Digital BW, The Print

I guess what I'm saying is I don't think they are supposed to be bars, I
think it's a gradient. I would base my assumption of what it's supposed to
be on the 100% view in PS, and assume other programs, if they show it
differently, are the ones at fault.

BTW, some video cards seem better able to display gradients than others. On
my monitor gradients typically display with a certain amount of tiger band
striping, so you can't always trust your monitor. (Don't even think about
getting a good gradient from your monitor unless you have it set up for
millions of colors.)

The best way to determine what the file is *supposed* to look like is to run
your PS eyedropper (set to one pixel) across the area and see if the tones
smoothly grade, or if the tones consistently plateau, which would indicate
the bars you speak of. Since the file was jpeged, there could be artifacts
and errant pixels so take your time and keep that in mind.

Todd

> I re-opened it in Photoshop 6.0.1 at 25% (by default I guess), and
> zoomed in up to 100%, but the gradient persisted - the bars did not
> reappear. Of course I'm glad to have the 100% tip anyway.
> 
>> Sam
>> 
>> Paul created that step wedge so he'll be the final arbiter, but I'd
>> disregard all views of that entire target other than in Photoshop at 100%
>> magnification (50% or 25% might also be relatively valid). Anything else
>> runs the risk of poor color management, or screen resolution aliasing.
>> 
>> Todd
>> 
>>> I'm trying to get started with the MIS VM Sepia-Neutral (SN) inkset
>>> in a CIS I just installed in my 1160. In the first nozzle test, there
>>> were a few gaps in the second set of black stairs and several gaps in
>>> the third set of black stairs. (And the non-black colors were of
>>> course a little weird.) But after only a single cleaning and no
>>> waiting, the second and subsequent nozzle tests look good in all
>>> steps in each "color". I hope this means that the SN inks are loaded
>>> properly and the cartridges are correctly seated. So I'm trying to
>>> get ready to use the step test with Paul Roark's curves from the MIS
>>> web page (InkSupply.com).
>>> 
>>> If you go to the home page for this list
>>> 
>>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
>>> 
>>> and then to the Files page, "Image processing and workflows", the
>>> first entry is "21stepNew.jpg, Paul Roark's New & Improved 21-step
>>> Wedge, 122 KB".
>>> 
>>> 21stepNew is the most complex of the 21step images I've seen. So I
>>> thought I'd try to use it. But I'm concerned to understand first a
>>> difference I see in how 21stepNew looks in Internet Explorer 5 (via
>>> QuickTime's PictureViewer 5.0.2) on the Yahoo page and in how it
>>> looks in after it's downloaded by Explorer 5.
>>> 
>>> In Explorer, to the left of the 21-step wedge, I see a column of
>>> thirteen vertical bars of graduated shades of gray. The bars are very
>>> distinct; the column looks almost fluted.
>>> 
>>> Having used Explorer to download the image, when I try to open it in
>>> Photoshop 6.0.1, I first get the Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog
>>> box, which gives me the usual three choices, all of which result in,
>>> instead of a fluted column, a perfectly smooth one with no bars, just
>>> a smooth gradient. If I close Photoshop and double-click on
>>> 21stepNew.jpg, the Mac OS (9.1) uses PictureViewer 5.0.2,  but from
>>> Apple's QuickTime instead of from Explorer, to open 21stepNew, but
>>> this time with the gradient instead of distinct bars. So the download
>>> seems to cause the change.
>>> 
>>> I'm curious to know both why the bars turn into a gradient and, if
>>> this reduces 21stepNew's usefulness, whether I should try to
>>> compensate for it somehow.
>>> 
>>> Thanks.
>>> 
>>> Sam