Stochastic Printing
Advantages of Stochastic Printing vs Conventional Printing and Digital Printing
- Continuous tone photographic reproduction
- Produces a larger CMYK color gamut on press
- Renders greater detail
- Eliminates moire patterns
- Reduces ink consumption by as much as 10% – notice the ‘pooling’ of ink in conventional dot
- Produces smoother gradients
- More consistency in color throughout pressrun
- Faster ink drying
- A higher quality print for less money
Conventional screening (150 lpi, 175 lpi, 200 lpi) refers to AM screens, or amplitude modulation. This refers to halftone dots that are fixed on a grid, angled in 30 degree increments (except yellow: 15 degrees) and grow in size based on tonal value.
LPI = lines per inch
Stochastic screening (Staccato) refers to FM screens, or frequency modulation. This refers to micro-dots (20 micron, 10 micron) that are FIXED in size and tone values increase by adding more dots. The dots are rendered in a psuedo-random algorithm making them ideal for high definition details in photography and artwork. The micro-dots are rendered in a ‘weave’ to create very smooth tonal transitions.
Micron =1/1,000,000 of a meter
It’s important to note that stochastic printing produces a larger CMYK color gamut than AM screens. This occurs because light reflecting off the paper is filtered more efficiently, resulting in less ‘whiteness’ from the paper reflecting into the eye.
Also, reprints are less likely because of the stability in controlling color on press. FM screens are much less likely to be impacted by ink density variations on press. The ink film on press is much thinner and less likely to be affected. Notice in the enlargement photo above the ‘pooling’ of ink in the conventional halftone dots. This causes the press to use more ink than is necessary.