Found an Omega C760 dichro for next to nothing. Working. But for B&W?

[ChrisBCS]

So I'm going to pic up an Omega C760 on Monday. It is working (aside from needing a new bulb), it is local, and it looks practically unused. Here's the catch. It's a dichroic diffusion head and I plan on enlarging black and white. Help a printing neophyte out...

I have done some reading here at APUG saying it's totally possible and there isn't anything wrong with it (Ilford's VC data website confirms, with guidelines for different dichro heads). But, unlike using the filter set, there isn't a perfect match on the filters to the paper response. I have used a dichroic for color printing in high school, but never for B&W. I've also never printed B&W on multigrade paper.

Do I have anything to truly lose by going this route? My fiancee would like me to do color work for her as well, so that upside is there.

Edit: also, I noticed that the single color table has a zero for the color setting to get a grade of 2, which is the same grade as unfiltered VC paper. Does this mean with the color settings at zero, the standard Ilford VC filters can be used with the head?

 

[MattKing]

Many people would say that it is the preferred route.
The filter numbers in the set are themselves rather arbitrary. The dichroic head gives you stepless control instead.
Some dichroic heads don't give you quite as much "hard" contrast as the farthest extreme of the separate filters, but you can always supplement the dichroic head with a separate, below lens 5+ filter if you are dealing with that soft a negative.
The dichroic head also will work fine with fixed contrast graded paper.
If you are used to printing with a condenser light source, you are more likely to notice the difference in contrast arising from the fact that the dichroic heads are a diffusion source, but that is easy to deal with in the multigrade world.
If you intend to explore the very effective technique of split grade printing, it is important though to make sure that the enlarger is well braced. You don't want to be inducing blur causing vibration when you change settings in the middle of a print.
By the way, while a C760 is a very competent enlarger for normal size (at least 11x14 and probably 16x20) enlargements, I wouldn't be planning to use it for a lot of really large (poster size) prints. I don't think it has the capacity for being made sufficiently rigid, nor is it likely to be easily kept in the precise alignment necessary for that sort of work.

 

[ChrisBCS]

Excellent! Many thanks!

Since it's been many years I'm not specifically "used" to printing with anything (diffuser vs. condenser head, etc.). And I never made any prints with any sort of nuance or technique. So, the way I look at it is that even though I have technically done it, I really don't know anything about it. I'm much more experienced with the camera and film side of the coin.

I don't have any intention of using this enlarger for really big stuff. It was an incredibly affordable opportunity to start enlarging and printing. To get some detailed understanding of making prints look how I want them. Crawl before walking and all that. Keeping everything reasonably priced (paper, chemical amounts, etc.) while being able to practice, learn and refine.

 

[bdial]

Yes you could set the filters at 0 to use Ilford filters. But as Matt says, using the dichroic filters gives you step less control. I sought out a color head enlarger, specifically to have that ability, and I'd never consider going back to standard filters.

 

[Eric Rose]

I used a C760 for 35mm and MF for years. For both colour and B&W professional printing. Darn good enlarger. One thing I really liked were the "stop filters" you could use to cut the light down without closing down the enlarging lens aperture.

 

[mike c]

I also used one for a while for Blk &Wht and color. Eric is right about the light Modifier(actuator?) that can be inserted (or it could be already inserted) to reduce the light output, also mine had a separate little power supple that it used, so be aware of that, some did not.

 

[mgb74]

The C760 uses a styrofoam (at least it looks like styrofoam) mixing box in the light path. There are 2; one for 35mm and one for MF (they are marked). You can use the MF on for 35mm, but printing times will be a bit longer. But you can't use the 35mm one for MF; you will have light falloff on the edges.

Message me if you'd like a pdf of the manual.

 

[ChrisBCS]

Ooooohhh. Good to know. I will ask which box is in it or if he has both. That's troubling.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

I was never fond of using a color head for VC printing. Too finicky, especially since your exposure will change with each change of the dials! Just set the dials to zero and get a set of below the lens filters from Ilford. Much better solution all around.

 

[outwest]

There is a table of equalized Y/M settings so that exposure remains constant.

 

[jimjm]

I've got an LPL C670MXL with the dichroic head, and it's great for split-contrast B/W printing.
Overall, it's about a grade softer than a condensor enlarger with Ilford MG filters, but haven't yet found myself needing anything harder than the Grade 5 equivalent setting.
Using the dual-filtration combination of yellow/magenta, I usually don't have to adjust print times if I'm changing the values, except for significant changes of more than a grade or two.

It is important that the enlarger be stable if you're changing dial settings during the session. Thankfully, mine is pretty heavy and rigid, but after touching the dials I still wait a few seconds before exposing the paper, to let any vibrations die down.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I too use a Chromega Dichroic enlarger for color and black & white.

 

[ChrisBCS]

Thanks everyone for your help. This enlarger only had the 35 mm light box and no negative carriers. I decided to go with the other option I was looking at. See my other thread.

 

[GarageBoy]

Do the mixing boxes age well? Are there replacements?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Do the mixing boxes age well? Are there replacements?

Why not. Probably.

 

[GarageBoy]

I figured the foam would crumble over the years

 

[voceumana]

The foam can turn yellow with age.