Kaiser Promask and Dunco Easels - Pros and cons?

[Tom Stanworth]

Hi,

I'm looking at either the Kaiser 20x 24 or the Dunco 20x28 4-blade easels. They are about the same price, but the dunco would allow the use of 20x30 trays and roll paper to create somewhat larger prints suiting the 35mm proportions better, so in fact you are looking at max realistic sizes of 19x27 on the Dunco and 15.5 x 23 on the kaiser if you want to go as big as possible.

Both sound really well made. Is there any reason to go for the Kaiser rather than the larger Dunco when they cost the same (a lot I know) ?

 

[Martin Aislabie]

I have the 20x16 Kaiser Promask and like it

It has a really nice feature of a blade at the hinge edge that nips the paper as you lower the mask.

Its a nice touch which means you never have the problem of inadvertently skewed prints

I don't know if the Dunco has a similar feature

However, as the Dunco gives more flexibility in print formats, I would go for the Dunco

Flexibility and adaptability should never be under estimated.

You might not have a specific use for the feature in the foreseeable future but one day you just might

Martin

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Thanks for the info Martin. In terms of print area I would be able to go 40% larger with the Dunco with 3:2 ratio prints and as rare as that would be, it is still noteworthy. I hear people rave about the Kaiser build quality and wonder if the dunco is the same. Naturally Id want something like this to last as long as possible.

Is there anything the dunco cant do that the Kaiser can? Anyone know about minimum print sizes?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Tom,

I have the large Dunco easel you are referring to. While it works well (much better than a two-blade), the build quality is not exactly up to Pelli case standards, but is still considerably better than the 2-blade LPL models. The Dunco easels are available from Firstcall Photographic.

Tom

 

[AgX]

Tom,

Kienzle make easels too.

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Cheers, Tom. Thats interesting as I thought the 4 bladed Dunco's were solid as a rock. Sounds like the promask Kaiser might be a longer lasting easel.

Can you compare the dunco's build to a 2 blade Photon/RRB Beard?

How do you find the large 20x28 deals with smaller prints, like 10x8 bec I would like to sell of my other easels and have the one for everything?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

The 20x28 can cope with 10x8 prints but 5x7 or so might be rather cumbersome. I've not used the RRB Beard / Photon easels. What enlarger are using? - the Dunco is larger than the 20x28" dimension, but fits with space on a De Vere 5108 base board.

Tom

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hello !
I own a large (I don't recal the exact size and I'm far from home) RRB 4 blades easels.
It's a hell of an easel !
I won't change it at any price !
The 4 blades are independent and can be set at any angle relative to each others. This allows for a NON square print ;-) but also a perfectly square one even if the easel has a problem...
Last but not least it allows to make black borders of any size easily and perfectly...
Alas they are not made anymore so you've to buy second hand...

 

[Tom Stanworth]

I'm using a devere 5108 floor mounted.

Can you confirm that the 20x28 can actually make a print of that size as the dunco website lists the pro series easels as making prints 'up to 20x24' then lists the easels in order of size up to 20x28. I just want to make sure that I would actually be able to use a 20x28 sheet of paper and make a print that big!

By the look of it the Dunco is more the way to go, with the steel rather than aluminium (of the kaiser) base suiting work as a copy stand easel, with magnetic strips to keep things flat.

How easy is it keep the large Dunco square? If i want to display prints within a bevel mount, showing paper rebate, will it be square enough so that a perfectly rectangular cut bevel will trace nicely (parallel) around the edges/corners of the image area? Seems lots of people grumble about squareness, even with one saying this of the Dunco in other threads?!?!

The 20x28 can cope with 10x8 prints but 5x7 or so might be rather cumbersome. I've not used the RRB Beard / Photon easels. What enlarger are using? - the Dunco is larger than the 20x28" dimension, but fits with space on a De Vere 5108 base board.

Tom

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Tom,

Pictures to follow.

Tom

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Brilliant - tks Tom

 

[Tom Kershaw]

 

[Tom Stanworth]

Tom - great! 20x28 and the rest!

 

[Martin Aislabie]

Tom, that Easel is enormous

Although it is still dwarfed by the 5108

Martin