Starting to experiment with black and white printing. I was thinking of using metallic papers. I am looking for some opinions on what papers bring out the tones and contrast of black and white prints best. I am not looking for matt papers at all - atleast for now. I have not used any metallic papers so far. So looking for help on deciding both the type of paper as well as specific brands.
I am printing on Epson R3000, by the way with K3 inks.
In brief, there appear to be fewer metallic papers than there are rebranded versions of the Mitsubishi metallic paper. Atlex has several materials, including their own rebranding of the Mitsubishi product. I'll go on record saying that I like my results on the Mitsubishi paper, but haven't yet tried the more unusual Atlex media that require solvent spray protection because of surface fragility.
Worth trying samples, I'd say. Atlex has a nice sampler pack.
I've been using Inkpress metallic glossy. They have a metallic satin also. I haven't tried black and white though as I've been told the metallic paper is more for color pop and that it does. It makes some of my images depending on how I shot them look 3d. I am going to try red river next.
The right kind on B&W content can be quite great on metallics. The principle is, in my opinion, that the reflective deep metallic layer is only revealed when what overlies it (pigment ink) is of reduced opacity. Given that heavy deposition of pigment ink would be pretty opaque, but that light ink deposition is of reduced opacity, one finds the most "metallic drama" in high hey areas. The papers, as an aside, do seem to offer decent Dmax and gamut, unrelated to metallic character. So the right image can render with good combinations of color pop, blacks, and the appearance of depth that relates to the areas where less pigment is laid down.
The above Luminous Landscape thread offers a better discussion of this than I'm able to, in case you are interested.
Thanks for the LL link, John. I read through the entire discussion. I'll try to get a couple of samples and play with it with some images I have in mind.
One thing about metal papers with B&W is that some of them have a cast / tone to them. Finding a neutral one is something to watch for. Sorry I don't have a recommendation, but I have noted the different offerings @ aluminum for more pop vs. more neutral ... so I would anticipate that the same exists in metal papers ... I just haven't found one yet.
I don't do a lot of B&W printing, but the few metal papers I've tested on B&W ... matte paper wound up in the frame, not the metal.
