“Phil and Dave’s Excellent CD – the beta version.”  That’s when I started using CDs, then burning them, and then  DVDs and BluRays. (“Phil & Dave’s” was the first data CD, released by Apple in 1989 (I believe.) I still have my copy around here somewhere. As a multimedia developer, I have since burned 10s […]

I recently attended a webinar by a well-known and published author (who shall remain nameless.) I had to give up paying full attention however when he said, regarding raw files: use the sRGB color space; use 8-bit images; using white paper for color balance “in a pinch” is OK “just watch for burn out in […]

Most folks I know who print their own images on Epson printers say “skip the 2880 since it uses twice the ink, and there’s no difference in the detail.” In fact, you’ll find this repeated constantly by most online pundits and magazine article authors. Well…. … it uses about 10% more ink, not “twice the […]

The advice column of a national photographic magazine responded to a fellow who wrote for help, complaining that his prints were tinted blue. He explained that he was using a new 27″ iMac, and an Epson R320 printer. Now admittedly these are not optimum equipment for making prints, but the columnist’s advice was “…trade in […]

Happy New Year to one and all! The generally accepted “best” viewing bulb for prints are from Solux. They have no peaks in the viewing spectrum, thus allowing an even illuminant. The Solux products are used world-wide in galleries and museums. This post isn’t going into detail about the subject of viewing conditions, but merely […]

The basic reason you see your prints come out too dark is simple: your screen is too bright! I’m not being silly here; that’s the solution to about 90% of the cases (assuming you know how to calibrate a monitor, that is.) The iMac is a frequently cited culprit here: it’s not possible to get […]

Well, first: my pet peeve – it’s “raw” not “RAW” since it merely means “unaltered.” (JPEG is an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is why it’s capitalized. “raw” isn’t an acronym for anything, which is why it should not be, but lots of folks-who-should-know-better do it anyway. I have no idea why.) That […]

A friend of mine has some very important photos that he’s having a rough time getting printed to his satisfaction.He’s spent hours on each one, and has each photo tuned exactly as he wants it printed. He worked with an expert to get the image just exactly right. At this point, no changes to the […]

  The 3800 doesn’t have the nice suction feature of my old 4000, which served to keep the paper flat throughout the full path. Specifically, today I was printing an 21 1/2 image on some 17 x 22 Ilford Galerie GFS, and as it came out everything looked great… until the last 1.5 inches. There, […]

  I just had an interesting and passionate discussion with the curator of a museum, on the general subject of art. Now those of you who know me as the photographer ceaselessly spouting “It’s the print, stupid” may be surprised to learn which side I took in the conversation. You see, it began with the […]