anyone print 4x5 negatives with a black border?

[Jim Noel]

You are printing 4X5 negatives, using a 4X5 (old) Beseler enlarger, and you are using a 135mm lens, right?
The corners of the image are "cut off", right?
It sounds to me that you have the lens stage adjusted for a shorter lens.

If you look on the upper-right side of your lens stage, you should see a sliding scale,
which is adjusted by raising or lowering the upper bellows, and there should be a scale marker to indicate negative size (35mm to 4X5 in.)

There should be a knob on the LEFT side of the upper lens-stage, which will adjust the upper bellows; also, note that there is a smaller knob inward from the adjustment knob,
which locks the shaft. You will want to make sure that the shaft is free to rotate.

Try adjusting the upper bellows stretched upward, to its shorter (compressed) extent; this should be reflected on the scale opposite, to the 4X5 mark, which is at the bottom of the scale.

Try that, and see whether the corners of your projected image are now clearly illuminated.

Dan

A good complete answer. I would add that several popular enlarging lenses will cut off the corners. At the college we went to 150mm lenses to prevent the problem.

[ahotflash]

hi Dan
yes the Beseler is an old MCRX45 with a 135mm enlarger lens and the final enlarged printed negatives larger than "contact-prints" e.g. 8x10 images have corners of the negative on the print cut off. (the sliding scale is set to 4x5 for the enlarger head but still cuts of the negative corners, frustating).
the Durst1200 may be able to print such prints without cut-off corners.

[ahotflash]

hi Jim
what brand enlarger was it? > d david y

[Dan O'Farrell]

Yep, must be the lens.

Dan

[mdarnton]

I'm betting that it's the condensors (or the negative stage). Even with them at the "proper" location, you may want to mess around with focusing them and see if you can find a better position than "proper" There really should not be a problem with the lens--no lens should cut off right at the corner of the neg! The other possibility, and I don't know Beseler, is that one of the plates directly above or below the carrier may need to be filed out a little in the corners to expose the whole neg at the corners. That might be the first thing to check.

[ahotflash]

hi mdarnton
by plates directly above or below the carrier; I use a homemade glass negative carrier with tape as a hinge. should i file the interior of the head where the "hole" of the cone of light passes through that the negative carrier sits atop?

[ahotflash]

I just double checked my enlarger lens on the 4x5 and it is a 150mm:
anyone use a lens longer than 150?

[mdarnton]

I'm still betting it's something to do with the condensers.

[Neal Chaves]

I too wanted that full frame plus the "rebate area" look. I was able to do it on a self-built 10X10 enlarger. What I did not like was they way the edges of the frame were rendered. Unlike with a contact print, enlarger light "pipes" through the film base of the negative.

[Greg]

I believe a Kostiner 11x14 Reverse Border Printer easel is what you are looking for.
For reference only, there is one currently on EBay at:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kostiner-11x...EAAOSwT~9Whe5U
Never used one but years ago talked to another photographer who loved using this easel.