durst enlarger

[luis a de santos]

I would like to post this question to all those using durst enlargers purchased from durst pro usa. Well over a year ago I purchased a 10x10 enlarger.Because of delays in the construction of my studio I asked them to hold it.They did although they charge me for storage. Approx last May I asked for my enlarger and it was shipped to me in a large crate. Only the chasis was sent and I was told the head and other minor components will be sent separately.The end result is now that I have still not received the light source and other components. I have called the company a minimum of 200 times and every time is a different story of something shipped wrong to them or not being available etc etc .More frequently that not I can not talk to the head person and they give me the run around. This has become a serious problem and I can not use my darkroom for work. If anybody has had the same experience I would like to know to see if a group protest could have more of an effect. I may be forced to return the enlarger but if these problems are an indication of how this company works getting the money back would be an impossibility. Thank for your replays

[Donald Miller]

luis, Is this a distributor of Durst products or a retail outlet for Durst products (such as a camera store)? I have not heard of problems with Durst as a company myself...however I have only the reports about the distributor here in the states on which to draw. I use their equipment and find it to be of excellent quality.

[Michael Kadillak]

Did you order a condensor head or a diffusion head? I know for a fact that the mirrors for the condensor heads were placed on back order as the only manufacturer that can produce the mirrors for these heads to Durst specs got handed a government order and I am have also waiting for them. I am disappointed, but it is out of his control. I find the products to also be of high quality but highly specialized requiring customization. As a result, you cannot go to the backroom and just find it on the shelf. I am sorry that you are disappointed and would completely understand if you want your money back.

[luis a de santos]

Thank you for the responses. As a point of clarification,they did not charge me while the enlarger was at their place but when it was shipped before I could use I had to pay the storage that was significant. My enlarger is a color head and not a condenser one. I will just hope that the gods above will expedite this delivery and I would be able to use it.

[Michael Kadillak]

Terribly sorry for your frustration. Can you get some detail specifics concerning what is holding up your order? I am assuming that you are talking directly with Jens.

[Andre Noble]

It's been almost a year, that is not good. One day soon I hope to buy a Durst 10x10 myself. Ebay is the best place right to find a deal on the huge Dursts, if you have the patience.

Luis's experience with them makes me think that the only to deal with Durst USA is a person to person exchange of cash for merchandise at their oregon location.

One year is completely unacceptable. With that kind of customer service in a downturning market, he'll be out of business soon.

[Michael J. Kravit]

Durst pro USA installed three large Durst Enlargers for a close friend of mine. One is a Durst 184 with variable contrast compuerized closed loop digital light head and the other is a Durst Optio 5x7.

Jens Jensen personally flew to South Florida and installed both enlargers for my friend. I have personally ordered items from Durst Pro-USA. They have shipped them without advanced payment on a trial basis.

During the week there are three people in Durst-Pro USA's office. Yesterday we called with a question about one of the two enlargers. No one answered so we left a message. Our phone call was returned today (Sunday) by Jens himself.

From what I understand, Jens is always open to upgrading a head or exchanging heads or chasis when one item is not available. Perhaps he can offer you a different model that he can obtain faster.

I have found Durst-Pro USA to be responsive and attentive to my needs.

[Erik Eks]

It doesn't help Luis in the slightest because he is still waiting for his enlarger after a whole year. Without the head, he has only a chassis. What baffles me is how some like Michael J. Kravit and his friend report good service while others, to put it unkindly, seem to get shafted. The enlargers all cost the price of a car, I hear; I would think that all customers deserve equal good treatment.

Like Andre Noble, this gives me pause for doubt about dealing with this company for I don't know which group I will fall into.

[Michael J. Kravit]

After speaking with Durst Pro USA it seems that Mr. De Santos may not have reported the whole story.

Durst Pro reports that when the enlarger was ordered Mr. de Santos was told that the head he wanted is rare and hard to find on the used market.

Durst Pro reports that Mr. de Santos has a limited budget and opted not to accept a different head that would be more expensive albiet currently available. Durst Pro is still searching for the head that was ordered, but is currently not available on the used market.

For Izaak, when purchasing used equipment there are bound to be problems. These enlargers are large complex and often times well used and sometimes abused. Parts often break and repairs are required. If one does not have the stomach to weather the storm, then perhaps a new unit would be more appropriate.

Jeff's 5x7 Optopia auto-focus, auto-everything enlarger is very cool. I am quite impressed with it, but personally prefer my lowly Durst L1200 Multigraph. I for one would not have the patience to wait several months for installation and working out all of the bugs.

I don't think that it is a matter of ill will, but perhaps just a differing of perceived expectations.

[Erik Eks]

I wonder, Michael.

Fact: Durst Pro USA accepted full payment for a full enlarger, not part of, from Luis.

Fact: Luis was promised and led to believe he was getting a full enlarger.

Fact: Luis was charged storage on a full enlarger.

Fact: Luis was told in May 2003 that the head and other minor components will be sent separately from the chassis.

All this indicates that Durst Pro USA caused Luis to believe that the head was indeed available. If such is not the case, than the above-mentioned facts will NOT have occurred. If the head Luis desired is rare and not available, was Luis apprised of the situation? It seems not. There is still no good reason not to answer Luis's 200+ calls and give him evasive answers such as they were waiting for the right parts or something like that. It is either available or not. Luis was not told what Michael was told. It is still not right to let Luis wait a full year and he is still waiting for something he was led to believe was available and that he had paid a full amount on. If Luis had known that he would be playing a long waiting game for the head, would he still have gone ahead to pay the full amount on it? Clearly not or he won't be writing this today. No, it is clear to me that Luis was promised a full enlarger and after the money was received, the situation took on another complexion.

Furthermore, Durst Pro USA claims not to sell used; in fact, on its website, Durst Pro USA cautions one about buying used because one cannot be sure that one would get a functioning machine which is the only reason Luis went to Durst Pro USA in the first place. As for the rare Durst 10X10 color heads, I am quite familiar with all the models, CLS 300, CLS 2000, CLS 1840; one sees them for sale on Ebay often. In the last year alone, I counted more than 5 units for auction. Certainly, it is not so rare that it cannot be delivered in the space of one year. And there are other places to buy used such as RK Equipment.

It clearly has nothing at all with whether the head was rare or not, whether it was used or not. It has everything to do with what Durst Pro USA promised Luis at that point in time.

I am happy that you and your friend, Jeff, received good service from Durst Pro USA but you seem to imply that Luis is not telling the whole truth.

Comparing your facts with Luis's own, I am quite sure I know whom to believe. One of us is not getting the entire picture.

[Michael J. Kravit]

Izaak,

First, I am not sticking up for Durst Pro USA, nor and I saying that what Luis has reported are not the facts. I am only saying that there are three sides to every story, your side, my side and the truth.

You start of by quoting "FACTS".

What evidence do you have that confirms these facts? How do you assume that they are all facts?

I am certainly quite empathetuc to Luis' position, and the fact remains that all of us need to be very careful before sending hard earned money to any vendor.

The tone of your response is not factual but now emotional and personal. You suggest that I called Luis a liar and that is not the case. The only reason I know about the story is that we spent time with Jens as he was installing the enlarger locally.

My response was objective and not at all personal.

Since you obviously are very intimately involved with Luis and seem to be very much irritated by Durst Pro USA, this is where I will bow out. I will not get involved in a flame war, nor place myself in an adversarial position. Luis posted a question and complained about DPUSA. I only responded with our experience and suggested that there are always two sides to every story.

No one is being considered a liar.

Take care, I will not respond futher as I consider this item closed.

[Erik Eks]

You certainly presented Durst Pro's side of the story as facts. By the same token, Michael, what evidence do you have that confirms that what Jens told you are facts? How do you assume that they are all facts? If they are not facts, then what are they, Michael?

The facts are as Luis has presented them in the original posts. Do you not consider them fact-worthy or perhaps you have ignored them in their entirety? You certainly did not address the issue at hand. Your and Jeff's good experience with Durst Pro USA is totally irrelevant to Luis's case as it does not help him to resolve the issue. Can I also say that you're obviously very intimately involved with Jens? Are you also suggesting that just because you had good service, Luis cannot have bad service? This is not an issue of someone merely dissing Luis off and being polite to you; there is a huge sum of money involved here, Luis's money.

You said, '...it seems that Mr. De Santos may not have reported the whole story'. Tell me, what does this statement mean in English? That Luis A De Santos was not telling the whole truth. And that is miles away from suggesting that I implied that you called Luis a liar. Or did you really mean to? Is this not your personal remark on Luis?

You are not as objective as you believe. You are far from being objective. Read your own posts before you beatify yourself. Did you not attribute relationships and antipathy to me where there are none? Don't put words in my mouth.

There are two sides to every story, I grant you that, but there can only be one side which is the truth. Both cannot be true at the same time.

The crux of the matter is this and this needs to be addressed: what did Durst Pro USA promise Luis A De Santos when the money was paid?

Luis should answer this as well to clear the air.

[Erik Eks]

By the way, it is I-Z-A-A-C-K. You should at least spell my name right. If one does not have the stomach to weather the forum, then perhaps a quiet exit would be more appropriate.

[Michael J. Kravit]

IZAACK, or is it Eric? You are a nasty and arrogant person incapable of a mature discussion.

Have a good life.

[Erik Eks]

Tsk, tsk, tsk, guess who's getting personal and emotional now? Kinda like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, isn't it? And you said that you would not respond further.

Ad hominem attacks are always the last resort of the unreasonable. Shall I call you an insensitive simple-minded boob? No. That would be grouping myself together with you and I demur.

It has nothing to do with being nice but ensuring that a fellow member of this forum i.e. Luis get treated right.

It is sad that you thought that your calling me names for the want of salient arguments made for mature discussion.

Be careful, Michael. You will get what you deserve.

[Michael J. Kravit]

Erik,

My observation of the tone and nature of your response is not name calling. It is simply an observation supported in my opinion by your statements and style of writing. Observing that you express yourself in with arrogance is certainly not name calling. I do not have to resort to name calling as you suggest. I have absolutely no problem debating you maturely and intelligently.

Please re-read my posts and you will find that I never once called Luis a liar, call you names, or take the side of Durst Pro USA (DPUSA).

Point No. 1

In his orginal post Luis asks; "If anybody has had the same experience I would like to know to see if a group protest could have more of an effect. I may be forced to return the enlarger but if these problems are an indication of how this company works getting the money back would be an impossibility. Thank for your replays."

