Prints made from cold light heads reproduce tone in a, more or less, linear manner. All tones reproduce in their correct proportion. Condenser enlarger prints show a disproportionate increase in density in the higher values: Zones VI and up print about 2 zones higher in tone.

Don’t believe me? Try this test. Make a contact print of a 4x5 negative with a condenser enlarger, exposing for the minimum time to print black through the clear film edge. Now make an 8x10 enlargement on the same paper, again printing for the minimum time to obtain black through the clear film edge. Assuming a properly exposed and developed negative, the contact print should show rich tone throughout, with smoothly blended high values. The enlargement will have similar low values, but blank "Plaster of Paris" high values. If you increase printing exposure to match the high values of the contact print, the low values will be "soot".

Usually, low contrast papers (or printing filters) or thinner (less developed) negatives are suggested as the solution to this problem. A lesser developed negative will give low values even less separation than they normally have, which isn’t much; and use of a low contrast paper gives you no alternative if you should ever need lower contrast (and you may not achieve the maximum black of the paper). Neither is a good solution – both necessitate that you "fight" the negative.

In my darkroom the V-54 Cold Light Head gives a fine #2 result with Ilford HP-5 film developed in Ilfotec DD-X for 15 minutes at a 1:9 dilution (see Ilford products page) with Elegance Paper. Contrastier films like Kodak Tri-X may require a 50Y compensation filter (place the filter above [behind] the enlarging lens inside the bellows).