All of my black & white photographs are taken using black & white film. Color film printed on black & white paper does not have the same tonal quality as a true black & white film.  Another benefit of black & white film is that it will last much longer than color film, this includes C-41/color-based "black & white" film. Color, whether it is color film or a color print, has organic materials in its composition. These organic materials degrade over time and cause numerous problems. Color film will fade, color shift and even crack over time.

Black & white prints that are silver based do not have this problem, since there is no organic material in there composition. I personally print all of my own black & white enlargements. Not only do I use silver-based materials but I also take it one step further by selenium or sepia-toning each print for even greater permanence.

Sepia toning (giving the print a rustic, reddish/brown hue) a black & white print should be done through a chemical process, in a traditional wet darkroom. Color prints that have an overall sepia tone are still just color prints. To be a true sepia print, a black & white print should be chemically toned.

There are two basic types of enlarging paper used to make black & white prints. They are RC(resin coated) and fiber. RC has a paper interior surrounded by a plastic coating. This makes processing much quicker since the chemicals cannot soak into the base of the paper itself. Fiber based papers do not have this plastic coating and therefore take much longer to fully process to archival standards. The benefit of fiber is that only archivally processed fiber-based papers have been proven to last over 200 years. Why would you want a print that lasts this long?... Well, it also means that each print will keep its original appearance much, much longer than other types of prints. When you open your wedding album in 20, 30 and 40 years from now, those black & white prints will still have the luster and contrast as the day I printed them.

Another difference between RC and fiber is that I straight print all RC type papers but for fiber I will dodge/burn/etc. until the print is to my satisfaction. Dodging lets you lighten specific tonal areas, while burning lets you darken. These and other techniques, used for fiber-based prints, yield photographs that are balanced and show the finest tonality possible.

Hand-printed black & white enlargements using fiber-based papers ensure the highest quality, both in artistic vision and print longevity. This is a labor intensive and time consuming process. If you demand the highest quality and want your photographs to last for generations, this is one of the many options that you have available.