Gradation (print)
With a gradation , adjustments of the color density are made in the prepress stage in order to adapt the print data to different printing processes and output media with different tonal value increases and thus to achieve a faithful reproduction of the original.
In gravure printing , for example, the tone levels 0%… 100%, which are represented by the 8-bit values 0 - 255 (input values), are converted into corresponding output values 0… 255. The implementation is generally non-linear, with the tone levels being so distorted that after engraving and printing on the printed paper, exactly the right print densities are achieved, e.g. B. 5% → 7% (8 bit: 13 → 18), 50% → 50% (128 → 128), 95% → 90% (243 → 230).