Digital BW, The Print

Hi James,

> I'm finding that I'm getting "better" (cleaner & less grainy look)
> when I scan my B&W silver negs (Ilford HP-5 & FP4) as color
> negs.

That makes perfect sense, since scanning in color will typically make for
softer scans, and therefore will take the "edge" off the grain, smooth it
out...  What developer are you using?  Might I suggest D-76 1:1?

> (the red channel seems to give a little
> more contrast than the green;

That doesn't make sense.  The red channel is inherently the fuzziest, as
well as the green has inherently the best contrast...typically.  Green is
also the sharpest...

> The
> scan using the B&W setting looks like it was partially solarized;
> the scan from the color neg setting looks clean and "normal."

That certainly could be part and parcel of the software...  Remember, no
matter WHAT you select, B&W or color, the scanner will scan EXACTLY the
same, it will scan IN RGB, and convert to B&W using its own mix, if you have
selected a B&W output...

Regards,

Austin