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Re: Digital Negatives with enough Tones for Pt/Pd
You said in your message...
>All three negatives produce a maximum density to give pure
>white in the print. However it is still unclear how many unique shades
>can be produced on each negative.
Jeff,
You needn't have density to provide pure white in the print when you are
working with multiple negatives. Though I might be mistaken, it sounds
like you're assuming a "standard printing time" that will generate a
D-Max (blackest black) in the print. This isn't necessary except in the
ONE negative exposure that is supposed to generate the blacks in the
print.
In offset printing with duotones (or tritones, etc.), the midtones and
lighter tones are produced, not by smaller dots of black ink, but by
varying shades of gray ink. In our photographic printing, this is
analogous to exposing the print to times that may not produce a black or
a pure white, but which will provide an expanded range of middle values.
In other words, the exposure time needn't be the same for each negative.
Indeed, you can play with the times from the negatives to suit your
needs, just as you play with the negative's individual tonal segregation.
When you overlap these values from two or more negative exposures, your
tones increase.
Sorry I'm not taking the time to explain this in a more entertaining or
clearer fashion...but I hope this helps some.
Dan