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Summary:
The impact of electronics has changes the face of communication. Nowhere has this become more apparent than in the field of digital communications. The decade of the 80's was the decade of the computer and laser. The limited computer power available to the people has been increased beyond the hopes of the first PC makers. Any new exposure source is, of course, of interest to those involved in imaging. A coherent source like the laser is of vital interest to the graphic arts. Initially, the devices that implemented these two innovations were incorporated into large devices available only to a select few. Today with the scale-down in size and dollars made available from material research and production quantities, personal computers and laser diode exposing sources are available to most all of us. Initially, the devices that implemented these two innovations were incorporated into large devices available only to a select few. Today with the scale-down in size and dollars made available from material research and production quantities, personal computers and laser diode exposing sources are available to most all of us. Questions have arisen concerning the comparative image quality of some of the steps employed by desk top publishing compared to the traditional steps in the reproduction chain. This paper explores the tone reproduction cycle of some aspects of desktop as compared to conventional printing. Specifically detailed is the differences between electronic image file fidelity and direct-to-plate imaging. The major study tool will be the study of tone reproduction in offset positive printing as represented by the GRATR analysis technique.