Digital BW, The Print

Congratulations. I can imagine what you mean about grain with the 3mk approach. I occasionally print 1MK only prints for just such reasons, although on matte papers.

Can I encourage you to joing a print exchange so we can see your results?

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBW-PrintExchanges/

Regards.

Shilesh

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "hp9180profile" <owens@...> wrote:
>
> I accidentally posted the following on the wide format forum (they all look the same don't they!) and got a predictably cynical bunch of smart a$$ replies but here goes:
> 
> I use a 7880 as a daily workhorse and for colour stuff.
> 
> But for special and personal BW work I still use an old 1800 with 3mk plus
> various dilutions. The very best prints I have ever made I did using just the
> 3mk (no dilutions) on Hahn PR Pearl with a light overcoat of Hahn spray to fix
> the Eboni to this PK paper.
> 
> The result is supeb; slightly warm, gentle lustre, 2.3 dmax, no digital
> artifacts whatsoever. The slight grain introduced by the lack of dilutions
> really works to gently sharpen portraits and seems on this paper to somehow add
> real depth. It totally removes the digital look (I use a 5d). Paul, you must
> have tried this combo as there are already curves for it in QTR which work
> superbly. I am very grateful to you for 3mk and its subsequent incarnations.
> 
> I recently shot some portraits of elderly customers at our local village pub. I
> have printed them this way and in my view these prints are the best I have ever
> done.
>