Digital BW, The Print

chatzebussi wrote:

>Steve
>
>I couldn't agree more! 
>
>Any suggestions on how to bring back real, good looking
>(old-fashioned) "grain" in(to) the world of digital B&W capture?
>
Yup, start with a low ISO capture...

If you captured at a High ISO I recommend cleaning the image up with 
Neat Image, Quantum Mechanic, Grain Surgery,  or something similar 
before doing anything else., or else you have noise in shadows already, 
over which you will overlay grain.. ugh..

Step two:

Convert to B&W in whatever manner preferred..

Personally I like Convert to B&W Pro or the Silver Oxide Filters..

With these plug-ins I can choose the film toe and spectral response to 
mimic any one of  a number of film types AND  they both allow  me to use 
"colored filters" prior to the  conversion, as one would when shooting 
B&W..  I started doing this stuff with Convert to B&W Pro, but currently 
I strongly prefer the Silver Oxide offerings, pricier as they may be.

Convert to B&W Pro is at:

http://www.theimagingfactory.com/

The Silver Oxide filters (including 16 bit native versions and 
Carbonized versions!) are at:
http://www.silveroxide.com/

Ok, so now I've got something that looks like a grainless version of a 
film-based B&W image should...

Now I use Grain Surgery v2..

Not only does it allow me to add grain from its own library of built-in 
film-type presets, BUT I can also sample grain from images I have, store 
the sample and use that patterning as a template for future images I 
want to add grain in..  It's relatively intelligent, in that it treats 
grain at different grey levels differently...

Find it at:

http://www.visinf.com/

IF done correctly, the final image is very film-like, often 
undistinguishable from a film original when printed..


 
Keith Krebs

"Just some guy," and caretaker of the Multiverse's largest EPSON printer 
User Community (highly recommended by Vogon Poets and MegaDodo 
Publications), at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSON_Printers/
 
"For the rest of you out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together 
guys"