In regards to producing digital negs for alt-photo processes:
Whether youÕre in a darkroom or sitting in front of a computer the amount
of effort required is similar and proportional to the quality of the
final image/output. ItÕs just different work that requires a different
journey. I started my digital journey with the Dan Burkholder (sp?) book.
The fundamental problem with BurkholderÕs process is that his printing
parameters ÒchokeÓ imagesetters; printing modest files (if they even
print) may take several hours, which few if any graphics houses will
tolerate. Of course, time is money and they donÕt want their machines
tied up for extended periods.
Without DBÕs book in front of me, he basically wants you to print a
bitmapped image 2540 dpi on an imagesetter. My graphics people tell that
a 15 to 20mb file using the above settings would be a nightmare to
print. IÕll mention that I have a close friend who is running the
graphics business IÕm dealing with, so itÕs not a question of the
graphics house not wanting to print my files, hell IÕm not even paying
for the output!
What I have been working with are: B&W negs scanned in (on a drum
scanner) at 600 dpi, grey scale images with the highlights set at 10% and
the shadows at 90% (set in photoshop), printed on an imagesetter using a
300 line screen. The tonal range of the digital negs is short and well
suited for Gum printing. I am however working on out-putting longer tonal
range negs for Salt and Kallitype.
My best advise is to try to develop a good working relationship with your
local graphics people. The more people you can involve in the process the
better your chances--try to make your project important to them too, and
youÕll most likely get what you need. Also keep in mind that, in my
experience, no two imagesetters (or whatever peripherals) will work
alike. Each graphics house will have their equipment tweaked differently
so youÕll find that standardized parameters like Burkholder provides will
most often fall short of the mark. Good luck, and please apprise us all
of your successes.
Christopher Tsouras
tsouras@nevada.edu