Abstract
A visual experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of black separation on spatial image quality. Two types of black printer algorithms were evaluated. One simulated conventional printing with the exception of yielding colorimetric matching. The other employed a simple algorithm based on minimum and maximum amounts of black and also employed a colorimetric paradigm. Using pictorial and synthetically generated gradation images,two visual experiments were performed. For pictorial images, the simple algorithm resulted in the highest spatial image quality. However, this algorithm produced color contours, visible in the gradation images. Thus for general purposes, the conventional separation algorithm or the simple algorithm using nearly the minimum black amount is recommended. From the two experiments, it was pointed out that there was significant difference among black printer algorithms in perceptibility criteria of spatial image quality, even though there was no significant difference in acceptability criteria.
