Dave
This is just what I mean by unnecessary testing.
It is not the number of steps that are significant. We know that you can
get a reasonable number of steps with lith film developed to continuous
tone. Judgements of this kind come with experience. What should be
concerning us is the subtlety of gradation. That you judge by eyeballing an
appropriate negative and a print made from it..
Remember the objective is the image !
Terry