[Leica] Lightjet vs Epson 2400 K3 for B/W

[reid at mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (Brian Reid)]

>> I have an Epson 2400. I've made about 100 prints with it so far, 80 of
>> them on matte paper, 10 on F surface and 10 on E surface (glossy and
>> lustre). The F-surface (glossy) black-and-whites are better than the
>> 10-year-old lightjet prints I have of the same negatives. The E-surface
>> (lustre) prints are absolutely the best B&W prints I've ever seen.
>
> Is the E-surface what is often called "semi-gloss" or "pearl"? I certainly 
> find semi-gloss/pearl works a whole lot better than gloss.

I spent 40 years doing wet prints in my darkroom, and I've had the Epson 
2400 for about 3 weeks. I still use the vocabulary of the Dektol era. So to 
me, "semi-gloss" and "pearl" mean different things.

The word "pearl" for me always meant the C surface. The E surface is much 
finer and smoother than C surface. I've never seen inkjet paper with a 
surface like wet-chemistry pearl (C). I've heard E surface called Satin as 
well as Lustre.

This is the paper that I find works best for me for a non-matte look:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductMediaSpec.jsp?infoType=Overview&oid=-10383&category=Paper+%26+Media