Printing 8x10" negative

[Payral]

In few months I will have a 8x10 negative enlarger. Till now mine is only 5x7"
Can you tell me what max print size I can get with a 8x10"negative and a 300mm enlarging lens when column is 1m 50 (59 inches) ?
Thanks.

[Tin Can]

Why not use pencil and paper

Draw it

[John Kasaian]

How high is your ceiling? When I run the head all the way up on my enlarger I run out of room even though the column fits with room to spare---and that's with the baseboard on the floor.

[Payral]

Why not use pencil and paper

Draw it

If I knew how to do it I wouldn't have asked

[Payral]

No problem with my ceiling it's 3 meters something around 118 inches. I have a lot of space above column.

[John Layton]

You've told us that your enlarger column is 59" - but what you need to share with us is the maximum adjustable distance between your enlarger's negative holder (film plane), and the surface of your easel (photo paper surface). This info. would help!

[NER]

The issue is not column height. As J. Layton points out, the controlling factor is the distance between the lens and the paper. My Super Chromega F stands ~ 9' tall, but when fitted with a 300mm Rodagon, the maximum height above my baseboard after head, bellows, and lens is only ~ 45," which yields a sharp enlargement ~ 24x30." Given a more distant printing surface (basically close to the floor, or a distance of about 6' from the wall if you can project horizontally), you can make larger prints if you have the paper and means to process such a large print. I know of no paper larger than 56"x98', meaning a maximum print size of 56x70" if you print the full 8x10 negative to the edge of that paper and have sufficient distance between the paper and lens.

N. Riley
https://www.normanrileyphotography.com

[John Layton]

Lots of different heads of many shapes and sizes.

Sometimes the "issue" of not enough distance between negative and easel can be "solved" by removing an older (and often very large) color head and swapping in an LED head with a much flatter profile. Another bonus here is that such a switch often also results in a smaller mass near the ceiling - which can equate to less low-frequency vibration of the enlarger column.

Another possible "solution" would be to swap out your 300mm lens with a 240mm lens - which can be effective assuming that your light source is broad enough dimensionally to accommodate the larger angular field of the shorter lens.

[Payral]

I don't have the enlarger yet. First it has to be build but as the head will be a led one, size of the head will not be a too big problem. I don't want to print larger than 16x20".
Thanks anyway for all your answers.