Digital BW, The Print

John,

Natural black and white prints do seem to be a bit of
a holy grail to this list.  The question of whether or
not an image competes directly with a silver print or
if it complements traditional methods is continually
being asked.

It is difficult to get great images right off, and
many of us spend much following advice and claims made
by the manufacturers and experienced users.  While
this makes a great starting point - it never helps
fully.  Due to tolerances in printer manufacture,
color management, operating system woes, digital image
capture, etc... we can emulate results but never
really obtain the same results as another user. 
Therefore, what works for them  - just kinda works for
them.

To get to the point, the easiest solution is generally
the best solution.  Clayton's method of Black Only is
foolproof.  Some are wary of the "gritty" images it
creates, but you will find it difficult to get a
greyscale image as easily with other methods (or as
inexpensively).  Images are made with one ink only -
so you have less issues of color cast.  No further
costs are needed - just your original epson driver and
the black cartridge.

If you get the acceptable image quality printing black
only and like the look, you are done.  If not - you
can take what you've learned and do wonders with any
B&W method or system.  Black only printing gives you a
great starting point so that you will know what you
and your equipment are capable of.  I highly advise
this method.  It reduces variables and allows you to
see how tones print from pure black to paper white. 
Then, you will be able to print much better if you are
using a quad or hextone based inkset.

If all else fails, plenty of workshops are available
for digital imaging.  The cost is irrelevant - as you
can directly weigh the price against the materials you
might have wasted anyway with endless testing.  Just
don't give up yet - great results are available with
your system, you just have to find the right
combination. 

Don



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