This debate has been raging on ever since 8MP cameras were within your standard consumer’s reach. While I will admit, hands down, that there is really no way even the best digital camera out there can rival a medium-format camera when it comes to massive enlargements – in the 4×6 to 16×20 realm – I would say there is relatively no difference. Resolution enlargement tools, such as GenuineFractals and sharpening tools such as Nik’s Sharpener can certainly achieve great results when dealing with enlargements that exceed the capabilities of the digital camera.

Some would argue that the color saturation of film will out-match a digital camera. With advances in color-control in the digital realm (through refined Photoshop usage and a properly calibrated monitor), I would argue that saturation levels and color accuracy are equally matched – and ultimately limited by nearly identical printer gamut’s in the actual printing process. If anything, the digital realm allows one to explore the full range of the printer’s gamut range and tweak the results around this limitation.

I will be the first to admit that in order to get great results in printing with digital – you have to become comfortable with tools such as Adobe Photoshop and the learning curve for your own digital workflow is a mile long. You will spend far more time in front of a computer editing images – time, which should ultimately have a cost when comparing with the relatively quick film processing available today. If you count time as part of the cost of digital photography, it’s certainly cheaper to go the route of film.

When it comes to the final result of comparisons between my digital photos that have been carefully edited through a refined digital process and “out-of-the-box” printing from an equally matched 35MM film camera, the resultant quality is would certainly give film a run for it’s money.

Well, I’ve been well on my way to getting digital images into print. I’ve learned a few things about preparing images for print and would like to share them. Post-processing has been fully brought into the photographer’s control – and it’s important to establish a semi-consistent digital workflow to prepare images for print. I have a couple new tools that I have added to my repetoire – Photokit Color and Photokit, both by a company called PixelGenius. These tools give a photographer a quick way to make substantial image corrections and have become part of my regular workflow.

To give an overview of my digital workflow, I first have to select the image I desire to have in print. Using the RAW format exclusively, I have an opportunity to correct minor exposure issues and straighten an image before opening it. Working in RAW format has definitely had a significant advantage with the introduction of Adobe’s Photoshop CS2.

The first decision I have to make is whether the image would have more impact as a full color, partial color, or black & white image. Whether black & white or color – generally the first tool that gets applied to the image is Nik’s RAW presharpening. After that, a quick pass is done with Photokit’s Contrast Mask tool – this does a good job at establishing a good balance between highlights and shadows. If the image is to be black and white, it’s converted after pre-sharpening with Robb Carr’s B&W conversion action, a standard desaturate, Photokit’s color contrast B&W conversion, or hue reduction via a PS layer. From there, it’s on to Photoshop’s curves. This establishes a contrast level that I am pleased with – usually it doesn’t take much but it removes any “haze” that is inherent to digital photography and present after the Contrast Mask.

From there, I will use Photokit to dodge shadows or burn highlights to further even out the contrast balance and help any underexposed or overexposed parts of the photo. This is entirely subjective and occasionally further tweaking of curves is necessary. If necessary, I apply the tweaks as layer masks to allow partial image correction. If the image is color, I’ll adjust the hue intensity with another layer. I’ve been experimenting with very green/yellow images to boost the “master” saturation way up (i.e. +20 – +40) and then reducing yellow saturation (to around -15 to -50) to keep things in balance. This increases saturation of blues, reds, and other colors – while keeping the relatively strong yellow/green to a non-overpowering saturation. This creates vibrant color saturation in many images. Further tweaks are made with various tools at this point to bring the image to where I want it.

At this point, I have decided to save the image as a very high quality JPEG to keep the native resolution of the post-processed image. When preparing for print, I will use Genuine Fractals to increase the resolution if printing at a large print size and then will use PS’s crop tool to bring final print resolution to where it’s necessary. I’ve noticed my printer (Costco) expands the image and cuts off the very edges – so I have to be careful with my crop point on images with edge detail. At this point, my image is converted to my printer’s color profile and any last-minute tweaks are performed if the color profile significantly alters the image color – which is very likely in vivid, colorful pictures such as flowers. Following this, Nik’s Lab Photographic sharpener is used and set to 300DPI, proper viewing distance, and around 50-100% sharpening to minimize noise while maximizing edge contrast.

Overall, my images are coming out extremely crisp, vivid, and will certainly rival standard film. I have very pleased with this final output that I am able to get when in control of all the elements of post-processing.

