All,
For about 15 years in the late 1980s thru 2000 I had a traditional wet darkroom with a Omega D2 enlarger and Aristo Cold Light head. I only made B&W prints. I loved the darkroom experience and looking back on the prints I made during this period, they are still so of my favorites. Making and viewing traditional silver gelatin prints will always have a special appeal to me.
However, since 2000 I have only been making prints (now both color and B&W) in the "digital darkroom" and with a succession of quality inkjet printers, both from Canon and Epson. Several years ago I stepped up to a 17 inch wide Epson 3880 and I am now using a 17 inch wide Epson P800 printer. Since April 2001 I have participated in and often coordinated monthly B&W and Color inkjet print print exchanges.
These days, I often think I enjoy making prints, both for myself and friends, more than I do actually taking photos.
For me, the goal of any photo I take is to see it as a print. I appreciate the convenience of sharing and viewing digital images, but a print is the ultimate goal for my own images.
I'm sure there are others here who share my love of prints and have worked their way thru the challenges of making excellent prints on inkjet printers. Thankfully, the technology and quality of the current printers is far superior to the printers I started out with in the early 2000s.
Lately, I have really gotten hooked on making 17x22 and 17x25 inch prints. There are times when bigger is definitely better (or at least, more visually appealing and impressive) than smaller prints. It is probably a good thing that I don't have room for a floor standing 24 inch wide printer.
Medium format images, whether high resolution scans of MF film or MF digital images, certainly can produce some outstanding large prints. I have even produced some large prints from my 22mp Phase One P25+ and Leaf Aptus II 5 images which have a quality that I don't think could have been produced from my 22-24mp 35mm format digital camera images.
Gary Benson
Alaska
For about 15 years in the late 1980s thru 2000 I had a traditional wet darkroom with a Omega D2 enlarger and Aristo Cold Light head. I only made B&W prints. I loved the darkroom experience and looking back on the prints I made during this period, they are still so of my favorites. Making and viewing traditional silver gelatin prints will always have a special appeal to me.
However, since 2000 I have only been making prints (now both color and B&W) in the "digital darkroom" and with a succession of quality inkjet printers, both from Canon and Epson. Several years ago I stepped up to a 17 inch wide Epson 3880 and I am now using a 17 inch wide Epson P800 printer. Since April 2001 I have participated in and often coordinated monthly B&W and Color inkjet print print exchanges.
These days, I often think I enjoy making prints, both for myself and friends, more than I do actually taking photos.
For me, the goal of any photo I take is to see it as a print. I appreciate the convenience of sharing and viewing digital images, but a print is the ultimate goal for my own images.
I'm sure there are others here who share my love of prints and have worked their way thru the challenges of making excellent prints on inkjet printers. Thankfully, the technology and quality of the current printers is far superior to the printers I started out with in the early 2000s.
Lately, I have really gotten hooked on making 17x22 and 17x25 inch prints. There are times when bigger is definitely better (or at least, more visually appealing and impressive) than smaller prints. It is probably a good thing that I don't have room for a floor standing 24 inch wide printer.
Medium format images, whether high resolution scans of MF film or MF digital images, certainly can produce some outstanding large prints. I have even produced some large prints from my 22mp Phase One P25+ and Leaf Aptus II 5 images which have a quality that I don't think could have been produced from my 22-24mp 35mm format digital camera images.
Gary Benson
Alaska
