Digital BW, The Print

Hi Frank,
The best method I've found, that works perfectly once mastered, is to just do what you would with a silver gelatin print: some black retouching ink or watercolour paint (or some MIS or other make of pigment ink - or maybe you could extract enough by drilling holes in an old cartridge) and a very fine brush and some water.

Put a drop of ink on a saucer, then dip the brush in water so it's moist, then dip it in the ink and make a smear on the saucer; then keep diluting the ink in this way and making serial dilutions on the saucer. My pro Silver Gelatin printer friend waits until the serial dilutions (which are just very thin smears on the saucer) have dried, so you have more control. Then build it up very slowly, starting with a very faint grey and growing darker.

I found this method has solved the problem for me. I only started with digital printing, not wet printing, so I had to learn this old method for the first time.

best of luck,
Richard


http://richardsmallfield.com