Digital BW, The Print

Epson Velvet Fine Art produced excellent blacks and (surprisingly?) 
also the best shadow detail.  The prints also had a certain 
translucency. smoothness and "depth" that none of the other papers 
had.  Epson Matte Heavyweight was similar to EEM, but lacked the 
clarity and tonal scale and I've eliminated that too.  It seemed dull. 
So, I've settled on the EEM and Velvet (the first for proofing and the 
second for printing).  I wish the Velvet were a little smoother (in 
surface) but I don't really see any detail obfuscation because of the 
surface.  So, my actual experience was a surprise becase, by 
reputation, I expected to settle on the Hahnemuhle PR.  The HPR seemed 
ordinary to me (in terms of gray scale, although the black was as good 
as the Velvet) and I also had a "droput" problem with it: occassional, 
small white specks which were not printed.  I had this problem with no 
other papers I tried.

Finally:  Each of the papers required slight adjustments in the ABW 
driver for contrast, brightness and shadow to match the EEM paper (and 
thus the monitor).  Ink flow adjustments did not seem to help, but the 
CBS adjustments were quite effective.  I also specified a one second 
delay in the "Ink" dialogue for all papers (but I'm wondering if this 
is necessary).

So, what do others think about these results and about my approach to 
establishing a reliable (or relatively reliable) workflow.  I'd 
appreciate any advice, suggestions or comments.

Many thanks to all.