Digital BW, The Print

I've done a number of tests with my favourite rag and dual rag media, including all the 
Hahnemuhle I use and the Ultrasmooth has no ink transfer in a bound book situation when 
sprayed with either Premier Art, Lyson Printguard, or Lascaux. Actually there is no transfer 
that I have seen with this paper even when not sprayed.

All the other rag media I tested did have some black ink transfer over time with 
compressed under weight against a pure white sheet sprayed and unsprayed.

The great thing about Ultrasmooth ( Premier Art hotpress) to me is is durability. I belive 
they worked hard on this. I like that coating for tonal characteristics also. It  has the most 
scuff and scratch resistant surface that I know of, similar to Somerset but with a better 
tonal rendition, black, and smooth texture. It's only possible downside to me is its slightly 
less brilliant appearance in the hightlights becaue it is a natural color paper without 
optical brighteners.

 But like Paul said, that might make it more permanent in the long run. This is an issue 
that I would LOVE to know with more clarity. I stumble whenever I try to explain it to 
clients- the actual fade differences between 100% high-end rag papers with and without 
OB's?  Are there any actual tests to refer to? I think a lot of us are confused about the real 
differences and what we should be doing regarding this . I use them all these days. I spray 
all my papers that contain obs. I also know that all the old fiber darkroom prints had obs, 
but because of the surface of coated inkjet media, that may be mixing apples and oranges 
to discuss them in the same context.

John


wrote:
> I have used UltraSmooth from a roll for a couple of years.  While the dmax
> is less than the best acid free papers, I generally like it, and it does
> very well in fade tests.  My conclusions are that it is basically the same
> as PremierArt Fine Art Hot Press.  See the specs at
> http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/pdf/media/Premier_Art_Hot_Press.pdf
> and compare them to the new Epson sheets.
> 
> Paul
> www.PaulRoark.com 
> ____________________________
> 
> -