[jbander]

I have a Pentax 6X7 and I have a few questions, someone might be able to help me with. My plan as of now, is to use Dwayne's photo and get B&W prints to use as proofs and if I find a print that I like, I would have it printed at a place that a friend of mine, who I respect, works at, they are quite expensive and with my buddy being there, I would expect good results. I've used them before for large color prints and was very satisfied. My question about this, should I expect that my negatives have a very high likelihood that they will turn out from This inexpensive film processor. so I could get them reprinted. Also I have Photoshop and a printer , Epson styles Photo R340. This might sound silly but I'm poor, can I use just the aftermarket black ink and not buy all of the other colors to print just B&W prints. If I did that, I would need to have them scanned, so if I print it on the printer, how good of scans do I need to make a enlargement lets say up to 10X8 and would I then have to go to another Processor to get the scans. I want the best possible results but thinking about price at the same time.

[RawheaD]

If you're serious about saving money, then develop the film yourself. With black and white, the initial investment would only be $40-50, provided you find everything (dev tank, dark bag, thermometer, etc) second hand. Buy D76 powder and some fixer, and you're set. You'll make up that money within 10 rolls or so, if you factor in shipping price to Dwayne's.

The Dwayne's scans aren't adequate for 8x10 prints. If I remember correctly, they were something like 2500px on a side JPEGs. Again, if you really want to save money in the long run, you should buy a scanner. A used V500 will get you higher resolution scans than Dwayne's. You can buy one used for $100, which you can make up after 30 rolls (I believe dwayne's charged $3/roll for scanning).

Regarding the printer, depends on the model, but a lot of printers won't let you print anything unless you have some color in the color cartridges. AND I believe they will use the color ink even if you're printing B&W, so you will have to replace them every once in a while.

[tuco]

You'll want to "tone" some of those BW images, no? I'm guessing you won't always want the look of a cold tone, glossy BW print I suspect. So you'll need color to simulate the warmer tone images.