Digital BW, The Print

I am in the midst of planning a couple portfolios to be printed on 
Epson Hot Press Natural.  I did a preliminary test and indeed the dmax is lowered...as in 1.64 lowered to 1.58 approximately after spraying with PremierArt PrintShield.  Dissappointing, as there certainly could be long term advantages to spraying prints. 

It seemed to me that spraying would be a good idea for prints that will be handled...though I plan to use interleaving sheets to hopefully reduce abrasion issues.

Premier told me to expect an increase in Dmax...you guys said it would lower it.  Your information appears more accurate.

I love the HPN due to its lovely deep blacks...so it seems a pity to ruin them by spraying if it is ultimately not necessary. 

Sooooo.....what are others opinions...ie would I be ok to not spray...and assume viewers will be careful?  Every once in a while, I notice that the deepest blacks using Eboni can rub off a bit with rough handling.  I assume the spray would help this occasional issue.

I can see the spray does a good job of eliminating bronzing on lustre papers...but I really like the Matte for presentation prints.  So I am very dissappointed that the dmax is reduced.

I found a couple old posts suggesting a couple coats of Lascaux then a coat of PrintShield.  Any folks doing this and successfully retaining the dmax.

Thanks for any additional information or suggestions....

Phil