How to properly align an image?

[Eric De Santiago]

Hey, A few of my prints have come out uneven, like the paper wasn’t aligned with the easel. I do RA-4 prints, so I keep it completely dark in there (with the exception of a few light leaks through the door, which doesn’t seem to be affecting the prints), and I have to align it by my sense of touch alone. Also, I have a few prints where the easel wasn’t aligned with the image. Do you guys have any tips?

 

[pentaxuser]

Yes, get a DUKA safelight. It really works. If you want to or have to work in the total darkness then I think the key is to focus the neg on the easel beforehand and use a heavy easel that doesn't move. Practice with pieces of paper the same size and thickness as the RA4 paper by putting them into the easel in total darkness and drawing round the edges with a soft pencil. If after the light is on the borders are all straight and parallel then you have mastered the technique.

If you use the likes of a pre-set easel made of plastic which has almost no weight to anchor it to the spot, sandpaper its rubber feet. My Paterson sticks to the easel board like a limpet after sandpapering its feet.

pentaxuser

 

[koraks]

How to get this right in the dark depends a bit on what exact easel you use. But to make sure the paper sits properly aligned in the easel, I always open the easel, put the paper on it and push it upward so it sits against the upper alignment guide, and then slide it left until it touches the left alignment guide. It's difficult to put in words, but the essence is to first make sure that the alignment on the op edge is correct and then to maintain that alignment while sliding the paper horizontally.

Getting the easel properly aligned under the enlarger is quite trivial; do this under regular or safe light and if the easel had the tendency to move, affix it with e.g. tape or put more sticky feet underneath it that have more friction.

 

[Paul Howell]

Assuming that your enlarger and easel are in aliment as mentioned you must be bowing the paper in some way. When I printed R4 I used a vacuum easel, I have a 8X10 and 11X14 template cut from cardboard, thick enough that by touch I can tell if the paper is properly placed and flat. The suction provided by the vacuum makes sure it remains flat. I just received my color supplies including a temp control unit, so time to get the vacuum easel out, must be 20 years that I last printed color.

 

[ic-racer]

On my heavy easels (16x20 and 20x24) I use felt feet so I can move it around. On my smaller easels I use rubber feet to it won't move at all when I open and close it in the dark.

 

[M Carter]

It can be hard to get bigger paper (like 16x20) perfectly settled in the easel if it has much curl going on. I usually leave a bit extra border for trimming or matting perfectly square. Take a processed print upside down and really play with the easel - and keep in mind, many of those 2-blade easels can be pretty impossible to get the paper totally square. if you're using a 2-blade, when you upgrade to a 4 blade you'll see a world of difference.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Line up the negative on the easel without the paper. Make sure the easel does not slide around when bumped.

 

[LiamGanesh]

I use a Saunders 4 blade easel, it has three grooves on it for three different paper sizes, one side of the paper slips under the groove, which crops 1/4 inch of the paper. I have never had a problem with the paper being crooked or off centre with this easel.

 

[guangong]

If using 35mm negative and printing no larger than 8x10, I use a Focomat enlarger along with a Leitz easel, which can be positioned and locked in place. For larger prints or larger negatives, my Saunders easel is solid with rubber feet and stays in place.

 

[Chan Tran]

I use a Saunder Borderless easel and don't have the problem.