Re: [Leica] Re: NO MORE DARKROOM?

[Rich Lahrson <tripspud@wenet.net>]

Gerry Walden wrote:
> But the biggest thing for me is that it has opened up the whole gamut of
> colour printing from my library of transparencies which have been denied to
> me because of my inability to print them and the high cost of poor colour
> prints from commercial labs.   The print quality that I am now getting from
> a good slide is staggeringly good!

Hi Gerry,

     Unless you are blessed with very deep pockets to afford custom color
work, the raison d'etre of the digital darkroom is color.

     I speak from experience, as a former custom lab operator, involving
making enlarged internegatives from color slides, mostly 35mm, and then
making quality C prints from the internegatives.  Most of the clients were
people who wanted something for display.

     I've not gone digital or seen too much of color digital prints from
scanning, but apparently, the quality is very good.  Going the 'wet'
route, however, still makes sense for larger runs of the same print;
where the first print is so labor intensive in custom work, trying to get
the color balance correct.  Then, grinding out hundreds is possible rather
quickly.

    Attempting wet color printing at home leads MOST folks to disappointment.
So, the place of the new digital frontier remains for color.  Since I like
slides with the dual option of projection display, I'd consider going digital.

    But for black and white, the wet darkroom still has a lot of life left.
There are a variety of surfaces available, the choice of RC or fiber base,
and the proven option of archival processing.

					Cheers,

							Rich