anyone print 4x5 negatives with a black border?

[Winger]

I have a Beseler MX45 and a 150mm lens. I tested to see what happens if I tried to get space around the outside after I read this earlier. My usual negative carrier is a glass one, regular Beseler. It barely lets me get to the inner edge of the rebate. I put a negative between pieces of glass to see what happens and there's only room around the image to get a little bit of black around it. The light is in a circle that almost touches the corners of the image (not quite, but really close). The image was about 9" by 11 1/4" because I didn't move the head from where it was - I'd figure it wouldn't be much different at different sizes. The condenser bellows is as far down as possible.
While mine does not cut off any IMAGE corners, it does make it difficult to put a black border around an image. If that's how the OP's is, I'd figure this is more by design than the enlarger being messed up. They optimized the light path to get the image to be fully lit, but without extraneous light.

[Jac@stafford.net]

When I was into black borders, I was also a steel worker and a buddy cut a beautiful piece of 1/4" steel (to exact dimensions I have forgotten.) I use a Saunders easel. I would expose for the print, place the steel plate between the blades, lift up the blades and expose by room light (just a switch on the bench).

Of course, you could try printing on black paper.

[Sirius Glass]

I would use a black mat with a white or off-white over mat.

[ic-racer]

Best way is to use a 5x7 or larger enlarger. Most large format enlargers I have used provide sufficient illumination for the area inside the rebate, but outside and the film edge can be difficult to print. The longer your enlarging lens the better chance of it working.

[ahotflash]

hi mdarnton
my condensor head is... too low? too high? not properly set-up?
could be true. but I have no examples to see if head is correctly set up.
Would a different head lower or higher create a different angle of light?

[ahotflash]

if I removed the two bellows it would free-up straighter light path... has anyone ever taken their bellows off an enlarger? or somehow lower the head so it would be closer to the negative.

[ahotflash]

This is the only solution to my current enlargers. Doug.

[ahotflash]

Buying a 5x6 enlarger, etc.

[ahotflash]

I live in Hawaii, and accessing enlargers that print 5x7 or larger are rare here.
Are there any other alternative ways to enlarge, focus and print full frame 4x5 negatives.
Doug.

[neil poulsen]

I have a 11x14 easel and a 16x20 easel. Both can print black borders. They each has an accordion style, expandable shade that covers the print itself as each edge is being exposed.

I've not done this to any print.