Digital BW, The Print

Steve - it could be the result of many things, and I'd suggest trying to isolate
the variables as you
try to solve the problem.  If you're using the Epson driver, for example, you
could try cutting back
on the percentage of inking in 10% increments to see if there is any difference.

How is the rest of the image rendered?  Is the overall lightness/darkness and
contrast good, or is
there tonal compression in other dark areas?

SP