Digital BW, The Print

Treadwinkle,

Have you printed a 21 step wedge greyscale file yet? This should be 
the first things you do with any new ink or ink change. You can get 
the file on the web site at this link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/Image
%20processing/21stepNew.jpg

It is located in the files>image processing section and 
titled "21stepNew.jpg" on the group web site. Print this first if you 
haven't already. I struggled and struggled only to find out after 
printing this file that one of the ink carts was off. A call to MIS 
got an apology and a prompt replacement.

I understand there are some problems with some of the Piezo inks 
right now as well from reading posts on the Piezo list. Hang in 
there! It is a struggle at first, I've banged around withis this for 
about 6 months. My firts prints were terrible, but now I'm finally 
getting the hang of things and some remarkable results. You will have 
a noticable improvement with the Photorags. Make sure you do a head 
alignment on the printer with your new paper. 

Maybe you can find someone in your area to compare notes and 
workflows, or get some pointers on the conversion and printing 
process. There are some great tutorials out there. Just search around 
on the Adobe sight or the web. Sounds like you have the photography 
down cold. Best wishes, I'll be glad to assist off line if you have 
any specific questions or want to walk through the process. 

Barry Gilliand

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "treadwinkle" 
<VOLveeta@b...> wrote:
> I'm shooting actor headshots.  I've got a Canon d60, Epson 1280, 
> piezotone warm neutrals and... eh!  I'm waiting for "the paper" to 
> arrive because thusfar, with the Epson Archival Matte, the results 
> are just plain unacceptable.  The Hahnemühle Photo rag is on 
> backorder, and I don't know if IT will satisfy whenever I finally 
> ACTUALLY see the stuff.  It's such a crapshoot, I'm this close to 
> returning to the darkroom.  Does the right paper REALLY exist?
> 
> Is anyone out there SO happy with their digital b&w production that 
> will PLEASE ease my fears that I've dived into a technology that 
> really hasn't gotten there yet?  Help me!!!  Is it possible to find 
> b&w satisfaction in the digital world?  Can real b&w be achieved?
> 
> I'm at a point where I just want someone to say, "try this paper 
> with that particular ink and printer and you'll get very good 
> results".  Because so far, well... I'm tired of wasting money.
> 
> Thanks for any thoughts.
> 
> Treadwinkle