Colour enlarger with Automatic Exposure Timer with Lights

Hi folks,

I bought a significant amount of dry side / wet side equipment last year - primarily for home developing but I'm starting to get my head around making prints. I work in colour and am planning on making RA-4 prints from my C-41 negatives.

The enlarger that I got is a M670 Color. It came with the Durst DES 100 Automatic Timer. I've set these up and it seems to work, but the timer has lights on it - focus, exposure buttons, a status LED and a couple of red ones that I can't figure out (and haven't come on) - I don't have manuals.

My question is this: What should I do about these little LEDs as I believe they will interfere with my print-making. Should I just try and gaff tape over? There doesn't seem to be a way to dim them.

The kit also came with a DES test-strip analyser which I believe is part of the same kit though I don't know how to use it.

Thanks for any advice!



Mike

found manuals and other info...
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Durst+DES+100+Automatic+Timer&pc=MOZI&form=MOZCON

jvo said:

found manuals and other info...
https://www.bing.com/search?q=Durst+DES+100+Automatic+Timer&pc=MOZI&form=MOZCON

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Hi James, I searched quite extensively and couldn't find the answer. The search you did has some pages with manuals for sale and some with manuals for other components in the same system, but doesn't answer my question.

Thanks for your input but I was looking for a discussion as I always learn things here and greatly appreciate the input and experience from other helpful members rather being told to go and search myself.

M

I don't have any direct knowledge of that model.
However, if there is a sensor of some sort built in, it is not uncommon to find that anything with two LEDs like that is designed to indicate a "null" when both are lit.

Mike Chalmers said:

Thanks for your input but I was looking for a discussion as I always learn things here and greatly appreciate the input and experience from other helpful members rather being told to go and search myself. M

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i understand... it is a pain to go searching, though i find i learn a lot of ancillary info by searching the manual... maybe someone will have one.

welcome to photrio... you're right folks are helpful here!

jvo

MattKing said:

However, if there is a sensor of some sort built in, it is not uncommon to find that anything with two LEDs like that is designed to indicate a "null" when both are lit.

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Yeah those LEDs might be to do with the test strip analyser that is part of the same system, which came with the gear I bought.

Mike Chalmers said:

My question is this: What should I do about these little LEDs as I believe they will interfere with my print-making. Should I just try and gaff tape over? There doesn't seem to be a way to dim them.

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If Durst put them there it means that they don't interfere with normal printing activity. Just keep them a bit aside from the working base of the enlarger and don't lay sensitive paper over them.

Marco Gilardetti said:

If Durst put them there it means that they don't interfere with normal printing activity. Just keep them a bit aside from the working base of the enlarger and don't lay sensitive paper over them.

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Thanks Marco. I've since found the manuals for the equipment in an old light-sealed box (which I didn't want to open as I thought contained photographic paper) - although it doesn't mention the LEDs though it does discuss colour printing so sounds like you could be right.

I've just always been told that the slightest bit of light from any source can ruin prints, but I'll do what you say and perhaps also use a divider of some sort to flag the timer.

Cheers

Mike Chalmers said:

I've just always been told that the slightest bit of light from any source can ruin prints

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That's an exaggeration. When light levels are very very low, both low-intensity reciprocity failure and the threshold effect rule. We don't live in an ideal world so there are no such things as totally dark darkrooms to begin with. The important thing is that the residual light in the darkroom is low enough not to leave traces on printing paper while operating with "normal" timings. Even B&W safelights as well as red filters emit some residual actinic light that may impress papers, however the energy of this light is conveniently low so that if you keep the lamp at an appropriate distance (say 2 mt) and don't leave the paper under it too long (say 10 minutes), nothing will happen. But if you do keep the safelight too close to the paper or if you leave the paper box open for hours under the safelight, it will expose the paper on the long run.

Obviously the engineers at Durst had all this in mind when they designed your enlarger and its accessories, so use them confidently and unless you notice something "weird" on your prints you don't need to take special precautions. Keep in mind that most professional colour enlarger heads had/have indicator lights as well as courtesy lights to read the scales etc. Personally, I use a CLS 450 colour head (with courtesy lights) and an AC707 Autocolor (which basically looks like a Christmas tree when turned on and also has a courtesy LED on the timer button) and never had any kind of problems with stray light, not only with B&W but also when in the past I used to print Cibachromes.

Marco Gilardetti said:

so use them confidently and unless you notice something "weird" on your prints you don't need to take special precautions

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Thanks Marco, I appreciate your advice!

M