Digital BW, The Print

Yes thank you Richard Brooklyn I was not aware of this option. I 
agree being able to soft proof the grey profiles that Image print 
offers is a considerable advantage. 
My experience has taught me that you either rely on our eyes or you 
rely on the numbers,  there are no other options. Ideally we should 
be able to rely on our eyes,  but there are so many obstacles between 
what we  see on the screen and the proof we produce  from the file 
data . 

At one point,  (perhaps this is the "dark ages" that Amadou refers 
to),  I attempted to follow and understand the chain of cryptic 
algorithms that compress the data through  the work flow to the final 
print, only to discover that the vast majority of them are so 
surreptitious that it is almost inconceivable to draw a direct 
correlation between data and density unless you unplug the color 
management system and fly the plane yourself.  

Recently I have dedicated time and energy to correlating data and 
density in order to master this relationship. So far my best results 
are achieved by returning to the stone age techniques of drawing 
direct correlations between L* values as they are displayed in the 
greyscale workspace and densities as they are measured by a 
densitometer.  For example  everyone knows that L*50 should produce 
18% reflective density but it never does. For me this is an 
interesting question , why doesn't it?  If I print a monochrome patch 
of L*50 from a greyscale space which will be converted to a custom 
profile via relative rendering I should produce 18% grey. But I 
don't, I never do. The problem is compounded when I try to maintain 
the precise resonance of shadow tones that I perceive on the screen 
between say, L*4 and L*2 ( both of which are fictitious values that 
niether the printer nor the monitor can reproduce) but which BPC and 
what ever other linearization algorithms  might transpose between the 
file data and the printer profile conversion.  

So, here's the thing, After trying to learn how to fly the Boeing 747 
using auto pilot,  I am now interested in finding out how to fly a 
spit-fire manually and I am wondering if anyone has any idea about 
reference material that could help me. 

Eugene Appert