Digital BW, The Print

it is my understanding that really "fine art" black and white photo 
books are printed using duo, tri or quad-tone printing.  a very 
demanding process involving limited inksets.  here is a link to a 
description from graphics.com:

http://tinyurl.com/4gg63r

but as with anything else, you need to find someone who knows how to do 
it correctly, ie. quality control, or it is prone to the same 
headaches.  in this age of digital printers and gang printed cymk, it 
will probably be more expensive and harder to find.

let us know how it turns out.
good luck,
phil