Digital BW, The Print

Evan and all,

I have just discovered a wonderful paper, Crane's Museo Portfolio Rag. I bought a sample pack from Jim Doyle, then within the last two weeks, I bought two more boxes in different sizes. Jim is my favorite vendor. And this paper is  my new all time favorite. 

Fyi, like an earlier contributor to this thread, I cannot stand any reflection off of the print surface. This Portfolio Rag is a smooth, mat paper that seems to have a real sense of depth when viewed from any angle. I really love this stuff. Just my $.02. Good luck.

Mike
www.heartlandviews.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Evan Wolarsky"  
<wolarsky@...> wrote:
>
> Just curious as to whether many  people have found a use for the newer 
> Silver Rag type papers, as  opposed to sticking with the traditional 
> matte papers?
> 
>  Evan





There is a place for both. The image itself suggests a 'look' or 'feel'  that 
conveys the intention best. Image tone, or color in B/W can offer a  
dimensional effect using one or the other paper surface. More "photo" images  will ask 
for glossier finish, while more abstract images will ask for matte,  IMHO.
 
Richard (Brooklyn)



************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Well said Richard.
I have only printed a few images on the Innova FibaPrint semi-matte,
and while there are some roll imperfections and a roller mark issue
(with the HP at least) the prints are stunning. For me, the FibaPrint
papers add a lot for images that in the "old days" would have been
silver prints. My favorite matte papers are great for images for which
I would have been tempted to go platinum. Its nice to have choices and
they can be image dependent as Richard says.
-- 
amadou diallo
Author, Mastering Digital Black and White
www.masteringdigitalbwbook.com

On Apr 14, 2007, at 2:37 PM, amadou diallo wrote:

> Well said Richard.
> I have only printed a few images on the Innova FibaPrint semi-matte,
> and while there are some roll imperfections and a roller mark issue
> (with the HP at least) the prints are stunning.





I agree that this paper looks great when it prints well.  Have you  
had any problems with wet overloaded blacks as I have, and as John  
Dean has mentioned?

James Irelan

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Crane sent me a 24" roll of the Portfolo Rag back before it was 
officially realeased. Yes Jim carries it at shades of paper. I have to 
agree that it is a fine paper. I especially like it with the Cone NK7 
Carbon Sepia inkset. It is a "natural" paper with no oba content so it 
is not nearly as bright as Photorag or some of the Innova papers. To me 
that is a limitation for some things, but makes it ideal for others. 
And, unlike the Premier Art Hotpress, it doesn't do strange things with 
monochrome color, like cooling off. It has a very smooth surface, 
smoother than any of the others I have used except Premiere Art HP, and 
for small warm or neutral monochrome prints it can be quite beautiful 
indeed.

The only down sides I can see is the price, it ain't cheap, and the 
usual problem with the Crane matte papers, it doens't take blacks too 
well. In other words it needs to be carefully profiled or one will find 
the dmax actually reversing in the densest values, I did. Walker in 
Chicago also experienced this with his sample and we talked about it at 
PMA. You print out a first greyscale and you will measure the last 
patch reversing.We saw the same thing with MuseoMax. You need to back 
off the ink limit and your fine. With any rip such as qtr or studio 
print you would be fine.

I'll tell you anyone who is producing porfolios of detailed photo files 
in black and white and wants to print small images, it is really good 
for that with neutral or warm inks. I did some 4x5" tests with the Cone 
warm inks and they were so nice to look at and precious even at that 
tiny scale. It kind of made me want to do some really small things in 
someone's portfolio. I haven't done anything really big with it yet.

John



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mailbox@..." 
<bugnoir@...> wrote:
>
> Evan and all,
> 
> I have just discovered a wonderful paper, Crane's Museo Portfolio 
Rag. I bought a sample pack from Jim Doyle, then within the last two 
weeks, I bought two more boxes in different sizes. Jim is my favorite 
vendor. And this paper is  my new all time favorite.

I have two issues with the single 17 inch roll I tired. Surface
defects in the paper and slight roller marks (subtler versions of the
pizza wheels you would get from desktop Epsons). John Custodio, who
provided me with the roll sees both issues on an Epson and I'm seeing
them on the HP Z printer. The former could be a QC issue; maybe just a
bad batch. The latter could require a different spec of the coating.
Both issues seem to have solutions and when these kinks are ironed
out, you've got a wonderful paper option.
-- 
amadou diallo
Author, Mastering Digital Black and White
www.masteringdigitalbwbook.com

Yes, other people have reported some qc issues with the latest Innova F 
coating on Epson machines also. It isn't uncommon to have things like 
this in the fist run of such a product. I think it must be a pretty 
unique coating and not easy to produce. But they'll do it. We saw it. 
It looks good. This time last year it was only Silver Rag out there. 
We're slowly but surely getting there. This will be the year. 

john



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "amadou diallo" 
<amadiallo@...> wrote:

>
> I have two issues with the single 17 inch roll I tired. Surface
> defects in the paper and slight roller marks (subtler versions of the
> pizza wheels you would get from desktop Epsons). John Custodio, who
> provided me with the roll sees both issues on an Epson and I'm seeing
> them on the HP Z printer. The former could be a QC issue; maybe just a
> bad batch. The latter could require a different spec of the coating.
> Both issues seem to have solutions and when these kinks are ironed
> out, you've got a wonderful paper option.
> -- 
> amadou diallo
> Author, Mastering Digital Black and White
> www.masteringdigitalbwbook.com
>