Digital image to archival print

[Ron at]

Dear list,
    I know very little about "computers" - very very little. My son-in-law
however, is a big time computer guy with a major company - he goes all over
the world for them fixing software and program problems. My son is a VP for
a local computer company that sells and installs corporate level systems.
SO - I have plenty of help for what this old grandpa doesn't know.
    I have, however, learned a good bit about printing out photos for
publication. A few years ago we founded the International Lepidoptera
Survey and The Taxonomic report (TTR). Our publication goes out to between
300 to 500 with each issue. The text pages are done at a local printer (on
acid free good quality 24 lb paper). The color pages are done here by -
me - on a HP 722C printer. (This is one sturdy printer. I have done
thousands and thousands of copies and never one mechanical problem. This is
a low end "cheep" printer. But the quality of the pictures is as good as
the much more expensive models.)
     I am all to familiar with the differences from step to step in this
kind of publication. At each step something can be gained or lost.
     1) The first step is taking the picture - does it look like the
subject. In this step (as with all others) the equipment is not nearly as
important as the ability of the used to get the most out of that equipment.
One can have the best digital camera there is but if the settings are not
right the image will not look like the subject.
     2a) If a conventional camera was used the next step is the scan. Ditto
as step one. 2b) If a digital camera is used there is some pretty neat
equipment available. There is a tiny little piece of equipment (about 2
inches by two inches) that you just slide camera's the digital photo card
into and it reads this straight to the computer. Remember I am not a
computer person and don't know what this is called - just that this is the
new "toy" my son-in-law has.
     3) Now that the picture is in the computer the variety of potential
color problems increases exponentially. a) You need lots of memory (at
least 128), especially if you like TIF or other large files. I do all mine
in Jpeg.) Set your monitor resolution at as high as it will go. BIG TIP -
Take a photo of anything that has various colors in it. Holding it in hand,
adjust the picture of it on your monitor contrast/ bright/etc. to look like
the object (room lighting is a factor). Once done your screen is "set" to
do photos.
     4) Photo editing program. I use Paint Shop Pro (PSP) version 6. I am
totally satisfied with this. I don't think the photo editor program is
nearly as important as the operators ability to use it. Why get something
so expensive and with so many features you will never even understand them
much less use them?
     5) Print out. OOPS! The print out does not look anything like the on
screen image. Here is the big headache. My son says I need to buy software
that will "make" or "enable" the printer to print out images just like they
are on screen. I will get this. But my past experienced (3 years) in
"fighting" this problem by hand to hand combat has taught me a lot on how
to adjust PSP on screen to come out right on paper (using gamma,
saturation, hue, red-blue-green, etc. etc. controls).
    6) PAPER. I have tried all kinds of paper. THE best all around paper I
have found is Great White brand, Imaging and Photo (matte finish) paper.
This is a 37 lb paper acid free archival quality (says so on the box). It
is printable on both sides. It is basically "slick" to the touch - but some
batches have a more regular paper feel. I get better quality prints on this
than with expensive one side only glossy photo papers - or any other paper.
It may be that it just works best with the HP printers. The print either
side feature is a must for desk top publishing as you want material (text
or photos) on both sides.

BIG SUGGESTION - TIP.  TTR also puts out each years volume on CD to
subscribers, museums, libraries which satisfies the 2000 ICZN Code for
achievability. Thus, we are not _overly_ concerned with the permanency of
the paper product (eternal ink and paper durability).  It seems natural,
that with a computer generated paper product that a CD product also be
available. In fact it is MUCH cheaper to put out color issues on CD than on
paper. (Mailing is more - $1.18 to 77 or 99 cents per individual issue. But
not per Volume - $1.18 vs. 10 @ 77 =  $7.70)  Bulk blank CDs cost pennies
per CD. I run (produce) all our CDs right here off my HP CD writer. There
are lots of products available (cheep) for desk top CD production - labels
etc. The BIG advantage of CDs is the whole fight to get the picture print
out to look like what is on screen is eliminated!!! Our CDs have both Word
and PDF (Adobe) versions on them.

I hope this has been useful to someone. To check out a TILS-TTR product go
to our web site at www.tils-ttr.org and look under "Taxonomic Report" or
"News"  tabs on the home page. For the quality of our digital pictures go
to the photos section. Some more technical info (on how to set this stuff
up for yourself or your group) go to the bottom of the "About" section and
email my son-in-law, Joe, who is our webmaster. He will be happy to answer
your technical questions.

One last thing. If you are thinking about desk top publishing as just -
paper, photo print outs, etc. you are already antiquated. You need to think
along the lines of CD and WEB publication. I recently got an email from a
long time "staff" person at the Lepidopterists' Society. He lamented at how
far behind (the times as well as in Journal production) that organization
IS. He congratulated TILS on being on the "cutting edge" or scientific
publication via our CDs and Web site. We should not even be thinking along
the lines of "Digital image to archival PRINT."  Within 25-50 years there
will be no such thing as archival PRINT. In 50-100 years libraries and
books, as we have known them since the advent of the printing press, will
be things of antiquity - like the butter churn, horse drawn carriage, and
typewrite. (Libraries have already thrown out the paper Card File.) (We
will eventually be able to access anything that has ever been printed at
home on line - even from other planets.) Computers and the WWW are
revolutionizing publishing. Newspapers, books, and scientific journals on
paper are soon to become extinct.  (Yes, please, scan in all those old
books now before they fall apart completely, burn up, fade more, etc.!
Plus, I can't afford to go to the British Museum to look at Jones Icones.)
The die hard old timers need to accept this and evolve or go broke as well
as extinct.

Ron Gatrelle