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Curve Calculator III for Mac OS NOW AVAILABLE!

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LightBox, Inc. Custom Photo Lab

A custom photo lab which produces outstanding work. Bruce & Nancy Starrenburg.

Dick Arentz Platinum & Palladium Printing

Dick Arentz, author of Platinum & Palladium Printing, lists his books for sale, workshops and other information on beautiful PT/PD process.

Conrad Machine Company

Manufactures very fine etching presses. I have the American French Tool Table Top Press by Conrad Machine Company and I love it!

Bostick & Sullivan

Photo Grade chemistry for the amateur and professional photographer. I purchase my chemicals here!

Pictorico

Source for the premium Film Transparency for making digital negatives. This is the film I use.

Unblinking Eye

Ed Buffaloe's site for Alternative Photosgraphy. Great Articles!

SSI

Systems Solutions Ink is a great source for Hasselblad and Imacon equipment!

Chris Anderson Photography

Chris is a great photographer and gum printer—check out her publicaion: Alternative Processes Condensed—a great manual on Alternative Processes.

David Michael Kennedy Photography

Cyber Pathways

This is the company that helped me design my site, as well as provide all the functionality.

Advanced Printmaking Techniques with
Platinum/Palladium & Precision Digital Negatives

The Most Advanced & Thorough Workshop Available on Digital Negatives

Italy, 2015 • © Mark I. Nelson

Date: October 26, 27, 28, & 29, 2017
Location: The Image Flow Studio, Mill Valley, CA

I'm very excited to be giving this fantastic workshop this coming October in Mill Valley, California (convenient to San Francisco airport)!.

We will be using the new Hahnemühle Platinum Rag Paper, which will be provided to us free by Hahnemühle! This is the finest paper available for Platinum/Palladium printing. I have tested it extensively and will be showing participants how to get the very most out of this beautiful paper!

Throughout the workshop, emphasis will be placed on helping you define your unique aesthetic look and feel for your work in general or for specific portfolios.

If you are interested in signing up for the workshop or would like more information, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Platinum/Palladium is one of the most beautiful printmaking mediums ever created. The extremely long tonal range of the process gives the prints very subtle and delicate tonalities that surpass any other hand made print.

This workshop has been expanded to 4 days in order to provide the participants with a complete experience learning the Platinum/Palladium Process and how to craft the best possible digital negatives.

Focus will be on workflows and techniques Mark has developed that produce a variety of prints that will give your portfolio a stunning signature look: Full Range Prints, Shadow Prints, Hi Key Prints, Vintage Prints, Gray Prints & Dual Density Negative Prints. Mark will teach you how to combine analogue and digital methods in workflows that maximize print tonalities—actually producing more tones than possible with inkjet prints, giving you total control over the look of your prints.

Participants do not have to have prior experience with Platinum/Palladium printing or making digital negatives.

Workshop Details
The workshop will cover the following and much more:

How to set the Photoshop Color Working Space and adjust monitor brightness
Conversion of RGB images to monochrome
A simple workflow for preparing images to make negatives
Making variable contrast curves with Curve Calculator III.
Fine tuning the curve for your prints
The best methods of tweaking chemistry and negative to make the perfect print
Maximizing tonality in prints & Choosing Best Workflow for a specific print
How to make Shadow, Hi-Key, Gray, Vintage, and Full Range prints
How to coat, print, and successfully process Platinum/Palladium prints
The most important variables to control with Platinum/Palladium prints
How to implement what you have learned when you return home

Prospective students must have a reasonable understanding of Photoshop to participate.

Workshop will be limited to 8 participants
Workshop Fee: $1250
Advanced deposit $300 via PayPal. You don't need a PayPal account. Credit card will work.

Our host will be Stuart Schwartz at The Image Flow. The facilities include a new, expanded darkroom space and a large, comfortable classroom. The Bay Area, Mill Valley location is convenient to San Francisco Airport and many wonderful restaurants, hotels, museums, galleries and photo opportunities, such as Point Reyes, The Bay, Fort Point and many more.

For more information or to register, contact Mark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mark I. Nelson Bio

Mark Nelson, a photographer and master printmaker, working with platinum/palladium and photopolymer gravure processes, lives in Elgin, Illinois. He teaches workshops in both processes using the Precision Digital Negatives/Positives System, which he developed. These two processes provide a very broad palette to the artist/printmaker and are believed to be two of the finest printmaking methods available ever invented.

