Re: Step Tablets
Jack Fulton (jfulton@itsa.ucsf.EDU)
Wed, 1 May 1996 21:06:06 -0700 (PDT)
> Next question: I am not enamoured with spending $50 on a Kodak step tablet for
> establishing printing times and contrast ranges, though I would like to
> eliminate some guess work. What about making my own in Photoshop and using Dan
> Burkholder's technique (is he on this list BTW?) for digital output? If suitable
> the cost would be less than $8. Any other options?
Welllll, I've been using PS and I open a standard page size of, say,
8x10 and then using the marquee tool make a box of "marching ants" that
covers 1/2 the page vertically. Using the gradient tool go from total
black to white and then posterize it in 20 steps. Do the same thing to the
other 1/2 of the page and posterize it to 10 steps.
If you print that out on a 600dpi printer it looks pretty good. If you're
only able to use a 300 dpi, then turn the page into a bitmap and go for
about 200 or 250 and print that out. I often use a piece of clear mylar
and you can use that as a step wedge.
Yeah, funky, but, you know, expedient and cheap. Not professional.
Jack
***The eye is the Pencil of Nurture***