ADVANCED OPERATIONS

ALIGNING THE STARLITE TO A STANDARD COLOR BALANCE WITHOUT A VIDEO ANALYZER

Summary:

1. Setup your enlarger for printing your Shirley negative.
2. Enter an exposure time using ( 5 seconds ).
3. Select Emulsion channel 0 (zero) from the Starlite menu.
4. Enter a filtration of C0 M40 Y40.
5. Enter a Density of 0.
6. Use the most popular paper stock: this paper will be represented by Emulsion channel 0.
7. Press to make exposure.
8. Adjust Magenta, Yellow and Density to achieve a perfect print.
9. Make test prints until you have a perfect print.
10. Go into Starlite Calibration menu.
11. Select Calibrate Master Color Balance from menu.
12. Enter the video values for D,C,M, and Y. ( 64 0 30 30 )
13. Press when asked to calibrate Density Probe.
14. Place empty carrier in enlarger, turn off room lights.
15. Place probe directly under lens on baseboard. Wait 6 seconds.
16. Press to take probe reading.

Your Starlite can be aligned so your standard setup negative prints perfectly at any set of DCMY values you choose to use. In other words, the filtration at which your Shirley prints perfectly on the Starlite may be given any set of D,C,M, and Y color correction values, according to your personal choice or your lab's standard. Many labs like their setup negative to print at D64 C0 M30 Y30, another popular setting is D64 C0 M16 Y16. You may find it more convenient to use a round number for the Density such as 0 or 100; it's your choice.

1. Setup your enlarger for printing a Shirley negative. Use your normal lens, carrier, easel, etc.
   
2. Enter an exposure time, say 5 seconds. Exposure time is entered by pressing .
   
3. Select Emulsion 0 (zero) in the Starlite main menu. This channel will represent the type of photo paper on which you are about to test-print your Shirley.
   
4. Enter a filtration pack to start with. A setting of C:0 M:40 Y:40 is a good starting place.
   
5. Enter a Density of 0 to start with.
   
6. Turn off the darkroom lights and place the paper on the easel/baseboard. Use your most popular paper stock, that which is to be represented by paper Emulsion 0 in the Starlite Colorhead. When handling paper, you may turn off the keypad lighting by pressing .
   
7. Make the exposure by pressing .
   
8. Adjust the Density, Magenta, and Yellow values in the Starlite and make the next test print.
   
9. Continue making adjustments and test prints until you achieve a perfect print.
   
10. Once you have made a perfect print, the next step is to make the display read the correct DCMY values (e.g. D64 C0 M30 Y30) for printing a Shirley in your lab. Any values may be used. To do this go into the Starlite menu and then into the Starlite Calibration menu.
    
11. Select item 2,"CALIBRATE MASTER COLOR BALANCE" from this menu and press .
    
12. You will see the current filtration values displayed, with the cursor flashing on the Density value. You may now replace these values with any numbers you wish. To advance the cursor to the next color, press . If the values are Density 64, Cyan 0, Magenta 30, and Yellow 30, enter: "64 ENTER, 0 ENTER 30 ENTER 30 ENTER." If the Density number is negative and should be positive then press , which will toggle the sign of the number. After the entry for Yellow, pressing will complete the entry of DCMY values. If you enter an incorrect number, press to regress to the previous value.
    
13. Once all the filtration values are entered, you will be asked if you would like to calibrate the Density Probe. If you have a baseboard Density Probe for your Starlite, press now. When is pressed, the colorhead lamps will turn on. If you do not have a Density Probe, press : the Master Color Balance is now calibrated.
    
14. You will be asked to take a probe reading. Remove the test negative from the carrier and then put the empty carrier back into the enlarger.
    
15. Place the Density Probe on the baseboard, centered directly under the lens.
    
16. Wait for about 6 seconds to let the probe stabilize, then press to lock in the probe reading.

When the lamp goes out, the Master Color Balance is now set to print a perfect Shirley at the DCMY values entered in step 15.

For future reference it is a good idea to write down the Master Color Balance offsets that were calculated at the end of this calibration operation. With these numbers recorded, you can re-enter these filtration offsets directly without doing the print testing again. This could be useful if an operator accidentally damages the Master Color Balance settings. See Edit Master Color Balance Offsets under Starlite Calibration menu of the Reference section of this manual for more information on how to access these offset values.

