Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame

[biswasg]

I have a Paterson proof printer of a similiar design and i've found it to work really well. glass isn't sharp and clamps down very solidly.

This one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...Easel_for.html

I am also planning to buy this model. In addition to making 4x5 contact prints, is it also possible to make contact prints from 120 roll film?

[Drew Wiley]

That's why AN glass was invented! I've got it in my contact frames; but these are esp well made.

[Scott Davis]

I have one of the old Formulary 'knuckle-breaker' frames kicking around somewhere. I hate it as I'm always afraid this time will be the time the locking tab snaps down on one of my fingers while trying to open/close it. It's also a bad design in that it only provides pressure at the periphery, not in the center, so it is possible to get prints that are soft in the middle. Less likely to be a problem in 8x10 or smaller frames, but the bigger you get, the more likely it is to happen. And that's not a forgivable sin when you're making a 16x20 palladium print.

There's a new design Formulary is selling which is an improvement - it now has a center-mounted pressure bar, much like the Bostick & Sullivan frames. But I still prefer the B&S frame with the metal spring. I have two of them - a 12x15 and a 16x20. I also have vintage ones of similar design - a 14x17 and a 12x20 which has a three-part split back. The vintage ones use brass springs instead of steel like the modern ones do, and required rehabilitation (re-seating the hinges, replacing the felt, and in one case, reinforcing one of the corners with wood screws).