Digital BW, The Print

With all the talk about Dmax I am wondering is this dmax  actually measured by most users with a densiometer or is it perceptual Dmax as experienced by how the prints actually look framed, matterd , hung and viewed at a normal viewing distance. Normal being a few feet away as oposed to abnormal with someone's nose stuck to the glass and pixel peeping. 
   
  I have read a few articles by Caponigro and he mentions often about the amount of ink that is being put down by certain drivers and printers and how that affects Dmax. If a paper has let's say a Dmax of 3, (just for an arbitrary number) and your printer is not laying down enough ink to get the the 3 , then you will never experience the full potential of a high Dmax paper being your printer can't achieve it. Or will you?
   
  I have seen several posts where the poster is trying different papers and saying that they don't like the Dmax of certain paperss and then try another paper with a higher Dmax. It is seemingly almost like climbing the Dmax ladder with no satisfaction on any rung on the way up. Is it the printer, or the printer settngs as to the amount of ink being laid down, or is it actually the Dmax itself or is it perceptual and personal preferences
   
   I have also seen posts where one poster like the Dmax of paper A, another poster with the same  printer does not like it and has to use paper B to get the blacks they want. Should or should not both the same printers, using the same inks should acheive the same Dmax, or again..is it the individual characteristics of each printer and/or the personal preferences of the viewers. 
   
  I am reading this posts very closely because I am about to make a few hundred dollar purchase of papers, and being a lot of companies don't make sample packs of all their papers, I do not want to make mistakes and waste a lot of  money on papers that don't produce the results I want. 
   
  Any help or comment that will give me a better understanding of Dmax, be it measured or perceptual will be appreciated.
  thanks
  Frank


"The luckiest dogs are those with clipped tails....they're the ones who won't be chasing their own arses."
       
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