b&w enlarger

[ErinHilburn]

I just purchased an Omega c700 enlarger off ebay for a good price, but while I'm proficient in b&w dark room work I've never done my own color stuff. I have recently purchased a book about it, but it did not contain the information that I needed. Can you develop color prints from a b&w enlarger with the addition of the color disk(I don't know what their officially called) or is there something else that is special about a color enlarger that would mean I would need one of those to do my own color prints too?
erin

 

[Nige]

I don't know much about this having only printed a couple of colour pics using a colour head enlarger, but to do it with a B&W enlarger you need colour correction filters. To get the colour right, you alter the filter pack. I think there were a number of devices that helped you judge what filter corrections you need to make. Someone will know how to go about this.

 

[Donald Miller]

Typically one would use an enlarger with dichroic filtration for color. It is easier to use a color enlarger for black and white use then it is to use a black and white enlarger for color use.

If you decide to pursue printing color with your enlarger, you will need to get a set of color printing filters, (if they are even still available)...I have a medium format C760 XL medium format color enlarger for sale if you decide to pursue color printing and want to buy an enlarger better suited for the purposes.

 

[ErinHilburn]

oh I would love to, however every penny I make is leeched out of me through my art classes at school. And I thought it was going to be so much cheaper because I didn't have to use books. I'm kind of just going to have to work with what I can get. But thanks.

 

[nworth]

I'm not acquainted with the C700, but many enlargers have a filter drawer above the lens. You can use it for either variable contrast filters for black and white of color compensating (CC) filters for color printing. Low cost acetate filters are available for this. If there is no filter drawer, you can also use gelatine or image quality resin CC filters below the lens. These are more expensive, and you need more of them since you can use only two or three in combination before the image suffers.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Colour printing filters are CP aren't they? Not the CC filters. Last time I asked Kodak claimed they were still available. Of course nobody sold them. Freestyle has some I'm fairly sure. Not Kodak brand. Ilford? Labeled Arista it seems.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=1792


Long term you might want to keep an eye out for a colour enlarger. They tend to be cheaper. Seems some people think they don't work for B&W.

 

[Woolliscroft]

Col enlargers usually have diffuser heads, which makes sure that they mix the filtration in evenly. B and W enlargers tend to have condenser heads which make for snappier images, but might not mix the light well. A colour enlarger might also give you finer control of the filtration than using gels in the B & W contrast filter drawer. I don't know the beast, but you might find that you can get interchangable heads and so use it optimally for both types of work.

David.