Digital BW, The Print

I'm also on the fence concerning the acceptability of surface  
artifacts present to varying degrees with all of these papers when  
printed with pigment inks.  I have no problems with GD on Ilford Gold  
Silk when printing B&W with the 1800 using MIS 3PKN+GLOP.  However,  
there is still residual bronzing that that I don't like and can't get  
rid of without spraying with PrintShield (which I dislike even  
more).  Epson Claria ink performs very well on some of these papers  
(particularly Harman), but unfortunately there is only one K in the  
current inkset and no large format Claria printers.

Carl

On Dec 20, 2007, at 3:24 PM, Michael King wrote:

> 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
>>
>>