March 25, 2008
Printing Industry Center at RIT Releases Research on Image Quality Comparisons

Final monograph in 2007-2008 research agenda is released to the public

ROCHESTER, NY (March 25, 2008) – A newly released research monograph from the Printing Industry Center at RIT (http://print.rit.edu) examines the perceptions of digital and offset image quality by consumers. Titled “Minding the Gap: Evaluating the Image Quality of Digital Print Technologies Relative to Traditional Offset Lithography” (PICRM-2008-08), the monograph is authored by Susan Farnand, Staff Scientist of the RIT Center for Imaging Science. The study used a standard image set of prints from various printing devices as the subject of psychophysical experiments conducted on thirty-eight observers.

Key findings include:

• With this set of participants and images, offset prints on coated papers had comparable or more highly perceived quality for all images tested.


• With this set of participants and images, some of the digital prints on uncoated papers (from two digital devices) had more highly perceived quality.


• Caution must be taken when interpreting results, as the prints were made on only four devices in total. Different results could be obtained from the use of different equipment and different results could be obtained by the use of the same equipment on subsequent runs (due to variability in operators, environment, and et cetera).

The report is available for download as a PDF from http://print.rit.edu/research/index.php?page=item&id=109.

Follow-up research is being conducted as part of the 2008-2009 research agenda of the Center, and will be available in early 2009.

About the Printing Industry Center at RIT
The Printing Industry Center is a joint program of the RIT School of Print Media in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and RIT's E. Philip Saunders College of Business, and was established in 2001 by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as one of the Sloan Industry Centers. The Center is dedicated to the study of major business environment influences in the printing industry brought on by new technologies and societal changes, creating a forum for printing companies and associations worldwide to access a neutral platform for the dissemination of knowledge, to share ideas, and to build the partnerships needed to sustain growth and profitability in a rapidly changing market. For more information, please visit http://print.rit.edu.

Media Contact:
Ashley Walker
Marketing Communications Coordinator
Printing Industry Center at RIT
585-475-4231
aswppr@rit.edu