tatjanavogt
Hello fellow lab technicians,
I’d like to try making enlargements larger than 30x40 cm, but at the moment I’m struggling to find the right equipment. I have a suitable enlarger and the right negatives. However, large enlargement frames are unfortunately unaffordable, so I’m looking for an alternative way to position the photographic paper (projecting the negative onto the wall or the floor). Is there perhaps some adhesive tape or similar that remains clearly visible under Duka light? Does anyone have any other ideas?
I’d really appreciate any help.
Best regards,
Tatjana
cfb_de
Hello Tatjana,
For PE/RC paper:
- Floor projection: Place a few drops of water under the paper. Rub it in.
- Wall projection: Carefully stick Tesa Powerstrips in the corners, using as little as possible.
For baryta paper:
- Floor projection: A thin, inexpensive MDF board with a cut-out to fit. Jigsaw.
. Wall projection: Tesa-...
Otherwise, you could Google ‘sticky easel’ again and you’ll come across a parallel forum where there are even decent DIY recipes described. I won’t post the link here because I don’t want to link to a competitor.
The much more important question, however, is: How do you get the base or wall properly parallel to the negative stage/lens?
If you can’t manage that, fixing the paper in place is basically pointless child’s play.
Best regards,
Franz
tatjanavogt
Hi Franz,
Thank you very much for your reply. Perhaps you might also have some ideas on how I can mark the correct position on the paper without spending too much. I need some sort of frame to ensure the paper doesn’t lie crooked and that the cut-out is accurate.
Unfortunately, my attempts so far using cardboard angles haven’t been very successful :huh:
Many thanks!
Tatjana
Wolfgg
Hello Tatjana,
Have a suitable white-coated chipboard cut to size at the DIY store – for 30x40 cm, cut to approx. 35x45 cm; adjust larger sizes accordingly. Glue a thin wooden strip (approx. 3 mm thick) along the left and top edges to act as a paper guide. Finally, use a black felt-tip pen to mark out the paper dimensions (paper edges). Blacken the sides of the wooden strips that face the paper.
Regards, Wolfgang
cfb_de
Or simply use a sheet of paper as a template and stick two corners of it to the floor around the edges using plasters.
I project larger designs onto the door, so a pencil is best for marking them out.
Best regards,
Franz
dkwrt200
Hello to those in need of help and those offering advice,
Apart from projection, flatness, etc. (I also project onto a white door, but with architectural drawings it’s very noticeable if the paper is even slightly wavy), it’s the developing process that causes me the most trouble. Even for 30x40 sheets, trays require a good 2 litres of chemicals to ensure the paper is properly wetted, and space on the board above the bath becomes rather tight.
As I recently acquired a stack of 50x60 sheets, I bought an old Jobo Drum 4551, which is supposedly capable of handling sheets of this size. But how do you load the paper? There’s definitely about 20 cm of overlap, and the chemicals don’t reach that area (resulting in white spots). It also came with three small bags containing slotted plastic rolls and small slotted plastic rolls with triangles attached to the sides. I assume these are meant to be spacers. But how do you use them? The ones with the triangles on the vertical edges of the paper and the little rolls on the upper and lower curved edges? So far, I haven’t managed to position everything so that the developer really reaches every part.
Can anyone give me a tip on how to use these things? Or are there other tricks?
Many thanks and best regards,
Rainer
cfb_de
Hi Rainer,
For the Jobo 4551, you’ll need the 4512 format holder for 50x60. You curl the paper into it, add a bit more developer (at least 450ml), and then you’re good to go. Without the 4512, the drum can handle up to 40x50, and that’s it. With the 4512, you’ll soon learn why processors *without* a direction-reversal mechanism can be useful.
When bought separately, these format holders are usually already cracked. Occasionally, you’ll find an intact one in a can – these are the 4551s, which you’ve probably not bid on yet on eBay. They tend to go for well over ten quid.
Best regards,
Franz
dkwrt200
Hi Franz,
Thanks a lot for the tip! I’ll have a look around then. If I can’t find anything straight away, I’ll come up with a DIY solution. Would two or three layers of fly-screen mesh work as spacers? That should allow the chemical to flow through properly. Slow rotation (without a processor: a DIY solution using a few rubber wheels from my children’s Lego box) should prevent scratches, and rinsing once or twice more to remove residue should work as well. The small plastic parts are probably for some as yet undetermined purpose.
