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This is not a perfect scientific study, but merely my own observations and impressions, so please don't treat this as the final truth.  It is just a general guide to provide some idea of what these papers are like. 

4)  The test prints can be distinctly sorted by paper color into seven shades of white, by ink color (from the Eboni test) into seven shades of black, and by Dmax as measured by a colorimeter (thanks to Steve Karafyllakis for doing the readings). 

Note: Not every image needs eye-popping Dmax.  Other properties, such as contrast, tone, and the ink/paper color relationship are equally important.  A paper shouldn't be dismissed just because it doesn't have the highest Dmax rating. 

Dmax - In this group of papers the dmax ranges from 1.54 to 1.75.
I find that 1.58 is the minimum acceptable for images where dmax is not a major factor (such as higher key images with small amounts of black).  For images where dmax is important, 1.65 or greater is necessary.  From my own experience over time with a variety of papers, inks and images,  I grade dmax values like this:

Excellent - 1.70
Very Good - 1.65
Good - 1.60
Fair - 1.55
Poor - 1.40 (lowest reading I've seen, Schoellershammer Velvet)

I have gotten beautiful prints on lower dmax papers with images that have small amounts of pure black in them.  Some of those papers take the ink nicely and are quite beautiful in every other regard.

Paper Color -  A "White value" range from W1 to W7, where W1 is pure bright white and W7 is the warmest of the cream colored papers. 

Ink color - A "Black value" range of B1 to B7, described in terms of how carbon-based black ink is rendered from cold to warm:
 B1 - Cold; blacks look black or "neutral"
 B2 - Cool; blacks not pure black, but not warm either
 B3 - Slightly warm - beginning to look brown instead of black
 B4 - Moderately warm
 B5 - Medium warm 
 B6 - Very warm
 B7 - Extremely warm 

Note 1: K3 inks allow us to get a range of tones from warm to cool, so it is hard to assign a specific B value to a paper not tested with Eboni.  In these cases, the assigned value is my general impression  resulting from tests using a neutral tone setting.

Note 2: Since ABW mode uses predominantly carbon-based K inks with color pigments added only as toners, these papers will influence these inks toward the tones described here.  So while not completely relevant for a variable tone system, these ink color reports can still be useful.  For example, if you want to make a cold tone print, using a warm tone paper will require a greater amount of cool toner.  This can make a visible difference, both in overall coloration and the crossover effect (mismatch between ink and paper colors) caused by the warmer paper showing in the highlights.  Starting with a cold tone paper can reduce the amount of toner required.  The same is true for warm tone prints.  Printing warm on a cool paper will introduce more warm toner pigments.  The best results are obtained when using a paper that is as close as possible to the desired tone to begin with. 


5) The papers are listed below in a Contents chart grouped by manufacturer, with links to comments below.

 

Some Abbreviations Used In The Comments

Comments

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Paper	Surface	Paper Color	Ink Color
Condor Natural by HMTN	2-sided, hard,  with a tiny amount of texture	W5	B5.5
OBA	Type	Weight	Dmax
No	100% Cotton	325gsm	1.52
Comments
A good 2-sided paper, but bears no resemblance to the cold tone Condor BW.  This paper is quite warm and competes with Premier Art Hot Press, the only other 2-sided paper of this class.  Compared to Hot Press, this does not have quite the depth and richness, has less Dmax, and is not as bright.  It has a slightly cooler paper color (Hot Press is W6).  Has a very nice balanced look.

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Paper	Surface	Paper Color	Ink Color
Merlin Natural by HMTN	hard, smooth, 1 or 2-sided (be sure to specify  when ordering)	W5	B5
OBA	Type	Weight	Dmax
No	100% Cotton	270gsm	1.55
Comments
Merlin Natural has the same density and very close to the same contrast and nice "glow" as Peregrine Smooth.  Unfortunately it's dmax is not as good with K3 as it was with Eboni, so is best for images without dominant blacks.  Takes K3 inks very well, easy to work with.  A very handsome paper.

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Paper	Surface	Paper Color	Ink Color
Entrada BW by Legion	2-sided, hard, slight texture	W2	B3.5
OBA	Type	Weight	Dmax
Yes	100% Cotton	300gsm	1.58
Comments
This paper once had a reputation for very bad flaking problems.  However, in 2005  Moab (now Legion) made changes in their production methods and my testing of a new batch shows it greatly improved in this area.  It does still flake some, so a careful wipe and brushing is standard procedure.   The new paper is also whiter, having moved from W3 to W2.  The ink color is warmer, moving from B2.5 to B3.5, so it is not quite as cool toned as the original.

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Paper	Surface	Paper Color	Ink Color
Photo Rag 308 by Hahnemuhle	Hard, Smooth	W4	B4
OBA	Type	Weight	Dmax
Yes	100% Cotton	308gsm	1.65
Comments
Photo Rag is one of the most popular and widely used papers.  It's Dmax is very good but not the highest with K3 ink.  A beautiful paper, it produces rich and glowing prints.  Another advantage is that its density and contrast are nearly the same as EEM. Most of the time an image can be printed on PR without needing an adjustment curve, and if one is needed it is usually just a very slight increase in density to make up for the brightness of the paper, usually for higher key images.  It's drawbacks are high price and above average flaking.  I specifically listed the weight, 308, because the lighter 188 version is even worse about flaking (one theory is because it is more flexible), and the percentage of ruined prints is so great as to affect productivity and offset the gain of the lower price.  308 must be firmly wiped and brushed (and even then some flaking occurs).

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