HOW TO MAKE A PRINT BY TESTING (NO VIDEO ANALYZER)

Summary:

1. Setup your enlarger for printing the negative.
2. Crop the image as desired, using to get white focusing light from the Starlite.
3. Enter an exposure time using .
4. Select an Emulsion channel from the Starlite menu.
5. Enter starting filtration values for DCMY using the , , etc., keys.
6. Take a probe reading (no negative in the carrier, room lights off ).
7. Place the carrier, with the negative in place, into the enlarger and check its position.
8. If lamps are in Filters Out mode, press for filtered light.
9. Extinguish lamps using .
10. Place the photographic paper on the easel.
11. Press key to make exposure.

At this point, you should have gone through the Starlite alignment procedure for aligning to a Master Color Balance. If you are using paper Emulsion offsets, they should already be set up.

1. Setup your enlarger to print the particular negative you are going to print. Use your normal carrier, lens, easel, etc. for production printing.
   
2. Compose the image as desired for this print. will yield bright, white light for cropping and focusing.
   
3. Enter the desired exposure time.
   
4. Choose which paper stock you wish to print on. Select the corresponding paper Emulsion channel (if your Emulsion channels have been setup) in the Starlite.
   
5. Enter the filtrations at which to make this print. If the negative you are printing is a new, unknown negative, enter a filtration the same as you use to print your standard setup (Shirley) negative (e.g. D64 C0 M30 Y30). Use , , and to enter the filtration values.
   
6. If you have a Density Probe, and have calibrated it, take a reading now. This should be done with no negative in the carrier and with the room dark. Place the Density Probe on the baseboard, centered directly under the lens. Press the button on the Density Probe and wait for the probing operation to finish. A "PROBING" message will be displayed during the probing procedure. The probing is automatic and the lamps will go off after a few seconds. Pressing the probe button again or will abort the probing procedure. A message may be displayed instructing you to open or close the aperture.
   
7. Replace the carrier with the negative installed, check that is in the proper position.
   
8. The upper left portion of the main display should be showing the DCMY values at which the Starlite is set. If it reads "FILTERS OUT", press once to bring in the filters for printing.
   
9. Make sure the colorhead's lamps are extinguished, turning them off using , if necessary. You are now ready for printing.
   
10. Place your paper stock on the baseboard or easel.
    
11. Press on the keypad to make the exposure.
    

After the print is processed, decide what density and color changes are necessary for a perfect print. Use , , , and to make the appropriate adjustments. Continue making adjustments and test prints until you achieve a perfect print. You do not need to re-probe unless you change the aperture size, re-size the print, or select a different lens.

ALIGNING THE STARLITE TO A VIDEO ANALYZER (DAILY SHIRLEYS)

Summary:

1. Analyze the setup (Shirley) negative and write down the analyzer values.
2. Setup your enlarger for printing that negative.
3. Enter an exposure time using ( 5 seconds ).
4. Select Emulsion channel 0 from the Starlite menu.
5. Enter a filtration of C0 M40 Y40.
6. Enter a Density of 0.
7. Place paper on easel. Use the most popular paper stock.
8. Expose and process the print.
9. Make test prints until you have a perfect print, adjusting color each time.
10. Go into Starlite Calibration menu and select Calibrate Master Color Balance.
11. Enter the video values for D,C,M, and Y ( 64 0 30 30 )
12. Press when asked to calibrate Density Probe.
13. Place empty carrier in enlarger, turn off room lights.
14. Place probe directly under lens on baseboard. Wait 6 seconds, then press to complete the procedure.

The Starlite is capable of working directly with video analyzer printing data. Once the Starlite is aligned, any print job can be done on the enlarger by simply entering the video analyzer's DRGB values into the colorhead. Before doing the alignment procedure, you should refer to the Setting Preferences section to ensure your Starlite is set up for your specific analyzer. The procedure given here assumes that the Starlite's Master Color Balance has not been calibrated.

1. Analyze your standard setup negative (Shirley) as you normally would. Write down the analyzer's DRGB numbers and take them, with the negative, into the darkroom.
   
