Digital BW, The Print

Hello Don,

> I've been reading here for a few weeks and keep noticing people 
> refering to "Photo Rag" paper.  Is this a brand name for a favorite 
> paper here?  I expect Rag refers to 100% cotton based fiber (at 
> least it does in the fine art world) but am wondering if there are 
> some particular brands etc. which are recommended.  Thanks for any 
> clarification.

Photo Rag (PR) is one of several papers produced by the Hahnemuhle
company in Germany.  It is 100% cotton and is widely considered one of
the best, if not _the_ best.  It has been around a long time and is
pretty much the standard to which others are compared.

One of its redeeming qualities is that it prints very much like Epson
Enhanced Matte (EEM), which is a less expensive wood pulp paper
commonly used for proofing.  Many people work up their images using
EEM and then make final prints on PR with minor, if any, adjustments.
 

There are some new papers emerging which are as good (according to
early reports, I haven't tried them myself).  Perhaps some of those
users will want to jump in here and add to this...

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm