B & W Digital Printing

[PIC]

Just back from a week in Yosemite.

What are your techniques in Digital B & W Printing .... filters, papers, inks, etc.

Kind of thinking like A. Adams style prints without the view camera film and paper.

EL

[keefeborden]

Originally Posted by PIC

Just back from a week in Yosemite.

What are your techniques in Digital B & W Printing .... filters, papers, inks, etc.

Kind of thinking like A. Adams style prints without the view camera film and paper.

EL

I visited a museum full of Ansel Adams originals in Santa Fe last year. The prints themselves were beautiful. I'm no expert on the subject, but I think a purist might argue that the only way to get his style of prints is to use large format film cameras and print optically. It was old school. That's not to say that you can't get beautiful prints digitally, but I think there was a unique feel to his prints that came from a very laborious process.

As an aside, I am interested in learning more about good black and white digital prints. I have a small Epson inkjet printer which does well for color, but the grayscale images have a clear blue cast to them throughout. The result is not unnatractive, but it is also not pure what I am looking for. I am considering going to a CIS system that only uses black and white pigment inks. I have also tried the black and white paper from MPIX and have been disappointed with the results.

I'm open to any other ideas.
Best, Keefe.

[Noel Hankamer]

I, too am interested in B&W digital prints. Be good to hear from those in the know.

[johnastovall]

For quality B&W digital prints you need to start with carbon base ink system and a RIP.

I use MIS inks and the Quadtone RIP with a deicated Epson printer.

Paul Roark has a good place to start.

[canoflan]

Mpix has a printing service called "True B&W." You may want to send them something and see how it turns out. I can attest to their Kodak Metallic Paper which turned out a bluebonnet picture that had very difficult to render indigo blues fantastically.
Pat

[PIC]

A recomendation from another forum was Hahnemuhle Photorag 308GSM Art Papers
{B&H at like $5 per sheet}
Epson 4800 and Epson inks.
I have the Epson 2200 w 2 level black.

EL

[adirty1]

bwc makes some great b/w prints.
I second the RIP and I love the hahnemuhle papers.

[venchka]

I'll cast a vote for Moab entrada Rag Natural 300 with the Epson profile & inks in my Epson 1280. My wife even picked the Moab paper over the same photo on Epson paper not knowing which was which.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by canoflan

Mpix has a printing service called "True B&W." You may want to send them something and see how it turns out. I can attest to their Kodak Metallic Paper which turned out a bluebonnet picture that had very difficult to render indigo blues fantastically.
Pat

It is much easier to do a color print than a fine Black and White. I would want to know hat ink set and RIP they use for B&W and if there is any color in it and if so move on. Read a few copies of "Lenswork" to see what really fine B&W should look like.

[venchka]

Better still: Make your own black and white photographs! I am astonished by how cheap the paper and chemicals are for real honest-to-goodness black and white photogrpahs as compared to printer, paper and ink.

[johnastovall]

And just what is Agfa Brovira (grades 2-5) selling for these days? Know a good source for Oriental Seagull?

HOW THOSE GREAT B&W PRINTS WERE MADE...a peek into some nearly-forgotten photographic techniques.

[ChuckW]

I agree with Stovall regarding using a RIP and an ink that will produce deep blacks. I use the ImagePrint rip.

One of the things that can be done to try to achieve Adams like tones is to play with PS Channel Mixer. The normal rule is to not let the combination of the three color channels go over 100%. Or, to go over 100% with any one channel or go into the negative with one channel. Go ahead and break all of these 'rules' and see what you wind up with! One place to start experimenting is to go high with the red channel and into the negative with the blue channel.

[jeffkohn]

I don't think you necessarily need a RIP, but at the very least you need a printer with multiple black/gray inks. The more, the better. The latest HP, Canon, and Epson printers all have very capable black-and-white modes. RIP's like QTR can have a pretty steep learning curve especially if there aren't already-available curves for your paper/printer combo (and some of the stock curves that ship with QTR really suck).

[jeffkohn]

Originally Posted by johnastovall

It is much easier to do a color print than a fine Black and White. I would want to know hat ink set and RIP they use for B&W and if there is any color in it and if so move on. Read a few copies of "Lenswork" to see what really fine B&W should look like.

It's actually not inkjet, but B/W photographic prints. They basically use a panchromatic photo paper from Ilford in their digital mini-labs.

[venchka]

John,

I linked to that article in another thread. Maybe the link needs a thread of it's own. It touches on portrait lighting as well as rigorous printing standards. As for buying ancient Brovira, I passed on a box of 11x14 #2 a couple weeks ago. Brovira is gone. I'm moving on. I'll learn to print all over again with some other paper.

I wonder if all of this instant computer generated stuff isn't contributing to a diminishing attention span. How many people today would stand over a tank of film and developer watching a clock to make sure that the tank is inverted for 5 seconds every 30 seconds? How many peole would spend 10 hours, or longer, to make one print?

An inquiring mind wants to know.