20x24 enlarger easel options

[John Brady]

I am searching for a high quality 20 x24 easel. It looks like the two best options are the Saunders or the Beseler. B&H sells the Beseler new for about $950. It doesn’t appear the Saunders is still in production, or if it is, I don’t see it available anywhere.

How does the Beseler compare to the Saunders? Should I hold out to find a good quality Saunders in the used market or go with the new Beseler?
Am I overlooking any other options? Any advice on this would be appreciated.

John
www.timeandlight.com

[Pieter]

Make sure you get the newer style Beseler easel that has both ends of the blades running to the edge guides. I have an earlier version where one side is free and it can get out of square. I don't know if the blades can be adjusted like the Saunders. I end up manually squaring it up and tape the blades together. Luckily, I make most of my prints to two basic sizes.

[Tin Can]

I sold my LN condition 20X24 Saunders for what I paid for it

I didn't like how the cropping leaves were not always square, if adjusted

YMMV

I use single format now

odd sizes, magnet strips

[Drew Wiley]

Saunders blades are easy re-square. Right now I'm assembling the masking blade system for my new 24X30 easel, or more accurately, taking a lunch break from doing that. I wanted to have on hand something mid-sized between my Saunders 20X24 easels and my monster cast-iron 30X40 one which is dedicated to one specific 8x10 enlarger.

[Ray Van Nes]

I made my own out of plywood heavy but functional. First there are two pieces laminated together, the upper one is the size of your paper and bottom one is 4 in bigger in both dimensions. A 2" hinged frame fits around the upper piece. I use piano hinges. Inset in this frame is T track you should be able to get from various hardware suppliers such as Rockler etc. It is inset in the center of the frame. For the blades you can get them cut at a sheet metal shop. Satin steel is best as it will take paint well. I used laminate on the top which I then inscribed dimensions working from the center out. This will cost a lot less than the above mentioned items and will work just as well.

[ic-racer]

I disassembled, cleaned, lubricated and re-painted a used Saunders 20x24. These really are built better than the smaller Saunders easels.

215487

[MrFujicaman]

There's a Saunders for sale in the For sale thread..

[John Brady]

Saunders blades are easy re-square. Right now I'm assembling the masking blade system for my new 24X30 easel, or more accurately, taking a lunch break from doing that. I wanted to have on hand something mid-sized between my Saunders 20X24 easels and my monster cast-iron 30X40 one which is dedicated to one specific 8x10 enlarger.

A dedicated 30x40 enlarger would be nice! The naked photographer has a video online about sharing the 20x24Saunders.

[John Brady]

There's a Saunders for sale in the For sale thread..

Thanks for the heads up, it looks like a 16x20 and an 11x14, I’m looking for the 20x24

[John Layton]

Have loads of easels accumulated over the years (gotta have that yard sale!)...but the one's I actually use now are my two Saunders (11x14, 16x20), and larger (30x40 and 40x60) ones which I DIY out of melamine boards and mat-black painted wood strips for hold downs. Don't care too much about squareness of these big ones because when I print big I include a margin beyond the film's edge...knowing that I will square up and trim this prior to matting.

Question: Years ago I had a Leitz easel which was black...and I'd arrange and focus the image on a fixed/washed sheet of photo paper prior to replacing it with a fresh unexposed piece for actual printing. Fast forward...my current easels are either "focal yellow" (Saunders) or my white melamine homemade ones. I've never noticed any real differences in results between any of these (black, white, yellow-based) easels, despite what I've heard about potential halation caused by bounce-back of light from a white easel. Anyone?

[Michael R]

Have loads of easels accumulated over the years (gotta have that yard sale!)...but the one's I actually use now are my two Saunders (11x14, 16x20), and larger (30x40 and 40x60) ones which I DIY out of melamine boards and mat-black painted wood strips for hold downs. Don't care too much about squareness of these big ones because when I print big I include a margin beyond the film's edge...knowing that I will square up and trim this prior to matting.

Question: Years ago I had a Leitz easel which was black...and I'd arrange and focus the image on a fixed/washed sheet of photo paper prior to replacing it with a fresh unexposed piece for actual printing. Fast forward...my current easels are either "focal yellow" (Saunders) or my white melamine homemade ones. I've never noticed any real differences in results between any of these (black, white, yellow-based) easels, despite what I've heard about potential halation caused by bounce-back of light from a white easel. Anyone?

