CCC Forum

I have found this link which summarises a number of options for doing mono conversions. It includes a technique which uses a Gradient Map Adjustment Layer, something which is often not mentioned in other articles I have seen about converting to black and white. The downside for Photoshop Elements users is that not all these methods are available. The Channel Mixer and Lab Mode options do not exist and the Black and White Adjustment Layer is replaced by a Convert to Black and White tool that operates in a manner similar to Channels by manipulating the intensity of Red, Green and Blue, as well as having a function to change contrast which is not included in Channels.

My comments about Photoshop Elements refer to version 9, which is what I own. It is possible that Adobe has made changes in the later versions, so if someone has either of these and there are differences, feel free to chime in.

http://www.photoshopstar.com/basics/convert-photos-black-and-white/

I have Elements 11 but do my mono conversion in LR. The LR conversion tool is excellent but recently I've been using Gavin Seim's Silver Shadows 2 pre-sets, which I can highly recommend.

Silver Efex Pro 2, which I use, gets good reviews, but it is expensive at around the quarter of the cost for the full vesrion of Photoshop. I can also attest that the LR mono conversion works well and it comes with a number of presets.

http://prophotoshow.net/seim_effects/

You can download some free sample sets to try out.
His Power worklow set is great too.

A while back I was recommending Luminous Landscape's "Camera to Print and Screen" video tutorial, which is currently on special offer with a 25% reduction. One of the segments is free to view and is about black and white conversion in Lightroom using only the tools provided by the application. It's well worth a look.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/bw_workflow_in_lightroom.shtml