Digital BW, The Print

I photograph with 4x5 b&w negatives. I tried PhotoKit but when you scan a
4x5 negative in RGB at 4800 ppi the file is prohibitively large (at least it
is for me and my computer). I also didn't really see any great advantage vs
doing it without PhotoKit, either way you ultimately have to make your own
judgements.

I do no sharpening until the image is ready to print, then I save the
unsharpened image for future sharpening at a different print size. On the
version to be sharpened I use Photoshop USM, selecting areas that I
don't want to sharp at all (e.g. clouds, sky), others that I want to sharpen
mildly (generally areas of out of focus background and good bokeh),  and 
areas in which good sharp detail is critical. It isn't as difficult or time 
consuming as it sounds, for
many images it's just two steps, areas of no sharpening and areas of
sharpening. With experience, and working with actual pixels, I don't find it
difficult to obtain what looks to me like optimal sharpening. When there's a
question I err on the side of less sharpening rather than more. IMHO there's
nothing that screams louder that "this is a digital print!" than a print
that's sharpened too much.

There's a free program at Luminous Landscape that sharpens automatically
based on which areas the program thinks need to be sharpened by how much
(though you can override the program's choices).  I liked that program and
used it for a while but for some reason I've never been able to get it to
work after switching to a different computer. You might take a look at it
and see what you think.

 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: <CorrPro96@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 10:07 AM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Opinions/tips on Grayscale sharpening



In a message dated 10/21/2006 3:13:57 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
Jlkmmw@... writes:

Sorry if  this sounds too basic and I am struggling.
So much that I've read seems  geared to RGB that I'm looking for advice
about
sharpening
Grayscale  images. Yes, I've searched the archives at DB&WTP, and Googled,
and what  I've
found seems dated, RGB,  and unclear.
PhotoKit, Pixel Genius  suggests
1:Capture sharpen{easy/gentle with an edge mask},
2:Creative  sharpen,
3:Output sharpen, {for the method, size and DPI}
meaning 2 or  3 sharpening passes. AND Photokit only works in RGB!
Convert to RGB? Then  back again for output? What's the workflow look like?
Other sources suggest  sharpening for output at the end of the workflow.
{only one pass}
I'd  appreciate hearing from the experienced members on the subject of
sharpening
Grayscale images for Ink jet output.
FYI
Mac OS 10.4.7   PS2
NEC LCD calibrated monitor
Epson R2400
Specific project is 645  B&W NEGS Fuji Acros scanned with an Imacon
Anyone willing to share  their secrets?

Thanks,
Julian Kaiser




Julian:
Are you scanning in RGB? If you scan in grayscale, you lose  information.

Richard (Brooklyn)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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