Wondering if you can use the aristo cold light head with vc paper or do you need the special vari contrast heads.They have an astronimical price on them. Dave.

-- david small (dsmall9917@aol.com), June 14, 1998

Answers

You can use VC papers if you have one of the newer tubes in the cold light head. I have a Zone VI cold light head with the older tube, and just use graded papers. This is only an issue if, like me, you are doing commercial black-and-white printing. If you get a cold light head with a newer tube you can use VC filters just like a normal person. Check with Aristo or Calumet before buying.

-- Darron Spohn (sspohn@concentric.net), June 16, 1998.

You can use a blue and a green filter to print with a cold light on variable contrast paper. You have to use split filtering. Use one filter for your upper zone values and the other for your lower. In other words, get your whites and blacks where you want them and then expose for your middle tones. It takes some doing but I think you'll be happy with the results. I use to do this all the time and found in many instances I got a far superior print than with vc filters and a newer vc head. I'm sorry I can't remember the number (ie. 58, 64 etc.) of the filters that you should use, I have it written down somewhere and will try to find it and pass it on.

-- Kirk Eck (eck@twsuvm.uc.twsu.edu), June 23, 1998.

The Aristo tube for variable contrast papers is a V 54. It is available in units to fit various enlargers including the Omega D-2, Bessler 45 and 23C. Calumet has them for $189 to $214.

www.calumetphoto.com

I have ordered directly from Aristo in Port Washington New York some years before. I dont know if they still sell direct or not. Sorry I dont have a better address.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), September 22, 1998.