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Joe Petolino | all galleries >> nonpublic >> Calibration images > Printer Tonal Range Test
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Printer Tonal Range Test

Use this test image to determine the usable range of RGB pixel values for your printer.

It consists of one column of near-white text on a white background, and two columns
of near-black text on a black background. Each entry in the columns is a number
composed of pixels with the indicated numeric RGB value. E.g., the last entry in the white
column is the number 240, in bold text whose RGB color is (240,240,240).
This image is Untagged RGB - you must assign a color space profile to it (see below).
There are two columns of black because I needed that many values for some of the
papers I've tested on my Epson R1800.

For each (image_color_space+paper+printer_profile+rendering_intent) combination you want to test, do this:


  • Download the original-size copy of this image. It's sized to print approx.
    5.25"x7.6" (on a half-sheet of US Letter paper) at 360 ppi,
    but you can resize it to fit your paper.
  • Assign the image color space profile to the image, e.g. AdobeRGB or sRGB.
    This should leave the RGB pixel values unchanged.
  • Print the test image using your normal color-managed workflow for the
    paper+printer_profile+rendering_intent combination.
  • Examine the print, noting the lightest visible near-white number and
    the darkest visible near-black number.
  • Pixel values outside of this range of will not reproduce on your
    paper when using your printer profile and rendering intent. Edit
    the tonal range of your images accordingly before printing.


other sizes: small medium large original auto
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