Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Tyler Boley"
> Users are so pesky, looking at their prints under various light sources.
> Regarding profiling for different illumination color temperatures,
> it's pretty common these days. Particularly for work for specific
> installations or exhibits.

Assuming we regard printing for specific installations or exhibits as
"pretty common".    

I agree that the occasional fine-art photographer may have the need or
ability to predict the lighting where his work will be displayed.  But
most of us (artists who display their work in galleries) are
displaying it FOR SALE.   Which means we cannot predict the lighting
where the customer will display it after purchase.

My experience in balancing BW prints specifically for one kind of
light, say tungsten or "daylight" fluorescent or whatever is that it
IS possible to optimize it for a particular light but that the result
looks dramatically WORSE under other light.     For example with the
default Epson driver, 2200 BW output looks pinkish under "daylight"
fluorescent and greenish under true daylight.   I can make it look
neutral under the fluorescents but then it looks REALLY green under
daylight!

So forget that!   There are other technologies (quadtone, photographic
printing, etc) that don't have those problems.  So why tie yourself
into a knot optimizing a mixed-color inkset for particular light sources?