20x24 enlarger easel options

[Michael R]

Have loads of easels accumulated over the years (gotta have that yard sale!)...but the one's I actually use now are my two Saunders (11x14, 16x20), and larger (30x40 and 40x60) ones which I DIY out of melamine boards and mat-black painted wood strips for hold downs. Don't care too much about squareness of these big ones because when I print big I include a margin beyond the film's edge...knowing that I will square up and trim this prior to matting.

Question: Years ago I had a Leitz easel which was black...and I'd arrange and focus the image on a fixed/washed sheet of photo paper prior to replacing it with a fresh unexposed piece for actual printing. Fast forward...my current easels are either "focal yellow" (Saunders) or my white melamine homemade ones. I've never noticed any real differences in results between any of these (black, white, yellow-based) easels, despite what I've heard about potential halation caused by bounce-back of light from a white easel. Anyone?

Non-issue. The paper base is white anyway.

[Tin Can]

I was taught to always focus on a spare sheet of the same printing paper

Paper thickness matters

[John Brady]

I was taught to always focus on a spare sheet of the same printing paper

Paper thickness matters

I adhered a piece of Ilford Fiber to the bottom of my grain magnifier, seams to work alright.

[Tin Can]

I was in a very busy student environment

Nothing could be trusted

All was shared 24/7

I cleaned a lot

I adhered a piece of Ilford Fiber to the bottom of my grain magnifier, seams to work alright.

[Tin Can]

Worth repeating for posterity

OP,JB

I have easels by Saunders, Beseler, Linhof, Kodak, ... and Kienzle

The only easel I would buy again is the Linhof, and the Kienzle (in production)




best .jen.

[Michael R]

Worth repeating for posterity

Kienzle makes nice equipment, however be prepared for serious sticker shock if you want a big easel.

[John Brady]

OP,JB

I have easels by Saunders, Beseler, Linhof, Kodak, ... and Kienzle

The only easel I would buy again is the Linhof, and the Kienzle (in production)


best .jen.

Okay, great. Now I want one of everything I saw in their video. The 8x10 enlarger with modular add ons looks amazing. It doesn't look like they have a distribution in the US. That large easel looks mighty fine, and expensive.

[John Layton]

Have a good friend who owns and uses Kienzle enargers - nice stuff!

...and about accounting for paper thickness while focussing - I do have a paper-thickness's worth of tape on my focussing finder bottom, to emulate this amount. But in truth...the focal plane at the baseboard is less critical than that at the negative carrier - and my having this extra piece stuck to my focusser makes no visible difference...so long as the paper remains reasonably flat.

[tori8x10]

Hi John, I have a Besler 20x24 enlarger to sell. I actually have finally decided, once and for all time, to quit photography all together, so I have a lot of "stuff" to finally sell.

[interneg]

The Kienzle easel seems to owe a lot of its DNA/ heritage to the 4-blade RR Beard - both are really the best 4-blade easels out there, but with considerable weight penalties - and I'm not sure if Beard ever made any/ many 4-blades bigger than 20x24". The 2-blade RR Beard was/ is standard issue in most professional/ custom darkrooms in the UK (& some of Europe) - simple, plenty accurate, and much tougher than most 4-blades.