Digital BW, The Print

Here are my impressions of the Silver Rag paper. Sorry for my bad english! Hope you can 
read it anyway.


a� what printer did you test the paper on
I used a Epson Photo R800
b� what inks were you using
The orginal epson ink set
c� was the image monochrome or colour
Both
d� when the image is compared with a control print say on your usual gloss paper was the 
shadow and highlight detail as defined and how did the image compare regarding colour 
saturation.

see text�

I whant to thank Crane for finaly having made a brayete like ink-jet paper. My first 
imprission was that now I am agen making photographs. I am an artist photographer who 
is making artbooks and exhibitions (www.30bytaik.com go to artist and my name). I used 
to make all my works on Agfa Racord-rapid or protriga or thiere multigrade bryate papers 
but due to allergi to kemicals I was forsed to stop traditnel darkrom work. Sinse then I 
have made my exhibitions prints on lamda prints and I never realy liked the matrials as the 
endure paper is norma RC plastic prints and has not the fill of a fine print. now in a few 
years I have made my exhibitions prints on Hanem�lle photo rag but but have missed the 
depth and photographic feel of the deep blacks. The epson premiar gloss has a beutifull 
deph and tonalyty but has a feel of real plastec and the reflections are like a mirror. I feel 
the new Silver rag combine what I have missed: the feel of the rag paper and the tonalyty 
of the RC glossy paper. I have comparied the same paper to epson premiar gloss and the 
Silver rag has a very similar depth but much better becrouce its looks like the ink is in the 
paper and therefore it gets a depth the the epson premiar gloss miss. It look very cheep 
and the Silver Rag looks like and real art print. I like very much the color feel as is a new 
thing to have a bryate color print in your hands. The bace color of the paper is very 
beutifull very similar to normaly Rag paperes like photo rag. The RC paperes like epson 
premiar gloss looks blues whrite and I never liked this blues plastic bace. I even gave it a 
yello bace color earliger on. When I comepere to test prints from epson premiar gloss and 
Silver Rag printed with same profile they look very very similar colorwice. The shadow and 
higlight details are idintical. The dmax could even be higher as the ink look as it went 
inside the paper and when look in very bright light it looks just deeper veres the epson 
premiar gloss looks less deep in very strong light. The epson premiar gloss are soehow 
sharper. I have diffents grainy parts in my test picture and epson premiar gloss are 
somehow teckenical sharp were the silver rag looks totally like the sightly more soft brayte 
bace wich I like very much. The grain structure looks less and more like made with and an 
inlarger, some haw spread into the paper and there for sofened a bit. I think this is 
somehow very improtent reasion whay this paper is so beutifull. The paper looks abselutly 
sharp and even better as its not getting the teckenical part of the file so clearly. Its a littel 
strange but it looks like that to me!  When I comepare my photo rag prints with the silver 
rag  stands out like anything and at the same time looks and feels as much like a fine print 
as the other rag. I am also using the Hanemulle photo rag satin wich to my eyes has a 
much too strong strugture wich make me loss the intrest to it. The Silver Rag paper is 
abeslutly the best paper I have used and are defently going to be my main paper, still 
there are imprumments to be made if I could deside:

The impromments I would like to see are:

The shennynes are like a fine stardust over the paper, I like the strugture in the paper very 
much but would like to see this stardust shine to be more even and just slightly less high 
gloss. Its a bit betvieen gloss and pearl like but more even and more like a racord rapid air 
dryed like would be more beutifull in my opinion. 

I am now testing it with a R800 and use the gloss optimaiser and it make its also a bit 
more sheiny I think. Without the gloss optimaiser there are very strong bronze but with 
the gloss optimaser there are a very littel wich is aceteble but would be good to get totaly 
read of too, also the gloss adds somehow a more plastic sheine to the surface wich I could 
image could be improved. I hope the brocing is not a problem in the K3 ink in 9800?

Would it be and idea for somebady epson or otheres to make a sourface printer withe 3 or 
4 diffent lacke. One could have onlt this paper and use diffent lack printings to abtain the 
finaly surface one like. Gloss optimacer semigloss optimacer and air dryed bryte gloss 
optimacer and a ilford mad gloss optimacer. Such a printer would be great to have!

Anyway I would like to see manny more of this kind of paper more with diffents glossines 
and matness. 

I looking foreword to try the fianl Silver rag paper, 

Greatings

Joakim Eskildsen