Digital BW, The Print

If your business depends on it, you really need some better kit.

If you shoot 35mm mainly, why not look at digital capture instead of 
buying a scanner?  A used Fuji S1 would give you an inexpesnive but 
hight quality entry route.  And you would save on film and processing.

Pity about the matte paper point, as Piezography would otherwise have 
been the obvious route for the smoothest gradations.

--
Quentin

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Rick Schiller" 
<rschiller@a...> wrote:
> Much of my photo business is shooting Headshots also (see
> www.rickschiller.com  )    I've  switched to printing digitally, 
scanning
> from film ( TMY pulled a stop, TMX, FP4, Pan-F )   First big 
problem is
> giving people glossy prints, no way my clients will accept matte 
finished
> prints so that limits your ink choice.  On an Epson 860 (4-color)  
I went
> with the Lyson Quad blacks and was very disappointed with the strong
> mid-tone magenta cast.  I switched to Lyson Small Gamut and am 
getting
> better tones.  I use the Lyson paper.   But the big problems are as 
follows:
> 
> 1. Gradation is not as smooth, especially in the highlights.  I 
have a low
> end scanner ( Canon 2720 ) and really need to upgrade.  I posted 
here 2 days
> ago and don't know whether to go with a Nikon ls4000/ls40 or
> Microtek/Polaroid.   And if I need to spend more money on the 
higher end
> 4000 dpi models.
> 2. My digital prints are good and when duped to lithos, ordinarily 
look
> better then many dupes I've seen from darkroom prints, sharper.  But
> gradation is still lacking.
> 3. I have some test scans from Nikon scanners, they are sharper 
then the
> Canon 2720.  But the sharpness has a downside in that every minute 
mark on
> the negs, which would not be picked up in the darkroom, the scanner 
picks up
> and has to be spotted out in Photoshop.
> 4. There are other issues, I'm tired of writing right now but open 
to all
> ideas . . . .
> 
> Yes, until I get it all resolved I'm considering going back to 
darkroom
> printing or sending all printing work out depending on my level of 
bookings
> in any given week.
> 
> Rick