negative carrier which includes thin border

pcooklin · Jan 26, 2012

Hello - I have an LPL and Meopta enlarger but both heads use carriers which are the exact size of 135/120 film, I would like to include a thin black border around the image showing the original composition.
Ive seen prints where this is used but cant find any carriers/holders which have this option. Do people make their own or are there specific holders on the market for that purpose which Ive not seen.
Many thanks,
Paul.

bdial · Jan 26, 2012

I think there are some manufactured fixed "full frame" carriers. But, most people mod their own buy using a file.

The previous owner of my enlarger filed the carriers, but the opening doesn't give an even boarder around the neg area for the negs from my most-used camera, hence I never bother with trying to include the rebate area.

For the LPL you can buy a carrier that has an adjustable mask, which might be better than the filing method.

L Gebhardt · Jan 26, 2012

Most people make them with a file and a factory carrier. 5 minutes with a file and you will be good. Mark the line you wish to get to with a sharpie so you don't over file. Make sure you don't leave any burrs.

Or use a glass carrier for the next film size up and mask off the proper sized area.

tomalophicon · Jan 26, 2012

I use a Durst M601 which is designed for up to 6x6 negs, but has some space around that so you can get a good border.
I also use an LPL with a 5x4 glass carrier. You can put any negative that's smaller than 5x4 in there and print a border.

pcooklin · Jan 26, 2012

Thank you. Ive enquired about getting a couple of 200mm x 100mm mounts made with 28 x 40mm cutouts and 60mm x 60mm which I would hinge together.
Tomalophicon - how does the 120/135 film stay flat in 5x4 holder, doesn't it bend in the middle. Ive tried 135 with a 120 holder and it's 'ok' but not ideal.

tomalophicon · Jan 26, 2012

Pcooklin, sorry, it has glass in it. It had 2 glass plates but I took one out to prevent Newton's Rings. The negatives are still held flat, but for a negative on the end of the strip, there needs to be 2 plates.

pcooklin · Jan 26, 2012

tomalophicon - Ah yes, of course. I took the glass out of my neg carriers as it seemed like another source for dust.
Thanks for all your suggestions.

Buje · Jan 27, 2012

Perhaps you refer to this?

http://www.halfhill.com/borders.html

pcooklin · Jan 27, 2012

Thank you Burje.

I agree, dust has always been my main problem in the darkroom so I have avoided glass carriers.
Thanks again!

MartinP · Jan 28, 2012

On the Meopta for 35mm simply use the plate which goes on the bottom of the glassless neg-carrier as normal, then the anti-newton glass on top. The lower plate has a slightly larger aperture in and the glass has no aperture at all of course. Spares for the Meopta neg carriers etc. are still available.

Alternatively, use the double-glass carrier and mask off as required with the built-in sliding masking-arms.

If you just want a black line instead of the "edge of the negative" look, then make a black card a few millimeters smaller than the enlarging-easel format, place it in one corner of the paper/easel, expose for black, move to the diagonally opposite corner and expose again. That gives you a neat black border which will be surrounded by the usual white edges. Don't forget to make your print exposure too of course.

lightwisps · Jan 28, 2012

I also own an lPL, a 4550 XLG. My wife made me one for my birthday a few years ago. She made it with standard weight matte board and used our matte cutter to bevel the edges. It works like a champ.

She hates the look, but I love it. Guess who does the printing.

Don

Helinophoto · Jan 30, 2012

I make mine out of cardboard (and I made one out of a DVD-cover), I simply measured up the correct dimensions (my carriers are normally metal insets into a unineg-holder) and cut them out using a metal ruler and/or freehand cutting (to get some unevenness).

The one made with the dvd-cover, can be adjusted using regular black electrical tape,

Took a bit of trial and error, but I now have a couple of carriers that give me a border effect and I still have my regular/factory carriers in good condition.

tony lockerbie · Jan 30, 2012

The standard neg carrier on my Leica 1C is a doosie, thin but a little rough as well. The carrier on the V35 is more precise but a little too wide for my taste.

negative carrier which includes thin border

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