Digital BW, The Print

what would most consider to be the brightest matte paper WITHOUT 
OBA's added. (i have no clue here)

which matte paper gives the best dmax? (probably VFA or HPR from what 
i gather)

what paper (matte/gloss/semi-gloss) would be the most "neutral" 
colored paper out there? (OBA or not) or is there such a thing?


 in regards to these questions, i'm not referring to ones perception 
(and i don't mean that in an ugly way).
 i've heard people say "very neutral in tone or color" when referring 
to some matte papers that where indeed not neutral when measured. 
they where on the warm side. i've also heard some referring to a 
neutral paper that almost glowed with brighteners.

 some of this can be subjective when based just on visual "readings", 
but when measuring the LAB values we find our eyes (or desires) 
deceived us.


 to all those who offer so much help here... thank you

 evan

Hello Evan.
The instrument measures can also be subject to a bit of deception.
Things such as the illuminating source spectra (ie:level of UV it
contains etc), inclusion or exclusion of UV filtration of source or
sensors, paper fluorescence or lack of it and so on. I suspect that
the instrument definition of precisely "neutral" would end up not
actually being all that precise across a sampling of commonly
available and affordable instruments. Given that there is no objective
proof that any two or more individuals actually see the same with any
degree of precision anyway, it probably comes back down to what "you"
see as neutral and whether or not it is acceptable to the audience you
intend it for. I believe the best you could hope for is to pick an
instrument, measure what you consider neutral, and ask for the exact
same model instrument's readings from then on and hope your source of
readings has maintained calibrations. 

Regards
Duane



--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "evanj1969"
<evanj69@...> wrote:

>
>  some of this can be subjective when based just on visual "readings", 
> but when measuring the LAB values we find our eyes (or desires) 
> deceived us.
> 
>  evan
>

Hello Evan,

>what would most consider to be the brightest matte paper WITHOUT 
>OBA's added. (i have no clue here)

I haven't tried all matte papers but I've tried a lot of them, as
research for the "Great Paper Chase" article (#5 at the link below) as
well as my own personal use.  

My impression is that Premier Art Hot Press is the brightest non-OBA
paper I've seen.  Hawk Mtn's Merlin Natural is nearly as bright, and
Innova also has two very fine non-OBA papers (Cold Press Art and Soft
Texture Art) which are quite bright, although a bit warmer in paper
color than PAHP.


>Which matte paper gives the best dmax? (probably VFA or HPR from what 
>i gather)

When using MIS Eboni-based ink sets HPR had the best dmax in my tests.
VFA was just slightly less, followed by the Innova papers.  

However with Epson K3 ink, VFA is top dog (by a significant margin)
and HPR shares 2nd place with Innova and PAHP, with Merlin Natural in
3rd place.

I'm doing new tests with K3 inks and with the help of a friend with a
densitometer will be able to post measured dmax numbers in a few days. 


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm