I had the opportunity a few years back to wire up some commercial printing machines for a customer of mine. He doesn't really 'do' photos (he does more commercial print jobs for large corporations.... think of the fliers, adders in your utility bills, sales posters, etc). But the machines he uses for most of his work he bought mostly for their speed. But he has one printer that can do a superb job with photos. I recall his telling me the machine cost him $28,000.
So this morning, I bartered a little bit of work for a couple dozen prints on his top-end paper. It's almost not paper, it's almost as thick as the cardboard of a cereal box. He printed out my favorite B&W shots and handed me a stack of 8x10s.
You really can't see the image quality in a shot like this, but the tonal range is just stunning.
To give you an idea of the paper thickness, here's the stack of 25 prints (they're so thick, they still have a bit of curve from being on the roll!)"
So this morning, I bartered a little bit of work for a couple dozen prints on his top-end paper. It's almost not paper, it's almost as thick as the cardboard of a cereal box. He printed out my favorite B&W shots and handed me a stack of 8x10s.
You really can't see the image quality in a shot like this, but the tonal range is just stunning.
To give you an idea of the paper thickness, here's the stack of 25 prints (they're so thick, they still have a bit of curve from being on the roll!)"