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Subject:Photocopying vs. printing: a correction From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Wed, 12 Mar 1997 15:02:55 -0600
I realized that I should make two clarifications of
statements I made earlier about photocopying vs. printing.
I suggested that:
- DocuTech systems have problems with screen shots: After
posting this, I realized that I was really talking about
problems with photocopying camera-ready copy, and that
DocuTech is just the best known of these alternatives to
offset printing; I'm pretty sure that recent versions of
the DocuTech system can actually output direct from
diskette, without requiring a printed original, and can
thus avoid the problem with photocopying a grey band. This
approach might be a good photocopy-based solution.
- It's not just photocopiers that have problems with
laser-printed greyscales. Photographic techniques _may_
have problems too. The problems arise because greys
produced using laser printer toner vary in optical density
from printout to printout, and although these variations
may be invisible to the naked eye, photocopiers and stat
cameras pick up the differences. Similarly, even if you use
film negatives produced by a camera (_not_ negs produced by
a phototypesetter), the operator will have a devil of a
time producing consistent greys. It's just the nature of
the process. Go with phototypeset output and bypass the
camera if you can.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
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