Digital BW, The Print

---- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., chameleon@i... wrote:
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., " Ruhrfoto/Bernd L." 
> <ruhrfoto@y...> wrote:


> > Photo Rag has abot 97 to 98 % without  using brighteners.
> > Bernd


Robert Rex from Crane :
> Although i have not seen and tested this particular sheet, it 
would 
> surprise me if this particular 100% cotton sheet has a 
brightness 
> rating of 97-98 WITHOUT optical brighteners.  Most of the other 
> digital art papers we have done competitive testing on here in 
our 
> labs DEFINITELY have optical brightening agents (OBA) in the 
sheet, 
> and this includes Torchon, German Etching, and William 
Turner.  
> It is true that OBA are not stable and may effect the print over 
> time.  in my very humble opinion, i would personally be careful 
of 
> using sheets with OBA for my prints.  

> robert rex
> (already hired by crane) ;)


Sorry,
I have to apologize.
I discussed this color issue of Photo Rag with the Hahnemuhle 
people when I got my first "final paper" pack and was surprised 
that it was significantly brighter than my former test sheets. They 
told me on the phone that they decided to make it brighter in the 
last minute before starting to produce large quantities.
This H. representant told me something about 97-98% 
brightness without OBAs. 
As I am no chemist and don´t know the Hahnemule recepies I 
phoned him again today - after heaving read Robert´s posting, 
and he apologized to have messed something up: 97-98 % is 
the brightness of W. Turner. He scales Photo Rag in this range, 
but was not sure about the exact data. He will provide data later 
after having talked with the chemists.  

As I´m no Torchon fan, I didn´t compare it with Photo Rag 
directly.
If I do it now, I would say Photo Rag is not quite as white as 
Torchon (daylight comparison by eyeball) so its measured 
brightness should be a bit less than 98% but significantly more 
than GE which has about 92%
In regard of the OBA thread - I only can tell the claims of H., hope 
to get an official statement soon.

Bernd