I am new to developing and printing. Want to concentrate on black and white. I have inherited an Omega C760 dichroic enlarger. Can I use this for black and white printing - is diffused light a problem with black and white? Thanks for any assistance and advice.

-- Patricia Arfsten (parfsten@cccd.edu), August 08, 2000

Answers

You won't have any trouble using your dichroic head for black and white work. It will be a bonus if you wish to use variable contrast papers.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), August 08, 2000.

As Ed states, no problem. If you want the contrast filter conversions for the color head, email me. Cheers

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), August 08, 2000.

A dichroic enlarger will give fine results for B&W prints and is convenient for variable contrast papers. Almost all color heads are diffuse light sources, which most darkroom workers prefer for B&W work. (Not all agree and it is certainly not essential--you can find many discussions if you search the archive). You can use the filter settings to select contrast grade on variable constrast papers. Most manufacturers publish suggested settings, e.g., if you use an Ilford paper, download the manual in pdf form from http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html

Paul Butzi has some good articles at http://www.asymptote.com/butzi/articles.htm (You don't have to do the calibration he describes, especially when starting out--just use the suggested tables.)

-- Michael Briggs (MichaelBriggs@earthlink.net), August 08, 2000.