Some info to head of enlarger .

[Giovanni Da Ronch]

17/01/2005 Paulr wrote : I got a zone vi cold light, which i use with their compensating metronome. i love printing with the metronome, but the cold light is a horrifically uneven light source. I modified mine with a compensating mask made from lith film. Even so, I feel that I do more edge burning than makes sense. A regular cold light is also a terrible choice if you use vc papers or if you ever print 35mm.

I' d like to buy an enlarger 4x5 and I work in Black/White print with Vc paper FB .
I ask some info about , Cold Head VC , ( for es. Aristo , Zone VI VC ) or the VCCE head ( for ex. Durst , Omega Beseler ) .

Who is the better for me ?

Very Thank , Giovanni .

[Gem Singer]

Hello again Giovanni,

You asked a very similar question last Feburary. The answer remains the same. Since you are located in Italy, find a nice Durst enlarger, either new, or previously owned, with a dichroic head and forget about cold lights. You will be able to print on FB variable contrast papers and obtain excellent results. Durst enlargers should be readily available in your part of the world, at very reasonable prices.

[Enrico]

Why do you specifically want a cold light head?

[resummerfield]

Hi Giovanni:

I had a Zone VI coldlight; it worked fairly well for VC, but it was somewhat "slow". Now I use a Durst with a dichro head. I'll have to agree with Eugene Singer's advice, to forget about the coldlight and get a dichro. You will get just as good, if not better, results, and will be able to achieve higher/lower grades on VC papers. Good luck!

[Giovanni Da Ronch]

Enrico wrote : Why do you specifically want a cold light head?
Because I can choose between two possibilities :

1) Buy an used enlarger 4x5 ( certainly Durst L 1200 )

2) Buy an enlarger 6x7 maybe new ( probabily Durst m670 VC ) and using a cold light head with wood enlarger .

In past , I made an enlarger and I used some domestic neon to illuminate the negative .
I'd like to work with-out the glass , because I'm afraid of the possibility the alogen quarz light haed could heat too much .
The Durst L 1200 has a cooling fan to refresh itself .
Buying an enlarger used I' m afraid if the cooling fan doesn't work perfectly, specialy if I buy to eBay , it could vibrate .
With cold light haed this problem doesn't exist .

Thank's .