Contact printing light source?

[Bertha DeCool]

I've lost access to, and room for, an enlarger to use as light source to contact print 5x7. More than willing to use Weston's 15w bare bulb but I figure there might be additional options after 70-80 years...

Curious to learn what others are using or suggesting. I'll be situating the light source 3-4 ft above the table.

Thanks in advance.

[Merg Ross]

What paper do you intend to use; graded, or variable contrast?

[Bertha DeCool]

Primarily VC (especially while getting back up to speed, it's been awhile), graded on occasion. Planning on using 6"x 6" multigrade filters under a boxed-in light source.

[Oren Grad]

Given that it's going to be used only as a light source and so doesn't have to have any relationship to the format you're going to contact print, have you considered one of the very compact 35-only enlargers that's easy to set up and break down? Something like a Durst F30, say.

[Greg Y]

Bertha, a bare-bulb a la Weston will most likely be too bright & fast for modern VC papers. I use one with Azo & Lodima

[blue4130]

Despite what others have told me in the past (it won't work, it will be uneven, it will be too hard to control) I use a canon ex550 flash pointed at the ceiling on 1/32 power. Most negatives need 3 to 5 pops.

[Michael Kadillak]

Given that it's going to be used only as a light source and so doesn't have to have any relationship to the format you're going to contact print, have you considered one of the very compact 35-only enlargers that's easy to set up and break down? Something like a Durst F30, say.

Agree. Plus you have the ability to use a cheap lens as exposure control and can integrate the multi grade filters even below the lens since it is just a contact print and not an optical enlargement. For probably $20 or less at the local online venue you can pick up one of these compact units.

[Doremus Scudder]

Given that you want to use VC paper, you'll likely want a way to use contrast filters. That kind of rules out the bare bulb, etc. Here are a few ideas:

Kodak bullet safelight w/ 15W or 7W bulb. Cut filters to fit. Use a piece of opal glass or plex if the light is too intense. Hang it from a ceiling hook and wire it to a footswitch. I did this in my small apartment in Vienna; worked like a charm.

Small enlarger that will take filters that you can easily take down and store somewhere. Since you're only doing 5x7 or 8x10 prints, that should work fine.

A small flash bounced off the ceiling as suggested above will work just fine as long as your ceiling is neutral (white, grey, even beige). You can hold or tape a filter over the flash. Keep in mind, though, that a flash is ~5500K, i.e., daylight, and that VC papers are designed to use tungsten light sources in the 2800-3400K range. Your contrast filtration might tend to the yellow...

Hope this helps,

Doremus

[Greg]

A 6x6 Durst or Rollei enlarger with a color head can be found at auction or at a tag/garage sale (if your are lucky) for very few dollars. Just use it without a lensboard but with its 6x6 negative carrier. Works great with VC paper once you work out the filtration settings. Not sure if it would work with "Azo" type paper though but sounds like you are using enlarging paper.

[John Kasaian]

Years ago there was a Russian enlarger that came in a suitcase. You got room to store a suitcase?
There was also an attachment for Speed Graphics that converted them into an enlarger. If you already have a Speeder....?

I use an old Meopta enlarger that was rescued from being thrown out. It's small enough not to get in the way.

[Bertha DeCool]

Thanks, all. An old 35mm enlarger is a possibility but space is a consideration. I've been thinking more along the lines of boxing in a low wattage bulb or LED or (..?) with a slot for 6x6 VC filters.

I suppose if I can't get dim enough I could always drop in a Wratten ND filter.

Bouncing a few flash pops is a nice idea but I need to be able to burn/dodge so I'm looking for a wattage and distance that'll allow for 15-20 sec exposures at least. Any prior experience along these lines would be gratefully accepted.

Oddly enough, a friend from school back in the early '80s sent me a picture of our old darkroom, enlargers all gathering cobwebs. Maybe I drive a few hours and liberate a few...

[Bertha DeCool]

Bullet safelight converted is an intriguing idea, thanks.

