Printing Your Digital Black and Whites
With the advent of advanced technology and state-of-the art
innovations, black and white photographers have finally found
convenience in printing their images digitally. Although for some,
nothing can beat the good old traditional wet darkroom printing, more
and more photographers have learned to embrace what technology brings
and have made the switch.
However, printing your black and whites the digital way is not as easy
as you think, if you are aiming to produce professional looking photos.
You don't just directly click the Print button on the computer screen
and get the results you desire. There are processes involved. That is,
the images are prepped using photo-editing software before it is
actually fed on the printer.
The first step to printing a black and white image is to convert your
colour photo into a grayscale image using a good photo-editing software.
A good software has features that you can use to create the image you
want to see on print. So experiment and see what works for you.
If you're serious about black and white photography, invest on a photo
printer. Some printer manufacturers actually develop printers that have
more black pigmented inks than the usual. These types of printers are
especially recommended for black and white printing. Some printers
perform better than the other, so do your research. Personally I really
like the Epson photo printer range. I have had these from the days when
Epson photo technology was far superior to others on the market but the
gap has narrowed recently.
A common problem with most printers is that these gadgets are optimised
to print in colour; hence, you may not get the best results in black and
white. But once you know what to look for in your photo, you can
actually use that knowledge to decide what type of printer, paper, and
ink to use to produce beautiful black and white images.
The paper you use in printing also has a significant effect on your
output. An image printed in matte paper will definitely look different
than the one printer in semi-glossy paper. A warmer colour ed paper will
also affect the tone of the image. Images printed on warmer paper
usually appear interesting and soft. However, certain photos may also
call for printing in plain white paper to retain the original tones. As
to which is better is actually a matter of personal preference. However,
bear in mind that most cheap and ordinary printing papers do not hold
pigments well, which eventually leads to fading and flaking in time. So
be practical. Use quality paper every time, except when you are doing
sample prints.
Another thing to consider is which type of ink you should use. There are
actually two types of printer inks: the dye-based and the pigment based.
Although they are cheaper and give more intense colour , dye-based inks
are not recommended for black and white photo printing because they do
not have a long-lasting hold quality and they fade easily. For best
results, use pigment inks. They last much longer and are compatible with
most modern printers and stick well on different types of paper.
Just like in traditional darkroom photo processing, producing the best
quality ink print requires skill, hard work, and a lot of patience. A
beginner may find the photo-editing software complex. Or maybe he or she
may get frustrated a hundred times with sample prints before actually
coming up with the desired image quality. But the trick here is to not
give up. Once you've mastered the art and science of digital printing,
you'll probably not think of darkroom processing ever again. |
