Digital BW, The Print

Hi all,

I am new to printing B&W from digital - spent many years in the 
darkroom, but much prefer working digitally.

I don't do much B&W, so am not sure if I want to go the whole route of 
getting a new printer and inks for B&W work. Are there any labs that 
specialise in printing B&W from digital images? I have been looking 
for a while, and haven't found any.

Sorry if this is a FAQ.

Regards,
Thomas

thom999manson wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I am new to printing B&W from digital - spent many years in the
> darkroom, but much prefer working digitally.
>
> I don't do much B&W, so am not sure if I want to go the whole route of
> getting a new printer and inks for B&W work. Are there any labs that
> specialise in printing B&W from digital images? I have been looking
> for a while, and haven't found any.
>
> Sorry if this is a FAQ.
>
> Regards,
> Thomas

There are indeed. List member Tyler Boley comes to mind:

http://custom-digital.com/

Also list member Amadou Diallo:

http://www.diallophotography.com/digitalprintmaking/index.html

Also, there is Ron Landucci:

http://www.infinite-editions.com/

And there are dozens of others. My local pro-lab has a LightJet on which 
they run B&W paper (not fiber, but an RA-4 RC paper from Kodak, until 
they run out of it) a couple of times a week. These B&W prints should 
have the same lightfastness of Fuji Crystal Archive color papers, but 
perhaps not a lot more since they are dye based prints.

Hope this gets you started.
--
Bruce Watson

Judging by theses prices, just 3 or 4 8x10 prints pay for a HP 7660,  
the same number of 12x18 prints gets you a HP 8750.  I would put the 
HP prints against an RC lab print any day and the HP system just 
works (that's why there is no discussion on list, they just do 
exactly what they are supposed to so there are no problems to 
discuss)... really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and 
Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, hogarth@s... 
wrote:
> thom999manson wrote:
> 
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I am new to printing B&W from digital - spent many years in the
> > darkroom, but much prefer working digitally.
> >
> > I don't do much B&W, so am not sure if I want to go the whole 
route of
> > getting a new printer and inks for B&W work. Are there any labs 
that
> > specialise in printing B&W from digital images? I have been 
looking
> > for a while, and haven't found any.
> >
> > Sorry if this is a FAQ.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Thomas
> 
> There are indeed. List member Tyler Boley comes to mind:
> 
> http://custom-digital.com/
> 
> Also list member Amadou Diallo:
> 
> http://www.diallophotography.com/digitalprintmaking/index.html
> 
> Also, there is Ron Landucci:
> 
> http://www.infinite-editions.com/
> 
> And there are dozens of others. My local pro-lab has a LightJet on 
which 
> they run B&W paper (not fiber, but an RA-4 RC paper from Kodak, 
until 
> they run out of it) a couple of times a week. These B&W prints 
should 
> have the same lightfastness of Fuji Crystal Archive color papers, 
but 

> perhaps not a lot more since they are dye based prints.
> 
> Hope this gets you started.
> --
> Bruce Watson

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn" 
<markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> Judging by theses prices, just 3 or 4 8x10 prints pay for a HP 
7660,  
> the same number of 12x18 prints gets you a HP 8750.  I would put 
the 
> HP prints against an RC lab print any day and the HP system just 
> works (that's why there is no discussion on list, they just do 
> exactly what they are supposed to so there are no problems to 
> discuss)... really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and 
> Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.
> 
> mark


You could say the same about the new Epsons and the ABW mode, at 
least for most papers including the "fine art" matte papers.

I would like to add one additional source. I have used them only once so far but the work 
is fabulous. They do traditional printing from digital files. San Miguel Photo Labs in Las 
Vegas, New Mexico.  Check them out at http://bestlab.com/sanmig14.html

Good luck
Bill

Unless I've missed a new release from Epson, we are talking about the 
$800 R2400 which will get you there, but will take more than 3 or 4 
8x10s to pay for itself :)

mark

PS  And sure, the R2400 is superior to the HP in almost every way 
(unless you are dead set on high gloss prints)... just that if someone 
is looking for occasional 8x12" b&w prints a $99 printer (that works 
flawlessly out of the box) is a trivial purchase, whereas $800 
generally is not.

