Ilford Lab Direct

[Michael Hiles]

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Hi Antonio,

 

Hard to tell about paper differences - my darkroom standard is Ilford Multigrade IV fibre based, so Ilford Lab Direct is quite close to my standard. I recently had Ilford make a 12 x 18 print that I mounted and framed as a gift to a charitable auction. The results were very good and I was vary happy to sign my name to it.

 

There is a United States alternative - Custom Black and White printing using silver gelatin fiber based paper - and they do a good job. I have tried them once and I was very pleased. The prints looked identical to what I planned and saw on my screen.

 

Both groups will ship anywhere in the world.

 

This looks like a very viable option for those of us who like a silver-based print. The subtle capabilities available from Photoshop, and particularly Silver Efex Pro are very impressive. I won't give up my darkroom, but for a larger print (I rarely want anything bigger than 9.6 x 14) this will be a very attractive alternative. I would like to see the Salgado exhibition, but I have no Rome plans in the near future. It is fun to speculate how things were made, but in then end it is the emotional result that matters (see below).

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[shortstop]

Hi Michael,

Yesterday was the last day of Salgado exibition. So don't worry, you don't have to plan any journey toward Italy...

But I think that the exibition is international.

You are right when you say that important are the results.

Salgado's photo seemed me a bit too unreal, the grain artificial; mine (photoshop processing) are only hypothesis.

Your alternative (digitalsilverimaging) is not cheap for me (shipping and tax costs). Thanks for reporting.

In my opinion silver printing is at the moment the only chance for bw. Carbon inkjet printing is wonderful (I remember another exhibition of Walker Evans aleays in Rome more or less seven-eight years ago, in which the large negatives were scanned and than printed with carbon inkjet printers). But the image is unstable and fragile.

Antonio