PAPER TESTS
I read your posting on your test results with great interest.
Taken overall, this is obviously very valuable work.
As you have said yourself it is impossible to take into account all the
variables but sometimes they can be significant.
My own tests were conducted on a different but valid basis. They were aimed at
finding the paper that met certain technical and aesthetic criteria.
We took a negative with good gradation and fine detail across a wide range of
tones. We printed on to different papers with additional sizing and not. We were
looking for 100 % cotton papers that would enable us to make prints of 16 x 12
and up.
We wanted rich detailed shadows,singing middle tones and clear but subtle
distinctions in the highlights and, of course, excellent gradation through that
range. The papers that gave us the best results were Artistico, on part 2 of
your list, and Saunders Waterford. We had sized both with a 1 % size of
deionised ossein.
We were not able to set out the results on the same analytical basis for
comparison but we felt that our more empirical approach was more likely to give
us the results we were trying to achieve.
I have here a print I did this morning on sized Artitico that demonstrates these
qualities. The negative had a density range of 2.1 which is near the optimum if
you are seeking these qualities. I included a Stouffer step wedge which shows
clear differentiation of tone at every step except between 20 and 21. The
highlights are clear with no blotching or speckling.
Had you have had any luck with the ossein yet ?
have you considered publication and if so in what format. Perhaps you may wish
to e-mail me separately as that may be off listish.
Terry