As Sandy mentioned earlier, this thread has wandered so much I'm not sure what the real focus is any more. But when it comes to in depth comparisons of scanned film, capture, darkroom vs ink, etc. etc. the conversation becomes much more complex than some of this indicates.
Given that, I have to stress something Bruce often states here, all that matters to me is what happens on paper, the final object. The in between steps, ccd, pmt, whatever, can only be judged by how they impact the final piece. Looking at comparisons of file magnifications on the monitor only gets us so far. Also, if we are going to judge, what are the criteria? What constitutes higher quality? What does better mean? The opinion that the quality of scanning/inkjet surpasses silver is just that, an opinion. I ask this as someone committed to drum scanning and the highest quality inkjet systems and that aesthetic, I love it- how come few, if any, ink prints can sit next to one of Caponigro's (just as an example) finest? A Tice, whatever...
I ask this against my own interests, I offer drum scanning, inkjet printing, etc etc for a living, my own personal work is committed to these processes and I depend to a smaller degree on sales of that too. But in the interests of real artistic pursuit, real scientific knowledge, and advancement of the craft we love, absolute honesty is required, difficult, but required.
Tyler
http://www.custom-digital.com/
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