photoshopHelp

Duotone Channels

I use Duotones to make great black and white digital ink jet prints. If you want to output your file to a professional 4-color printer, you may want to take a look at the color plates. Since a duotone has only one channel, you'll need to convert the file to Multichannel mode first.

Open a Duotone in Photoshop.
Choose Windows > Channels
The Duotone consists of a single channel.
Choose Image > Mode > Multichannel
The single color channel is converted to multiple spot color channels.
Select each individual channel to review its contents.
Choose Edit > Undo Multichannel to revert back to Duotone mode.

Be Free

When it comes to Duotones, you don't need to stick with the color presets.
Open the Duotone Options dialog box.
Choose Image > Mode > Duotone
The Duotone Options dialog box appears.

Select the Duotone Type: eg. select tritone to create a black and white image using 3 inks.
Click the solid color swatch next to the ink to choose a specific color.
Click the small line graph to open a Curve editor specific to each ink.

Once you have found the settings that meet your needs, save them by clicking the Save button. That way you can recall your custom settings at any time in the future.

Black and White Interrupted

Erik writes,

I've read the posts on basic conversion to B & W with channel mixer or Grayscale.  My question is how to achieve the sepia or chromed look of Richard Avedon's portraits.  A recent example of this style is a portrait by Eugene Richards on page 23 of the August 1-8, 2005 issue of New York magazine.  Is this possible with digital, or only in the realm of film?

Anything is possible Erik. Including the digital reproduction of a photographic effect such as the one you speak of on page 23. Since I don't have the magazine in front of me, I will show you where to find the paths to heightened black and white awareness. You must select which path to take. (When did this become photoshopZen? It's Saturday. I'm having fun...) We're talking Duotones.

Convert your RGB file to Grayscale mode.
Choose Image > Mode > Grayscale
The file is converted to a black and white.
Choose Image > Mode > Duotone
The Duotone Options dialog box appears.
Click the Type: dropdown menu to select whether to represent your image with one ink (monotone), 2 inks (duotone), 3 inks (tritone) or 4 four inks (quadtone). We'll start by making a simple duotone using some of the pre-sets Adobe has provided.
Select Duotone.
By default your Duotone will consist of two inks, black and white.
Click the Load button to load one of the pre-sets that have been provided.
The Load dialog box appears.
Double-click the Duotones folder to open it.
Double-click the Grey-Black Duotones folder to open it.
Double-click any of the .ado files to load any one of the two ink sets.
Using Duotones you can experiment with cooler and warmer ink sets which will yield richer prints with more depth and character.
Experiment.

Black and White Conversion

Nancy asks,

What's the best way to change a digital color photo from my digital camera to black and white?

With Photoshop, of course. There are lots of ways to convert RGB files to Grayscale. My favorite is the Channel Mixer. (For complete control create a Color Mixer adjustment layer)
Choose Layer > Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer...
Name the Adjustment Layer , click OK.
The Channel Mixer dialog box appears,
Select the Monochrome option to change the Output to a single grayscale channel. Drag the Red, Green, and Blue sliders to mix the information from each individual channel.
Mix until satisfied.
Click OK.