Digital BW, The Print

I posted the message below this morning but upon further review the print on
the Epson Photo Glossy paper is perhaps better than I originally thought. I
was looking at it in a bright white room which made for a lot of spurious
reflections. It might be worth pursuing further, but casually. It's
interesting, but no Holy Grail.

Since I felt bad about condemning it hastily I tried some other glossies,
most without good success. I may post a more elaborate review down the road,
but probably not, as most I deemed a failure. I also want to hit them with a
spray sealant before I conclude anything. But for those of you who're really
eager to pursue this option, my best results so far out of 7 papers were
with the Epson Photo, and a new BrightCube paper called ProPhoto Gloss.

Contrary to my expectations, semi-gloss (or semi-matte) papers did not fare
well at all, because when trying to wipe off the inevitable dusting, the
surface grabs and holds the "dust". I'd call it sooty. Similarly don't
handle any such glossyish prints with your bare hands because your finger
prints will hold the soot.

Perhaps a spray will obviate the need to wipe the dust, so I reserve further
judgement until then.

Todd

> 
>> The scanner says the glossy black is much darker.  When the Photo Glossy
>> test strip is scanned along with an Archival Matte test strip, the Archival
>> Matte black reads a weak 91% compared to the glossy's 100%.  The scanner
>> also says that the MIS black ink prints cooler on glossy paper than on
>> Archival Matte and that the glossy paper is warmer than the Archival Matte.
>> 
>> My visual opinions differ a bit from the above.
> 
> 
> I happened to have gotten a bunch of papers to test recently, so I dropped
> in some Epson Photo glossy to have a look. I'm using your Piezo/generations
> blend, so I don't know how close a match it is to the all MIS brew, but I'll
> assume pretty close.
> 
> I get the same dusting, and to my eye the gloss print has a lower Dmax than
> the Museo, Torchon, and Orwell, that I'm testing. (I'm using their more
> conventional names, but I purchased them more cheaply from media street).
> 
> Between the dusting, and perhaps a tiny bit of bronzing trying to come
> through, I have to manipulate the paper so much to find the right
> reflectance of light, or lack there of, that it's nerve racking.
> 
> My own suggestion is that a good matte paper is far better than fudging a
> gloss with pigments. If you really want to print on gloss and semi-gloss
> papers, which do have their merits with dye inks, try the Spectratones, by
> Lincoln Inks. They have a visible Dmax advantage.
> 
> You still might prefer a good matte print though.
> 
> Todd