.. in fact I would go so far as to say that your lab is probably
imaging at 200 - 250 dpi simply to achieve a faster workflow and
therefore more money, obviously to the detriment of your output. The
optimum dpi outpt of a Ligtjet for instance is 305-400 dpi not 200-250.
David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
Deen Hameed <deenhameed@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Ello...
Do we have a digital printing expert in the house?
I've been printing portraiture through a local prolab here in
Sydney for nearly 2 years now, and i've always been impressed
with just how big a 6MP digital file can be blown up. The
prints were done at 200-250ppi, and while they are clean (not
pixelated), they definitely do not show the tonality or detail
of a film print, even in an 8x10 or 11x14 (all the images are
printed at the same ppi). Even a 4x6 on film has a different
tonality and detail that digital (S2 or D70) is simply not
delivering (even at such a small print)
Now that I am doing my own thing, I really am looking to
improve the quality of the prints I can produce...
I would rather not stuff about with inkjets (if I can), and
would prefer to just send the job to a professional to do. In
exchange, I am hoping for *sharp* results (even if the print
is not too big), good colour and contrast.
There are plenty of labs here with a variety of equipment;
Durst Lambda, Frontiers, LightJets, but pretty much all the
labs request the print at 200-250ppi. The only prints i've
seen are from the lambda and the frontier machines, and they
are all that 'flatty' look.
I've seen some inkjet prints that _are_ very sharp, and
resemble film output, though.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can improve the
images, so they can be printed at the 'pro' lab, with 'pro'
equipment to deliver the sort of results that we can expect
from decent inkjet/analog gear? or is the big printer really
only good for making BIG prints, and not detail.
I have two quick guesses; is your monitor calibrated? Maybe you're
preparing stuff wrong because you're seeing it wrong. And what kind
of final sharpening (unsharp mask) are you applying? (Generally you
want to do sharpening as the last step in the workflow).