Most recently, Mark was a beta tester for the Hahnemühle Paper Company as they developed their Platinum Rag Paper, the finest paper available for Platinum/Palladium printing and many other Alternative Photographic Processes.

Mark was also the only beta tester for Mitsubishi in the development of they Ultra Premium Pictorico Film, which is Mark's personal choice for crafting his digital negatives.

He often tutors advanced photographers in their studio and creates “turn key” systems for printing these processes with the Precision Digital Negatives System. Mark has taught hundreds of artists his PDN workflow, including: Dick Arentz, Christina Anderson, Sam Wang, Sandy King, Josephine Sacabo, David Michael Kennedy, Beth Moon, and Brigitte Carnochan. He is often consulted for his expertise by master printmakers and has worked on special projects, including works by Sally Mann and Flor Garduño.

Mark has a really great approach to Platinum/Palladium printing that takes the guesswork out of the process. This gives the photographer a great deal of control over printmaking.

Mark has developed the Precision Digital Negatives system for making digital negatives and is author of Precision Digital Negatives for Silver and Other Alternative Photographic Processes. He created and wrote Curve Calculator II, the best possible way to easily generate curves for alternative process negatives or positives, and has also designed his own 31 step tablet. The Precision Digital Negatives Aquatint Screens are considered the best available. Mark tested over 20 formulas for Aquatint Screens before finally designing the Coarse, Medium and Fine Aquatint Screens he sells. These items are available on his website at: www.PrecisionDigitalNegatives.com.

Marks photography and writings have appeared in a number of magazines and books.

Mark is a knowledgeable teacher and problem-solver, whose patience and persistence allows even the most non-techie of artists (like myself) to grasp the principles of his process and to create images true to their artistic vision. It is a gift. —BRIGITTE CARNOCHAN

See www.PrecisionDigitalNegatives.com for more information.
or
Contact Mark at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested!}

I am currently scheduling private, one-on-one or small group workshops (1-3 people) on Crafting Custom Digital Negatives for beginners and advanced students. These workshops are usually at least 3 full days (depending upon the persons needs) in my home in Elgin, Illinois—just 20 minutes from Chicago's O'Hare airport. Private workshops are becoming very popular, so please contact me in well in advance if you are considering scheduling one.

I teach the PDN system with Platinum/Palladium and use Na2 as the method of contrast control. My workflow for Palladium printing is almost foolproof and produces beautiful, flawless prints. The outcome is very predictable and repeatable.

I provide all the materials, chemistry, and paper. The participant need only bring negatives or RAW camera files to work with. I scan with an Imacon 848 scanner and have a variety of printers to output negatives.

For beginners, I cover the entire book and usually the participant goes home with 5 or more very nice prints and a very concrete understanding of how to implement the PDN system at home with their equipment.

For advanced students, I cover methods of manipulating the negative and chemistry to achieve superior prints that match your vision. This also includes shadow printing, high key printing, print adjustment using a variety of hybrid curves, double hybrid curves and more amazing techniques!

I will also review portfolios and help the participant troubleshoot images that they have found difficult to print.

For advanced professional fine art photographers, I am also doing private workshops in their studio. The focus of these workshops & consultation is to assist them in the transition to digital negatives or to improve their capability with digital negatives in their own studio workflow. There are real advantages to being able to reproduce fine art work consistently and quickly in order to meet the demand for museum quality prints. You might call this a Turnkey approach to getting the most from digital negatives. I have worked with such artists as Dick Arentz, Josephine Sacabo, Beth Moon, Brigitte Carnochan and others.

Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you think you might benefit from one of these private workshops and we can discuss your needs over the phone.

DICK ARENTZ, author of Platinum and Palladium Printing:

I must say I was blown away! This method is everything that I have been preaching and more so!

The Late PHIL DAVIS, author of Beyond the Zone System:

Phil was kind enough to review the eBook for technical correctness—Mark, first let me congratulate you for having conceived and produced an ingenious control procedure for producing digital negatives. I’m impressed by both the concept and the thoroughness of your documentation. The palladium print made with the Precision Digital Negative process is gorgeous. I don’t see any way a silver negative could do a better job, in fact it would be hard to match this quality with a normal negative.

SANDY KING, educator, writer, photographer and master carbon printer:

I have used Mark Nelson’s PDN system for making digital negatives for printing with several different processes, including carbon. PDN has many advantages over other methods for making digital negatives, the most important of which is that it can be calibrated precisely for any process and printer output. Other popular methods for making digital negatives produce generic curves that work well enough, but without the flexibility and precision of PDN.

