Digital BW, The Print

> I keep intending to use a spectroradiometer to take measurements of 
> gloss and matte prints under glass and determine what the 
> differential value, or formula, is, but I never seem to have the 
> time. But the short story is that the difference virtually disappears 
> when framed under glass.

David,

I think you may have a problem with a typical spectrophotometer when
reading through glass.  I was trying to help a friend create profiles
for the Diasec process, (image physically and chemically bonded to the
back of plexiglass), and reading through the thickness of the plexi or
glass definitely skewed readings, sometimes significantly.  The
thicker the glass or Plexi, the bigger the error.  It affected not
only color, but density readings.  A very thin glass is less
noticeable.  In this respect, a spectro doesn't seem to act like a
spot meter.  

I agree with most of the statements people have made about matte vs.
glossy papers.  How they are displayed, whether under glass or not,
lighting, reflections, angle of lighting, and even the image, seem
make a big difference.  The readings are not, in my opinion,
indicative of how a matte print will appear compared to a glossy
print.  I have some matte prints with a Dmax of 1.65 which appear much
blacker than the same print on glossy substrates with a Dmax of 2.2 or
higher.  As the viewing environment changes, so do the relationships.
 Pretty interesting.  

I do find, however, that I prefer matte papers with a Dmax above 1.6,
and preferably above 1.65-1.7.  When the Dmax of matte papers drop
into the 1.5's, they typically tend to look a little weak to me.  But,
I even use them on certain images, especially if the image doesn't
live or die based on deep blacks.  Also, some matte papers just "look"
blacker than other matte papers, even if their Dmax reading is a
little lower.  Museo Max, for example doens't have the best Dmax, but
prints on it look deep and rich to me.  

Of course, color gamut is another issue, though it may not be as
relevant to most people on this forum.  I find that for color work,
the smaller gamut of matte papers tends to be a bigger issue than even
the Dmax.  

Lou