Hi folks,

I have assumed that Josh and Rick would like to participate again in this next exchange, so with that expectation, I've added their names to these lists.?

If anyone else would like to participate in the October/November bi-monthly Color print exchange (Letter/A4 size), please respond by email or post to the group.?

Signup will close on October 15th.? I will post the final lists on the 16th.

Please ship your prints so they arrive in Alaska NO LATER than the last week of November.

The following photographers are currently signed up for the Black & White exchange:

1. Tom O'Connell
2. Gary Benson
3. Jayanand Govindaraj
4. Steve Mustoe
5. Westley Clavey
6. Nara Narasimhan
7. Mike King
8. Rob Schwartz
9. Otto Bacon
10. Jeff Deam
11. Joshua Daniels
12. Rick Holmes

The following photographers are currently signed up for the Color print exchange:

1. Tom O'Connell
2. Gary Benson
3. Jayanand Govindaraj
4. Steve Mustoe
5. Nara Narasimhan
6. Mike King
7. Rob Schwartz
8. Otto Bacon
9. Jeff Deam
10. Josh Daniels
11. Rick Holmes
12. Your name could be here

Please ship your prints for repackaging to:

Gary Benson
9843 Little Diomede Circle
Eagle River, Alaska 99577
(907) 242-6538

?

TO SUCCESSFULLY PARTICIPATE PLEASE READ ALL OF THE GUIDELINES BELOW

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1) Prints are to be on either Letter (8.5x11) or A4 (8.3"x11.7") size paper. Please sign the print (generally done on the front).?

2) On about the 15th of the month you will be notified of how many participants there are for each exchange.? You are to print one print for each of the other participants and one for yourself.?

3) Prints should be enclosed in individual clear sleeves (for example Clear Bags B811SNF) along with a Tech Sheet. Include the date of the exchange, your name, print title and any information about the subject matter, printer, inkset, software, workflow etc on the Tech Sheet which may be of interest to other participants.? Optional: also include your own?critique?of your image.?

4) Make sure that whatever return box or mailing method you use can accommodate both Letter (8.5x11) and A4 (8.3"x11.7") sized prints.??The total number of prints submitted is likely be greater than for the prior monthly print exchanges, so for those participants in the USA a USPS Flat Rate Medium size box is probably the best choice, especially if you are participating in both the B&W and Color print exchanges.

?5) For example, mailing your prints (addressed to the print exchange coordinator) in a USPS Flat Rate envelope or medium size box with an enclosed prepaid USPS Click-n-Ship return LABEL for a Flat Rate envelope or medium size box (addressed to yourself)?should work?very well. ?See this message for additional details?and images of how others have packaged their prints.

6) If you have not included a return postage pre-paid label please send the print exchange coordinator funds for the cost of a USPS Flat Rate envelope or medium size box (whichever you prefer to use) attached to a sheet of paper which?clearly?shows your return address.?

7) Upload a file of the image you have printed into the?correct photo album.? It permits those that are not actively participating in the current exchange an opportunity to observe.? It also creates a historical record that is useful over the years.?

8) Comments on prints are welcome and encouraged, but are not required for participation in a print exchange.? Any topic or theme for a print exchange is entirely optional.

With best regards,

Gary Benson

one of the print exchange moderators

(907) 242-6538

bensonga@...

Sorry, I didn’t realize the Epson Wide Format group has limited seeing “Archive” messages to Group members only.? Here on our Print Exchange group non-members can see messages going all the way back to the beginning in 2002.

Gary

I am enjoying this most recent exchange (as usual), especially the color prints. Quite a nice variety of images. There are two that I keep coming back to and find truly exceptional. Otto Bacon’s lusciously rich image of the vintage battery charger is amazing. Wow! I have shown it to a few friends who think it could easily be a painting. And I agree fully with Gary’s assessment of Jayanand’s Lilac-breasted Roller. A truly remarkable print that captures both the vibrant light of sunset on the Mara plain and the brilliant hues of one of my favorite African birds. This particular Roller has a special place in my heart. When I lived at altitude in Western Kenya I would often drop down into the Rift Valley to go birding at Lake Baringo. And there were always a number of Rollers in the trees around my camp site, including one particularly territorial female who would attack me whenever I ventured too close to her nest. Just looking at Jayanand's print makes me tearfully nostalgic.

?

Rhonda loves the paper Jayanand chose (Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Metallic) so much that she made me order a box of it. Now to find an image of my own that will do it justice :)

On a related note, I’m a member of two other digital printing related groups on Groups.io (EpsonWideFormat and QuadToneRIP). Most of the topics discussed are specific to those printers or software, but occasionally there is a topic of wider interest to me, which is why I keep an eye on them.? One recent topic on the EpsonWideFormat group might be of interest here.? The original poster asked “What does the printer driver actually do…..?” in the context of 16 bit to 8 bit conversions.? The responses from Walter Blackwell and especially Roy Harrington (the developer of QuadTone RIP) were especially interesting and helpful.

Original post from Tracy Valleau

/g/EpsonWideFormat/message/122514

Blackwell’s response (edited)
/g/EpsonWideFormat/message/122519

Harrington’ s response
/g/EpsonWideFormat/message/122536

I’ve often had similar questions about Epson’s ABW driver and recently found a site with a very detailed and illuminating explanation.? Starting with the post on 01/03/2007:


Gary

[Edited Message Follows]

One last update for the Aug/Sept exchange.? I finished sorting and re-packaging them last evening and I will get them in the mail to you today.

PACKAGES FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE USA WERE DROPPED OFF AT THE EAGLE RIVER POST OFFICE THIS AFTERNOON.

There are quite a few excellent prints in this exchange and I usually don’t comment on them here, however there was one image/print in particular that just blew me away when I saw it.? Jayanand’s color print of a “Lilac-breasted Roller” with a stunning African sunset in the background, printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Metallic paper.? Wow!? This image works really well on that paper.? Thank you for sharing it with us Jayanand.

I want to encourage all of you to remove the prints from the protective sleeves when viewing them, at least once.? There are some interesting papers in this exchange and to fully appreciate them you need to see and feel the paper without the sleeve.? This is especially true for prints on matte papers.

Thanks again to all the participants for sharing your photos and prints with us!

Gary