Trouble with scratches and dust with a condensor enlarger

[gbenaim]

Hello,

I'm having a lot of trouble with scratches and dust using my Durst A600 condensor enlarger, especially now that I'm printing bigger prints. I wanted to know whether any Durst heads would fit onto my existing setup, and short of that, whether using a piece of translucent plastic above the negative stage might help difuse the light. Most of my negs are clean, but it's a real bummer when you find a scratch on one you really like. All help is appreciated. BTW, I bought the noscratch goop Ctein recommends in his book, where he forgot to mention it can't be used with a glass carrier, which is what I have for 6x6.

[Donald Miller]

There is no doubt that a condensor enlarger will show dust and scratches where a diffusion will not even though the same dust and scratches are present. You could use a thin piece of opaque acrylic between the condensors and the negative as a means of diffusing your light source. That will cut down on the dust and scratches. The price that you will pay for this is decreased sharpness and lower local contrast.