Printing 8x10.....with an 8x10 Enlarger

AgX · Sep 21, 2017

We already got a thread on her and her enlargers.
And I do not see the connection with your thread title.
Wrong video?

CMoore · Sep 21, 2017

I would hate for anybody to have to watch the same video 2x.....that must be awful.
And you do not like the thread title either.?.....sounds like i ruined your day.

I guess the relevance would be that (i assume) most people do not have access to an enlarger that can hold an 8x10.?
I am just as interested in how the guys moved those things, took them apart, and then rewired and re-lamped them. I wish they showed more of that.....the painting it Red also.
Anyway.......Perhaps THIS is the video i should have posted. It was linked with the Italian Girl above. I have never seen (a video of) a print this big... from a Negative of any size.

MattKing · Sep 21, 2017

On the subject of multiple threads referencing the same resource, we tend to point that out so threads can be combined by the moderators.
And on the subject of the thread title, to me, it seemed to be a reference to using an enlarger (rather than a contact printer) to make 8 x 10 prints (I.e. 1:1) from 8 x 10 negatives - a somewhat unusual approach.
As for the video you intended to link to, large enlargements are always interesting, even if a fair few of us here are quite familiar with them.
EDIT: You may note that no tongs or gloves are used in that latter video - better not show that to your classmate

AgX · Sep 22, 2017

I assume quite some fellows at Apug have an 8x10 enlargrer, especially in the USA where large format photography has a long history with amateurs. To me the point of that video is the sheer size of her enlargers. Funny thing is that it is kind of a "toys for the boys" video, but with a girl having fun with them. Aso it is interesting to learn of the assistance she got from the academy on such project in times where elswhere academies are closing their darkrooms.
Yes, with your thread title I thought of making 1/1 optical copies from 8x10 negatives.

CMoore · Sep 22, 2017

Yeah, i should have the teacher show that guy using a sponge, with bare hands, to Develop/Fix that giant print.
I have never really payed attention to What an 8x10 machine looks like. Are those bigger than "normal".?
Topo Maps did she say.?. Were they big because they were used for Production/Commercial purposes.?
Looked like they had 2-3 inch air ducts on the light head.
Like i say.....i would have been just as or more interested if the video had concentrated on the electrical/mechanical aspects of getting those beasts set up for her.
Sorry if another member had just recently posted about her here.

AgX · Sep 22, 2017

Even aerial surveying photographs do not extend in film format beyond 10x10". Some 8x10 enlarger would illuminate that too.
These italian giants though are a special breed from the lithographic world.

ic-racer · Sep 22, 2017

You don't have to make monster prints to get the advantage of enlarged 8x10 negatives. In fact, my most common enlargements are 1.4X and 2X. That is 11x14" and 16x20" enlargements. The 1.4X prints retain nearly all the datail of contact prints and in the field I can dance around my fellow Large Format 11x14" camera owners with a lightweight 8x10 camera on my back.

In fact I have read that many of Avedon's "In the American West" prints from 8x10 negatives are only 16x20"
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/nyregion/richard-avedon-unsigned-prints.html

pentaxuser · Sep 22, 2017

In terms of size I saw, a number of years ago, that an 8x10 enlarger was being sold on the U.K. e-bay at what seemed a very low price. The seller explained that the enlarger was located in a remote area of N Wales, a van the size of a Ford Transit would be needed plus lifting gear as it weighed about half a ton! It helped explain the low price for what is a truly magnificent piece of engineering.

pentaxuser

ic-racer · Sep 22, 2017

pentaxuser said:
In terms of size I saw, a number of years ago, that an 8x10 enlarger was being sold on the U.K. e-bay at what seemed a very low price. The seller explained that the enlarger was located in a remote area of N Wales, a van the size of a Ford Transit would be needed plus lifting gear as it weighed about half a ton! It helped explain the low price for what is a truly magnificent piece of engineering.

pentaxuser

Mine is light-weight with an aluminum base, but still required a large vehicle for transport. How time flies, that photo is now almost 9 years old!

AgX · Sep 22, 2017

The one above is the backbone of a partly disassembled Durst L 1824, their peak model.

ic-racer · Sep 22, 2017

Interesting fact about the Durst L1840.

It was designed, put in to production, achieved developmental maturity and was discontinued all in the time since Ansel Adams death.

That is why he could not have one.

CMoore · Sep 22, 2017

I would Love To work on one of those dudes.....or even just assist with installing them.
Talk about saving a piece of history.....it's a mans enlarger.!

Patrick Robert James · Sep 22, 2017

CMoore said:
I would hate for anybody to have to watch the same video 2x.....that must be awful.
And you do not like the thread title either.?.....sounds like i ruined your day.

I guess the relevance would be that (i assume) most people do not have access to an enlarger that can hold an 8x10.?
I am just as interested in how the guys moved those things, took them apart, and then rewired and re-lamped them. I wish they showed more of that.....the painting it Red also.
Anyway.......Perhaps THIS is the video i should have posted. It was linked with the Italian Girl above. I have never seen (a video of) a print this big... from a Negative of any size.

There are vids on YouTube of people making large prints. Check out the ones of Clyde Butcher's darkroom if you want to see big....

btaylor · Sep 22, 2017

My Omega F got a lot smaller when I switched to a simple LED panel as the illumination source-- off went the HUGE condensers and equally large lamphouse. I'll bulk it up again when I get around to installing the color head. I've moved it three times. It is a lightweight compared to some, but still requires at least 3 people to move it after it is taken apart. I like machines, it fits the bill. I almost bought a Durst L 1824 but it was on a second story and I didn't think I (with help) could get it down the stairs. It also ran on 220 which would have required expensive electrical work every time it was moved.

Printing 8x10.....with an 8x10 Enlarger

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