Digital BW, The Print

Wendel,


> 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'm speculating here, but perhaps it was the range of "subject" tones on the
negative that could be captured in a platinum contact print that was the
issue, and not the range of tones on the print itself.

If one looks at the dynamic range of the prints themselves, the paper white
to dmax defines that range, as I understand it.  The density numbers we use
represent, I believe, 3.3 stops per one density unit.  Thus, the 1.48 dmax
of the platinum print would translate into about 4.8 stops of reflective
range.  Our best glossy pigment prints with a dmax of 2.4+ have about a 7.9
stop dynamic range.  (I'm assuming a paper white of about 0.03.)

But, of course, in the old days before we had lots of paper grades and
scanners that can capture dynamic ranges of about 13 stops (with
questionable quality at the ends of the range), perhaps the platinum print
was able to capture a range of tones that exceeded what the other available
technologies were able to deal with.


> ... it is just a matter of which material best supports your vision.

Definitely.

> There is a concrete value in the platinum/palladium print, just not the
> same value that might be in a silver or inkjet print.

All else being equal, I think the more labor that goes into a thing gives
it, potentially, more value.  Scarcity is an element of value in at least
some respects.  The ability to easily make lots of identical inkjet prints
is, from this perspective, a disadvantage to the medium.

I think there is a lot to be said for doing something that is different.  In
that respect, I think the various coating techniques might have the
potential to add value to inkjet prints.  Not only can there be technical
advantages to such, but the fact that most won't do it distinguishes those
prints that have been through the more labor intensive processes.

I also think we'll see inkjets being used to print on hand made papers and
other unique approaches that utilize the inkjet technology, but in a
different and creative manner.

> "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.

I think that may be a good point, and a good one that we, hopefully, can
combine with the advantages of our current technologies.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 


> 
> >
> > 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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