Do I need a red safety filter for my enlarger?

[not_in_good_order]

I will just state upfront that I know very little about printing. I purchased a bunch of cheap used darkroom equipment on Craigslist to learn the process.

The Omega C700 enlarger I bought appears to be in good working order, but the red safety filter that swings in front of the enlarging lens has been broken off. After searching a little on the internet, this seems to happen pretty often with this enlarger. The piece can be replaced new for about $20.00. No big deal.

I've been reading through a few things about using the enlarger (the manual, various websites about making prints) and nothing that I can find ever states when the safety filter is to be used. I guess what I'm asking is this: Is this a critical part that needs to be replaced?

Thanks in advance for any assistance--and I apologize if this is a stupid question 😱

 

[KenR]

You absolutely need a red filter. It enables you to check on paper positioning, f-stop, places that need burning or dodging without exposing the paper.

 

[DNG]

I've never used one in more than 40 years of darkroom printing.

I position my paper easel with the focus mode of my timer. Switch it from focus to time, load the paper without moving the easel, and trip the timer.

Different strokes for different folks....

Have to say, I also used this method when I did Darkroom work in the 70s.. The Old Style GraLab Timer has a focus/timer switch with a switched and un-switched outlet, just for this purpose. One for the Safe-light. and one for the Enlarger.. (Switched). Works fine.

 

[rodinal]

Exactly the same answer JSU gave, I use the focus mode to focus, take meter readings and position the easel , then lights off, switch to timer mode, load the paper and start the timer. To be honest, I can't recall if my enlarger has the red filter installed or it's lying in a drawer (OMG! Alzheimer?).

 

[not_in_good_order]

Ok I have a Gralab 300 timer and a safe light, so it sounds like properly using the timer will negate the need for the safety filter.

 

[not_in_good_order]

In theory it should. Hopefully your easel is white or clean enough on which to compose your image. I use a Scope-O-Net (any relation to Time-O-Light?) grain focusser, and to be actually correct and most precise, one should have the thickness of a piece of paper under the base of the focusser to replicate the thickness of the printing paper to be used. I'm lazy and compose on my easel and stop down my lens at least two stops which hopefully (and seemingly) makes up for not having the thickness of the print paper under the grain focusser.

When printing on double weight paper, I do use a thickness of such under the grain focusser, just to get it right with the more expensive paper.

I hope that made sense....

Makes perfect sense. Thank you. I think I'll practice with the grain focuser on a piece of exposed paper.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Exactly the same answer JSU gave, I use the focus mode to focus, take meter readings and position the easel , then lights off, switch to timer mode, load the paper and start the timer. To be honest, I can't recall if my enlarger has the red filter installed or it's lying in a drawer (OMG! Alzheimer?).

Same here. I'm pretty sure I took it off all of them.

Cheers,

R.

 

[VinceC]

>> Hopefully your easel is white or clean enough on which to compose your image.<<

I always used an old sheet of blank white -- developed and processed - -photo paper for this. Among other things, the thickness of paper affects grain. And a red filter in between could be optically correct but probably isn't. Safer to focus in unfiltered light.

 

[Richard Ross]

The red "safe" filter on my LPL 7700 actually wasn't safe. I took it off years ago and haven't missed it.

 

[monochromeimages]

My Leitz V35 has the multigrade head and no red filter. Never used one and don't need one in my opinion.

 

[oftheherd]

Somebody correct me if am wrong, but isn't the red filter a holdover from when ortho papers were widely used? In other words, paper that wasn't (as) sensitive to red light?

In practice, it doesn't need to be used, and would in fact make it harder to compose than the methods described above, which is what most of use have learned to do: compose without the paper we will expose, replace it in the dark, then expose for the correct number of seconds using a timer the enlager is plugged in to.

 

[Finder]

The red filter is only useful if you are trying to make multiple exposures from different negatives and you are not using any kind of registration system. It allows you to align each projected image before you expose.

The red is actually a bad filter to focus with as b&w paper is blue sensitive and you should ideally be focusing under blue to get the sharpest image (which is why top-of-the-line peak grain focusers have a blue filter). How critical this is today is questionable as the color correction on modern lenses is very good--if blue and red are not focusing at the same plane, you are going to have some interesting color prints.

My red filters are really clean as I don't even take them out of the packaging.

BTW, I attach a small piece of paper that I am using to the base of my grain focuser.

 

[sevo]

Somebody correct me if am wrong, but isn't the red filter a holdover from when ortho papers were widely used? In other words, paper that wasn't (as) sensitive to red light?

Black and white paper still is not sensitive to red light - and it is and was not ortho (except for some odd, long extinct technical proofing and photocopy papers). A growing proportion is blue/green sensitized for variable contrast, but that does not affect the safety of orange or red darkroom lighting.

If you have a good frame, you will never need or use that filter. But it can be useful when handling odd paper sizes - paper which does not fit any available frame has to be laid/tacked to the base board, where such a red filter is the only visual framing control.

Sevo

 

[MartinP]

I don't use a red filter either. In the case given by Sevo above (of strange sizes of paper) I'd set up the picture I wanted to print, adjust the easel for the margins under safelight (with the paper in, if especially tricky), remove the paper, focus wide open with a scrap piece of paper under the magnifier, stop down the lens, place the paper and make the exposure/dodging/burning.

Perhaps the original purpose was to allow setting-up without dazzling the eyes, but I don't see any essential use for an under-the-lens red filter these days. EDIT: Maybe the occasional use of very large paper, too big for the easel, might be situation when a red filter is useful. I suppose that is what Sevo meant oops.

 

[dap]

The only time I ever use the red filter is when I am positioning myself for tricky dodging and burning (and in those situations I am really happy that I have it). If I am just making straight prints it is not needed. Other than dodging and burning I can't think of any other reason that you would need a red filter.