Digital BW, The Print

Epson UltraSmooth has been released by Epson as PremierArt Matte Scrapbook
Photo Paper -- and at a reasonable price.  See

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductMediaSpec.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&i
nfoType=Overview&oid=-11066&category=Paper+%26+Media

I have some and it prints just like the "UltraSmooth" that I'd previously
been sent.

The lack of optical brighteners and flaking are especially notable.

Permajet has also sent me some papers.  They now have a winner which was
labeled "ISC" in the box I received.  It may be the best paper I've ever
used.  It is said to be cotton, buffered, and have no optical brighteners.
I have had not flaking with it yet, and it's dmax is the best of the cotton
papers, equaling EAM at 1.67 (Eboni & 1280), and beating PhotoRag (1.66) and
PremierArt/UltraSmooth (1.61).

The paper whites measure as follows with my X-Rite (in C, M, Y, Visual
order) order:

EAM:		5, 5, 3, 5;

PhotoRag	3, 4, 3, 3;

PremierArt	2, 3, 4, 2;

ISC		3, 5, 7, 4.

While the PremierArt measures as having the brightest visual density, I find
PhotoRag looks the "whitest."  PremierArt and ISC both appear to me to be
about the same, and I prefer their creamier look next to the Light
Impressions Exeter "Gallery White" mat board I use.  The papers that do not
use the optical brighteners should be free of the yellowing I see in fade
testing the optically brightened papers.

Epson claims its PremierArt paper is the most archival it has.

I think buffered cotton papers, especially with no optical brighteners, take
us to an archival status that now exceeds the wet-process, older
technologies.  "Carbon on cotton" is the new mantra.

We have some very fine papers here.

To complement them and get the best inks to the scrapbook and genealogist
fans (or others who want to print from a non-Photoshop application), I've
sent MIS the mix for a pure carbon UT inkset that prints in the 1280 with no
need for Photoshop.  I'll also try to get the same capability to the
cheapest feasible Epson printer to open this up to the widest possible
audience.  This is a monotone, straight UT warm-gray ink that has no toner
and is not variable.  I think the carbon tone is ideal for old photo
reproductions.  Since it has no color pigments in it, it will probably be
the most stable and archival ink.  (The standard UT inkset is still what I
recommend for Photoshop users.  With the warm curve, it is essentially the
same as the "no-workflow" UT carbon inkset.)

Paul
http://www.PaulRoark.com