Digital BW, The Print

> While the surface is definitely a gloss rather than semi-matte, I 
think they
> have definitely got it a lot better than Crane.  It's hard to 
describe and
> communicate these things but the Da Vinci surface looks a lot more 
natural
> and doesn't have the "sparkle" that Silver Rag has.  The texture is 
more
> pronounced than the Crane surface but more natural.  The Da Vinci 
paper is
> not a cotton rag base but rather a 300gsm "acid free alpha 
cellulose".  It
> does not have the pronounced curl of Silver Rag.


two things - the newer sample of SR I got a week or so ago was much 
smoother and with much less "pebble" or "sparkle" than the first 
batch I got (though the coating was a touch uneven - obviously it's 
still being tweaked). I'd put it about 89% close to a sort 
of "eggshell" look on these samples.

Second, I thought the curl was a problem at first - especially when I 
been cutting smaller sizes from rolls - but it seems to go through 
the printer okay, and when it's inked it dries really flat for me. I 
know on Museo Max they also coated the back to counteract the paper 
curl - with SR, on my printing, the inked surface seems to negate the 
curl