Originally Posted by
Gary L. Quay
Going back to the original question...
A) I had a few similar problems. First: I own a flatbed scanner. It's a good one: an Epson 4790. I had read that the human eye sees about 300dpi, give or take a few. So, I scanned my stuff at 400dpi at the size I wanted to print. My 8x10 prints looked a little fuzzy, even when starting with medium format negatives. My guess is that negative frames that hold the film create a millimeter or so of distance between the neg and the glass, and that causes a slight loss of sharpness. When I printed at 4x6, they were razor sharp because the minimum size I scanned for was 8x10.
I have made some good prints on my computer, but what others have said is true: you won't get a traditional silver geletin print from a digital printer. Printing digitally or in the darkroom both take practice and patience. For me, the darkroom won out, even for color enlargements, because I dislike the mistakes less, i.e. my frustration level for the learning curve is lower. I've used computers since the 1970s, but the technology changes too fast. PhotoShop keeps removing functions that I really like to use. Also, I upgraded my Mac operating system this year, and in order to get all of my programs working I had to buy a new computer. But, I digress.
B) To get the print you want from a printer, you have to have everything profiled, from the monitor to the scanner, to the printer, and each batch of the the paper you are printing on. I find it maddening.
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