I have been printing black and white on variable contrast paper with a Beseler MXT and a dicro head. Lately, the contrast seems to be quite flat. Could it be that the filters are faded? Or something else? Does anyone have a suggestion on how to analyze and solve this problem, or should I simply switch to a condenser head? I will welcome all suggestions.
David Michael Bigeleisen
It seems unlikely that the filters would suddenly fade. Have you checked you negatives?
You could print without filtration using the white light to get ~grade 2 as a baseline. You could use under the lens filters with the white light and compare that to filtered light to get roughly the same grade to see if the dichroic filters are problematic.
But I suspect the negative exposure/development or the print developer as more likely culprits.
Might be the developer or the paper.
Is the magenta filter moving in and out as it is supposed to? I recently discovered my kids enlarger's yellow filter was not moving and had to do a little cleaning and lubrication.
Dicroic filters don't fade.
From the Roscoe filter website...
"Dichroic filters are durable glass color filters that transmit only certain wavelengths of light, reflecting the rest of the spectrum, rather than absorbing it. Since virtually no energy is absorbed by the filter, light transmission is significantly higher than traditional gels and will never burn out or fade".
Peter
David,
I agree with the advice to check the paper. I've had VC paper go flat with age, even when refrigerated. Test some known fresh paper if you can and see if you have the same problem.
Bill
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