Non-issue. The paper base is white anyway.

[Tin Can]

I was taught to always focus on a spare sheet of the same printing paper

Paper thickness matters

[John Brady]

I was taught to always focus on a spare sheet of the same printing paper

Paper thickness matters

I adhered a piece of Ilford Fiber to the bottom of my grain magnifier, seams to work alright.

[Tin Can]

I was in a very busy student environment

Nothing could be trusted

All was shared 24/7

I cleaned a lot


I adhered a piece of Ilford Fiber to the bottom of my grain magnifier, seams to work alright.

[Tin Can]

Worth repeating for posterity


OP,JB

I have easels by Saunders, Beseler, Linhof, Kodak, ... and Kienzle

The only easel I would buy again is the Linhof, and the Kienzle (in production)


https://youtu.be/OAVBszvhhf4?t=537


best .jen.

[Michael R]

Worth repeating for posterity

Kienzle makes nice equipment, however be prepared for serious sticker shock if you want a big easel.

[John Brady]

OP,JB

I have easels by Saunders, Beseler, Linhof, Kodak, ... and Kienzle

The only easel I would buy again is the Linhof, and the Kienzle (in production)


best .jen.

Okay, great. Now I want one of everything I saw in their video. The 8x10 enlarger with modular add ons looks amazing. It doesn't look like they have a distribution in the US. That large easel looks mighty fine, and expensive.

[John Layton]

Have a good friend who owns and uses Kienzle enargers - nice stuff!

...and about accounting for paper thickness while focussing - I do have a paper-thickness's worth of tape on my focussing finder bottom, to emulate this amount. But in truth...the focal plane at the baseboard is less critical than that at the negative carrier - and my having this extra piece stuck to my focusser makes no visible difference...so long as the paper remains reasonably flat.

[tori8x10]

Hi John, I have a Besler 20x24 enlarger to sell. I actually have finally decided, once and for all time, to quit photography all together, so I have a lot of "stuff" to finally sell.

[interneg]

The Kienzle easel seems to owe a lot of its DNA/ heritage to the 4-blade RR Beard - both are really the best 4-blade easels out there, but with considerable weight penalties - and I'm not sure if Beard ever made any/ many 4-blades bigger than 20x24". The 2-blade RR Beard was/ is standard issue in most professional/ custom darkrooms in the UK (& some of Europe) - simple, plenty accurate, and much tougher than most 4-blades.

[Tin Can]

TV

in

[Greg Y]

I disassembled, cleaned, lubricated and re-painted a used Saunders 20x24. These really are built better than the smaller Saunders easels.

215487

Agreed. The Saunders 20x24 is rock solid. I prefer it to my smaller 11x14 & 16x20 Saunders..... although I wouldn't turn down a Kienzle easel if one showed up at my door.

[ic-racer]

A phototrio (APUG) user recently purchased a brand New Kienzel 4x5 enlarger from the factory:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/my-new-kienzle-c120-4x5-enlarger.183372/

[Tin Can]

Great link with lots of show and tell

Very cool!


A phototrio (APUG) user recently purchased a brand New Kienzel 4x5 enlarger from the factory:

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/my-new-kienzle-c120-4x5-enlarger.183372/

[tgtaylor]

Tip: If buying a used easel, bring a torpedo level with you and make sure that the easel is plumb before you buy it. Many used easels have been dropped and/or misused to the extent that they are no longer level. If its not level its going to be a major headache every time you print with it. Several years back I bought a brand new Saunders 20x24 easel from K&S in Palo Alto - it was the very last one they had in stock and I paid close to $500 for it. It's still in its box, never used. I've been using the 16x20 Saunders instead. On day, though, I'm going to make 20x24 prints.

Thomas

[Steve Goldstein]

Printing a 20x24 in my micro-darkroom is a challenge as the space under my enlarger isn't wide enough to accommodate any commercially-made easel I know of, and it can't be made wider. A Saunders borderless might fit but the 20x24 version is pretty rare.

I recently realized I don't need a big-bucks universal easel that handles sizes from 8x10 to 20x24. All I really need is something to hold down a piece of paper measuring 24" in the wider dimension; I can use a smaller easel for "normal" size 11x14 prints. This means a simpler unit with a non-adjustable long dimension would suffice. I always pre-trim the paper to match the image aspect ratio including margins when I print bigger than 11x14 (eases paper handling during processing) so a simple hinged affair with fixed margins on one long and both short sides and a moveable long blade opposite the hinge will suffice. The overall width would be just over 24" so I'd still be able to move it to either side for fine positioning. Plywood or melamine will do for the base with small magnets embedded along the short sides to hold down the top if its weight isn't enough to overcome paper curl. I can also embed an array of magnets to hold down the adjustable blade in various places.

