Digital BW, The Print

Hi Dana,

Txs for sharing your experience. I have tried most of these papers (all but
Moab) on a 4800/7880 K3 and agree with most of your conclusions.
The only thing I would add is that, while I agree that Ilford silk is the
best, it also has by far the worst gloss differential of the set.
So bad, that at least in B&W, I find it unacceptable for images with
significantly large light patches. When it works its great and very sharp.
Gloss differential seems to be less distracting in colour prints.

I would love to try it on a printer with GLOP. Not very keen to spray the
prints as that reduces dmax.

Mike


On 20/12/2007, Dana H. Myers <dana.myers@...> wrote:
>
>   I've been experimenting with fiber-based inkjet papers using ABW K3 PK
> in an Epson Stylus Photo R2400, I figured I'd share my results.
>
> These are the papers I've tried and the basic numbers I've
> measured using PrintFix Pro:
>
> Dmax Dmin Lab (Dmin)
> Museo Silver Rag 2.54 0.04 96.48, 0.42,1.17
> Innova FibaPrint US Glossy 2.50 0.05 95.45, 1.59, -1.36
> Harman Glossy FB Al 2.37 0.03 97.61, 0.63, -0.20
> Moab Colorado Glossy 2.36, 0.05 95.49, 1.69, -2.35
> Moab Colorado Satine 2.39, 0.05, 95.30, 1.87, -1.74
> Ilford Gold Fiber Silk 2.43, 0.02, 97.90, 0.92, 0.16
>
> In terms of sharpness, Harman Glossy FB Al and Ilford Gold Fiber Silk
> are extremely close, doubtlessly the result of both being baryta papers.
> The Museo Silver Rag appears to be the least sharp of them, softening
> detail quite a bit.
>
> All of the papers exhibit some gloss-differential with the K3 inkset;
> this comes as no surprise since the ink itself provides some gloss.
> Subjectively, I'd say the papers are largely equivalent in this respect.
> Of course, gloss differential is most noticeable in areas of highlight
> with no detail; even a very thin layer of ink brings down the
> differential substantially.
>
> Museo Silver Rag stands out as having a unique surface texture, with a
> very fine pattern of striations running across the paper. Harman Glossy
> FB Al is very glossy and seems to have a slight bit of a sheen. The
> Moab Colorado papers are just what the names suggest; the Glossy paper
> is reasonably glossy and the Satine a little less so; both papers are
> smooth fiber. Innova FibaPrint UltraSmooth Glossy is a little glossier
> than Colorado Glossy. The Ilford Gold Fiber Silk seems to have the most
> "natural" FB surface.
>
> The numbers tell the story in terms of surface tone; Ilford Gold Fiber
> Silk is *slightly* on the warm side of neutral, Silver Rag is pretty
> warm, Harman Glossy FB Al is *slightly* cool and the other papers all
> appear a bit blue in direct comparison.
>
> My personal conclusions:
>
> The two baryta papers stand out from the group; I prefer the very
> natural appearance of the Ilford paper over the slight sheen of the
> Harman paper.
>
> Museo Silver Rag is a special-purpose paper, perhaps best-suited for
> traditional portraits where some softening of detail is desired and
> the warm base lends a traditional look.
>
> My favorite paper of the group is Ilford Gold Fiber Silk, which
> pleasantly surprises me since it is also substantially less expensive
> than the other papers.
>
> Speaking of expense, I haven't added-up how much I've spent on paper
> for this test and I don't think I want to :-) The good news is, none
> of the papers are clunkers - I'll use them all up eventually, though
> Silver Rag will go more slowly since it's really a special-purpose paper.
>
> Dana
> 
>


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