Question on printing

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Guari
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p.1 #1 · Question on printing

Hi all, need some advice.

I have been shooting for about 4 years with a 6x6. On a tripod. Pan F film, stuff that I like, for my amusement, for my hanging and to give to my family, the reason I do photography as a hobby.

Most of what I have in print from my 6x6 has been printed by myself on RC and Fibre B&W paper, up to about 15X15.. Looks lovely.

Anyhow I have shot a lot and my negs are archived. I moved countries and now I have the opportunity to scan with an Imacon for a superb price (I pay a fee for a full day to sit in front of one, so I do the scanning). This will allow me to finally get prints with the limited access I have to wet darkrooms. It will also allow me to scan my E6's and C41's.

I do not have a printer at home to make decent prints. I do not have the space to get a big quality printer like I would like. So I will get to print from the scans. I am already sending some files to ILFORD and they print on RC paper from digital and I am happy with it. Now I need to know what to do with the colours.

What are the main differences when using printing services for semi-big sizes (like from 15x15 to 30x30) in c-type or inkjet from digital files? I would expect the c print to reproduce better gradations and have a wider gamut. Is that the case? There are a couple companies doing C type and high quality inkjets over the net.

Does anyone in similar circumstances have a preference of one type of print over the other?

Again, I am not printing at home.

Thanks

Aug 21, 2012 at 08:06 PM

colinm
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p.1 #2 · Question on printing

Gradations are mostly a wash, but gamut's easy: Inkjet wins, hands down, by a mile.

That being said, I'd recommend choosing your print technology by application, not by raw technical specifications. There are things each technology excels at and things each technology does less well. Many types of inkjet media, for instance, don't handle abrasion as well as a glossy c-print. There are a lot of cases (that majority, in my estimation) where that doesn't matter, but when it does, you'd want to choose the printing method appropriately.

A well-prepared file will look good printed via either method. You can even mix and match as you need (and with some motivation, nearly exactly match an inkjet to the smaller-gamut wet lab print if you so desire).

Aug 21, 2012 at 10:07 PM

Guari
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p.1 #3 · Question on printing

That is great info, I would have thought a wider Gamut could be achieved by a wet process. Good to know that.

Bordering on a dumb question, when you mention abrasion resistance you mean as in rough handling and scratches?

Are both wet and inkjet processes good for archival and long term storage without fading?

Thanks again

Aug 22, 2012 at 09:18 AM

WAYCOOL
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p.1 #4 · Question on printing

Wet = ~60 years ink jet = ~100 years ink jet for the win again

Aug 22, 2012 at 01:49 PM

Guari
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p.1 #5 · Question on printing

Amazing, so it seems Inkjet has the upper hand, would have never thought that...

Thanks again!

Aug 22, 2012 at 01:57 PM

Bernie
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p.1 #6 · Question on printing

Some folks say they can tell the difference between the two, claiming they like the "look" of one over the other. This is despite any technical superiority of one over the other.

So the question to answer is "what do you like?" You may want to take a handful of your best shots which might push things like dynamic range and have them printed using multiple technologies and decide for yourself what looks best.

Even with respect to inkjet, many labs have a sample book where they will take a single image and print on a number of papers. The differences and capabilities of each can be an eye opener as well.

Aug 22, 2012 at 02:35 PM

Guari
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p.1 #7 · Question on printing

Bernie wrote:

Even with respect to inkjet, many labs have a sample book where they will take a single image and print on a number of papers. The differences and capabilities of each can be an eye opener as well.

I will check if there is a reputable lab online (round here in the UK) who ship paper samples, as the local labs to me have not being quite as good as I would have wished. That is the main reason why I'm looking for options and I was unaware of the technical diff of wet and inkjet colour..

Much appreciated advice, thanks

Aug 22, 2012 at 02:46 PM

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