Digital BW, The Print

Over this past weekend I have been working with beta samples of Crane's
new paper Museo Silver Rag. I formerly printed black and white and color in
my darkroom but five years ago went completely digital. I have been looking
for a paper to mimic my old silver darkroom papers but no no avail. Now my
searching is over. I am thrilled at the prints I'm making on this new
Silver Rag paper, both in black and white and color. The paper could pass
for a silver gelatin paper, is a nice weight, and a soft white base color
and lays flat. The surface--smooth-- has a slight subtle elegant texture
that shows through the coating--this texture looks  like air dried glossy silver gelatin paper
textures (not like epson luster paper).  When you hold the paper in your hand, it also feels 
like a silver gelatin paper.

I've printed on my 7800 printer using Imageprint in both standard three
black mode and Phatte black mode. Have also printed on my 2400 using the
epson driver, advanced black and white mode. All prints are superb with deep deep blacks 
with good separation in dark shadow areas. The
paper surface is tough--resistant to scratching and highly water resistant
after the inks have had a chance to completely dry. (I soaked a print in
water until saturated, with no ink run off, even when rubbed with a paper
towel). I look forward to using this new paper for most of my printing in
the future. Eleanor