My LPL Enlarger is Getting Dim

eclarke · May 13, 2011

Kirk Keyes said:
This sounds like voodoo to me.

As long as you can correct for the yellow color shift of an aging bulb with the magenta filtration, you should not have any "loss of sparkle".

It might be "voodoo", notice the obnoxious quote marks, but the OP had a problem with bad prints and the new bulb fixed it. Bulbs are $12 and paper is $2 a sheet, using fresh bulbs is a no-brainer....EC

sage · May 13, 2011

Is it usually the bulb? I'm having a similar issue with a beseler, except I'm getting into the couple of minutes to tens of minutes for exposures. I don't think the negatives are particularly dense or fogged for that matter, and I'm not really sure why I'm getting such long times for any of them.

eclarke · May 13, 2011

sage said:
Is it usually the bulb? I'm having a similar issue with a beseler, except I'm getting into the couple of minutes to tens of minutes for exposures. I don't think the negatives are particularly dense or fogged for that matter, and I'm not really sure why I'm getting such long times for any of them.

Well, bulbs make light by burning their components so they are never exactly the same, ever. Scrimping on bulbs is poor economy..Tty a new one..EC

bwrules · May 13, 2011

divinelighting.com has them for $6.49. Just got mine.

brian steinberger · May 13, 2011

eclarke said:
Well, bulbs make light by burning their components so they are never exactly the same, ever. Scrimping on bulbs is poor economy..Tty a new one..EC

Evan, is this something you just set a date and replace, like every year? Or do you determine it by how many hours you're printing?

Kirk Keyes · May 14, 2011

eclarke said:
It might be "voodoo", notice the obnoxious quote marks, but the OP had a problem with bad prints and the new bulb fixed it. Bulbs are $12 and paper is $2 a sheet, using fresh bulbs is a no-brainer....EC

The OP did not post that he had "bad prints", his only complaint appears to be extremely long exposure times.

I certainly enjoy quick printing times - I often print 4x5 at 20x24 and the times can get rather long. A fresh bulb where there is no tungsten metal vacuum deposited on the inner surface of the bulb can certainly help keep times short.

But I'm still interested in how you projected bad prints and a loss of "sparkle" into this situation.

Nicholas Lindan · May 14, 2011

brian steinberger said:
[do] you just set a date and replace, like every year?

If you monitor the bulb's output you can replace it when it is, say, 0.5 stop dimmer.

naaldvoerder · May 14, 2011

This is a helpfull thread....

Michael W · May 14, 2011

Looking inside the LPL 7700 I use, I see a Philips Photocrescenta 240v 75w bulb. Searching the web for replacement bulbs I see a UK ebay seller offering what appears to be the same style of bulb but from a different manufacturer. Were I to decide to replace the current bulb, can anyone with experience say if the ones at the link are just as good? Are the Philips bulbs still made?

ic-racer · May 14, 2011

Looks good. Seem like a reasonable price. Those non-quartz-halogen lights used in condenser heads do have a tendency to get black, so stock up.

My LPL Enlarger is Getting Dim

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