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Thread: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

  1. #21

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by martiansea View Post
    OK, I had only made a Chart Throb curve for Argyrotype, and I had subsequently stopped using Photoshop in favor of Affinity and PhotoLab, so can't make any new Chart Throb curves to try.
    Fortunately, Affinity was able to open my old PS file of that tree and export the correction curve as an LUT (just figured out I could do this; lifesaver!). So, I can print up a step chart with that Chart Throb curve applied and make a print to see how it looks; have all the fixins for making Argyrotype on-hand, so that no issue. I'm in the midst of trying out Easy Digital Negatives, and so far the results look very promising, so I shall make a competing Argyrotype curve with that to compare it to Chart Throb.
    Could you tell me how to do this, as I’m currently using Affinity and it’s quite difficult to create this.
    I have several images that have a ‘correct’ adjustment created in Photoshop, the corrections are in a separate curves layer

  2. #22
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    When I want a Digi Print any size, I use 2 different printers, one for smaller B&W and one for large color

    They both mount

    I am ordering 36X48" mounted shortly, the biggest they will ship flat

    I wasted too much $$$ not doing this

    I will not recomend any printer or print maker

    One very good printer is a member here
    Tin Can

  3. #23

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    When I want a Digi Print any size, I use 2 different printers, one for smaller B&W and one for large color

    They both mount

    I am ordering 36X48" mounted shortly, the biggest they will ship flat

    I wasted too much $$$ not doing this

    I will not recomend any printer or print maker

    One very good printer is a member here
    I don't mind mentioning people. Ken Lee's digital scanning/processing/printing looks excellent to me. He's one of the people who's work has sparked my interest in digital/hybrid techniques as a complement to darkroom.

  4. #24
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Ken Lee is amazing and very generous with his website

    What I meant is, I am not interested in hybred work

    I do one or the other, 100% Digi or 100% wet work

    I like both, differently

    Quote Originally Posted by Michael R View Post
    I don't mind mentioning people. Ken Lee's digital scanning/processing/printing looks excellent to me. He's one of the people who's work has sparked my interest in digital/hybrid techniques as a complement to darkroom.
    Tin Can

  5. #25

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Much identical here.

    Having owned-used an Epson 4990 sheet film scanner and related software for over a decade has been met with an Meh... and time waste dump with Meh results. These days, this set up is used to share quickiee sheet film scans via web post.

    Canon Digital does a better 100% digital than hybrid for the image making needs of digital images.

    Sinar and all related does great for 100% wet-analog results.
    All B&W these days as the ability to do GOOD color evaporated about 2000 when the high quality color print resources disappeared.

    Every so often stop by Bear Images to take in the "latest and greatest" in digital.. still come up with Meh...
    https://www.bearimages.com/Bear_Imag...nc./Store.html


    Bernice


    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post

    I am not interested in hybred work

    I do one or the other, 100% Digi or 100% wet work

    I like both, differently

  6. #26

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by PatrickMarq View Post
    Could you tell me how to do this, as I’m currently using Affinity and it’s quite difficult to create this.
    I have several images that have a ‘correct’ adjustment created in Photoshop, the corrections are in a separate curves layer
    Open the PS file with Affinity. Then turn off any layers you don't want included in the LUT, ie; if you have levels and curves layers, but only want the curves, turn off the levels. It doesn't seem to make a difference whether the background pixel layer is on or off, but I turned that off too. Then go to File -> Export LUT and this creates the LUT file. On the Export LUT screen that appears, I turned the "Quality" up all the way to the maximum of 126 x 126 x 126 - I am assuming this gives the most accurate rendition of the original curve, but maybe it doesn't need to be so large. I got .cube files that were over 50MB with this setting, maybe this is excessive and a smaller size is adequate; something to experiment with.

    When you want to apply the curve to a new Affinity file you're working on, choose LUT for the adjustment layer, and on the window that pops up, load the .cube file that was made for that curve. I found the big .cube files are a bit slow to load, but they look identical to the original curve, so I can't complain! Again, I suggest maybe smaller .cube files are adequate. You can also import the different .cube curves into the Adjustment menu under the LUT category, so it will be easily at-hand.

    I just discovered all this wonder about LUTs yesterday when trying out Easy Digital Negatives. I am hooked; this is an awesome way to bring all our methods into the 21st century.

