Digital BW, The Print

Mike and Dana

I very much concur on how nice the Ilford Gold is...and it greatly appeals to my sense of 
value.

Regarding the issue of gloss differential, I have thought about this at some length and 
have decided this is just a part of this medium.  Have you ever spent any time looking at 
Daguerrotypes?  Spectacular images....but viewed from an angle, you see a negative 
image. 

The Gloss differential on the Ilford is kind of similar.  Lit well (ie Gallery type lighting), the 
prints look awesome.  Turn the print at an angle and yes...you see that the whites are 
more or less paper white.  While this seems a wee bit odd, I have decided it is nothing to 
fret about.  Strikes me the sharpness and dimensional quality is so superb, I can accept 
this differential...and view it as just a part of the medium.

My only direct comparison was with Innova Ftype...the Ilford in my opinion blows the 
Ftype out of contention....lots of surface flaws in the Innova...the Ilford Gold has much 
better quality control IMHO.  Frankly the Innova looks dead and lifeless next to a print on 
the Ilford Gold.

Phil
> 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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>