<< This is based in
part on an article I read in PCPhoto magazine stating that the key to
quality printing with ink jet printers lies in setting the final printer
output at 300 dpi. (I hope I read this right.)
It also depends on the type of paper or film you are using. It also depends on
the dithering algorithms which are still being researched and developed. It is
not a classical science yet.
>> My question is this...if indeed this is the key, then would there be any
practical (i.e. noticable) qualitative difference between pt/pd images
which were made with "digital" negatives generated by a 35mm negative
scanned via a quality 35mm film scanner and a 4x5 negative that was
scanned and used to make the final "digital" negative. The final image in
both cases would be no larger than 8x10.
>>
If that is *indeed* the key, or if indeed with your printer / paper / film
combination, printing at 300 dpi gives you optimum result, then there won't be
any different whether you use 35mm or 4x5. A desktop scanner can scan at 2700
dpi. When "enlarged" to 8x10, you have about 340 dpi with 8-bit of color
information in each dot. This is way way too much information for printing at
300 dpi (1-bit of information in each dot); thus scanning a 4x5 won't really
help.
I hope this helps a little, and I hope that one day all these will become as
clear as simple math. It is actually just the same simple principle as
significant figures ....
Dave Soemarko