Digital BW, The Print

Hi Paul,

>I'm not one who thinks examination with a loupe is the way to select 
>an inkset, but in terms of smoothness, the K3 approach is limited, 
>in part, due to the use of the high gamut color inks.  Even when
>one pulls out the yellow, reducing also the amount of LC and LM that 
>are used for a particular tone, the LC dots will still limit 
>smoothness.  How much one compromises the smoothness for other 
>factors is the issue.

This has always been an interesting issue for me, and one that never
seems to get much attention in threads here.  As you know I often
pointed out that BO's luminance was due to bare paper showing between
the dots, and that the various full ink approaches produced prints
with varying degrees of veiling.  When I got the 2400 I was very
pleasantly surprised to find that K3 prints have a beautiful luminance
that, while not as good as BO, is much better than most of the full
ink prints I had seen.  With a loupe I saw that there was indeed bare
paper showing in the ABW print highlights (in BO prints the bare paper
goes further down into the midtones).  So ABW is definitely a "dotty"
system.  But for me this is a worthy trade off because I place high
value on that luminance (maybe the lesser smoothness doesn't bother me
because I am so used to BO's look).  I see ABW as a good balance
between the two extremes.

So I'm curious about how the 2200/K4+/RIP prints look in this regard.
 Is it completely dotless with full paper coverage, or is there some
bare paper showing with just lighter ink for the dots so it appears
smoother?  If you print the same image on this and 2400/ABW is there a
difference in the luminance?

 
>I think this is the key.  The k3 has good enough quality, and the 
>ABW mode is much easier for most people.  Swap out the yellow for 
>carbon, and the quality/ease-of-use results are hard to beat.  So, 
>in part, it's a question of how comfortable one is with a rip or 
>other workflow, how much control one wants over the distribution 
>of tones, whether one wants color printing from the same printer, 
>and, of course, price.  

You really have put your finger on it.  This is very similar to the
old Zone System debates between advocates of the full blown ZS and
those of the various modified versions.  For many, the extra degree of
control just wasn't worth the extra time and effort.  I see the same
principle at work here.  The ABW approach offers a compelling package
of features.



>I, personally, like the control and enjoy the technical challenges, 
>but if I just wanted to push the button and get good B&W, the k3 
>approach would have tremendous appeal.  

I'm glad there are people like you out there because you folks are the
ones pushing the envelope and helping things evolve.  But there are
legions of us ordinary mortals who aren't so technically inclined.  I
hope there is no condescension in the phrase "just want to push the
button".  The ABW prints are so good, and I am so continually swamped
with work in my profession, that I am delighted to have a system that
allows me to focus my efforts on being a creative photographer without
enormous output hassles.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm