Back in the day when I used Epson Ultrachrome pigments for PK work out of QTR, curators would say, yea they are nice but they have that "digital" look, meaning either bronzing or gloss differient or both. Black and white was really bad.
That's interesting that the new Canon inkset still has a lot of bronzing? I thought they solved that. Too bad! Looks like they screwd up all around, reduced longevity and still bronzing.
Actually I've done quite a lot of black and with with the Lucia inkset of the Canon 8300 using only gray and PK ink on Platine and Photorag Baryta out of True Black and White software and the bronzing is very minimal, and is completely gone after the Hahnemühle spray. The Epson inksets are significantly worse from what I've seen, though I haven't used them for 10 years myself. But I have seen them around.
After I bought the Z3100 and Z3200s these artifacts were completely eliminated. However with the Ilford Gallery I even saw some bronzing with those Vivera inks!
Friends of mine who tried Platine with the previous Epson inks on the 9900 series said the shine of bronzing was just too much and I've seen those prints and agree. But with the inks I use it performs the best of any paper, in that to me the texture is very natural looking like a silver print and with a little hair dryer, they lay completely flat. The only other PK paper I've used that felt natural was the Harmon Baryta, but that scratched to easily even in the printers. And when I look back on them they are nice but a little too glossy for me in a portfolio.
I'm probably biased though as to the surface of PK papers because I spent 20 years in the darkroom in my formative years. The Hahnemühle Photorag Pearl and Photorag Baryta both with no oba are excellent papers for bw and color work. You have to hand it to Hahnemühle. They have spent the most time trying to come up with the perfect quality media for PK inks with all the inksets. But I still prefer Platine and spend a lot of money on it. When given a choice my clients almost always choose it.
The other reason to spray PK papers in portfolios is to protest them from damage from handling. Inkjet prints are not as durable as silver prints
John
Even with gloss optimiser on the latest Canon inksets, there can still be a lot of bronzing, depending on the paper. The HM Photo Silk Baryta (aka IGFS etc) is really bad with bw and sepia prints. Even textured glossy(ish) fineart papers like HM FA Baryta and PR Baryta do this, and misc cluster RC papers. Straight on, no probs, but uncoated like you mention in a portfolio or hand-outs around a table, it's certainly an issue, at least to some of us. If evaluating multiple prints at a time on a table lay out, you cannot angle all of them at once towards everyone discussing them, and many will be viewed with bronzing.
Interestingly some coatings can fix this, like the Canson Baryta Prestige where the bronzing is mostly gone. So try other papers sometimes, and report back with findings. Hoping that technique from the Prestige could be applied to other papers as well, as I still prefer the feel of Platine (more soft cotton feel, texture, sharpness and more), and would love if bronzing was removed from that excellent paper.
Behind glass, I still see bronzing, and find it annoying. Even if intending to view the image head on, it might catch the viewers eye coming in from an angle, and I would much prefer a consistent look without bronzing no matter the viewing angle, like with the Prestige, matt paper, silver gelatine or similar solutions.
