The examples shown here are

not intended to represent all of

the options available for inkjet

B&W output, but primarily those

mentioned in the accompanying

article on the Custom Digital

web site. The sections of film

scan and contact print are

included as important references.

Of interest is the contact print’s

lack of local edge contrast

compared to the drum scan of

the film. I’m assuming the

difference is primarily due to

the intensely collimated light of

a drum scanner, vs lateral light

scatter within the printing paper

itself. Even though the contact

print does not have all the micro

detail of the drum scan, it still

has more than the inkjet output.

Certainly other examples would

have been interesting to show-

2880x1440 Quad output, and

StudioPrint K7 output in

1440x720, 1440x1440, and of

course 2880x1440 like the QTR

example. I am even working

with a custom K7 2880x2880

setup for a special project, but

it’s very problematic for general

use, and an 11x14 takes about an

hour to print!

The intent here is to show the

methods currently utilized and

tweaked with at Custom Digital,

how they compare to traditional

materials, how they compare to

out of the box consumer

solutions, and point out the

extreme quality available to

artists with the K6/7 methods

and why these processes

remain the state of photographic

inkjet B&W printing.