Digital BW, The Print

Jerry,

You wrote:

>Paul, are you saying Krylon Crystal clear spray on pigment inks on
>Uncoated papers will enhance the d max?

No, I just use the Krylon to fix the pigs to the paper so they don't smear
when the water-based coating is applied with a rod.  On uncoated paper a
light Krylon spray is needed; it is not needed on coated inkjet paper.

Once the pigs are "fixed," then one coat gives about 2.3 and a second coat
is now over 2.5.

Like with wood, the first coat(s) "raise the grain" (or in this case
paper/cotton fibers).  Since we can't sand between coats, I found that the
dry mount press (with a release sheet) does the same thing.

The bottom line is that Arches HP gives a fantastic dMax and has a beautiful
finish.  The problem (though it less than with Stonehenge) is that the
prints have a graininess to them that is too much for my tastes.

So, unless there is an uncoated paper that prints smoother than Arches HP,
I'll probably stick with coated paper such as Eclipse or EAM.

Right now, my favorite paper for image quality, ease, and no post-processing
is EAM -- as usual.

If I want to coat a paper to get a high dMax I think Eclipse with a single
coat is my top contender.  The paper base stays nice and white, the dMax
hits 2.3, and the finish is a nice satin -- not too shiny.  Such a print in
a non-glazed frame could be very impressive.  (And I really don't like the
reflections of glass over the image, though it is the standard for display
B&W photos.)  The only disadvantage of the Eclipse with the 3000 is that it
is showing the pizza wheel tracks.  (I've never bothered to remove them.)

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com