As I previously mentioned, there has been some pressure to move my images into the realm of print. While I’ve enjoyed the digital photography realm simply for the matter of not having to have prints for every image you take, it’s also pushed me into a whole different direction. What do you have to consider when you move into the print medium?

The first thing I had to address was monitor calibration. There’s no doubt in my mind that a properly calibrated monitor was necessary to guarantee the results I would see on an enlargement that was for sale. While I’ve used Adobe Gamma in the past – I’ve always felt that the “calibration” that it provides was inaccurate – mostly based on the fact that it uses your eyes to calibrate the monitor. As I generally think about calibrating at 2AM after I’ve stared at my monitor for several hours, my eyesight isn’t the greatest. I decided to look into a hardware/software solution and landed on Colorvision’s Spyder2 Studio Pro. While it’s not the “best” monitor calibration unit in the world – I felt the software package, software/hardware capabilities, and price (around $215 shipped) were certainly in my best interest. What a difference it has made from my Adobe Gamma calibration to this solution is like the difference between night an day.

Along with calibration, I had to set my monitor to a specific color level. While this is directly tied to the printer of choice, there are several settings to choose from. Monitor color levels are set in temperatures rated in Kelvin; common temperatures include 5000, 6500, and 9300 degrees Kelvin. I settled on 5000K as that is the recommended setting for my printer of choice. My monitor is calibrated properly to this temperature.

The next thing that had to be figure out was to choose a printer. I needed a company that was going to allow me to do my own post-processing without doing any of their own image correction. I also needed a company that would provide what’s called an ICC color profile so that I can proof the image with my calibrated monitor and know EXACTLY what the final product will look like. Cost was also an issue; the reality is that many of the printers out there are very good but price and shipping cost varies wildly. I narrowed my choice down to two companies – Winkflash.com and Costco. Winkflash uses a Fuji Frontier printer and my local Costco uses a Noritsu 3101 printer – both known for excellent quality. Winkflash uses the industry standard sRGB color profile and Costco provides a color profile individually calibrated to each of their printers. (See www.drycreekphoto.com) Cost between these two were very close – but I chose Costco because of proximity and no need for shipping costs. (Winkflash provided a .99c flat rate shipping…not bad…but also not free.) So my printer was decided.

From there the next step is delving deep into the bowels of Adobe Photoshop. While I’ve been using Photoshop since version 4.0 – it seems I still had a lot to learn about processing photos for print. I had to address issues with sharpening images specifically for print – I’ve always felt uneasy with Unsharp Mask – though the new CS2 version of PS has a kewl new filter called “Smart Sharpen” – very nice! I ended up using a product I’ve worked with for awhile – Nik Sharpener Pro. The new v2.0 has certainly been geared more towards your prosumer/professional photographer using a print service as there are now options to sharpen photos for photo labs. Along with sharpening, I’ve also had to perfect my skills with saturation, levels, curves, and a great deal of other things. I must say that even with a lot of experience with PS, it’s an amazingly powerful program that lets you go “deep” into the final output of a photo.

The final issue to deal with is presentation. I’ve worked with a couple vendors that provide “pre-cut” frames and mattes for a very reasonable price. While framing is a skill I would love to learn – the reality is that it’s not feasible for me to do my own framing and matting at this time. Other than that, it’s really just picking the images to print. I’ve enjoyed this new aspect to photography and while I don’t have hopes to “go pro” – it’s certainly nice to take things to this level.

Yeah, what’s new? I did go to Canada over the Memorial day weekend – that was kewl. I was camping in the Northernmost tip of Idaho for the weekend and decided to make a venture up to the Great North. I visited Nelson, British Columbia – a quaint little town nested just off Kootenay lake, filled with pot-loving hippies and a fascinating culture. Loved the town – visited the main park alongside the river, took the ridiculously overpriced trolley, and cruised the “downtown” strip on foot. Everyone there takes American cash, which I found odd because nowhere in America (except on the very border’s edge) will they accept any other country’s money.  It’s better to do as I did and exchange money at a bank or currency conversion shop, though.  On the fly calculations rarely work to your favor.

Whats’s funny about Canada is that not five miles across the border you literally run into people who finish every sentence with “eh” and the dialect takes a sharp turn towards a southern-english-french blend of speaking. It’s just bizarre. Great country though! I was there long enough just to get used to the metric system and t0 have learned to balance my speedometer at 62.13 MPH to go 100KPH. I would like to spend more time up in that region. The Kootenay lake region is some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever witnessed and I would love to venture further.