Digital BW, The Print

Hi Mark,

I attempt to tonr using one of the canned duotones in PS6.01 and then 
adjust the color curve that I have chosen to get the look I want. I 
am new to printing and still going up the learning curve. Of course I 
have only been taking pictures for 30 years so I am still on that 
learning curve as well.
 The look I am trying to achieve is a selenium-toned b/w. This is 
difficult because I have only seen one such print many moons ago and 
my memory is not that great anymore. Essentially the look I want is 
that the blacks are very deep and the grays have a very deep,rich 
look about them. I'm afraid you won't learn too much from me, but I 
have learned a great deal from you and the rest of the list members. 
And to that end I would like to thank each and everyone of you for my 
education. Thank you.

Regards,

Tim

www.portraitsofnature.net








--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Mark Tucker" <mark@m...> 
wrote:
> This prior post makes me think of yet another 
> variable in this whole quest to eliminate color-crossovers when 
> printing "neutral B/W" images using color inks. This is how I 
> approach it now; I wonder if anyone else does it this way, or has 
> a better, more dependable way.
> 
> First off, I print everything through a custom profile, made for 
this 
> paper/ink combo. In the Epson print driver, I have saved-out a 
> MediaType setting, which is: 1440, Hi-speed off, and PhotoPaper 
> as the MediaType. My source "working space" is always 
> embedded ColorMatch RGB, because it's suited for my 
> Pressview monitor. My output space is always "Tucker ICC 
> Profile", which is the custom one created for this paper/ink. So in 
> this area, nothing EVER changes. 
> 
> But, I can prep and tone a file in a zillion different ways. I've 
also 
> found that even with this custom profile, the print can vary quite 
a 
> bit from the monitor representation, depending on how I tone the 
> b/w image. 
> 
> I always scan in Greyscale. Then burn/dodge in Greyscale. At 
> that point, I convert to RGB to get it ready for toning. I have 
used 
> Levels only to tone; I've used Hue/Saturation to tone. Mostly now I 
> use HSB. 
> 
> I did a test where I took one image, and then cloned it several 
> times on a big canvas area, and then toned it using different 
> approaches. I was shocked at the output, and how much some 
> of them didn't match the monitor. So now, when I find a method 
> of toning that I like, using HSB, I save out those settings, and 
> then LOAD them the next time. I even keep a printout by my 
> machine to remind me how  a given setting will actually print. 
> Sometimes, with one setting, the Saturation of the toning is just 
> too strong. So I just find a setting that's a starting point, and 
then 
> I can vary it if I want to, but at least I know basically how this 
type 
> of toning will print.
> 
> If anyone else has an alternative approach to toning (sepia, or 
> bleached, or blue), I'd like to know.
> 
> FYI: here's how I get a "bleached" look: I get the file ready, then 
> tone it the normal way: say, normal sepia brown. But now, go into  
> "COLOR RANGE" and select only the MIDTONES. (Use 
> Command-H to get rid of the marching ants). Then, choose 
> CURVES, and deepen the three-quarter tones, and then lighten 
> the quarter-tones. You'll see the effect immediately. It very much 
> resembles the way you can submerge a fiber print in a 
> ferracyanide bath, or the Berg bleach, and watch the midtones fry 
> out.
> 
> -Mark Tucker, http://marktucker.com