Digital BW, The Print

Tom,

do some research on these lists and I think you'll find that the "toned silver 
print on fiber glossy paper" standard has become irrelevant for digital prints. I 
mean, in the sense that if that's what you're after, just go in the darkroom and 
make them! But if it's the tonality, color and dmax you are after, yes, there is a 
digital solution, but it's not a substitute for these darkroom prints. So, you have 
to accept what's available as a "look" first, and then see if that suits your 
images. 

To make the best digital bw, you currently have to mix and match products 
from various sources: An Epson 7xxxx or 9xxxx (pre 7600 / 9600), a printer 
driver such as ImagePrint by Colorbyte, 3 gray inks from InkjetMall (Piezotone 
Selenium or Warm Tone) and a black from MIS (from the FS inkset), probably 
a Hahnemuhle paper  (Mediastreet has good prices) or whatever remains of 
Brightcube papers (such as Eclipse) or Epson's new Velvet. 

After you've arrived at a look you like, consider coating these prints with an 
acrylic polymer that will protect them as well as deepen the blacks. It's the 
only way to approximate that glossy-air-dried "deep" black of the darkroom 
prints. This may or may not  be something you need, however, based on the 
surface of the paper you use and whether they will be framed under glass or 
not.

And, did I mention, hours of frustration and lots of ink down the drain to test all 
this? Some, like Mike Kravit, have taken the hybrid route, making digital negs 
and then platinum prints. I guess one could also make silver prints that way. 
You keep the best of digital but print on a medium that has proven stability 
and acceptance in the museum world. It will be a while for digital prints to get 
there considering the current ink technology.

Pick your poison, then!....  <G>


Antonis




 
I would like to 
> achieve the same thing with my B&Ws, which (if I am successful) 
> will probably provoke me to photograph in B&W again.  Many 
> thanks for helping a neophyte!
> 
> Tom Andrews
> http://www.wildlandart.com