Piezography: Ansel Adams and the inkjet print

[Micah Marty]

No, this isn't a thread about "WWAD" (What would Ansel do). I'm well aware that St. Ansel embraced new technologies, sought maximum control over prints, etc. etc. So let's not make this a would-he-or-wouldn't-he discussion; it's safe to say he'd at least experiment.

Instead, my query is about piezography, the quadtone ink-and-software kit for b&w printing on Epson printers (www.piezography.com). Quoting from George DeWolfe?s review in the new issue of View Camera, "I've been a black-and-white printer for over 35 years. I studied with Ansel Adams and Minor White, and I know what a beautiful print is. . . . Piezography has changed the way I work, and it has changed the way I see. It has allowed me to expand my vision into subtle tonalities I didn?t know existed. . . . If Ansel were alive, he'd be into [Piezography] big time. Big time."

Strong words. More praises from DeWolfe: "Piezography . . . has, overnight, changed the history of photography. It is the answer to traditional photography's toxic chemical heritage and is environmentally safe and sustainable. The print is as aesthetically beautiful as silver, and as archival. . . . Piezography with the [Epson] 7000 pushes us beyond what we have known as the best in black-and-white photography." (Read the full review on p. 58-59 of the July/August issue of View Camera.)

"Changed the history of photography overnight"! Is Piezo really that good? I?m curious to hear whether any frequenters of this forum are using/have tried Piezography (perchance even with the Epson 7000?) and/or have at least studied large Piezographic prints up close, in person (i.e., not on the company's website). Thoughts, comments?

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[Oren Grad]

Some months back I obtained a small piezography sample print from Jon Cone. The effect is quite intriguing, and I can imagine that at some point in the reasonably near future the process will be refined to a point where I may want to investigate further.

IMO it's a different medium which shows promise of being beautiful in its own way, and as such is worth paying attention to. But it's no *substitute* for a good silver-gelatin contact print - not even close. It's just a completely different effect.

[John Hicks]

First of all, note that I know nothing about piezography.

However...the properly-processed silver print, platinum/palladium prints etc h ave a good track record for longevity, while so far as I know piezography has no track record, just claims.

Photography has been full of claims of archival stability that have proven to be untrue; E-3, E-4 and C-22 come to mind offhand. Much color photography of an entire generation has faded away. Epson recently continued that tradition when t heir "archival" print material quickly turned green.

Something to consider.

[Micah Marty]

Fwiw, I see that George DeWolfe's apparently-similar article for Camera Arts (sister magazine to ViewCamera) is downloadable as a PDF file from Piezo's website, http://www.piezography.com/exhibition-printing.html

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[pat krentz]

The only fair comparison is side by side prints of the same subject and have photographers compare them without knowing which is which and see what is chosen. Claims are not proof. Pat

[pat krentz]

Just finished looking at the prints, they both are stark contrast without subtle tones of any kind, at least on my monitor, which is what I am saying, the only fair comparison is side by side. The companys website photo's would never convince me to try it. Pat

[Pete Andrews]

I dunno. I've been printing for 35 years too, and the inkjet B&W that I've seen so far, and produced myself, impresses me about as much as a badly done bromoil smudge.Having said that, I haven't tried quadtone inks, because they just don't seem to be readily available on this side of the pond.I'm willing to be convinced that they are capable of good results, in the same way that bi-tone halftone printing is miles better than a standard B&W halftone reproduction - and yet..... it's still not quite a silver print is it?

[Mike Kravit]

Recently I too a Piezography print made on the Epson 7000 to Tomas Lopez at the University of MIami. Tom I believe is the Chair of the Fine Art department although it may be Art History Department.

Tom looked at the print almost had a heart attack. He stated that it was incredible. He had never seen such a tonal range aside from platinum.

The process has promise, but as with any medium I have seen unbelieveably awful silver prints and as such I am sure there are awful platinum and Piezography prints.

I have seen George DeWolff's prints in person. They are truly lovely. But so are John Sexton's silver prints.

Another medium, with it's own set of issues, both positive and negative.

Mike

[Paul Roark]

I'm writing Photoshop image adjustment curves to control the MIS variable-tone inks for Jerry Olson's (and others') 1280. Some of you know Jerry from the Piezo and Epson-Inkjet (Leben) lists. You may also have seen some of his work in the June Shutterbug. Jerry is a Brooks Institute-trained, 30 year professional photographer, now semi- retired, who has switched to quadtone printing. He has used Piezo inks and software extensively, but was not happy with the warm tone of that inkset. He then used my variable-tone modification of the Piezo inkset to get cold tones, and he is now using the variable-tone MIS inks with his Epson 1280. His comments on the latest versions of my curves for the MIS variable-tone inkset and 1280 were as follows:

>The [prints made using the] Neutral 10 and cool 11 [curves] >are better than the last ones in the prints I made. >I don't know if you could improve on them any more. >Cold tone Piezo Quality at MIS prices. >Quite an accomplishment.

With the variable-tone inksets Photoshop adjustment curves control whether the tone of the print is warm, neutral or cold. One simply selects the appropriate curve and applies it before printing the file.

(In general, the trick to controlling quads is to partition the inks so that only the lightest ink goes into the highlights, then the darker inks start to take over as appropriate. PiezographyBW software does this and Photoshop adjustment curves can also do it. With the variable-tone inksets a toner ink is added to give control over the tone of the print.)

I've finished the adjustment curves to control the MIS variable-tone inkset for the 1160 and 3000, which are the printers I have. MIS will, I assume, have this system on its website soon. I also have curves for the 1160 and the Piezo-based variable-tone inkset (which Cone Editions does not support, but I distribute the curves and instructions -- for free). Once these curves are written, anyone can use the saved curves files easily.

On modern Epsons the quality of the MIS variable-tone inks are equal to what one would get with the Piezo system. The standard MIS inks with proper adjustment curves should also be essentially equal. The quality of the adjustment curves is really the issue.

The 3000 does have a larger dot and dither pattern than the newer printers. However, the highlights are still virtually dotless when good adjustment curves are used with quads. (There is no comparison to the big dots one sees with a color inkset on the 3000.)

On the other hand, if one looks closely, there are some areas where some graininess can be seen in prints made with the 3000 and the Epson driver. But, for 16x20s the 3000 is the inexpensive way to go, and at that size the dots at their worst are still smaller than the grain in my medium format, Tmax 100 16x20s. (If you print large format Tech Pan negatives, you might want to get an Epson 7000.)

The inkjet technology and quad inksets have definitely reached the point where even picky printers can be very satisfied -- even blown away -- by the quality of their images. It's time to jump on the train.

Paul, http://www.PaulRoark.com

[Brian Ellis]

I spent a little time with George in Maine last summer and saw some of his prints. They were very impressive. However, it might be well to remember that George is an excellent printer period. Just as I don't make prints that look like John Sexton's, despite the fact that we use the same equipment, I suspect that my quad prints wouldn't necessarily look like George's just because I used the same equipment he uses. To me, what George's prints showed is that in the right hands, and given enough time and money, a very beautiful black and white print can be made on an ink jet printer. In other words, the system isn't inherently inferior any more.