Re: For those who are interested in making digital negatives using pigmented inksets

From: Sandy King <sanking@clemson.edu>
Subject: Re: For those who are interested in making digital negatives using pigmented inksets
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 15:44:45 -0500

> If you look at an inkjet negative from a printer like the
> Epson 2000P with a loupe you will see a definite dithering pattern
> that would be visible if you printed on a smooth surface like AZO or
> some other silver gelatin surface. However, when printing on art and
> drawing papers, including vellum, the texture of the paper does not
> allow this pattern to reproduce.

So my question was how many times of enlargement do you think one can
make from your Epson 2000P negative on printmaking or watercolor paper
without noticing the dithering pattern. But I realize that if you are
limited to non-silver sensitizers and commercial silver material, it's
kinda hard to predict.

> How tonal values are rendered is another issue but the use of 16 bit
> scans makes that issue moot, in my opinion.

Also, my guess is that dithering pattern would be less of an issue
because with silver-gelatin process, the image signal does not need to
be manipulated to boost contrast before the inkjet negative is made.
The contrast boost process is done in unquantized, continuous value
world.

--
Ryuji Suzuki
"Reality has always had too many heads." (Bob Dylan, Cold Irons Bound, 1997)