I have returned to b+w photography after a leave of absence by buying a Leica M6 TTL x0.58 with the 28mm/2.0 ASPH lens. I wish to make A3 prints by ink-jet technology, if possible, but know little about this.

1. I’ve been told Nikon will be producing a superior negative scanner sometime soon (4000dpi). Should I wait for that? 2. What size computer harddisk and RAM will I need? 3. Is an IBM 860 (128MB RAM) with a CD burner good for this? 4. Is a Sony 6400 19 inch screen OK? 5. What printer is recommended? Epson I see on the net. Which model?

How does the technology compare to Focomat darkroom work?

Thanks for your help,

Peter.

-- Peter Mackay (pm@novonordisk.com), March 20, 2001

Answers

I'd upgrade your RAM to at least 256 MB. The Sony monitor will do fine. I'd get a hard disk with as much storage space as possible--30- 75 GB. The CD burner will be essential. Get the best Epson printer you can afford. I'm not sure about the scanner--my partner has one of the Polaroid negative scanners, and it has more resolution than she can currently use.

The stuff looks great, but I'm not convinced it is as archival as conventional silver materials properly processed (for black and white work). It's getting better all the time though.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), March 20, 2001.

On what Epson printer to get, there is no one easy answer. See the discussion at Photo District News:

http://www.pdn-pix.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000476.html

Also check out this Epson printer archive/forum:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/epson-inkjet/

If you are going to stick to b& w prints, I think you should give serious consideration to the Epson 1160 with the Cone editions Piezography inks and software.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), March 21, 2001.

From recent personal experince with an Epson photo printer, it seems that the only way to get decent B&W output is to use the colour inks. This is expensive, non-archival, and results in a colour shift after a very short time.

Does anyone know of a printer that gives good resolution output with its BLACK ink, or if five ink greyscale cartridges are available for those stupid 'chipped' Epson printers?

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), March 21, 2001.

Pete, see my post above.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), March 21, 2001.

You can get grades of black inks to replace the color cartridge for most of the new Epsons. I'll try to remember where I saw the info and get back to you.

-- Scott Walton (f64sw@hotmail.com), March 22, 2001.

Go to http://www.inkjetmall.com/store/lysonic.html and you can match a printer of your needs. They do have the B/W cartridges I mentioned above. Cheers

-- Scott Walton (f64sw@hotmail.com), March 22, 2001.

Thanks for the information everyone. One of you says inkjet can't produce decent blacks, others say they can. Has anyone compared top quality A3 prints from enlarger vs (digital)inkjet from 35mm negatives? If so, what's the verdict?

-- Peter Mackay (pm@novonordisk.com), March 27, 2001.