Valoy II Color Printing

I have seen this subject touched on briefly in other threads but I am having a

problem finding enough info to determine what type of filters to use. Excuse

me for sounding amateurish because I am. I currently have an old set of

polymax filters 0-5 in 1/2 steps but I think (correct me if I am wrong) those

are for b/w contrasting not suitable for color printing?

 

I am attempting to print color using a Leitz Valloy II but am confused as to

what type of filters to use?, a specific brand? how many do I need?, is there

a kit? In all the clutter of info on the net I think I have tangled myself up

and now am more confused.

 

Does someone do similar color work with a Valoy II that can shed a little

light on the correct gear and process of? Much appreciated.

For colour you need a set of yellow, magenta, and cyan filters. You use a stack of these in the light source to correct colour casts in the print. It's difficult to filter below the lens because the stack degrades image quality too much. A single multigrade filter is not so bad. Now after saying all that, I don't think the Valloy II can easily use filters in the light source. Mine sure can't.

 

If you have your heart set on printing colour a different enlarger would help a lot. Look for one with dial in filtration. Using filters is a PITA. Printing colour *WELL* is a slippery and expensive slope for both analog and digital.

You need color compensating filters for color printing. I'd recommend you go get a good book on the subject.

 

In looking at my old 1970's Kodak Color Darkroom Dataguide, they suggest a set of:

 

one 05M, two 10M, one 20M, two 40M, one 05Y, two 10Y, one 20Y, two 40Y, one 05C, and one 10C. (The last two are rarely used.)

 

That M for magenta, Y for yellow, and C for Cyan.

 

Since the Valoy II does not appear to have a filter drawer in the condensor system, you will have to use optical quality gelatin filters, like the Kodak ones, below the lens. Since it doesn't even appear to have a holder for a red filter, you'll have to rig up some sort of filter holder.

 

You also should consider a regulated power supply for the enlarger lamp, as it's color temperature changes with line voltage.

 

Or, as Glenn proposes, consider another enlarger for color. Used enlargers with dichroic color heads are dirt cheap.

Noel,

 

I started printing color with a small Durst M300 35 years ago. Even tho it had a "filter drawer" in the light source, zeroing the filtration can be a PITA. The good thing is that new materials are extremely consistent, so if you stick to one or two film emulsions (the Kodak Portra line is recommended because it shares the same color mask -the orange shade- across the various types) and one paper type (I use to switch among various sizes of Kodak Ultra back and forth without nary 2CC of variation) you should be able to leave one "standard" filter pack in your enlarger without much hassle.

 

That said, if you really want to do color peinting in your darkroom, bite the bullet and get a dichroic color enlarger with dial-in filters.

 

Glenn S. said: "For colour you need a set of yellow, magenta, and cyan filters". This is not completely true. Sets of filters for color do come in graduated sets of 1,2,3,5,10,20,30 and 50CC acetate or gelatin squares in Yellow Magenta and Cyan; however, for negative printing you only need the Yellow and Magenta. A typical pack will start around 30Y+30M. Adding Cyan will create neutral density (grey) which will only slow your exposures. Thus, if you must use discrete <as opposed to contimous> filters for your printing, you can easily forget about the cyan set. That in case you can get them individually.

 

The Polymax filters do not work for color. They are intended for variable contrast B&W papers, and are dialed to Kodak papers contrast grades, although they work well for most any VC paper you use.

 

If your enlarger has a filter drawer that goes above the negative, you can try doing RA4 printing without too much fuss. If it doesn't better forget about it. You will probably need to stack at least a couple of filters but more probably three to eight; for example if your filtration requires 38Y+44M, you would need to stack 30Y+5Y+3Y+30M+10M+3M+1M. Add to that a heat-sink glass and you can figure the mushy image that will project on your easel should you try under the lens filters.

 

For that, there's a method called three color printing. You get a set of CP filters that will come in Red, Green and Blue. You place each of the filters in turn under your lens and expose for a given length of time. Getting the basics is very involved, lest mastering it. However, it's quite possible if there is no other sane alternative (meaning a color head). I would start with a basic exposure for a Kodak Supra III 8x10 (from a 35mm neg) of 5 seconds through Red and 10 seconds through each Green and Blue, and adjust from there. Check the color printing forum for some basic description of the process, preferably from someone who has actually done it -I haven't.

 

Now, finally, after more than thirty years of color printing in the darkroom, I have found that scanning my color film and printing digitally with a semi-pro Epson pigment printer on semi-glossy Epson or Ilford paper gives me a color purity like I never could get in the darkroom, even after *thousands* of prints (yes, I was good). Now I only do fiber base B&W prints in the darkroom. My earnest advice, forget it. For color, digital is king -if you learn the ropes.

When Cibachrome (now Ilfachrome) first came out in the seventies, I printed, using Cibachrome filters which came with a kit, on an old Valoy. That Valoy did NOT have a filter drawer, but I rigged a device out of styrafoam, as I remember, that fit into the lamp housing. Placed a heat absorbing glass above them--also served to keep filters from curling.

 

I did that to get started and try out color, and ending up doing it for a number of years until I bought a Leitz V-35 (that's it I think) which had a color filter module. But the Valoy worked pretty well. Of course I would have to lift off the lamp housing top to change filters, but that didn't happen all that often using Cibachrome once I established a filter pack for a particular batch of peper. Would have to change of course if I made a first print an 8x10 and then wanted to print a 16x20. The two different papers would always have different color filter factors.

 

That said, I switched to digital 5-6 years ago and never looked back. Although I printed Cibas in wet darkroom for years, I thought it never was as much fun as B&W. By developing in a tube, all the fun was gone after the paper was exposed. I printed B&W for the fun of it all; color just to get the end result.

 

Give it a try, though. Tom

Given that you can buy a late-model top-end color head enlarger with all the bells and whistles for next to nothing, I wouldn't break my back trying to press that old Valloy into service for something it wasn't designed to do.

It's very easy to print color with a Valloy. You will need to purchase a small color head like a Beseler. Take the top half of the lamphouse off the Valoy. Make a circular lamp stage out of thick matte board or something similar, or wood painted black, with a square cut in the center for the light to go through, this will replace the original lamphouse and rest in the hole on top of the bottom half of the lamphouse. I had a machinest make an aluminum one for me. Your color head will sit there. You will now have one of the nicest most precise color enlargers with sharpness when used with a Focotar that will knock your socks off, even wide open. You can also use the same method on an Omega D-2 if you want to go for the larger formats. Best regards, Emile/www.deleon-ulf.com.

I have to agree with all of the above. Probably good results if you want to buy the extra Baesler head or get the machinest to make a device for you. Would be good results, I am sure.

 

But if you want to try your own hand, and have some ability to work with your hands, try my approach as above posted. You will save some money, get good results, and know that you have whipped the system.

 

Tm