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The Digital Darkroom
Once an image is captured on your camera, it will end up in
your imaging workstation where the fun begins.
If you are not
computer-savvy or if you don't know Photoshop, then digital will be much less
useful to you. Learning color management and workflow issues will overwhelm
some people. Not everyone can learn to take advantage of the digital explosion.
But there are new tools introduced every month that make the process easier.
Within the decade, this problem will be solved.
Online
working storage for jobs in progress is handled by the workstation's RAM, which
is why machines are usually loaded with 128MB, if not more RAM. The hard drive
also serves as a "scratch disk" when larger images exceed the capacity of a
system's RAM.
Transportable storage is covered by systems such as Zip and Jaz
drives from Iomega, as well as SyQuests and magneto-opticals. Recordable CD's
are also popular with photographers who can give their clients non-erasable
images on the CD.
As
your digital image repositories grow, so do the need for long-term image
storage and retrieval.
Exploring the Digital Darkroom
How To Make Digital Slide
Shows
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Essentials
of Digital Photography is for Adobe Photoshop users who are serious about
getting into the nitty-gritty of digital photography and producing
professional-quality work. This full-color guide takes an in-depth look into
using digital cameras, scanning, calibrating your monitor, color-correcting
your images, and creating photo montages, all the while explaining technology
and technique thoroughly.
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Color
Proofers
For most
photographers, after images are captured, enhanced, and color convereted, they
need to be output as color proofs. The most popular devices are the wide
variety of desktop dye-sublimation printers normally costing from $8,000 to
$18,000. For those with larger budgets, digital color proofers costing as much
as $40,000 may be the answer. Dye-sublimation printers require less maintenance
than proofers such as the Iris which requires maintenance contracts costing
hundreds of dollars each month.
For those with very tight
budgets, Epson's Stylus Color 3000 inkjet printer might fill the bill.
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Price |
Max. Size |
Max. Resolution (dpi) |
| Desktop
Dye-Sublimation |
| Agfa DuoProof Enhanced |
$18,995 |
12.16x18 |
300 |
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| High-Res Inkjets |
| Agfa Atlas |
$32,000 |
34.5x47.5 |
300 |
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Scanners
Color Management
If you want to be
able to produce predictable color in-house, as well as calibrating with outside
vendors you will need to have a workable color management system in place. The
purpose of color management software is to keep the colors that you specify in
a file as consistent as possible throughout your work flow, as files move
through the various peripherals (scanners, monitors, printers) to final output.
Each device has its own way of representing color and with each step, there is
the potential for problems.
There are a number of color
management software packages on the market today. What's important is the
product must work with image data to create ICC-compatible, device-independent
profiles. It is beyond the scope of this page to fully explain color management
theory, but suffice it to say that relying on Photoshop alone will not give you
color-calibrated, press-ready files. Without an effective color management
system, your file's color will not remain true, as each application writes to
its own color management scheme with little interaction with the operating
system.
Color Management
Resources
Color Management - The
Color Conundrum
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Photographers Marketplace is designed and is maintained
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Data Synthesis
Copyright 1998-2003
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