Digital BW, The Print

I recently purchased a UT2 inkset for my Epson 890 and have been 
producing beautiful prints (thanks Paul!!).  I'm nearly out of the 
Epson Archival Matte paper that I ordered with the inks and am 
curious about other's experience using matte fine art papers with 
these inks.  I'm using Eboni black and would love to use something 
from Hahnemuhle or Ilford or Legion, etc.

Any thoughts or suggestions?  Any papers I should avoid?

Thanks,
  b2

>I recently purchased a UT2 inkset for my Epson 890 and have been 
>producing beautiful prints (thanks Paul!!). 

I'm glad it's working for you.  I've never seen 890 output.  I hope the U.S.
driver is the 1280 one and not the 1290, which appears to produce dark
results and may not be optimized with the 1280 curves.

>... curious about other's experience using matte fine art papers with 
>these inks.  I'm using Eboni black and would love to use something 
>from Hahnemuhle or Ilford or Legion, etc.

>Any thoughts or suggestions?

The curves I've published are a hint as to what I like.  

PhotoRag has the best dmax and a great image.  The sensitive surface has a
tendency to flake if not brushed or wiped off.  (Sensitivity to gas attack
is an issue that is tougher to get a handle on.)  The flaking problem is
common with all cotton papers.  

I have a roll of Epson UltraSmooth on my 7500 because it does not flake, has
an excellent image, though a dmax of a bit less than PhotoRag.  I also like
papers with no optical brighteners.  I fear buyers who see yellowing will
think the paper is acidic -- not necessarily true, but the burning out of
the OBAs does yellow the paper.  The fact that the Boston Museum of Fine Art
uses UltraSmooth for its reproductions is a big hint as to what some think
is the most reliable paper.  PremierArt sells its version in various sizes.
See Photo Warehouse at http://www.photowarehouse.biz/premier.html .



> Any papers I should avoid?

Museo & the similar Crane paper sold by Epson -- I'm sure Crane makes some
fine papers, but this one is not one of them.  It's archival and Optical
Brightener free, but I get blotchy results, and the printer seems to have
feeding problems after I try it.

Have fun.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

For UT2 information, curves, and settings see:
http://home1.gte.net/res09aij/