Digital BW, The Print

I found this a while ago, but wanted to see what folks on this board
thought of this.  It sounds really interesting.  No, I'm not
affiliated with this lab, and haven't even tried them.  It's San
Miguel Photo Lab.



Digital B&W Services - Overview

We hand-print digital b&w prints directly from digital files using the
DeVere Digital Enlarger. No inkjet, no interneg. Your files are
printed directly onto the same silver-rich traditional photo papers
that we use for making prints from negatives. This means you get the
same fantastic print quality you were accustomed to getting from
negatives before you went digital. Crisp clean whites, velvety grays,
and deep rich blacks. No gray on gray. As a special note to busy Pros:
we handle all the b&w conversion work here at the lab at no extra
cost, leaving you more time to concentrate on photography. We also
scan and burn standard and archival CD's of 35mm film. For details see
Film Processing.

We've been getting the same questions in almost every phone call for
the last few weeks, so let's clarify a few points here:

     One: We haven't "gone digital." We've added digital. All of our
film-based services that make us the lab of choice
     for studios, professional photographers, photographic artists,
and photo enthusiasts coast to coast are still available.

     Two: A digital enlarger is an enlarger. It isn't any kind of
printer. While it is a marvel of modern technology, it still works
     like all enlargers since the dawn of the darkroom. It projects
your file onto real photo paper just like a film enlarger projects a
negative.

     Three: Yes. We use real photo paper. It is not inkjet paper, or
any kind of special paper. We are printing digital files
     directly onto real honest-to-gosh silver gelatin fibre base & RC
photo papers. In fact, we didn't even have to buy any more
     paper when we installed the digital enlarger. We just started
using the same paper we've been using all along. After
     fibre prints leave the enlarger base board they are still
hand-processed in trays.

     And... Four: No, we're not kidding. This is the answer to your
prayers.



Digital B&W Services - Technical Details

Scientist and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke once said that
"any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic." The DeVere Digital Enlarger is proof of that. It is a
wonderful, magical, stunningly high-tech device that lets us take your
digital files and print them onto real B&W photo papers. It is an
enlarger, not a computer printer of any kind. It works just like a
film enlarger. In fact, it is a film enlarger whose negative stage has
been removed and replaced with a sophisticated digital imaging system
that utilizes a high-res Liquid Crystal Display to simulate a
conventional negative. We call this a "virtual negative." The
enlarger's computer systems convert digital files into virtual B&W
negs, that appear on the DeVere's panel in a fashion similar to how
image files appear on your computer screen. The panel is clear, so
light can be projected through it. When the panel is active, and the
enlarger's shutter is opened, the enlarger projects the file onto the
base board, just like a film enlarger projects a negative. We can
focus, size, and crop just like we can do on any other enlarger. And
best of all, we can print onto real B&W photo paper. Contrast is
controlled both in Photoshop and on the enlarger, using dichroic
filters. We won't bore you with the details, but the bottom line is
that this enlarger, combined with high-quality traditional photo paper
and the discerning eyes of our skilled technical staff, adds up to the
absolutely best black and white output from digital files anywhere in
the world.

This is a hybrid process. It starts digital and ends traditional. We
think it uses the best of both worlds. There are amazing things we can
do in Photoshop to fine-tune your images that can't be done with film.
In the middle, we've got world-class Nikon optics and the subtle
control of light mixing, and at the end we have real silver paper for
an unrivaled final product.

We start with your color digital camera file and convert it to b&w in
Photoshop. We handle the conversion, contrast balance, cropping, and
sizing--all at no cost to you. This is a simple hassle-free process
for you. You shoot, we'll do the rest.

Once the files are prepared on imaging work stations, we use our
DeVere Digital Enlarger to hand-print your image file directly onto
real b&w photo paper. Digital-hybrid prints from our lab receive
exactly the same processing and washing that our film-based prints do.
Fibre papers are tray processed by hand, and always receive a full
archival wash.

Our RC b&w prints from digital files are pretty fantastic, but even we
were blown away by the first b&w fibre prints we made from digital
files. They are stunning and absolutely unrivalled anywhere. These
prints simply glow. The whites sparkle, the grays are velvety, and the
blacks deep and rich. They have unbelievable depth. We knew the
DeVere/San Miguel union would be successful, but even we were simply
amazed at the quality of the final results. At last digital
photographers can get truly awesome black-and-white.

Once we have your digital-hybrid print in hand, all of the same
post-processing options are available too. You can get real
bleach-and-redevelop archival sepia toning or low-shift selenium
toning. And because we use real photo papers, not ink jet, you know
that your work will last. And unlike internegs, we print your files
directly onto paper, so you have no worries about loss of detail.

