Pleas help me with testing for grade 2 paper

[mhfolz]

Hello, I need some help determining grade 2 paper. I have read the books by J.B. Harlin and have emailed him for clarification and followed the directions as I think they should, but need some help. Here are some facts in a list, which may be easier to follow

•I have an Aristo VCL 4500 light source with a zone VI compensating timer
•I used a Stouffer step grade and turned the light source so the blue and green were at full intensity to find an exposure that would center the whites and blacks
•I then used that time and aperture to expose paper at various settings on the light source i.e. 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.1. I also did one exposure with full intensity blue.
•After finding the step before pure black and pure white I counted the steps and multiplied by 0.15.
•I was looking for 7 steps between pure black and white which would show me grade 2. The 5.1 setting was 8 steps and everything else was way, more which made those grades from about 1 to -1 ½.

If anyone has any insight so that I can complete my film testing I would appreciate it. I already have my EI index for my film but need this to do my film development time. If you have not figured it out, I come for the “Picker” school. I know everyone has their way and I have read many thoughts on Fred, but somehow he is the one that really got me excited about large format. I never met him, just read the newsletters and saw his videos. I just want to be consistent in my procedures and begin to explore. Thanks for any help. It is greatly appreciated.

Mike

 

[cowanw]

My grade two on a Zone vi enlarger is 2.6G to 1B
Changing time and aperture does not change grades.

 

[jeffreyg]

I use a VCL4500 on an Omega D2 but not with a compensating timer. I use it with the left side switch in the "ON" position. The color selection switch in the GREEN/BLUE position and adjust to taste. If I need extra contrast I place the color selection switch in the BLUE/OFF (middle) position and set the contrast dial to grade 4... usually for a small fraction of the entire exposure. I make test prints for each image. I use available light and filters with film as needed as well as burning and dodging when printing. Playing with steps hasn't worked for me, I prefer eyeballing and intuition. After finding a personal EI I have actually gone back to box speed and mfg's (Ilford) developing times unless more contrast upfront was needed. It's not very scientific but I like my results.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[dpurdy]

I use the same Aristo head as you and have since they were first introduced. I am on my second one. I find that the color of the lights works differently for different brands of paper. I do the zone system with my film in that I use a densitometer to check my densities. I know in my system with my paper that if I have a neg that is correct according to A Adams my normal contrast setting is around 3.8. Understand that I don't like high contrast prints. I like prints that have good shadow detail and good highlight detail. I find that my normal 3.8 contrast setting is about what I would get with a grade 2 graded paper. My most often used VC paper is Oriental WTFB. I find that when I print on an Ilford paper I need to turn the contrast down a bit.
I also find with my Aristo head that at certain parts of the contrast scale the adjustments make more difference than at other parts of the scale. Which is to say that between 3.8 and 4.2 every little 1/10th adjustment I make has a pretty big affect.
Dennis