Not to start a darkroom-vs-digital war, but I am wondering how many of the people that currently buy expensive inkjet prints in galleries (oh sorry, it's giclee prints ;-) ), will have a rude awakening in about 10 years, when their inkjet has faded badly... Silver rules! ;-D Mike Mark Rabiner <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Neil, > Your comments on inkjet B&W printing rings a bell for me. I have felt that > inkjet printing makes fine posters, but that the posters lack the glow of the > traditional darkroom silver print. I don't know the lightjet process, but what > you makes sense because the paper (silver embedded?) remains the same as that > used in the darkroom. > > You seem to confirm my feeling that Photoshop offers a lot of control. It > makes some tweaking easier. The printer is the problem. > > Doug > > Print on fine art paper 100% rag and you'll get better blacks with an inkjet from a better Epson than you ever did in the darkroom. Behind glass there is NO way of telling a darkroom print from an inkjet Usually the only way you know is the size. If its a 16x20 it will probably be a darkroom. If its an 11x17 or an A3 which is 11.69 X 16.54 inches than its an inkjet. In a cut mat it becomes very hard to tell. And the glass makes it hard to use a loupe as it creates a space. I have a portfolio box of 11x14's both inkjet and Darkroom and the only way you can tell is the paper surface. The inkjets are matt, darkrooms semi gloss. If you don't see a reflection you could think its an inkjet and it would be a darkroom. I showed my prints to a bunch of people in Vancouver BC a friend emailed later telling me he was glad he didn't get an inkjet as darkroom appeared superior as my darkroom prints he just saw of mine indicated. I corrected him on the fact that they were in fact inkjets. Now he's printing with an Epson 3800. Which now is the printer which most likely made a print you'd see on a current gallery especially if it was color. And not over sized it goes to 17x22. Having printed for 30 years in the darkroom I'm a "master printer" and know well what a darkroom print can look like and how to achieve it. I've used Amidol. I've gold toned. It doesn't have much if anything over inkjet. B&W Inkjets in fact look like a cross between a Platinum print and a silver darkroom print. The only way they don't excel is when you have a loupe on it. I used to have a linen tester on my keychain. Now I don't. Mark William Rabiner markrabiner.com --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list Mike Bischof Delhi, India The Photo Blog of my Indian Adventure: http://geocities.com/nbg90455/blog.html --------------------------------- You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.