I just met the LaCie rep. and . . .

[false_Aesthetic]

So the LaCie rep dropped by MassArt today. I got to play with the 21" 321 lcd monitor.

The rep made a huge deal about it being 12-bit color instead of the 8-bit found on the Apple displays.

I understand the value of this when looking at images on screen but it seems to me that the extra 4-bits of info make no difference when you're printing (Epson 9800, 4800) because printers only print in 8-bit.

Therefore, it seems like this is a whole lot of HOOPLA!!!! . . . . . over... uhm... nothing.

What am I missing?

t.

[jonf]

I understand the value of this when looking at images on screen but it seems to me that the extra 4-bits of info make no difference when you're printing (Epson 9800, 4800) because printers only print in 8-bit.

t.

While I can't say if you need to buy a 12-bit monitor, the statement above seems to be inaccurate for the newer printers. Copied directly from the Canon ipf8000 info page....

"This application was designed to enable direct printing of 16-bit RGB images directly from Adobe Photoshop 6, 7, CS and CS2. This plug-in is a true export module that bypasses the print driver on Windows® and Macintosh® computers. The module was designed to be an integral part of a photographer's 16-bit workflow without compromising image quality. "