Digital BW, The Print

At 04:11 AM 3/25/2002 -0000, you wrote:
>Hello Friends,
>   First and foremost, I probably speak for a number of eavesdropping 
>members of this group when I thank you for sharing your knowledge and 
>ideas with us.  It is a tremendous resource.
>    There is another printer out here.  As a physician and father, 
>black and white photography is my hobby.  As an enthusiast, I long to 
>produce images like I see on your websites.  
>     I don't have access to a custom lab without the mail. . . I 
>don't have a wet darkroom.  The digital darkroom is more accessible 
>and more affordable.  The learning curve, I think, no less difficult.
>    To gain widespread support for this medium, we must gain in 
>numbers.  But while you argue over minute technical details of blacks 
>being black and details in shadows being present. . . we never see 
>references as to what will advance this art?
>    For a hobbyist, we want a reliable, reproducible printing form.  
>We want it to be of superior quality, but want to concentrate on the 
>image as our primary goal.  If I get 4 hours to sit down and try to 
>produce some work, it is frustrating and will be terminal if that 
>time is spent clearing clogs, aligning heads, trying to correct 
>banding, etc. . .   Is scanning, formatting and printing quality with 
>ease a pipedream?  For this, it seems piezo would get the edge, yet 
>then you get the clogs, the green etc.  So, where should a newcomer 
>begin or end?
>    So, while we look to your work for our advancements, some 
>consideration should be given to quality with consistency and 
>technical ease.  It will keep the door open to the hobbyist and may 
>someday make the digital black and white darkroom more popular than 
>we ever imagine. 
>                  Thank you,
>                           Scott Michener

Scott,

Digital print-making is similar to darkroom photography in that one can
expect to continuously improve their craft and art skills over a long time
with just a few basic tools. As it is with a wet darkroom, not being able to
make a good looking print is not usually the fault of the tools. Not knowing
the film format you expect to use I can only pass on my very basic methods
and equipment that I have had few problems and enormous satisfaction with. I
have a number of friends who use similar equipment who are also happy campers. 

http://lookaroundcam.com/m_digital.html


AZ
Maker of Lookaround panoramic camera.

http://lookaroundcam.com/
         or
keyword.com lookaround