Digital BW, The Print

On 11 Oct 2004 at 3:13, mltphoto wrote:

> 
> 
> Is it smart to still shoot B&W film for scanning and printing B&W 
> prints, or can we just use color film and turn monochrome in 
> Photoshop? In other words, is there as advantage for using the B&W 
> film for B&W digital prints over using color film?  Thanks
> 

It depends on what kind of B&W film, and how your scanning it.  For example if you 
shoot old technology (Tri-X, HP-4 etc) or new technology B&W (T-MAX or Ilford's 
Delta series) then scanning will not be able to use Digital-ICE as the silver grains 
confuse the IR beam and it thinks the grain is dirt.  Chromogenics (BW400CN and 
XP-2 ) do work with Digital-ICE but they have the same life-span issues as colour 
films.

B&W negatives (old technology at least) that are properly processed have a life 
span of well over 100 years, there are films from 1904 that are still in perfect 
condition.  New technology is more recent, but uses the same process they should 
have the same life-span.  Colour dye based and Chromogenic films, use dyes that 
can fade easily if not stored properly, they need to be trreated like voters, keep 
them cool and in the dark at all times.

Colour film, other then the fading issue, can be used for B&W images, but you need 
to think B&W at the time of shooting, and ignore the colour in the scene.  This is 
easier to do when B&W film is loaded in the camera.  You also need to find a 
traditional B&W film you like, get the technical specifications for it and for the colour 
film your using, , and before you drop the colour, try and match the response curve 
for each colour to theB&W film.  This will give you the best results.  

W