More and more photographers are moving to the digital darkroom as technologies improve and traditional materials become more difficult to acquire (though are still readily available if you know where to look, of course). Photographers quickly embraced color printing using digital technologies, partially because most photographers were not doing their own color processing and printing using traditional methods because of the hassle and complications involved. Black & white has been slower to gain acceptance for a variety of reasons, but at least the technical limitations of digital black & white are disappearing.
While digital black & white printing has gained acceptance slowly, it is now considered by most to be an archival medium with a beauty all its own. I don’t think it will ever replace traditional silver halide photography – nor should it – but it provides many photographers the opportunity to do high quality, fine art-quality black & white work without having to own or have access to a traditional darkroom. Some prefer the results, some prefer the process, and some may have no other choice. As photographers, we now have more choices than ever, both for analog and digital processes.
There are many technical approaches for digital black & white printing that are now available and I’ve tried most of them. Most people start by using their color printer and standard software to print black & white images. This method, unfortunately, often dissuades many as neutral images with a color cast are hard to achieve and metamerism (where the print looks a different color under different lighting conditions) is common. The problem with this method is that the system is trying to create a black & white print using multiple color inks, a recipe for inconsistent and unsatisfactory results.
Newer printers (such as the HP printers and the Epson K3 printers) have more sophisticated software that essentially optimizes black & white printing by minimizing the use of colored inks. I often use the Epson K3 inks and can produce very satisfying black & white images (either neutral or toned) with these inks. These methods typically use primarily blacks with only a small amount of color ink. A great overview of these inks (and black & white digital printing in general) is available at Clayton Jones’ site. This is a wonderful (and free) resource and I highly recommend starting here if you want to start printing black & white digitally. I particularly like his paper reviews, which are a great resource.
Another options is to be special software that will optimize the inks in your standard color inkset for black & white printing. I can highly recommend QuadTone RIP, a fine piece of shareware that overrides the printer software to take out any vestige of color inks – so for the Epson K3 inkset, only the 3 black/gray inks are used. Using this method, you can get prints that I believe are more beautiful and are certainly more archival than those using the manufacturer software and drivers. Since it is shareware, you can try it and pay the reasonable $50 fee if you keep on using it.
You can also replace the color inks in your printer with a dedicated black & white inkset. The two most popular ones are Jon Cone’s Piezography system (from nearby Vermont) and the inksets from MIS. Both have their adherents, but I personally had better results from the Cone system, which can produce absolutely stunning results on matte papers. Both systems require you to replace the inks in your printer, making a dedicated printer desirable (and thus making these options best for those serious about digital black & white).
The best way of learning about all these different methods, of course, is to try them out. If you have had positive or negative experiences with any of these systems, feel free to share them in the comments.
