Digital BW, The Print

Jon,

Like you I favor 4x5 with a goodly amount of MF (6x7) and 35mm. I jumped in
almost 2 years ago. My own opinion is that it arrived awhile back. Will it
get better and easier, you bet. Is it a tough and uncomfortable transition?
It is for many and was for me. Remember it is a new and different medium
from silver prints and it does not look the same. If you like silver stay
with silver. If you want to try something different give digital B&W prints
a try.

Will it ever be a no-brainer where you just push the button and get an Ansel
Adams quality print? No way! Will you need to align your printer like you
aligned your enlarger? Yep. Can things go wrong, make bad prints, have
computer problems? Without a doubt. Will you still need a year or two to get
your digital printing skills up to matching you darkroom work? Very likely.
How long did it take you to develop a level of darkroom skills you were
proud of? Are you willing to go through some of that process all over that
again?

The near future probably does not hold anything from the big companies
beyond the Espon 2200, 5600 and 9600 until the next product cycle in say 18
months. All the big money is in color printing though, so it is doubtful
that Epson or one of the other big companies will do a dedicated B&W
printer. In the meantime there will probably be some new inks and software
before Christmas. Should see aftermarket grayscale inks for the 2200, etc.
once the cartridge chips have been copied. This is a tiny market at this
point and what gets done will be more a function of economics rather than
what is technically possible.

The hard part is that this is so small you have little chance to walk into a
gallery or museum to see examples of the incredible work that is being
produced.

I think that you need some sense of adventure and an expectation of hard
work if you want to take this road.

Martin Wesley

http://www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html



----- Original Message -----
From: "nedbuntline2002" <jon.judson@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:11 PM
Subject: [Digital BW] Is Now Really The Time?


> I've had a darkroom for quite some time, and I'm rather proficient at
> the old techniques.  But I'm getting shoved (mostly by publications)
> into thinking about digital.  I've made the decision that I would
> like to give it a try, I'm just not sure if now is the time.
>
> It seems that printing is not quite there yet for black and white.
> Even the latest Epson 2200 line is still just a little bit away from
> perfection.  I do almost all 4X5, with some 35mm thrown in -- and
> nearly all of it is black and white.
>
> I guess my question is this.  With the technology advancing rapidly,
> and the latest equipment still just slightly behind the curve, would
> it make more sense to wait a year?  Are there any rumors about
> perfecting digital printing for black and white?  What do you think
> is on the near horizon in this realm?
>
>
>
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