Digital BW, The Print

For me the whole thing is CONTROL. Photoshop is more powerful than I 
ever was in the darkroom. I have one print that I used to print wet. 
It is a beautiful print. BUT, after I had it drum scanned (from 4x5 
BW film) and brought it into Photoshop - WOW! I can selectively 
dodge/burn (using pro techniques on layers with masks - not that 
crappy dodge/burn tools), increase contrast, you name it - all with 
incredible precision. Now, couple that with being able to make a 
silver print from the file - I'd be in heaven. It looks great in 
Piezo, but it is still not silver.

Regarding "archival" issues. You can have the service bureau make a 
plain vanilla print (developed/stopped/fixed) and then go back into 
the "lightroom" when you get the print back, and proceed with your 
regular archival workflow (soak, fix again, tone, rinse).

Rich
www.rcodaphotography.com