A Study of Performance Differences between a Hybrid and Rapid Access Film System, and Calibration Strategies for an Imagesetter

Details:

Year: 1997
Pages: 16

Summary:

An imagesetter can be calibrated by measuring solid density and using a linearizing program. However, a better method consists of adjusting exposure in order to optimize resolution. This methods works well with some rapid access films; but preliminary tests showed that it may not be applicable to a hybrid system. This study investigated tone reproduction for a hybrid film and a rapid access film on a laser exposure imagesetter, to evaluate the applicability of calibration and linearization methods using checkerboard patterns. An attempt was made to explain the differences between the two films in terms of their fundamental characteristics of spread function and modulation transfer function. It was concluded that optimizing resolution is a good calibration method, if the necessary precautions are observed.