[Leica] The Slippery Slope

[dlridings at gmail.com (Daniel Ridings)]

On 11/9/05, Robert Meier <robertmeier@usjet.net> wrote:
> BD,
>
> Better means, of course, prints that I prefer.   They are subjectively
> better.

You're lucky, Bob. Back in the 70'ies and 80'ies I prided myself on
being a good printer.

I set up a darkroom, a standing darkroom in a bombshelter, a few years
ago. For the life of me I cannot produce a print that I think is
better than what I can print through Photoshop on a $40 Epson printer
(C86 with carbon inks). So I gave up. The boys use the darkroom now
for their poker nights.

I probably could, with a lot of effort, make a print that is as good,
in my eyes, as the digital prints, but the time involved is not worth
it. I print scads of prints all the time. I love to have stacks of
prints under the couch, on the night stand, strewn around to browse
through and study. I'm my worse critic.

It just would not be practical, for me, to do that in a wet darkroom.
I'm too sociable. I like being with people.

But I can admire the excellent prints that others do in the darkroom.
I see it every time on the LUG print-exchange group.

> I am interested in how they look to
> me, and glossy fiberbase prints, airdried, have a look that I just love, 
> and
> I have never produced, nor seen, an inkjet print that has anything like 
> that
> look.

Bob, Permajet Portrait Classic can go a long way towards matching
those fiberbased prints.

Daniel