i would like to get into digital negative printing but i have absolutely no idea where to start. could anyone point me to a good newbie guide?
I am not sure there is a single megathread here that addresses all aspects of making a digital negative. You will find threads that address pieces of the overall process. For example, there is one for how to automate making of the "correction curve" using a Photoshop script called ChartThrob.
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/chartthrob-v1-01.149167/
For overviews, I have these links bookmarked (that are not gone defunct):
Christina Anderson and Ron Reeder:
http://www.alternativephotography.com/digital-negatives/
(there are more articles on alternativephotography.com that you can check out by doing a search.)
Will Salley:
George Smyth:
http://glsmyth.com/articles/creating-the-digital-negative.pdf
These might be good places to start. I am sure there are more that others can point to.
Ultimately, you will have to tailor the process for your need and circumstances. When it comes to that, feel free to follow up here for the forum's collective wisdom....
Good luck.
:Niranjan.