Digital BW, The Print

Are you now more motiviated to use Alpha Cellulose paper versus 
cotten for most applications?

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Clayton Jones" 
<cj@c...> wrote:
> Hello All,
> 
> A few days ago I mentioned the Innova Fiba Photo paper (IFP).  It's
> very good and renders Eboni ink quite warm, similar to EEM and PR. 
> It's the thickest alpha cellulose paper I've tested, most luxurious
> feel of them all - only drawback is a pronounced curvature.  
Excellent
> Dmax and very smooth surface that makes BO look smoother.  Top notch
> paper.  
> 
> However, I prefer a more neutral tone and so have been trying other
> samples.  Here's what I found so far:
> 
> Legion Photo Matte (LPM) - nice cool tone similar to Condor, 
excellent
> Dmax, smooth hard surface which makes BO prints look smoother, but 
has
> two drawbacks: a blueish cold-white paper color that is a bit harsh
> and unattractive, and it compresses the low shadow zones beyond what
> can be rescued with a curve - requires a lot of fiddling and you 
never
> quite get what you want.  Frustrating to use because of this.
> 
> Kayenta Photo Matte by Moab (KPM)- THE WINNER!  Has all the positive
> attributes of LPM, with a slightly warmer, very attractive paper 
color
> and actually opens up the shadow zones a bit more than EEM.  There's
> more: it has a contrast curve very close to EEM, which means we can
> print directly to it without adjustment curves.  It's also 2-sided,
> lies perfectly flat, and is relatively inexpensive ($19.95/50 at
> Adorama).  Has a fine balance between ink and paper color, and is
> producing beautiful prints. Been using it for 2 days now and am
> delighted.  Is proving to be economical in time as well as $.
> 
> Green Pix by Red River (GPX) - slightly cooler than EEM but still
> looks warm, lower contrast so will need an adjustment curve.  Not
> as nice a balance between ink/paper colors.  Good Dmax, but not
> excellent.  Surface not as smooth, so BO prints look grainier.  Does
> not make my A-List.
> 
> Grayhawk I by Hawk Mtn (GHK) - Ditto everything said about GPX.  
Very
> close match.
> -------------------------------
> 
> So the two winners IMO are Innova Fiba for warm tone and Moab 
Kayenta
> for cool tone.
> 
> I also did some research on alpha cellulose paper and found this web
> site with a good concise explanation of what it is and why it's
> considered as archival as cotton papers:
> 
>   http://www.artpaper.com/news.html
> 
> Here's a quote:
> 
> "High Alpha Cellulose - a very pure form of wood pulp which is
> considered to have the same longevity as cotton or other plant
> fibers."
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm