Digital BW, The Print

Hello Walt,

>after testing the HPR/Red River Dourian

Did you get the same measurememnts on these?


>I have heard suggested that the USFA is actually Premeier Hot 
>Press Fine Art,

Same here, but I have only tested PHP (with slightly different
results, see below).


>USFA - does not have nearly the dmax of the VFA...but approximately 
>the dmax of HPR...
>In looking at just the shadow areas of the USFA and HPR, they are 
>essentially indistinguishable.  Neither has the very strong blacks 
>of the VFA and this is a very apparent difference visually.
>Note that all my work is done with the K3 inks.

In my visual comparisons of HPR, VFA and PHP I get slightly different
results (VFA and HPR both in the 5 group with PHP lagging behind in
the 4 group).  I'm wondering if the difference is because PHP is
actually different than USFA or because I use a different ink (Eboni
BO) for my tests...or maybe just differences in production batches
(because my VFA and HPR look about the same).

Anyway, the PHP I tested is very bright as you say for USFA,
remarkable for a non-OBA paper.  Nice stuff.  A lot of people favor it.

In a similar vein, I recently took a chance on a box of Merlin Natural
because I was impressed with it's look last summer when I reviewed it.
It turns out to work really nicely with K3 inks and I have moved it
to my A-List.  In particular, at ABW 2h,10v it resembles my old
favorite darkroom paper, Ilford MGFB II.  By itself a print looks
neutral, but put it next to a cold tone print and you see it's slight
warmpth.  I loved that paper and this is the closest I've come to it's
look so far.  Also, at ABW 0h,0v, it comes as close to a true
uncolorized neutral black as I've seen so far on any paper (an elusive
goal with K3)...Hmmm, I just had a thought: maybe that's why it seems
like such a good fit with K3 inks; if the neutral setting gives a
truly neutral tone then maybe somehow it's in synch with the K3 system
(I always use the VFA paper setting).  What do you think?  Anyway,
it's really nice stuff and I'm looking forward to doing more work with
it. 

I'm appreciating more and more ABW's ability to so easily fine tune
the tone.  I'm finding that every paper has it's "sweet spot", a
setting that is particularly harmonious and photographically
convincing.  Sometimes changing just a single ABW unit makes a big
difference and some obvious tinge disappears (sometimes I think single
ABW units are too coarse, and wish we could enter decimal values like
12.3).

I know these aesthetic things are hard to describe and probably
aren't quantifiable, but Merlin Natural seems to fit more comfortably
with K3 inks than some other papers do.  With some it's been a
struggle to find a good ABW setting that really clicks into place (for
example I have yet to find a setting for Condor BW that I'm fully
satisfied with).  Are you experiencing this?

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm