Digital BW, The Print

The best way to convert to B/W is to change the image mode to Lab 
Color, then open the channels window, and throw away all but the 
lightness channel.  Then convert image mode to grey scale and edit 
from there.

If so inclined, you can also adjust the RGB channels before 
conversion to lab color/grey scale to have b/w filter effects.  For 
example, if you edit the red channel, you can make it as if you 
applied a red filter, darkening blues, and vice versa.  Then you do 
the lab color/lightness channel/grey scale conversion.  It's clean 
and simple.  And it's the only way I know to not degrade an image in 
the process.

Try it and let me know what you think.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Doug Meeuwsen 
<lipshurt@m...> wrote:
> My question is about why some plug-ins like the BW workflow by 
fred miranda seem to really degrade image. Specifically for this 
plug is waht happens to the reds and also the shadow areas. They 
really get blotchy and noisy, like its a four bit file or something. 
Seriously, when working with a 16 bit file from a 14 bit raw file 
from my Minolta A1, anything that was red becomes badly badly 
blocked up. I thought it was simply that the reds were clipped or 
something so I put up with it. Then As an experiment, I went back to 
the channel mixer, (which I used to use) and used the settings of 
68, 24, 8, on an image and ...perfect red conversion, and perfect 
shadows. HUH? This was using the same raw file by the way. I do like 
the way the miranda plug adds 100 iso grain, but geez....I'm going 
to have to reprint some things that are now unaceptable to me. By 
the way the miranda plug claims to be a 16 bit plug......Doug M
> 
> 
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