Aristo

[jeroldharter]

Is it true that Aristo is no more?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Not that I've heard. Who said so?

Here is their website--

http://aristogrid.com/index.htm

 

[jeroldharter]

I saw it as a comment in this thread:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=51769

 

[payral]

It's so easy to give them a call…

 

[jeroldharter]

It's so easy to give them a call…

True enough. I did send them an email about a product but I have not heard back.

 

[Jim Chinn]

Aristo out of business?

I saw this post on the LF forum and thought the larger base of participants here might have confirming details about Aristo and future availability of replacement bulbs. I have an Aristo head for VC printing on one of my enlargers and if the future looks bleak for a replacement I probably should start looking for an affordable 4x5 enlarger with a dichoric head.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=51769

Does anyone know of a source that might have replacements available or in stock?
I specifically need one for an Omega D2 but I am sure there are others who might want to buy a spare for other brands of enlargers.

 

[Jim Noel]

ARISTO WAS STILL IN BUSINESS 2 WEEKS AGO BECAUSE I HAD A FRIEND ORDER A REBUILD OF HIS HEAD WHICH WAS DONE IN QUICK ORDER.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Threads merged, duplicate posts removed.

Anyone call yet?

 

[Robert Hall]

I put a call in, David.

Aristo is owned by a much larger light supplier. I have no idea if they have closed that arm but if/when I hear anything back, I will post it straight away.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Okay, I called. Aristo has been taken over in the last day or so by a lighting company called Voltarc, which is also an old, well established company that makes bulbs and lamps.

The person I spoke with in Voltarc customer service, who also maintains their website at http://www.voltarc.com , says that they aren't sure which products will be continued and which will be discontinued, but said that most likely bulbs will be continued, because that is Voltarc's business. The assembly of new light heads is not part of their core business, so that may not be continued, but they'll look and see what the demand is. Since this is all very new, a lot of things aren't settled yet, but they will be updating the website, which is at http://www.aristogrid.com . They plan to keep that domain for now, but eventually, it will be merged into Voltarc's website.

 

[removed account4]

I put a call in, David.

Aristo is owned by a much larger light supplier. I have no idea if they have closed that arm but if/when I hear anything back, I will post it straight away.

i just called too

it is my understanding from speaking with someone in customer service
who knows about aristo ... that they will be repairing and servicing existing
aristo light heads, but they are not sure if they will continue to
assemble new ones. they said to call back in about 30 days, so they
have a better idea ...

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I heard the name Light Sources in there, but didn't quite get where they fit in. Maybe Light Sources was the parent company of Aristo, and that's what Voltarc bought, or maybe Light Sources bought Voltarc.

 

[erikg]

Maybe Light Sources is the DBA name for Voltarc, it would make sense from a marking angle. Whatever the name hopefully the products remain. I've ordered from aristo in the past and they were excellent in all respects.

 

[removed account4]

aristo and voltarc were founded many years ago ( 20? 30s? ). they were started by friends
who eventually decided to merged companies and share sales staff &C ...
aristo remained a "product line / brand name" even thought it was part of another company ...
recently the voltarc " family of companies" was acquired by light sources.
so aristo was acquired as well ...

this all happened the last couple of weeks ..

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

It may be that we should just not worry too much about the availability of bulbs in general. I'm always amazed when I need something like an obscure bulb for an obsolete projector, I can always find it, and I come across hundreds of other obscure bulbs in the process. Custom neon and fluorescent lighting is easy to come by just about anywhere lighted signs are made. Voltarc says they make lighting tubes and signs to order. Bulbs aren't that high tech, so maybe it isn't so difficult for a company like Voltarc to make replacement bulbs as needed.

The original query on the LF forum that generated this discussion was about repairing a head rather than replacing a bulb, but that seems like the kind of thing that could be repaired by an old school TV and radio repair shop or some other company that builds and repairs fluorescent lamp fixtures.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

aristo and voltarc were founded many years ago ( 20? 30s? ). they were started by friends
who eventually decided to merged companies and share sales staff &C ...
aristo remained a "product line / brand name" even thought it was part of another company ...
recently the voltarc " family of companies" was acquired by light sources.
so aristo was acquired as well ...

this all happened the last couple of weeks ..

Thanks for sorting that out.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Is it true that Aristo is no more?

Since this is clarified, may I ask a different question?

I assume, there are a few cold-light fans watching this thread. I was always warned and told what kind of trouble these light sources are when it comes to consistency. Also, they are supposedly not that cold. Yes, some electronic gadgets are around to minimize the disadvantages, but given the simplicity of other diffusion-type heads, why do you prefer a cold-light head, and what are the reasons to buy one in your opinion? What can they do, another diffusion head cannot?

 

[eclarke]

It may be that we should just not worry too much about the availability of bulbs in general. I'm always amazed when I need something like an obscure bulb for an obsolete projector, I can always find it, and I come across hundreds of other obscure bulbs in the process. Custom neon and fluorescent lighting is easy to come by just about anywhere lighted signs are made. Voltarc says they make lighting tubes and signs to order. Bulbs aren't that high tech, so maybe it isn't so difficult for a company like Voltarc to make replacement bulbs as needed.

The original query on the LF forum that generated this discussion was about repairing a head rather than replacing a bulb, but that seems like the kind of thing that could be repaired by an old school TV and radio repair shop or some other company that builds and repairs fluorescent lamp fixtures.

I'm not where I can get the info at this moment, but my neighbor bought V54 lamps from another source to put in his 8x10 Aristo head. I will post the name when he can get it for me...Evan Clarke

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Since this is clarified, may I ask a different question?

