LightJet is a brand of hardware used for

photographic printing Photographic printing is the process of producing a final image on paper for viewing, using chemically sensitized paper. The paper is exposed to a photographic negative, a positive transparency (or ''slide''), or a digital image file projected ...

of digital images to photographic paper and film. LightJet printers are no longer manufactured but are however remanufactured and resold; and their lasers are still manufactured.parts and service still available. LightJet is a trademark of Océ Display Graphics Systems, a division of Océ N.V. (the company that acquired Cymbolic Sciences, Inc.) In 2010 Océ was acquired by Canon of Japan. The term "LightJet" is often used to generically describe a digitally made

chromogenic In chemistry, the term chromogen refers to a colourless (or faintly coloured) chemical compound that can be converted by chemical reaction into a compound which can be described as "coloured". There is no universally agreed definition of the term. ...

print. Competing manufactures of equipment include ZBE Chromira and Durst Lambda.Luxlab Glossary (2011)

Luxlab, retrieved on 27 March 2011 They may be used in

Minilab A minilab is a small photographic developing and printing system or machine, as opposed to large centralized photo developing labs. Many retail stores use film or digital minilabs to provide on-site photo finishing services. With the increase in ...

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Unexposed silver-halide (AgX) photographic paper is temporarily fixed on a stationary internal drum, where three digitally controlled

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

s simultaneously expose the photo-sensitive emulsion on the paper medium (or back-lit transparency medium) with red, green and blue laser light. The amount of light from each laser varies to provide specific color and density values for each pixel imaged to the print. The light-path includes a spinning surface coated mirror mounted on an air-bearing that travels along the axis of the internal drum, thus reflecting the laser light at 90 degrees allowing for a dimensionally consistent round imaging dot across the entire area of the photographic paper. The purpose of this round imaging dot is to maintain edge to edge sharpness on the final print. The print is then processed using traditional photochemical means (usually RA4). After which the photographic print is handled just as any other photo-print. Whereas

xerography Xerography is a dry photocopying technique. Originally called electrophotography, it was renamed xerography—from the roots el, ξηρός, label=none ''xeros'', meaning "dry" and -γραφία ''-graphia'', meaning "writing"—to emphasize ...

and

inkjet printing Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpen ...

employ a halftone process and ink to reproduce digital images on paper, digital-C is a photographic

continuous tone A continuous tone image (contone for short, or CT even shorter) is one where each color at any point in the image is reproduced as a single tone, and not as discrete halftones, such as one single color for monochromatic prints, or a combination o ...

process rather than halftone or

error diffusion Error diffusion is a type of halftoning in which the quantization residual is distributed to neighboring pixels that have not yet been processed. Its main use is to convert a multi-level image into a binary image, though it has other applications. ...

which are common on

offset press Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on ...

ink-jet Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper and plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range from small inexpensi ...

. The device natively supports 24-bit RGB raster files, and is capable printing vector based files when fronted by a photographic Raster Image Processor (RIP). 24 bit color continuous-tone devices use large multitudes of colors, up to 16,777,216, rather than the small number of colors available to 4-color press and 8-color ink-jet type devices. Therefore,

posterization Posterization or posterisation of an image is the conversion of a continuous gradation of tone to several regions of fewer tones, causing abrupt changes from one tone to another. This was originally done with photographic processes to create p ...

and banding are unlikely from these types of prints when provided with a file of good integrity. Due to slight halation of the light source, digital C-prints produced on high end equipment have true continuous tones not possible with images created with ink or pigments (due to CMYK halftone limitations). LightJet printers and film recorders are used by a number of professional-level photographic printing firms. Most deliver a final product printed on

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

Crystal Archive or Kodak Endura paper in sizes up to at least 4×10 feet. Other silver-halide based materials can also be printed on laser driven devices such as the LightJet. The LightJet printers were manufactured in Vancouver, BC, Canada; the core internal drum technology was developed by Dan Gelbart at MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) in the 1980s, and later refined by Cymbolic Sciences. Key individuals responsible for the success of LightJet series include Dale Benjamin, Tim Crandall, Rolf Dekleer, Dave Fraser, Robert Heath, Alex Holowko, Larry Kiser, Miranda Clegg, Chris Lynn, Wenny Macura, Derek Montgomery, Dan Murray, Karen Neufeld, Didier Primat, Alastair Reed, Jeff Rittichier, Horst Schaaf, Ken Smith, and Dan Whittle. The original LightJet image recorder was introduced at PMA in 1995. The first version of the product was the LightJet2000, a three-laser continuous-tone film recorder (the selling price was US$195,000). Its maximum image size was 11×14 inches. The LightJet2000 largely replaced the Fire1000 film recorder. The LightJet5000 large-format printer was introduced at PMA in 1996. The product produced continuous-tone photographic prints and Duratrans up to 50×50 inches. In 1997 a version capable of printing to a dimensional size limit of 50×100 inches was introduced. The Océ LightJet430 50" x 120" (image size) photo laser printer was introduced in 2000. The 76" x 120" (image size) Océ LightJet500XL printer was introduced in 2002.

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