I bring up reciprocity because that could be a major issue in some situations due to the increase in exposure length.

We are talking past each other at this point. I have made contact prints from 4x5, 8x10, and a few 8x20 negatives now and see no difference in sharpness between all of them. The 4x5 is shot at f/22 or f/32 usually, so any differences in sharpness due to diffraction should be apparent when compared to the larger negatives shot at smaller apertures. All of them are very sharp and I would say are sharper than enlargements, but that should be expected due to less generational loss in the system.

My opinion is that in many/most situations I encounter f/32 would not be sufficient for DOF, especially when considering a bit of a safety factor, and shooting such a relatively wide aperture would just be asking to get burned by lack of DOF.

If I am wrong and your 8x20 contact prints are marginally sharper than mine, so be it.

I am interested in other thoughts on this.