Although my experience was not the same I offered it to suggest that DPUSA may not have intentionally tried to mislead or take Luis.

Point No. 2

You say that "I am happy that you and your friend, Jeff, received good service from Durst Pro USA but you seem to imply that Luis is not telling the whole truth."

No, I only reported what Jens of DPUSA told us. In fact, I contually stated that I was "reporting" what DPUSA said. I NEVER offered an opinion nor a judgement about Luis other than there might be other aspects to the story as evidenced by DPUSA's position. I offered no judgement as to who was right or who was wrong. Your assertions and tone passed judgement that I did.

Point No. 3

You state "You certainly presented Durst Pro's side of the story as facts. By the same token, Michael, what evidence do you have that confirms that what Jens told you are facts? How do you assume that they are all facts? If they are not facts, then what are they, Michael?"

No, I always said "Durst Pro USA reportes". I did not offer my opinion as to the whether or not Jen or Luis was right or wrong. You assumed that I did.

You further state "Comparing your facts with Luis's own, I am quite sure I know whom to believe. One of us is not getting the entire picture."

I never offered facts, only expressed the position of DPUSA. You made these facts "mine" and therfore personal.

Point 4.

Again you go on to state "You certainly presented Durst Pro's side of the story as facts. By the same token, Michael, what evidence do you have that confirms that what Jens told you are facts? How do you assume that they are all facts? If they are not facts, then what are they, Michael?"

I did not offer DPUSA's position as fact, only as a statement reporting what Jens had told us. I did not pass judgement.

You state "The facts are as Luis has presented them in the original posts"

Are we to take your word for this? The way you say this is strongly making a statement of fact. You do a pretty good job of attacking me and twisting my words and intentions and then go on to define as facts as gospel. Have you not then done exactly what you accuse me of doing?

Point 5.

You also state "Can I also say that you're obviously very intimately involved with Jens? "

Huh? You have no idea what you are talking about.

For your information I am the Architect for Jeff's gallery and studio. I was involved from a technical point of view as I designed the electrical and mechanical systems for the installation. Jeff is also a friend as many of my clients are and I often provide personal attention during installation of equipment. Especially since these units had special requirements for venting. Design professionals speak with clients equipment suppliers and obtain specifications and installation requirements. I am to be chastized for this position? I think not. So you see, you really do not know what you are talking about. As a design professional, I was involved in the installation.

I can not undertsand what your problem would be with that.

Point 6

You state "Ad hominem attacks are always the last resort of the unreasonable. Shall I call you an insensitive simple-minded boob? No. That would be grouping myself together with you and I demur."

Yes, you just did. You tell me that I am a simple minded boob, and then say that No you would be grouping yourseld with me. Erik listen to yourself, you are doing just that.

I stated that you are arrogant and nasty. I never called you names. I expressed an opinion based upon your statements and writing style. In fact, I consider your style overbearing and aggressive. Last time I checked that was in part the definition of arrogance.

Sorry, I am not calling names, only expressing my opinion as to the tone and style of your expression as evidenced by each of your replies.

Conclusion

I stand by my position that I offered only to report what DPUSA has said. I am not a party to Luis deal and wish him all the best. I have nothing to do with DPUSA's business practices nor have I ever met Jens before the installation noted above.

In each and every one of my replies I never called names nor offered anything that was demeaning. I have construed your aggressive style as personal attacks on me. It is obvious that you are on a crusade against DPUSA for reasons that I know knothing about nor want to know about.

I indicated that I would not respond not because I can not weather the head of a forum, but because I felt the discussion had become irrelevant and off topic.

Unfortunately I have been compelled to offer the preceeding as a debate response to your emotional and pointed accustaions. I prefer to let this end here and now. I do not know you nor care who you are. I did not initiate the conversation with you but only offer my experience with DPUSA in a comparision to that of Luis' and to offer him DPUSA's position, which by the way, he asked for in his origional post.

If you feel compelled to respond, I would be happy to debate and discuss with you offline by email. I do not see the need to drag this through the forum.

Michael

[Erik Eks]

Stop prevaricating and stop being disingenuous. If you can call me names, at least have the cojones to own up to it. 'Report' does not change anything especially as what you were reporting was being offered as facts. Ever heard of just 'reporting the facts'? Seems evident that that was what you were trying to do. You questioned my statements of facts. I questioned yours. If you claim that what you were reporting were not facts, then what are they, I ask again. Lies?

You are guilty of everything that you accused me of. Ascribing motives where there are none is a pretty low way of trying to win an argument. You started by getting personal while I was happy to just rely on what was written by Luis. Even for you.

If you interpret my writings as being nasty and arrogant, that is your problem, so learn to deal with it. It seems clear to me that you would not allow one to interpret your writings as anything other than benign while you give yourself license to describe others in whatever pejoratives you choose. What does that make you? A cowardly bully. There. How's that for a taste of your own medicine?

Don't give me the line about taking this offline after you have slagged me on this forum. May I add hypocrisy to your resume?

For the last time, it is IZAACK. Are you dyslexic to boot?

Now we can take it offline if you choose.

[Erik Eks]

My apologies to Dr. Q.T. Luong. I had to respond to Michael Kravit's ad hominem attacks against me on this forum. Now that I have done so, I will be happy to take it private if Michael Kravit is happy to do so.

[Michael J. Kravit]

Unbelieveable.

I guess the name calling and last response just continues to show this man's true personality and tells the whold story.

[Jens J Jensen]

I have read this Large Format posting with interest.

First of all I want to say that I have been in constant contact with Mr. De Santos. I have been at his service whenever he has contacted me and have also spent several hours helping Mr. De Santos with issues not related to his purchase from us. I have explained to Mr. De Santos was is causing the delay on his color head and I have been working intensively on solving the problem. I am almost 4 months late delivering the color head. However, this has to be seen in relation to the fact that Mr. De Santos postponed taking delivery for 19 months. I have offered Mr. De Santos another head which he declined. I have offered Mr. De Santos a full refund, which he declined.

Secondly, and this is directed at the entire large format photographic community. Postings on the Large format forum are very very power full. The critique is often emotional and out of context causing confusion and damage. Not so long ago a gentleman from Hong Kong posted a critique of me and my company. This hurt my business very much. The Hong Kong critique was untrue on unfair. Yesterday we a $37,000 sale were canceled and the customer cited this current Louis De Santos thread on the Large Format Forum as the reason.

Mr. De Santos critique is not incorrect; I am almost 4 months late delivering his color head. (A full explanation is posted below.)

However posting the critique in public is not necessary to get the problems solved. I am not the only large format vendor suffering under “web based forums” I know from two camera manufacturers that they also have suffered greatly from these forums. I ask you to understand that none of us are in the business to “steal” your money. We are serving large format photographers to the best of our ability. And it is not easy. And we, the vendors, are becoming fewer and fewer every day. We are small business, often 1 to 3 persons, and many times we struggle to make ends meet. I can tell you that my personal feeling is that dealing with this kind of critique and these forums really are stealing away my desire to work with this market. I know this also to be the case from other vendors, so before you decide to leash out please be aware that we make mistakes like everybody else….. and try to understand the situation.

Mr. de Santos problem;

In April of 2002 Mr. De Santos bought a re-manufactured L184 enlarger with a used CLS301 Color head from us. Mr. De Santos postponed delivery pending building his darkroom. 7 months later, in December of 2002, we delivered Mr. De Santos chassis by mistake without having been requested to do so by Mr. De Santos. We had moved the crate around several times and it was mistakenly placed in the shipping area and shipped. Mr. De Santos got very upset about the untimely delivery and told us specifically NOT to deliver the remaining parts till he requested the parts delivered. 19 months after having bought the equipment, late November, early December of 2003, Mr. De Santos asked to have the rest of the enlarger delivered. I told him then that delivery would be six weeks due to an extreme backlog of orders.

We charged $290.00 for storage for the entire 19 months. (No other vendor would have accepted having material sitting this long.)

In August of 2002 Mr. De Santos changed his initial order from a CLS301 head to a CLS300 head. After the change we immediately sold the CLS301 head that we had had sitting for a year waiting for Mr. De Santos and we put aside a CLS300 head as soon as we got it in.

When preparing to ship Mr. De Santos material in January of 2004, I realized that I had made a mistake in assessing his used EST300 power supply for the CLS300 head. It was not in working condition and could not be repaired. The EST300 power supply is no longer available from Durst. And I have not been able to find another used EST300 for Mr. De Santos. It took a couple of weeks to realize the fact that the EST300 was not obtainable.

I could have canceled the order. I choose not to because we get requests very often for the EST300 power supply. Instead I set out to have a new power supply designed and manufactured to replace the EST300. Developing a power supply, getting the parts, testing and correcting takes time and we did not finish the work till last week.

Mr. De Santos remaining parts shipped yesterday.

This is what I did in a (failed) attempt to keep Mr. De Santos happy:

I upgraded the used CLS300 Color head to a brand new Color head, I upgraded the LACAP mixing box adapter to a brand new adapter, I upgraded the mixing boxes from used to new, I shipped a new ULTRA STABLE base board and paid for shipping also, I upgraded the EST300 power supply to a brand new EST1500N/300 power supply, all in all a value of at least $3,000.00 And I apologized extensively to Mr. De Santos and explained to him that he had received all these upgrades free of charge.

Apparently it was not enough to satisfy Mr. De Santos….. I am really very sorry.

Jensen

[Jens J Jensen]

Mike Kadilak,

Thank you for your support. May I suggest that you also mention to the readers of this forum that;

1) The mirrors you are waiting for is not for a condenser head delivered by our company. The mirrors that you are waiting for is for a head that you purchased from a third party.

2) When you placed the order for mirrors for the condenser head and I could not deliver the correct front surface mirrors I had a set of temporary mirrors made for you, and sent you free of charge. I shipped the temporary mirrors via UPS next day air and did not charge you a penny for either mirrors, shipment or handling.

3) We took your order for the correct mirrors and prepaid our supplier without asking you to prepay.

….then the reader may understand that we do support the fine art market.

Sincerely

Jensen

[Jens J Jensen]

Mike Kravit,

Meeting you in Florida was a pleasure. Based on those of your photographs I saw and your level of technical expertise I see you as a sensitive and intelligent photographer.

Thank you for your support.