Many thanks and best regards,
Rainer
MirkoBoeddecker
Rainer,
Have a go at seeing if you can clip the small plastic parts onto the removable plastic rails.
They might be spacers to keep them away from the outside of the tin.
The fly screen bit probably won’t work.
The larger the format, the more prone the whole thing is to streaks. Even if you don’t move a 30x40 properly in the tray, you’ll see streak upon streak when you look at it in the light after it’s dried.
A screen like that is bound to create air currents.
Best regards,
Mirko
drbue
Hello Tatjana and everyone else,
There is another solution, provided the space allows it:
Have a sturdy bracket made and fix it to the wall at any height you like. Remove the enlarger from the base plate and screw it onto this bracket using the column base. Raising it by 20 cm will allow you to create your posters. These brackets or column extensions are available ready-made for Kaiser and Dunco. You can get a larger base board from a DIY store. Adhesive tape for securing it is available from photo suppliers. – If you want to take photos, simply raise the base board higher.
Best regards
SCKStef
Hello Tatjana,
I’ve got hold of some self-adhesive steel tape and stuck the standard sizes to the wall as a frame; I can then perform exposure on my paper using wall projection.
For floor projection, I use an A2 MDF board with a steel tape grid (every 5 cm).
The paper is secured with neodymium magnets (extra small and extra strong), to which I have stuck a ‘handle’; the handle consists of a piece of plastic film, or for larger magnets I have wedged them into a film canister.
With this solution, a little bit of the edge is always lost, but it holds.
With the wall rails, I can also quickly build a recessed channel for product shots...
For the image development, I use a setup made from three plastic gutters; the gutter in the middle is filled with the relevant chemical, and the paper is then simply pulled through and rolled up and down in the other gutters.
In addition, the gutter in the middle has a drain, so I can easily change the chemicals.
The setup can certainly be expanded so that I don’t have to change the chemicals...
The whole thing is then placed in a homemade tray made from pond liner.
Regards,
Stähane.
bogibell
Hello,
I’ve also got hold of some large-format trays, which I plan to use to roll the paper exposed during exposure up and down in the relevant chemical solution. But draining the chemical solution is still a bit of a hurdle for me...I’ve also thought about fitting drain valves, as Stähane described. Stähane, could you tell me where you bought them (DIY store or somewhere else?) and how you made them watertight all round (silicone, PVC adhesive)?
Many thanks for the tip :D Bogi.
SCKStef
Hello,
I’ve used guttering with a diameter of 170 mm here. (I couldn’t find the exact size.)
The end caps are glued in place (using PVD adhesive).
The outlet consists of a plastic socket designed for garden irrigation (manufactured by Trobak).
The connecting sleeve has a single external thread (1/2 inch) and a clamping mechanism (20 mm pipe).
I simply drilled a hole in the gutter, tapped a thread and secured the whole thing flush with two-component adhesive (Pattex or Henkel).
Add a valve, and that’s it :-)
The only downside is that you either need a hole in your worktop or have to place the structure on ‘stilt’, but in return you can easily empty the gutter completely without having to tilt it much.
Regards,
Stähane.
Hoddy
Hello Tatjana,
Have a suitable white-coated chipboard cut to size at the DIY store – for 30x40, cut to approx. 35x45; adjust larger sizes accordingly. Glue a thin wooden strip (approx. 3 mm thick) along the left and top edges to act as a paper guide. Finally, use a black felt-tip pen to mark out the paper dimensions (paper edges). Blacken the sides of the wooden strips that face the paper.
Regards, Wolfgang
Instead of wooden strips, you can also use these black anodised aluminium angle strips. They’re also easy to screw on
Regards
Waldo
Hoddy
Hi Rainer,
For the Jobo 4551, you’ll need the 4512 format holder for 50x60 prints. You curl the paper into it, add a bit more developer (at least 450ml), and you’re good to go. Without the 4512, the unit can handle up to 40x50, and that’s it. With the 4512, you’ll soon learn why processors *without* a direction-reversing mechanism can make sense.
When bought separately, these format holders are usually already cracked. Occasionally, you might find an intact one in a drum – these are the 4551s, which you’ve probably not bid on yet on eBay. They tend to go for well over ten quid.
Best regards,
Franz
[color="#3333FF"]If the ‘tongue’ of the format holder is broken, cut it off completely and work only with the half-open tube. Only then will the device work properly, as the chemical solution can reach every part. That’s my experience from many years of using them
Regards
Waldo[/colo