[Greg]

When I was a student at RIT in the 1970s my darkroom away from the school's labs was in a very, very small bathroom. Durst 35mm enlarger on the toilet seat's cover. Piece of plywood partially covering the very small bathtub with 3 trays on it and the tub filled with water for the wash. 100% for contact printing 8x10 B&W negatives. Still have some of those 8x10 prints mounted on 14x18 mat boards. It's amazing at just how little space one can be productive in.

[Bertha DeCool]

It's amazing at just how little space one can be productive in.

Oh so true. I'm walling off a small corner of an oddly sized room in my house, 3 trays in a metal slop sink and wash them in the bathroom or kitchen.

[Greg]

Oh so true. I'm walling off a small corner of an oddly sized room in my house, 3 trays in a metal slop sink and wash them in the bathroom or kitchen.

If it works , then just do it. GOOD LUCK Bertha

[Duolab123]

Bullet safelight converted is an intriguing idea, thanks.

I like this idea too. Could be any sort of lamp fixture.


An enlarger with a dichro head like a baby Omega or Beseler 67 would be awesome. Still it takes up space. Your idea of a box with a filter drawer sounds like you could rig something up. If you get LEDS where the transformer is separate that would reduce heating.

[Havoc]

Years ago there was a Russian enlarger that came in a suitcase. You got room to store a suitcase?
There was also an attachment for Speed Graphics that converted them into an enlarger. If you already have a Speeder....?

I use an old Meopta enlarger that was rescued from being thrown out. It's small enough not to get in the way.

Meopta has such a suitcase enlarger. I use the base and column of one as a repro stand. The "suitcase" in hard cardboard fell apart from being stored in a garage too long. Look for a Meopta Opemus, several versions of it.

[LabRat]

For contact printing, you have choices not unlike when enlarging where one might choose a point source, condenser, or cold light head... With a point source, there is a very sharp shadow from the light that is sharpest but can be brutal in revealing even the slightest defects and dust... With the condenser, there is a slight point spread effect which is still sharp, but a little less severe... A cold light effect is not as severe as the diffuser spreads that fine shadow, but tends not to hold that very sharp edge as well, but also tends to blend imperfections...

There are basically the same choices for contact printing, due to the hardness of the light used... Like above, the film to paper contact is close but different light sort of "wraps" around image points differently due to the degree of diffusion and the angle the light wraps around those points... You you can choose the "bite" of the look due to the light diffusion applied to it...

Point source was used to contact print neg to film to make sep negs, dupes etc... Many use an enlarger as a source for a slightly harder light, but has a harder contrast, but darker fine details can be hard to bring up... A full diffused source can be lacking in contrast punch, but very subtle details can be revealed... (Observatories discovered 120 years ago or so subtle stars on their plates couldn't show until they greatly diffused the light sources...)

If you use an enlarger (a good compromise), the old trick was to put a neg or strip on the film plane and focus to the height of the printing frame, then remove and throw off the focus a little as fingerprints on the outer contact glass, dust etc would not leave a hard shadow white marks on print... Use a lens on enl to use the most even illumination area of the light system, raise enlarger to height IC about 1/3 larger for the most even IC, and use a timer that has 1/10 sec intervals, as modern papers are fast and 1/10 second exposure steps will be used to zero in on exposure... (And enlargers have filter drawers, color heads etc to hold MG filters easily or dial in contrast corrections easily...)

Interesting process...

Steve K

[Doremus Scudder]

Bullet safelight converted is an intriguing idea, thanks.

Worked for me for years. And, you don't need a Wratten ND filter or anything expensive if it's too bright. A sheet of typing paper does the job admirably in a pinch. Plus you can get translucent white plexiglass easily. Heck, my local shop just pointed me to the scrap bin and told me to take what I wanted when I asked how much a 6-inch square of white plex would cost.

I had a ceiling-lamp hook over the washing machine (my work surface...) in my European bathroom where I hung up the safelight (with a few knots in the cable for height adjustment) and had an old in-line footswitch that I scavenged from a set of Christmas-tree lights. My timer was a metronome. Everything went into a box stored on a closet shelf when not in use. The nice thing about the bullet safelight is that there's a built-in filter holder. Just cut filters to fit. If I didn't want to enlarge everything I shoot, I'd likely still be using something similar.

