Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message -----
From: "nedbuntline2002" <jon.judson@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 5:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Is Now Really The Time?


> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., CDTobie@a... wrote:
>
> "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."
>
> A couple of the responses have reflected on this.  This is not at all
> what I'm refering to with my inquiry.  I spend many hours making my
> darkroom prints right, and I don't expect digital to be any less work
> intensive.

Jon,

Good, you won't be disappointed in the hard work department. <G> It takes me
just about as long to get to a finished print with inkjet as it does in the
darkroom. This will probably get shorter as I continue to develop my
Photoshop skills.
>
> My main issue here is the comparison of the technologies.  I don't
> want to make the leap to digital unless I can get prints of
> comparable quality to the black and white silver ones I'm producing
> now.  Since I do have a darkroom already, I have the luxury of
> waiting.  So to my question: Is digital there yet?  And if not, how
> close is it really to being there?

Inkjet will never be silver. Inkjet does equal silver printing as an
excellent photographic medium both in its results and the power of digital
editing surpasses traditional darkroom work by an immense margin. (Apologies
to C.D. but I think the 2200 is second string quality based on the results I
have seen so far when it comes to inkjet B&W but maybe I will see something
to change my mind.)

However, if you do want silver and digital, there are workflows to get you
there. The first is Dan Burkholder's method of generating digital contact
prints. You can see examples of this from the special edition prints sold by
Lens Work. I have two and I cannot distinguish them from enlarged prints.
You can also have your digital files output to systems like LightJet for
color silver output. There are film recorders that will make you an
enlarging negative from your digital file.

The main drawback is that these methods involve working with a service
bureau since some of the equipment needed is not affordable. Burkholder's
method using chromogenic negatives from inkjet might be workable now but I
have not seen any results with silver to be able to judge.

Martin Wesley