Discussing the histogram, one of the most important tools in Photoshop.

Rocky Kenworthy, founder of Dot Editions hosted a Digital Printing Discussion in his Brooklyn print studio. Twenty-five  photographers braved the winter weather warnings and attended the open-forum discussion, armed with questions about archival pigment printing, paper choices, monitor calibration, and RIP software. Rocky shared his knowledge about how to work an image into an optimal archival pigment print, trouble-shooting imaging problems, paper choices, and RIP software.

What the photographers are saying about the event:

“I was very impressed with your studio. I think having the open discussion on file Prep, & printing was a great idea. Now my head is spinning with all the new info.” – Patrick McCarthy

“I enjoyed being there last night, I think its a great idea.” – Bart Michiels

“Last night the print with RIP and without RIP were quiet interesting to see…” - Frank Fournier

“Rocky does a very good job sharing with us what he knows and at the same time being open to what others are experiencing.  My own experience with coming to digital with a longer ‘film’ background gives me similar feelings, that nothing is written in stone, and you simply have to experiment. … I think you both provide a nice environment and i feel the information is treated with enough depth that i can take it further, without so much depth that the discussion just becomes obtuse.” - Richard Rethmeyer

“Thank you for having the event!  I definitely learned some helpful techniques and Rocky was very generous about sharing his knowledge.  It was much appreciated.” – Carey Kirkella

Discussion of paper choices for archival pigment printing.

We are looking forward  to hosting more of these community-minded forums about the process of archival pigment printing in the future! If you are interested in being part of the discussion, please sign up for our mailing list, or become a friend of Dot Editions on Facebook!

When: Tuesday Feb. 9 (6-9pm)

Where: 119 8th Street, Studio 210, Brooklyn (near the F, G, M, R trains at the 4th Avenue/9th street stop)

This event will help photographers take control of producing prints for exhibition and portfolio. In this discussion, printer Rocky Kenworthy will share his extensive knowledge of what goes into making an optimal archival pigment print. This is an excellent opportunity for photographers to get questions answered on topics such as:

• What paper is best for your digital printing project.
• How to make a master print.
• What Photoshop tools and tricks are best for getting the most out of contrast, color, and sharpening.
• Benefits of using RIP software.
• How to control color management from monitor to print.
• Mounting and laminating options for pigment printing.

This is a free event in our printing studio. Please bring a drink or snack to share with your fellow photographers!
Discussion will start promptly at 6:30. Doors open at 6pm.

Please click here to RSVP (required)

Always work in ProPhoto RGB while working on color images, then print in Adobe RGB (1998). This allows the biggest color space to make all color and tonal adjustments. For further color management, invest in a good monitor and calibrate at least once a month. Make sure when you’re getting ready to print to use the correct paper profiles from the manufacturer, whether you’re using a RIP software or printing through Photoshop. Only use SRGB color space for images on the internet.

For the best black and white images: shoot color

Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive. But when you shoot in black and white (this goes for either film or shooting RAW and processing out to black and white) you don’t have access to all the various tonality in the three color channels. Shoot in color, process out in RGB, and leave your image in RGB color in your layered, working file. Never throw all that info away! You’ll get a much richer black and white image if you work from channels. Try using the black and white adjustment layer or channel mixer to get an image rich in tonality. Only change your image to greyscale in your final flattened file when you are ready to print. (And you always keep your full-sized, layered PSD files separate from your flattened, resized TIF print file, right?)

Sharpening: just enough

Use a light hand when it comes to sharpening – after all, digital photography is relatively new to the world so images that look too clean, crisp and sharp can look fake or overworked.

Here is one option for sharpening that mimics the sharpness of film:

With your image at print size, merge together all visible layers into one on the top layer (ctrl + opt + shift + E). In the layer panels drop down menu, turn the blending mode to soft light. With this layer selected, go to Filters>Other>High Pass, and move the slider on Radius so it is 8 pixels. Set this layer to about 50% opacity (adjust opacity until you like how it looks).

Noise: smooth out transitions

We hate noise in digital files. But, against your best instincts, adding noise in the final stage of editing your image (after sharpening) can help transitions between gradations of tonality. Again, we are used to seeing film grain in photography, and digital images tend to look too clean. Plus, transitions between subtle tones can break up in digital files, and an all-over noise layer can help make the transitions smooth.

On top of your sharpening layer, make a new layer that is soft light blending mode, filled with 50% grey. With this layer selected, go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Go with between 6 to 10% noise. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the Radius between 0.6 and 0.8 .

Lastly: make sure the histogram looks good

Always make proofs, even when you think you are sure the file looks perfect, and good luck!