I assume, there are a few cold-light fans watching this thread. I was always warned and told what kind of trouble these light sources are when it comes to consistency. Also, they are supposedly not that cold. Yes, some electronic gadgets are around to minimize the disadvantages, but given the simplicity of other diffusion-type heads, why do you prefer a cold-light head, and what are the reasons to buy one in your opinion? What can they do, another diffusion head cannot?

My Aristo Hi-D head with a V-54 bulb seems to run cooler than the incandescent condensor head I have for my Omega D-II, it puts out a lot of very even light, and my Metrolux compensating timer not only minimizes the disadvantages associated with the ramp time of the bulb, but completely eliminates any problem of the sort. I've made runs of 50 prints with exposure times under 5 seconds, timed to 1/10 sec., and they've been identical, at least in terms of exposure (meaning I may flub one or two in the tray or lining them up in the easel along the way), from first to last.

Is it better than a dichro head? I don't know, but I suspect the Hi-D puts out more light than dichro heads that are available for Omega-D, not that I always need that much light, but it's easier to reduce light output when you've got too much than to increase it when you don't have enough.

 

[Jim Chinn]

I have the bulb for VC printing, bought it when they first came out. I think it is a V54 but it has been many years and don't recall the exact designation. My enlarger is on a voltage regulator and I leave it on during the printing session using an aperature I made to close off the light while not printing.

As long as I wait about 5 minutes before starting I get consistent light output throughout the session. I do find some difference when printing old negatives today, but I think that is due to having to use different papers as everything I used 10-12 years ago are discontinued.

As David pointed out it always seems one can find a discontinued or obsolete component with some effort, but if they have any inventory in stock after the restructuring I will buy a couple to have on the shelf.

 

[Jim Chinn]

To answer Ralph's question about why a cold light head, St. Ansel used one!

For someone just getting into LF in the mid 80s, Adams was the measuring stick for printing. My first 4x5 enlarger had the original cold light head for graded paper (printing on Kodak and Oriental just like Adams!)

Over time I lost some of my adoration of Adams with the discovery of other photographers but continued to use the cold light, switching to the bulb color balanced for VC papers when it was introduced.

IIRC Adams thought the advantages were less heat to warp the negatives in the holder, less dust shows in the print and a smoother tonality.

I don't know if using a cold light ever really caught on over seas. I think it's populartiy over here was 99% due to its association with Adams. He deserved a percentage from every sale of a cold light head or replacement bulb.

Also when you read the magazines back then you often found articles on printing by Bruce Barnbaum and Howard Bond. Both better printers than Adams and I think used a cold light for printing at the time.

 

[ic-racer]

Since this is clarified, may I ask a different question?

I assume, there are a few cold-light fans watching this thread. I was always warned and told what kind of trouble these light sources are when it comes to consistency. Also, they are supposedly not that cold. Yes, some electronic gadgets are around to minimize the disadvantages, but given the simplicity of other diffusion-type heads, why do you prefer a cold-light head, and what are the reasons to buy one in your opinion? What can they do, another diffusion head cannot?

For an 8x10 enlarger application (Durst, in particular) the head is about two feet shorter than the CLS1840. Therefore, the Aristo head does not rise above the column at full head rise. For me, that outweighs the miriad of disadvantages. (but just barely )

Its also quieter and gives off less heat, but those things don't make any difference to me.

 

[jeroldharter]

Since this is clarified, may I ask a different question?

I assume, there are a few cold-light fans watching this thread. I was always warned and told what kind of trouble these light sources are when it comes to consistency. Also, they are supposedly not that cold. Yes, some electronic gadgets are around to minimize the disadvantages, but given the simplicity of other diffusion-type heads, why do you prefer a cold-light head, and what are the reasons to buy one in your opinion? What can they do, another diffusion head cannot?

I am in the midst of trying to figure out which I prefer.

For 4x5 work, I use a Beseler Dichroic head which is very good. It is consistent and I like being able to adjust contrast easily with the dials. However, it kicks off a ton of heat which is a nuisance in a relatively small darkroom in the summer and even in the winter. The fan is loud enough that it interferes with listening to music or simple quiet. Also, I don't see magenta very well so burning in with magenta is sometimes hard to see. So I have a used Zone VI VC cold light that I will be trying out soon to see how it compares. I also have an Aristo D-2 Hi cold light if I don't like the Zone VI.

For 8x10, cold lights are more available and more cost effective. Also, the 8x10 cold lights are the only ones still made (? Aristo) and for which the cost is relatively reasonable. Beseler and Omega enlargers for 4x5 are ubiquitous over here and can be upgraded to 8x10's with cold lights without requiring a larger room for a massive 8x10 enlarger from other brands.

 

[fotch]

Since this is clarified, may I ask a different question?......What can they do, another diffusion head cannot?

I have been under the impression (wrongly?) that the cold light was more diffused than the other diffusion-type heads. I purchase one not long ago but am not set up so have not used it yet.

 

[Curt]

I took Fred Pickers advice and bought a Zone IV, Aristo, head for my Omega enlarger. The change from condensers to diffusion made a huge difference. When I got a Beseler 45 I put in an Aristo head but dealing with filters for split grade wasn't fun so I repaired my Beseler Dichroic head and use it for split grade.

Of the two types of Beseler heads, one being a filter pack that mechanically moves filters in front of a single bulb and the other being the three filters, RGB, in front of three bulbs. I replaced the 83 volt bulb with a 120 volt of the same color temperature for the first type, the single bulb unit, and put it on a Sola CVA. I Wired the fan and put it on a separate circuit.

The three separate filters with bulb units will be put in a head with a diffusion, two Aristo plexi, each bulb controlled independently. Changing filters would only take a second. All on, subtraction or addition or anything in between.

Moving away from Aristo Cold light grids doesn't mean moving away from diffused light enlarging. For split grade I would be able to use a two channel timer or two separate timers.