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

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!

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...

Good basic information on printing digital negatives. It does not, however, cover HP printers or current-model Epson printers (the 2200 is long gone, as is the 2400). The best part of the book is information on curves, limited through that is. I especially liked the basics of writing a print driver, even if the author is himself sketchy on what works. This is a very useful starting book, but not much more than that, and at its price is a difficult purchase.

This book has been a long time coming. after spending countless hours on my own, then experimenting with another well known book by dan burkholder (who has some good ideas but ultimately is outdated and there are really only a few pages that deal with 'inkjet negative' making.) this book has answered many of my long standing questions of how to create your own curve for output and then be able to check your work for accuracy. to many resources tell you to buy one specific printer (which by the time the book is printed has been discontinued), one specific ink, and one specific printing media (OHP was discontinued by its manufacturer), and if you do not then their cookie cutter curve will not work exaclty correct.so thank the authors for sharing this information in a very down to earth way. it has opened a new door in photo printing for the masses.

Excellent book and as a digital negative user this is an invaluable reference.

When it comes to photography, mixing the analog and digital worlds can often be overwhelming and confusing. This book helps make sense of how to produce digital negative with various analog printing techniques.

ok

I bought this book on Kindle because its cheaper and delivered faster.But kind of disappointed because illustrations are limited in size and color.In short, if you are looking for photographic books, get the paper or PDF edition.

This is an excellent guide to creating a digital negative. To date, I am half way through the process having created preliminary curves for 4 papers now. I now will test the curves and then I am ready to go! It may seem daunting at first but really it isn't at all, just takes the time in the darkroom and in front of the computer.

I hoped this book would expand on the work of Burkholder. It's subtitle strongly suggests it creates digital negatives that work with Silver prints. Not one illustration in the book is of a normal silver monochrome print. If you read the one chapter which mentions silver printing, and the problem page, it basically says the process is picky-picky, the printers have issues and one is left with the conclusion that this book is for the miniscule minority that coat their own papers with platinum and palladium. This book does not move anything further forward than the Burkholder books for those who want to make silver prints from digital files, although its explanation of the digital negative process is clearer in some respects.