PS Color Settings Error?
by ieatgraphics
on
Oct 14, 2007 at 7:08:46 pm
Hey guys, for some reason i cant seem to get rid of these weird lines, i don't think i set up my Photoshop CS3 properly. But it was like this when i installed it. Does anyone know how to get rid of this?
Re: PS Color Settings Error? by Darby Edelen on Oct 15, 2007 at 4:45:16 am
That looks like normal banding across a gradient. Do you not have a gradient in that PSD? Some more detailed information about what is going on in the screenshot might be helpful. Does it only occur with black? Are you using a working color profile?
Darby Edelen DVD Menu Artist Left Coast Digital Aptos, CA
Re: PS Color Settings Error? by Darby Edelen on Oct 15, 2007 at 9:23:39 pm
Banding across gradients is a normal part of working in the digital realm due to a phenomenon known as quantization.
You might recall that in an 8bpc (8 bits per channel) PSD you have 256 levels in each of the color channels. If you have a gradient over a distance of 5 pixels with a beginning value of 10 and an end value of 14 you will have a unique value for each of the 5 pixels (10, 11, 12, 13, 14), but if that same gradient is spread across 50 pixels then you will see banding. The computer still only has 5 values to spread across 50 pixels so you will see a 'line' every 10 pixels where the value suddenly jumps a level.
There are a few ways to try and combat this, you could try creating a 16bpc or 32bpc (float) PSD. These options are accesible under the Image > Mode menu.
Alternatively, you could add some noise to the gradient to make the transitions between values less obvious.
I hope this answers your question, feel free to clarify if I've missed something.
Darby Edelen DVD Menu Artist Left Coast Digital Aptos, CA
