I have been using dichroic heads when printing on VC papers. The head I am used to (Saunders LPL4500) goes all the way up to about 170cc. I have learned to work with this scale to increase and decrease contrast, split contrast etc...

Recently I have gained access to a Durst 8x10 enlarger with a Pavelle (I believe) Dichroic head (wish to enlarge negatives larger then 4x5). The problem is that the Dichroic head only goes to 80 units. I have seen another Durst Head (for 6x6) that is about 25years old and it also only goes to 80ish on M or Y.

So here are the questions... did the scale change or does it just cut-off at 80 (as we know it with current equip.), do I split my old scale in half? Other...?

So... I throw myself at the mercy of the board - I am at a loss for answers and solutions.

P.S.: The spec sheets that come with the paper indicate a Durst scale, but once again the higher grades indicate a much higher number than what the head can dial into.

-- Steve Nieslony (sejn@pacbell.net), January 08, 2002