Best paper for a cold light graflarger?

**Tim Meisburger** · 18-Feb-2009, 18:15

Okay, I bought one. Now I have more options. The graded paper from Freestyle is relatively cheap, but the shipping to Thailand is exorbitant, so I may have to wait to buy that until my next trip to the US, this summer. Next, contrast filters...

**Kevin Crisp** · 18-Feb-2009, 18:19

I tried long and hard to filter an old Aristo tube to work with modern VC papers and never got it to work properly. I relamped with the V54 tube and it worked great. The replacement tubes are not terribly expensive ($128 for the tube in a Beseler 23c I just relamped) and you can put them in yourself very, very carefully because they are fragile.

**Toyon** · 18-Feb-2009, 19:02

It might be cheaper to buy from here: http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/.

**Tim Meisburger** · 18-Feb-2009, 19:45

Thanks Kevin. I already ordered the filter, so I will give it a try. I do not want to re-lamp, as I figure if I upgrade, I should just buy a more modern enlarger. The Graflarger arrived this morning, so I am anxious to give it a try. Unfortunately, I have to go out of town this weekend, so it may be a while till I get a chance.

Thanks Toyon. For some reason, stuff out of Japan is typically more expensive than buying from the US. I think it has to do with taxes. In Asia, cheapest is to buy from Taiwan or China, but I was not able to find anyone from there selling paper on the web, except wholesale. Probably because I cannot read Chinese!

**Bill_1856** · 18-Feb-2009, 20:37

My first year in LF I used a Graflareger on a Graphic View II. It is a clumsy arrangement, but it will allow you to get started.
I'd recommend that you forget about the filters and VC paper -- you can get bogged down in trying to get the equipment working, when you should be concentrating on making prints. Just get some graded paper and learn.

**Tim Meisburger** · 18-Feb-2009, 22:59

Thanks Bill. Sounds like good advice, but not sure I can find any graded paper in Thailand. I'm off to Malaysia (Penang) on a quick trip tomorrow, and will look around there. Otherwise, I'll be in the US in June, and will get a big stock then.

Cheers, Tim

**Bill_1856** · 19-Feb-2009, 10:02

Don't forget that VC paper, used without filters, prints as a plain #2 graded paper. And you can vary the contrast by nearly a full grade by exposure/development time and developer concentration.