norge
Hello, I’m Andreas and I’m new here.
An elderly gentleman gave me a Durst M 601 enlarger with a colour head. I bought a developer pack for positives from Tetenal Colortec RA-4 and Kodak Supra Endura colour paper. Unfortunately, I can’t even see any outlines on the exposed and developed paper.
What am I doing wrong? I’ve tried out various exposure times and also experimented with the settings on the colour head.
Can anyone help me with this?
Andreas
Wolfgg
Just take a piece of RA4 paper, hold it up to the light in the colour developing agent, and see if it turns black like a black-and-white paper.
Best regards, Wolfgang
norge
I'll give it a go, thanks
Andreas
DieterSchuld
Hello norge,
And what were the results of your test?
Kind regards,
Dieter Schuld
norge
The test strip has turned black, just as you said.
Is it possible that the developer doesn’t react at all at temperatures below 18 degrees?
That might be the solution to the problem. My trays are currently sitting on the floor due to a lack of space and are probably cooling down faster than I thought. I’ll take my time setting up everything I need in the bathroom and give it another go.
Andreas
Wolfgg
When working with colour, you must follow the manufacturer’s temperature guidelines to the letter – generally more strictly than with black and white. It is quite possible that the colour developing agent will work much more slowly at temperatures below 18°C than at 20°C, and, more importantly, the colour may bleed (colour cast).
Best regards, Wolfgang
Gast
Another rather silly solution...
Could it be that you placed the paper with the emulsion facing downwards? It can sometimes be quite difficult to feel the difference between the emulsion and unemulated sides in the dark. Use a damp finger – wherever it sticks more, that’s the emulated side.
Otherwise, make sure you stick to the exact temperature.
And at f/11, the exposure time should be around 5 seconds.
And there are three colours in the colour wheel.
Only turn two of them in at a time; the third acts like a grey filter.
Then it’ll work, and more importantly – it’ll be fun.
And then approach it logically.
First set the brightness exactly, then adjust the colour.
And bear in mind with the filters – they change the required exposure time again.
Take a weekend off and really get to grips with it. Then it’ll be proper fun.
Or take a course; that sometimes helps avoid the initial frustration.
Have fun
Ralf
norge
Thanks a lot for the tips. I’d love to watch someone who really knows what they’re doing. Maybe I could pop into the rental lab and find out where I’m going wrong. That would cut down on the time I spend searching.
Andreas
Wolfgg
Twenty years ago, I also had the M601; a 6x6 negative on 20x25 paper took about 20 seconds at f/8. It was Agfa colour paper back then, but RA4 has almost the same speed. Perhaps you should take the enlarger apart (it is a second-hand machine, after all) and check for dust in the light path. And load the paper with the emulsion side facing up; the emulsion is bluish, so it appears darker than the reverse side under darkroom light. It would also be helpful to study at least one book on the subject of ‘colour enlargement’. And if a new lamp is required: only buy ones with the correct colour characteristics, otherwise the previous filter values (always make a note of them!) will be worthless when you change the lamp.
Regards, Wolfgang
Petzi
Sometimes bulbs can be very dim, particularly if they are older and metal vapour has settled on the glass bulb. You can see this if you inspect the bulb.
It may also be that the bulb is not sitting in the correct position, which reduces the light output.
