Photographic terminology drives me buggy. It is not only poor to start with, but then it changes. A lot of terms that were correct and proper when I was young, even though they kinda didn't make sense, are no longer known to young people now. And so they get the terms wrong. Or maybe wronger. Perhaps just wrong in a different way; variants of wrong.
Anyway, "printer" is now a problem, and it wasn't forty years ago when I was in art school. A printer back then was a human person who printed, and there wasn't much ambiguity. A printer, now, is this black lump:
...And yet a printer-person is still also a printer, which gives rise to possible statements such as, "I decided not to get a printer, so I need to find a printer."
As is our way, eventually language shall catch up to the use-cases and we'll find a way to indicate needed distinctions. Maybe the problem in photography is merely that its changes consistently keep two hops and a sidestep out ahead of language, which then always has to keep up, and can't, quite. Little me, fenced off here in my little virtual domain, tried in my usual wan and lugubrious way to offer up a correction for this, but I'm not good with names or coinages, alas. I tried to start calling the person a "printmaker." This has not, um, become universal. It would have been nice if printers like the Canon above had been called "printer machines" from the get-go, but I know better than to hope anything will change. A few of you indefatigable longtime readers will recall that I originally made the suggestion that "digital imaging" and "photography" should be made distinct, terminologically speaking. A photograph should be something that makes a direct record of the light of the lens image; a digital image is an analog, a map, if you will, of picture elements substituted for points in a lens image, that can be modified at will.
You know, this would be a fun idea for a book: use confusing and confused terminology as a jumping-off point for riffing-slash-educating about photography. I would have fun with that.
At any rate: after a whole day of research a.k.a. poking about the web until my butt hurt from sitting too long, it appears that the Canon Pro-1000 (B&H, Amazon) might be the most recommendable home printer for advanced amateurs on offer today. It apparently does B&W really well, it still has 80-ml ink tanks for $59 (74 cents per ml, or $2,791.74 per gallon) whereas its chief competitor, the Epson P900 (B&H, Amazon), now gives you only 50-ml cartridges for $44 (88 cents per ml, or $3,331.16 per gallon), and ships with carts that are only a quarter full, which is really very stingy of Epson—they want to get you on that needle ASAP—and Carl reports that his P900 is cranky about paper-feeding. Not that there's anything wrong with a P900; it gets 4 our of 5 stars on Amazon, vs. 4.4 for the Canon, and users report top-quality output. But the Canon seems to have just that bit of an edge.
Evidence in front of your own eyes
My suggestion that "photography" and "digital imaging" (DI) should be distinct was angrily shouted down, back in the day, by many of those to whom I floated the idea. My judgment was that it was a status issue to them, because, in the early days, film was what had all the weight and prestige, and DI was the poor techie-dweebie come-lately stepchild struggling to come up to film's level. Obviously those days have passed. Anyway, the suggestion that DI was inherently different and needed to be linguistically cordoned off was met with umbrage and outrage. It was exactly the same thing, the shouters shouted; it's just a different method of accurately and exactly recording the lens image, if you want it to be; there's no requirement that you change anything. And besides, it was easy to change things in film photographs too! I have eight examples from history right here! You're an idiot!
Flame wars ensued.
Oh, really? Well, consider this photograph (clue—this is a test):
Now, you're a savvy picture-looker-atter, so you probably sense something's fishy. You might at first think that this is a modern recreation of an old-tymey somethingtype, and that those are modern people in costumes. Because you've seen that before.
Well, wrong, albumen-breath. As you might know if you read PetaPixel, the people in that picture never lived and breathed; they're not actual humans who ever existed. The image has no historicity whatsoever. The picture is a creation of version 4 of an artificial intelligence image generator called Midjourney. Mario Cavalli, who collaborated with the program to create this, gave it verbal instructions, and this is what the generator came up with.
Good as it is (uncanny valley, anyone?), if we look at the image a little more closely, we start to see that there are still a few bugs in the system. For example, the man in the background appears to be wearing a hat that is eight sizes too small; the sign hanging behind our historical couple appears to be written in Klingon; there were none to very few plate-glass windows that size in the era of that style of dress; and there is something very wrong with that fellow's right hand. Birth defect, you might say, in a metaphorical way. And they appear to be sitting on—what? At least the image gets one insight rather right: the pained expression on the face of the virtual cowgirl might be due to the fact that she appears to have rather overtightened her corset, poor dear. Either that or her waist measurement is actually 17 inches. Another birth defect, perhaps?
