Suitability of the general-purpose graphic printer as an image output device for digital dental X-ray images

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the general-purpose graphic printer as an image output device for digital dental x-ray images. Methods. The image quality as obtained by a thermal printer and by a dye sublimation printer was investigated. A grid pattern image was used to check parallelism and verticality of lines in each hard copy. A step-wedge image was printed with each printer, and the optical density, gradient, and root mean square granularity were compared. Depiction ability was also compared by using test images, including smalt signals. Results. All of the lines were parallel and vertical on hard copies of both printers. The dye sublimation printer showed better results on optical density, gradient, root mean square granularity, and depiction ability. Conclusion. The dye sublimation printer produces images of the depiction ability comparable to the cathode ray tube display and seems suitable as an image output device for digital dental x-ray images.