I'm still working out the fine details but expect to be buying some beers for my table-saw owning buddy in not too long.

[Tin Can]

I don't like my Borderless, so it sits...somewhere

I love Ganz Speed-EZ-EL (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/19124-REG/Ganz_GZSE5X7_Speed_Ez_El_5x7.html) if bought NOS and not bent, great for a series as I can load paper by feel. I gaff tape into positions I have nearly every size up to 16X20

I also like SAUNDERS Single Size (http://store.khbphotografix.com/Saunders-8x10-Single-Size-Darkroom-Easel-Model-SLS810-Used.html) which don't adjust! I have 5X7 to 16X20, almost as fool proof as the Speed EZ

[Steve Goldstein]

I have a straight 20x24 Speed EZ-EL but find it difficult to use given the limitations of my working space. The paper has to go in from a short side; I've got walls in the way and it's too easy to bump the easel and change its position. Yes, I could tape the easel to the baseboard to keep it from moving, but it's still tricky to get the paper in and out. And it only works properly with full-size sheets, I'd need to fabricate an auxiliary blade. The Saunders single-size also only works with full-size sheets of paper - same problem.

The easel I'm planning to build might just end up without a hinge, similar to a Speed EZ-EL except with the opening on a long side and an adjustable rail on the open side so I can use trimmed-down paper. It seems that much of what I want to print that large is panoramic to a greater or lesser degree; with trimming to size I get "free" test strips and also easier paper handling in the dark.

I've encountered an interesting problem with my single-size easels (8x10, 11x14, and 16x20). The framing "blades" are quite thick and the glancing reflection off their black-painted sides causes a darker halo around the print edges. It can be trimmed off, but I'd be happier if that didn't happen. I may investigate some telescope flocking material to try to solve this problem, or at least reduce it.


I don't like my Borderless, so it sits...somewhere

I love Ganz Speed-EZ-EL (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/19124-REG/Ganz_GZSE5X7_Speed_Ez_El_5x7.html) if bought NOS and not bent, great for a series as I can load paper by feel. I gaff tape into positions I have nearly every size up to 16X20

I also like SAUNDERS Single Size (http://store.khbphotografix.com/Saunders-8x10-Single-Size-Darkroom-Easel-Model-SLS810-Used.html) which don't adjust! I have 5X7 to 16X20, almost as fool proof as the Speed EZ

[Luis-F-S]

I have an 11x14 V-Track easel that I use and a 16x20 V-Track easel. Also have a 24x30 Saunders easel that my lab was going to throw away so I brought it home, though I doubt I'll ever use it!

[Tin Can]

4 years ago I packed up and put everything in storage, 6 months later I bought my last home DR.......hopefully

I made the decision to get rid of almost all 20X24 necessities

Sold 20X24 easel, 20X24 washer, FOTAR 10X10, 30X120 sink, mostly to members here

No worries I have what I need

I still have 20X24 paper and can process it in trays but when it's gone....

I find 16X20 matted and framed is big enough, I have almost no wall space left, flat files do store prints well

My hot press can mount 16X20 in one go, I have plenty of adhesive paper for my lifetime

even NOS Light Impressions mat board I bought 21 years ago

[Greg Y]

I find 16X20 matted and framed is big enough, I have almost no wall space left, flat files do store prints well

My hot press can mount 16X20 in one go

Likewise, with the increased price of paper, I've scaled back on making big prints. A couple of years ago I finally found a 20x24 Saunders easel for sale used & the seller did a masterful job of packing it for shipping. 11"x14" has pretty much become my go-to size & then as you said... 16x20 for 'big' prints....& they do look big enough when matted and framed.

[shadow images]

I have an 11x14 V-Track easel that I use and a 16x20 V-Track easel. Also have a 24x30 Saunders easel that my lab was going to throw away so I brought it home, though I doubt I'll ever use it!

Didn't know they made one in that size. Will have to keep an eye out for one.

[Drew Wiley]

Do you mean 24X30 paper size or overall easel outside dimension?