I have just printed my first photos and would like to thank the people on these pages who first encouraged me to give it a try. I love it. Now I need to know if I can clean the bulb (light source or whatever) on my very old Durst enlarger. When I turn it on without the lens in, there are a few dark patches on the top right hand corner on the baseboard. It shows up on the photos as an undeveloped patch. I am only printing 8" X 10" and can get around it by moving the paper lower down, but would like to fix it if possible. Thank you again for your terrific help. Carol S.

-- Carol S. (carfred@hotmail.com), January 21, 2002

Answers

You sure can clean it, just be a little bit careful, first don't touch it with your fingers, the oil in the fingers reduces the life of the bulb. So get a pair of cotton gloves and remove the bulb, then once it is out with a little damp cloth run it around the dirty part until it is clean. Now the safety part, make sure the enlarger is not connected, that the bulb is cold, and when you put it back make sure the bulb is dry completely. Good luck.

-- Jorge Gasteazoro (jorgegm58@prodigy.net.mx), January 21, 2002.

Jorge forgot to mention to make sure the power cord is off/removed from outlet before removing the globe.

Also, when you replace your clean globe, check the position of the globe because some enlargers allow the globe position to be adjusted which will affect the light distribution on the baseboard. Bit of trial and error associated with getting this right!

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@unite.com.au), January 22, 2002.

This is one thing that we have to due... like cleaning your camera lens. You know when you see dust on the negatives, they print sharp on the print... well if you have a diffused spot on the print you need to clean your diffusers and the inside because that is where the dust is.

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), January 22, 2002.

Look inside you lamphouse as well as looking to see if the diffusers are clean as Scott points out. If the inside of the lamphouse has anything that is causing the surface not to be uniform (e.g., chipped paint, dirt, tape, rust, etc.), these imperfections can sometimes reflect down onto the printing material in a subtle but noticeable way (the defect will most likely show up in the same area of your prints). Correct to the degree you can. You may need to use some touch up paint. Just do a thorough but careful and gentle cleaning of everything.

-- Jim Rock (jameswrock@aol.com), January 22, 2002.