How do rate your printing skills, wet or dry

[Vincent.G]

My prints look decent to my family and friends. I would love to have a master printer look at my prints some day.

As this is the internet, I won't take this poll too seriously but I voted for the fun of it.

 

[menthel]

Never had the chance to wet print but really want to. Otherwise I just send my pictures to the little photo printer I have and they come out vaguely resembling the photo I took. I would love a proper printer with good black and white reproduction but space doesn't allow!

 

[rogue_designer]

I used to print for other togs in a custom commercial/exhibition lab, and can print color (C print and Reversal including Cibachrome), BW as well as Platinum and a few other specialty methods in a wet lab, as well as being pretty well versed in digital printing methods - but I wouldn't call myself a master printer.

 

[paradoxbox]

i used to sell and service photo printers and color calibration equipment from all the big brands..i guess i'm pretty good at printing. i can't wet print to save my life though. i need more space to do it

 

[MartinP]

I have been printing black-and-white for somewhat more than thirty years, including several years professionally, formats from 35mm to 10x8". I've also started playing with RA4 in the last year. I ticked "run-of-the-mill" in the poll.

 

[Rotarysmp]

I am between 3 and 4. I choose 3.

I used to have darkroom equipment which I would set up in the bathroom. Made it very time consuming with the extra hour of set up and break down. I have a few photos I am very proud of, but a lot of negatives I wasn't good enough to print to my expectations. This set up got sold when the kids came along.

Then spend a couple of years scanning film (Minolta dual scan I) and printing to an Epson 870. Different frustrations to a wet darkroom (controlling color and profile, ink consumption, ink refilling, fading, clog nozzles) , but also a few photos I really liked. In general I printed smaller formats than in the darkroom.

Gave up for years, funny how the first 5 years of digital have the least permanent evidence, but the most shots taken. All the photos in that time are digital files.

Now I have a been given an Epson R800 but can't get it unclogged, and have been sending my files to a lab for printing (it is so cheap and convenient). I still have no real control over color.

A digital film converted to B&W which I had the lab do a "fine art inkjet print" on Baryt is the best B&W photo I have. Rather a defeat for my printing skills.