Digital BW, The Print

Paul Roark wrote:

>
>>I can make a sharper print with better local contrast digitally
>>than I can in the darkroom, and we're talking 4x5 negatives enlarged to
>>8x10.
>>    
>>
>
>Unsharp masking and the new "Smart Sharpen" in PS CS2 are amazing and are
>also often overdone at first.  I have several prints that I really need to
>re-do due to my early over-enthusiasm for the unsharp masking.
>
>  
>
Paul's right, of course. At the moment I use JB's Smart Sharpen, and it 
does a pretty good job.  I'm going to have to learn, though, how to mask 
certain areas from the effect. Nonetheless, I still like the enhanced 
sharpness I'm getting at the moment, especially with my test image of a 
very weathered wooden building.

>>The silver gelatin prints have a slightly better surface look,
>>    
>>
>
>Have you tried spraying the Premium Semimatte with PremierArt Print Shield?
>To me, that takes care of what I think of as the major problems.  Also, dry
>mounting them seems to add a bit of texture due to the underlying matte
>board.  Both of these steps bring my display prints a bit closer to the
>air-dried, glossy silver print look that I used to consider the nicest look.
>  
>

Just this morning I tried Premier Art Shield for the first time. It 
helped with Kirkland quite a bit, although it's still a little too 
glossy for my tastes. The spray also made the Epson Semi-matte slightly 
glossier, which is unfortunate.

I have a question about the spray: How much do you press down on the 
button when you spray? I followed the directions on the bottle, and I 
just tried to "mist" the print. This involved not pressing down very 
hard on the button. I had a little problem, though, with the spray not 
being consistent when I did this.   Is it better to press down harder 
and move the can more quickly?

Once sprayed, the Kirkland and the ESM look very similar from frontal 
viewing, except that the Kirkland's highlights are a little hotter. The 
color is different as well.  I'm using the Photo Black, Neutral, 
Neutral, Warm cartridges, and the highlights print warm with both 
papers, but the Kirkland has significantly cooler shadows and midtones.

I haven't tried dry-mounting yet, but I will soon.

Thanks Paul,
Peter