Achieving a good black and white image on color paper is possible, but is rather difficult, requiring a technician with a good eye for color, and the effort required to do so is rarely worth it for 4x6 proof prints. In my experience with c-41 B&W films, it's best to regard the prints that come back with the film as proofs, and to have and "real" prints you have done, printed on real B&W paper, which will of course give a 'true' black and white. BTW, ilford Xp films aren't really designed to print on color paper, they're designed to print easily on traditional B&W paper, hence the opinions you've gotten from lab managers who's job it is to print them on color paper. As a side note, even silver prints are not strictly black and white, there are warm tone, cold tone papers, and numerous toners that are used to affect the color of the prints. As for labs to do C-41 B&W prints, since I don't use the prints for anything more than proofs, my only requirement is that I trust them not to scratch the negs, which does rule out _many_ consumer labs.
Peter
|
