Digital BW, The Print

Hello All,

The purpose of this is a search for a replacement for PhotoRag.  I
love everything about PR except for the flaking.  Even though I rub
the paper and use DustOff religiously, there is still the occasional
flake that ruins a print with a solid black background (of which I
have quite a few).  Wasted time, ink, and paper.   I would love to
find a substitute.

Here is the result of a paper test of Epson Velvet Fine Art (VFA) and
Premier Hot Press (PHP), as compared to PhotoRag (PR), using Eboni ink
with BO printing (Eboni looks different on different papers).

Paper Color -
VFA - Bright white, similar to PR.    
PHP - Slightly warmer than PR (has no OBA's)

Eboni Ink Color - 
VFA - Much warmer than on PR, almost as warm as Matte Black ink on EEM
PHP - Slightly warmer than on PR (not much).

Note: so here we have a warmer paper color with a cooler ink color
(PHP compared to VFA).  Very interesting.


Texture - 
VFA - A mildly textured paper            
PHP - As smooth as PR to the touch, but in a different way.  Looks
pebbly under the loupe, where PR looks smoother.

Affect on BO mid-tone dots - 
VFA - midtones appear grainier than on PR
PHP - midtones appear grainier than on PR, similar to VFA

Contrast - 
VFA - Very similar to PR.
PHP - Less than PR, print looked weaker, but was able to correct it
easily with an adjustment curve.

Note: An advantage of using PR for final prints when using EEM for
proofs is that little if any change is needed to the image.  Using PHP
for final images means an adjustment curve must be applied every time.

Dmax (eyeball estimate)
VFA - A bit less than PR, but looks excellent.
PHP - Very close to PR, very slightly less, if any.

Over all look and feel - 
VFA - In some ways looks richer with more depth than PR.  Very pretty,
but I don't care for the warmer ink tone and the texture is
distracting.  I prefer a smooth surface.  Too bad, because it's
beautiful stuff.  I may use it for certain images.
PHP - Much closer to PR look and feel, but needs contrast
curve tweaks to match PR.  Prints still have that beautiful BO
luminance, even with out the OBAs.  Also, PHP is printable on both
sides.

Bottom Line - 
So far, PHP is the winner.  I don't mind the slightly warmer paper (no
OBAs, many think this is a plus), because it stays close to Eboni's
cooler ink tone on PR.  It's really nice.  

I'm still looking, any suggestions?


Regards,
Clayton

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