I have asked Dr. De Santos to confirm yours as well as my own explanation. And I am sure he will do that. I have met Louis De Santos and have high regards for him. I see his display of frustration more as a frustration directed against his situation as a whole rather than against my company and my self personally. Louis engaged in building a gallery with darkroom. At first he ran into problems with his architect causing delays and then he ran into huge budget increases on the building and finally his entire project dragged out for months. Then after the darkroom and studio is finally finished, and he leans back, saying to him self, “Finally I am there – ready to print - now I will call Jensen and get the rest of my equipment” only to realize another delay.

I totally understand Louis’ frustration.

The only thing I object against is being hung out as having “shafted” Louis. I have not.

Had Louis planned differently and opted to store the equipment him self, my mistake would not have mattered because there would have been plenty of time to fix it while he was building. Had I planned differently it would never have been a problem. I could have made the equipment ready months before Louis called to get it delivered and would then have discovered the faulty power supply in time. Neither I nor Louis planned correctly. Mistakes happen.

I took the responsibility for my mistake and generously solved the issue.

Conclusion:

The power supply sold to Louis was a used unit. It was a used unit creating this problem in the first place.

We sold 7 other CLS300 light heads in the last part of 2003, which were to be supplied with used power supplies. We had delays also on these deliveries. The power supply is the most expensive and most vital part of a CLS300 system. Therefore it is in both my and the buyers interest to cut a corner and supply a used power supply, even with a new CLS300 head. It is much less expensive.

We had, and I write “had” because we no longer have, a customer in Washington State who found a used CLS300 head on Ebay. It is worthless without a power supply and the one supplied did not work. This previous customer of ours called me to purchase an EST300 which I could not deliver. I tried to find one for him too. The wait got so frustrating that he also got upset with the lack of what he called “service” received from our company. He had previously bought a used EST300 from us with which he was experiencing problems and also needed a plug we could not supply. He decided we could not live up to his expectations and made it very clear that he would no longer be a customer.

The kind of critique displayed here in this large format forum and by the previous customer in Washington we only experience in connection with the sale of used equipment. I should have stuck with our previous decision of not to sell used. It is hard though. When a customer calls and wants an inexpensive unit one wants to help and also to secure the sale.

Therefore I announce to the Large Format market: Yesterday we decided to adhere strictly to our previous decision of not selling used equipment. We will in particular no longer supply, or attempt to repair, the following power supplies: EST450, EST301, EST300, EST1000, EST2000, TRA450, TRA301 and TRA301. The factory discontinued these units back in 1985 and 1991.

Those, of the above mentioned units, that we have delivered from 1994 till today will be repaired under warranty or replaced by the new EST1500 at no or little cost for the customer for a period of 6 months ending October 31, 2004. We will announce this in writing directly to involved customers.

When trying to be helpful and frugal results in comments like the ones currently displayed on this Large Format Forum I believe that discontinuing these units and entirely discontinuing selling used is not only justified but also a responsible action.

It is my hope that the Large Format market will understand this explanation and that it can restore the faith in our work and our company so that the Large Format Market will see us a a worthy partner, which I strongly believe that we are.

Sincerely

Jens J Jensen

[Michael J. Kravit]

Jens,

Thank you for your timely and thorough posting to this forum. Your candid assessment of the situation. I do agree that it is much too easy for people to post complaints on the forum that go on to destroy business for the vendors supporting the LF community. I am as guilty of this as anyone else. We must stop and think what our words might do to impune the reputation of those dedicated to helping us.

You can see the nonsense that I had to endure because one individual misconstrued both my intent and what I was actually saying.

Thanks for your detailed and apparently thorough posting.

Michael

[Jeff Segar]

My response is to Mr. de Santos - In the last 2 years I have purchased 3 enlargers from Jensen Optical (Durst) and am completely satisfied with both the performance of the company and the enlargers. All of them have reconditioned components but were refurbished to new condition. These are beautiful machines and well worth the price I paid. Jens flew out to my gallery in Florida and spent 3 days installing the 8x10 with Digital light head and the much more complex 5x7 Optopia. Everything went great and Jens is a straight up and nice guy.

As are many companies who are trying to make equipment for us that is not digital, they are small. Their customer base is shrinking daily. And Jens's operation is very small. I expected problems and some minor ones did occur. But over all I am thrilled with the equipment and Jen's service.

I am sorry for your problems and I really know nothing about them. I just thought you might be glad to hear a successful Durst story. Feel free to email me if you wish. But for the others on this forum, please do not bother me with snide comments.

Best regards,

Jeff Segar

[luis a de santos]

Although I posted the original question I have been silent since I have felt the back and forth dialog has been brutal. My only purpose in posting the question was to see if other people had had similar problems and I found the answer positive. This was helpful. It is not my intention to destroy any bussiness,as owner of a small bussiness I know how difficult is to survive.On the other hand bussiness have to be responsible and I have suffered from not having the rquipment. Mr Jensen has promised that I would get the rest of my enlarger Tuesday.When I get the rest of the equipment and if everything is ok I will post a final note. In the meantime and to be fair I must correct Mr Jensen in his response. I did not change my order in mid course indeed it was Mr. Jensen who called me and offered to upgrade the head from the one I ordered to a better one for the appropiate additional fee and I agreed to this . I was happy about the upgrade but it must be made clear I did initiated the change. And yes I may not have made exactly 200 calls but there were very many. Perhaps something good came out of all this since Mr Jensen will be offering a more readily available equipment,this will result in faster turn around and happier customers. I have no ill feelings toward Mr Jensen.If this helps to a better understanding I feel I have done my job

Luis A de Santos

[luis a de santos]

In my last post there was a typographical error. It should say "I did NOT initialized...."

[M. DeSalvo]

Wow, I was in search of some new enlargers for our Studio and I came across this notice. The reason I am looking for the enlargers is because of Jens!!!!!!!!!!! We used our Durst enlarger for Appox. 6 months before it completely shut down. Jens assumes the promblem is something out of warranty and will only come look at it for a min. of $3000.00 plus parts, plus airfare, plus hotel stay!!!!!!! His customer service is terrible if I ran my studio the way he runs his business, I wouldn't be open. So whomever is out there defending Jens, STOP! Or you could just by my Dusrt Optimo CL, and I won't be out THOUSANDS of dollars.

[Jens J Jensen]

OK-here we go again....

In December of 2002 Mr. deSalvo purchased an OPTIMO CL 4x5 Autofocus enlarger. It was installed by my self. During installation Mr. DeSalvo further purchased a Densitometer for the OPTIMO and a lamp. The lamp and the Densitometer was returned mid 2003 due to lack of payment.

In November of 2003 - 11 months later, Ray, Mr. Desalvos assistant, calls and asks for help solving a technical problem. I spend part of one day, and part of the next day going through the test routines with Ray. The test routines do not disclose any problems. a total of five call the longest call was 28 minutes. NO CHARGE.

When we get deeper into the problem Ray tells me that OOPS - I forgot to tell you: "We had a lightening strike, the whole building went black and our refrigerator broke too".

From there on I told Ray that I could help no more over the phone and would recommend a service visit. This instigates a call from Mr. Desalvo him self where he calls me all sorts of names and in graphic terms describes what I can go do to my mother. Based on that conversation I close Mr. DeSalvos file.

Ray later confirm the surge problem in an email, and claims that it was my duty to install a surge protector on the enlarger.

I February of 2004 we get a request from Durst in Italy in February to reopen the file and perform service to Mr. deSalvos machine. I get a call from Mr. Desalvo who requests a service visit. Mr. DeSalvo book servicve visits three times at different occasions. Each time my assistant books flight and schedules service. We never receive the required pre-payment. Due to the lack of payment for previous parts delivered we did require pre-payment.

All is documented in this case due to the involvement from Italy. Rays initial call, Mr. Desalvos initial (rude) call are both documented and transcribed word for word.

Anyone who desires can call my office and get a full set of copies.

I am getting tired of having to defend my business on the internet.

As of today I ask that everyone that wants to criticize me do so honestly. As of today, starting with Mr. Desalvo I will have our lawyer deal with all deliberate smearing! And I will post the results.

I can further ad to this case; Speaking to Ray in connection with the later scheduled service visits, which never was performed due to lack of payment, it came up that the OPTIMO CL had also been moved, and dropped, prior to the call for service.

Sincerely Jens J Jensen

[izaack]

This just in from the APUG.org dated 12/11/04:

"Mark Noble



Subscriber

Join Date: Nov 2004

Location: Olympia, WA

Shooter: 8x10 Format

Posts: 1

Mark Noble is offline



Default

For your protection I would only purchase by COD or credit card. What They say is in stock ain't necessarily so -- Jens is a nice guy but over a year and $9K Later.....still have yet to see the goods."

Is there a pattern emerging here? And has luis a de santos received his order? Would Luis please update this thread?

[izaack]

http://www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?p=84084#post84084

[Jens J Jensen]

Izaak, I see you are on the "warpath" again - before we get carried away and start spending hours on a new discussion I suggest that you take contact to Mark and ask him whether what you bring to market is something that he wanted posted. I am sure it is not. The statement is not correct. On Apug it looked to me like Mark logged out before finishing his posting. Mark is an extremely nice person and would never post an un-truth. If an explanation is needed I will be glad to participate but for now I will leave it as it is.

And for your question, Yes De santos has received his parts, months ago, and we did give De Santos and his son extensive help, over the phone, in understanding and using the equipment.

De Santos did promise me to post an answer on this Forum after receiving the parts. Aparently he must have forgotten, as I know him as a man of his word. I do not care. I do not need an apology I am quite content with having gotten Louis up and running and relatively satisfied.

Dear Izaack, I truly believe that your intentions are good, but I must admit that I believe that your "policing" does the entire community more harm than good. If anyone believes that "business" can take place without some conflict they are naive. Whenever there are two opposite interests there is always a potential for a conflict. And there will be in a certain percentage of conflicts in a given mass of "business". The higher the mass the higher the number of incidents. If one party is difficult, and I certainly am, there will be more incidents.

I am difficult to deal with because I have strong opinions, high technical standards, I am struggeling, delivering enlargers in top quality at a "used" pricelevel which, in it self is certain to create incidents. I work long hours at low cost. It does not take much to "upset" my day and create delays and changes in configurations of equipment - there are so many variables.

The bottom line is that I deliver equipment of a da... good quality. At a very reasonable price. Since 1994 I have had only 3 or 4 warranty issues on several hundred enlargers - yes some people have been upset about delays on parts but in the end they have all ended up with a package of a quality that they could never have gotten anywhere else at that price.
And I stand by my customers.

