True handcoloring of inkjet B&W prints

[todd_jacobs]

Hello All,

 

I am jumping into the digital darkroom. I think I am going to put up my old safelight in the

corner above the computer just for old times sake.

I am in the process of selecting a printer and have narrowed it down to the Epson r1800,

the Canon i9900 or the HP 8750. I intend to use it for both B&W work and color. Firstly,

pros and cons regarding each of these printers would be appreciated. Secondly and most

importantly which would you recommend if I were to hand color the B&W prints the old

fashioned way with colored pencils, chalks, I even used to use on my matte finish papers,

retouching inks that came in the little jars in a sort of dry application that worked nice.

Thanks,

 

Todd Jacobs <LeicaM13@comcast.net>

[digitmstr]

>>I think I am going to put up my old safelight in the corner above the computer just for old times sake.<<

 

Ah! Why didn't I think of that! ;)

 

I use Canon & Epson printers so, I can't comment on the HP other than to say: from reading posts on various forum I have found what seems to be an unusual number of complaints about units with problems. Same for the 8450, which I was actually thinking of buying a short while back. Do a Google search and see what you find out about it. As you know, sometimes we ONLY hear about people's complaints and that might give us the wrong impression about an item. I must confess however, that after reading so many posts about relatively similar problems with the 8450 I have actually postponed (at least) my purchase.

 

As for hand coloring I would suggest that you really will have to ck out the paper(s) you plan on using. Some papers have special coating that could crack under pencil pressure compromising its longevity, etc... Matte paper would be best, IMO.

 

Personally, I do it in PS 8 or Corel DRAW (even better) using a WACOM tablet. Why? Because when I went digital I soon realized I could get a much better result doing it that way than the traditional way. Drawing programs have come a long way and with a good tablet you'll get excellent results. In addition you can have the luxury of screwing up without actually having to re-print the image :)

 

So, really do ck out a Wacom tablet and maybe a Demo version of Corel draw. If you already have PS it's a decent drawing program too, though it lacks the many features of Corel, of course.

 

Good luck!<div></div>

[jack paradise]

If you need dead neutral b&w prints, I dont think that the Epson R1800 will do but the color prints are excellents. Better get the Epson R2400, although it cost more than the others.

 

If you want your prints to last, forget about the Canon printer which has the better color prints. Yes, colors are more vibrant with dye inksets, but they fade faster than color pigments.

 

HP will allow both b&w and color at a cost. Tiny costly cartridges, uneven capacity, possibly pizza wheel tracks on prints. If you want your prints to last, you need to print on HP designated paper.

 

In a nutshell, whatever printer you get, it will be a compromise.

[digitmstr]

I think for the *best* B&W prints on Glossy or MATTE paper (good for true hand coloring) nothing beats a dedicated 6-8 black ink system. These are available from MIS, Cone and Lyson. To name a few.

 

The new HP and Epson have three levels of Black. Not bad. In the future, i am sure we can expect more black ink heads directly from the manufacturers. I think they were caught off-guard with the all B&W printing thing. They probably never expected inkjet users would want to do B&W printing on thir own. Now, they got the picture (pun intended) and as we can see they are starting to develop printers with B&W printing abilities. Soon, they should be able to nail it, in terms of tone, longevity, paper compatibility, etc...

 

 

In the mean time the dedicated B&W system is still the best route.

[bobmichaels]

I'll skip over the Epson vs. Canon vs. HP debate by just saying you frequently hear "well, that is an Epson group". Ask yourself why the "Epson group" is so large amongst serious fine art b&w printers and there is no comparable Canon or HP group. That's important because of all the special inks, workflows and techniques out there in the existing infrastructure. Many dismiss this believing digital b&w printing is just a "click and print" process but it's not.

 

I'd love to be able to hand color digital b&w prints. Tried several paper / coating spray combos. Colors go on fine, they just don't come off like with fibre based wet prints. Once a color has gone on, it's into the paper for good. You may lighten it but it's still there. If anyone has success in traditional hand coloring digital b&w prints, please tell how.

[ronald_smith2]

For "pure" high-quality b/w prints, the HP models mentioned are superb. Yes, the ink is expensive but the gray tanks HP use give ideal b/w tones. I have the older HP7960 and the results are incredible. The HP paper is so beautiful, although some of the Epson papers work equally well.

 

The pizza wheel thing is a rare problem.

[dickhilker]

I've been using P/S Elements and a Wacom tablet and have had no problems.

[constance_cook]

Actually, the pizza wheel problem is no longer a problem. It doesn't exist with later HP Photosmart models.

 

And the 8750 lists on the specs a variety of "other" papers to use.

 

I have used everything from canvas on in the first P1000 I had. It would eat anything and give good results. Later models wouldn't work on real canvas.

 

I made several prints this weekend on the 8750 and I am very happy. The addition of the door in the back for heavyweight papers is quite useful.

 

Conni

[todd_jacobs]

Thank you for all of your input to this thread. I've narrowed down my choices to a

refurbished Epson 2200 and a new HP 8750. Any further comments regarding these two

'fine' machines are welcome.

 

Todd Jacobs <LeicaM13@comcast.net>

[todd_jacobs]

Actually I first got the R1800, took it back and got the R2400 for the better B&W abilities. First few prints on the R2400 for B&W with matte paper and color with glossy paper are terrific.

 

Todd Jacobs

[cary_cleaver]

Todd, et. al.,

How do you like the Espon 2400?

 

Has anyone had good success scanning old b&w negs for handcoloring?

I have read some articles on-line, but nothing that puts it all together - scanner, printer & paper - except one fellow in the UK who uses the "gray balancer" interface that isn't part of the Epson 2200 package in the US ...add "for handcoloring" and the list is even shorter.

 

I'm about to buy a refurbished 2200 (can't afford the 2400 yet), and I'm excited to read what others have learned. I really enjoy traditional darkroom printing, but I only have two boxes of Agfa Classic in reserve. If it becomes too difficult to obtain wet print materials, I have to be ready to take the big digital leap.

[jon_noble]

Dick

 

Is that Plymouth, England, Harbour. The breakwater with the dismantled lighthouse looks familiar