Another advantage of PDN is that it allows one to adjust the curve to exploit the full potential of a process to produce maximum possible Dmax in the shadows while still retaining texture in the highest highlights. Most of my work is done with large format cameras but my experience in almost every case is that I can make a print with greater Dmax and a wider range of tones by scanning my in-camera negatives and making a digital negative with PDN. The consistent printing qualities of digital negatives made with the PDN system has allowed me to be much more productive with a time-intensive process such as carbon.

I congratulate Mark for an outstanding system that has greatly facilitated my own work and has the potential to do so for many other photographers.

SAM WANG, Photographer and Photographic Educator at Clemson University:

I would compare Precision Digital Negatives to Phil Davis' Beyond the Zone System for film negatives. Both systems help free the serious worker from technical uncertainties so that creative energies may be spent on expressions instead.

AMY GEORGE, Photographer and Photographic Educator at Stephen F. Austin State University:

I was so impressed with the PDN system that I am now teaching a course based on the book. This system is particularly appealing because of its ease of use and versatility of application. But more importantly, it is tailored to the individual's workflow for optimal results.

CHRISTINA ANDERSON, Photographer and Photographic Educator at Montana State University:

I've taught PDN in my alternative processes class since 2006. Students begin calibrating black and white paper, then move on to cyanotype, gum bichromate, van dyke brown or argyrotype, and platinum.Errors that occur most always lead back to a workflow issue, easily discovered with the PDN system. PDN is also a great system to learn about a process. So many myths abound about alternative processes, and all it really takes is a simple step wedge, CDRP, and tonal palette to prove or disprove these myths.

Chapter IIntroduction

Chapter IIDigital Basics

Chapter IIIDigital Image Capture

Chapter IVDigital Image Preparation

Chapter VThe Precision Digital Negatives Process

Chapter VIAlternative Photographic Processes and Digital

Chapter VIIInkjet Negatives

Chapter VIIILaser and LED Negatives

Chapter IXImagesetter Negatives

Chapter XOutput Device Compared

Chapter XICalibration - Variables to Consider

Chapter XIIOverview of the Calibration Process

Chapter XIIICalibration - Step Tablets & Palettes

Chapter XIVCalibration - The Standard Printing Time

Chapter XVCalibration - Determining the Negative Density Range

Chapter XVICalibration—Determining The Custom Process Adjustment Curve for a Linearized Print

Chapter XVIIMaking a Digital Negative and a Print

Chapter XVIIIEvaluating the Print

Chapter XIXChemistry or Curve - When to Use One, the Other, or Both

Chapter XXThe Future

Appendix AGlossary of Terms

Appendix BSuggested Reading

Appendix CResources

Appendix DLinks

Precision Digital Negatives for Silver & Other Alternative Photographic Processes is an illustrated eBook that provides a wealth of information about how to fabricate digital negatives for contact printing with gelatin silver and any alternative photographic process.

The PDN System is designed to maximize the tonality and smoothness of your final prints.

The eBook comes in PDF format (138 pages) on a cdrom that also includes the Curve Calculator software (Excel Spreadsheet) and calibration palettes required for the Precision Digital Negatives System (PDN).

The eBook describes an ingenious new method - Color Density Range Control (Patented). Color Density Range Control is a method of matching the density range of the digital negative precisely to the exposure scale of any alternative process and/or contrast mix—before applying a Process Adjustment Curve. Thus the required adjustment curve is much less drastic and more image tones are preserved.

This is not just another "how to" book about making digital negatives—this is a SYSTEM that works extremely well.

The book takes you through image capture with scanner or digital camera, image file preparation, the PDN Calibration Steps, creating digital negatives with any output device, evaluation of the print, and troubleshooting problems with negatives and/or the alternative process. The book provides an understanding of how digital negatives really work and why they sometimes fail.

Camera Arts Magazine (Dec 2004/Jan 2005 Issue) has a nice article I wrote on Color Density Range Control. Back issues are available from the publisher at www.cameraarts.com

View Camera Magazine (November/December 2006) has a good article regarding the new Precision Digital Negatives software, CURVE CALCULATOR II.

