Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Nij" <nigel@m...> 
wrote:
> Mark,
> I know I prefer honesty in theory... but in practice... ???

But Nigel, wouldn't it be SO refreshing to have a company just 
state right up front what to expect? For me, a company like that 
would get my loyalty right off the bat. 

When I watch TV, and I see ads, I make a practice of reading that 
fine print at the bottom of the ad FIRST, in order to see the REAL 
truth about what they're advertising. Because you can almost bet 
nowadays that the big bold type is really a lie. (It makes me 
embarrassed to be in the advertising business sometimes).

Or, why not some kind of "Good/Better/Best" approach to inkjet 
products? "Good" is just a canned profile; nothing custom. You 
print with the inks that come with the printer, and the paper that 
comes with the printer. You get what you get (but I will say, that 
with Epson paper, and Epson ink, and Epson's canned profile 
for my 7000, the prints are VERY nice. Maybe not great, but very 
nice). "Better" would mean you're willing to mess around with 
basic Color Management, and you might want to pay more for a 
more advanced profile; even one done for you by the company, 
after you set up your printer. "Best" would mean that you'd get a 
custom profile, and like ProfileCity does, you'd get some type of 
continuing profile support, where they'd monitor your printer for 
up to two years to watch for printer "drift". And possibly some tech 
support time.

I'm sorta kidding with the above example, but not really. It would 
give you a subtle warning that maybe "Good" wasn't enough for 
picky people, and might give people who bought that level 
reason to just settle for whatever quality it gave, right out of the 
box. (My bet is this is "good enough" for the vast majority of 
people out there). But for more demanding people 
(professionals) you'd get a subtle sign that it might not be plug n 
play, at least to your demands.

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I've done profiles, and I've bought profiles, and I'd pay GOOD 
money for one done properly. I always wondered why more 
people weren't doing them as a service, but then I heard about 
that ColorVision clause (and possibly other companies too) that 
barred people from buying the product and then going into 
business selling custom ones done with their software. (Can 
you do this in America, I ask?) Anyway, the KEY is a good profile. 
(Or now for me, a good "curve" from Paul Roark....)

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I made my 31 prints for this exchange on my MIS color inks, just 
in case my hex VM prints are lame, and it takes me forever to get 
it going. This exchange is gonna be like getting photographed 
with your britches down; it's gonna be the real truth! There's no 
talking your way out of it, or giving excuses! But if I get good 
results out of the variables quickly, I guess I'll make a set of 
prints with those too.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I always tell young photographers, 
'Discover the world. Take pictures. Live cheaply'. Some day, I 
want to write a book on love and living from the heart. To show 
things from my early years as a secretary and then as a 
wanderer. I did everything I could just to be able to take pictures. I 
worked on a farm; I traveled like a gypsy. I learned so much and 
had so much fun. Nobody owned me. I didn't have a credit card. I 
lived off the kindness of strangers generous enough to me who 
gave me food to eat and a darkroom to print in".  -- Donna 
Ferrato, from "Witness in Our Time", by Ken Light.

-Mark Tucker