Digital BW, The Print

Hello Lew,

>I shoot bw film & scan it into tiffs for processing in PS or LR, 
>and I'm looking for  tool sets that come closest to what I do in 
>the darkroom. So far, I like the offerings of Nik software best. 
>Comments, suggestions?

I concur with what C. David said, it matches my own experiences.  In the beginning I didn't know where to begin so I stuck with familiar concepts and ideas.  

As for the Nik software, I used the demo for awhile (within the past year) and at first was enamored of it.  They really have created some amazing tools.  But it wasn't too long before I realized it was too restrictive.  It made certain effects real easy, but I don't always want those effects.  And it couldn't do well, or with enough control, or at all, many things I routinely do in PS.  And the way it's structured it's sometimes difficult or impossible to mix it's routines with my own PS techniques.  I finally decided it wouldn't add enough benefit for the price and I removed it when the demo period ended.  I'm not suggesting you shouldn't buy it, it's very popular, but am just adding my experience to the mix.  

There are countless ways to approach digital image work.  I suspect that if we could examine every photographer's workflow we'd find no two alike.  PS alone allows many different approaches.  So there's no "best" way.  Everyone finds their own path, picking up new tips and tricks over time.  Unfortunately, we often must spend money on products along the way, some of which are abandoned later.  Seems to be an unavoidable part of the learning process.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
I-Trak 2.1   http://www.cjcom.net/itrak.htm