articles/Printers/advancedblackandwhite-page5
by Paul Gallagher Published 01/04/2009
1. Decide on the size that you wish to print your image, then in your 'Image Size' pane in Photoshop make your image 20% larger than your destination size, check the 'Resample' box and set the resolution to 180 pixels per inch (or 360ppi). (use Bicubic Smoother as interpolation)
2. Make a duplicate layer of your image (Ctrl-J).
3. Click Filter>Other>High Pass and set the Radius to 1.8 - that is a hundredth of the working resolution.
4. Set the duplicate layer's mode to Hard Light.
5. So for this is the typical Gallagher method of sharpening - you could now selectively mask the High Pass duplicate layer to protect the sky from sharpening.
6. You may, if you wish, set the image zoom to 100% and adjust the opacity of the High Pass Duplicate layer to suit your taste (and, importantly, your experience and the image).
7. Now reduce the image size by 20% with 'Resample' checked, to bring the image back to your desired size (using Bicubic Sharper as interpolation mode), adding any titling and borders as desired. This 'tightens' the sharpening just a little.
8. Print your masterpiece.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Good as it is the ABW is not a universal solution to monochrome printing and some experimentation would be needed for exhibition-quality printing and fine art monochrome. If you are unsure of your system profiles then ABW will almost certainly create a more pleasing result and in all cases create a commercially acceptable product.
It does, however, provide superb fine-tuning capabilities for those with an inclination to tweak their output and of course, once you have settled on a settings group, consistency will follow along.
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