Digital BW, The Print

Dave, Roy and CDavid,

I think this last exchange has been an important one:

--------------------------------------------------------
>...a grayscale workflow is fundamentally different than a color 
>workflow...
>
>...a characteristic of grayscale -- there's no color in the 
>image file.
>
>If you want color functionality then yes you should use a color 
>workflow.
> 
>...there's a very fundamental difference in using a grayscale 
>workflow versus a color workflow...The notion of converting all 
>the files to RGB and trying to match the color tones isn't at all 
>appealing.  Since the files are all grayscale I can print with any 
>number of printers and/or inks and get the same fundamental image 
>-- be it neutral gray, sepia, split-tone etc.
>
> This is much more akin to what B&W photography has always been.
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This fundamental difference is one which often gets lost in the
discussions.  This exchange has illustrated it very nicely and I hope
it has lots of readers.

In the "dark age" BW practitioners fell into some well defined and
understood categories, RC vs Fiber, for example.  Amongst the fine art
folks there were some finer gradations, such as Zoners vs Non-Zoners
and Full Zoners vs Modified Zoners.  And of course there were the
formats: Small - Medium - Large.  Individuals could, and did, fit into
various combinations of these, but my point is that they were all
well understood differences and it was relatively easy for beginners
to make conscious choices as they progressed along the road of
knowledge and experience.

My perception right now is that the distinction between grayscale and
color workflows is not so widely understood and articulated.  When a
beginner asks for advice on how to get started, the responses usually
focus on the printers, inks, RIPs, degree of complexity, cost, etc. 
Even though it is an important choice, this workflow distinction is
rarely ever mentioned (I guess we take it for granted).  I think if we
all were to make a point of adding references to this in our various
posts (whenever appropriate, of course) it would over time raise this
issue to a higher level of general awareness and understanding.


And here's another thought about Roy's final point:

>This is much more akin to what B&W photography has always been.

This really resonates with me because I was a fiber based/Modified
Zoner/mostly-medium-format darkroom practitioner for 20+ years and my
simplified ABW grayscale workflow is very much simpatico with that way
of conceptualizing and producing prints - I like it.  What I'm
wondering is how important this will be for someone coming into BW
printing with no previous darkroom experience?  Upon what basis will
this theoretical person make a choice between a grayscale or color
workflow?


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm