Digital BW, The Print

Colin,

You wrote, in part:

>...
>I'm going to call a halt to messing about with glossy papers, ...

I'm holding off on doing much more either.  Overall, the RC papers seem to
have way too many problems.  Matte paper in some frame with acrylic, in a
mylar sleeve, or just lightly sprayed with an acrylic protective coating
just looks better and is much more reliable to use, in my view.

> I learnt long ago that a print on matt black mat always
>appears to have a good Dmax in comparison.

That is one of the ironies of all this.  The densitometers give the RC
papers an advantage, but in real viewing with most lighting, the reflections
usually make the matte papers look better, with deeper blacks.

>...  You warned me off the Ultratones with the 1160 ...

I did?  I think the Ultra Tones on the 1160 and, now, 1280 are great.  The
RC papers just are not up to the job for any pigments, in my opinion.  The
only thing those switching to the UT inkset need to know is that if dyes
were used in the printer, they probably should wash the parking pad with
Windex to stop any possible dye-Eboni reaction that might cause nuisance
clogs.

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com