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Can a desaturated digital print have as much "snap" as a B&W wet print?


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Can someone tell me if a colour digital image made black and white in

photoshop will be identical to a film black and white image processed

and printed in a darkroom for say a 5x7 printed image 100 ISO ... in

particular is the black as black and is the white as white when doing

this digitally? I'm trying to make the decision whether or not to go

more traditionally or more digitally. Thanks for any help.

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That's a pretty broad question! As you probably know from your wet darkroom experience, contrast, color, tonality and brilliance all depend on the types of film, film/paper developer, paper, enlarger, lens etc. that you use.

 

Yes, a color digital image can be turned into b/w in Photoshop, and you could make an excellent b/w print out of it! You will find it useful to have a look at Ian Lyons site :

 

http://computer-darkroom.com/tutorials/tutorial_2_1.htm

 

What you deem to be black or white in wet darkroom terms is obviously rather subjective, but Photoshop will be able to provide you everything you need.

 

Having said this, I am still convinced that at this time it is still better to scan a b/w negative and work on that in Photoshop than using a color digital file or scan a color slide with the goal to get a b/w print.

 

Trust this helps.

 

Mark

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A color negative has a smaller dynamic range compared to a B&W negative. It can not caputure as much luminance information as a B&W negative.

 

B&W prints from color negatives, no matter the printing method, typically lack the "snap" that you can get from a B&W negative. You can prove this to yourself by using your favorite color and B&W films to take a picture of the same scene in the same light. Print the color film on B&W paper made for the task (Panalure comes to mind). Print the B&W film on a normal paper made for the task. Process and compare.

 

You get similar results if you print other ways, like inkjet, lightjet, etc.

 

The bottom line is, if you want a B&W print, use B&W film.

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The spectral response of BW film is different than color. It is more sensitive toward the blue end, so blues and greens (e.g. grass) look bright. Likewise, reds are relatively darker in BW (e.g., flesh tones.) The results from desaturating color film are rather drab by comparison.

 

You can simulate BW film pretty well using Photoshop and plugins from SilverOxide (www.silveroxide.com.) I find the results very useful for newspaper publication, where you want the picture to be crisp with open shadows. The demo is free - give it a try.

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Brian,<p>

 

In your decision making process I can't speak for you, but I can let you know why I chose digital output over traditional. I print all my shots using Lambda prints (www.fstoponline.com.au).<p>

 

1. Digital black and white allows more control over local contrast (Want that little tree's bark to be lighter but more contrasty? No problems.)<p>

 

2. I have a completely repeatable printing process for each print I make, for as long as I keep the file. In the wet darkroom, I would have to start over again each time I change my chemicals/temperature/equipment (or a supplier stops making my favourite paper!).<p>

 

3. No dust problems! Spotting is so EASY! That includes the defects in the neg like dust before exposure<p>

 

4. I can print colour or B&W using the same process/equipment and techniques.<p>

 

5. Toning is very simple.<p>

 

6. I am not isolated from my family for hours on end (plus or minus - you decide).<p>

 

7. I can stop working at any time during the process and come back to it knowing that I can pick up the process where I left off. <p>

 

8. No smelly chemicals for printing (I still develop my own B&W sheet film).<p>

 

9. Colour to B&W is easy, but I don't use desaturate. There are better techniques (eg colour mixer) which mimic the effects of contrast control filters at the time of shooting. <p>

 

10. My darkroom techniques were never advanced enough to do the things that I can do in Photoshop. Although PS has a steep learning curve, the time and dollars spent climbing that curve were much less than the time I spent trying to learn the darkroom techniques. <p>

 

11. Less waste in materials - if I don't like it, I don't print it. If by some chance I don't like the actual print, I already have a starting point from which to improve incrementally.<p>

 

I know that the quality and longivity may not be as good a platinum/paladium print or silver prints from a master printer, but my digital prints (colour and monochrome) are FAR superior to any prints that <b>I</b> can produce in the darkroom. If my print fades in twenty years, I'll print it again from the file I kept. Then again, I might go out and buy an Epson 2200 and take advantage of the 200 year archival property of the inks.... <p>

 

I'll leave it there so that someone else can put the case for the dark side.<p>

 

Cheers,<p>

Graeme

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The short answer is yes. Of course, results will vary with the quality of the original image and your computer skills. If you are working digitally, you will probably get the best final result with your own printer. It takes awhile to get the feel for the entire process, and expect to spend alot on consumables while developing that feel.
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  • 3 weeks later...
The great advantage of your color original is that you have three B&W prints - red, blue and green channels, each with different emotion. Plus all the possible blends. I routinely begin with color originals, then select out from the color channels what I want to use. The results are vastly more pleasing than B&W wet prints, because the retouching is much more precise. My enlarger has RBG lights in the head, and burning and dodging on panalure in the darkroom used to be a massive task. Digital is much easier, and control much more precise. Look at the tonal relationships within the picture, not just the blacks and whites. Norm La Coe.
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