Jens J Jensen

[Jens J Jensen]

Ok - here is a piece of information that I think belongs on the Largeformat Forum, because it brings something positive to us all:

I have met a photographer, his name is Robert Green. He is located in Indiana. If geniousses exist he must be one. Robert is 85 years, his mind and his energy is incredible, I would say at the level of most 45 year old people. I spent a day printing CARBRO with Mr. Green. We started at 9am and he did not have a breake all day, I did, I sat down and rested for 2 hours while he ran errands with his wife, at 2am, the next morning, Mr. Green wanted to start the next print. I had to ask permission to quit!!!
Anyway, that was the minor part of the experience.

The main experience was his printing skills.
Someone ought to focus some energy on preserving him and his work for the community.

Listen; contact him via Gallery614@aol.com, go visit him, take a lesson with him, buy his book on Carbro Carbon, see his recent exhibition at the Evans Museum, you will be a richer person afterwards.

But beware - he can be difficult, as all artists, I can just hear his roaring laugh when I say this.

Jens

[izaack]

Did you read philosophy in college, dear Jens J Jensen? I find the sophistry of your replies quite stunning.

I am only interested in facts and report the facts as I find them. I am sure the generally high intelligence of the large format community of photographers will do due diligence in ascertaining the truth for itself. I do not have the energy to go on any warpath but it is important that the interest of this community is looked after since it constitutes, no doubt, your target market. You attempt to sell to this group and profit from it so let's not dress up your intentions with any altruistic falafel. At your used price levels of $8000.00, $9000.00 or $10 000.00 and up, it is certainly not insignificant. Do you mean to tell your potential buyers that they are naive to expect anything but flawless service from you at this level of expenditure? Is flawless service too much to ask for in dealing with you? Thanks for the caveat. Buyers beware, I suppose.

It does appear that the crux of the issue appears to be broken promises from you after the money has been paid up in full. This seems to be the main refrain of all the complaints one may have read against you either here or at photo.net and now apug.org. It has nothing at all to do with your personality which most have described as being 'nice'. You do win the award of being 'nice'.

The quickest way of resolving this issue is with facts which you have hardly provided. Lots of talk and lots of suppositions but where are your facts? Nobody really cares how difficult you are or high your standards you have set for yourself purportedly or that you're opiniated; all they really care about is your delivering the items working and on time as you promised or are contractually bound by at the point in time when you accepted their payment.

Or is that too much to ask: that you deliver what you promise? It appears that you consider your clients unreasonable to expect delivery of promised items on time or that they work as you described and promised.

One is never in a good position to judge one's own flaws so don't be so quick to let yourself off so lightly. One can set a fox among the hens and you won't find the fox apologizing for being a fox.

I hope that Luis will pipe in just to clear the air. I do care to hear Luis's story and it is important for the sake of the community just so that we have a handle on with whom we are dealing. And it will also be fair to Jens J Jensen since Luis started this thread.

As I am sure Jens J Jensen has many more satisfied customers than the lone Mr. Jeff Gregar above, perhaps he can rally them to put in their responses in this thread. His integrity is at stake here. It needs defending. It will certainly help him and squash any lingering doubts. I hope that Mr Mark Noble can be persuaded to add his input too since Jens J Jensen knows him as an extremely nice guy who would never post an untruth. Yes, Mr Noble, you currently stand just short of being accused a liar by Jens J Jensen if what you posted on APUG is deemed an untruth or an incorrect statement. Would you also please clear the air?

[Jens J Jensen]

Izaack Let me start with the middle of your text and say to you:

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying: At the current price level for a hand built enlarger in top condition you cannot expect flawless service also. Period.
I have an established pricelist. This pricelist is constantly being negotiated and compared to “throw away” prices from commercial labs and Ebay. Having to compete in this market is not easy. In order to survive it has been necessary to make some compromises.

Let me give you an example; A large format camera costs 3-5,000.00. This price is generally paid without a frown.
An enlarger that sold +35,000 new is now being sold in re-manufactured condition for $8-10,000.00. This new price is considered expensive and frowned upon.
Compare the two products and you will see that a conflict exist.
What I am saying to the photo community is; consider the fact that cameras are mass produced, off the shelf produced from new and sold at their appropriate values. To re-manufacture an enlarger to new condition we put at least as much labor into it as when it was originally made, and after starting to manufacture from scratch I can see that we are putting almost as much value into the thing via new parts. This makes it very hard to sell at a price of close to 25% of the value it had when originally sold AND if you want this price level to be maintained you have to expect long delivery times and that certain parts can be hard to get. Sometime a situation arise where a part is promised and then turns out to be either missing or unusable and thus creating delays.

After that I would like to answer the general contents of you mail and say: NO sir, you are not acting on facts, you are acting on some ones heated emotion. And in this case you are acting on a comment floating in cyberspace.
If you acted on facts you would first talk directly to the person having posted the complaint, to obtain the FACTS, and then you would talk to the person being accused ALL before you post it publicly.

If you reacted on facts, and if your accusations, or the ones you promote, were correct then there would not be any need for this whole thread. My replies would be very short and would be an apology.

What you do by reacting on gossip, and by bringing undocumented facts to the market, is to create a negative air around the entire business. You approach is aggressive and accusing in manner not necessary. Completely unnecessary. Your way of approaching this whole issue is creating a negative feeling in the whole business, you make people think; “ Well if it is that complicated I will rather go buy an HP printer” and in fact it is not that complicated.

And it is hurting my business.

If you were truly and seriously interested in the mater you would research first. And it would not be hard as you are in possession of both Marks and Louis email addresses.

I doubt your motive sir, what has made you promote your self to policing this business? Are you equally involved elsewhere? Where? Are you a large format photographer or just an interested party?

Why should I, or the business, have the tranquility of our days and our belief in the medium, and in people molested by a persons bad mood? Why should we let our selves be used as lightening rods for someone’s “upset stomach”.

If you were anything but that you would research your issues before you initiated a crusade.

As it stands now I have to spend time defending my work, after doing so some doubt as to my honesty or my sincerity will exists, unfairly. You know the saying, where there is smoke there is probably also a fire. It is human to think like that. It is human to react by thinking so.

Mark Noble got his enlarger delivered in full many months ago, and as far as I remember did not pay till after delivery. After my installation Mark Noble moved his enlarger and in the move upset a chain that is now causing a problem. Mark has asked me to come fix the issue and I have not been able to find the time. He is able to print but it would be more comfortable to do so if the problem is fixed. I feel bad about it not having attended to it so far, but economy has not allowed me the time. And I cannot bill Mark the amount a service visit will cost so he has to wait till I find the time.
This is not an issue that needs to be dealt with in public.

Jensen

[Erik Eks]

Mr Jensen,

As a small business operator myself, this is what I have learnt: the customer is always right even when he is wrong. It is a tough business world, I grant you that. And to ensure that I stay in business, the last place where I would compromise is the service to the customer. In other words, there can be no compromises where my customers are concerned especially when I have taken their money, either partial or in full. My credo goes like this: deliver what I promise, and its corollary, do not promise what I cannot deliver. My customer's demands and time are more important than my own. If I am willing to accept accolades, then I must also be prepared to accept brickbats. If my customer is dissatisfied for any reason, then I am in the wrong and I have failed. In the event that I cannot satisfy them for any reason at all, a full refund is in order. Without customers, there can be no me. It is Business 101 especially in this Internet age where the bad word gets out real fast.

That's my business model but I cannot say thus that it must be yours. So far I have done pretty OK by it. It sounds as if you're trying to tell me that if your clients are dissatisfied, then they're in the wrong because Mr. Jensen must be right.

I salute you, Mr. Jensen, if you think that $10 000.00 is an insignificant amount of money. Regardless of how much the original Durst enlargers really cost, $10 000.00 or even $8 000.00 is not a small sum of money by any person's reckoning. It is the price of a small car and many have to take out a loan just to raise that kind of money. It represents for many, I am painting with a broad brush here, long years of savings, money that could be used towards more needy things. It is not disposable income, in other words.

Many of the people in this forum sacrifice essential daily living needs for the sake of their love: photography, in this case, large format photography. We are idealists and most would consider themselves artists who will gladly trade off necessities for their love of this medium. We are not commercial printing houses where the cost of such enlargers can be written off, amortised as a business expense or recovered in commercial printing. Your products are an expensive proposition, even for someone like Mr. Christopher Burkett. Yes, you fill a need in bringing large format remanufactured Durst enlargers, previously out of the reach of many, to a price point where people can begin to think about barely affording them. For that, I commend you. You have found a niche.

You mustn't forget that you are in the business of targetting this community as a market for your products. Therefore, you must be held to a higher level of scrutiny. In fact, anybody coming to this forum trying to sell anything to any member will be held to such levels of scrutiny. Witness all the warnings about unscrupulous Ebay sellers, for instance. Why should you be surprised? If you consider this a crusade, then so be it. I cannot help your interpretation. I won't apologise for doing my part to keep this community a safer place. I grew up in a city where I must watch my back everyday. Pardon me for being an alarmist by nature but it has kept me alive so far.

You question my motive? My motive is the same as those who have called the business practices of Mr. Ron Wisner or Mr Ken Hough into question. It can only help to keep those who make money off us in check. The wise ones will wise up and quickly keep their nose clean. The unwise ones will continue to make excuses or cast aspersions on their clients. Guess who will remain in business longer? Pardon me if I apply the same standards to you because your products cost, on average, so much more than theirs.

I do not doubt that Mr. Jeff Gregar got good service from you. Just as I do not doubt the words of Messrs De Santos, Noble and Desalvo. Your products simply cost too much for anyone to spend that amount just for the sure pleasure of taking potshots at you in public. All anybody wants at that level of expenditure is for an item to work as promised. If your service and product standards are as high as those you set for yourself, I grant you that all these brickbats won't be happening today; you will only be getting accolades.

It is easy to say that there is a conspiracy out to get you. You seem to forget that the complainants are all widely separated apart in space and time. How would they make almost word for word the same complaint about you? Common sense would dictate that, yes, where there is smoke, there is fire. Can you blame us for being human? Because we are human! Just as it is human to lie, steal, cheat, renege on one's promises, and waffle on service. Sorry, I am a pessimist too and can only see the dark side of human nature.

One thing I am glad though: you have put your business model plainly for all to see. Henceforth, please note that one cannot expect nor demand flawless service from Mr. Jensen. Mr. Jensen has stated categorically that you will not and cannot expect that so let no-one who gives his custom to him have any grounds for complaint in future. That is how I read your statement. Please correct me if I have read it wrongly. Caveat emptor, I think.

