Printing 4x5 negatives on a Beseler 23c

is there a way to do this? I hate the idea of having to get a new enlarger to be able to print 4x5 since I have limited space and I already have carriers for all other formats for the 23c!!

I hated to replace my 23C with a 45MCRX but I had to do it. Good luck.

I feel your pain, but if you want to work with 4x5 negatives, ya gotta bite the bullet for a capable enlarger. I was in the same situation a dozen years ago, and bought a Saunders LPL 4550 XLG enlarger that sat right next to my Beseler 23C III. I suspect you can find a used Saunders/Omega or Beseler machine for a reasonable price as folks continue to migrate to digital for various reasons. Good luck!

I saw a how-to several years ago about modding a 23C to do 4x5, may even have been here.
As I recall the major work was enlarging the opening in the negative stage to fit a 4x5 neg/carrier. It also needed some lamp house mods, but I don't remember the details.
I expect the easiest thing for illumination would be to build an LED diffusion lamp house with blue and green LED's, and a controller of some sort.

That said, it would probably be easier to mod a 4x5 enlarger to be a little smaller than it would be to make a 23C take bigger negs. Mounting an enlarger like an Omega on a smaller base board or eliminating the baseboard would be easy, and the column could be shortened if there is a height problem.

Modifying a 23C to 4x5 is a one way street. Once you make the mods, it will only be good for that format. You will just have to bite the bullet and acquire a 4x5 enlarger.

It's probably easier to find a 45MX or such than to modify the 23C. I have one of each sitting next to each other. The 45MX doesn't really take up that much more room. Just make sure you have a very sturdy bench and enough ceiling height. I'd measure for you, but I'm currently still 950 miles away from it (grrr).
A 45MX is a beast, but a very useful one. Your current lenses and boards would work on both. These days, it might not be too tough to find one.

I believe the 23C boards are smaller than the 45MX boards so you'll need to replace those too. Finding an enlarger at a decent price probably won't take too long but the shipping will be expensive... if the seller will even agree to ship it at all.

23C boards are 4x4 inches; the same as the boards for the 45 series enlargers, so no problem there. Your 23C column is not going to be as high as the 45 (even non-X) and would be limiting. Bite the bullet and find a 4x5 enlarger.

Best,

Doremus

If all goes well, I will be the proud owner of an old but functional Meopta Magnitarus this weekend. It is a 10x15cm condenser enlarger with a column height of 160cm, weighing 68kg and requiring a roof clearance of 250cm above the baseboard . . . I won't be able to use it with the head all the way up (it has a very tall 'chimney' style lamp housing). I'm actually having to hire a long car to bring it home.

As it will print about the size of a tennis-court on the baseboard I might not need all the column height, but if the roof height actually is a problem then I may make up a simple "diffused" head using a light-panel.

Edit: It might be interesting for the OP to look at the link if s/he is rebuilding their enlarger head.