It's fine for me to act all superior, but the scary thing is: the bot will get better. Soon you won't be able to tell a photograph-as-legitimate-evidence of things in the world, from an image created from verbal instructions by a very smart dumb machine. Lies, which are increasing greatly in popularity in our culture lately, will become even more invisible as far as photographs are concerned. Photographs will no longer show you anything accurate about the world. That you can count on, anyway. Orwellian is an understatement. But we were halfway there before Midjourney came along.
I rest my case from all those years ago. Naturally there are all sorts of blurry boundaries, but digital imaging is inherently a different thing from photography. And, eventually, we will come up with new language to tag it with; although we might stay a step or three behind the changes, same as it ever was.
Time for my breakfast! Thanks to those of you who signed up for Patreon, or upped your monthly give, for our 17th birthday and 10,006th post yesterday. I do need the encouragement, in my very young old age. We're going to try to keep this leaky old ship afloat for another trip around the sun.
Mike
Featured Comments from:
Brad Dow (partial comment): "I’m also super-sensitive to the cost of ink, and consider it carefully as I shop for a replacement for my aging Epson 4900, and I agree that the razor blade model is annoying. But I decided not to let ink cost distract me, because the cost of high-quality paper is on average about five times the cost of ink. Here’s the average ink cost for a letter-sized print with an 6x9 inch image:
Epson P900: $.26
Canon Pro-1000: $.21
"The cost of a letter-sized sheet of Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag is about $1.44. (The per 9x6 ink costs in my aging Epson 4900, with its 200 ml carts is only $.17. But there’s a downside to large carts for a low-volume printer. The ink in several little-used positions, especially for someone who prints mostly B&W, expires before I can use it up, and replacement cost is higher. I’d still prefer bigger carts, but this factor closes the gap somewhat.) In any event it’s a bit like the cost of darkroom print chemistry. It’s not trivial, but it’s dwarfed by the cost of paper."
Kristine Hinrichs: "For what it’s worth I spent a great deal of time deciding between the Pro-1000 and the Epson—and settled on the Canon. After a year of use, I am very happy with my decision. I have two suggestions—get one of the extra maintenance cartridges right away. You do go through them quickly and their availability is inconsistent—B&H limits you to two each purchase. I also generally better result using their print utility—Canon Print Studio Pro (not always, but usually). It works as a plugin for LR & PS. You probably know these things, but maybe not. Happy printing!"
robert e (partial comment): "The fake 'photograph' is disturbing enough, but people are hard at work applying similar principles to generate, for example, fake scientific literature."
Jeff (partial comment): "Epson relies on the user to trigger cleaning cycles. Canon machines automatically trigger cleaning cycles, whether the user wants them or not. So clogging might be reduced, but the cost per print is higher unless one frequently prints. This video explains the Canon approach. There are of course other differences in the Canon vs. Epson approach: user replaceable print heads (Canon) or not (Epson); feed mechanisms; ink sets and number of inks, etc. The Pro-1000 is also much bigger and heavier than the P900, if that matters."
Stephanie Luke: "The final print has always been the point for me. I started out in the darkroom, but, with the advent of digital, color became possible, and I never looked back. The best thing I ever found was a used flat file. It takes up a ridiculous amount of room in my small house, but I can store the multitudes of prints I've made over the years. Also, the top makes a good place to cut mats and frame (and reframe) prints. My output would never rise to the level of a master printer, but it provides me with a lot of satisfaction. I exhibit a few prints in various galleries most months, and sometimes people even buy them. I use an Epson 3880, and, yes, they can be a bit temperamental, but when it's functioning properly, it makes beautiful prints."
Ed. note: The above are samples of what Stephanie means by flat file, for anyone who might not know. They're for storing large sheets of paper such as maps, CAD drawings, blueprints, or artwork, and are used by engineers, architects, artists, collectors, etc. Uline [top] has metal ones, and old wooden ones can be found near you from sources such as Facebook Marketplace. Most are stackable, and sometimes have a variety of bases and tops available. Amish or Mennonite woodworkers either have or can make wooden ones [bottom]. Warning: they are hell to ship and move. New ones are often packed inadequately, and old ones can be beat up and have tape and so forth applied to the outside, or one drawer missing or sticking or what have you. And they do take up a significant amount of room. A headache to acquire but, as Stephanie says, great to have.