Thank you for your suggestion to me to contact Luis and Mark. I shall do exactly that. I have been remiss. I urge all who are interested in this matter to contact them to hear their side of the story.

By the way, I have used enlargers of all makes and sizes like Omegas and Beselers and Zone 6 and Saunders/LPLs and Homrich and DeVere, including original large format Dursts manufactured by Durst AG, Brixen Italy. Those who know anything about Durst AG knows that this company stands behind its products and that their enlargers are overbuilt to take the hard knocks of the commercial environment. For example, you can turn a twenty-year old CLS 2000 head on its side to make a mural, move the enlarger chassis around while it is on, kick it and it will still keep on working. I have yet to see some of the lesser made enlargers, let alone any Durst, which are so delicate that the mere act of moving them will render them inoperable. Durst built its reputation on the extreme quality of its products and on its incomparable service. Even today, Durst AG will send you manuals for long discontinued products all the way from Brixen, Italy postpaid and for free. If your enlargers are so delicate, you have done a massive disservice to Durst AG whose reputation was built on the excellence of its products. I also wonder how you remanufacture the enlargers to new condition and then have it fail just by the act of moving it? Nobody I know who has ever used a Durst has ever experienced that.

I wonder how you are able to ascertain that it is your client's fault when your enlargers fail just because he moved it or lightning struck the building. I mean, you have not even examined the enlargers on site to ascertain the problem. What makes you so sure that the fault is caused by your client's action? It certainly seems like a rather convenient device. Or is that also another of your condition? But original Dursts are made to be moved. Is this a commentary on your workmanship?

Mr. Jensen rode on the sterling reputation that Durst AG has built up over the years, thus the naming of his company Durst Pro USA which I had explained he was asked to change to Jensen Optical because Durst AG felt it was misleading and incorrect to have that association with him. Please correct me if I am wrong in this. Too many thought, perhaps erroneously, that Durst Pro USA was a North American subsidiary of Durst AG, Brixen, Italy. An email to Dr. Robert Piock of Durst AG will clear this up quickly.

The excuse of not having the time doesn't wash. Not to Mr. Noble who has spent a small fortune on it. How would I like to spend that kind of money and have a non-working component? I should have kept the money in the bank. As I said, such cavalier disregard for a client's urgency and requirement does not bode well. Now that I have your money, I shouldn't pretend to care; I should damn well care because I have his money and RESPONSIBILITY. As I said, that's my business model, not necessarily yours. By the way, Mr. Noble is recovering from Brain Tumour so have a heart, won't you?

Have you ever bought a car, Mr. Jensen? Would you accept the same level of service from a car dealer that you nonchalantly hand out to your clients apparently?

Don't feel bad, Mr. Jensen. Just get things done right and there will be no problems at all. Sorry to light a fire under your ass. It is not pleasant but someone has to do it.

[Erik Eks]

The enlarger failing is too strong a word to use to describe Mr. Noble's enlarger. It developed 'a problem'. My mistake and I am withdrawing the word 'fail'. Let it be known that Mr. Jensen did not describe Mr. Noble's enlarger as 'fail'ing; a certain action of Mr. Noble caused a problem by Mr. Jensen's words. My interpretation and unwitting imputation that it failed and thus became inoperable are incorrect and careless. I apologise for this error. There was no malice intended to Mr. Jensen.

[Mark Noble]

Jensen Durst-pro story
I Have been dealing for the past couple of years with brain cancer. So when I got a relatively decent prognosis in September of 2003 I decided to treat myself to a a fancy 8X10 enlarger I Had I had been using a Zone VI -- the original version at first which really didn’t work, and then the second, which which with some modification could be made to produce acceptable results.

So off I went to see Jens, a two hour drive south of me He showed me an enlarger that would meet my needs wall mounted motorized focus and elevation, and hell there was Chip Hooper in the brochure with the same bloody thing -- good enough for him, it ought to be good enough for me. It had a semi closed loop head guaranteed to b even and consistent and Jens would provide me pin glass to match my existing condit film punch I wrote him a check for $8k on the spot

Week or two later Jens showed up to install it. After I started using it I encountered a few problems. first I realized the light source was so bright that I could only have very short exposure times, stopped way down, and then I smelled burning. When I took the head apart and looked inside, the lining was all blistered and burnt.

I gave Chip Hooper a call and asked him how he was fairing with his enlarger. He told me that after a week he had replaced the light source with an Aristo VC head and had been Happy ever since. I guess ChIp had never mentioned this to Jens-- I think he is rather wealthy from his day job so money is less consequential than it is to me and the rest of us--, so I really can’t blame Jens on this one. It turns out Jens sells most of these enlargers for color applications where they are running off thousand of prints with 3 second exposures my leaving it on long enough for burning etc. was too much So another $2K for an Aristo head later
I had a functioning enlarger... kind of.

The next problem
The lens stage is out of alignment by about one quarter inch for a 16X20 the easel needs to be raised at least 3/4 of an inch on one side
And now Jens, you say that the alignment problem happened when the enlarger was moved? That’s hogwash and you know it! The only movement was when it was slid up the wall 12 inches an operation that was smooth as silk as the three people who did it will attest to.--and now you want to charge me for a problem that has been there since the initial installation? that’s priceless!

The pin glass?
Haven’t seen it -- he did give me some fancy schlott glass with diagonal pins -- my punch is an end punch -- he lent me a diagonal punch needed it back for a large format conference and like a fool I returned it, and now he won’t even send that back for me to use until glass with end pins is available as far as payment, I have an invoice dated 9/19/03 marked paid in full and signed by Jens.

He has promised to come fix the enlarger on at least a dozed occasions but never shows up Has promised to send things they never show up he says they are in stock. If you call He Is always out to lunch -- He must weigh 500 pounds by now!
To add insult to injury, Jens had told me that all of the Condit punches were the same and serial numbers were irrelevant, so last week I threw $100.00 at a diagonal Condit punch on ebay -- no where close to matching

And Yes Jens, I agree, A public forum is no place to have to address this issue, but what other option is there? I haven’t heard from you in months. you won’t respond to phone calls, emails or letters. I figured you must just be playing the odds hoping i’ll kickoff soon so you won’t have to live up to your responsibilities. The last thing I wanted was a cyber pissing match particularly since I’m now down to one hand and half a brain.
Mark.

[Jens J Jensen]

First an answer to Mr. Izaack; Your mail is again filled with unsubstantiated accusations, with wrong data, assumptions and deliberate exaggerations.
You know where to get hold of me.

Why do you not contact me to get data substantiated before you publicize?

Why do you not research your data, and contact your sources BEFORE you bring your long monologues to market?

What kind of small business do you run?

Where is your business located?

If you are really serious about policing the large format market I hail your initiative, however for your initiative to be anymore than a display, of an “upset stomach” , on someone’s else’s expense, I must see continuity and I must see you paying more attention to establishing the truth, facts, before you publish.
And first and foremost I must know that I can trust you. I must know who I am dealing with.

Who is hiding behind “Izaak” ?

For all I know “Izaak” could be my competitor, or a lover of digital inkjet printers or for that matter an inmate in a correction facility.

Therefore I ask you to reveal your identity, your name address and phone number would be most appreciated.

You know where to get hold of me, you know my name my address, my phone, and if you are do not dare to post your information in public then by all means use one of the other options.

Then a reply to Mark Noble:

Mark is it safe to say that you took delivery of the enlarger and the parts and that you expressed satisfaction before I left after installation?
Is it safe to say that you paid 50% of $8,185.00 up front and the remaining 50% after satisfactory installation?
Is it safe to say that the enlarger was in alignment before I left and that we tested the alignment with a laser tool before I left? And that we tested motors and focusing etc. before I left.

Is it safe to say that You and a friend moved the wall mounted enlarger some time after I left.

Is it safe to say that I did come to your location to install an upgrade for the motors, and to look at the alignment issue when you asked me to? And that I did not charge for that visit?

Is it safe to say that during that visit I realized that the entire enlarger would have to be taken down from the wall, taken apart, and have the counterweight removed and reattached to fix the problem – and that neither I nor you had time for that operation on that particular day?.

Is it safe to say that we have tried to find a time that would fit us both, and that we have not succeeded so far. And also that you also have (twice) canceled an appointment, once because of a vacation to NM and once for a reason I no longer remember.

(It is not your lens stage that is out of alignment!. (If it were the lens stage you would not be able to compensate by lifting one side of your easel. If it was then lens stage that was out of alignment and you lifted one end of the easel you would increase the problem) It is the entire enlarger, and in your case the head, that is out of alignment. As I have explained you over the phone it appears to me that one chain has moved slightly to one side on the counter weight. I believe this to have happened during the move, I cannot know for sure of course, but since the problem was not there at installation I naturally must assume that “something” has happened after I left after the installation.)

I do not have any intention of charging you for driving up and fixing the problem. I apologize for not having had time so far, I have been to busy surviving in the environment we are in. Anyone here, or close friends, can testify to the fact that I work 12-14 hours a day and that I am here 7 days a week.

When a person invests in an enlarger they buy a highly specialized tool. In the first years I spent a lot of time for free helping customers getting to know the enlarger and to be able to use it. Due to the competition and the demand on my time I cannot any longer follow each buyer in detail.

If someone buys a 2000 watt enlarger and realize that the light is to strong it would be natural to call me and discuss this issue.
When that does not happen, the user does not call me, I cannot be expected to be aware of the problem. When the user thereafter decides to design a fix to cut down the light without consulting the manufacturer, in this case me, then I am unable to give any advice as how to solve the problem of to much light.

It is not correct to block the light with white paper, with tracing paper with pencil smearing to further create density or with any other “third party” type of light blocker and then compensate for the less light by running the head for 50-60 second exposures, or to leave it on for minutes while focusing.
The head was not built for that kind of treatment.
It would be just like driving a car in first speed from Seattle to Oregon, it is not built for that kind of treatment and will overheat.

If someone elects to treat a 2000 watt Color Dichro head like an Aristo Cold light head something is bound to happen.

The Aristo Cold light head is as the name implies a “Cold” light source. The designation “Cold” does in any way relate to the quality of the light rays but rather to the fact that the head uses a light source (Neon) which does not emit as much heat (infrared) as halogen lamps.

When I saw your “new setup” I offered you to install a digital light modifier free of charge. This modifier would allow you to reduce the light output step less.

