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  #1  
Old 3rd October 2011, 09:57 PM
JamesK JamesK is offline
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Question Multigrade with tungsten bulb?

First off, I've finished my darkroom today! Oh yes!

Although I've got a Meopta enlarger with a colour head, I've also bought an old Ensign enlarger for 6 x 9cm negatives as the Meopta only goes up to 6 x 6cm.

The thing is, the Ensign takes a tungsten light bulb: is it practical to print on Multigrade paper with such a bulb, using filtration where required? The enlarger has no filter drawer, but I could soon knock one up.

Even if the above is not possible as such, would it be possible to produce reasonable contact prints with no filters on multigrade using the Ensign as a light source?

The reasoning here is that the bulbs for the Meopta are about £16 while a tungsten bulb is 50p and I've got a backlog of films from the late 70s / early 80s to contact print.

I did, of course, consider contact printing on graded paper, but this option doesn't seem to work out cheaper.

Many thanks

JamesK
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Old 3rd October 2011, 10:47 PM
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MartyNL MartyNL is offline
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You can use Ilford MG below the lens filters too;

http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/ilf...ters-341-p.asp
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Old 4th October 2011, 06:07 AM
Trond Trond is offline
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I'm not familiar with Ensign enlargers, but I assume it's a condenser enlarger. Make sure you use an opal bulb (milky white in appearance). If you use an ordinary tungsten bulb, you will end up with uneven illumination.

Opal bulbs are also more expensive then ordinary bulbs. Using below the lens filters is not a problem. I used them for many years with an Metopta Opemus IIa condenser enlarger.

Trond
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Old 4th October 2011, 07:07 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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James,
as others have said, printing on multigrade with a tungstan bulb is fine, I do it all the time as I use a Meopta opemus 6 with a condenser head, and use Multigrade filters, in my case above the lens,but use a proper enlarger bulb, opal, and ilford below the lens filters and you will be fine.
Richard
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Old 4th October 2011, 07:53 AM
Paulographic Paulographic is offline
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There are general "opal" bulbs that are not necessarily meant for enlargers. Philips seem to have the best choice and now that for some time many domestic lights have ES rather than the traditional British BC fitting not hard to find. I got mine from a High St. lighting retailer.
The photographic opal bulbs used in enlargers and as modelling lamps in studio flash seem to be more robust (and may have a longer life, not sure) but an enlarger isn't subject to the moving about that a flash head gets.
I painted the inside of the lamphouse of one of my enlargers with heat resisting white paint which improved illumination strength and eveness. I was never going to use it as a point source enlarger and occasionally place diffusing material in the filter drawer.

Does anyone have experience with low energy and/or daylight bulbs? My only trial found that the domestic ones will work with graded paper but with multigrade give "soot and whitewash" contrast. I asuume this is due to them not emitting a full spectrum.
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Old 4th October 2011, 09:21 AM
JamesK JamesK is offline
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Many thanks for all your answers.

In the dim and distant past all I used was a lightbulb in an old Gnome Beta II enlarger, sadly long gone, with a condenser lens, but this was with graded paper. (I removed the writing from the bulb with scouring powder.)

I actually did buy an opal bulb for the Ensign, as I seemed to remember using these before.

I also replaced all the wiring and electrical fittings, as it came (from e-bah) with fabric covered flex that plugged into a light socket!

The head was also jammed on the column, but a sharp tap with a mallet soon got it free.

For most things, I'll use the Meopta 7 with the Colour 3 head but, as lightbulbs are about 1/32nd of the price of the bulb for the Meopta, it seemed to make sense to use the Ensign as a light source for the contact prints, in addition to the 6 x 9 cm.

All I have to do now is to adapt the 35mm negative carrier that came with the Ensign to 6 x 9, as I'll use the Meopta for 35mm.

(The Ensign did, however, come with a correct 105mm lens for 6 x 9cm. and what I hope are the correct condenser lenses.)

In passing, it is of course sod's law that the darkroom is about 1/2" too narrow to mount both enlargers side-by-side. (Now where did I leave that mallet...............)

Once again, many thanks for your help.
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Old 4th October 2011, 10:47 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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James, In the dim and distant past I had an old MPP enlarger, now long sold, a great mistake, which I bought for my very early attempts at 6x6, it also had the correct lens,( an old wray lens) but not the correct negative carrier, and so I made one out of mounting board, which worked well, maybe you could fashion something similar for your ensign,?
Richard
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Old 4th October 2011, 01:45 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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I too had and still have a Gnome Beta enlarger. It was fine with an ordinary opal bulb. It is now in the loft as I only used it for some old 6x9 negs that the brother-in-law wanted printed. I had no filters but if the price of a set of new under the lens filters is an issue then the cheaper larger square over the lens ones can be used by placing them on the safety red filter holder under the lens.

I was watching a video of Andrew Sanderson demonstrating split grade printing and he actually chose to use these large filters in just such a way.

Mike
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Old 4th October 2011, 08:12 PM
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cliveh cliveh is offline
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Default Point Source Enlarger

Related to this post, can I make reference to ‘Point Source Enlargers’ – Please forgive my ignorance of this type of enlarger, but am I right in thinking this is different to a condenser? If so I would like to try one and what advantages/disadvantages does a point source provide?
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Old 5th October 2011, 04:32 AM
Paulographic Paulographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cliveh View Post
Related to this post, can I make reference to ‘Point Source Enlargers’ – Please forgive my ignorance of this type of enlarger, but am I right in thinking this is different to a condenser? If so I would like to try one and what advantages/disadvantages does a point source provide?
A point source enlarger is a pure condenser type with no diffuion of the light source which is a clear bulb the filament of which is the "point source". Enlargers that can be used for this purpose have a vertically adjustable lampholder within the lamphouse to focus the "point". The interior of the lamphouse is black.
I had given years back an old MPP enlarger which I used for my first 6x6 work and the lampholder was on the end of a tube sliding up and down through the top locked by a nut around it. The DeVere 504 Varicon has a knob at the side for this. The 504 is the one I referrred to in my earlier post.
This type of light source gives maximun contrast possible from a negative but also highlights sharply any dust or blemishes. (Not recommended for feminine portraiture). It also, as I found out even with an opal bulb, gives uneven illumination across the printing area, in my case a stop less at the corners than centre and clearly visible without metering/testing.
Painting the interior of the lamphouse white gave pretty much all over even illumination plus about one stop extra brightness.
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