Talk:Optical printer

Further reading

• American Cinematographer Manual, 2nd ed., Mascelli, Joseph V., A.S.C. and Miller, Arthur, A.S.C, eds. Los Angeles, 1966, p.494 ff.

Optival vs Contact Printing

As in any analog process, every optical "pass" degraded the picture, just like a photocopy of a photocopy (although the degradation can be greater with contact printing than with optical printing).[7]

The "can" in "can be greater..." is a little ambiguous. A quick read might give the impression that optical printing is generally better (although I don't think the the editor meant it this way).

According to the cite, only when contact between the elements is compromised does the quality fall below that of optical printing.

So I changes it to read:

As in any analog process, every optical "pass" degraded the picture, just like a photocopy of a photocopy. Properly performed contact printing generally creates less degradation, however, under certain conditions the degradation can be greater with contact printing than with optical printing.[7]