Heiland LED Head As A Replacement For Legacy Cold Light Heads

chuckroast · 2026-01-24T16:51:50-0500

john_s said:
A few years ago there were reports that at max contrast, the Heiland didn't produce as much contrast as using Ilford filters, both with Ilford MG. I wonder if that's the case now. (I have some negatives from decades ago taken in poor light that could do with max contrast. I used to use Brovira BEH-1 graded paper. I've thought of a couple of contrast-increasing print developers for current Ilford MG)

This is not my experience so far after making a half dozen prints on Fomabrom Variant 111 VCFB. I cannot speak to Ilford MG as I do not use it.

But per @koraks comments upthread, this seems at least questionable.

Getting to full black isn't just a filtration issue, it's also about developer strength and time. I am using an Ansco 130 like developer 1:1 for 3 min at a nominal 68F with no issue getting to strong blacks.

Pieter12 · 2026-01-24T16:59:53-0500

I remember the report from Ilford, stating the Heiland head only produced something like a grade 4.5. That was probably 7 or 8 years ago. I assume Heiland has made changes since, because I have no problem getting max contrast.

MattKing · 2026-01-24T17:55:49-0500

Pieter12 said:
I remember the report from Ilford, stating the Heiland head only produced something like a grade 4.5. That was probably 7 or 8 years ago. I assume Heiland has made changes since, because I have no problem getting max contrast.

7 or 8 years ago the Ilford RC papers at least had significantly different (slower) response to higher "grade" filtration than the current paper, so that may factor into the issue.

Heiland LED Head As A Replacement For Legacy Cold Light Heads

chuckroast

Pieter12

MattKing

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency