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Where can I find the dynamic range of printers?

rmprmp Posts: 586Member
in General Discussions
I can find a dynamic range of cameras on DxO's web site. But I do not know where to find the dynamic range of printers or monitors. Anyone have any suggestions?
Robert M. Poston: D4, D810, V3, 14-24 F2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, 80-400, 105 macro.
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Comments

  • PB_PMPB_PM Posts: 4,494Member
    Many large printing services have downloadable colour profiles, which will give you the ability to softproof the images before sending them off. You may be able to find similar profiles for common photo printers as well, but I haven't looked in a long time.

    Needless to say, there are no printers on the market that can match the dynamic range of the cameras out there today.
    If I take a good photo it's not my camera's fault.
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  • spraynprayspraynpray Posts: 6,545Moderator
    AIUI: A printer has no dynamic range as such itself. The eye is around 15 stops max and the camera is close to that at 14. Monitors vary greatly but are the weak link at about 9 stops max. Prints are the best medium and the science of printing to get the best results is quite complex. Post processing to be able to print the full dynamic range requires one to modify the contrast of an image to use the full dynamic range captured and familiarity of the paper/ink/profile or a lot of trial and error.
    Always learning.
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  • rmprmp Posts: 586Member
    edited June 2017
    I saw that DxO gives the D810 a dynamic range (landscape rating) of 14.

    I cannot remember where I copied this from but here is one rating for the dynamic range for the human eye.
    "All in all, a good estimate for the dynamic range of the eye is about 20 stops. Why? Because then we’re within the bounds of either the mesopic phase or the photopic phase. Any images that have more than 20 stops of dynamic range look unnatural to the eye."

    So, 15-20 seems to a good number for the average-human-eye.

    I am currently I am playing with the monitor-calibration and printer-ink-paper profile matching. I can match colors from the real world to a print, -- well almost.

    So far the printer (Epson 3880), ink (standard for 3880) seems to be best with Red River Paper's "Polar Pearl Metallic" paper. (Do you know a better paper?)

    But, I still do not know the DR of either my monitor or my printer. It just seems to me that those numbers should be available someplace. They should not be magic or hidden.
    Post edited by rmp on
    Robert M. Poston: D4, D810, V3, 14-24 F2.8, 24-70 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8, 80-400, 105 macro.
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