Masking paper for smaller photographs

hiroh · Jul 7, 2024

Let’s say I want to print a 5x7 photo on 8x10 paper. The easel I’m using can only mask less than 1/2” on the top and left sides. What do you use to mask the paper if you want to print a smaller photo in the center of the larger paper? I was thinking about cutting paper to use as a mask on top of the photographic paper, but it needs to be heavy enough to create sharp edges. Maybe some tape?

AnselMortensen · Jul 7, 2024

An adjustable four-blade easel is your most flexible option.
Barring that, you could make a window mat with black construction paper or mat board...(you probably wouldn't want beveled cuts on the mat, though)

AZD · Jul 7, 2024

A sheet of poster board cut to size with a razor knife and straight edge will do. I’d recommend black, or an additional backing of tape, to avoid light bleeding on longer exposures. If your easel is steel, and it probably is, you can hold down the edges with small magnets if needed.

I do this with an 11x14 easel to get a 2:3 ratio print with thicker borders. Works well.

Pieter12 · Jul 7, 2024

Thicker paper or board might introduce shadows. I would recommend black construction paper. Two things to look for 1. it is totally opaque, 2. it can be cut leaving a clean edge.

koraks · Jul 8, 2024

AnselMortensen said:
you probably wouldn't want beveled cuts on the mat, though

Beveled cuts sound ideal to me. It prevents reflections against the edges of the cut, which may show up on the print. Especially if you paint the bevels black, you should be able to prevent this problem.

Weigh down the mat paper with something all around, or use a steel plate instead of the easel and magnets to hold down the mat.

Don_ih · Jul 8, 2024

If using a metal easel, buy some magnet sheets (the stick-to-your-fridge type that can be put through a printer) and carefully cut your window size out of it.

jeffreyg · Jul 8, 2024

Along with the other suggestions you could cut a window in a piece of ruby lith. It thin and easy to cut.

Rick A · Jul 8, 2024

I've used 2 ply mat board in the past, just bevel cut the window. Get solid black if possible, if not use a black marker on the edges.

Addendum: go to the local Hobby Lobby or similar and buy a cheap pre cut mat of which ever size you want.

snusmumriken · Jul 8, 2024

Don_ih said:
If using a metal easel, buy some magnet sheets (the stick-to-your-fridge type that can be put through a printer) and carefully cut your window size out of it.

Have you actually tried this?

I did, and it was a failure. Even if you succeed in cutting truly straight edges, the stuff is so flexible that it doesn't mind when the edges are lying curved. It is shiny (at least the stuff I got). And it really wants to clamp itself down, so there's no wiggle room, making it a nightmare to position accurately with the paper underneath. I think I'm a pretty handy and patient kind of guy, but this was one idea I had to give up on.

Pieter12 · Jul 8, 2024

jeffreyg said:
Along with the other suggestions you could cut a window in a piece of ruby lith. It thin and easy to cut.

Rubylith gel coating cuts easily. The Mylar backing is more difficult.

Pieter12 · Jul 8, 2024

koraks said:
Beveled cuts sound ideal to me. It prevents reflections against the edges of the cut, which may show up on the print. Especially if you paint the bevels black, you should be able to prevent this problem.

Weigh down the mat paper with something all around, or use a steel plate instead of the easel and magnets to hold down the mat.

Make sure you have strong magnets. Mat board is pretty thick.

MattKing · Jul 8, 2024

If you are printing the full frame image, just centre it the way you want it on the printing paper, like this:

Of course, I happen to like the artifacts (from the edges of the negative carrier) that this happens to create. They may not appeal to you.

DWThomas · Jul 8, 2024

In the scrapbooking section of some of the art & craft stores one can find pages about 12x12 inches that are fairly thin, but smoother and denser than construction paper. I have a 'thing' put together on a piece of mat board with a three-sided frame of Bristol board to approximately match print paper thickness. That provides a sort of pocket to slide print paper into. Then a mask of the black page stuff, hinged by gluing one edge down lets me center an 8x10 contact print on a piece of 11x14 print paper. (All held down by a sheet of glass.)

I do have a four-blade easel which is good for enlarging, although if the borders become really large it is necessary to tape some masks down anyway, as the adjustable frames are only so wide.

grahamp · Jul 8, 2024

If you have a 2 blade easel that works for the size of paper, you only need two edges to move the top left corner of the easel towards the center. A couple of steel rulers will work with the join taped over (that's the big problem - getting the overlap square). The finicky bit is using a set square to get the corners aligned after the paper goes in each time.

If you are going to do this a lot then a 4 blade easel might be worth it. Or just accept that matting a smaller print to a larger frame is less hassle

Sal Santamaura · Jul 8, 2024

This is the product you need:

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Don_ih · Jul 8, 2024

snusmumriken said:
Have you actually tried this?

I've used the stuff to hold down photos on a copy stand but didn't need to cut a hole in it. I actually cut it in strips to use those to hold the paper down. If your sheet of magnet is the same dimensions as the enlarging paper, lining up the edges should be pretty easy to do. But if you say it's too onerous, I'll take your word.

pentaxuser · Jul 8, 2024

Here's a way to optically centre your print on bigger paper if that is any good for what you need to do.

https://www.russellcottrell.com/photo/centering.htm

pentaxuser

Doremus Scudder · Jul 8, 2024

Rick A said:
Addendum: go to the local Hobby Lobby or similar and buy a cheap pre-cut mat of which ever size you want.

Ding-ding-ding!! We have a winner!

Certainly an 8x10 mat with a 5x7 window (bottom-weighted even, which will "optically center" the image) will do the job perfectly. I think bevels are a good idea too, just use a Sharpie to paint the edges black if needed. Make the sandwich with the photo paper, weight it down with stones or magnets or whatever and go.

Doremus

hiroh · Jul 10, 2024

Thanks everyone, great advices!

I’ll cut a few mat boards in different sizes, as I’m matting and framing my photos myself, so I have everything I need. Ultimately, I want to buy a proper easel that can be adjusted on all four sides. I had a Saunders 16x20, but I sold it a few years ago and now I want it back! I checked eBay, but there’s not a single one in Europe. Any recommendation for another high quality easel that will last for life?

Speaking of recommendations, where to purchase darkroom equipment in Europe? I moved last year from California to Portugal and I’m renting a local community darkroom, but my goal is to build my own by the end of the year. I want to get a good enlarger first, followed by an exposure meter and all the other little things that will make my life easier. eBay in Europe was a dead end for anything recommended on this forum. The biggest local classifieds websites also had nothing. Facebook Marketplace? None. Amazon.de and Amazon.es, which ship to Portugal, don’t have these items either. Of course, I can buy everything and ship from the US, but the shipping cost and customs double the price. Local photo stores have only basic stuff such as chemistry, paper and small accessories.

What I use right now in my local darkroom is good enough for learning, but it’s very, very basic and limiting (aka not future proof). I found some amazing printers in Europe, so I believe there are places that sells these items.

koraks · Jul 10, 2024

hiroh said:
eBay in Europe was a dead end for anything recommended on this forum.

Try this one: https://www.ebay.es/str/qoppacollectables
I don't do much eBay, but I know that guy and he's a bit of a hub of darkroom equipment. There's someone doing something similar in Germany as well, but I don't know his name. Plenty of other, smaller-scale sellers, too. The UK is also an option, but evidently less attractive these days if you purchase from mainland Europe due to taxes.

However, I recognize what you say. The user base of this forum and much of the advice offered is heavily US-biased. Most of the time, that's not necessarily a problem, but when it comes to sourcing certain products and materials, you hit a dead end while the European ecosystem has plenty of alternatives to offer. To give a simple example: if you were to look for a 4x5"color enlarger in the US, you'd most likely end up with a Beseler or maybe a DeVere. In Europe, it'll be a Durst 95% of the time. If you keep searching for a Beseler 45MXT in Portugal, you may have to keep searching for 3 years until something ridiculously priced even pops up, while you could get a Durst L1200 next week.

