Digital BW, The Print

Hi gang,
Usually a lurker here, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents.

I do B&W and B&W with a warm split tone effect. I tried Ilford Gold  
Silk and was very pleased with everything about the paper. It had a  
great dmax, excellent surface and "felt" like a silver print in the  
hand. All pluses in my book. My only complaint was that the split tone  
effect wasn't as obvious as I would have liked. I chalked it up to  
profiling and tweaking on my part. But at over $3 a sheet (13x19) I  
wasn't thrilled with doing too much experimenting. Then a friend  
showed me examples that he had done with many of the major FB papers.  
I was struck at how warm the base was with Gold Silk and noticed that  
the Epson Exhibition Fiber had a more neutral base. I also liked the  
finish better. Looked even more like an air dried silver print. The  
problem was the price. Epson's paper is even more expensive than the  
Ilford. So, when Atlex offered this sale I stocked up. I would like to  
see Epson put this stock out in rolls, though. Otherwise I think it's  
a great paper.

Hal Gage