Digital BW, The Print

I've read numerous posts about RGB workflows, scanning in RGB, etc.  
Bear with me, if you would, because I'm still trying to make sense of 
all the technical info.

Perhaps a simple question (if there is one in this area!): To get the 
best results from my Epson 980 using the OEM inks on Epson heavy 
weight matte paper would I be better off scanning RGB and working 
with an RGB image in Photoshop or scanning and working with a 
grayscale image from beginning to end?  My workflow has been to scan 
as a BW negative (8 bit), work with a grayscale image in Photoshop 
(LE version, for now) and print in color using the Epson driver.  
After alot of trial and error, I'm getting much better results today 
than a year ago, but the results are not always predictable.  
Unfortunately, the software controls available for my Canoscan 2710 
using the Canon software are not the best.

Also, any recommendations for a good book on BW digital printing or 
Photoshop techniques?  I've learned quite alot from "The Digital 
Darkroom: B&W Techniques using Photoshop" by George Schaub, but many 
of the topics discussed on this List are completely new to me.

TIA for any advice or tips for a relative beginner.

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska

Gary,

first, welcome to the group! Hopefully other members here who know your 
particular equipment better than me will come to your aid, but in the meantime 
here are some general thoughts to consider:

- The Epson driver needs to see an RGB file in order to separate into its inks. If 
it is not given that, it internally converts a grayscale or CMYK or whetever into 
RGB.

- By scanning a grayscale you may not take full advantage of your scanner. At 
least two reasons come to mind: (a) not all channels have the same noise; the 
red may be far better than the blue for example. (b) the gray set up in many 
scanners is inferior to their RGB color setup, mostly because of software 
issues.

- If memory is not a problem, you may consider scanning in RGB, using a layer 
of channel mixer to make the best bw conversion, flatten a copy of the layered 
file (that may also include your other adjustment layers), go profile-to-profile 
using the specific Epson profile for the paper you will use. Then sent the 
converted RGB file to print, setting the Epson driver to do no color 
adjustments. At least it may be worth a try to compare this to your current 
workflow.

- Down the line, if you do a lot of bw printing, you may consider dedicating a 
printer with a grayscale inkset  (piezo, MIS etc) and a CIS (continuous ink 
supply) that saves money and time messing with carts.

The book I like is "Real World Photoshop" by Blattner and Fraser.

Good luck!


Antonis





--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Gary Benson" <bensonga@g...> 
wrote:
....
> Perhaps a simple question (if there is one in this area!): To get the 
> best results from my Epson 980 using the OEM inks on Epson heavy 
> weight matte paper would I be better off scanning RGB and working 
> with an RGB image in Photoshop or scanning and working with a 
> grayscale image from beginning to end? 
...

> 
> Also, any recommendations for a good book on BW digital printing or 
> Photoshop techniques? 
.....

> - By scanning a grayscale you may not take full advantage of your
> scanner. ...
> (b) the gray set
> up in many
> scanners is inferior to their RGB color setup, mostly because of software
> issues.

What software issues?  Would you please elaborate?

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Gary Benson" 
<bensonga@g...> wrote:

(snip)

> My workflow has been to scan 
> as a BW negative (8 bit), work with a grayscale image in Photoshop 
> (LE version, for now) and print in color using the Epson driver.

Gary,

I don't know if your scanner or Photoshop LE supports 16-bit but you 
might do better scanning in 16-bit and make at least some initial 
adjustments at that bit level before dropping down to 8-bit.

Martin Wesley

(snip)