How I make my black and white digital prints

Thanks for this post! This is something I struggle with and feel is what I really need to take photography a step further to a physical form.
 
Chris, good info, thanks for sharing.

As a side note, I recently played with inkjet canvas branded IBM (bought a few packs of 10 sheets on a whim). And I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

The natural off-white base color of the canvas really enhances the digitally toned images that I've tried. Not to mention the texture of real canvas (not paper, that is the claim).

Of course in this particular case, the goal is not to produce a neutral print off the bat.
 
Great post Chris. A friend and I were just talking about how software totally plays a big roll in printing. And Color Byte software was brought up. It's cost is very expensive and neither of us can afford it. Currently we print in photo shop. I really liked your print work flow.
 
Dwayneb9584 said:
Great post Chris. A friend and I were just talking about how software totally plays a big roll in printing. And Color Byte software was brought up. It's cost is very expensive and neither of us can afford it. Currently we print in photo shop. I really liked your print work flow.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm glad the info is helping so many people. I agree that Imageprint is really overpriced. If you are doing a lot of color printing, it may be worth it, but you can get good custom profiles for the Epson driver for color printing that are nearly as good and for a lot less money. For black and white, the QuadTone RIP software is the best...and very affordable.
 
Chris, thanks for sharing the information.
I spend a lot time exploring your excellent website. Great work!

Your article reminded me of "Piezography" a system where the color cartriches are replaced by various shades of grey ink.

Do you or any one of the readers have experience with this?
 
I've been very happy with using all carbon black inks, but the disadvantage is I don't have the split toning option your process provides.
Something I'd like to add in my next printer upgrade.
 
Several years ago, I was given an old Epson printer with Piezography inks installed, and the disk with the profiles to make it work. The print color was like selenium (the Piezography inks were made in different tones) but I was unhappy with the blacks, which were weak. The current versions of the Piezography inks are said to be a lot better but the cost is extreme. I think a set of them for the Epson 4000 that I use is something like $800. I know that's not a lot more than a set of Epson's Ultrachrome color inks cost for the 4000, but the person who gifted me the 4000 included a full set of ink, so I didn't have to spend money like that all at once. Plus, as has been mentioned, you're limited to one color of print tone unless you buy multiple sets and change all the carts at once and lose a lot of ink in the cleaning cycle to clear out the old ink between changes. I like the results with the Epson color inks and QuadTone RIP because the prints are flawless and allow not merely different tones, but also split toning! And the Epson inks are a bit cheaper to replace when a color does go dry.

Something else to consider with third party inks is they can and do change them at anytime. Piezography has discontinued inksets and made people re-buy a whole new ink system, with the cost in money and also time to get used to the way the new set behaves. Epson's inks have not changed; the inks they sell today for each model are the same color/formula as they were when the printer was new, even for rather old models.
 
Thank you Chris, very helpful. I just got Pixma 9500 mkII (my first step into serious printing, or printing at all) and found your post to be one of the easier to follow and most informative ones from what I've seen after some search about profiling.
I have many questions, but I won't ask them all as first I'll experiment with your suggested method, but as experimentation is quite costly, I'd like to understand what am I doing as soon as possible. One thing that discomforts me is a common disclamer that proof simulation still gives subjective results, but I'm guessing I can live with that.

Oner question before I start wasting paper and ink this weekend: at the end of tutorial you mention "Turn off the Proof Simulation by hitting Command-Y" - is this an important step that can affect the output? I'm asking because other tutorials about proofing do not mention this and seem to go straight into printing duplicate with proof settings still on.

I'm sure I'll have more soon, but thanks for your help so far 🙂
 
Phantomas said:
Thank you Chris, very helpful. I just got Pixma 9500 mkII (my first step into serious printing, or printing at all) and found your post to be one of the easier to follow and most informative ones from what I've seen after some search about profiling.
I have many questions, but I won't ask them all as first I'll experiment with your suggested method, but as experimentation is quite costly, I'd like to understand what am I doing as soon as possible. One thing that discomforts me is a common disclamer that proof simulation still gives subjective results, but I'm guessing I can live with that.

Oner question before I start wasting paper and ink this weekend: at the end of tutorial you mention "Turn off the Proof Simulation by hitting Command-Y" - is this an important step that can affect the output? I'm asking because other tutorials about proofing do not mention this and seem to go straight into printing duplicate with proof settings still on.

I'm sure I'll have more soon, but thanks for your help so far 🙂
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that the proof simulation being on or off won't affect printing. It just changes the image on screen, the the actual full-resolution file that goes to the printer. I just turn off the proofing out of habit.

The instructions I give are for printing using QuadTone RIP. If you're using the driver supplied by Canon for your printer, you can use profiles they provide (if you use Canon paper), or profiles given by the manufacturer of the paper, or you can have custom profiles made. The quality of the proof simulation in different profiles can vary a lot. I've seen some that give good prints that match the screen but a poor simulation of the print on screen using the proof colors simulation, while others give a very accurate one. So, it'll take some testing with your materials and the profiles you have available.
 
Thanks Chris, for such quick reply. Extra info appreciated.
I've downloaded all profiles for the paper samplers I've received (mostly Hahnemuhle, and is this paper wonderful or what?). Will try and see how it works out.

Printing is certainly an unnerving excercise 🙂 When I did my first straight print (without any proof or other settings), I went back and turned on the proof settings to see if proofed copy on screen would look like anything that just came out of the printer. It didn't... 😀 Trial and error, trial and error.
 
Phantomas said:
Thanks Chris, for such quick reply. Extra info appreciated.
I've downloaded all profiles for the paper samplers I've received (mostly Hahnemuhle, and is this paper wonderful or what?). Will try and see how it works out.

Printing is certainly an unnerving excercise 🙂 When I did my first straight print (without any proof or other settings), I went back and turned on the proof settings to see if proofed copy on screen would look like anything that just came out of the printer. It didn't... 😀 Trial and error, trial and error.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried Hahnemuhle papers. Make sure the prints are totally dry before judging them. Don't know about your Canon printer, but my Epson prints change a bit in appearance as they dry and reach their final form after about a day.
 
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