6 years......with inkjet

[Letoco]

Somehow I was chuckling a lot reading this thread and the OP. Remember the evergreen «*is digital better than film*»? Those seeking to see that a digital camera «*finally*» takes pictures like a LF camera missing the point of apples and oranges? Yet, they are many and going hard for it. Not without a certain interest, I have to admit.
Now we have this thread - my inkjet prints are finally just (well, almost) like my wet prints. Good. Do inkjet printers need to look for their «*raison d’être*» in a darkroom? Of course not, apples have their own reason to be which are different from oranges. Digital photographers left happily the LF crowd when they understood it.
Of course there will always be (that’s why we have the evergreens) those who will compare apples to oranges seeking the advantages of the first in the second and vice versa. Not without a certain interest, I admit.
Anyway, it is good to see that the classical digital/analogue theme have been enriched with this variant. After good 10 years or so of inkjet photo printing industry wasn’t it - finally - due to come? Welcome!

[Kirk Gittings]

And where did I say that the objective with inkjet prints is to look like silver prints? You are making assumptions that are not there. As a matter of fact I have been saying the exact opposite for the last 6 years-that they have their own unique beauty as a process.

[Letoco]

«*Knowing what a fine B&W print looks like helped drive my quest.*»
--
«*Ed is more of a fellow traveler than a friend and he is a hardcore 5x7 film/gelatin-silver guy. Ed is also a no bullshit kind of guy and says exactly what he thinks. I was very curious what he thought of the prints. Well he loved them and quizzed me in depth about the process. It was a nice affirmation of my own thoughts on the prints.*»
--
«*So......why am i sharing this? Because today....finally (without any question way back in the recesses of my ego) the viability of injet as a quality b&w print medium is totally settled for me.*»
--
The hints of the comparison mental process. Never mind, as I said, I’m glad the evergreen is now richer with this theme. That’s what matters.

[Kirk Gittings]

The hints of the comparison are in your mindset. Let me give you the obvious example. These prints are warm toned on mat paper-a look that I totally hate on silver paper, but in ink can be really luxurious and beautiful. To me mat silver paper looks phony, but in ink it can have all the richness and beauty of other ink on paper mediums like lithographs.

[Letoco]

Lighten up, fellow. You definitely have the merit of having lit the new endless series of the theme - digital versus analogue. That already in itself is well worth of a bottle of champagne!

[tgtaylor]

SIX YEARS!!!Geez, six days maybe, but six years... lol

Here's an example of spending 3 days with a process:

Coastal Defense



Note: I need a larger printing frame.

[Letoco]

A nice picture tg. Hope the trees are not of an endangered tropical species.

[tgtaylor]

Thank you Letoco.

I had to log back on to correct myself. The Van Dyke was the 2d sheet on the 1st day and not the 3d. I didn't have enough sensiitizer solution on the first.

[Letoco]

Don’t know why but it reminded me immediately about old illustrations in Jules Verne’s books. Somehow the picture easily frees mind’s imagination. A good one, indeed. Thanks for posting it.

[Ken Lee]

Now that the lofty ideal of unbiased research has been explored from every angle...

I just made my donation to the Aardenburg Imaging & Archives web site.

1) At the risk of over-simplification, is there an "executive summary" for those of us who are simply looking for a printer/paper/ink combination with "best-in-class" longevity ?

2) Have Pt/Pd or Carbon prints been tested? If so, what have the tests revealed?

3) Metamerism is a problem with inkjet prints. My changing to a 100% rag paper with no OBA (optical brightening agents) went a long way to solving that problem - but my printer/paper/ink may now have shorter longevity. Are these concerns interrelated ?

4) When I made Pt/Pd prints (2004-2005), I tried a variety of coatings to give greater dMax. At the time, I found a UV-resistant acrylic varnish did the best job - but it had to be applied by brush and wasn't very uniform. I also wondered about its longevity and whether it would crack and damage the image. Any insights there ? Are there newer products which surmount these risks ?

Many many thanks !