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Thread: keeping the paper flat....

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    156

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    @tim
    Thanks!

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    2,707

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    My guess is an alignment issue, as suggested by xkaes in post #8. Also, are you using a glass negative carrier? This is an interesting post, there will soon be an answer!

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    156

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    no glass carrier just the standard one thanks!

  4. #14

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    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    The negative is perhaps not flat at the carrier stage. That may be the problem. It is less likely to be at the easel; see post #2 by Maris.

  5. #15
    Dave Karp
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Los Angeles, CA
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    2,960

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    These enlargers can be aligned, but it can be difficult. I learned a tip from John Sexton. Loosen the fasteners on the column and slide shims made from pieces of 120 film. You can also use aluminium foil for small adjustments.

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    1,327

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    Might try using a large piece of glass over the paper for a print and see if that stops the out of focus areas. If so, it is the paper waviness making it out of focus. You aren't going to print through glass every time, just for a test to hold the paper flat. If that solves the problem a vacuum easel may solve your problem. Or try some light adhesive on the easel to hold the paper flat.

    If the glass does not solve the problem it is the negative. A glass carrier will solve problems with a negative that is not flat.
    ” Never attribute to inspiration that which can be adequately explained by delusion”.

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    156

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    Thanks everyone really appreciate the help!

  8. #18

    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin USA
    Posts
    320

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    So far I am finding this thread interesting and helpful! I have an LPL 4550 enlarger and use a Saunders "V-Trac" VT1400 easel, both of which were acquired from another LF user earlier this year and moved into my darkroom. I had to do some shimming to get my negative carrier, the baseboard and the easel all level at the same time (while the enlarger column also appears straight and true). With that, I haven't noticed such focus/sharpness issues using 11x14in Ilford WT or Classic FB papers, but the practical diagnosis and remedy tips being offered to the OP here are helpful. It's good to hear that the precise flatness at the easel level is less critical, so I'll keep an especially sharp eye on the negative carrier. Thank you all...
    Last edited by JMO; 13-Nov-2017 at 09:39.
    ... JMOwens (Mt. Pleasant, Wisc. USA)

    "If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." ...Michelangelo

  9. #19

    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Sheridan, Colorado
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    2,434

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    Quote Originally Posted by JMO View Post
    It's good to hear that the DOF at the easel level is less critical, so I'll keep an especially sharp eye on the negative carrier. Thank you all...
    "Less critical" doesn't mean unimportant, of course. Most darkroom users, especially when buying a used enlarger, don't even consider aligning the negative carrier and the baseboard.

    And, as usual, unfortunately, some people lose a lot of sleep and buy expensive tools to solve/resolve it. It's easy to test for, and most of the time, easy to fix.

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Apr 2015
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    Purcellville, VA
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    1,785

    Re: keeping the paper flat....

    I join the others waiting to see the outcome. Alignment is frequently an issue. However, I use a paper safe and had a problem with Warmtone curling (edges up on the emulsion side) some years ago. It was a humidity issue; the darkroom, with no running water, was really dry in the winter. Once the humidity returned to normal levels, the paper relaxed and lay fairly flat.
    Philip Ulanowsky

    Sine scientia ars nihil est. (Without science/knowledge, art is nothing.)
    www.imagesinsilver.art
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