Originally Posted by
Corran
I've been contact printing 8x10 and 8x20 directly on the baseboard of my enlarger with a big 10x22 piece of P99 acrylic that I bought primarily as a hold-down plate for scanning. I use some steel bars that I bought in 3" lengths, 3/4" square superglued on the edge of the acrylic plate to weigh down the plate, and have extras to place around as needed for weight, especially with the 8x20 negatives.
Inspecting the contact prints it's clear to me the prints are uniformly sharp, with no issue with uneven contact. I have seen that issue on occasion with an actual 8x10 proof printer I have. The acrylic, for me, works perfectly. I do have to be careful with dust - I usually wipe the whole thing down with lint-free, 100% cotton wipes and Eclipse fluid, the same stuff I use on scanner glass, lenses, and digital camera sensors. The eliminates all the dust. I have been thinking I need to find a nice thin box that has a good seal on it to store it in, and perhaps dust will be less of an issue. Right now it's just in a cardboard box with some bubblewrap when not in use.
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