Spare enlarger for pre-flashing paper - need lens?

[Alan Newman]

I recently acquired a better enlarger and an Analyser pro.

I was planning to get rid of the old enlarger, a Jobo C6600. It just dawned on me it might be worthwhile to keep it for pre-flashing paper and maybe printing borders.

I also have an enlarger timer which can do 0.1 second steps. I was thinking this, in combination with the dichroic filters, might be enough to get the right exposure to pre-flash paper without needing a lens to stop down.

Are there any reasons to keep a lens fitted to an enlarger used solely for this purpose? To my eye the illumination appears relatively even across the baseboard without it.

Many thanks.

 

[MattKing]

A lens gives you an aperture, which allows you to modify light levels to take into account different materials.
A lens will give you better control over the light spread as well.
Without a lens, my enlargers leak light.

 

[glbeas]

I took a small incadescent desk lamp, wired a dimmer to it and it hangs on the wall over the workspace with a timer for preflashing paper. It has a very small footprint and works quite well.

 

[David Allen]

For pre-flashing paper there is absolutely no need for a second enlarger. The simplest way is to buy a thin piece of opaque acrylic and hold this under the lens and do your pre-flash. No need to remove the negative, no need for an extra enlarger, etc.

As your Jobo C6600 sells for approximately £80 - £100 in the UK and 80€ -100€ here in Germany why not sell it (unless you want it for printing borders) and use the money to buy more paper.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

This man is a genius. Keep it simple.

 

[RauschenOderKorn]

A spare entlarger will do the trick nicely.

I am using a spare enlarger with a cheap Rogonar lens to make my contacts and preflash paper. Settings are standardised , enlarger head at the top, lens out of focus and f16 - preflash is 0,2 sec and contacts are 13 sec. Piece of cake and no adjustment required except for exposure time.

 

[Chan Tran]

I actually think you have more even illumination without the lens than with the lens.

 

[RauschenOderKorn]

I actually think you have more even illumination without the lens than with the lens.

Maybe, don't know, I use it out of focus and an additional opaque screen just above the lens. But I know I'd have way too much light and fogged paper. So either you change the bulb to something with way less illumination, or you install an aperture of some kind, or both. A cheap lens in my case was the easiest solution, I had it lying around anyway.

 

[Chan Tran]

Maybe, don't know, I use it out of focus and an additional opaque screen just above the lens. But I know I'd have way too much light and fogged paper. So either you change the bulb to something with way less illumination, or you install an aperture of some kind, or both. A cheap lens in my case was the easiest solution, I had it lying around anyway.

Dial in a bunch of filter.

 

[John51]

A suitcase Zenith enlarger would be good for contacts and pre flashing.

You might change your main enlarger but the Zenith takes up very little storage space and would be a constant for your contacts and pre flashing.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I wouldn't put much expense into flashing. It's about the worst way of dealing with contrast I can think of. But everyone seems to want to try it.