Digital BW, The Print

Hello Loris,

>I've tried Clayton's BO workflow on my 1160 using the MIS
>FS/FSN black.  Unfortunately the extreme detail loss
>in the highlights was unacceptable to me - not mentioning 
>many, *many* dots and obvious dithering patterns. And once you 
>put both BO and Quadtone prints of the same image side by side... 
>the BO one looks like trash (the unsatisfactory results I got 
>may be due to my fault/s though). Anyway the method still holds 
>value; being an alternative workflow and having a different(!) 
>look indeed.

I can appreciate your remarks, and share them to some degree.  I hope
my articles and enthusiasm for BO printing do not give the impression
that I am trying to convince everyone that BO is better or that people
should switch.  I'm only trying to raise awareness of it as an
alternative method because so many people have difficulty with the
full ink methods and get frustrated to the point of quitting.  It's
just too difficult right now, with too many confusing choices.  I look
forward to the day when we can _easily_ make perfect full ink prints
that are the color we want and don't fade or color shift.  

I am also grateful to Paul Roark and other cutting edge workers who
are laboring at this so all the rest of us can reap the benefits.  In
no way is my promotion of BO printing meant to be a repudiation of all
the hard work they are doing.  I hope it is not giving that
impression.

As for whether BO printing is acceptable, I see it as analogous to
some people being satisfied with 35mm quality while others are
satisfied with nothing less than 4x5.  You are correct in that the
subject matter makes a big difference.  I have held BO and FI versions
side by side and had trouble telling them apart, while others are
obviously different.  Alan Huntly recently sent me an 8x10 BO print
from an 8x10 negative and it just blew my socks off.  It was gorgeous.
Incredible rendering of fine detail.  Almost makes me want to get
back into large format.  Almost <g>.  I'm mainly a 6x7 guy.

Anyway, the wide variety of methods and tastes is part of what makes
photography such an exciting and rewarding art form.

Best Regards,
Clayton