Digital BW, The Print

Steven Karafyllakis wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Gary;
> 
> This one is next on my list, if only because it got such a glowing
> review on Luminous Landscape...which inks did you use with it? any
> trouble with the surface fragility others have reported?

I've compared Museo Silver Rag, Innova Fiba-Print White Ultra-Smooth
Gloss and Harman Gloss FB Al in the last few weeks, all using standard
Epson UltraChrome K3 inks on an R2400.

I created monochrome ICC profiles using PrintFixPRO.  My measurements
were:

Museo Silver Rag: Dmin 0.04, Dmax 2.54
Innova Fiba-Print White Ultra-Smooth Gloss: Dmin 0.05, Dmax 2.50
Harman Gloss FB Al: Dmin 0.03, Dmax 2.37

Subjectively, all three papers yield very attractive prints.
Museo Silver Rag is the least sharp of the three; it's quite
evident when compared side-by-side; particularly fine highlight-
detail renders considerably better on the Innova and Harman papers
compared to Silver Rag.  It's a litte more difficult for me to see
a great difference in sharpness between the Innova and Harman papers,
though Harman is the sharpest of the three.

Harman is also the glossiest of the three, though Innova is quite
close.  Silver Rag has a more pronounced surface texture, which
might be preferable to some and objectionable to others.  For me,
it's just different, and not objectionable.

Gloss differential is not objectionable on any of the papers - you 
basically have to look for it.  If you mount the prints under glass,
I suspect it would be very, very difficult to spot.

In my limited experience, Innova seems to have the softest
surface, though I'm sure humidity is a major factor.

The Luminous Landscape review of Harman Gloss FB Al makes it
sound like the ultimate paper, which seemed like a bit of
hyperbole when I first read it and moreso now.  Yes, it's
the glossiest and sharpest paper among those I tested, and,
yes, Silver Rag does have a pronounced surface texture and
is the least sharp of the three.  This reminds me of the good
old days when there were 27 varieties of silver gelatin paper
at the local photography store; the majority were fine papers,
with some better suited to some uses than others.

I'll probably adopt Harman Gloss FB Al as my "normal" high-end
paper, but Silver Rag remains appealing as an alternative for
a slightly moodier, softer look.

Dana