Re: A Better Black & White Method

[Joseph Holmes <jh@josephholmes.com>]

I am already well aware that magnificent monochrome prints can indeed be
made from full-color inksets, despite the strong natural tendencies for
such printing systems to oscillate all over the place, with regard to their
color.  The IRIS has made is possible to accomplish this for years.

However, even in those cases, oscillations, although they may be just below
the threshold of what we can see, or what we consciously know we can see in
the print, still exist at levels several times what they would be in a
print made on the same machine with a Small Gamut inkset.  One might
imagine that what you can't see is completely irrelevant, and it may be,
but maybe not.  But more importantly, the print from a large gamut inkset
will shift in color several times faster due to light fading, than one made
with a Small Gamut inkset, other factors held constant, and the appearance
of a print after prolonged display is arguably an important basis for
estimation of the beauty of the print (though it may require a bit of time
travel to appreciate).

So, indeed, Small Gamut inksets are obviously not the only way to make a
beautiful monochrome print.  There are three ways, if you will: large
gamut, small gamut, and zero gamut.  But the odds of success, especially
complete success, are going to be the highest with a Small Gamut set.  It's
the one I'm looking forward to using.  Now to find the perfect paper...

Joseph Holmes

Natural Light Photography
Kensington, California (near Berkeley)


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