Aristo - New Replacement Lamps Available in Jan 2011

BTW, who can tell me where VCL-GR-DIMMER can be bought?

I bought green and blue lamp (before Aristo closed) to replace with my VCL8100, but they are not color tube , they are all white tube at unlighted.

My problem is the green light too strong and blue light can't make paper black enough.
Before I turn at grade 2 can get normal image, but I must turn at grade 4.4 to get close image.

Do you know how to solve this problem?

Welcome to APUG. Good to have you here.

infoto said:

BTW, who can tell me where VCL-GR-DIMMER can be bought?

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Since Aristo is no longer in business, you will need to contact Louise Kessler directly and ask her if any of these dimmers are still available. They most likely will not be, but it never hurts to ask. Her email address is: louise.kessler@voltarc.com

infoto said:

I bought green and blue lamp (before Aristo closed) to replace with my VCL8100, but they are not color tube , they are all white tube at unlighted.

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My understanding is that these non-colored tubes were called "clear sets" and were designed for commercial applications. They were a lesser quality tube set that did not produce as pure a light as the standard colored lamp tubes. Because of this they were also less expensive.

infoto said:

My problem is the green light too strong and blue light can't make paper black enough.

Before I turn at grade 2 can get normal image, but I must turn at grade 4.4 to get close image.

Do you know how to solve this problem?

Click to expand...

When I bought my unit I had the same problem. My green tube was too strong and my blue tube was too weak. I temporarily fixed it by placing a CC60M (60 units of magenta, or minus-green) filter between the lamp grids and the diffusing sheet.

This moved the color of the light mixture closer to blue by removing some of the excess green. I was then able to get a full range of contrasts from 0-5. This also caused the overall light intensity to be reduced, which then required longer exposure times.

Remember that the purpose of this thread is to give owners of the Aristo VCL4500 and VCL8100 units a chance to purchase replacement lamp grids from a brand new manufacturing run that is about to happen. I believe these will be the original colored tube lamps. So if you think you might be interested in new lamps, you should email Louise at the address above and ask to be place on her interest list.

Hope this helps.

Ken

Patience is indeed a virtue...

I just received the following email from Louise regarding the new VCL4500 and VCL8100 replacement lamps:


So if you have at all been sitting on the fence regarding whether you wanted to place yourself on the interest list, now would be a good time to contact Louise. I do not know the quantity of lamps that will be produced in this new manufacturing run.

Louise may be reached at any of the following:


Ken

Thanks for the update, Ken.

This afternoon Louise sent the following announcement to everyone on her interest list seeking new replacement lamps for the Aristo VCL4500 variable contrast cold light head:




[Edit: Just a thought here. If you do decide to place an order, it might be safer to simply scan your credit card and send Louise the image if you are ordering via email. Text representations of your card information might not be such a good idea, as emailing Louise directly is not a secure ordering channel.]

Ken

That's great news! Thanks for posting this info.

An update...

LCD/Voltarc's new manufacturing run of replacement lamp grids for the Aristo VCL4500 variable-contrast cold light heads has apparently happened. Yesterday I received an email from Louise informing me that my credit card had been billed and my order was shipped the day before. UPS is scheduled to deliver to me on May 9th. I'm pretty excited. I presume others who placed orders have also been - or will be - notified.

Now that the 4x5 replacement lamps have been taken care of, Louise also mentioned in her email that she was hoping to soon send out the pricing quote sheet for the upcoming VCL8100 replacement lamps.

Even though my own need has now been met, I still want to make sure everyone else who might want or need new 8x10 lamp grids are in the loop on this. As always Louise may be contacted directly at:

louise.kessler@voltarc.com

Ken

That is good news. How much do the 4x5 tubes cost?

I am in the market for 8x10 tubes but fear the cost.

jeroldharter said:

That is good news. How much do the 4x5 tubes cost?

I am in the market for 8x10 tubes but fear the cost.

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The original 4x5 price quote sheet may be seen here.

It was issued on Feb 15, 2011, and is good through Dec 31, 2011.

Ken

P.S. to Jerold, since you are already on her 8x10 list you might want to check your personal email right now. Five minutes ago I received an email from Louise with the 8x10 price quotes. I will get her quote document into a public link and post it shortly...

[Edit: The email from Louise containing the LCD price quote for the VCL8100 lamps is (there was a url link here which no longer exists).]

I recently acquired a 5x7 Aristo cold light on an Omega E6 enlarger. I don't believe it has the VC lamp. Have they started making them for this enlarger yet? If so, can you just swap out the old lamp for the new V54 lamp? Is it a difficult undertaking?


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You can get the most accurate availability information by contacting louise.kessler@voltarc.com. She's incredibly helpful.

I put a V54 lamp into the head of my Beseler 45 some years ago (replacing the old W55). It was not difficult, just requires care and attention to detail. As I recall I didn't need any special tools.