Shutterbug Strasse

A photographer's haven for the lastest in digital or traditional film cameras.

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Not bleak....

Posted by Ding-Dong on May 3, 2004 at 14:08:48:
I never said things were bleak. I just read so many posts on photo websites with people complaining about results - and blaming the equipment. Mostly, it's operator error, or perhaps more accurately, operator misconception. I'm merely trying to point out, that if 12x18 inch prints are the goal, then there are some basic system considerations that must be taken into account prior to making photos, or one can easily become discouraged or overwhelmed with the workflow.
In fact, if you take your time, and setup a profiled system, color fidelity and reproduction issues are the last thing on your mind as you work on an image because you have confidence that your system WILL absolutely reproduce what you see on your screen.
But even with that there are subtlties. For example, with a certain paper it might take up to 24 hours after printing before the image has "stabilized" (quit changing). Profile a test target on the paper immediately after printing it, and final images will only look 90% as good as a print from a profile where you've waited the full 24 hours before reading the test target image.
Then there is contrast gain. Some papers gain contrast slightly from what is seen on the raster image. One might think of this as the difference between viewing a transparency on a light box and seeing a print. The difference being the CRT image is transmitted light and the print is reflected light. Or, another example is in making a wet darkroom B&W print, where one must use experience with image making to account for "dry down."
Likewise, with digital ink jet printing, one must expirement a bit, and gain some experience in how a print changes between the CRT image and the final print. Not huge changes, not color shifts, but those little "extra tweaks" that give the image an added dimension in aesthetic appeal.
The point being that just like standard wet darkroom based photography - you must match your technical choices and technique with your aesthetic intent.