making b/w prints look, well, B&W!

[Hair Bear]

From my understanding then Terri your suggesting htere are lots of ways to get a 'B/W' print int eh darkroom anyway and I'm just looking at one method or result. In my case its a warm sepia that i find pleasing but I could just as easily get a blue/black look from the same b/w neg?

If this is the case I just need to find the setting that gets as close to that look as I can and then use it for my b/w prints as the negs will always be exactly b/w.

So I do some experiments on a few pics with settings and use my 30 free prints online to check them!

Thanks, I think its starting to come together

 

[markc]

A lot of labs are scanning negs and printing digitally, so the source (film type, file color space, etc.) won't be able to cure the problem. They are trying to print b&w using color ink. It's almost impossible to get a true neutral print doing this. You need to use a greyscale inkset, or at least have a grey or two in the inkset. Most places won't bother with that expense, since most customers don't really care. If they are still using a chem process, the best you can usually do is to ask them to err on one side or another. I knew someone who was very good and was able to get the most neutral prints I've seen on color paper, but that was before so many places went digital, and she was unusually good. If they are digital, you are probably stuck.

 

[roguephotog]

I've had some good luck with most of my b&w prints - from C-41 film.

I ask the lab to devo it in what they call the "monotone" setting. Most often they come out great, once and awhile they have a green tint to them. Believe it or not, this is at the one hour lab at Sam's Club.

The pro lab, West Photo, prints them b&w and to the contrast I like. I'm not sure how they do it, but I've only gotten the green tint once.

When I get the images on CD I like to desaturate them right away in Photoshop and then when I send my order through to those labs, they print as-is. Once and awhile (pretty rarely) I get the color tint.