Digital Negatives: Using Photoshop to Create Digital Negatives for Silver and Alternative Process Printing (Paperback)

~ Brad Hinkel (Author), (Author)
Key Phrases: step tablet print, step tablet image, digital negatives, Page Setup, Arches Platine, Stylus Photo (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Eagerly awaited, clear step-by-step instructions for how to work with digital negatives to produce excellent quality prints for silver and alternative processes.

Product Description

Digital Negatives: Using Photoshop to Create Digital Negatives for Silver and Alternative
Process Printing bridges the world of traditional photographic printing with digital technology. A digital negative, prepared in Photoshop, allows you to skip the dark room time developing the negatives-getting straight to a variety of printing processes including silver, platinum, and a host of other "alternative" processes. You will see this as an opportunity to mix technology with traditional photo processes resulting in more time for your art! In the recent past, photographers that wanted digital negatives had to take their business to labs. Now all of you Photoshop users can incorporate this practice into your workflow of choice.

*Easy, quick start recommendations for specific supplies and instructions for making your first print quickly without all the details of calibrating digital negatives.
·Offers expert instruction for the more advanced; much of the book will be focused on how to calibrate digital negatives, configure a digital darkroom, and fine tune prints from digital negatives
·Adventurous, experimental techniques take printing using alternative processes into new options including toning, multiple printing, printing with ink and platinum, plus others.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240808541
• ISBN-13: 978-0240808543
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,757 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars State of the art for Digital Negatives and alternative printing, December 2, 2006

By	Michael B. Askew "www.michaelbaskew.com" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This new book represents the state of the art in producing digital negatives to be used for a variety of alternative printing processes, including platinum, palladium, and others. I have used the procedures and tools presented in this book to work my own way through the process of creating negatives and making fine palladium prints, so I have proven that it works. The use of the QTR RIP as defined in the book is the best way today to get repeatable print quality and tonality for making negatives, allowing me to spend more time on the creative side of editing images in Photoshop (or wherever you choose).

The structure of the book also allowed me to spend time understanding the details of curve creation necessary for getting the right tones in the negative, but also lets me jump to chapter 4 and just follow his procedures, use his curves, and get started without slugging through the measurements that the authors spent years doing for us.

Plus the ending sections of the book give lots of examples and suggestions for other printing processes, including adding color to palladium or platinum prints with the same printer used to make the negative. It's very clear and inspiring.

As a direct result of the content of this book, I am now making the finest prints I can make in Palladium. This book takes the process out of the hands of the select few who have more time than I to solve the trials and tribulations of this process, and puts it where I can simply make beautiful prints. It's a whole new world...

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From, April 1, 2007

By	N. W. Gibbons (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The last few years have seen alternative photographic processes grow in use. From the street studios in Providence to the booming gallery scene in Chelsea, hand-coated emulsions are a popular counter to the photographic digital revolution.

Brad Henkel and Ron Reeder have deftly organized the work flow necessary to produce the high quality large format negtaives necessary for many of these processes. Their "Digital Negatives.." provides clear simple instructions (along with PhotoShop curves and calibration step wedges at their [...]) for the artist who wants to launch quickly with minimal theory. The book also has excellent detail for those who seek more (The Quadtone RIP profile instruction is top quality).

I found their explanation of calibrating PhotoShop curves to print media very clear and easy to practice. The two authors have expanded on the groundbreaking work of Dan Burkholder (Making Digital Negatives for Contact Printing) and Mark I. Nelson's "Precision Digital Negatives", but have kept their processes open and very approachable. Key screen flows are presented for both the Mac and PC environments.

The book also includes a number of fine art and practical process illustrations (How about a Becquerel contact Daguerreotype from a D1x RAW file!). I would strongly recommend this book for the alternative process artist who is ready to move from litho film and pyro developer to digtial contact negative production.

In addition to your computer, you will need a scanner and good quality inkjet printer, as well as Photoshop CS, to get started.

NWG 3-31-07

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended to all photographic printmakers!, June 14, 2007

By	Todd A. Dobbs "Shutterbug" (Boulder, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Dan Burkholder gets the credit for introducing digital negatives for contact printing processes several years ago, but it is Ron Reeder and Brad Hinkle who have finally worked out a system that produces extremely repeatable results. Now photographers everywhere can easily harness the power of Photoshop to create stunning prints using just about any contact printing process available. I have personally used this book to create salted-paper prints, van dykes, cyanotypes, and silver gelatin prints with pleasing results.

I teach alternative processes year round in Denver, Colorado, and as any instructor knows, the easiest way to hook a student on something new is the accessibility of the process. Even my darkroom shy students are taking notice of the work a small handful of pioneering students are experimenting with at our school using this excellent text. One student exclaimed to me just last week "this book will save the darkroom".

If you are looking for a system to harness the power of Photoshop with the beauty of a hand-crafted print, this is the best resource available!