Enlarger table height

[bmikiten]

I'm 6'0 and setting up a Durst 1200 enlarger. I have plenty of height above but wondered what people were using for enlarger table (easel) heights. My last one was 36" if I remember right.

[Jim Jones]

That's close to most of my enlarger supports. However, a 5x7 Elwood enlarger under a fairly low ceiling made setting that enlarger on the floor necessary. Ouch!

[Drew Wiley]

With one massive exception, where the big vac easel is at 36 inch height, all my other enlargers have adjustable height baseboards on long columns.

[Doremus Scudder]

For countertop style enlargers like the Omega D or the Beseler 45MX... or the LPL enlargers, if you have enough headroom, make you countertop height one that is most comfortable for you to work on. Mine are standard 36" countertop height and work fine for me (5'10"). As long as you have enough headroom, you get all the enlargement potential the enlarger has to offer.

That said, if you want to make larger prints, the only ways to do so with many of these enlargers is to switch to horizontal projection mode or to be able to remove the baseboard and project onto a surface lower than the original baseboard position. Some enlargers have the capability to turn the head on the column and project onto the floor. Beseler made (makes still?) an enlarger stand that allows the baseboard to be removed and the image to be projected onto surfaces lower than the original baseboard.

I have removable baseboards and then adjustable shelving below my enlargers so I can make up to 20x24" prints without swiveling the head to horizontal and projecting onto a wall. These, of course end up being significantly lower than countertop height. I focus by repeatedly sitting down in a chair and then standing up to make adjustments. If I had to do this a lot, I'd get an extension for the focusing knob so I could operate it sitting. Still, one needs to stand up adjust the height of the enlarger head and to dial in filtration, etc.

Best,

Doremus

[Eric Woodbury]

At 6'2", I like 36" counters. -e-

[Drew Wiley]

I'm only 5'7", but like all my countertops at 36". An exception would be workshop tables for sawing and routing applications, which I prefer to be a little lower, at 32 inches instead.

[ic-racer]

I used 36" because that is what was available when I went cabinet shopping. No complaints other than if I were to do a custom build, I'd make the counters a little deeper.

234146

[nolindan]

I have my enlarger table surface at 28", which I find to be about right for working when seated.

[Drew Wiley]

For wall-mounted enlargers with limited column length, it's advisable to install them above a three-sided cabinet structure allowing for the shelf/baseboard position to be placed at optional different heights. That's no more difficult than doing something analogous for deep kitchen cabinets or bookshelves - an elementary shop project, really.

[Barry Kirsten]

I have two L1200s, one with Multigrade head and the other with condenser head. They have 1200mm and 1400mm columns respectively and sit on a common 750mm (30") bench. The condenser head unit with the longer column just clears my 8' ceiling.

I have just finished refurbishing a magnificent 5x7 Meopter "Magnetarius" enlarger but because of its huge size (it stands at 8' fully extended) I'm building a low bench for it 500mm high. I'll have to put up with the compromises of low bench height and restricted enlargement size. I should be able to do 20x24 prints, which I'm OK with.

[Tin Can]

I have a wall mount 8X10, I recently changed the table to an adjustable height from 26 to 42" by crank

Table is 24X42

Every workbench should fit the user, there are industrial standards

My big heavy old vise is mounted for my height

Look up standards

but even my huge 10X10 FOTAR adjusted to LARGE prints by lowering the table while raising the head simultaneously

Smoothly!

and locked with exquisite ease

Biggest I made on it was table size, 28 X 40"

[bmikiten]

My last one had an adjustable base as well so I don't really remember the height I used most of the time.

[bmikiten]

Right - countertop is generally referenced as the standard at 36"

[Conrad . Marvin]

I’m 6’4” and my previous darkroom had low ceilings. I made my sink about 38” and the enlargers were set so that at the maximum extensions, the top of the enlarger was in between the ceiling joists. (Really) I now have enough room above but have gotten used to a little bit below normal height (for me) for the enlargers so I just live with it.

[Conrad . Marvin]

I was able to adjust the height on the smaller enlarger to 39” to the baseboard but the larger one has a substantial support and the top of the paper holder measures 35.5” from the floor.

[Paul Ron]

whatever height is comfortable on your back while viewing the easel and focusing scope and still able to reach the control knobs.

[Dave Ogle]

enlarger on old metal kitchen cabinet base I found years ago. sinks are on kitchen base cabinets. height 36". have drafting chair I can roll between sink and enlarger. My darkroom is like a galley kitchen, everything within a few steps. darkroom is for lab work only. matting, print mounting and archives are in other rooms

[LabRat]

About 36" is good for average height workers ergonomics... Too low bends the back too much, and your head will constantly hit the enlarger head (ouch!!!)... Too high is nice as you have enough room for your head to use grain magnifier, load paper without enlarger head in the way, burn/dodge etc, but starts putting enlarger controls out of reach, loading neg stage etc... But you can add an "apple box" plywood step when making them big prints...

You can make a drop table of slots below normal baseboard height to slide baseboard to lower positions (even just above floor) when bigger prints are to be made...

Steve K

[Mark Sampson]

When I built my darkroom a couple of years ago, I put the countertop height at 42". I'm 6'3" and have long arms, so that has worked fine so far. A working lifetime bending over low counters informed that decision. After making many prints, 40" would have been as good. If I ever start making 16x20s again, or 20x24s, I'll just figure out a way to get those done.

[MILC Toast]

I'm looking at a Beseler 4x5 enlarger. I think I want to make prints around 14x17.5 or whatever is most economical near that size. I also want to be able to do hopefully 20x25 when I can justify the cost of bigger prints.

