Digital BW, The Print

It seems that all silver based 35mm b&w films look "grainy" when 
scanned by these new high res film scanners. Is grain so bad?  OK, so 
sometimes it does not enhance an image. I've experimented with the GEM 
setting on my Minolta Multi Pro and am impressed with its ability to 
control "grain."  Unfortunately, it requires C-41 b&w to do the job.  

I guess I could switch to using only XP2 or maybe I'll shoot everything 
in color and decide after scanning if B&W is what I want for each 
particular image.

Nah, for now the answer is to use the biggest negative you can scan.  
Those 6X7 negs sure look good printed digitally. As for 35mm, try XP2.

Frank
http://www.culturalvisions.com



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Steve Woolfenden" <
swoolf@g...> wrote:
> Hi Daren ,
>   A little more info here might be helpful.  Are you seeing the grain onl=
y in the final print or on your monitor as well(viewed at 100%)? 
>   As daft as it probably sounds I've never really noticed and/or looked h=
ard enough on the monitor to say for sure!!
>    Also,what method are you using for sharpening, sometimes using a very =
low
>   threshold in unsharp mask can yield very "grainy" results.
>   Ah , now this might have something to do with it! I was fiddling with U=
SM settings recently not really having a clue what I was doing so I might we=
ll have cocked it up then . The PS book I have[pretty much my sole reference=
!] is pretty useless so some guidance on correct settings would be most welc=
ome.
>   If I were you I would examine my image workflow from start to finish, i=
s processing of the film an issue (have you made traditional prints)?
>   This is something of an issue , but not a major one - the lab I use typ=
ically processes all B&W negs in the same developer , so Í do realise I'm no=
t getting quite the best possible quality from them but its still quite acce=
ptable which was confirmed by a friend who is knowledgable in these matters =
. Having never made traditional silver prints I am at a further disadvantage=
 as I have no benchmark worth speaking of .
>   Geez , talk about the blind leading the blind!!
>   My scans are generally done with everything switched off and only fiddl=
ed with afterwards in PS which makes me think its something afterwards which=
 is causing the grain- like the USM settings you mentioned . I am printing w=
ith an Epson 2000P using the regular Epson carts......
>   Thanks,
>   Steve
> 
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