Digital to Film - black and white digital imaging

I am very interested in converting digital image files into real silver haloid photographic prints, (I am talking B&W with a 14" high finished print size). Their are at least three options available:

1. Film Recorder:
This involves using a profesional repro house, who will convert your image file to film negative, minimum size is normally 120. (not a cheap option, but maybe worth thinking about for selected images.

2. Copying an inkjet print:
Make your very best quality inkjet print, (normally A4 size is sufficient, @ say 400ppi, suitably sharpened), use a top quality paper, (the thicker the better), set the printer to print in colour, (not black ink only), to give the smoothest result. Then re-photograph this inkjet image with a film camera. I use a roll film Mamiya RB67, with a 100asa film, but good results, if a little grainy, can be obtained with 35mm, and a good quality 50mm prime lens, (with as fine a film as possible, say 25 or 50asa).
I have done extensive testing of this process, with some excellent results.

3. Contact Film Negatives:
This system; for converting digital images into Black and White silver haloid prints, uses an inkjet printer to produce a full size contact negative, is a real convergence of the two mediums.
Below is a detailed workflow 'Digital to Contact Film':

1) Create a digital image on your computer, via scanning or digital camera.

2) Produce a fully worked greyscale version in Photoshop, that contains all tone and fractal adjustments. This image should be "sized" to be the same as the darkroom print required, with the ideal ppi density (say 400 pixels per inch), plus appropriate sharpening. The sharpening level is critical in overcoming the image softening effect created by the opaque substrate. (I am producing 14" high images, plus a step wedge, @ 400ppi, which gives a file size of 23MB.)

3) Convert the adjusted/manipulated image into a negative image, (I have created a Photoshop "action" for this complete sequence):

Duplicate image.

Flip image. (turns image over horizontally to compensate for face down "contact printing".

Apply tone curve, this compensates for the changes in media and process, since you will find a need to reduce the mid-tones, (as the image below shows). When you incorporate a step wedge into this process, assessing and adjusting tones becomes more controllable. Create a curve within the transfer function mode, where precise tone changes in defined steps can be made, save this curve as a .ATF format, then re-use it from within the general adjustment curve function. (I am using a curve designed by Don Krehbiel; Curve ).

Convert to index colour.

Set colour table, (change the colour to 100% Magenta, ie C = 0, M = 100, Y = 0, K = 0, ....whilst changing the positive image to negative).

Apply tone curve, to adjust for ink volume and contrast; approx setting between 65 to 75%, (I am using 100 = 65 on this image). We need to attain clean whites (full ink laydown), whilst not applying too much ink volume, that will 'move' or 'dissolve', but still allows good contrast. This is the trade-off between more ink and better contrast, but then being more susceptible to negative degradation.
(This curve would normally be applied via the transfer function feature, but I incorporate it as an applied adjustment curve, so it can become part of my 'Action' sequence)

4) Print this image with your Epson 1200 type printer onto "Film", (I am using Epson Photo quality Glossy Film):

Printer settings:

Photo quality glossy film

1440 dpi

Coloured ink

No colour adjustment (don't set to 'Automatic' colour adjustment)

5) Contact print this inkjet negative print, in your darkroom, and process it in the normal silver haloid way.

The results are very dependent on the substrate you inkjet print on to, where I have found OHP film to be more problematic than Epsons photo quality glossy film. Balancing the ink colour, with the volume laid down, and the subtrates ability to accept the ink layer, (whilst drying and not dissolving the image), is critical to good consistant reuseable negatives.
The Epson glossy film is opaque white, (not transparent), and consequently causes some diffusion of the negative image in contact with the paper, thereby slightly softening the contacted positive image, (so an appropriate pre-sharpening of the digital file is essential to help overcome this effect). The real bonus from this diffusion effect is the almost complete removal of any inkjet look to the resultant silver print. (I am using a dichroic enlarging head as my light source which might be agravating this diffusion effect, as against a condenser head).
The Epson film is magnificent material to use, giving perfect reproduction, as well as dry to touch, but you still need to be wary of applying too much ink which could still initially produce quite beautiful prints, but the negative can begin to dissolve away in only a few hours of inkjet printing, and your future images then becomes softened. (This is especially noticeable in the highlight zones where a lot of ink laydown is taking place.)

I have found that a two pass sharpening method helps to control more accurately the images post printing results. I am a disciple of Bruce Frasers digital writings, and refer to his "Creativepro" article on Two pass-sharpening.
(I have created a Photoshop action for the complex 'Mask' sharpening technique, used as part of the 2-pass process).
An aid to evaluating your correct sharpening levels, prior to producing your negatives, is to simulate the print diffusion effect on your monitor, you are helped by the 'contact printing' softening effect being predictable, and can be simulated by applying a Gaussiun blur to the sharpened image, (with a 400ppi image I apply a Gaussiun blur of 1.5). I then print a section of the image, as a positive B&W on inkjet photoquality paper, @1440 dpi with black ink only, to confirm the correctness of my sharpening amount, before moving on to creating the negative.

My best 'Contact print' results have been with Glossy RC photo paper, so this became my evaluation medium, since glossy was giving better tone rendition than lustre/matt paper when used as a contact medium. But I didn't want this high gloss effect for my finished print work, so I switched to FB Glossy with really excellent results, (Agfa Multicontrast Classic MCC 111)