Black and White . . . and Grays! Let's not forget that black and white does not imply high contrast. The best b/w images often show subtle tonal structure, especially in the blacks.

ygelman Loc: new -- North of Poughkeepsie!

Let's not forget that black and white does not imply high contrast. The best b/w images often show subtle tonal structure, especially in the blacks.

Inkjet prints are prone to eliminate such structure, often causing viewers to describe them as "dramatic."

Maybe it's just my rant. :-)

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Not really a rant. There are a couple of black and white groups on Facebook that seem to feel Zones II through VIII are not important.

You make an excellent point.
--Bob

ygelman wrote:

Let's not forget that black and white does not imply high contrast. The best b/w images often show subtle tonal structure, especially in the blacks.

Inkjet prints are prone to eliminate such structure, often causing viewers to describe them as "dramatic."

Maybe it's just my rant. :-)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

ygelman wrote:

Let's not forget that black and white does not imply high contrast. The best b/w images often show subtle tonal structure, especially in the blacks.

Inkjet prints are prone to eliminate such structure, often causing viewers to describe them as "dramatic."

Maybe it's just my rant. :-)

I think it's just your impression.

As a lab manager, I put a trio of high-end large format (44" wide) Epson pigment inkjet printers in our facility. The B&W prints we could make with them were easily the equal of chromogenic black-and-white prints, and in many instances better than silver halide B&W images. This is from a guy who had a darkroom from 1965 to 1995, and worked in both an optical lab and a digital lab. BTW, the color from those printers was the most accurate from the lab.

Do not compare desktop inkjet printers with genuine multi-ink (more than six colors) pigment photo printers. If what you know about inkjet is from personal experience with a cheap home printer, visit a high end art school like SCAD, or a top tier museum that sells prints of artists' works made on those Epson P-series printers. The finest quality prints in the world come from high end inkjet printers.

ygelman Loc: new -- North of Poughkeepsie!

burkphoto wrote:

I think it's just your impression. br br As a lab... (show quote)

No issue with careful high end print people. (I have an Epson P5000.) I was addressing many others who convert color to gray scale and then pump up the contrast.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

ygelman wrote:

No issue with careful high end print people. (I have an Epson P5000.) I was addressing many others who convert color to gray scale and then pump up the contrast.

That was a habit in the film days, too. I met a photography "instructor" who almost insisted his students use really hard papers (#4 and Agfa Brovira #6)! He taught them to overdevelop their film, too. It's not a look I ever liked.

Rondog Loc: Western Mass

I use Ansel Adams Zone System when evaluating B&W Photos. There should be a slight amount of detail in zone 0 or 1, The Blacks and a slight amount of detail in zone 9 or 10 the whites. Any wash out at either end of that scale will detract from the final result. Just my Two Cents. Please correct me if I am wrong.