Is it ok to use colour head on my newly purchased DE Vere 504 for B/W printing?
I just remembered something about the light source being a problem i.e not a condenser?
I was hoping to use the colour filters for multigrade.
Is it ok to use colour head on my newly purchased DE Vere 504 for B/W printing?
I just remembered something about the light source being a problem i.e not a condenser?
I was hoping to use the colour filters for multigrade.
I prefer it. I use a Chromega Dichro for variable contrast papers.
If you use a diffusion head, as opposed to a condenser, you may need to start with a higher contrast negative. It is not absolutely necessary, though. You can set the filters for a higher value and make longer exposures. It's not hard, though. Most B&W papers have data sheets with tips on how to use color heads.
--Gary
I think it is the best way to go. You can use the M and Y alone or use a mixture to keep printing times similar. There are a number of the 'mixed' charts depending on your color head. Here is the one I have used for a number of years (Omega head). (BTW, "C" in my chart is for Ilford CONTRAST grade, not CYAN; CYAN is always at zero)Originally Posted by Dave Saunders
My DeVere 504 was made in 1981, it has the single 250W globe and the diffused head.
This enlarger is terrific at printing either colour or B&W multigrade paper or single contrast B&W paper.
In short you will have no problems at all.
Mick.
How is consistency over time using this method? Can one expect to obtain the same contrast, if they come back a year later to reprint the same negative?
(This assumes that one keeps records on the settings for each negative.)
Gel filters change during time, specially when used every day. Dichroitic filters not. So consitstency is ensured.
I use the exact same enlarger & colour head for my B&W, vc papers. You will like it very much. One thing however, although the various papers will give settings for your colour head to match the appropriate contrast for your paper, be prepared to experiment a bit, and if possible, keep some notes to refer too until you get a handle on your machine. Experiment a lot with 8x10s before you start printing anything larger.
Otherwise enjoy, I love my DeVere.
joe
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The only major difference I know of when coming back a year later, is the state of the enlarger globe.
If the globe is on the way out, you may notice (or you may not) that you require about 1/8 to 1/4 of a contrast difference.
Don't forget that unless you are using the same box of paper and the exact same chemicals, there will be a poofteenth of a difference, at least
Mick.
Yeah, I have a Beseler 45m with a beseler color dichoro head on it. My father used it for years with color and B&W, keep the CYAN set to zero, use mixtures of Magenta and Yellow to increase and decrease contrast. I personally have had little time to use it, I use a beseler 23c-2 with a actinic cold light head (zone VI) I have to put a polycontrast filter in it to print, otherwise is goes grade 4 or 5 on me every time, so you'll probably have to get a chart and put in some numbers for a contrast grade 2 with VC paper. I recently inherited that BESELER 45M from my father, have to clean it, and such.
Stability over time and repeatablilty would be the advantages of having a closed-loop system like the D5500 (ie an 'eye' in the mixing box that senses the color and a microprocessor to adjust the filters accordingly). But that has to be weighed against the added complexity of the system and the ability to keep it 'in tune.'
For a non-computerized head, I would guess that there may be more difficulty finding the same paper to print on a year later (especially if it came in a yellow box...) than any significant change in the dichroic filters.
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