Digital BW, The Print

Hi Keith:

 

Thanks for the interesting and detailed information you provided.

 

I agree completely that the paper used can have a considerably impact on the
tones rendered in the final digital print.

 

Note that I believe that one can indeed change the tones within each Cone
ink set by mixing various inks.  The technique is taught by Jon in his
workshops ( which I have yet to attend ).  Indeed, he encourages attendees
to experiment and provides some background in order make the "blending"
easier.

 

My preference for black and white printing is to use the Cone inks.
However, Richard Boutwell ( who posts here occasionally ) constructed a QTR
curve for me to use with the OEM Epson inks and Canson Platine paper.
Similar to your reports, the results were excellent.

 

Elliot

 

From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 6:33 PM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] warm tone

 

  

I have a Canon iPF6400, a couple of Epson 3800s, and used to run a couple of
Epson 7600s. The iPF series (I have no experience with smaller Canon
printers) has a Print Plug-in with a monochrome mode that is very similar to
Epson's ABW mode. It works well within the limits of it's capabilities.
There is also a stand-alone program for the iPF series called "True Black &
White" that is somewhat similar to QuadTone RIP for Epson printers.
Unfortunately, it costs 4 times the price of QTR, documentation is almost
non-existant, support is sketchy at best, and there is no user-base that I
have been able to find. I tried a demo-version but so far haven't sprung for
the full program.

 

I am a long time user of QTR and have been very happy with it, both with OEM
inks (3800 and 7600) and with Cone's Piezography Carbon inkset (7600). IMO,
the downside to the Cone Piezography inks is that you are committed to a
particular tone (color): Neutral, Warm-Neutral, Selenium, Carbon, or Special
Edition). To alter the tone, you have to change papers. On the other hand,
if you find a combination of inkset and paper that you like (which I did
with the Carbon inkset and Canson BFK Rives paper) and have no need to vary
from that, then it is about as easy as can be to produce consistently high
quality prints.

 

For the OP (no name on the post), I would like to suggest that the tone of
silver papers had as much to do with the developer used and any toning that
was done as part of the processing as with the paper itself. In other words,
not all prints on Portriga had the same tone. A print developed in Dektol
looks different than one developed in Ansco 130. An untoned print looks
different than one toned lightly in Selenium, which looks different than one
toned heavily in Selenium, not to mention one that is Sepia-toned.

 

I think that using QTR with the OEM Epson inks would be the most flexible
approach.

 

Sorry for being so long-winded!

 

Keith

 

Keith Schreiber

keith@...

jkschreiber.wordpress.com

 

 

On Sep 10, 2014, at 9:55 PM, 'Elliot Puritz' drpuritz@...
[DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint]
<DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com> wrote:





 

HI David:

 

Well, I certainly don't know very much about the details except to write
that the Canon site and other sites allude to printing of black and white
photos without any issue.  They use their own drivers with a separate plug
in.  You are correct in that AFAIK there are no third party inks.

 

Perhaps I can find some additional information..just curious since I am
using the Cone inks to good advantage.

 

Elliot

 

 

From:  <mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com[
<mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 11:25 PM
To:  <mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] warm tone

 

 

Are you referring to the 2880?

 

Probably. I don't keep up with printers I'm not using. 

Incidentally, alluding to black and white printing using OEM inks:  Have any
considered the Canon models with their Lucia pigment inks?  12 tones
including 5 black inks..intuitively one might expect the tonal range with
more black inks to be superior.  However, I am not certain.

I don't believe Canon has anything like ABW. Plus, there are no aftermarket
cartridges or B&W inks. QTR doesn't work on Canon printers. I think it is a
non-starter for B&W. I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

David Kachel

 

___________________

 

Artist-Photographer

Fine B&W Photographs

 

 <http://www.davidkachel.com/> www.davidkachel.com

 <mailto:david@...> david@...

 

PO Box  93

Fort Davis, TX 79734

(432) 386-5787