Photographic Print versus Lithographic Print

Abstract

Photographic systems are optimized to capture and convert actual scenes into the form of highquality hardcopy, while lithographic printing serves to amplify and widely distribute such hardcopies with reasonable price.
Color prints made from color negative film and lithographic prints made from color reversal film are compared from the viewpoint of image quality. Color print is characterized by its excellent tone reproduction capability by use of a set of colorants having broader absorption peaks compared with the colorants for process inks. The former, based on density modulation, has a higher D_min as well as a higher D_max while the latter, based on area modulation, is characterized by a less darker appearance with a clean background. Effect of the supporting material on image sharpness is discussed to show that coated papers for lithographic printing can give sharper images than photographic base paper.
Image quality improvements in lithographic print to be realized by larger line densities are also discussed.