Digital BW, The Print

> .. talked with reps from Hawk Mtn ... Hahnemuhle and Red River...

> 
> 1.  The [paper type] setting is mostly about ink load and the 
> differences among the matte paper type settings in this regard 
> is very slight.


> 2.  The "fine art" papers all require a coating (at least for
> pigments) and the differences in the coatings are very slight in
> terms of ability to handle ink load.

Some of the cheaper matte papers are the ones that will need a lower load.
On older printers the Photo Quality Inkjet paper setting was the one to try
if the blacks looked mottled or the 95% step was not lighter than the 100%
step.

> 3.  No one ... uses the EEM for anything.  Like Diana, I find 
> the prints on this paper muddy (or dull) and the blacks uneven.

That depends on the printer and black ink.  I find EEM to be the standard in
terms of dmax and image quality on many printers.  I'm sure the competitors
hate it.

> ...

> 6.  There was a great deal of admiration for Epson's ability to
> match printers to their papers and ink (or vice versa) and one rep
> said, "We can't do work of that precision."  Epson's dithering is
> also admired.

That's why I like to use the Epson driver.  It's a very stable and good
piece of software that is very well matched to the specific printer.  I
think Premier Art is benefiting from being the apparent supplier of
UltraSmooth.  PremierArt 205 appears to use essentially the same coating as
UltraSmooth.  

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com