Digital BW, The Print

On 14/07/09 10:32 AM, "john dean" <deanwork2003@...> wrote:
 
> I was a little harsh in comment about Crane Silver Rag however. It isn't a bad
> paper at all and if it hadn't been created we might not have these other
> offerings to compare it to in the first place. It was the first 100% rag media
> in this category and without optical brighteners to reduce its longevity.
> 
> My only problem with Silver Rag is that for smaller prints, say below 16x20, I
> just find the texture to overwhelm the fine details in an image. But for large
> prints it can be very beautiful and I've seen whole shows done on it that were
> outstanding. 
> 
> In comparison, I've been doing some large editions of very small prints in the
> 6"x9" range with Photorag Baryta and they are working out very well, black and
> white and color, easy to hold in your hand and look at.

I think I'm bucking the trend here!  ;-)  I just picked up some Silver Rag
(thanks Jim!).

I too looked at Silver Rag when it first came out, and did not like the
texture. However, as you'll see below, I really liked the paper this
go-round. I understand they changed the coating in the last few months,
which would explain a lot. Since Crane simply supplies the paper base now, I
suspect Intellicoat took addition liberties in tuning the coating.

I've used Photo Rag Baryta, and I picked up sample packs of Silver Rag and
Photo Rag Pearl for evaluation. I found Silver Rag to be very similar to
Photo Rag Baryta. It has slightly more texture, a bit more weight, a
slightly warmer paper base, a bit more sheen and a bit more gloss
differential.

There was something I really liked in the colour test images I printed (all
small) on Silver Rag. It might have simply been a better profile. However,
I'm expecting / hoping it will be a nice contrast to the new Canson fine art
gloss coming later this year. The Canson should be a whiter paper.

All of my evaluation was done with colour prints. I will have Jon Cone make
a K7 Special Edition profile for Silver Rag shortly. I look forward to
seeing that.

BTW, it was a difficult decision, choosing between Photo Rag Baryta and
Silver Rag. I notice that Tyler Boley offers both.

Terry.