Chromogenic print of a B&W image

[eriksatie]

I'd like to print a b&w image that I have scanned from a b&w 35mm film. the file is in grey scale profile.
I've tried printing it at home with my Pixma 7550 that gives acceptable results for color photos, but for b&w is not neutral enough (red cast on shadows)

So I went to a (respectable) local lab that made a chromogenic print (don't know the name of the printer) but the results are disappointing: the highlights (sky) are pink, and in the shadows you can see lot of green cast. Don't know if this could be the cause, but I've converted the file to sRGB before sending to print. I've checked the conversion ad the 3 channels where perfectly equal.

is it possible to make a good b&w print with chromogenic? what is the best way to print it? should I look for a decent inkjet printer?

[digitaldog]

It's possible if you find a lab imaging onto actual B&W material.
https://www.whitewall.com/us/photo-prints/ilford-bw
https://www.weldoncolorlab.com/fiberblackwhite.php
Probably better to output on an InkJet like an Epson using Advanced B&W; you can produce dead nuts neutral prints.

[Garnick]

I'd like to print a b&w image that I have scanned from a b&w 35mm film. the file is in grey scale profile.
I've tried printing it at home with my Pixma 7550 that gives acceptable results for color photos, but for b&w is not neutral enough (red cast on shadows)

So I went to a (respectable) local lab that made a chromogenic print (don't know the name of the printer) but the results are disappointing: the highlights (sky) are pink, and in the shadows you can see lot of green cast. Don't know if this could be the cause, but I've converted the file to sRGB before sending to print. I've checked the conversion ad the 3 channels where perfectly equal.

is it possible to make a good b&w print with chromogenic? what is the best way to print it? should I look for a decent inkjet printer?

I agree with what Andrew wrote.  It is possible to create a quite reasonable B&W print on Chromogenic paper (AKA "C" Print) if the operator knows what they're doing.  Now when I say "reasonable" I mean it is possible to create a print without the cross curves you were describing, but it will never be as good as a silver print or what can be accomplished printing from an app such as Photoshop or Lightroom, or one of the various competitive apps like Affinity Photo.  Most of my custom lab business was built around Chomogenic darkroom printing, until I switched over to inkjet printing in the 2003 with an Epson SP7600 printer.  I'm still at it, but downsized and working from my home now.  So yes, get yourself a decent printer and you'll be able to produce a very acceptable B&W print from your neg scan.

Gary

[NAwlins_Contrarian]

I'd like to print a b&w image that I have scanned from a b&w 35mm film. the file is in grey scale profile.
       *       *       *
is it possible to make a good b&w print with chromogenic? what is the best way to print it? should I look for a decent inkjet printer?

Insofar as there are several good options for getting B&W prints from digital files on real silver-halide photo papers, why would you want to try to get them form a wet-lab process designed for color prints? Some of them are even inexpensive, on Ilford RC paper (available in glossy and the 'pearl' or luster-type surface). Other labs offer B&W prints from digital onto FB silver-halide papers (albeit for considerably higher prices). Because your printer appears to be a Canon MG7550 (instead of an MG7520), presumably you're in the U.K. or E.U. not the U.S. In the U.K. Ilford itself offers this service. In the U.S. you could try Mpix, Harman-Ilford, Fromex True Black & White, Dalmatian, Digital Silver Imaging, and others.

To be clear, it is certainly possible to get excellent B&W prints with an inkjet. I bet you could get pretty neutral B&W images from your MG7550 (although it might require a custom ICC profile, and some papers might work better than others). Of course, if you want to upgrade your printer to something like an Epson P600 or P800, that might make it easier / better. And there are services that print B&W inkjet prints (in the U.S., Cone Editions would be a prominent example, not sure about the U.K. or E.U.).

[eriksatie]

Insofar as there are several good options for getting B&W prints from digital files on real silver-halide photo papers, why would you want to try to get them form a wet-lab process designed for color prints? Some of them are even inexpensive, on Ilford RC paper (available in glossy and the 'pearl' or luster-type surface). Other labs offer B&W prints from digital onto FB silver-halide papers (albeit for considerably higher prices). Because your printer appears to be a Canon MG7550 (instead of an MG7520), presumably you're in the U.K. or E.U. not the U.S. In the U.K. Ilford itself offers this service. In the U.S. you could try Mpix, Harman-Ilford, Fromex True Black & White, Dalmatian, Digital Silver Imaging, and others.

To be clear, it is certainly possible to get excellent B&W prints with an inkjet. I bet you could get pretty neutral B&W images from your MG7550 (although it might require a custom ICC profile, and some papers might work better than others). Of course, if you want to upgrade your printer to something like an Epson P600 or P800, that might make it easier / better. And there are services that print B&W inkjet prints (in the U.S., Cone Editions would be a prominent example, not sure about the U.K. or E.U.).

NAwlins_Contrarian, I have tried Chromogenic because I haven't yet find a lab for b&w from digital in my (little) town in Italy. It was just a try, very cheap indeed. I paid 3€ for an A4 test, so no problem...

I will look for some online lab, and I'll check for Ilford service in UK, probably they also send prints to other countries in EU (maybe not the best time to try it... they could be out of EU in a few weeks!).

For a custom ICC I think I would need a colorimeter, is there some cheap options? I'd love to print it by myself but I'm not sure I want to invest in a colorimeter for such small printer

[NAwlins_Contrarian]

For a custom ICC I think I would need a colorimeter, is there some cheap options? I'd love to print it by myself but I'm not sure I want to invest in a colorimeter for such small printer

You can either have a service make a custom ICC profile for each paper on which you want to print B&W, or you can use a spectrophotometer to me them youself, which you may be able to rent.

When the service makes you a custom ICC profile, if prices are similar to the U.S., there would be good services starting at about €25 for each paper. You download a profiling target, use Adobe Color Printer Utility to print it on the paper you want profiled, mail the printed target to the service, and they e-mail you the ICC profile. Some services will build custom ICC profiles specially designed for neutral B&W.

To do it yourself, the device you use is a spectrophotometer, not a colorimeter. In the U.S. I rented an X-Rite i1 Studio spectrophotometer. It cost me about $75 (€66) total, and I had it for a week. In that time I made 12 or 13 custom profiles for different papers. The X-Rite software is easy to use. The profile quality is good enough for me. Now I get neutral B&W prints on several papers.

[faberryman]

I made a few black and white prints on a Noritsu machine at school and they were nothing to write home about, though I didn't see any noticeable tint. My 3880 prints are much better.