You declined. (The parts alone exceeds $600.00)

You have elected to install an Aristo Cold Light inside an otherwise perfect light source. You have elected to do away with the entire set of Dichroic filters and the Digital readout of the exact filtration!!!
Money must not be an issue for you - unless of course you have to pay for service!!

All the parts I had spent hours building and balancing for absolute evenness were thrown into a box of thrash last I visited!!!

Parts worth several thousand dollars, (the ZBE CC-reader used for Digital readout of filtration cost me $995.00, the filters cost me approx. $467.00 each (x3) the mixing box another 450.00,) were in a thrash bin.
Now start adding that up, include the brand new chassis, the brand new motor drive, the brand new camera, the negative holder in New condition, the new $800 oversized bellows and the full day installation and delivery and then answer me;

Do you think that you got service and material worth the price you paid?

What is it that makes you want to force me to come to you for free to fix a problem that did not exist after installation?
If you decided that you can no longer wait for a free visit why did you not just order a paid service visit?
What prompted you to post a statement to the fact that you had paid 9K and never had received delivery?
What prompted you to post a statement to the fact that you prepaid the price of 8,000 when in fact you paid 50% up front and 50% after delivery (satisfactory delivery)

What do you think you will gain from hanging me out in this manner on the internet?

If you can no longer wait for me I can suggest that you have your friends come back and help you fix the problem. Or book a service visit, we do have technicians!

This is what you and your friends will have to do:

1. Take the color head off the enlarger.
2. Take the camera off the enlarger.
3. Remove the enlarger from the wall.
4. Slide out the counter weight.
5. Move the left chain, when facing the enlarger, back into the recess in the counterweight where it belongs.
6. Slide the counter weight back into the column
7. Reverse all the above steps 1 through 4.

Of course this advice is given without any responsibility as I cannot be 100% sure that the chain is off it's recess.

PS:

About the condit punch story. I have never – repeat never – told anyone that Condit built punches were all the same. Rather on the opposite, our sales pitch for OUR punches is that OUR punches does not need serial numbers as they are all the same. It is public knowledge that condit punches differed and that only Condit could supply parts and glass for the same reason.
This you can get confirmed from anyone having bought a punch from me or from our sales material.

Finally, you probably will not believe this but never the less I will tell you that on the December 1st productions meeting we scheduled you for a free service visit on December 29 or 30 as those were my Christmas holidays – if you doubt you can call my secretary and get it confirmed, or the other customer, in Seattle, whom I told about the visit and promised a visit at the same time.

Now, after Izaak got you exicted, how do we defuse the situation, do you even want such a dishonest and unreliable person as my self to visit you at this stage?

Do I dare to visit you? What will be the next I get accused off?

Jensen

[Erik Eks]

This thread is not about me. It has been and will always be about you and your business practices. The facts of your relationship with your clients won't change one whit even if I were the malingering monkeyman of the moldavian mountains of mars.

We can only accept the facts presented on this thread at face value. While you seem willing to allow me to accept those ringing endorsements as facts, you disallow me the same privilege to accept complaints about your enterprise also as facts. One has to be consistent in one's action.

I contacted Mr. Noble only upon your behest for clarification. Now that Mr. Noble "who is an extremely nice person and would not post an untruth" has replied with his FACTS, although not to your satisfaction, you try to shove the blame on me. It is YOU who got Mr. Noble all excited, not me. I did not take his money. Be responsible for your own actions. It is not about me. It is about YOU. You asked me to get the facts, I got them and guess who is crying now?

It appears that you are aware that Mr. Noble allegedly threw all your parts worth thousands of dollars in the thrash [sic] that you spent "hours balancing for absolute eveness", it did not seem to bother you nor were you at all concerned then. But here you are bringing it up. If you had really cared, it is my opinion that the point in time to protest was then, not now. It does seem rather tit for tat now, doesn't it?

You talk about your offering Mr. Noble a $600 light modifier. Let us get this straight: in your own admission, Mr. Noble declined. Seems as if it is the equivalent of not offering anything. Mr. Noble did not gain anything from you so you are not out of the pocket of $600.00. Mr. Noble did not want a freebie for something which should have been working right to begin with.

And this brings me to the gist of the problem: all these multi-kilo buck parts, this $600.00 digital light modifier do act rather like very expensive Band-aids to me. That is to say, they won't be necessary at all if you had sold Mr. Noble an appropriate product to begin with. Pardon my incredulity but you sold Mr. Noble a 2000W enlarging head? A TWO THOUSAND WATT enlarging head, gentle readers! There is a 2000W switch on the Durst CLS 2000 head which I had access to and the ONLY time it was ever turned on was when we young whelpings were curious to see what 2000W looked like and felt like. 2000W is an incredible amount of light and is hardly usable in a hobbyist situation like Mr. Noble's unless his hobby is enlarging multi-masked bullet-proof negatives mural sized. Even then, the 2000W CLS 2000 head did not start smoking and burning liners in 60 seconds. Not even if you left it on for two minutes. It makes me wonder about your customer service. Do you routinely offer 2000W enlargers to anyone who walks in with a check without first ascertaining if one is suitable for his application? And then offer multi-kilo buck 'solutions' after that, yes, even if they were ostensibly for free? Talk about selling a sledgehammer to someone who comes in looking for a flyswatter. By the way, the ZBE CC Reader is available off Ebay for about $150.00 when it comes up for auction.

So on Dec 1st, you scheduled a service call for Mr. Noble on Dec 29th or 30th. Sounds like news to Mr. Noble. You asked that he check with your secretary. Let's not be laughably naive here; what do you think your secretary will say? Is this the very same secretary who tells Mr. Noble that you are always out to lunch and cannot seem to take a message for you to call Mr. Noble back? It seems to be that Mr. Noble's email is as easily available to you as, you pointed out, it is to me; why did you not use it? What good is it telling us now that you had scheduled a service call after the fact? Because anybody could say that. It also surprises me that your customer in Seattle is made aware of this while Mr. Noble obviously hasn't been so apprised. Why not? You could also have called Mr. Noble or snail mailed him. Or did you expect Mr. Noble to be clairvoyant? Is it safe to say that the possibility exists that you appear to have made this 'fact' up on the spot?

The fact remains that despite how you described yourself {"dishonest and unreliable", your words, not mine} above, you still OWE Mr. Noble a duty of care because you have taken $9000.00 of his money for a product which is now faulty. It does not absolve yourself of this responsibility to Mr. Noble. He is your client, regardless of whether he paid in full before installation or 50% before, 50% after. He still paid you in full. He does not owe you a dime.

It seems to me Mr. Noble is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. If he doesn't put this up in public, he cannot get a response from nor get through to you. If he does put this up in public and not to your liking, he doesn't get a service call from you. Seems as if Mr. Noble won't be getting service either way unless he pays for it. How utterly convenient.

N.B. I did hear from Mr. De Santos. He has asked that I not post his comments publicly and I shall respect his wish. Suffice it to say that there appears to be an enlarger for sale in Texas and that if he is to start all over, he will begin looking with another company. Oh, I am a lover of digital inkjet printing but surely that is not germane to the discussion at hand which is about your business practices.

[Jens J Jensen]

So you did not have the courage to introduce your self to the Forum. I and others expected that.

It must also be clear to everybody that by denying us your identity that you have no intentions what so ever of policing the business, had you had honorable intentions you would have been proud to produce your self.

I petty you and challenge you to show your identity.!!!

Are you the same “Izaack” appearing also on other forums, and is being described as being unfriendly and frustrated?.

I have put all your remarks in ( ) and answered them one by one:

(This thread is not about me. It has been and will always be about you and

your business practices. The facts of your relationship with your clients

won't change one whit even if I were the malingering monkeyman of the

moldavian mountains of mars.)

YOU ARE WRONG, that is exactly what this thread has become – about you – and that is the sole reason for your participation and also why I now retire from the same Forum. My life/time is too valuable to be used as a lightening rod for your frustrations.

I will answer your allegations one last time just to show the other readers how wrong you are.

I will explain my reasons for withdrawing in an email directly to the participants in this thread.

(We can only accept the facts presented on this thread at face value. While

you seem willing to allow me to accept those ringing endorsements as

facts, you disallow me the same privilege to accept complaints about your

enterprise also as facts. One has to be consistent in one's action.)

I find it reasonable that attacks, whether on me or someone else, be reasonable researched

before they are posted in public. When a person makes a claim for wrong doing against another person or entity there is a potential chance that the allegation may be wrong or fueled by ill intentions or just based bad memory.

A customer that buys a big expensive machine or tool, and later finds that using it is beyond this individuals comprehension, may end up being frustrated and wanting to blame “someone”.

A person that publicly posts a good remark about another person may have a purpose for doing so – however, since a truly good statement rarely can cause any damage or hurt it need not be subject to the same scrutiny as accusations and complaints.

(I contacted Mr. Noble only upon your behest for clarification. Now that

Mr. Noble "who is an extremely nice person and would not post an

untruth" has replied with his FACTS, although not to your satisfaction,

you try to shove the blame on me. It is YOU who got Mr. Noble all

excited, not me. I did not take his money. Be responsible for your own

actions. It is not about me. It is about YOU. You asked me to get the

facts, I got them and guess who is crying now?)

Did you contact mark Noble directly or did you “contact him” through the Forum? I do not think you contacted him directly.

You did not really get the facts, did you? You got an answer, but part of it were not true and part of it were based on bad memory, possible all based on bad memory.

Now see, had you first contacted Mark Noble got his story and then contacted me and got my story and finally weighed the differences against each other you would end up with a result that would not fuel your frustration and would not make a subject for this forum.

I petty you and challenge you to show your identity.!!!

(It appears that you are aware that Mr. Noble allegedly threw all your

parts worth thousands of dollars in the thrash [sic] that you spent

"hours balancing for absolute eveness", it did not seem to bother you

nor were you at all concerned then. But here you are bringing it up. If

you had really cared, it is my opinion that the point in time to protest

was then, not now. It does seem rather tit for tat now, doesn't it?)

Of course it bothered me. Possible it bothered me so much that I lost a bit of interest in that machine, and down graded the importance of the other issue. I did protest to Mark. I responded by offering to install an UPGRADE for free.

I cannot control how owners decide to treat their investment.

I have delivered 40,000 dollar machines to photographers only to come back a few weeks later, for service, to see that the machine had been modified with a hack saw, I have seen water pipe run through the enlarger to hang the remote on, and holes drilled in the three $800.00 Dichroic filters to increase the light output.!!!!

