Enlarging sm. format, etc, on azo from Omega E or D using a 300w bulb

I have some old, Kodak Azo that I want to enlarge on, but I am concerned that using a 300w bulb, in the D's lamp-house might cause issues with the bellows. I also could try with an E model, but there I'd have to fit a spare D housing or rig a work dome as a light source.

On-time's will be short, as most of the Azo I have is a touch over 5x7in. and I might have to actually put some 1.2 ND theatre gels above the negatives, for long enough exposures.

I could really use some guidance here, as I don't feel I have a good enough hand on the designs and use of DIY purpose-built reflective enlargers.

It may well be, that this paper will end up as an alternative printing ground, due to fog issues and how much BZT I can add to Ansco 130 or Amidol, but I'd like to try the enlarger set-up, even with new Azo papers.

No. just get some actual enlarging paper or make some enlarged negatives or prepare to spend half a day exposing. Get an f0.95 enlarging lens to make it a little easier.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eli

I have some old, Kodak Azo that I want to enlarge on, but I am concerned that using a 300w bulb, in the D's lamp-house might cause issues with the bellows. I also could try with an E model, but there I'd have to fit a spare D housing or rig a work dome as a light source.

On-time's will be short, as most of the Azo I have is a touch over 5x7in. and I might have to actually put some 1.2 ND theatre gels above the negatives, for long enough exposures.

I could really use some guidance here, as I don't feel I have a good enough hand on the designs and use of DIY purpose-built reflective enlargers.

It may well be, that this paper will end up as an alternative printing ground, due to fog issues and how much BZT I can add to Ansco 130 or Amidol, but I'd like to try the enlarger set-up, even with new Azo papers.

---

I use a 250 watt bulb for all my printing on Omega enlargers, not sure where you find a 300w bulb but I think you will be ok . You should use glass carriers as the head really heats up with long exposures.

In my experience I rarely go beyond 30 second exposures with the 250w .

Forgive me if I'm being Captain Obvious here, but Azo is a contact-speed paper not meant for enlarging. It is very slow and needs a bright light source even for contact printing. I tried contact-printing some 4x5 negs on to Azo under my enlarger once; with the lens out and just the cold-light source at full power, exposures were longer than one minute... more like 2 minutes. Enlarged, through a lens at an optimum f/stop, forget about it. Look at michaelandpaula.com, where there is, or was, a whole forum category about "Enlarging on Azo". Michael Smith and Paula Chamlee are almost certainly the world's leading experts on Azo paper, and if the answers to your questions can't be found there, they will be happy to help you.

Any decent halogen colorhead and reasonably fast enlarger lens will allow modest actual enlargements on Azo. Plenty of people have done it, including me.

Ditto