Digital processing info

[Michaelta]

During the last 30 years I used 100% film and traditional darkroom. I don’t know anything about digital processing. So, I am sorry about my ignorance.
However, I'll be most appreciative to have your opinion on the following:
1. Which film scanners would provide adequate resolution for high quality printing - up to maximum A3 from 35mm film combined with Epson R2400?
2. Is there any simple way to correlate screen colors to printer output results?
3. How good one should be in Photoshop program?
4. How much expertise, in this modality, one should have in order to perform B&W prints using Epson R2400 in a quality that may be compared to a high quality achieved using traditional darkroom?
Thanks,
Michael

 

[djon]

Michaelta:

1) Nikon scanner, either V, 5000, or 9000. Not the Minolta 5400II (easy to understand why if you actually compare minolta to nikon, though if a minolta's actually functioning it'll equal the nikon output.
2) There's no simple way to perfectly match the monitor to the print, but you're a 30 year photog so you can visualize what you want from a merely reasonable match, which IS easy assuming you're using a big (eg 19") LCD monitor. Doesn't have to be expensive.
3) Photoshop isn't demanding if you think of it as the controls on a color enlarger, with the addition of contrast control. Elements 3 or 4 will do most of what most photographers want.
4) I don't know the 2400 but people I trust say it's exceptionally good. I use the 2200, and
I know it to be capable of extraordinarily fine work, but doesn't do as well as 2400 with glossy paper...2200 is best on watercolor-type papers such as Moab Entrada. Traditional darkrooms mostly ground out student level crap and public relations prints, and that was called "high quality." Hard to know what question 4 actually means.

 

[Ukko Heikkinen]

Michaelta:

Not the Minolta 5400II (easy to understand why if you actually compare minolta to nikon, though if a minolta's actually functioning it'll equal the nikon output.

???

My Mnolta 5400 has always worked perfectly.

Ukko Heikkinen

 

[T_om]

During the last 30 years I used 100% film and traditional darkroom. I don’t know anything about digital processing. So, I am sorry about my ignorance.
However, I'll be most appreciative to have your opinion on the following:
1. Which film scanners would provide adequate resolution for high quality printing - up to maximum A3 from 35mm film combined with Epson R2400?
2. Is there any simple way to correlate screen colors to printer output results?
3. How good one should be in Photoshop program?
4. How much expertise, in this modality, one should have in order to perform B&W prints using Epson R2400 in a quality that may be compared to a high quality achieved using traditional darkroom?
Thanks,
Michael

I'll try each question in turn.

1. What is your budget? There is no sense in making recommendations without knowing that. Scanners run the gamut from cheap and terrible to expensive and wonderful. Where are you on that scale?

2. Yes. It is called "Profiling" and is actually quite simple with the right equipment. Again, what is your budget? Here is a pretty inexpensive solution: http://www.colorvision.com/profis/profis_view.jsp?id=361

Go here for more upscale (and costly) products to do the same thing: http://www.gretagmacbeth.com/

Color management is a "end to end" system requirement. All the pieces need to be color managed or the system breaks down at the un-profiled part.

3. Photoshop is the de facto standard in image editing software. No other program comes close. Does that mean it is the ONLY solution? Of course not. Other software can be made to work, but the standard is Photoshop. It is the 800 pound gorilla in the editing world. There are more tutorials and training material available for Photoshop than any other editing package. By a factor of 1000 or so.

4. B&W, on a professional level with Epson printers will require a RIP. I have seen MANY attempts to get around this but it all boils down to a RIP. They ain't cheap. Prices for ImagePrint, one of the premier (and most highly regarded) Epson RIPs start at about $500.00. Again, what is your budget?


Many of your questions are so open ended that recommendations are difficult without knowing exactly what your budget and final use will be.

Are you preparing exhibition prints? Stuff for your own use? Studio sales?

Tom

 

[Jeff Turman]

"1. Which film scanners would provide adequate resolution for high quality printing - up to maximum A3 from 35mm film combined with Epson R2400?
2. Is there any simple way to correlate screen colors to printer output results?
3. How good one should be in Photoshop program?
4. How much expertise, in this modality, one should have in order to perform B&W prints using Epson R2400 in a quality that may be compared to a high quality achieved using traditional darkroom?"


I'm not very often on this forum, but maybe I can help you a little bit. (A3 you're talking 11x17in, here.) Most moderate to pro quality film scanners will give you better than A3 results, as long as you do not mess with the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, etc. too much. The best way to correlate screen colors is to find the best profile for the certain paper and printer that you are using. Otherwise, no easy way out: you have to experiment, and try not to mess with the color and tones of the pics too much. As far as PS goes, what do you want to do? Because if you can visualize it, there is probably a way to do it in PS. An easy and a hard way too. But always remember with digital it is easier to mess up a picture that was fine to begin with, be really enthralled with the technology, and forget that the photo is what began the whole thing.

 

[Michaelta]

Many thanks to all of you for the highly valuable information provided. I intend to seriously dedicate time for studying this modality of printing. Any advice concerning the way to do it would be much welcome.

 

[J. Borger]

I agree you need a RIP to print descent B&W with an inkt-jet. But no need to spent $500.
There is a quad tone rip out there for 50$ which works very well: the Harrington rip

http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html

I use it all the time with an epson 2200.
Works best with matte paper.

Han

 

[djon]

Han's evaluation of QTR ($50) Vs more expensive RIPs is supported by many. It appears that the latest Epsons (2400, 4800) may not benefit by RIPs...certainly not with OEM pigments.

Here's the ultimate B&W inkjet site:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/

Ukko, the original 5400 is great (other than slow scanning), but the newer 5400II is not its equal mechanically. I know the new machine well because I've owned and returned two, opened one, looked inside.

 

[skipc]

RE: RIP for Epson 4800

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/phatte-black.shtml