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Thread: Contact Print Equip

  1. #21

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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    Quote Originally Posted by roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau View Post
    Photographer's Formulary (Kodak Swing Arm style): http://stores.photoformulary.com/sel...ing-arm-style/
    Ugh, this is exactly the kind I said would leave wood splinters all over the glass and wear out much quicker than every other kind. I can't believe Formulary chose this design.
    OMG, the Bostick & Sullivan ones are like this too! Perhaps even a little worse because they use the metal springs that chew up the frame even faster. Can't believe this! Looks like some others have chosen this bad design as well. Have none of these people ever used an old worn out one and had to suffer with how frustrating they are when the frame is all chewed up? Once this kind of frame gets worn out, it's trash.

    Let me add another to the list, from Stenopeika in Italy: https://www.stenopeika.com/prodotto/...t-print-frame/
    This an example of doing the RIGHT THING with having the springs held under pieces that are separate from the wood frame (they look easy to replace as well). This is a frame that will have a long long life. He makes a version that includes a means to easily use registration pins. That's very clever and I haven't seen anyone else doing it. The overall quality looks very good, better than most in the same price range. (Doesn't include glass, though! Guess he thinks it's not safe to ship from Italy, or maybe trying to save on weight?)

    This one you posted from Freestyle https://www.freestylephoto.biz/14171...14x17-Mahogany is also a good design with the springs held under metal washers. Everyone who does a wood frame should be using some version of this style. It's the only kind that lasts.

    Weird that no one makes a metal frame anymore. The school I did my MFA at had a bunch of them, and they became my preference. They also had a bunch of worn out wood ones, which is why I express strong opinions about that style now. LOL
    Last edited by martiansea; 28-Feb-2021 at 16:13.

  2. #22
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    Some split backs were made right

    The Levy will be a 14X17" camera one year, maybe this year

    https://www.largeformatphotography.i...l=1#post998768
    Tin Can

  3. #23

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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    Exactly, this is how it should be.

  4. #24

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    Annapolis, Maryland
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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    martiansea: Thanks for the overview and advice. And the stenopeika... I'd just figured to focus on US made 'cause of shipping costs, but that looks to be an ergonomic unit as well with the access points on the rear panel. Thanks!

  5. #25
    William Whitaker's Avatar
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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    I'd like to offer that Doug Kennedy makes some of the nicest contact printing frames I've seen. Hardwood with robust stainless steel springs. I met him when I lived in California some 20 years ago (!). Since then he has made me four frames ranging from 5x7 to 12x20.

    I do not know his current status; he doesn't seem to advertise or frequent any of the usual digital venues. But I reached out to him two years ago for a 5x7 frame which he produced promptly.

    If anyone wants his contact information, please contact me privately via PM or email.

  6. #26
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    In use, the B&S contact printing frames are wonderful and will last one's lifetime. I have one that sees a little more use than the other and there is wear in the wood where 10 hours into a printing session I do not press down enough as the springs enter the groves...actually nice because the wear matches the use and make the frames even easier to use, yet does not affect light-tighness or contact.

    I have been using it (and in workshops) for a couple decades or so.
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  7. #27

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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    For years, I've had an old, wood 11x14 contact printer with two springs on the back. (Similar to what Tin Can displayed.) Recently, I used it to make an 8x10 contact print of a historic building, and I had difficulty seeing features on the negative well enough in a safe-light lit darkroom to do any effective dodging and burning. It was tough-going, so I finally did some edge burning to bring viewer attention closer to the middle and called it good.

    In his second workshop, Fine Tuning the Expressive B&W Print (discontinued), John Sexton spent time using masking techniques for refined dodging and burning enlarged prints. It occurs to me that this might be a way to effectively dodge and burn contact prints?

    After the workshop, I went on the hunt and found the equipment shown in the photos. It includes a punch and an 8x10 contact printer with registration pins, etc. This was a couple of years ago, and I had forgotten about having it. But, I think that this may be a good next step for making 8x10 contact prints.

    While the equipment in the first photo is intended for exposing negative masks, maybe it could also be used for masking a contact print. (?)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Printer.jpg   Punch.jpg  
    Last edited by neil poulsen; 1-Mar-2021 at 17:05.

  8. #28

    Re: Contact Print Equip

    Neil-- Here's a thread that might be of interest:
    https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread...xample.115858/
    The OP I think is working with an Alistair Inglis frame/registration system, but down-thread other contributors talk about simply registering a mylar sheet by eye. Definitely would like to hear your experiences along the way...

  9. #29

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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    Quote Originally Posted by CreationBear View Post
    Neil-- Here's a thread that might be of interest:
    https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread...xample.115858/
    The OP I think is working with an Alistair Inglis frame/registration system, but down-thread other contributors talk about simply registering a mylar sheet by eye. Definitely would like to hear your experiences along the way...
    Thanks for the reference. Sexton covered this, but I forget a lot of the details.

  10. #30

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    Apr 2017
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    Re: Contact Print Equip

    As a dude who once wrote, drew and "produced" an animated short film as a teen, contact pins may seem unnecessary, but unless your art involves "fuzzy" as part of an "aura of immediacy" - and there was a time this was in fact the case in the late 1960's and 1970's animation (remember some of the Alkaseltzer commercials where the stomach is sitting in a psychiatrist's chair?), you'll really want something with a better chance of putting overlays where you want them.

    The good news is that someone either here or on the linked thread actually answered my question, explaining that "...above 11 X 14 you're really going to start to want a vacuum frame". And that starts to kick things into another $ category between the venting issues and all the rest. UV lights look to be expensive, too though I'm waiting to see what ballpark Jon Cone's LED UV lights come out at. Maybe the hardware for whopping alt prints is more expensive than the platinum? Yipes! And so finding a lower bar of entry will take some digging... and maybe "just gelatin" don't require the fancy lights and all and might be worth having a go at. Not my original intent, but it may be an interim step worth taking.

    Very helpful folks. Thanks!

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