Best,

Doremus

[rjbuzzclick]

Before I bought an enlarger I used a 4w or 7w night light bulb hanging from the ceiling for 4x5 contact prints.

[Daniel Unkefer]

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49497411482_1f5123a533_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ipVaYf)VC Contact Printing Source (https://flic.kr/p/2ipVaYf) by Nokton48 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/), on Flickr

I saw that Tim Layton built this unit, so followed his lead and I had fun building this. The ulility light was $10 at Home Depot, I removed the clamp mechanism. The box is made from foam core board and masking tape. I put my Multigrade 6x6" #00 & #5 variable contrast filters in cardboard frames, so I can change the filtering out by touch, under the dark safelights.

I tried a 7.5W bulb, amazingly way too bright for RC VC paper. So I ordered ROSCO ND sheets from B&H, in .6 and .3 densities. About a thirty second or longer time is what I am looking for, so I have time for burning and dodging.

The four suspension wires keeps the box level and keeps it from swinging around in the dark.

[younghoon Kil]

200354


I also made this box by getting information from Tim Layton's web page.
At the top is GE Lighting's 41267 incandescent bulb, which is controlled by a Leviton TBL03-10E Tabletop Slide Control Lamp Dimmer and a Nearpow Digital 7-day Programmable Timer.
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0752PHMTL/
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A80756O/

Anyway, the bulb brightness was unstable and I ordered an Intrepid 4x5 Enlarger Kit last year.

[Bertha DeCool]

So I ordered ROSCO ND sheets from B&H, in .6 and .3 densities. About a thirty second or longer time is what I am looking for

Bingo. What combination of ND filters gives you approx 30secs?

[jeroldharter]

The problem with most light sources, even enlargers, is the the light is far too bright for VC paper, especially if you want to dodge/burn anything. Not the easiest thing to do with 5x7 but much harder with short enlarging times. If you can find one, an RH Designs paper fllasher

http://www.rhdesigns.co.uk/darkroom/html/paperflasher.html

should work well. Get some Blue Tack or other adhesive to mount it in the appropriate position. You can test the proper height to get the desired base exposure, or perhaps test different heights to adjust exposure. It is a very dim light that is diffuse.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Bingo. What combination of ND filters gives you approx 30secs?

Well I've been trying to find time for more printing. I can let you know. I have extra material left over and could send you some. Send me a PM if interested.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49494974031_fe40fde214_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ipGFpe)Garden of the Gods 1 (https://flic.kr/p/2ipGFpe) by Nokton48 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/18134483@N04/), on Flickr

My first attempt at split grade contact printing, with the above printing box.

14 seconds with the #00 filter, and 7 seconds with the #5 filter. No ND filtering, and printing times are too short for my tastes. Promaster RC VC paper Multigrade dev 1:7

[Jesse61]

Thank you guys for this information. Very useful topic. I will be doing some repairs on my house soon. Also want to do some cosmetic repairs in the contact print room. I will definitely heed your advice. I want to update the color of the walls and ceiling. The only thing I want to keep is the lighting in this room. Been looking for a long time for a soft light and bought a night light plug in (https://www.amazon.com/Night-Light-Plug-Smart-Sensor/dp/B07NF4P12L) to try it out. Since then, it has been an integral part of the room. It's very soft and just enough light, so I don't have to trip over everything. Probably the best purchase I've ever made.

[nolindan]

I use a nuArc CP25 point-source contact printing light. It does have a filter holder, unfortunately it is a bit oversize for standard under-lens filters, however it can be adapted to take standard filters with a bit of cardboard and some tape. They pop up on ebay from time to time, sometimes at idiotic prices. Have ebay email you an alert when one does show up.

[esearing]

Since my darkroom is tiny I just use the enlarger raised to about 28 inches above the baseboard and stop down the lens 3-4 clicks. Blue/green are handled by the head and controller. 20-25 seconds is normal for my printing contact or enlarged, more if I need to do dodging in several places.

[Tin Can]

I have used enlargers without a lens

I checked the uneven lighting with spot meter

Made center filter on matt plastic sheet with pencil, checking as I went

Easily got even coverage

and controlled time by adding a paper filter