Today’s Question: Can you comment on how monitors at 4K affect the amount of output sharpening you apply? Since the image looks sharper on a high-resolution monitor, one might tend to apply less output sharpening which would lead to a softer print.
Tim’s Quick Answer: I would say that a 4K display (compared to a lower-resolution display) provides a more accurate view of the effect of sharpening for the image. However, the reality is that optimal sharpening requires a bit of experience in terms of understanding what the image needs to look like on screen to get a particular effect in print.
More Detail: Because the 4K display has smaller pixels compared to a lower-resolution display (assuming displays of about the same size), the 4K display renders detail more accurately. In the context of sharpening a lower-resolution display can mask the appearance of sharpening artifacts, so I would be more concerned about potential over-sharpening with a lower-resolution display.
However, when it comes to sharpening in my view there is really no replacement for experience. A printed image is going to look different from an image on a monitor display, in a variety of ways depending on the specific output conditions for the print. Therefore, you need to gain experience to know what the image should look like on your display to achieve an optimal print.
For example, with uncoated matte papers you generally need to over-sharpen the image somewhat significantly to make up for dot gain (the spreading of ink on paper). But it is very difficult to anticipate how much you need to sharpen without the experience of producing prints.
So, when you change from a lower-resolution display to a high-resolution display, there will be some adjustment involved as you gain experience on what the image should look like on the new display to achieve similar results in the print. If you pay attention to the sharpening settings you tended to use on the lower-resolution display, those same settings will be appropriate for the high-resolution display assuming the same printing configuration. In other words, the transition in this context is more about learning what the image will look like on the 4K display when it is sharpened properly for print, rather than changing your approach to sharpening because of the higher-resolution display.
