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Print ArticleTECH TIPS
Are You Getting Optimal Output
From Your Lab?
Finally, Quality Is Quantifiable
BY PETER LEBOVITZ
One of the big pluses with digital images is the ability to copy
them without any loss in quality. Since the image files are made up
of a string of numbers, they can be duplicated over and over again,
and the last copy will be identical to the original. So far, so
good.
But what happens when you want to make a print? Will every print
look the same? Perfect in every respect? No such luck.
With today's technology, direct digital output on photographic
paper is the gold standard for image quality. Labs have made
enormous investments in new technology. Such systems make it
possible to easily produce prints on traditional color photographic
paper at a quality level previously almost impossible to
achieve.
The key words are "make it possible." Which is to say, it doesn't
always happen. It's also possible to produce mediocre work on these
expensive systems.
IS QUALITY JOB ONE?
In a digital environment, every aspect of an image's appearance can
be precisely controlled. More contrast, less contrast, darker
shadows, brighter highlights, even sharper sharpness.
But if all this power is not used wisely, the results can be
unfortunate. Flesh tones turn lifeless, colors lose their
brilliance, and the world becomes a flat and dreary place.
The images were made from identical digital files sent to two
different labs. The prints at the top were made on a Durst Lambda
laser imager at a lab in the Midwest. Not bad at all. The prints
below it were made on an identical $200,000 Lambda at a lab several
miles to the south. Unfortunately, the technicians hadn't fully
mastered its operation. The result is easy to see.
The culprit here is color gamut. Every imaging system has the
potential to produce a certain range of color, which can be
represented in "color space," as shown in the diagram. The circle
represents the entire range of color the human eye can see. The
green outline shows how much a hypothetical imaging system might
reproduce. That would be the maximum color gamut for that
system.
What happens, though, is that the imaging system might not be fully
optimized. The red outline represents how this could affect the
available color space. In this case, we're missing some yellow-red.
The results might look OK, but they're not as good as they could
be. Sometimes, they might not look OK, but the lab may not
recognize the real reason. Instead, they might assume the digital
image file had been faithfully reproduced. And not knowing any
better, the customer, that is, the photographer, might think so,
too.
DIGITAL QUALITY SERVICE
When Agfa began supplying color photographic paper to digital labs,
we quickly became aware of the potential, and the challenges, this
new technology presents. We also recognized that the
quality-monitoring tools that were in place did not completely
address some of these challenges. So we designed a completely new
system to fill the gap between the needs of conventional projection
printing and digital photographic imaging.
This system, Digital Quality Service (DQS), allows our lab
customers to achieve the highest possible quality from their
digital imaging systems. Consistently.
Send copies of your digital image files to a few of the labs you would consider using. Give each of them the same printing instructions, and compare the prints when they come back. The results will speak for themselves. Imagine buying a fine medium-format camera, say, a Hasselblad 503CW. On such a camera, all the adjustments are calibrated within extremely close tolerances, and can be set with exceptional precision. Exposure can be controlled to the most exacting requirements.
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