LightJet

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LightJet is a trademark of Cymbolic Sciences, Inc. for a process of printing digital images to photographic paper, and for the corresponding hardware.

Standard silver-covered photographic paper is fixed on a drum, where three lasers simultaneously expose the paper with red, green, and blue light. The print is then processed using traditional photochemical means.

Whereas xerography and inkjet printing employ a halftone process to reproduce digital images on paper, LightJet is a true continuous tone process. Posterization and banding are therefore absent from LightJet prints.

The process is used by a number of U. S. high quality printing firms available via the internet, such as http://www.calypsoinc.com, aandi.com and thompson.com. Most deliver a final product printed on Fuji Crystal Archive photographic paper in sizes up to at least 4 x 10 feet (Thompson). Digital photo files may be delivered to these firms via ftp on the internet, using file types (TIFF, JPEG etc.) prescribed by each firm.