(You talk about your offering Mr. Noble a $600 light modifier. Let us get

this straight: in your own admission, Mr. Noble declined. Seems as if it

is the equivalent of not offering anything. Mr. Noble did not gain

anything from you so you are not out of the pocket of $600.00. Mr. Noble

did not want a freebie for something which should have been working right

to begin with.)

The machine worked right when Mark took delivery. Otherwise he would not have signed off for it or paid the remaining payment.

You know we have an 8-day unrestricted right of return clause, and we have a 5 year warranty on all equipment.

We have sold about 15 units of that same enlarger. We have installed light reducers in 3. We have one in the show room right now. If you are interested we will be glad to pay for an airline ticket for you, from anywhere in the US, to come and inspect that machine or any other in our show room. That way you can come and see for your self.

This offer is open for anyone on this Forum. Free airline ticket, no obligations of any kind.

(And this brings me to the gist of the problem: all these multi-kilo buck

parts, this $600.00 digital light modifier do act rather like very

expensive Band-aids to me. That is to say, they won't be necessary at

all if you had sold Mr. Noble an appropriate product to begin with.

Pardon my incredulity but you sold Mr. Noble a 2000W enlarging head? A

TWO THOUSAND WATT enlarging head, gentle readers! There is a 2000W switch

on the Durst CLS 2000 head which I had access to and the ONLY time it was

ever turned on was when we young whelpings were curious to see what 2000W

looked like and felt like. 2000W is an incredible amount of light and is

hardly usable in a hobbyist situation like Mr. Noble's unless his hobby

is enlarging multi-masked bullet-proof negatives mural sized. Even then,

the 2000W CLS 2000 head did not start smoking and burning liners in 60

seconds. Not even if you left it on for two minutes. It makes me wonder

about your customer service. Do you routinely offer 2000W enlargers to

anyone who walks in with a check without first ascertaining if one is

suitable for his application? And then offer multi-kilo buck 'solutions'

after that, yes, even if they were ostensibly for free? Talk about

selling a sledgehammer to someone who comes in looking for a flyswatter.

By the way, the ZBE CC Reader is available off Ebay for about $150.00 when

it comes up for auction.)

On one hand you ridicule the idea of installing a light reduction option, on the other hand you do hail the quality of Durst enlargers with a switch!!!

It is quite apparent that neither Mark, or his wife which accompanied him, nor my self are half as smart as you are, or have a fraction of the experience that you have!!!

Then, this is the first time you have come close to being just a little correct – You are right I did NOT grill Mark about his use, I did not question Marks decision because I viewed Mark as a very knowledgeable photographer. I always assume that my customers know more than I. I give them the info and let them make the decision.

Secondly, I always give customers different options.

Third, a Durst CLS2000 head costs about three times the amount of Marks entire enlarger.

Fourth, YOU DO NOT KNOW what you are talking about – because you have not talked to anyone – you have not talked to Mark! You just spin and make assumptions on every ones behalf, without knowing the facts – You see Marks enlarger is NOT a Durst! Had you talked to Mark or my self you would have known.

(So on Dec 1st, you scheduled a service call for Mr. Noble on Dec 29th or

30th. Sounds like news to Mr. Noble. You asked that he check with your

secretary. Let's not be laughably naive here; what do you think your

secretary will say? Is this the very same secretary who tells Mr. Noble

that you are always out to lunch and cannot seem to take a message for you

to call Mr. Noble back? It seems to be that Mr. Noble's email is as

easily available to you as, you pointed out, it is to me; why did you not

use it? What good is it telling us now that you had scheduled a service

call after the fact? Because anybody could say that. It also surprises

me that your customer in Seattle is made aware of this while Mr. Noble

obviously hasn't been so apprised. Why not? You could also have called

Mr. Noble or snail mailed him. Or did you expect Mr. Noble to be

clairvoyant? Is it safe to say that the possibility exists that you appear

to have made this 'fact' up on the spot?)

My customer in Seattle was told that he would have to expect a visit EITHER on the 29 or the 30th because I would let Mark Noble choose first. I made sure not to visit mark on a Tuesday.

I did not let Mark know about the coming visit, till this week, because my other customer had not confirmed finally his availability and did not do so till yesterday. I would not alert Mark again just to have to cancel if the other meeting was canceled. I had canceled 6-8 times before and was embarrassed by the many cancellations.

(The fact remains that despite how you described yourself {"dishonest and

unreliable", your words, not mine} above, you still OWE Mr. Noble a duty

of care because you have taken $9000.00 of his money for a product which

is now faulty. It does not absolve yourself of this responsibility to Mr.

Noble. He is your client, regardless of whether he paid in full before

installation or 50% before, 50% after. He still paid you in full. He does

not owe you a dime.)

See that is exactly why I chose to respond to this thread in the first instance; I do not owe Mark anything. I have offered him to come by, as a favor, as a friend and to fix his problem for him at no charge.

Had YOU not posted Marks “draft” claiming I had taken $9,000 and not delivered I would not have answered. I tried to avoid questioning Marks posting.

Mark paid AFTER delivery indicating satisfaction with the delivery.

You did not even bother to get the amount right!

You are so absorbed in your own righteous self-indulgent frustration that you do not stop and rethink when you realize that Mark paid AFTER installation – something he would not have done had he not been satisfied.

He even writes in his own input that he did receive all parts!!!

I feel bad about the many cancellations and would have been there earlier had I been able to. There exists situations where a person is unable to do what he wants to. I did not go on that one week vacation with my daughter that I had promised her - after she had not seen me for 9 years – I canceled because I was unable to leave the business. I sent a friend out shopping with my son on his last day of his stay – I could not leave the business – I see him once a year.

I had 150 to 200 (depending on how you define a travel day) travel days last year. Traveled 100,000 miles in the last 5 months.

My secretary is upset that you question her integrity – you have no right to do that. You seem not to bother about whom you call a liar!

(It seems to me Mr. Noble is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.

If he doesn't put this up in public, he cannot get a response from nor

get through to you. If he does put this up in public and not to your

liking, he doesn't get a service call from you. Seems as if Mr. Noble

won't be getting service either way unless he pays for it. How utterly

convenient.)

Again you twist and turn the fact to your liking – to suit your frustration.

Marks posting will and have had no influence on what I choose to do what so ever. Mark did not gain anything other than possible making the opening remarks a bit forced when I get there to fix his problem.

(N.B. I did hear from Mr. De Santos. He has asked that I not post his

comments publicly and I shall respect his wish. Suffice it to say that

there appears to be an enlarger for sale in Texas and that if he is to

start all over, he will begin looking with another company. Oh, I am a

lover of digital inkjet printing but surely that is not germane to the

discussion at hand which is about your business practices.)

So "Izaack" – is there one for sale or not? Things like that does not “appear to be” they either “are” or “are not”.

You see we have talked to De Santos also, and we know exactly what Mr. DeSantos situation is and why – because WE ASKED and HE TOLD us.

Dr. DeSantos told us that while waiting for the parts from me he had started using an outside supplier for his prints, and that he found this solution far more convenient than printing his own prints. Dr. DeSantos told us that he had never been working in a darkroom before in his life.

He also told us that he found printing overly laborious and complicated, and that the big machine confused him.

He also told us that he had no intentions of selling, or returning the enlarger – yes I offered him to do just that – returning it – because he had built his entire Darkroom around the enlarger.

Dr. DeSantos is a well known surgeon in Texas and enjoys photography as a hobby. Doctor DeSantos built him self a very elaborate and high-class gallery, with own darkroom, and very fast became very busy, so busy that he had his son finish the installation of the enlarger.

Dr. DeSantos told us that the real reason he was upset about the late delivery of the parts for his enlarger was that it looked unfinished during the opening of the Gallery.

Now see – that is facts – that can be documented, anyone wanting it only need to ask.

Not once have you provided facts!!!!

I think it now must be evident to everybody that you are a phony.

It must be clear to everybody that your allegations have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO with FACTS.

It now must be evident to everybody that the entire purpose of twisting and distorting unknowing peoples bad memory is your own desire to vent frustration.

It must also be clear to everybody that by denying us your identity that you have no intentions what so ever of policing the business.

Had you had honorable intentions you would have been proud to produce your self.

I petty you and challenge you to show your identity, to describe your business and your experience.!!!

This was the last minute I spent on you Sir, until you have the courage to tell us who you are.

Jensen

[Erik Eks]

Do you have the courage to own up to the responsibilities that you owe your clients?

[Erik Eks]

I am very sorry to report that Mr. Mark Noble passed away on January 15th 2005. My condolences to his family. Mark is a really good guy. May Mark rest in peace.

[Jens J Jensen]

Marks work will be continued and preserved by Marks eldest son whom is studying Photography and communication on the college near Marks home. A very bright young man.

I visited with Mark 3 weeks ago and he was not well. But he was full of spirit. We held hands and talked briefly about Mark wanting to print again as soon as he was through his battle. He wanted to be carried out in the darkroom and start right away, but it was decided not to.

I spent half a day with Marks friend and his son on realigning the enlarger. The enlarger had been hung out of level, a little less than ¼ of an inch on the length of the level and approx. ¾ inch on the length of the chassis, when it was moved. Also, the head was out of alignment, which I also brought back on track. Moving such a heavy enlarger is no easy task and the head is easily pushed out of alignment if pressure is put on the camera during a move.

The enlarger was still brand new and obviously not used due to Marks illness. I promised that I would be available in the future with help and instructions for it’s use when they start printing Marks many images, some of which he shot during the first part of his illness. There are plans to scan Marks original images to preserve his burning and dodging preferences and then to plot 8x10 negatives that will be printed straight.

Mark was in good spirit and certainly not angry when I was there. We can all benefit from holding Mark as our guide.

I wish Mark a safe Journey onward….

Jens

[Erik Eks]

The saying, 'too little, too late', comes to mind.

I tried to get in touch with Mark about three weeks ago, just before the new year; Mark was too enervated to reply. I feared the worst but held a prayer in my heart that he would pull through. Unfortunately, he did not. I checked his website and then found that he had passed on.

Mark is no longer with us to corroborate or refute your statements, Jens J Jensen, and I guess you can say whatever you like now.

All Mark wanted was an enlarger he had paid $9000.00 for that would work while he was still well enough to use it; he knew he had limited time left. That was not to be.

