Glass carrier - can I just use 2 sheets of glass and put my neg in between

I was thinking of just getting a piece of picture-frame glass (cheap anti-newton glass if I've read right), and a piece of regular glass, both about 5x5" so they fit where my negative carrier goes, and just putting my negative in and masking off the area with a stiff tape and ta-da a glass carrier. Is there any reason why I should spend $200 on a custom glass carrier for my Beseler 67 or just go to the picture framing store and do this for under $20?

I bought a 6x6 glassless carrier but the lame ebay seller decided to pocket my extra cash for shipping and send it the slowest way possible (I won't have it for a month at least.) and I had never though of using a glass carrier, but as long as I'm spending time aligning my enlarger and shooting with a tripod, I might as well make sure the neg is flat plus this way seems alot easier than trying to get a machine shop to custom make me a carrier. Plus this way I can print some funny sized negs. I ask because I've never heard of anyone doing this, but it seems so simple.

It will work, but you will have to deal with possible Newton rings. What you might want to do is cut a mask from some of the black wrapper from some print paper and use it to cover the non image area to suppress lens flare and help contrast. Play with it.

glbeas said:

It will work, but you will have to deal with possible Newton rings.

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I think if I used Anti-Newton glass on top, regular glass on bottom, and masking tape in between to slightly seperate them, I would be able to avoid Newton rings. I'll have to try.

In last week's Amateur Photography magazine there was a review of the new Epson V750 scanner. The negative mount for this model is a 'liquid mount'. i.e. it has a glass base and you squirt a bit of (supplied) liquid onto the negative/transparency and 'paste' it onto the glass. This all over optical contact with the glass eliminates all chances of Newton's rings appearing.

I was thinking that if the liquid could be obtained separately (and I'm sure it could) it would be possible to use it on negatives in a glass negative holder. In this case, normal glass would be o.k. rather than anti-Newton glass.

There may be other problems with this which do not occur with a scanner such as the higher temperature of an enlarger causing the liquid to dry out. It may be something worth experimenting with though.


Steve.

With 4x5 and 5x7, I did exactly what you describe, though without anti-Newton glass. I have had no problems in 25+ years. The only big Newton's Rings problems I had were with an old Focomat in 35mm.

Cheers,

R.

Steve Smith said:

I was thinking that if the liquid could be obtained separately (and I'm sure it could) it would be possible to use it on negatives in a glass negative holder. In this case, normal glass would be o.k. rather than anti-Newton glass.

Steve.

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Dear Steve,

I've not tried Epson's version but the stuff that was used on drum scanners was not much fun to clean off. Often, therefore, they didn't bother, and you got your tranny back covered with what we used to call 'hair spray' 'cos that's what it looked and felt like when it was dry.

Cheers,

Roger

I have not got the magazine with me but I think it said that the liquid dried without leaving a residue. A bit like Isopropyl Alchohol or something similar.

I'm not sure what regular applications would do to a negative though.


Steve.

Steve Smith said:

I was thinking that if the liquid could be obtained separately (and I'm sure it could) it would be possible to use it on negatives in a glass negative holder. In this case, normal glass would be o.k. rather than anti-Newton glass.

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I'm thinking of starting a pool on how many negatives you print that way till you are willing to pay WHATEVER they want for an glass. The kami fluid itself will just about cover the cost of it.

I use two pieces of black foam core cut out to the size that matches an original holder dimensions and the neg's dimensions. tape the edge of the neg with some art tape. This works for me just as well as a metal carrier and actually results in sharper prints than the cheap picture frame glass holder i was using for a while.

vinny

Hi
Newtons rings are more prevalent in damp conditions try and keep your darkroom well ventilated and as dry as possible, dehumidifier?, also Tetenal manufacture an anti newton ring spray, personally I have been using 2mm plain picture glass for years, initially I did have a problem however I eliminated as many sources of damp as possible and voila! no more newtons rings.
Good luck

Help! Does anyone know where you can purchase Tetenal Anti Newton Spray. My can is about empty and I can't find a replacement. I was told it is still made in Germany, but not shipped to the States. This stuff is the only thing I have found to fight newton rings when using t-max film with a anti newton glass carrier.

i have done this sort of thing with my olde durst m601 and it worked pretty good,
when i did it with my omega d3v i got nervous because the head weighed a bit
... but it worked out okay too. the only thing is when you use glass,
light will sort of glow/shine out of the edges that are sticking out of the enlarger head. for my durst,
i taped a piece of blue jeans and later a piece of black bag ( like photo paper comes in ) and did the same thing
on the omega ... maybe it wasn't really needed, but i was always afraid
that the light would fog my paper ...

Steve Smith said:

I was thinking that if the liquid could be obtained separately (and I'm sure it could) it would be possible to use it on negatives in a glass negative holder. In this case, normal glass would be o.k. rather than anti-Newton glass.

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How about a "No-Scratch" type of oil product instead? It's thicker, and it probably won't dry as fast. I've actually used it on my AN glass (only on top) carrier a few times because I had some scratches on my negs, and it didn't dry out while printing.

it may sound insane, but I've had the best results with baby oil.

erie

I use anti-newton glass from a neg carrier made for a different enlarger, took the glass out and taped it up with thin black masking for different size negatives and it works perfectly.

Cheers,
Bill

it may sound insane, but I've had the best results with baby oil.

Actually, Im not surprised. Baby oil is thin, fairly clear of chemicals, and very pH neutral. My only fear would be if it were left on the surface too long, especially if heated up by the lamp, it might absorb into the emulsion and would then be a right royal pain in the ass to clean out. I suppose if it were put only on the acetate side, then it shouldn't be an issue.