So the main advice would be to "translate" the American advice into a European context and look for common equivalents to what Americans suggest.

hiroh said:
The biggest local classifieds websites also had nothing. Facebook Marketplace? None. Amazon.de and Amazon.es, which ship to Portugal, don’t have these items either.

I imagine Portugal is a bit of a difficult place in particular due to its 20th century history, which did not favor (to say the least) an amateur darkroom ecosystem. You'll have to source from other European countries, most likely. So for large stuff like enlargers and big easels, shipping costs will be a factor, or you may have to engage in some multi-purpose roadtripping...
It's different in other places; sites like leboncoin (France) etc. will have plenty of offerings, but Portugal is kind of specific due to geographic location and recent history.
Instead of Amazon, focus on local classifieds websites in countries like Spain and France. Ask around where other people find their stuff. Local thrift stores may be your best bet, but you'll have to let go of shopping lists and be creative with what you can find instead of looking for specific items.

hiroh · Jul 10, 2024

koraks said:
To give a simple example: if you were to look for a 4x5"color enlarger in the US, you'd most likely end up with a Beseler or maybe a DeVere. In Europe, it'll be a Durst 95% of the time. If you keep searching for a Beseler 45MXT in Portugal, you may have to keep searching for 3 years until something ridiculously priced even pops up, while you could get a Durst L1200 next week.

I was specifically searching for Beseler and Durst on eBay, but there are none available. The only filter I have selected is the item location: Europe. I have saved these searches, so if something ever pops up, I’ll be notified.

What’s even more bizarre is that the first search result for “durst enlarger spain” on Google is Camera West, and the second is Durst US!

rduraoc · Jul 10, 2024

I guess in Portugal you've already found out about Custo Justo and OLX (there was a nice Meopta Magnifax 4 there a couple of days ago, albeit not cheap). The market is obviously not so big and available as in the US, but things do come up. I have also found that eBay.de is a good source, but you do have to change country settings on your account to have all the features showing up. Many are shipping only to Germany, but some will ship abroad after a message.

I've also found that national selling websites are good sources: milanuncios in Spain; Leboncoin in France; Tradera in Sweden; 2ememain in Belgium; Markplaats in The Netherlands.

hiroh · Jul 10, 2024

rduraoc said:
I guess in Portugal you've already found out about Custo Justo and OLX (there was a nice Meopta Magnifax 4 there a couple of days ago, albeit not cheap). The market is obviously not so big and available as in the US, but things do come up. I have also found that eBay.de is a good source, but you do have to change country settings on your account to have all the features showing up. Many are shipping only to Germany, but some will ship abroad after a message.

I've also found that national selling websites are good sources: milanuncios in Spain; Leboncoin in France; Tradera in Sweden; 2ememain in Belgium; Markplaats in The Netherlands.

Great sources @rduraoc. I'll check this now. Thanks!

koraks · Jul 10, 2024

hiroh said:
I was specifically searching for Beseler and Durst on eBay, but there are none available.

Check the ebay store I gave you, it is located in Europe, sends all over Europe, and sells lots of Durst stuff. This demonstrates that something's not going right with your eBay search. I've noticed myself too that searching on eBay often doesn't work well - you're not alone!

hiroh said:
What’s even more bizarre is that the first search result for “durst enlarger spain” on Google is Camera West, and the second is Durst US!

When using eBay and you're logged in (which you may be, automatically), be sure that you update your location to Portugal. Otherwise eBay may filter your results based on your profile location, which may still say "US" (as it also says here on Photrio).

hiroh · Jul 10, 2024

koraks said:
Check the ebay store I gave you, it is located in Europe, sends all over Europe, and sells lots of Durst stuff.

I checked, but there are lots of enlarger parts and only one complete Leitz enlarger. I also looked for easels, but none of them are adjustable on all four sides.

koraks said:
When using eBay and you're logged in (which you may be, automatically), be sure that you update your location to Portugal.

My eBay is set to Portugal.

Masking paper for smaller photographs

hiroh

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Lithco Unruled Paper Masking Sheets - Goldenrod : GWJ Company, Better Pricing, Extensive Variety of Supplies & Tools for The Printer

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Masking paper for smaller photographs

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