Photophys.com: The Science of Photography

Many of us try to obtain high-resolution images with high signal-to-noise ratios through the use of good equipment and good techniques. Unfortunately, some of our efforts are wasted when we display our images online and in small prints. It is only with 13”x19” and larger prints that high image quality can be appreciated. At some point in the future, large electronic displays will replace paper prints and will require the same high quality images now required for prints, but we are not there yet and printing is still the way to produce exhibition quality displays. In this entry I discuss what I have learned on the way to producing exhibition quality prints. It is aimed at serious amateur photographers who want to display their prints and even to sell some of them.

Disclaimer: I am a relative new comer to the world of color management, soft proofing, and quality printer papers. Comments from experienced photographers are welcome.

The production of high quality prints requires that one first capture high quality images. Next, and just as important, one must post-process the image with appropriate cropping, sharpening and noise reduction; and throughout there must be proper management of colors from the camera for all relevant monitors and printers. Mastering all these aspects is the subject of numerous books and training videos. Here I present a brief outline of those things I think are necessary for high quality print making.

1) First capture the image (preferably a RAW image) with proper exposure and ISO selection. High pixel count with large pixels certainly helps, especially when cropping is necessary; but smaller sensors are often sufficient, and they can be supplemented when appropriate with HDR capture methods and panoramic stitching. For example the image in Fig. 1, which was made with a 10 megapixel (APS-C) DSLR camera, produced a very good 20” x 30” print that was juried into an exhibition and then was sold.

2) Color management is essential. This requires camera calibration by means of a color checker test card, monitor calibration with one of the commercial colorimeters or spectrophotometers, and finally printing with the appropriate profile for your choice of printer and paper.

3) Use “soft proofing” to make sure that you get what you expect on the final paper print. This technique will let you determine any colors that are out of gamut so that they can be adjusted. Also, you can see your image with the proper paper color rather than the white of you monitor. Often the simulated paper print will have a faded appearance compared to the original monitor image. You can then make image adjustments so that you can obtain the print you desire. It is a good idea to make these adjustments on a copy of the original image and to identify it for the particular printer and paper. All of this can be done in Photoshop and more conveniently with release 4 of Photoshop Lightroom.

4) Finally, carefully consider the type of mat and the frame size for an appealing presentation. Plain white is often a good mat choice to avoid any distraction from your art work.

The aspiring print maker may be overwhelmed by some of the terminology as well as the large number of items introduced. My purpose is to stimulate beginners and those who are just out of date to find out what all this means by using tutorials online and in books, by taking workshops, and/or watching video training disks. I recommend the video “Camera to Print and Screen” by Michael Reichmann and Jeff Schewe that is available at this link, but there are others.

For those who have been “getting by” without monitor and printer profiles and soft proofing, I recommend that they investigate what modern workflow can contribute to print quality. I know, all this costs money, but not as much as you might think. The camera calibration card is under $100 and a monitor calibrator does not cost much more than that. Printer profiles are usually supplied with the printer, or they can be downloaded from the paper manufacturer.

What you may not have is a large photo printer. A good 13”x19” color printer with dye based inks can sometimes be found at $200 after discounts are applied. An example would be the Canon Pro 9000 Mk II. A similar printer with pigment based inks costs perhaps twice as much, but usually offers greater print longevity and perhaps additional gray inks for black and white prints. Examples would be the Epson R3000 and the Canon Pro 9500 Mk II. I find that the inexpensive dye based printers are just fine for color prints, but high quality black and white prints are difficult to obtain with just one black and no gray inks. A well-made and printed black and white image of an appropriate subject can be truly impressive, often exceeding the aesthetic quality of the original color photograph. Figure 2 provides an example.

The next step up in printer size would be 17” paper width and would involve a big jump in price and the cost of ink cartridges. A work horse in this size category is the Epson Stylus Pro 3800. A rule of thumb is that the cost of a printer is proportional to the cube of the width of the paper, and many will be forced to opt out of the printer size race at this point. Fortunately, there are many commercial print makers, and some of them are quite economical. For example my local Costco store has an Epson 7800 printer, and Costco publishes the necessary printer profiles online. The 20” x 30” print I mentioned above was, in fact, a Costco print that had been soft proofed on my home computer.