Digi Neg Roundup

[CraigK]

Returning to digi-negs after a layoff of a couple of years, and in an effort to get up to speed with the latest advances, I have been delving deep into the archives of this forum and other on-line sources of information and inspiration.

One thing that has struck me is that there are now a lot more ways of skinning the proverbial digi-neg cat than there were when I first started way back when with the Burkholder book.

I thought it may be helpful to perhaps list the various methods being explored and tweaked at the moment.

I will get the ball rolling with the ones that I have come across

1. Burkholder image-setter method
2. Burkholder ink-jet neg method
3. Nelson's PDN method
4. Harman's Colour Ratio method
5. Keith Schreiber's method
6.?


There are certainly others out there. I understand that Bostick and Sullivan are offering a digi-neg service now but do not know if it is via one of the methods listed above or using something they have developed themselves.

Anyway, feel free to add to the list. I would especially like to hear about the differences between the various methods and the reasons you may have chosen one over the others. Personally, I am making my way through the PDN method, mainly because I bought the CD and it seems to be well presented.

[clay]

You left out the Ron Reeder and Brad Hinkel QTR RIP method. I have tried this method and I think this may be the best solution yet. They have a brand new book out describing this approach.

Returning to digi-negs after a layoff of a couple of years, and in an effort to get up to speed with the latest advances, I have been delving deep into the archives of this forum and other on-line sources of information and inspiration.

One thing that has struck me is that there are now a lot more ways of skinning the proverbial digi-neg cat than there were when I first started way back when with the Burkholder book.

I thought it may be helpful to perhaps list the various methods being explored and tweaked at the moment.

I will get the ball rolling with the ones that I have come across

1. Burkholder image-setter method
2. Burkholder ink-jet neg method
3. Nelson's PDN method
4. Harman's Colour Ratio method
5. Keith Schreiber's method
6.?


There are certainly others out there. I understand that Bostick and Sullivan are offering a digi-neg service now but do not know if it is via one of the methods listed above or using something they have developed themselves.

Anyway, feel free to add to the list. I would especially like to hear about the differences between the various methods and the reasons you may have chosen one over the others. Personally, I am making my way through the PDN method, mainly because I bought the CD and it seems to be well presented.

[CraigK]

Wow, must be the half bottle of cough syrup I took this morning. I completely forgot about the Hinkel/Reeder method...even though I ordered the book last week!!

Thanks Clay for jolting my pyro-addeled brain.

[Digidurst]

Another to include in your list is Bjorke's "ChartThrob"

[bradhi]

[to mention the competition]
I'd also list elevatordigital.ca - I've seen samples of their work and it looks excellent.
I think most people on this forum will want to do-it-themselves - but there are definitely some pro labs developing out there.

[Colin Graham]

I'm a little confused; are these methods specifically for Epson drivers or are they adaptable to other printers?

[Katharine Thayer]

Don't forget Michael Koch-Schulte's RNP-Array System.

[sanking]

I'm a little confused; are these methods specifically for Epson drivers or are they adaptable to other printers?

Why the confusion?

The issue now is about competing egos. That should clarify everything.

Sandy King

[Colin Graham]

I've probably misunderstood something basic...I thought that some of the digital negative methods dealt with specific printer drivers and pigments and might not be as adaptable to other manufacturers. I didn't want to, for instance, start with the PDN method and find out it didn't lend itself well to HP printers.

In rooting around some more I suspect I was mostly thinking of the Quadtone RIP method at Ron Reeder's site.

[Joe Lipka]

I started with Dan Burkholder's method when it first came out. When I started making digital negatives with my Epson, Michael Koch-Schulte answered my questions with his method, I switched. So much now depends on the inks you use in your desktop printer, it helps if you have a system that you can test to find your correct negative color.