2. Setup your enlarger for printing the Shirley negative. will turn on bright, white light from the Starlite for focusing and sizing.
   
3. Enter the Exposure time, for your Shirley print.
   
4. Select Emulsion 0 (zero) in the Starlite main menu. Emulsion zero (0) should represent your most popular paper stock.
   
5. Now enter a value of Magenta 40 and Yellow 40 to start with. Leave Cyan at a value of zero (--).
   
6. Enter a Density of 0 to start with. is used the same way as the color keys to enter the desired value.
   
7. Turn out the room lights and place your paper on the easel or baseboard. Use your most popular paper stock, that represented in the Starlite by Emulsion channel 0.
   
8. Make the exposure by pressing . Process the print by the normal means for your darkroom.
   
9. Examine the print and decide what color/density corrections are necessary.
   
10. Adjust the Density, Magenta, and Yellow values in the Starlite and make another test print. Continue making adjustments and test prints until you achieve a print with perfect color balance.
    
11. Once you have made a perfect print, the next step is to make the Starlite display read the correct video DRGB vales (the ones written down from the analyzer in step 1) for the negative. To do this go into the Starlite menu and then into the Starlite Calibration menu. Select "CALIBRATE MASTER COLOR BALANCE" from this menu.
    
12. You will see the current filtration values displayed, with the cursor flashing on the density value. You may now replace these values with any numbers you wish. To advance the cursor to the next color, press . If the values are Density 64, Cyan 0, Magenta 30, and Yellow 30, enter: "64 ENTER, 0 ENTER 30 ENTER 30 ENTER." If the density number is negative and should be positive then press , which will toggle the sign of the number. After the entry for Yellow, pressing will complete the entry of DCMY values.
    
13. Once all the video values are entered, you will be asked if you would like to calibrate the Density Probe. Press to do so. If you do not have a Density Probe, press ; the calibration is now complete.
    
14. You will be asked to take a probe reading. Remove the test negative from the carrier and then put the empty carrier back into the enlarger. Make sure the room lights are off.
    
15. Place the Density Probe on the baseboard, centered directly under the lens. Press the button on the Density Probe. The reading will be taken, then the lights will turn off.
    

The display will go back to the main screen and the filtration will now match the video values. This completes the video analyzer calibration.

For future reference it is a good idea to write down the Master Color Balance offsets that were calculated at the end of the calibration operation. With these numbers recorded you can re-enter these filtration offsets directly without doing the print testing again. This could be useful if an operator accidentally damages the Master Color Balance settings. See Edit Master Color Balance Offsets under Starlite Calibration menu in the Reference section of this manual for more information on how to access these offset values.

MAKING A PRINT USING A VIDEO ANALYZER

Summary:

1. Analyze the negative and write down the analyzer values.
2. Setup your enlarger for printing the negative.
3. Enter an Exposure time using .
4. Select an Emulsion channel from the Starlite menu.
5. Enter the analyzer values for DCMY using , , etc. keys.
6. Take a probe reading (no negative in the carrier, room lights off).
7. Place the carrier with the negative into the enlarger, check position.
8. If lamps are in Filters Out mode press .
9. Position the photographic paper, and press to make exposure.
10. If necessary, make color corrections and make tests until perfect color is achieved.

At this point you should have gone through the Starlite alignment procedure for aligning to a master video analyzer color balance. If you are using paper Emulsion offsets they should already be set up.

1. Analyze your negative as you normally would in your lab. Write down the resulting DRGB values from the analyzer and take them, along with the negative, to the darkroom.
   
2. Setup your enlarger for printing the negative. Use a carrier that doesn't allow light to pass around the negative. on the keypad will give you bright unfiltered light for focusing and sizing the image.
   
3. Enter the desired exposure time.
   
4. Decide what paper stock you want to print on. If you have setup your paper Emulsion channels, select the Emulsion channel in the Starlite main menu which corresponds to the particular paper you are about to use.
   
5. Enter the filtration values from the video analyzer. Use , , and to enter these values.
   
6. Take a probe reading at the baseboard. Be sure to remove the negative while probing. Place an empty carrier into the enlarger. Place the Density Probe on the baseboard, centered directly under the lens. Turn off all room lights. Press the button on the side of Density Probe, and wait for the probing operation to finish. It takes about 6 seconds. The lamps will go off a few seconds after the probe reading is taken. Be sure not to obstruct the light around the probe's sensor "eye" during the probing process.
   
