Demonstration of digital radiographs by means of ink jet-printed paper copies: pilot study

Different digital medical images have been printed on paper with a continuous ink jet printer, and the quality has been evaluated. The emphasis has been on digital chest radiographs from a computed radiography system. The ink jet printing technique is described as well as the handling of the image data from image source to printer. Different versions of paper prints and viewing conditions were compared to find the optimum alternative. The evaluation has been performed to maximize the quality of the paper images to make them conform with the corresponding film prints and monitor images as much as possible. The continuous ink jet technique offers high-quality prints on paper at a considerably lower cost per copy compared with the cost of a film print. With a future switch-over from diagnosing of digital images on film to diagnosing them on monitors, hard copies for demonstration purposes will occasionally be needed. This need can be filled by ink jet-printed paper copies.