Digital BW, The Print

My opinion comes from printing the same image, same settings,
consecutivelly on different papers. All from using 1280 with VM and
FSN-E inks but on various papers. 

I have to struggle to find any difference between HWM and EEM. And in
most cases, I like the HWM better because my HWM is visibly brighter
than my EEM. (others reach different conclusions)It seems to me that
PhotoRag is very slightly better than either in DMax and shadows. But,
not enough to justify the 5X price. (others have differnt
conclusions)I also have Crane Museo, similar to PhotoRag but a bit too
cream colored for most of my images. 

None of the papers give really good blacks that you'd rave about. I
think that's a function of pigment based inks. You need a ink with
some dye for some improvement there. Jerry Olson raves about Gen 4
black, others worry about the dye component fading.

My suggestion is beg, borrow or steal a few sheets of each. (Buy small
quantities is all else fails) Print the same images on various papers.
Indicate on the BACK what paper it is and put them away for a day or
so. Then pull them out and evaluate the prints honestly before looking
at what paper they are on. Ask someone else to evaluate them if you
can. THEN make a decision which paper is best for your needs. You may
find your needs differ from mainstream thinking on this discussion
group. I ended up printing 98% of my images on HWM, FWIW. 

Also, I don't have a clogging problem. Never had anything that a
cleaning cycle wouldn't cure. 

Bob Michaels

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Ed Mathews"
<ed@l...> wrote:
> Hi Group,
>      For about a month now I've been learning printing with MIS VM on my
> 1280 (which seems to clog and unclog just often enough to make me keep
> it and not send it back yet).  Up until now I've been using Epson HWM
> because it's cheap, and I'm learning.  I've found the highlights are
> good, the midtones are fair, and the blacks are very poor.  Overall,
> it's just OK.  Also, I still see some matamerism in the form of a very
> slight bit of a greenish hue under direct sun and some fluorescent
> lights.
>      Can someone recommend a paper that would be a step up, but not a
> waste of my money at my early leaning stage?  I'm looking for a deeper
> black and to eliminate the slight greenish cast in sunlight.
> 
> Thanks,
> Ed
> http://lightandsilver.com