Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 9/2/02 11:12:13 PM, jon.judson@... writes:

>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?

You are jumping from the tortoise-years of photography to the mayfly-years of 
digital. There will always to something newer and better, and it won't take 
even a year for it to get here. But you have to jump in and get your feet wet 
at some point, or the world will pass you by.

  Are there any rumors about 
>perfecting digital printing for black and white?

Sure, and there have been for years,  and there will be in the future. Even 
as someone who sometimes gets to work with the rumors, its impossible to know 
what the practical value of a new product will be in the marketplace until 
well after its released. Various applications, RIPs, drivers, and devices 
were going to be the answer to these issues, and they have answered some of 
the issues, as well as asking new questions in the process. Keep in mind that 
digital won't stop at replacing your darkroom; it moved immediately into 
stuff the darkroom never dreamed of.

  What do you think 
>is on the near horizon in this realm?

More, better, faster, cheaper, and bigger; for starters... but the person who 
started out with an Epson 3000 four years ago, and the PressReady RIP for it 
three years ago, and Small Gamut inks for it two years ago, and a Piezo 
driver and Cone inks last year, and learned a lot about scanning, processing, 
and the assorted printing methods in the process, is way ahead of you, and 
just hoping it will all become pushbutton for you so you won't have to learn 
any of it is not a good attitude if you really want to work with the new 
medium. If you just want to think of it as the old medium, then you've missed 
the point, and it will all continue to pass you by. 

So sign up for a 2200, jump in, and start swimming.

C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
CDTobie@...