Digital BW, The Print

Hi Mitch,
I like your method.  I use the Channel Mixer with color quite 
successfully to make some changes without
discarding the data.  Your method for BW conversion makes sense.  
Just one complex question:
- what channel do you use as a base at 100%?
- what opacity levels of the remaining channels do you use as a starting 
point?
What I like about this method is that applying the mask to each of the 
layers you can have an effect delivered to
the areas you want in the degree you want (again - all reversible). 
 Thanks a lot.  This simple - already provided by Adobe
way (overlooked by most) gives you the most control.  And if you want 
some more extreme effect - you can always use the
Channel Mixer on the top of it.
Thanks again for pointing it out.
Jack

>
> > From: "Glenn Mitchell" <gmitchel850@...>
> > Date: 2003/12/04 Thu PM 01:04:42 EST
> > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [Digital BW] Converting to B&W with Split Channel
> >
> > I have not seen any messages that discuss my favorite technique for
> > conversion to B&W. It uses a little-known PS feature called Split
> > channels.
> >
> > Split Channels is a menu option on the flyout menu for the Channels
> > Palette. It takes your RGB image and creates a separate grayscale
> > image for each channel.
> >
> > Almost everyone here will be familiar with using Mode | Grayscale or
> > Channel Mixer with the Monochrome box selected to create a B&W image.
> >
> > This is even better than using Channel Mixer with Monochrome. Much
> > better, IMHO! After you create files for the separate channels, you
> > copy them all to the same document as separate layers. That way, you
> > get immediate feedback as you experiment with various layers options,
> > like opacity.
> >
> > I worked on an image last night I brought the blue channel in at 5
> > percent opacity in Normal blend. The red channel was 80% opacity in
> > Normal blend. The green channel was 95% opacity, but I used Soft
> > Light blend for added contrast.
> >
> > You can turn the visibility on and off for various layers as you try
> > to decided how much of each to incorporate. You can change the layer
> > opacity and blend mode. You can even control the set points for what
> > gets blended from each channel -- perhaps the shadows from one, the
> > midtones and highlights from another.
> >
> > I'm working on a PDF tutorial right now.
> >
> > It's now the only way I convert from color to B&W. Give it a try!
> > Pretty neat stuff!
> >
> > Perhaps the Split Channel technique will come in handy for you in
> > the future.