Best of all, our digital prints are far less expensive than you might
think. See our digital rates for details.



Placing orders for digital b&w

In addition to enlargements, we can also make b&w proof prints from
color digital files (great for wedding shooters whose clients are
accustomed to paper proofs!). Just like our proofs from negs, these
small prints are high quality "straight prints" with no dodging and
burning. They are printed on real b&w photo paper and are individually
adjusted for contrast and density.

Either the paper order forms from customer service or the order forms
on the website can be used for either film or digital orders (or
orders that have elements of both in them).

You need to send us your files on a CD or DVD, we no longer accept
files via internet upload. We can also read the six common camera
cards (CF, MD, SM, MS, SD, MMC) if you are coming to the lab in
person. Do not ship camera memory cards to us, as we do not want you
to expose your expensive memory cards to possible shipping damage (or
any risk of original image data loss).



Digital manipulation a.k.a. digital dodging and burning

There is literally no limit to what can be done to an image in the
powerful editing program Photoshop. Most labs charge their
photographers a set rate per hour for anything beyond the basics,
usually in the range of $150 bucks per hour. We don't care for that
approach, because it makes it very difficult for a shooter to estimate
the total cost of a job, thus making it harder to set prices for their
clients. We've adopted a three-tiered flat rate approach the to problem.

Level I--Standard Cost: no charge.
Includes conversion from color to B&W, adjusting of basic contrast and
density, sizing, and cropping. (You can crop yourself if you prefer,
or leave it to us).

Level II--Professional Cost: $12 extra per file.
Includes standard service plus (as needed) lighten teeth and whites of
eyes, lighten shadows under eyes, evenout facial tones in group shots,
remove large dust or lint from backgrounds and clothing.

Level III--Ultra Cost $ 25 extra per file.
Includes Standard and Professional service along with burning in
highlights and lightening shadows for maximum detail plus checking and
adjusting even the smallest details of your image. This gives you the
ultimate print.

If you think you might order more prints from the same files in the
future, we sell a Conversion CD that has a copy of the file conversion
and Digital D&B work that was done here at the lab. The Conversion CD
runs $6 for the CD plus $2 per file burned into it from the order.
When you order from the Conversion CD in the future you qualify for
the duplicate print discount. Put simply, if you order from the CD
next week, next month, next year, you pay the duplicate print price.



Preferred file formats

We accept either High Res JPEG or TIFF format files. For best quality
prints your JPEGs should be in the range of 2mb and your Tiffs about
18 or 20mb. Please not not send files larger than 50mb. We do not
accept RAW files. Please do NOT sharpen your files beyond any
in-camera sharpening you may already use.

For busy Pros using digital capture, we take care of the cropping,
sizing, and black-and-white conversion here at the lab at no extra
cost. From digital camera shooters we require unmodified color files,
rather than files you've already converted to black-and-white
yourself. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, due to our unique
production process we can get you better quality b&w prints from color
files than we can from files that have been converted to b&w. This is
because several of the popular conversion methods used by
photographers discard file information that can help us maximize the
quality of your final prints. Also note that files captured with the
b&w mode available on some digital cameras give us considerably fewer
controls in Photoshop, which gives us fewer options for optimizing the
file for printing.

Important note: while we do not REFUSE to accept files that are
already converted to B&W, the rules are different. We promise to make
you the best print we can, but, if you send us a pre-converted B&W
file and you are not happy with the final result we will NOT refund
your money or credit you for future services. We hate to be so
extreme, but this falls into the "you broke it, you bought it" or
"garbage in; garbage out" universe. This policy is the same both for
pre-converted digital capture or for scanned B&W film; and the reason
for it is that too much of the production process has been taken out
of our hands for us to be able to stand behind the print unconditionally.

For Photographic Artists who create their artworks themselves in
Photoshop and want us to provide them with high-quality fibre prints
as final output, things are a little tricky and the rules above apply.
The key is communicating what you are seeing on your computer screen
with what we see when we open your files on our end. Send a guide
print if you can, even an ink jet print can give us a good idea of the
overall look you are after.

We will also print from scans of color or b&w negs, and we offer
scanning of 35mm negs in-house. However, our digital offerings are
designed primarily for digital camera users. If you shoot film, we'd
rather print from the negs. For artists, we can also print from
scanned master prints; but we do not offer print scanning in-house.





About Us . . . News and Notes . . . Digital B&W . . . Film Processing
. . . Enlargements

Order Forms and Shipping . . . Rates



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