Digital BW, The Print

Mark  -
 
On the monitor side of the question:  I've been using and NEC MultiSync FE991sb for over a year.  It has a nice bright, flat screen.   It's 19inch, good calibration capabilities ( at least for your needs) and has a 3 year warranty.  You can also buy the same monitor from Viewsonic for around $230 (but the warranty is less.)  Other than the fact that I would like a bigger monitor, I don't feel that this one is lacking.
 
A decent monitor makes this whole process much more enjoyable.
 
Tom Baker

Bob Michaels <bob@...> wrote:
I was where you are about 15 months ago. Here's what I learned. You
really don't need a lot of expensive equipment but you do need time to
learn. You can get to making respectable looking prints very quickly,
then improve on that for the rest of your life. Just like shooting
film or printing in a wet darkroom. Most people on this list are
talking about moving from 96% to 98% perfection. You want to jump from
0 to 80% which is much easier. 

The Epson 1280 printer (about $350 refurbished direct from Epson,
essentially new and warrantied) is hard to beat. The Minolta Scan Dual
III film scanner (about $300 from B&H) will serve you nicely. The
bundled Photoshop Elements s/w will get you going. If you really need
a new monitor, buy one you like locally. Epson Heavy Weight Matte or
Enhanced Matte paper will do you fine and is very reasonably priced.
Buy those and start printing. The inks that come in the printer will
do fine to get you going. This is a low cost setup that has equipment
that won't hold you back for a long long time.  

Go read Clayton Jones' excellent article on printing basics at
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm  and Wayne Fulton's excellent
article on scanning at www.scantips.com

Later if you decide you want to try hextone printing after doing Black
Only, then get some of the MIS UT inks in carts (about $40-$50) from 
www.inksupply.com and follow the directions on their web site. 

Later if you decide you need more advanced software, buy the full
version of Photoshop for $600. Some are raving about lower cost photo
editors like Picture Windows which is less than $100. 

Bottom line: buy a printer and scanner for about $700 and start
printing. That will get you equipment that won't hold you back for a
long time. Then build on that as you improve. 

Bob Michaels  

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "awahlster"
<awahlster@a...> wrote:
> Ok a short note to see what happens here, My name is Mark W. I'm a 
> Canon FD user along with a bunch of older rangefinders (Leica, Braun, 
> Retina, Voigtlander, and Canon) I'm at a point where I want to 
> drastically upgrade my digital darkroom I currently have a Canon 
> D2400UF flat bed/transperancy scanner (2400X1200Dpi) and a HP 932C 
> Printer 8.5X11.5 2400X1200dpi quad ink) I shoot both Color (mostly 
> slides) and B&W (both C-41 and silver) Gateway EVF720 monitor (looks 
> OK never matches anything exactly OK even close LOL)
> 
> What I want:
> 
> to scan 35mm B&W negs and Color Slides at a resolution that will 
> allow me to print to 10X15 full frame (a little bigger would be nice 
> but I would be very happy with high quality 10X15)
> 
> To have one or two (if need be) Printers that can create a 25+ year 
> matte print in realistic color and B&W simular to what I get in my 
> wet darkroom (I'm no Ansel Adams in the darkroom but they are sharp 
> and most of the time the B&W looks pretty good)
> 
> To be able to do this without becoming a digital darkroom junkie or 
> experimentor I need a proven formula that gets me very good looking 
> work product I don't need Art gallery quality B&W or Fashion work 
> color prints. I'm a Hobby Photographer who wants to make his own 
> prints he can be proud. 
> 
> SO anyone got a direction for Hardware and Software (I'm a Win ME 
> user with XP in the near future)
> 
> What I'm not is real good at is combining a half dozen computer 
> things into one to get something I can't figure out how use to make a 
> print anyway. So please don't go there unless there is no other way.
> 
> Any help like a simple list of what to buy I can use to start 
> shopping and trying to find out how to use. 
> 
> My budget would be in the $2000.00 MAX range $1500.00 would be much 
> better.
> 
> If this has all been answered before a dozen times sorry but I 
> figured help is easier to find if a person asks the specific question.
> 
> Mark W.


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