Digital BW, The Print

Peter,
Thank you for the reply. I would suggest you try WHCC . They give you
a free testing phase with 5 prints. If your monitor is properly
calibrated, there should be no problem. You will get the prints back
in 48 hrs, no shipping fee. This is a lab with very low prices that is
widely used by pros.You can check the dpreview forums and see that
most users are quite pleased.  I would be interested to see what you
feel about the BW. If you like the prints, it will certainly save you
quite a bit of angst. They are silver halide prints on the most stable
papers .

                   Stuart
                    
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Peter Nelson"
<pnweb@s...> wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "sl91911" 
> <SL91911@Y...> wrote:
> > Peter,
> >  I can tell you that my BW prints from the best online processor 
> show
> > metamerism(probably due to a subtle color cast) as I have described.
> > While they are still better than all inkjets I have seen other than
> > the HP 7960, they are not like darkroom prints on BW paper.
> 
> But what ARE they?
> 
> Are they an inkjet process or a photographic process?   I've never 
> seen a photographic process that exhibited metamerism.
> 
> > Furthermore, I emailed online  of them before sending
> > prints and they all said that "because they printed on
> > paper designed for color prints, there could be color 
> > casts etc ".
> 
> Sure but a color cast is not metamerism.   
> 
> Keep in mind that conventional BLACK AND WHITE silver emulsion 
> darkroom prints have color casts.    Get a collection of black and 
> white photographic prints and compare them and you'll see some are 
> cool and some are warm, etc.   It depends on the paper, the 
> developer, etc.
> 
>  
> > If what you say is true, and prints of this type are 
> > neutral, then why would anyone want to use an inkjet
> > in the first place ? 
> 
> Because you can inkjet at home and control everything and get the 
> results quickly.   When I send an image to a lab I send it with file 
> containing a test wedge and a print of that test wedge so they know 
> exactly how dense I want it. I often give them a reference print of 
> my intended image done on my 2200 to indicate the density range I 
> want on the final print.   Sometimes I still have to have it 
> reprinted.  The whole process is expensive and a pain in the @$$.  
> But it's what I have to do if I want a darkroom-type print.
> 
> > It would easier and cheaper to go the online print route.
> > My feeling, is that what we can't get is the look of tradional
> > darkroom prints on the best papers, and that is why people on this
> > forum keep experimenting.
> 
> I like to experiment with my ART - poses, lighting, composition, 
> design, etc.    I'm an engineer who specializes in image processing 
> software for a living, so the last thing I want to spend my free time 
> doing is more of the same!   To me the idea of doing science fair 
> experiments just to make a print is a little bit like having to 
> design and write a word-processing program in C++ just to write a 
> novel or poetry.