulRoark.com