Digital BW, The Print

I've always thought that from a "collectible" perspective, pure "carbon on
cotton" might be the ultimate B&W inkjet medium.  With the 1800 firing 3
channels of Eboni onto UN-coated Arches Bright White Hot Press 140 lb. (300
gsm), I think I'm closer to an acceptable photo-quality "pure" carbon on
cotton image than I've seen before.  

Usually I consider a 1.60 dmax density (about Lab L 18) to be my minimum
acceptable dmax for matte papers.  I'm happy to say I'm measuring that on
Arches HP now -- at least occasionally.  The blacks deeper than 95% have a
blotchiness to them that causes the measures to vary a bit.  The blotchiness
might be best avoided in smooth, heavily-filtered skies, where 95% would be
the darkest tone that would be very smooth.  On the other hand, in most
situations, the slight un-evenness is probably not a big deal.  At any rate,
with 3 Eboni channels firing, for a total QTR load of about 157, a 1.60 (L
18.06) is possible.

The Lab A & B tones are nearly perfect for this creamy paper.  The paper
base has an (a, b) of (0.7, 2.8).  These reach a maximum at about 50% of
(1.3, 3.6).
See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/ArchesHP.jpg for a graph of Lab A & B.

The un-coated Arches HP is not quite as smooth as Epson UltraSmooth, but
it's not bad.  These dense little Eboni dots don't spread very much.

I'm looking at a test print of my New Army Pass shot, which is on my home
page at www.PaulRoark.com, and it looks nearly perfect in normal viewing.
If the light is reflecting off the surface, I can see some of the un-even
reflectiveness in the deepest blacks caused by the very high loads, but it's
not apparent in normal viewing.  In normal viewing the blacks look good.
The test print is totally flat, with no waviness from the high black ink
loads.  I don't use cold press, but it might achieve the same dmax while
hiding the uneven reflections of the deepest blacks.  One thing I did notice
is that the paper takes a long time to dry compared to our usual coated
matte papers.

I think this could be a serious contender for some who like to identify
their photos with "fine art."  The paper color matches the matte board I use
almost perfectly.  While most who buy my photos are clueless about the paper
and ink issues, I think in some situations this paper option could have
appeal.  I'm definitely intrigued by the possibilities here.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com