Easel question

I bought an easel like this one (https://www.ebay.com/itm/3857074887...x11t2rgqgg&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) and I don’t know how to set the borders correctly. If you set it to 4x6 on the rulers on it, it is exactly 4x6 with no border. How do you get the top and left border to equal the bottom and right? I seen a video linked on here that said to make a mark on the paper in the top left corner and lip it around to set the border. That works but it doesn’t seem like you should have to make a mark on every pieces of paper should you?

bdoss2006 said:

I bought an easel like this one (https://www.ebay.com/itm/3857074887...x11t2rgqgg&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) and I don’t know how to set the borders correctly. If you set it to 4x6 on the rulers on it, it is exactly 4x6 with no border. How do you get the top and left border to equal the bottom and right? I seen a video linked on here that said to make a mark on the paper in the top left corner and lip it around to set the border. That works but it doesn’t seem like you should have to make a mark on every pieces of paper should you?

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Hello
I believe what you are to do is to set the top & left borders by manipulating the linkage shown in the picture of the underside
once you get these borders set, is when you mark your paper to set the other two borders.
Once the top & left border is set it should not change, you have to ensure that when you open the easel you place your paper in a way that it is grabbed by the silver stops

As above. Set the left and upper borders with the adjustable stop. Then, use the blades to make the right and lower borders equal. Depending on the size border you want, you may need to ignore the ruler number markings. Realizing there is not much room for adjustment of the border. Basically "small" and "smaller."

I ignore the number scale and put some dots at the appropriate place with a permanent marker back in 1974 and, those marks are still there!

I start with a piece of card equal in size to the photographic paper I'm going to put in the easel. On that card I rule lines to delineate the borders I want. That card is then put into the easel up to its paper stops and the easel blades are adjusted to match the border lines. If I don't move the blades or change the paper size the borders are perfect and consistent time after time.

Two more tricks:
I draw parallel lines at 2cm (say) spacing across and down the border template I've just made. These lines serve as a guide to adjust the easel so that a projected image shows a horizon straight rather than tilted.
If the image projected image is not symmetrical within the paper size I will leave wider border at the bottom while leaving top and sides the same. The bottom weighted border looks better and gives room to title and sign the protograph neatly.

This is a standard two-bladed easel. The non-adjustable corner has a paper stop that you can adjust, within limits, to set the desired width of your border. The exact position of the movable blades you need to determine by trial-and-error using a scrap sheet of photo paper or a piece of paper cut down to the size you use. Set the blades, mark the paper and then check border width. Adjust as needed and make marks as suggested above.

For me, I never use a standard size for my images. The aspect ratios are all different, so I just set the longest blade for the paper size I was using and then did the cropping by adjusting enlarger-head height, moving the easel and moving the other blade.

Hope this helps,

Doremus