I highly recommend this essay by Michael Reichmann, "Battle of the Barytas." Addresses matte vs glossy papers.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/baryta.shtmlThis may pique your interest. From his conclusion:
"Until quite recently the industry simply didn’t provide a very attractive palette of non-matte offerings that weren’t at the same time very high gloss, but it did provide some truly artistic matte papers which much of the North American and European photographic community, me included, found to our liking. As I mentioned above, what they lacked in DMax and gamut, they offered in “character”, and if properly printed – quality images.
"Though I have been printing on matte fine art papers such as Hahnemuhle Photo Rag for the past few years, I think that my days with matte papers and matte black ink are now over.
"Frankly, it's about time!"
Curiously, I find myself moving in the opposite direction. After several years of printing exclusively on glossy/semiglossy paper, I grew tired of the surface reflections, which effectively negate the higher Dmax and wider color gamut. Now, I am printing on Epson Hot Press Natural and Canson Rag Photographique mainly. I love them for the fact that their smooth, non-reflective surfaces virtually disappear, imparting images with a wonderful depth and richness. Dmax and color gamut don't seem to matter much. Few of my prints get framed; I view and display them in the hand, if that matters.
Rob