Timothy Gray: "Look, I ran an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 for 13 years, made many beautiful prints with it, and spend an embarrassing amount of time and money learning to print well. Don’t even get me started on paper jams, wasted ink from PK/MK swap routines and head clogs, trying consumables at up to $12/sheet in search of some 'holy grail' of printing. In the end, when it gave up the ghost, I had a helluva time finding anyone local that would haul it away. Even in death it was a major pain in the you know what. If you’re really dead set on buying a printer, start by gathering $50 bills. Better get 10 of them. Now take a look at one of the files you want to print, walk over to your fireplace and light that first fifty note on fire. Watch it burn and think about what that money could have gone towards instead. Repeat this process until you either come to your senses or run out of money. Sure it may seem foolish, but so is blowing your retirement hunched over a computer only to then watch as each print, full of ink that costs more per gallon than crude oil, slowly comes out of the printer."
Les von Pongracz: "Congratulations on breaking 10,000 posts. I think I've probably read more than 9,600 of such. Always looked forward to the latest from TOP and Steve's Digicams. I'm likely an 'advanced amatuer' in both photography and printing. The fly in the ointment is that I have several hobbies that I enjoy intensely. Problem is that I can't seem to distribute this fervor equally, so activity for each has peaks and valleys (maybe you can relate). Subsequently, there are prolonged periods of time when the printer may sit idle. I've had three wonderful Epsons over the years and each one cost me many dollars of ink clearing clogs, often occurring in as little as three weeks of being idle. Decided to go with a Canon PRO-100. (I know, it's dye ink, but I like it!) Have not had clog issue (unlike one of my arteries) in just under 10 years, and I've been using Precision Colors ink for the past five years. YMMV. There's an interesting, if somewhat pedantic, reviewer/tester on Youtube—Jose Rodriguez—check him out. I wish you luck with whatever choice you make, but do dive in, as printing is a very satisfying engagement."
Bill Poole: "Photo jargon! My least favorite innovation is 'capture' as a substitute for 'exposure,' or even 'shot' (of which I was never a fan, either.) 'Capture' seemed to come in with digital technology, to emphasize that the image was made digitally. Now we seem to be stuck with it."
louis mccullough: "Car manufacturers have been using graphics software for many years instead of actual photography to create images of their cars, etc. This is also happening in many other areas which used to be the mainstay of professional photographers."
Søren Engelbrecht: "To me, the difference between a 'photograph' and a 'digital image' is that a photograph must (to a very high degree of accuracy) show a representation of what was in front of a lens when a shutter was released. In those terms, you can take a photograph (say, a landscape picture will a dull sky) and click 'sky replacement' on the computer—after which it will no longer be a photograph, but a digital image. By extension, if there is no lens or shutter involved, only AI, it is not a photograph. After all, the Greek meaning of photography is 'writing with light,' so if the image was not created using light, it's not a photograph. At least in my book. :-) "
Mike replies: Yes. A photograph respects the lens image, is how I usually say it.
Joseph Vavak: "I have a Canon Pro-1000 and have been very happy with it. I don’t print a lot on a regular basis—most of my usage is in short bursts around exhibitions—but I try to print something every other week to avoid anything drying up. So far, so good. The B&W mode works well on a variety of papers. I generally reduce contrast on-screen to get results more along the lines of what I want. Printing on Canon papers in color is nearly foolproof without dealing with paper profiles, but it’s not hard to utilize paper profiles if you choose. A calibrated monitor is a must, as much for brightness as for color balance.
"It’s a big, heavy machine, just a warning."
Dave Millier: "On the ink costs thing, although it really galls emotionally, in practice, if you run the sums it's a minor component of the cost of hanging a print on your wall. I did my own rough costing and if you include ink, paper, mount card, foam core backing and an Amazon basics frame, the cost of a framed A4 print on the wall is about £20. Of this £20, £15 is the frame, 50p the paper. The extra cost of the ink and an amortised sum for printer depreciation is minor. And that doesn't include the camera, lens, time spent travelling and shooting and various other indirect costs. The ink costs rankles because it seems a rip-off and looms large because we get excited buying a new camera but not a new ink cartridge. Try and see beyond these irritations and put the ink cost into perspective."