In 2014 I released Curve Calculator III for the Mac Platform. Curve Calculator III is a standalone database program that stores all your calibration information in one place, allows you to view graphs of and compare density information from the 31 step tablet and Tonal Palettes, assists in determining Standard Printing Times, produces a family of Hybrid Curves for your alt process, exports the Photoshop Curves files, and provides many more great features. The CCIII program guides you through the calibration process with well defined steps utilizing the best practices for alternative process calibration.

CCIII has also been upgraded to better manage positive processes such as Photopolymer Gravure and Copper Plate Photogravure.

CCII is still available for Windows platforms.

For further information, see the Chapter Titles.

See also workshop information.

Welcome to the official website for the exciting new eBook on crafting digital negatives for contact printing!

CURVE CALCULATOR III for the Mac OS NOW AVAILABLE!!!!!!

Much More Than A Curve Generator! Check it Out!

PLEASE NOTE: CCIII requires an Activation Code to run. This will be sent to you via email from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The download key code will not activate CCIII.

Precision Digital Negatives for Silver & Other Alternative Photographic Processes, an eBook on crafting the best digital negatives possible!

The Precision Digital Negatives System is the finest SYSTEM available for crafting a digital negative. Using Photoshop and a good quality printer, the eBook gives instructions on file acquisition, working image files, making digital negatives & the calibration process that produces negatives custom tailored to your equipment, workflow and alternative process. The unique, patented, Color Density Range Control is a LOSSLESS method of tuning the negative to the requirements of your alternative process—resulting in far less drastic and less destructive adjustment curves. This system can do things that are impossible with any other system.

Users are also getting fantastic results with Photopolymer Gravure (or Solar Plates) using Precision Digital Positives.

NOW AVAILABLE! PDN Aquatint Screens for Photopolymer Gravure. (Some people are also getting good results with Traditional Copper Plate Photogravure & Intaglio Printmaking.) I have spent a year researching and developing these unique aquatint screens to achieve rich blacks, a long scale, smooth tones and great detail when using them to produce either polymer or copper plates. Aquatint Screens will be available in a variety of sizes and three grades: Fine, Medium & Coarse. Paul Taylor of Renaissance Press says these are the most beautiful screens he has ever seen! Using one of my screens with Toyobo KM73 plates from Anderson Vreeland, I am getting a very long, Platinum/Palladium like scale of 28+ steps on a 31 step tablet! (Shipping outside of the Continental United States by special arrangement only. Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information on this. Shipping and handling charges shown when ordering in the PDN store are for Continental United States Only!)

"Yesterday I used one of your aquatint screens for the first time at Our Darkrooms in London, England. I was amazed how much better the results were compared to my European purchased screens." —Tony

NOW AVAILABLE! Curve Calculator II For Windows - Much faster & easier! Not just an upgrade to the old Curve Calculator, CCII is a stand alone database with versions that work on either Windows or Mac (Leopard compatible) platforms. All of your calibration information can be kept in one place! CCII generates a family of hybrid curves for each of your alt process calibrations—choose the hybrid curve that is the most pleasing to your photographic vision and export it automatically in Photoshop curves file format. See my article on PDN, Curves, and Curve Calculator II in the November/December issue of View Camera Magazine. Curve Calculator II requires a standardized 31 step tablet.

Standard Film 31 Step Tablet If you do not have a standard 31-step tablet (a film sensitivity guide) for calibration, you will need one. A 31-step provides increased accuracy in calibration over the 21-step tablet. You can purchase one here that I have designed and is produced for PDN by Stouffers Industries—the price is very competitive and it has improved features that make it much easier to read the results. Note that the 31-step tablet will be required for Curve Calculator II.

Workshops by Mark Nelson Currently Available:

Precision Digital Negatives & Platinum/Palladium for Beginners
Precision Digital Negatives & Platinum/Palladium Advanced Printmaking Techniques
Precision Digital Positives & Photopolymer Gravure
Master Printmaking—Defining Your Signature Look & Learning How To Achieve This Vision in Your Printmaking

If you have any trouble ordering or using the shopping cart, please notify me immediately at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The shopping cart seems to prefer Microsoft EXPLORER or FIREFOX BROWSERS. Try switching browsers if you have problems.

Purchasing & Shipping information (for items that must be shipped) is provided for both the US and overseas.

Note: All items in the PDN Store are downloaded at the time of purchase, except for the Standardized 31 Step Tablet.

When ordering from outside the United States, you can choose any "state" and then correct any errors once you are switched to PayPal to finalize the order.

Thanks for visiting!

—Mark I. Nelson