I have a V54 cold light and am using it with kodak polycontrast filter set on Forte polygrade V.
No matter what I do it seems to be impossible to get anything harder than a grade 3. Could it
that my filters (bought about 6-7 yrs ago) are too old and not intended for newer cold lights
newer VC papers as there have been many changes in the last few years?
Ronald,
I have had similar problems, although I would say that it is more one of compression of the space between grades 1.5 and 5. I find that when I use the paper you mention, a #2 filter produces a much contrastier print than if I print the same negative on a #2 graded paper (either Gallerie or New Seagull). The #2 VC filter (Ilford) with the same negative gives me what I would consider to be a #3.5 or #4. So, the difference is not some minor amount of variation that you might experience from brand-to-brand (New Seagull seems to be about 1/2 grade harder than Gallerie), but a significant, unacceptaple difference.
The differences between the #3 and harder filters, while existent, are small. Soft filters give a softer print, sometimes to the point of weakness (no black).
To sum up. there seems to be a significant break around grade 1.5 to a very high contrast with relatively small steps as you move up the scale of filters.
As a result, I have continued with graded papers, but experiment from time-to-time with VC. I was planning to try adding a .30Y filter as some have suggested to see if that helps.
I am using the V54 tube, Forte Polygrade V, Fine Art VersaPrintII developer.
Many other people on this forum use VC papers with cold light heads and seem to be satisifed. I do not know what they do (other than use the dual-tube VC head).
You should be able to get higher grades than 3. I'm not using Forte, but I use the V54 tube and get a wide range of grades. I'm using the Ilford filters and am not familiar with others. I do know that the #4 and #4 1/2 give the same grade for the papers I use. Other than that I get a full range and the #5 is very contrasty. I also use lighting gels to fine tune grades if need be. The would be Rosco or Lee, green and blue.
You might try, as an experiment, printing through a #47 filter. This is a tricolor blue and should give a real boost. No very practical in the darkroom as it has too much density, but a good trial. That would be max contrast.
I had a dual color coldlight, VC, that I used for a while. In the 'blue only' mode it gave very high contrast, but the light was hard to see. Overall, that setup was not bright enough and my exposure times had to increase too much and were too long. Not worth it.
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Hi Ronald,
I am assuming that by "harder than a grade 3" you mean contrastier, with richer blacks. Forte Polygrade V paper is capable of furnishing very rich blacks, judging from my experience with it. Think of it this way: the bluer the output of the printing light, the higher the resulting contrast. The V54 cold lamp is brighter, but does not give off as much light in the blue end of the spectrum as the older W45 cold lamp. In fact, those older cold lights needed additional yellow filtration in order to tone down the blue output when using them with VC papers.
Before you purchase another set of filters, contact Aristo. Ask them which brand, and type, of filters they recommend for use with the V54 lamp. Also, consider using a different paper developer for richer blacks. Take a look at the Fine Art website (www.fineartphotosupply.com) for more information about developers for Forte paper.
My Ilford filters work well with the V54 tube.
I have used the V54 tube with the Ilford filters and Forte paper and thought a given filter produced a generally more contrasty print versus Polymax fine art or Seagull VC. I'd say a #2 with Forte is about the equivalent of a #3 on Seagull. It is a significant difference. I've had no trouble decreasing contrast with lower grade filters and up with the higher ones, the starting point is just different.
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