Confused by printing, colours and profiles...

Hi,

I am trying to create a high quality print of the portrait below. I have an Epson 3800 to use, and am printing from PS CS5 on a calibrated Eizo screen. My paper of choice is Epson Hot Press Bright.

The image was created with a Nikon D4 and edited in Silver Efex Pro2. When I open the image in Photoshop it looks like 1 (see below). When I then go to Proof colours and select the right profile, the image looks like 2 (red). The blacks are softened and the image looks a bit more brown. Then when I go to the Print Preview Screen (see 2nd image) and turn on Match Colors and SHow Paper White, the image in the preview screen becomes even more muted.

My questions:

• how do I get the best print possible?

• I understand different papertypes have different characteristics. WHat is the best way to edit an image so that the blacks and the contrast are back to what they need to be? Curves, Layers? Are there other tricks?

Any help you might have would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to refer me to online tutorials. I'm hoping the trick is fairly simple...

Rogier