  7. #27

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Quote Originally Posted by Bernice Loui View Post
    Having owned-used an Epson 4990 sheet film scanner and related software for over a decade has been met with an Meh...
    Same here. Have had a 4990 since it just entered the market; the positive side is that it has always worked. The negative side is that it does age in the sense of outgassing of materials used etc. Its scans are OK - but not more than that. I'd much prefer printing all wet/darkroom. Nicer experience, too.

    Same with inkjet for alt processes, i.e. digital negatives. I spent many weeks working on calibrations for cyanotype, Van Dyke, photopolymer intaglio and carbon transfer. Made hundreds upon hundreds of prints from negatives created by an Epson 3880 combined with Cone inks (not piezography btw, his regular expanded CMYK set). With cyanotype, the results were OK - but on close inspection with a loupe the inkjet dots are very visible. Same with photopolymer; the printing process outresolves the digital negatives by a huge margin. But the main problem was with processes like Van Dyke, salted paper and carbon transfer. I found no way whatsoever to get the required density/tonal scale from an inkjet negative to make acceptable (to my eyes) prints with these techniques. Yes, I got images, and they sort of looked nice, but they literally pale besides prints made from real, silver-based negatives.

    For me, digital negatives were a nice way to ease into alt. process printing and I learned a lot doing it that way. The move to film-based negatives was inevitable, though, in hindsight.

    I do still use the inkjet printer. It works quite OK for making the artwork I use for PCB manufacturing. It's not great for this purpose, but just good enough.

    Inkjet prints can be absolutely phenomenal. Inkjet printing is an art in itself, and I respect those who get excellent results with the medium. But for me, alt-process prints from inkjet negatives are a dead end street that I'm not going back into, ever.

  8. #28
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Reading some negativity about the hybrid process and final prints has me a bit surprised... My experience is exactly the opposite. Using high end scanners , then. converting colour film images to 2-6 different negatives for multiple gum over palladium printing, has not only revitalized me but also accounts for 50% of my current business. I am in love with this process and feel I have never had more control over the printing process.
    Spoiler Alert I still print silver negatives , I have a 11 x 14 and 5 x 7 Devere enlargers but the bulk of my silver printing these days are on Ilford Warm tone Semi matt and Ilford Art 300 paper using digital inkjet negatives. To acquire the equipment, go down the rabbit hole of exploring digital negs to print, reading as much as one can and just trying to come to an understanding on exactly how this all works took me over a 9 year journey. A well done silver , gum over palladium , gum over cyanotype can be as beautiful as one can expect, I do not equate one process as better than another but rather different. I had the chance to view a major show of prints , which included many famous images in silver, palladium, and then the hidden jewels of the show a series of images from Japan year 1879 era that were watercolour brushwork over salt prints. I would put those up against any and all types of prints and they would show well.

  9. #29

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    +10 right on.

    I would add that even for printing silver negatives there are digital elements which might allow for additional creative control. I am intrigued by the potential for certain types of inkjet masks to be superior to silver masks.

    Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
    Reading some negativity about the hybrid process and final prints has me a bit surprised... My experience is exactly the opposite. Using high end scanners , then. converting colour film images to 2-6 different negatives for multiple gum over palladium printing, has not only revitalized me but also accounts for 50% of my current business. I am in love with this process and feel I have never had more control over the printing process.
    Spoiler Alert I still print silver negatives , I have a 11 x 14 and 5 x 7 Devere enlargers but the bulk of my silver printing these days are on Ilford Warm tone Semi matt and Ilford Art 300 paper using digital inkjet negatives. To acquire the equipment, go down the rabbit hole of exploring digital negs to print, reading as much as one can and just trying to come to an understanding on exactly how this all works took me over a 9 year journey. A well done silver , gum over palladium , gum over cyanotype can be as beautiful as one can expect, I do not equate one process as better than another but rather different. I had the chance to view a major show of prints , which included many famous images in silver, palladium, and then the hidden jewels of the show a series of images from Japan year 1879 era that were watercolour brushwork over salt prints. I would put those up against any and all types of prints and they would show well.

  10. #30

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    Re: Digital Negative Printer Recommendation

    Some of my favorite gum prints are from pictures I took with my phone!

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