Wet contact print from Digital Negative or Dry Inkjet print from scanned 5x7 Negative

[mdm]

The conclusion I have come to for myself anyway, is that it is very difficult to better a straight inkjet print with a digital negative. It can be done but its not as simple as pushing the print button. I decided to get a very good b&w inkset for my printer and to make inkjet prints from scans and contacts from camera negatives. the return on time invested in learning how to make an inkjet print is much better than in making digital negatives. An inkjet from a LF negative looks like a LF print and cleans up compared to my 10mp digital anyway, even at 5x7. The easy way of doing it would be to spend some money and dedicate a printer to a cone digital negative inkset, but are the resulting prints better than straight inkjet prints? Not in my opinion, unless your print process offers something unique that inkjet prints cant.

[retnull]

I have recently made a print through an inkjet printer that is indistinguishable from a platinum print. The hybrid workflow combining film and digital printing has been proven to be excellent, especially with the precise control one has in Photoshop for making corrections to the image.

Hi Lenny, of course I'd be very interested to hear more specifics about how you achieved such a satisfying result...what printer, what paper, etc

[Ed Bray]

Thanks Gents for your replies, I have found them very useful.

Let me explain my situation.

i am about to embark on a submission for a recognised photographic qualification. This requires a number mounted images to be submitted. Obviously I am interested in providing the highest quality images and to this end was curious about Digital Negatives after reading Barry Thornton's book 'Elements of Transition'. As Barry's book was written some time ago, I asked the question on here as I accept that the quality and knowledge available from the majority of members on this forum is second to none.

Now for some explanation of my situation.

Firstly, I live in the UK, we have not got the large following on Large Format exponents that the US has so equipment is commonly more rare and more expensive.

i also live in Plymouth which is the largest city in the true SW of England and would be reckoned by some to be in the backwoods compred to the oher cities in he UK, and I am unaware of anywhere that has a enlarger capable of enlarging a 5x7 negative.

The cost of an enlarger capable of enlarging a 5x7 negative is out of my reach at the present time, not to mention that I do not have the space in my darkroom to put one.

If a Digitally Produced negative would have provided a decent 12x16 negative for contact printing then I could have used my LPL7700 as. Light source to prouce the timed exposure required for the contact print.

My apologies forthe delays in responding to my threads, I am currently on vacation in Egypt and limited to 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the evening due to the exorbitant internet costs at the hotel.

Thank again for the replies.

[IanG]

Now you've explained the reasons behind your questions I'd suggest another route.

If you have to use a hybrid throughput and have a printer good enough for digital negatives why not make your prints straight from the scans printing on Ilford/Harman Fibre based Garyta inkjet paper. It's not cheap but the quality is superb.

About 18 months ago I began Platinum printing and for the first time make high quality negative scans followed by digital negatives and Platinum/Palladium contact prints, later I made conventional darkroom prints and later Inkjet prints from the same negatives. Most people wouldn't know which are the conventional darkroom print and which are inkjet, only the Platinum prints look significantly different.

The panel your presenting work to are interested in the quality of the final printed images, both aesthetic and technical, how you make them is up to you.

Ian