Digital BW, The Print

Jerry wrote:

>It doesn't matter WHEN you convert to rgb,
>the file just has to in that format when you print it.
>You don't have to convert it first to grayscale!

Jerry, I think this could be a problem in this context.  As I understand it
the originals are old photos.  They often have some color, including
yellowing, stains, etc.  As such, that color might affect the variable-tone
allocation of inks, resulting in some weird tones or color casts.

The recommendation to scan in RGB, even if the ultimate product is a B&W, is
often to get as much bit-depth as possible.  This recommendation was
commonly made some time ago when most scanners only had 8-bit B&W.  With
higher-bit grayscale scanners, I think most would now recommend scanning in
high bit g/s if the original is strictly a B&W.

However, there may be another reason to scan in RGB for old photos.  The
color information can help in eliminating the stains.

In any case, I think you should go through a g/s stage to be sure you are
not carrying color information over to the final printing RGB.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com