Digital BW, The Print

In this museum project I'm working on, I usually don't have the original
negative.  So, I'm stuck with old, beat-up prints.  I've been amazed at how
much information I can pull off some of those old prints.  Often the paper
texture limits the enlargement, but sometimes even it conveys an interesting
look -- not unlike watercolor paper we use.  If I'm lucky enough to have a
contact print, taking the final to 18 x 24 still results in a print that can
be very sharp -- at least in the center, which is about the only place some
of the old lenses performed well.  I use my Epson flatbed scanner at up to
800 ppi for the best prints.  The only time I've resorted to my 8 MP Canon
is for a poster re-production that was too large to scan (and not worth the
cost of a service bureau scanning-back job).  For the poster, which was a
water-color original, I used the Canon 45 TS lens to make a 14 MP image.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com