7. Replace the carrier with the negative in place, check that is in the proper position.
   
8. The main screen should be displaying the set of filtration values entered in step 10. If "FILTERS OUT" is shown, press to return to filtered light. When the light goes out, the machine is ready for printing.
   
9. With the room lights and the colorhead lamps both off, place your paper stock on the baseboard or easel, and press on the keypad to make the exposure. Process the print as you normally would.
   
10. If necessary, after the print is processed, decide what density and color changes are necessary for a perfect print. Use ,, , and to make the appropriate adjustments.

 

Continue making adjustments and test prints until you achieve a perfect print. You do not need to re-probe unless you change the aperture size or select a different lens.

BLACK AND WHITE PRINT MODE

In addition to making color prints, the Starlite Colorhead is capable of printing variable contrast black and white prints. By simply changing the Print Mode option in the Starlite main menu you can change from Color printing to Black and White printing. When in Black and White mode you may select a contrast grade from 0 to 5 in 1/10 grade steps.

Jobs stored in memory while in Black and White mode are stored as black and white jobs. When these jobs are recalled, the Print Mode will automatically be set to Black and White even when recalled from Color printing mode.

To select Black and White mode, press and go into the Starlite main menu. Then select "PRINT MODE" from that menu and press . Now press or to toggle the mode from "COLOR" to "BLACK AND WHITE." Press once to lock in your selection. The display will return to the main screen. In the upper left corner, the display will read "B&W GRADE 0.0" for Black and White mode contrast grade = 0.

When toggling the mode from Color to Black and White, the contrast grade displayed will be the last grade that was used in Black and White mode. When changing from Black and White mode to Color mode, the C,M,Y filtrations will be equal to values used for the grade previously used in the Black and White mode. For example, if you are printing at grade 2.0 and then select Color printing mode the display will read "C:-- M:57 Y:43" which is the same as grade 2.0 in Black and White.

The Black and White printing mode is designed to be used with black and white negatives on variable contrast black and white paper. It will not yield good results if color negatives are used in this mode. To print color negatives, panchromatic black and white paper should be used, the Color printing mode on the Starlite should be selected, with a filtration setting of C:- M:0 Y:0. This will expose the different colored portions of the negative properly yielding the best quality black and white prints from color negatives. To select Color printing mode use the Print Mode option again to toggle the mode to color printing.

HOW TO MAKE A BLACK AND WHITE PRINT BY TESTING

Summary:

1. If necessary, select Black and White mode in Starlite main menu.
2. Setup your enlarger for printing the desired black and white negative.
3. Enter an exposure time using .
4. Enter a black and white grade using .
5. Enter a Density value using . If probing flesh tone, enter the target density.
6. Take a probe reading with all room lights off (remove negative from carrier if not probing flesh tone.)
7. Place the carrier with the negative into the enlarger and re-check position.
8. If lamps are in Filters-out mode, press .
9. If lamps are on, press .
10. Place the variable contrast photographic paper on the easel.
11. Press to make exposure.

At this point the lenses, carriers, and easels should have been set up. You should have gone through the Starlite alignment procedure for aligning the Density Probe in Black and White mode.

1. If the Starlite is not currently in Black and White mode then select Black and White mode in the Starlite main menu.
   
2. Setup your enlarger for printing the negative. Use a carrier that doesn't allow light to pass around the negative. on the keypad will give you bright unfiltered light for focusing and sizing the image.
   
3. Enter the desired exposure time, say 5 seconds. Press and enter the number of seconds, followed by .
   
4. Enter a contrast grade value using . Grade 2.0 is a good starting point for an unknown negative.
   
5. Enter the desired Density value, if you have aligned the Density to a flesh tone value, enter the Density value for the flesh tone target. Press and enter the value for Density, followed by .
   
6. Take a probe reading. Temporarily remove the carrier to take the reading if you are not probing flesh tones. Place the Density Probe on the baseboard, centered directly under the lens or under a flesh tone, whichever is appropriate. Make sure all room lights are out. Press the button on the side of Density Probe to start the probing process. Wait for the probing cycle to finish, about 6 seconds. Be sure not to obstruct the aperture on the Density Probe during the probing cycle. The lamps will go off after the probe reading is taken.
   
