Digital BW, The Print

Mitch,

I use MIS Ultratones to print black and white prints and have made 
similar conclusions that you mention using the Ultrachromes. Using a 
semigloss paper makes a remarkable difference in print quality when 
compared side by side to the same image printed on a matte paper. 
Yes, it is a matter of taste, but it is also a matter of physics that 
semigloss/glossy papers will be able to print with an expanded range 
and deeper blacks. 

As for the bronzing problem, have you tried using an overspray such 
as PremierArt spray? I have found this to virtually eliminate the 
problem when using the Ultratone inks, though it is somewhat 
dependent on the paper. I do not know if this would apply equally 
well to the Ultrachrome inks.
Also, have you tried using Epson Professional Glossy Paper (aka 
Glossy Paper Photo Weight in roll form)? I found this to have the 
least bronzing of any glossy paper for black and white prints. The 
print surface is almost exactly like a traditionally processed black 
and white fiber based print. I would prefer a thicker base with the 
same surface characteristics, but that doesn't seem to exist.

Dirk Hobman




--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Mitch Alland 
<malland@x> wrote:
> [Cross-posted from EpsonWideFormat group]
> 
> > What is the best paper for printing a fine art BW portrait on a 
7600
> > w photoblack ink?
> 
> >> Hahnemuhle Photorag.
> 
> >> Bam, I would guess that you should be using matte black rather 
than 
> >> photo black.  I print with a 7600 and UC inks with IP, on 
Somerset 
> >> velvet, and blacks look great.
> 
> What paper to use for printing B&W on a 7600 with Photo Black ink 
is 
> the big question as far as I am concerned. First the background: 
for 
> color in making 16x24 and 24x36 color prints for an exhibition I 
tried 
> both Photo Black and Matte Black inks and concluded that Photo 
Black on 
> Epson Semi-Matte paper looked substantially better than Matte Black 
on 
> Epson Enhanced Matte (EEM) or Photo Rag. Basically, while some 
people 
> are happy with matte paper prints, looking at prints of the same 
images 
> side-by-side, the Photo Black/Semi-Matte combination produces wider 
> gamut, better saturation, deeper blacks, broader dynamic range, 
> smoother tonal transitions and sharper prints than Matte Black with 
> matte paper. And the difference is not even close -- the Photo 
> Black/Semi-Matte prints are substantially better.
> 
> For B&W, my conclusions are similar: looking at the same photo 
printed 
> with Photo Black/Semi-Matte and with Matte Black/EEM shows that the 
> former produces deeper blacks, brighter highlights and smoother 
tonal 
> transitions (better gradation). The same photo printed with Photo 
> Black/EEM produces a flatter, muddier print than Matte Black/EEM, 
and 
> to me is not acceptable. (Incidentally, Matte Black looks 
substantially 
> better on EEM than on Photo Rag -- the fact that the Ultrachrome 
inks 
> don't look very good on Photo Rag has been confirmed by many other 
> people on this group and on the DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint goup.)
> 
> I know that many people are happy with and prefer to print B&W  on 
> matte papers and, while such prints are often beautiful they just 
are 
> not a "bright" and photographic as silver prints. There is nothing 
> remarkable in this statement: Ansel Adams in his book, The Print, 
> stated years ago that the brightness range of a print on glossy 
paper 
> is much greater than that on a matte paper, and that is why he 
> preferred the look of air-dried glossy prints. While inkjet prints 
on 
> matte paper can look very much like platinum prints, they look 
quite 
> different from silver prints on glossy air-dried paper.
> 
> In my view, Photo Black/Semi-Matte B&W come the closest to air-
dried 
> silver prints on glossy paper, but there is a big problem as these 
> prints show "bronzing" as you vary the angle at which light falls 
on 
> the paper or your angle of view. I am told that lamination 
eliminates 
> bronzing, and that prints framed under glass also don't show 
bronzing 
> but it's a problem to try to sell such a print if the buyer sees it 
> before it is under glass. Now, if I could only find a paper like 
> Semi-Matte than prints with Photo Black without bronzing...
> 
> --Mitch/Bangkok