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Greg" 
<dfaprinting@y...> wrote:

> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn" 
> <markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> > Judging by theses prices, just 3 or 4 8x10 prints pay for a HP 
> 7660,  
> > the same number of 12x18 prints gets you a HP 8750.  I would put 
> the 
> > HP prints against an RC lab print any day and the HP system just 
> > works (that's why there is no discussion on list, they just do 
> > exactly what they are supposed to so there are no problems to 
> > discuss)... really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and 
> > Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.
> > 
> > mark
> 
> 
> You could say the same about the new Epsons and the ABW mode, at 
> least for most papers including the "fine art" matte papers.

At 23:47 +0000 18.9.2005, Mark Hahn wrote:
*******************************************

>really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and
>Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.

You are right, BUT - you may use ONLY and ONLY HP papers and HP inks 
for this. The Wilhelm rates are based on HP papers and their chemical 
interactions with HP inks, not the inks themself. Not for any of the 
Fine Art Papers, thick papers or boards or canvases or ...

Martin
--

With the HP printers you are restricted to using their media, right?
If so that's no good for many of us.




--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Greg"
<dfaprinting@y...> wrote:

> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn" 
> <markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> > Judging by theses prices, just 3 or 4 8x10 prints pay for a HP 
> 7660,  
> > the same number of 12x18 prints gets you a HP 8750.  I would put 
> the 
> > HP prints against an RC lab print any day and the HP system just 
> > works (that's why there is no discussion on list, they just do 
> > exactly what they are supposed to so there are no problems to 
> > discuss)... really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and 
> > Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.
> > 
> > mark
> 
> 
> You could say the same about the new Epsons and the ABW mode, at 
> least for most papers including the "fine art" matte papers.

Yes, and certainly a R2400 will be better and more flexible, but for 
someone who only wants to occasionally make b&w prints, especially if 
8x12" is big enough, a $99 7660 is a darn good option.  Had the 
question been what is the best b&w printer available I wouldn't have 
offered up a 7660 as a suggestion, but since it does only cost about 
what most services will charge for 3 or 4 8x10 prints I thought is 
was worth mentioning... 

Plus, if you *want* glossy, the HP Premium Plus paper is quite 
nice... and with so many Epson users struggling so hard to get decent 
glossy prints from their pigment printers... seems that it wouldn't 
be such a limitation for everyone.  Honestly, I can go either way, I 
just don't want to mix media.

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "john dean" 
<deanwork2003@y...> wrote:
> With the HP printers you are restricted to using their media, right?
> If so that's no good for many of us.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Greg"
> <dfaprinting@y...> wrote:
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn" 
> > <markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> > > Judging by theses prices, just 3 or 4 8x10 prints pay for a HP 
> > 7660,  
> > > the same number of 12x18 prints gets you a HP 8750.  I would 
put 
> > the 
> > > HP prints against an RC lab print any day and the HP system 
just 
> > > works (that's why there is no discussion on list, they just do 
> > > exactly what they are supposed to so there are no problems to 
> > > discuss)... really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... 
and 

> > > Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.
> > > 
> > > mark
> > 
> > 
> > You could say the same about the new Epsons and the ABW mode, at 
> > least for most papers including the "fine art" matte papers.

That is true of course, and if you only want to print on fine art mat 
media you shouldn't even consider one of the HP printers, but if you 
are looking for Glossy prints, which many many Epson users are (for 
some reason that I don't fully understand), then it isn't much of a 
limitation.  A friend of mine just ordered an HP after like two years 
of frustion from the limitation he felt that a 2200+IP imposed on him.

I was getting pretty close to ordering a 2400, but now there are rumors 
that Canon is coming out with a pigment printer that will one-up 
Epson... might be interesting.

I'm not trying to start any "this is better than that" war between the 
printers... Epsons are good for many reasons, and HPs are good for a 
few compelling reasons.

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Martin Sluka 
<martin.sluka@p...> wrote:

> At 23:47 +0000 18.9.2005, Mark Hahn wrote:
> *******************************************
> 
> >really, your first b&w print comes out perfectly... and
> >Wilhelm gives 100+ years displayed and 200+ for dark storage.
> 
> You are right, BUT - you may use ONLY and ONLY HP papers and HP inks 
> for this. The Wilhelm rates are based on HP papers and their chemical 
> interactions with HP inks, not the inks themself. Not for any of the 
> Fine Art Papers, thick papers or boards or canvases or ...
> 
> Martin
> --