Color analyzer for Durst M601 enlarger

[Csholl]

Hi,


I have a Durst M601 enlarger with the color head. My question, do I need to use a color analyzer for printing color prints? A link is below:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37373424243...Bk9SR4akq_yoYg

[Drew Wiley]

No. You don't need a color analyzer with any color head in order to make excellent color prints on conventional RA4 papers. In a commercial high-volume workflow environment they once sped things up. But that ancient little thing you linked would be more just a conversation piece today, and was just amateur level to begin with at best. But if you just want to play with it out of curiosity, it's cheap enough.

What you do need to learn is how to make simple test strips of a standardized color target to establish base CMY settings on your colorhead for any particular batch of paper. That's mostly trial and error. But a set of Kodak color viewing filters of various cc strengths might help with the initial learning curve, and would be money far better spent than with a token inexpensive color analyzer of questionable sensitivity.

Given the probability you'll be working with color neg films, you have to think counterintuitively, and that in order to increase any respective color, you actually need to reduce its setting on your colorhead dial; and to reduce a given color in the print, you need to increase it on the dial. Once you've gotten the basics and achieved a workable starting point, it just keeps getting easier and more intuitive over time. And the different batches of Fuji paper don't vary a lot. You will, of course, need to fine tune the settings for any given image a little bit as needed, according to your own taste.

[Csholl]

Ok, thx for the info. I'm not planning on doing too much color at the moment, but I just want to know what I need to do it. Anyway it's still a nice collector's piece, so I'll get it.