7. Replace the carrier with the negative in place, double-check that is in the proper position.
   
8. The upper left portion of the display should be reading a grade value. If it reads "FILTERS OUT," press to return the lightsource to filtered light output. The Starlite is now ready for printing.
   
9. Turn the lamp off, by pressing , if necessary.
   
10. Place your variable contrast paper stock on the baseboard or easel.
    
11. Press on the keypad to make the exposure.
    

After the print is processed, decide what density and grade changes are necessary for a perfect print. Use and to make the appropriate adjustments.

Continue making adjustments and test prints until you achieve a perfect print. You do not need to re-probe unless you change the aperture size, print size, or select a different lens.

NOTES ON BLACK AND WHITE MODE

The contrast grades available in Black and White mode are 0.0 to 5.5 in 1/10 grade increments. Due to differences in black and white papers and black and white light sources, the grades available on the Starlite may not exactly match the grades on other equipment. For example, it may be necessary to use a grade 2.4 to match a grade 2.0 on another piece of equipment. It will be necessary to test the Starlite over the entire grade range to determine the best grade choices for the black and white printing you do.

The grades in the Starlite are pre-programmed to be density balanced for ease of operation. If you make a print at grade 2.0 and then just change the grade to 4.0, the middle gray tones of the print will remain the same and the tones above and below will be expanded yielding a higher contrast print, without a density shift. This facility makes it easy to make many test exposures at different grades, without re-testing for density changes. This density-balanced operation is achieved by adjusting the light output for each grade, grade 0.0 requiring the brightest light and grade 5.0 requiring the least light.

SETTING UP PAPER STOCK EMULSIONS

Summary:

1. Select Emulsion 0 in menu and make a perfect Shirley print on the corresponding paper.
2. Select Emulsion 1 and make a print on the new paper (the paper to be used for emulsion 1).
3. Determine what color/density corrections are needed. Access the Emulsion menu in Starlite.
4. Press to edit Emulsion 1 offsets. Enter the color change values.
5. Make a test print with the adjusted Emulsion 1, again using Emulsion 1 paper.
6. Make further corrections, always using the Starlite's Emulsion menu item.

The Starlite Colorhead is capable of using 24 separate paper stock Emulsions as well as an empty Emulsion ( Emulsion 0 ). Different paper stocks have slightly different sensitivities to light, making it difficult to make the same exact print on different paper stocks. By assigning a set of color offset values to each paper stock you can change from paper to paper and achieve the same print by simply selecting the Emulsion offset in the Starlite main menu.

Before setting up paper emulsions you need to choose which emulsions will be used with the enlarger, and decide which emulsion is most commonly used. Write down a list of the emulsions and the numbers which you want to assign each emulsion. The most popular emulsion should be Emulsion 0 (zero). Post the list next to the enlarger.

Example:

Emulsion - Paper Emulsion

0 - Kodak 8 X 10 -- Most commonly used

1 - Kodak 11 X 17

2 - Kodak 16 X 20

3 - Kodak 20 X 24

4 - Fuji 8 X 10

Calibrating an Emulsion channel involves making a perfect print on your most common paper stock, from your standard (Shirley) negative. When this is done, another print is made on the new paper (the one which is to be set up) and the color is corrected using the Emulsion option in the Starlite main menu, rather than entering the filtration on the main screen. The steps for setting up an Emulsion channel are as follows:

1. First select Emulsion 0 from the Starlite main menu. Use your standard setup negative (Shirley) and make a perfect print on your Emulsion 0 paper stock to use for comparison. See the sections in this chapter: Making a Print by Testing or Making a Print With a Video Analyzer for the procedure of making the perfect print for this step.
   
2. To setup Emulsion 1, select Emulsion 1 from the Starlite Emulsion menu by getting into the Starlite main menu and selecting Emulsion. The display will read "EMULSION: 0" in the upper, left corner, with a cursor flashing on the '0.' Select Emulsion number 1 by pressing then . The offset values displayed on the bottom line of the display will now be updated to show the values for Emulsion 1. Press again to lock in the selection of Emulsion channel 1. Make a print on the Emulsion 1 paper stock. It will Probably be a little different from the previous print on the Emulsion 0 paper.
   
