...In the form of:
- an LPL VCCE 7700 enlarger, with 35mm, 645, and 670 negative carriers
- the LPL Enlarging timer AE-100 with foot switch
- the LPL Universal Easel Mask DX1417
- a Lucky NOVA print processor (no clips though)
All this (and more!) was given to me by a Japanese woman who had given up darkroom printing years ago but had kept all her equipment. She seemed more excited than I was when I went to pick up the stuff (for free, I might add) and wanted to talk shop! It was so encouraging but unfortunately I had a cab waiting outside with the meter running so we didn't have much time.
A few comments first. I've always worked with condensor enlargers, this is my first time with a diffusion enlarger. I moved to Japan almost two years ago and brought most of my darkroom equipment with me from Canada (enlarger lenses, grain focuser, trays, tongs, graduates, contact printer, print easel, timers, etc.), minus my enlarger of course. Two years of searching for another enlarger in Japan has left me frustrated because people here seem to expect unreasonable prices for used enlargers ($500-$2000 anyone?), often without carriers. In any event, I've set up the enlarger, and everything seems to be working, but as I still need to make this place light-tight (my kitchen is also now my darkroom) I will have to wait before I can truly test it.
Questions:
1. I'm excited about the enlarger, I've set up it (it came in pieces) and the only problem seems to be the movement of the enlarger head. When I "unlock" it to change the height, I have to hold onto the head to make sure it doesn't slide completely down the column. This is contrary to every other experience I've had with other enlargers -- perhaps I set it up incorrectly? Or is this normal for this enlarger? Unfortunately I only have the Japanese manual and the pictures only tell so much. I am willing to buy the manual in English, but if anyone has it (scanned, pdf, whatever) and is willing to share, I'd really appreciate it.
2. I plan on buying a few more of the bulbs for the enlarger -- I'm assuming the 100W 12 V Quartz-Halogen lamp is the way to go? I also plan on getting the universal negative carrier with anti-newton glass as it seems the best fit for me -- especially as I like to do lith printing and the negatives can be exposed to a lot of heat and light due to long exposure times. Is there anything else I should consider?
3. The Nova print processor seems interesting to me, and undoubtably useful in a country like Japan where apartments are tiny and counter space is nearly non-existent. I've done some research on it (again, my manual is only in Japanese) but I doubt I would use it much as I plan to print mostly on fiber paper (and lith to boot), and doing things like the postcard exchange with small prints seems more efficient in trays where I can do many at a time. In any event, I was wondering if it could be adapted somehow, for use as a print washer, or something equally useful?
4. Finally, not that I've ever done much testing with my negative developing (perhaps I should...) -- I tend to use published times, give or take, for most of my developing and have been happy enough with it. However, I'm wondering if with this enlarger if I should start going for contrastier negs? I envy people who are settled in life (!) and can use the same enlarger year after year (and develop negs for that type of enlarger), but I move around a lot and have to deal with what's available.
Cheers.
- an LPL VCCE 7700 enlarger, with 35mm, 645, and 670 negative carriers
- the LPL Enlarging timer AE-100 with foot switch
- the LPL Universal Easel Mask DX1417
- a Lucky NOVA print processor (no clips though)
All this (and more!) was given to me by a Japanese woman who had given up darkroom printing years ago but had kept all her equipment. She seemed more excited than I was when I went to pick up the stuff (for free, I might add) and wanted to talk shop! It was so encouraging but unfortunately I had a cab waiting outside with the meter running so we didn't have much time.
A few comments first. I've always worked with condensor enlargers, this is my first time with a diffusion enlarger. I moved to Japan almost two years ago and brought most of my darkroom equipment with me from Canada (enlarger lenses, grain focuser, trays, tongs, graduates, contact printer, print easel, timers, etc.), minus my enlarger of course. Two years of searching for another enlarger in Japan has left me frustrated because people here seem to expect unreasonable prices for used enlargers ($500-$2000 anyone?), often without carriers. In any event, I've set up the enlarger, and everything seems to be working, but as I still need to make this place light-tight (my kitchen is also now my darkroom) I will have to wait before I can truly test it.
Questions:
1. I'm excited about the enlarger, I've set up it (it came in pieces) and the only problem seems to be the movement of the enlarger head. When I "unlock" it to change the height, I have to hold onto the head to make sure it doesn't slide completely down the column. This is contrary to every other experience I've had with other enlargers -- perhaps I set it up incorrectly? Or is this normal for this enlarger? Unfortunately I only have the Japanese manual and the pictures only tell so much. I am willing to buy the manual in English, but if anyone has it (scanned, pdf, whatever) and is willing to share, I'd really appreciate it.
2. I plan on buying a few more of the bulbs for the enlarger -- I'm assuming the 100W 12 V Quartz-Halogen lamp is the way to go? I also plan on getting the universal negative carrier with anti-newton glass as it seems the best fit for me -- especially as I like to do lith printing and the negatives can be exposed to a lot of heat and light due to long exposure times. Is there anything else I should consider?
3. The Nova print processor seems interesting to me, and undoubtably useful in a country like Japan where apartments are tiny and counter space is nearly non-existent. I've done some research on it (again, my manual is only in Japanese) but I doubt I would use it much as I plan to print mostly on fiber paper (and lith to boot), and doing things like the postcard exchange with small prints seems more efficient in trays where I can do many at a time. In any event, I was wondering if it could be adapted somehow, for use as a print washer, or something equally useful?
4. Finally, not that I've ever done much testing with my negative developing (perhaps I should...) -- I tend to use published times, give or take, for most of my developing and have been happy enough with it. However, I'm wondering if with this enlarger if I should start going for contrastier negs? I envy people who are settled in life (!) and can use the same enlarger year after year (and develop negs for that type of enlarger), but I move around a lot and have to deal with what's available.
Cheers.
