Digital BW, The Print

On Sat, 2004-03-13 at 11:34, karo wrote:

> Hi,
> I am a professional photographer and for a while now have I been looking into printing 
> black & white good quality digital black and white images. I read much material and I saw 
> many samples. Some of these samples I saw where done with Quadtone inksets and the 
> results were excellent. The problem is that excellent is not good enough for me. I saw 
> samples that were as good as prints on RC paper but I need higher quality than that. I do 
> not care about the cost but I must have a system that meets my demands. Some folks 
> were suggesting a system that involves a RIP and quadtone. What it today's VERY, VERY 
> BEST technology for digital black and white printing? I am not sure how many of you 
> actually saw an original Ansel Adams or Robert Mapplethorp print. This is the quality I 
> need to achieve. Thank you for your insights.
> Ken


The bottom line is, digital prints are not darkroom prints. If you need
darkroom prints, stay in the darkroom. That's a perfectly viable option,
and you should seriously consider it, IMHO.

Digital printing is a different medium. The papers are very different.
The inks don't really have a counterpart. Comparing digital prints to
darkroom prints is like comparing apples to walnuts. There really isn't
a lot of point to it, not that that stops people from doing it of
course.

The traditional darkroom has been fairly unchanging for many years now.
Digital printing on the other hand is still evolving at a tremendous
rate. This renders the concept of "best" technology" for digital
printing a moot point. Best is in the eye of the beholder anyway, and
what is best today is out of business tomorrow.

That said, in the eye of this beholder, the current "best technology" is
the StudioPrint RIP, an Epson x6xx printer, and Piezotone inks. This
system gives me excellent highlight detail, excellent shadow detail,
really smooth tonality, and precision control over contrast (both
overall and local). This system is restricted to matte surface papers
which results in a lower Dmax than you can get with a darkroom print.
Nonetheless, I find the results superior.

But YMMV. "You pays your money and takes your chances." 


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