• Home
  • Download PDF
  • Order CD-ROM
  • Order in Print
Figure  1-6.Picture  essayContinued.
Sensitometry - 14208_40

Photography (Advanced) - Advanced manual for photography and other graphic techniques
Page Navigation
  22    23    24    25    26  27  28    29    30    31    32  
CHAPTER 2 PHOTOGRAPHIC QUALITY ASSURANCE To be successful in using photographic materials in Navy imaging facilities, you must establish a high standard  of  quality.  This  quality  standard  should  be aimed at producing negatives, transparencies, and prints  to  please  the  most  demanding  and  critical customer.  This  standard  must  be  flexible  enough  to allow for improvement, whenever possible. However, it must resist a compromise of poor quality. Once that high-quality standard is established, you can maintain it through an exacting and practical method of quality assurance. Quality  assurance  (QA)  in  photography  has  one purpose—to  ensure  that  photographic  production  is consistently of high quality, whether it be a negative, print,  transparency,  or  other  form.  The  quality  of these products is determined by three factors, each having  a  number  of  variables.  These  factors  are human, chemical, and mechanical. The human factors include  the  personnel  involved  in  photography, photographic development and/or printing, as well as those photographers who work directly in the quality assurance section of an imaging facility. Chemical factors include all chemicals and solutions used to process  and  print  negatives,  positives  (viewing  and intermediate),  duplicate  negatives,  and  prints. Mechanical factors include all equipment used to develop   and/or   print   film   and   subsequent reproductions. Quality  assurance  can  be  either  subjective  or objective. A subjective quality assurance program may   simply   be   a   set   of   standard   high-quality negatives,   prints,   or   transparencies   with   which production  results  are  compared  visually.  Although this is not a very reliable system, it works well aboard a small ship or at a small shore facility where a low volume   of   production   is   performed   daily.   A subjective  quality  assurance  program  certainly  is  better than no program, but it cannot take the place of an objective  program.  The  visual-comparison  method  is very subjective and has limited accuracy. Quality  assurance  may  be  applied  to  either  a portion  of  the  photographic  system  or  the  entire system. In quality assurance there are three basic steps: The  quality  standards  for  the  process  are specified The   process   is   evaluated   to   ensure   the standards of quality are being maintained. The causes of poor or substandard quality are identified and eliminated from the photo- graphic procedures. Detailed   quality   assurance   applied   to   the photographic process assures the photographer a better product when potential problems are detected early. If a defective camera is allowing light to fog film, the defect  should  be  discovered  after  the  negative  is processed (if not sooner). Certainly, it is a waste of time and material to make prints from such negatives if the photograph must be reshot. In this chapter, several quality assurance procedures that can improve the product are discussed. Chemical and sensitometric methods are used to ensure standards of quality are being sustained. The production of high-quality photographic products requires control over all factors that affect film or paper. Film exposure and processing are the two most important factors. Negatives or transparencies that are not exposed correctly and processed uniformly may have density differences (contrast) that are not within acceptable  limits.  Such  negatives  or  transparencies cannot  be  printed  successfully.  Correct  exposure  and film processing have a direct and positive bearing on both prints and projected image quality. Good- quality negatives and transparencies also help cut operating costs by reducing waste due to retakes or reprints. Manufacturers of films, chemicals, and papers recommend  specific  film  exposure,  chemical  mixing, replenishment,   processing   times,   temperatures, agitation techniques, wash rates, and printing and drying   requirements.   To   be   sure   that   such recommendations  are  followed  in  your  imaging facility,   you   should   systematically   monitor   the photographic process. 2-1







Western Governors University

Privacy Statement
Press Release
Contact

© Copyright Integrated Publishing, Inc.. All Rights Reserved. Design by Strategico.