[Luke Noble]

I am Luke Noble, one of Mark's sons. I was monitoring my fathers email address so I could reply to anyone who had not heard the news and I came across this thread which he was subscribed to. While Jens did come to service the enlarger, I too would like to echo Izaack's sentiment of 'too little, too late'.

One of my fathers greatest passions was photography, and he had hoped that much of his legacy would be preserved through his work. He had planned on printing a full portfolio for my brother, myself and his wife rebecca. It was only in the last 4 weeks where he became physically unable to print. Once Jens finally did align the enlarger my father was still eager to get back in the dark room despite being confined to a wheel chair, and the entire left side of his body being virtually paralyzed. Even in his last days we were looking into his requests to build some sort of ramp that would allow him to(with assistance) practice his craft from his chair.

This battle with Jens, started over a year and a half ago, and only now, after it was too late did Jens fulfill his obligations. We only have a few of his prints left. Many of his better ones only exist as 8x10 proofs as he sold some of his last originals unknowing that he would not be able to print them again. This is a direct result of Jens' lack of service over the past two years. Had he serviced the enlarger back when he originally offered to my father may have had a higher quality of life in his last days, and our family and friends would have had more of his art to remember him by.

Jens has consistently proven to be unprofessional in his business dealings with my father. In fact, while my father did sign a payment and thereby statement of satisfaction upon the day of installment, it was a week afterwards when the alignment proved to be off. This was before we raised the column. The only time the enlarger was even touched during that period was while raising and lowering the head to remove the negative carrier. This is normal operation done dozens of times a day in any lab. Yes while raising the enlarger column we may have added slightly to the misalignment, but that does not change the fact that it was out of alignment before that. We requested service, and Jens offered to give service multiple times with no mention of a fee. Until some of his most recent postings on this forum we were given the impression that his original intention was to fix the alignment free of charge and that this was mandated through the 5 year warranty. This was reinforced by the fact that he made multiple appointments with us, and until his most recent ones either called them off the day before or day of, or left us waiting for him without notice, sometimes over two or three days. I personally spent an entire day waiting for him as my father was getting an MRI in Seattle. I cleared my schedule so I could be there to help him. He never called or gave any notification that he wasn't going to show.

"We held hands and talked briefly about Mark wanting to print again as soon as he was through his battle. He wanted to be carried out in the darkroom and start right away, but it was decided not to." --Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-23 14:55:32

-I was with Jens the entirety of his stay, and they did not hold hands. In fact while Jens did place his hand on my fathers out of sympathy, it was on his paralyzed side and he couldn't have withdrawn if he wanted to. My fathers motivation for wanting to be moved into the darkroom was based completely in his doubt over whether Jens really had fixed the enlarger. He had wanted to make sure it was done before Jens had left, because of our past experience with Jens he had hoped never to have to deal with him again. I had confirmed the head alignment and though not perfect it was sufficient. He was upset that we resisted letting him personally confirm that it was fixed. (this was due to the trouble in moving him, we had not yet been able to put ramps leading into the darkroom) It took me half an hour after Jens left to convince him it was fixed. (I just this week checked it again and it already is getting worse. When he left using our laser alignment tool it was on target within a centimeter at the lens stage, now it is off by roughly 3cm. I haven't even moved the reflective plate since he placed it on his visit. I don't know if this signals some larger problem with the enlarger, but the column is level, so it must be a problem with the head hardware. I hope we don't have to request his service again.)

"The enlarger was still brand new and obviously not used due to Marks illness" --Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-23 14:55:32

- His illness while made it more difficult to work in the darkroom, was not the factor that prevented him from using the enlarger. That honor belongs only to the misalignment and Jens' failed promises to fix it.

While I thank Jens for finally fixing the problem, I cannot thank him for the manner in which he did it. I had to constantly push him to do the job right, as he tried to get out of doing operations he considered difficult, or not worth the effort. In fact, his last words before leaving were to me asking if my father would post another entry on this forum stating he fixed the problem. This left with me the impression that he only came because of the comments my father posted to this forum, possibly he saw the weakness in his own arguments and wanted to do the right thing, or just wanted the bad press to stop, I don't know.

We have not made any firm decisions yet on reproducing my fathers work, we may peruse a digital negative process made from high quality drum scans of his prints and then re-printed in the wet lab, we may simply make prints using his original negatives, or we may even just scan his negatives and make prints using a high quality ink-jet printer. In any situation a reproduction will not fully represent the level of detail he put into his work and will be of much lesser quality than his originals. I do not yet have the mastery he did over the medium, and my vision in my own work can differ from what his would have been. So even if I decide to print directly from his negatives, production quality will be of a lesser or much different value. Still the general impression would remain. I only hope that in the coming years I will find the time to undertake such a project, while still giving my own work and other endeavors the time they deserve.

Despite all of this I hold no ill will towards Mr. Jensen. I only hope that in the future he treats his other clients with more respect then he did us. I wish him good luck and thank him for, when he made them his kind comments of my father. We will all miss him very much.

[Jens J Jensen]

Dear Luke Noble,

I disagree with almost every sentence in your posting.

I do understand that what you, your family and Mark have gone through has caused you a lot of pain and that it must cause a lot of bitterness.
I will therefore refrain from entering into a long debate with you over your response.

I can bear to be the target for a fraction of that bitterness, however unfair it may seem at the moment.

I have learned from similar personal experiences that one learn to see things as they are after some time of healing.

I wish you the best of success in the future.

Jens

(By the way you fail to mention that I sent you an 8x10” diagonal punch free of charge and that you and your father, Mark, tested it and thanked me for it. It has also slipped your mind that you were absent most of the time when I spoke to your father, you were fetching the film and the punch in the darkroom, in another building. I seem to remember that your brother was there with us, at least some of the time, you may want to talk to him.)

[Luke Noble]

We HAVE been seeing things as they are for the PAST TWO YEARS that you have been ignoring us! You left my sight for only two minutes at most while we were with my father. If you remembered correctly both you and I went out to test the punch together. I went back to get our glass to show him it fit because he could not believe that you actually would have fixed the enlarger after our history, I needed to calm him down and that was the only thing I thought could preoccupy his mind long enough to let you leave. IN FACT we had to tell you to leave before he was satisfied because of the distrust you have breed over our dealings. For during the time I was absent my brother was present and he has confirmed everything I said in my previous post.

That you even gave us the condit punch at all was a miracle in itself, and yes while I did thank you for it(he did not, the words thank-you never left his mouth and everyone who was there can confirm that), it was completely out of a willingness to get rid of you without causing any problems while you were here. You have owed us much more than that for a long time, and I won't let you think that that gesture in any way vindicates your past behavior.

"I do understand that what you, your family and Mark have gone through has caused you a lot of pain and that it must cause a lot of bitterness. I will therefore refrain from entering into a long debate with you over your response."--Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-26 06:06:52

- That's good, because our bitterness over you has absolutely nothing to do with the the fucking cancer. Our bitterness with you comes completely out of our experiences with YOU. That is what 'we have gone through'.

"I disagree with almost every sentence in your posting."--Jens J Jensen, 2005-01-26 06:06:52

When did I lie? What was my mistruth? How could you possibly think that you even have ground to stand on with this issue?

Was it my statement that I had to push you to do the job right? Yes that could be seen as based in my perception of the situation, but in actuality I did. You thought moving the enlarger column would be to difficult, I had to tell you to do it. You thought a vertical variance on the alignment tool of roughly 4 cm was acceptable, I had to tell you to take the time and dismantle the head and make it better. Yes you gave me the options, but while you did you stated that they were unnecessary. The only thing we seemed to agree on was that it was not reasonable to try and get the vertical alignment even better as it would have required putting a shim between the enlarger column and the wall and the difference was so small it would have likely made it worse. In fact what did you do outside of taking the initial level readings where we didn't have to push you into doing it?

You seem to have a rare mental disorder Jens, where you can do no wrong, admit no mistake, and take no responsibility for your own actions. I have to say, you still have a lot to learn about life. In business you have to be able to work with other people, maybe it would help yours a little more if you learned how. But then again our $9000 was probably of little consideration to you, maybe it's your bigger clients who get the responsible Jens.

We are done with you Jens. We don't need this anymore. The debate is over. The healing proccess can begin, from YOU. Good bye and good riddance.

[Jay Overmoen]

My name is Jay Overmoen. I sell pre-owned Durst Enlargers and parts. My reputation is proven by my near perfect Feedback on Ebay since 1998, I have had two complaints. I truly believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. It is not necessary to sandblast and paint a Durst enlarger for it to perform and produce excellent quality museum standard archival fibre based or color prints. As in the camera, high-end optics coupled with perfect alignment and a true Love and Appreciation of your subject, are truly the critical factors going into the Magic of Qualiy Print Creations. I have printed for over 30 years and I have logged thousands of hours printing, having owned a Custom Ciba & B&W Lab in Las Vegas, Nevada for over 15 years. I’m an alternative source for quality pre-owned and tested Durst Enlarger parts and Enlargers. I just thought this forum should know of my existence. My Phone is 702-860-9630. Have a Great Day Everyone. My email is Overmoen@aol.com

[Erik Eks]

Check out broadway205 and tjaydk2fuc to see Jensen's ebay ratings.

[Pete Caluori]

I have refrained from involving myself in post that have turned "personal" for years, but have one comment to make.

8x10 / 10x10 enlargers aren't being produced, or sold in record numbers these days. The fact that someone is willing to fill this need is noteworthy!

I purchased a Durst 10x10 enlarger from a private individual, who had purchased it as a refurbished unit fron Jens Optical. I spoke to Jens about shipping the beast and other issues and even though Jens did not make a single penny off me, he was more than gracious in offering assistance and advice. To me that speaks a lot to a persons character and I think Jens is someone that the LF community should embrace and support.

Other than having spoken to Jens on the phone and in person (at the first LF conference) I have absolutely no affiliation with Durst, Durst USA, nor Jens Optical, but I wouldn't hesitate doing business with Jens!

Regards, Peteh

[Brian K]

wow, really interesting

[Allen in Montreal]

wow, really interesting

Brian,

With all due respect, my I ask why you would bring to the surface this 3 to 4 year old thread when there are as many issues and as much tension as there is in this thread?

Some threads are better left in the archives, this one feels like one those!

[Brian K]

Brian,

With all due respect, my I ask why you would bring to the surface this 3 to 4 year old thread when there are as many issues and as much tension as there is in this thread?

Some threads are better left in the archives, this one feels like one those!

Allen, I would think that a thread that discusses the integrity of a vendor who currently does business with LFF subscribers would be of benefit to all.