Digital BW, The Print

Della,

In regard to your comments to Steadman you are entirely correct. Most
printers feel that they must have a pure blacka nd a pure white to have a
fine or successful print. This just is not the case. A full range of tones
will look richer and render more detail in the image.

My biggest concern is that "Piezography" is only a driver and there are
other alternatives that one can use obtain similar results. All that Cone is
doing is providing canned curves and profiles. The same can be accomplished
using RIPs, curves, and I would assume other methods.  I alos think that the
Piezography driver compresses the shadows to give the appearance of better
blacks.

Personally I also agree with Paul Roark when he says that the black
advantage of silver disappears once the print is under glass.

BTW, Paul you are also correct in that platinum blacks do not reach the
density of silver blacks. The big difference is that the platinum print
gives the viewer the feeling of depth. This is because the matallic
particles are not only found on the surface of the print, but are also
imbedded into the paper fibers.

Mike


----- Original Message -----
From: "della ellingson" <dellaellingson@...>
To: "bw" <digitalblackandwhitetheprint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2002 12:07 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] re: For Della On Shadows


> Steadman,
>
> Is this bias being pleased by the medium or restricted
> by the medium? Photo could not give us shadows which
> we wished for. It gave us black where nature did not.
> We exaggerated it then, did we not? We exaggerated it
> to have some control over it. I was once a very
> black&white printer. Then I found PiezographyBW and
> now I would characterize myself has a wide tone
> printer. When I shoot I see that black and white
> seldom exist in nature. Film is able to produce this.
> Darkroom paper can not.
>
> Many will argue these points and explain with
> misconception that the zone system permits control
> over the shadow and highlight. But the zone system
> only allows manipulation of that which is just not
> quite black and just not quite white. PiezographyBW
> software allows much greater control within these
> confines. The black and the white are pushed much
> further apart. But how many printers actually have
> sensitivity to this? How many desire this? Most are
> still desiring a deeper black and a whiter white!
>
> -della
>
>
> > Hello Della,
> >
> > I found your observations of the shadow detail using
> Piezo versus silver
> > prints very interesting.
> >
> > I think what happens is a natural "bias" to the
> medium which one has
> > "learned" and lived with for a long time.  The
> esthetics of a silver printer
> > are probably indelibly (to use an ink term) marked
> by a need to have "deep
> > blacks" and not so much a revel in the revealing
> shadows.
> >
> > I agree that the Piezo shadow detail can be
> spectacular...drawing one into a
> > print in a new way.
> >
> > Thanks for posting your views...I enjoyed reading
> them.
> >
> > Steadman
>
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