Ceiling height, counter height, enlarger lens focal length and print size are all factors I need to look at.

First, how big can a Beseler 4x5 enlarger go in a vertical configuration with the standard baseplate? Second, what enlarger lens focal length will work from probably 8x10 up to 20x25. Is there a particular lens I should be looking for?

I have a shed that is well insulated, air-conditioned and essentially light tight that I want to use for my darkroom. It has decent ceiling height but I'm not sure it's 8'. What should I do to make it work as well as possible without huge ceiling height and hopefully without low counter height?

[Tin Can]

A good start would be telling us your exact enlarger

There are many variations

Some tilt for wall projection

other hang on a wall

some just sit


I'm looking at a Beseler 4x5 enlarger. I think I want to make prints around 14x17.5 or whatever is most economical near that size. I also want to be able to do hopefully 20x25 when I can justify the cost of bigger prints.

Ceiling height, counter height, enlarger lens focal length and print size are all factors I need to look at.

First, how big can a Beseler 4x5 enlarger go in a vertical configuration with the standard baseplate? Second, what enlarger lens focal length will work from probably 8x10 up to 20x25. Is there a particular lens I should be looking for?

I have a shed that is well insulated, air-conditioned and essentially light tight that I want to use for my darkroom. It has decent ceiling height but I'm not sure it's 8'. What should I do to make it work as well as possible without huge ceiling height and hopefully without low counter height?

[MILC Toast]

I'm not an expert on enlarger identification and the pictures don't have many clues. It's the type with a "n" shaped truss with two horizontal bars carrying the enlarger head, not wall mounted but with a tilting head for printing on walls. I don't think it's the newer(?) type with the screw adjustable lens holder plates. I think it's a simple condenser light source.

Probably not what I would want for color prints but I'm assuming good enough for B&W.

So how tall are those and how tall do they get when set up for 4x5 enlarged to 20x25 with a preferred enlarger lens?

I just want to make sure it will fit in my shed and do what I want with reasonable ergonomics.

[Tin Can]

The tilt is for LARGE prints projected on a wall

I have one that also allows the wood table top be removed allowing the enlarger to project at a lower level

IF you have the special steel table

I have both methods

[Tin Can]

Get a manual and read it

These are still in production!

[ic-racer]

I'm looking at a Beseler 4x5 enlarger. ...
Ceiling height, counter height, enlarger lens focal length and print size are all factors I need to look at.


Counter height will be the ceiling height minus the enlarger height. For example a Beseelr 45MXT is about 55 inches.
With that enlarger, a 135mm lens will do 6x enlargements (30 inches across) and 150mm will do 5x enlargements (25 inches across). Take your pick.

[MILC Toast]

55" sounds about right from the picture I've seen. If I get a 150mm enlarger lens and want to try a 25x20" print, how high does the condenser light have to go over the top of the frame?

If it's 0", I think I can set my table height near 36" and fit under the ceiling. If it's maybe 6", I can probably find a 32" cabinet or something. If it's 12" I'm probably going to have to be very careful about making that stack fit without limiting me to less than 25x20".

Going back to focal length, there is about 150mm (let's call it 6") from the back of the lens to negative and to get 5x enlargement it should be 30" from the lens to the print surface. So how tall is a Beseler 4x5 enlarger from the negative holder to the top of the condenser light?

If my math is right, I think 18" or so from negative holder to top of condenser would work easily for me because the stack would be 54" and I could almost have the frame touching the ceiling.

[BKP]

I'm 6'2" My D-5 XL is wall mounted. My counter height is 41". My two drop down positions are at 35 and 25 inches. I prefer to stand. Getting up from sitting and kneeling bothers my knees these days. Even standing and leaning forward for long periods gets to my back. 41 works for me. Years ago, at a place I worked at, they had a SS sink that's front wall would contact my hips when leaning forward. I had to modify that. There was a luminescent tape that sure came in handy for safety in the darkroom. Personal ergonomics and safety are important. bk

[MILC Toast]

I just heard from the enlarger seller so I should be able to pick that up the next time I'm going that way.

Thanks for the info.

[MILC Toast]

So I picked up my enlarger and it slid in to the back of my rental Nissan NX2000 box van with about 1/4" clearance under the door latch. It was a perfect fit and the van got good gas mileage which was important since I had to go to California.

Any way it came with a lens for 35mm and 16mm installed in it, I'm not sure on the specs, and a 135mm Componon in a Beseler box. It doesn't say anything beside 135mm 1:5.6 Componon but the glass looks clean and the aperture moves smoothly.

I'm still not an enlarger identification expert but I'll figure out exactly what I have once I start working on getting my darkroom up and running.

I heard the Componon is good for 2-20x enlargement so that's 8x10 to 6' 8"x 8' 4" but I think my shed and my budget will limit me to much smaller (I doubt I'll ever do anything much bigger than 20x25 just for framing issues). I should have measured the plastic trays because that is probably the first limit I'll run in to beside the easle.

[Tin Can]

I use slosh method if trays are too small

Use 2 hands with clips and I can do up to 14X36"

[Serge S]

This is an interesting thread for me as I am trying to resuscitate my old darkroom & need to start from scratch!

[MILC Toast]

So I can make a print close to double the size of my tray dipping in half and half or do you mean something else by "the slosh method"?

If I can do half and half, that should probably cover as big as I would want to go because I look at the trays and they are pretty big but I think I might want to go a bit larger.

I probably won't get the walls involved. It's fun to think about that but I can't think of how I could budget for the paper realistically. Maybe if I win the lottery?