Digital BW, The Print

In technical terms, digital prints keep getting better over time. But the best print, for it's point in history, that I recall making was at Photokina, five years ago. Full frame sensors were still fairly new (and even newer in unextended camera bodies; meaning the Canon 5D), high bit raw processing was fairly recent as well, as were good, non-chalky art paper coatings. HP was demoing the first, not yet released, Z series printers at that show. They loaned me one for our booth. I loaded a 36" roll of the latest version of Moab Entrada, built a custom profile (our tools for B&W profiling were new at that show as well) and printed a B&W 5D image that was about three feet wide and five feet high. I left it hanging from the printer, at the corner of the booth, and watched it stop traffic all week. Loat count of the number of people who asked if it was for sale (or thought that I might just print a copy for them for free...)

I haven't had quite that level of "shock and awe" response to a print, before or since. It was a great image, but it really was the cumulative effect of all the recent improvements in technology across the board that resulted in the impact. 

C. D. Tobie
Global Product Technology Mngr.
Imaging Color Management
Datacolor.com
CDTobie@datacolor.com