It comes as a surprise to many professionals in the graphic arts that quality very often depends on optical illusions. One optical illusion in particular, "Mach bands", is critical in the graphic arts and fundamental to quality image reproduction.

Mach bands are named in honor of Ernst Mach the Austrian physicist and philosopher who is also the namesake for the "Mach number" (also known as Mach speed). The Mach band optical illusion is the basis for how most image sharpening, such as the "UnSharp Mask" filter in Adobe Photoshop, is done in photo editing software.

Mach bands reveal a bit about how our eye/brain compensates for a lack of actual detail resolving ability. Look closely at the below image which has six patches of gray set between a black patch and a white.

Do the gray patches looked scalloped? Lighter on the left than on the right? In fact, the gray patches are of a uniform tone as can be seen by simply moving one patch out of its context.

To make up for our eye/brain's detail resolving deficiency, it processes incoming light in such a way as to exaggerate the contrast wherever two different tones meet. Increasing the contrast at those edges gives us the perception of more detail.

Here's how the sharpening filter in Adobe Photoshop leverages this optical illusion to make images look more detailed. First I'll apply it to the original gray patches. The top half is the original and the bottom half with the sharpening filter applied:

Now we'll see the same sharpening applied to a real image.

On the left is the original globe image straight out of the camera with middle top image is a section of the original enlarged. On the right is the globe after sharpening is applied with the bottom center enlargement showing the effect of sharpening.
 

Technically, the sharpened image actually has less real detail because image pixels had to be converted to black and white lines bordering the actual image detail. However, despite having less detail our eye/brain perceives a sharper, more detailed, image all thanks to software leveraging the power of an optical illusion.

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In my last post, I asked what you think the next big change in the printing industry will be and if you are ready for it. One way to stay ahead of the curve is to attend association meetings that research and discuss industry trends with printing industry executives.

In Cincinnati, June 18-20, I had the opportunity to attend my first PRIMIR meeting. PRIMIR stands for Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization and the group was formed in 2005 when GAMIS and the NPES Market Research Committee combined. I attended at the invitation of the current Chairperson, Chris Echevarria, who is a close colleague of mine at Kodak. Chris is also a contributing blogger to growyourbiz.com, so be sure to look for her postings in the near future. PRIMIR meets quarterly and in addition to hosting industry speakers they also conduct open committee meetings to discuss multiple ongoing research topics. In the past year, PRIMIR has recently published studies including Trends in Sheetfed Lithography (2008), Trends in Inkjet Technologies 2006 - 2011(2007) and more. Another colleague at Kodak, Chandni Dighe, is currently involved in a book publishing study to be published in 2008. Reports can be found on the PRIMIR website and are free to members.

I enjoyed listening to guest speaker Jim Chisholm of iMedia as he shared his view of the future of newspaper publishing. Another hot topic included sustainability which is the focus of another current PRIMIR research project. During the meeting there was plenty of time for networking during breaks, lunch and at evening events, which included a Cincinnati Reds game and a river boat dinner cruise.

One of the highlights of the meeting was a tour of Kodak's Inkjet Printing Solutions facility in Dayton, Ohio. Members had a chance to see our printing systems in action, including our full color 750 fpm Kodak Versamark VX5000 Plus Printing System, Kodak Versamark VL2000 Printing System, Kodak Versamark VT3000 Printing System, NexPress S3000 and the Digimaster  EX150.

Kodak Versamark VL2000 Printing System

To stay ahead of the curve, it is important to stay tuned into the latest trends and one of the most efficient ways to do so is to become involved with an industry association. I hope you'll consider attending an association meeting of your choice in the near future.

Left to Right: Paul Jaynes, Eastman Kodak Company, Task Force Leadership - Trends and Future of Financial & Transactional Printing; Kip Smythe, PRIMIR President & NPES Vice President; Diana Cotton, xpedx, Task Force Leadership - Mega Printers' Impact on North American Print Market; Christina Echevarria, Eastman Kodak Company, Task Force Leadership - Mega Printers' Impact on North American Print Market.

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By now you may have heard some rumblings about Kodak's new Stream technology from industry analysts or press releases. You may have heard that it is the only new inkjet technology that will be demonstrated at drupa. And certainly there have been statements discussing where Stream fits into the print continuum in relation to offset printing. All these things are very good, but what do they really mean to you?

Let me start off by saying that I am relatively new to Kodak and Stream myself, having been with the company just shy of one year now. While my time with Stream is relatively short when compared to many fellow Kodakers, I have witnessed many impressive strides in its development. Image quality is the primary focus area of my work in the research and development of this technology. These are important footnotes to put my perspective into context.

Now let's back to the question of what this all means to you. To be completely honest, I think that Stream offers many impressive promises that make it possible for the technology to mean something different to everyone. Yet no matter what benefits you find the most compelling, there are likely key capabilities offered by Stream that serve as the foundation for those benefits. Glossy commercial substrates, striking image quality and detail, unsurpassed productivity. You will be able to witness these capabilities on the Stream Concept Press at drupa.

So what importance does my time with Kodak have in this discussion? When it comes to things like glossy substrates and image quality and productivity, I have seen such strides in just one year that it is impossible to not be excited by Stream. Images have been printed on both the Stream Concept Press and offset presses and when you put them side by side it is clear we have a technology that can compete in commercial printing. You will be able to view such comparative samples in the Kodak booth at drupa. Take a moment to envision offset-class image quality off a digital press that will print completely variable data and it often feels like the sky is the limit for Stream.

I hope you have the opportunity to come to drupa and see the Stream Concept Press being demonstrated by Kodak to the world for the first time. While I cannot put words in the mouths of others, if I could step out and speak for the hundreds of people working on Stream I think there would be one common message. And that message is that we are all proud to be part of this promising new digital printing technology and excited to have the chance to share Stream with you.

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