MASTERING Digital Printing Second Edition Harald Johnson A DIVISION OF COURSE TECHNOLOGY Mastering Digital Printing, SVP, Thomson Course Technology PTR: Second Edition Andy Shafran Publisher: Stacy L. Hiquet © 2005 Harald Johnson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may Senior Marketing Manager: be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic Sarah O’Donnell or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission Marketing Manager: from Thomson Course Technology PTR, except for the inclusion of Heather Hurley brief quotations in a review. Manager of Editorial Services: The Thomson Course Technology PTR logo and related trade dress are Heather Talbot trademarks of Thomson Course Technology PTR and may not be used Senior Acquisitions Editor: without written permission. Kevin Harreld CREDITS Associate Marketing Managers: FRONT COVER: Kristin Eisenzopf and Sarah Dubois TOP RIGHT: Courtesy of David Saffir Project Editor/Proofreader: TOP LEFT: Homestead, courtesy of Bobbi Doyle-Maher Marta Justak BOTTOM LEFT: Courtesy of Martin Juergens Technical Editor: BOTTOM RIGHT: Sonic Color Loom, C. David Tobie © 1998-2004 Howard Berdach Course Technology BACK COVER: PTR Market Coordinator: TOP RIGHT: Flowers by Harald Johnson and Jasc Software Elizabeth Furbish TOP LEFT: Courtesy of Canon USA Copy Editor: BOTTOM LEFT: Epson’s R800 Stylus Photo inkjet printer courtesy of Jenny Davidson Epson America, Inc.; HP's Designjet 130 inkjet printer courtesy of Hewlett- Packard Company. Interior Layout Tech: Jill Flores PART OPENERS: Cover Designer: PART I: Digital Printing Basics Mike Tanamachi Courtesy of Joel Meyerowitz Photography PART II: The Main Event: Inkjet Printing Indexer: Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard Company Sharon Hilgenberg PART III: Beyond the Basics Courtesy of Mike Chaney, author of Qimage APPENDIX: Courtesy of Renata Spiazzi All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Important:Thomson Course Technology PTR cannot provide software support. Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer’s technical support line or Web site for assistance. Thomson Course Technology PTR and the author have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Information contained in this book has been obtained by Thomson Course Technology PTR from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Thomson Course Technology PTR, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information. Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever-changing entity. Some facts may have changed since this book went to press. Educational facilities, companies, and organizations interested in multiple copies or licensing of this book should contact the publisher for quantity discount information. Training manuals, CD-ROMs, and portions of this book are also available individually or can be tailored for specific needs. ISBN: 1-59200-431-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004108014 Printed in the United States of America 04 05 06 07 08 BU 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Educational facilities, companies, and organizations interested in multiple copies or licensing of this book should contact the publisher for quantity discount information. Training manuals, CD-ROMs, and portions of this book are also available individually or can be tailored for specific needs. Thomson Course Technology PTR, a division of Thomson Course Technology ■ 25 Thomson Place ■ Boston, MA 02210 ■ http://www.courseptr.com Dedication To my wife, Lynn. Foreword In early 1989, I was facing two upcoming art shows—one in New York and one in Tokyo— of large format prints of my photographic images. The task was daunting: 50 images in an edition of 25, each printed 30 × 40 inches. My humble darkroom was clearly not up to such a task, not to mention the fact that the negatives for many of the key images had been forever lost during a shipment from San Francisco to Los Angeles. What to do? Whenever faced with a problem, I have only had to turn around and find that the answer was staring me right in the face. The same was true on this occasion. With the help of my longtime friend, R. Mac Holbert, we were able to meet the challenge of finding a way to output digital images that would: (1) print in B&W as well as in color, (2) print on a wide variety of papers, (3) print at a resolution that approached that of photography, and (4) be permanent. By using custom software programs and printing with an IRIS printer on non-traditional substrates, we finally succeeded, and the resulting shows of my images in New York, Tokyo, and Los Angeles were not only widely acclaimed, but the worlds of photography and art were introduced to a new printmaking model. Few innovations are the result of one person's efforts. In our case, this was especially true. Without the help of John Bilotta, Charles Wehrenberg, Steve Boulter, David Coons, Jack Duganne, Al Luccesse, Mike Pelletier, Henry Wilhelm, Susan Nash, and Ruthanne Holbert, Nash Editions—which we officially opened in July 1991, as the world's first professional, digital printmaking studio—would never have become a reality. The digital revolution rolls along. The people, the tools, and the materials continue to evolve. I applaud Harald Johnson’s efforts to provide a comprehensive guidebook to digital imaging and to chronicle the past, the present, and the future of this exciting medium. Graham Nash Nash Editions Acknowledgments Don't believe it if anyone tells you that second editions of books are easier to create; they're not. And the task would have been impossible without the help of many supporting players. First, I thank all the energetic people on the publishing side who provided their professional and enthusiastic support. The publishing team includes Andy Shafran, Kevin Harreld, Sarah O'Donnell, and the sales and marketing staff. On the production side, my kudos go to Marta Justak, Jenny Davidson, Jill Flores, and Sharon Hilgenberg who contributed to the making of this book. Technical editor C. David Tobie again provided his insightful and knowledgeable input. I also want to thank my expert readers who kept me from looking too foolish: Eric Everett, Ted Ginsburg, Mark Gottsegen, Dr. Mark Mizen, Mark Rogers, and Dr. Ray Work III. Further, I called on many other experts and information sources in writing this book, and though they are too numerous to list individually, I am nonetheless grateful for their help. More thanks go to all the product and brand managers, PR managers and outside PR reps, and owners of the companies who supplied me with information, material, and encouragement. Finally, I want to acknowledge the many and varied online discussion lists that I follow. They have provided me with ideas, inspiration, and a connection to thousands of creative and thoughtful people around the world. And, speaking of inspiration, much appreciation goes to the many photographers, artists, and printmakers who contributed their images and their stories to this book. About the Author Harald Johnsonhas been immersed in the world of commercial and fine-art imaging and printing for more than 25 years. A former professional photographer, designer, and creative director, Johnson is an imaging consultant, the head of his own marketing communications agency, and the creator of DP&I.com (www.dpandi.com), the digital printing and imaging resource for photographers and digital/traditional artists. Contents PART I : DIGITAL PRINTING BASICS 1 Navigating the Digital Landscape 3 Birth of the Digital Printing Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Jon Cone’s Computer-Assisted Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Graham Nash and Digital Fine-Art Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Revolution Takes Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Defining Digital Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 High Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Digital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Putting Prints in Their Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 What’s a Print? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Photographic Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Traditional Fine-Art Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Digital Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Why Go Digital? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Larger Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Artistic Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Freedom & Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Who’s Doin’ Digital? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Photographers/Imagemakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Traditional Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Digital Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Gaining Ground: A Question of Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Digital Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Doing It Yourself vs. Sending It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Reproductions or Original Prints? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 State of the Art: The Digital Revolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2 Understanding Digital Printing 37 A Digital Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Anatomy of a Digital Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Pixels and Bit Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Halftones, Contones, and Dithers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Printer Drivers and Printing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Comparing Digital Printing Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Digital Photo Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Dye Sublimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Electrophotography (Color Copy/Color Laser) . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Inkjet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 3 Creating and Processing the Image 75 Image Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Digital Drawing/Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Image Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Image-Editing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Plug-ins and Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Sizing with Image-Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 File Formats, Image Compression, and More... . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Image Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 File Transport, Storage, and Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 4 Understanding and Managing Color 115 Color Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 What Is Color? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Light Sources and Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Measuring Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Color Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119