Digital BW, The Print

David,

>... Using a digital negative is a nice way to bridge the gap 
>between the analog photography paradigm and the digital world 
>of inkjet printing, 

Very true -- I was there for a while.

> ... digital world of inkjet printing, 
>a world still filled with many landmines such as clogging print heads,...

There are a few things that can cause clogs.  However, I have 4 printers in
my office running these pigments, and none have ever had any serious clogs.

> paper material with fragile surface coatings that flake off 

Not all papers flake -- The PremierArt/Epson Scrapbook/UltraSmooth and EEM
don't flake.  The RC papers don't flake.

> bronzing 

Spray with PremierArt Print Shield to get rid of most of this.

>and out gassing,

After spraying, the RC papers are so tough that I'm not going to use
glazing.  Then the out-gassing is irrelevant.

>Making inkjet prints that have the level of excellence that
>you have achieved is by no means an easy task.

But neither is making an excellent wet print.

Although, I think that my wet darkroom days had a lot of learning that has
carried over into the digital printing.  The elements of a good B&W print
are largely the same with both printing methods.  

I think we may be about to take another big step in inkjet printing.  MIS
may commit to UT-2 1280 carts tomorrow.  When this ink/approach is combined
with the better (archival -- see Wilhelm 9600 test) Epson RC papers and the
PremierArt spray, things get real interesting.  Easy-to-make prints with a
higher dynamic range than the silver print are hard to resist.  When they
are not hiding behind glass, the impact of that full range is going to be
very impressive.

So, bottom line, I don't think the silver print is the Holy Grail.  We are
about to go beyond the silver print in several respects for high-impact
display prints.

> 'carbon-on-cotton' prints are in many ways far superior ...

I'll still recommend this for the ultimate old photo reproductions.  Also,
RC prints got such a bad reputation in wet photography that collectors will
probably not be comfortable with them in digital either -- even if their
technical reasons for concern are probably no longer valid.  At any rate,
carbon-on-cotton in mylar sleeves may be the ultimate for archival storage.

> but I also think that the process of making them, as a
>whole, should be called very high maintenance! :-)

Well, the RGB curves turned out to be too difficult for most.  That is why
my current effort has been directed at making things easier.  I just
received the first production C82 carts today -- neutral and warm/carbon.
They're ready to go.  I think anyone will be able to do this.  MIS said the
clerical staff there love them -- finally easy enough for them to deal with.
That's a very good sign.  There is no way I'm going to tell the Genealogy
Society members to use any inkset except the "Easy" ones -- now the C82 and
UT-2 -- and in pre-loaded carts.

>...I'm not quite ready to give up my darkroom completely.

Actually, I haven't gotten rid of mine either.  I'm also glad the local high
school is teaching traditional B&W film and darkroom techniques.  (My
daughter is taking that now.)  There is a magic to seeing the negatives
emerge from the tank and prints develop in front of you under the safe
lights that those who start with digital and inkjet will miss out on.  I
think (and hope) that a fair number of people will stick with the
traditional methods for a long time.  However, I also think that digital
internegatives will be seen as compromising the "purity" of the lens-formed
image.

But, the Holy Grail, to me, is a high-dynamic-range print that is very
lightfast, "archival," and tough enough to be displayed without glazing.
The silver print isn't it.  We may be getting closer with the inkjet.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 
__________________________________


  -----Original Message-----
  From: Paul Roark [mailto:paul.roark@...]
  Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 5:16 PM
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
  Subject: RE: [Digital BW] The Holy Grail?


  >By making digital negatives with an inkjet printer, and taking them back
  >into the traditional wet darkroom, I have made many fine prints on
  >air-dried, glossy fiber paper.

  >With digital negatives, you have the best of both worlds. You have all of
  >the great silver papers that many have come to love, and you have the
power
  >to modify and manipulate your images in Photoshop in ways that even the
old
  >darkroom masters could not hope to achieve.

  Or is it the worst of both worlds.  All the digital artifacts with the
  darkroom smells, non-buffered paper, non-washable gelatin coating, wavy
  paper from the water that needs dry mounting, questionable archival
quality
  without strong toning that turns the print purple, ...

  You get the picture.  ;)

  Seriously, I went this route once and, aside from temporary marketing
  advantages, I think the silver print is or should be considered an
  "alternative" process in the same category as the platinum print.

  Paul
  www.PaulRoark.com



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