3. Examine the new print and decide what color adjustments are needed to match the first print. To put in the corrections do not use the filtration entry on the main screen. Instead, use the "EMULSION" item in the Starlite main menu as in the last step. The display should read "EMULSION: 1" and below, "D: 0 C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0."
   
4. Press , to edit the color corrections. The cursor will now be at the value for Density ('D';. If a correction for density is needed, enter the value by which to change the density. (For example: if you determine that the print 5 CC's too dark, enter '5' for the density change.) Use to toggle between positive and negative numbers.
   
5. Press to move to the next color entry. Continue in this manner until the Yellow change value is entered. When all color changes are entered, the cursor will move back to the top line, under the emulsion number entry. This allows you to elect a new emulsion if you want, but simply press to stay with the emulsion you've just adjusted.
   
6. Now that the corrections have been put in, make another test print.
   
7. When the new print matches the first print perfectly, then Emulsion 1 has been successfully setup. If it requires more adjustments, use the Emulsion option in the Starlite main menu to make further corrections. Again, do not use the regular color entry on the main screen for adjusting Emulsion offsets.
   

When new batches of paper come in you may find it necessary to re-test and re-adjust the Emulsion offsets to maintain perfect compatibility.

Now when you want to use paper Emulsion 1, you simply need to select it from the Emulsion option in the Starlite main menu.

For your convenience, the Emulsion number currently selected is always displayed on the main screen to the right of the Yellow filtration value. Before making an exposure glance at that number and refer to your Emulsion list to verify the correct Emulsion is selected for the paper you are printing on.

To setup the other Emulsions go through the same procedure as you did for Emulsion 1. Always match the test print with the print you made on your Emulsion 0 paper.

SETTING AND MAINTAINING PROCESS OFFSETS

Summary:

1. Select Emulsion 0 from Starlite main menu.
2. Use your most popular paper stock.
3. Enter your standard filtration for D,C,M, and Y ( 64 0 30 30 ).
4. Take a probe reading.
5. Make a print with your setup negative ( Shirley ).
6. Determine the D, C, M, and Y corrections if any.
7. Go into the Starlite Calibration menu.
8. Select "EDIT PROCESS OFFSETS."
9. Enter the corrections for D, C, M, and Y ( e.g. D 2 C0 M-2 Y0 )
10. Make another print with your setup negative ( Shirley ).
11. Adjust the corrections again using the Process offsets option.
12. Continue testing until print is perfect.
    
    

It is a common problem in professional color labs to have color shifts in prints due to changes that occur in the color paper processor. The changes are greatest day to day but also occur through the course of a day. One way to compensate for processor drift is to manually adjust the filtration of each job as it comes from the video analyzer. Another way to compensate is to adjust the Master Color Balance offsets in the Starlite Calibration menu, but those numbers are used specifically for video analyzer alignment and are not convenient numbers to be adding to and subtracting from. The Starlite has a specially designed feature for handling process drifts.

In the Starlite Calibration menu there is an option called "EDIT PROCESS OFFSETS." This feature allows you to put in and take out small color corrections easily that will effect all exposures made regardless of which emulsion (paper) is selected. The correction numbers entered here, like those entered when adjusting an Emulsion channel, are color correction changes. You do not enter the actual filtration values displayed on the main screen.

For example, if you align your Starlite to your video analyzer on Monday, and make prints all day with no problem, and then Tuesday morning your print your Shirley and it needs a little correction then you should make a Process offset change.

If you examine the print from the Shirley and determine it needs 3 CC's of density and 2 CC's of yellow for example, make the corrections as follows:

From the Starlite main menu, access the Starlite Calibration menu. Select the Edit Process Offset option and enter 3 for the Density value, press until you are on the Yellow value and enter 2. Press after the Yellow entry to exit. The new offsets will now be in effect.

Those Process offsets can be adjusted as frequently, or infrequently, as necessary for your lab. The Process offsets are easy to maintain because their values are all close to 0, making them easy to adjust for tracking processor drifts.