How to make prints smaller than the negative?

[captivelight]

Everyone knows that you can make make enlargements from negatives but can you do the opposite of an enlargement? Lets say I have an 8x10 negative that I want printed to a 4x5. How would I go about shrinking the original image, optically (no digital trickery here), to get a smaller version. I would like the smaller version to be sharper and have a higher resolution than a standard 4x5 contact print?

Is shrinking doable? What would I need to accomplish this task?

Best, Ben

[paulr]

Ssme film/lens/paper arrangement as making a 2x enlargement, but reversed. Lens will be closer to the paper than to the negative. You'll get better results, theoretically, if you reverse the lens, so the rear element faces the paper. Not sure how visible the difference would be. The biggest challenge may be focussing, depending on the focal lenght of the lens.

Years ago I wanted to play with this, but never got around to it.

[Richard Wasserman]

I did this many years ago with 35mm negatives printed about 3/4 inch across. They were matted and I hung them and provided magnifiers for viewing. Hey, I was 22......

[Bill Burk]

I've got an extension bellows for my Omega DII. This lets me reduce 4x5 to fit 3 1/2 x 5 7/16 in postcard paper. Similar setup would work 8x10 to 4x5 as paulr says. It is tricky focusing, because as you move lens closer to the paper you also have to move the paper farther away to make up for the fact you are getting closer to the paper. It's weird but works fine once you have enough bellows and after you get used to it.

[Leigh]

Back in the 60's I did this all the time, printing 4x5s from a Graphic press camera for a newspaper.

The real problem will be the bellows on the enlarger, and of course a long rail to support it.
You need a fair amount of extension, more than for 1:1.

- Leigh

[Sevo]

Use the enshrinker! It is trivial, provided that you have a enlarger lens for the destination format - you'll need a shorter lens as enlarger bellows usually won't stretch beyond 1:1 using the native lens for the biggest format the enlarger is built for. For best optical results you will have to figure out some way to mount the lens reversed.

[Leigh]

Use the enshrinker!

Hi Sevo,

In English that's a "delarger".

- Leigh

[captivelight]

Thanks for everyone's input here, I guess it's as hard as I thought it would be... At least I have enough information so I know where to start.

Hi Sevo,

In English that's a "delarger".

- Leigh

It could also be called an unlarger.

[bobwysiwyg]

Or CIALess.

[Steve Smith]

In English that's a "delarger

I call it an ensmaller.


Steve.