I have an Omega enlarger with setups for both 35 and 4x5. Since I don't make prints of everything I shoot, I make contact sheets for the customers to look at and order from. However, I would like to make these a little larger. Esp when they call and ask me to send small proofs to see if they want to order a set.

With the 4x5 format, I can put 9 frames on a page. on an 8x10, the images are plenty big for folks to easily see. However, the TIME required to get the 9 frames on the glass negative holder is a nightmare. First, not all 3 negative strands fit without overlapping one set of the edges. Second, keeping them aligned as first close the carrier and then as I put the carrier into the enlarger seems nearly impossible.

I would like to make these images a little larger for folks to see better which ones they would like. Any suggestions on how to make this more efficient would be greatly appreciated.

(Overall goal is to get an 8x10 camera, run the light through it backwards, and use it as an enlarger for contact sheets. BUT, the $$$ issue prevents that for a while). :)

Thanks for the help

-- David Primm (dprimm@isunet.net), April 28, 1999

Answers

Why not have a custom glass holder made that has a larger area to the mask so that you dont have to overlap your frames. You could also have some thin strips of banding running across the glass so that you can slip the sprocket holes under them to hold them (kind of like some contact sheet holder thingies do to hold the negatives to the glass so you can instert and remove the paper without disturbing them).

I'm not sure how much it would cost in machining time to have it made at a machinist's job shop but if you have any friends that happen to have a milling machine, it would be about a two six-pack job.

-- Fritz M. Brown (brownf@dhw.state.id.us), April 29, 1999.

Fritz,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have built and "rigged" just about everything besides the enlarger for my darkroom. I had not thought of having one built. The challenge, I will admit, is finging a machine shop, let alone one that might do it for a reasonable fee.

Do you have any idea if plans like this exist somewhere? Or am i going to be delving into something that needs to be made completely from scratch (again: just got finishing up with another project for phototography)? Not hard, just easier if it already exists. will definately think about its design tonight as I relax in the darkroom before ER.

Thanks again.

-- david (dprimm@isunet.net), April 29, 1999.

I haven't seen any plans for it anywhere. It came more or less off the top of my head. Basically I would copy your current 4x5 carrier only make the mask hole bigger. You should be able to buy a replacement glass for an 8x10 and cut it down to fit your proofer. Then you could have them rivet strips of narrow strapping passing across the glass and riveted to the aluminum of the mask. If you find a machine shop to use, you could probably just take your current 4x5 carrier and a sketch of the modifications and they could take the precise measurements for things such as the alignmet pins and center of the mask from the original so you dont have to worry about accurately measuring it.

If I am making no sence at all, e-mail me and I'll try and draw what it is I mean.

-- Fritz M. Brown (brownf@idhw.state.id.us), April 30, 1999.

enlarged contacts

David ,

I would be curious as to what you are charging your clients for the enlarged contacts ,considering the trouble you have to go through to offer this service.

-- Jim Megargee (mvjim@interport.net), May 01, 1999.

Fritz,

Your comments make sense. I spent the time running between home and the rodeos this weekend figuring out how to do just what you described. I am going to throw one more wrinkle into the system -- I don't want to have to remove the negs from the 6x6 sleeves. But I may have gotten that figured out. Will let you know.

Jim,

I don't charge my customers anything for these enlarged contact sheets. Why? Because I make contact sheets specifically so that I do not have to print EVERY single shot I take. They can see what they like, and order those prints from me. I want to enlarge them since easier to see = more to like = more sales. Till I get this working, I will invest in a magnifying lens.

I don't recall off-hand what other labs charge for these sheets. They do exist, however.

Thanks for the feedback.

-- David (dprimm@isunet.net), May 03, 1999.

I was just on here looking for ideas for the exact same problem! I'm only shooting 35mm at the moment. I was going to look into buying a film scanner to somehow obtain proof size photos for my clients. I've looked into having 8x10 contact sheets made and they run $15-$25 per sheet. I just have a problem letting go of my negs. At the moment I am using a magnifier with a built-in light that clamps onto a table with a long swing arm (about $50 at Office Max). It is working out well but proofs would be so much better. Well good luck. Sorry I didn't have brilliant advice!

-- Christina Reilly (tcreil1@banet.net), May 03, 1999.

David, The reason for my question was that at most custom labs the cost of enlarged contacts can be as much as 5 or 6 times what you would normaly pay for a standard size sheet. Some of the reasons for this is as you have already realized......, eg, equipment investment, time required, materials, etc. The most typical set up is an 8x10 enlarger w/ glass carrier, this allows you to see the entire roll on one sheet. I would think though that having you clients ordering work prints of the images they are interested in would be a much more profitable situation for you than offering an enlarged contact that you are not charging them for. Just a thought.

-- jim megargee (jim@mvlabs.com), May 08, 1999.

Christania, I feel your pain! I do B&W wedding photography and I haven't yet figured out a cost effective way to "proof" 500 images! I end up doing sindgle exposure "quick" 3.5x5 proofs of only the pictures I like. I don't like to let my negatives leave the premises so I will be in DC this week at the Photo Pro Expo looking at scanning packages that will allow me to print out samples easily and painlessly. Since I do my own processing, I want to find a negative scanner that can read the whole strip before it is cut (time saving I hope)! Good Luck!

-- Hap (Hap2go@aol.com), May 25, 1999.