Digital BW, The Print

Hmmm... Lower Dmax and the paper is generally non OBA
so a lower white value but a wider range of tones is
the result. Could you explain that? I'm not sure how
you got to those observations?

Guy
--- Wendel White <wendel@...> wrote:

> For me, and I suppose for many people, it's not the
> maximum density of the
> Platinum process that is appealing but rather the
> the range of tones. If
> you'll notice that the platinum/palladium print has
> up to a 9.5 stop range
> of subject tones, this means more subtlety. I too
> would not want to argue
> about this, it is just a matter of which material
> best supports your vision.
> There is a concrete value in the platinum/palladium
> print, just not the same
> value that might be in a silver or inkjet print.
> 
> "Photography is a medium of limitations"(I don't
> know who to attribute that
> to) so that a print that reflects graceful and
> intelligent control is
> sometimes highly valued. Maybe, severe limitations,
> overcome to produce
> complex and expressive artworks, produce greater
> value.
> 
> Wendel
> 
> 
> > 
> > I'm not a platinum printer, but I confess I've
> never understood the "tonal
> > separation and range" reputation of platinum. 
> From what I've seen and read,
> > their dmax is not very good.  For example, see
> >
>
http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/herbst_azo_amidol.html
>  where Bob Herbst
> > compares platinum to Azo prints.  As I read his
> results, the platinum had a
> > dmax of only 1.48.  This is about what one can
> expect of carbon pigment
> > injet blacks like Eboni on Arches Hot Press, but
> it's very noticeably below
> > the 1.7+ that Photo Rag and cheap PremierArt
> Premium Matte can get with even
> > the C86 and Epson driver.
> > 
> > Materials at an exhibit of selected Getty
> collection Edward Weston prints I
> > saw a couple of years ago seemed to indicate that
> Weston moved from platinum
> > to silver due to the limited platinum dynamic
> range.
> > 
> > I'm wondering if the appeal of platinum, aside
> from nostalgia and being
> > different, is from the matte look.  While many
> seem to think glossy is more
> > "photographic," I think a matte image often gives
> much better access to the
> > print's information due to the lack of distracting
> reflections.
> > 
> > I'm just speculating here and not trying to be
> argumentative about the
> > qualities of platinum prints.  I honestly would
> like to know where
> > platinum's reputation comes from.  I don't doubt
> that there is some
> > aesthetic quality to that technology that may have
> been lost in the silver
> > print, but I'm not sure what it is from a
> technical point of view.  When the
> > prints are mounted behind glass in, for example,
> the Weston exhibit, I just
> > don't see much if any visible difference between
> the platinum prints and the
> > old silver prints, which were often warmer than
> the platinum.
> 
> 
> 


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