Digital BW, The Print

I've been printing for the past few weeks with a new 4800 on Epson Premium Semi Matte 
with the full Epson ink set (photo black), using the Advanced Black and White feature on 
the Epson driver. Prior to that I was using the Epson UT inks with Mk through QTR on the 
2200 with Moab Entrada paper. I am extremely pleased with the 4800 prints on Premium 
Semi Matte. I've been using some of my better darkroom prints as a guide. These are on 
Agfa Classic warmtone, a tone I come quite close to with the following settings in ABW:

V = 4
H = 4
Shadows = -15
Highlights = 10.

I've also used the more sepia tone settings suggested in the earlier discussion on this 
forum by Douglas Meeuwsen regarding the replication of Lenswork tones (see message 
65343). I made a note that the settings in this message were later modified by him to

V = 15
H = 15
Shadows = -15
Highlights = 10

That's a nice setting for some images.
All this, I believe, applies as well to the 2400 and the other ABW printers in this series.

I guess I should mention that these are scanned medium format black and white 
negatives. I haven't printed anything yet in this system from my Nikon D70.
At the moment I'm more limited by my Photoshop skills than by the printing technology.

If I go back to using the Matte Black on the watercolor papers, like Entrada, my guess is 
that I will continue to use QTR even on the 4800. QTR is a great RIP, but so far I have been 
pleased with ABW using the photo black ink. My reading of the discussion on this forum is 
that the ABW feature of the Epson driver does not work as well with Mk as it does with Pk. 
Premium semi matte is a beautiful paper but it does require Pk. I'm hoping that Epson will 
modify this paper to give it more of a fiber paper feel. In a mat and behind glass, even now 
I not sure you could tell the difference.

The last issue you raised in your email about Eboni: I haven't used it, but I think it is 
designed to substitute for the Epson Mk not Pk. I may be wrong.

Hope this helps.

Richard Goldman
Boston/Taos