Digital BW, The Print

daniel- excuse me for not reading the replies b4 replying myself, 
but I think you problem is that you're looking for a traditional B&W 
look from a digital capture. Unlike film, digital capture has a 
completely linear exposure curve; films typically have an S curve. 
So, is applying an S curve with Curves you are, in effect, 
replicating the look of film and thats where your solution lies.