Recommended easels

[koen]

Nicholas, bit late to the party but wanted to say thanks for the reference to the Ganz speed easels. I didn't know they existed until I read you post here and indeed, they make life easy speedy!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Saunders four bladed easels or an equivalent. I have two sizes because the largest if not as easy to maneuver for smaller prints.

 

[Bill Burk]

I use an old Kodak easel and have a love-hate relationship with it. I love the sound of the spring when you open and close it.

It’s not always perfect at positioning the paper but that’s usually my fault. There’s two on eBay right now. Way too expensive for a two-blade easel but it works well.


Vintage 1946 Eastman Kodak Masking Paper Board Easel 11”x14”

 

[Dan0001]

I tend to favor older vintage easels...in my main home in Michigan I like my old Albert 4 blade easel( 15 X 19).that I use with my 4 X 5 Beseler. I have a 16 X 20 Saunders but it was just too big and unwieldy for me...I tend to make prints small anyway. In my Florida winter home in a make shift bathroom darkroom with my basic B22 I found the vintage Leitz 2 blade easels are ideal...didn't think I would like them but for small prints, max 9 X 11, I really like them and they are still very accurate. They might be as old as 60 years old!! I was lucky to score two of them, a small one for 5 X 7 and larger one that that I usually don't go larger than 7 X 10.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

I prefer vacuum easels as I do various border-less prints of all sizes from test strips up to 30x40. Borderless 11x14, 16x20, and 20x24 are my three standard size prints. I was lucky enough to find a ByChrome 16x20 easel with pump and foot switch for about $100. I've seen these in sizes up to 20x24. The surface has guides for various print sizes and is also magnetic so I have a roll of double-sided magnetic tape that can be used as guides in total darkness when printing color when I can't see the printed guides. If you can find one jump on it - they come up on eBay now and then but infrequently. I was even more lucky to find a custom built (looks like a nicely manufactured commercial unit) that does up to 30x40 for just over $100. If I'm printing with borders then my fav is the Saunders 4 bladed.

 

[Bill Burk]

Oh right I have a vacuum easel too. I use it to photograph prints so that I can share in the Galleries here. I still do only 11x14 so the Kodak does the trick for me. I don’t even use the blades for masking... I keep them out near the edges just to hold the paper down.

When you use your vacuum easel do you lay out blades to mask ... or do you print black or soft borders? Or full bleed

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Oh right I have a vacuum easel too. I use it to photograph prints so that I can share in the Galleries here. I still do only 11x14 so the Kodak does the trick for me. I don’t even use the blades for masking... I keep them out near the edges just to hold the paper down.

When you use your vacuum easel do you lay out blades to mask ... or do you print black or soft borders? Or full bleed

I go full bleed when using the vacuum easels, else I go with the Saunders. Years ago I filed a few extra negative carriers to get the black edges, but having done it since I got my new LPL enlargers - maybe yet, but I mostly prefer full bleed these days and then dry mount.

Mike

 

[Sirius Glass]

I prefer vacuum easels as I do various border-less prints of all sizes from test strips up to 30x40. Borderless 11x14, 16x20, and 20x24 are my three standard size prints. I was lucky enough to find a ByChrome 16x20 easel with pump and foot switch for about $100. I've seen these in sizes up to 20x24. The surface has guides for various print sizes and is also magnetic so I have a roll of double-sided magnetic tape that can be used as guides in total darkness when printing color when I can't see the printed guides. If you can find one jump on it - they come up on eBay now and then but infrequently. I was even more lucky to find a custom built (looks like a nicely manufactured commercial unit) that does up to 30x40 for just over $100. If I'm printing with borders then my fav is the Saunders 4 bladed.

A vacuum easel would be wonderful. I would like to have one.

 

[guangong]

I have used my large Saunders easel for over 50 years with no complaints. I also use a Leitz easel with my Focomat, but that’s not applicable for this thread. I also have easels with fixed cutouts but I can’t even remember when I used them last. Saunders was bliss compared to what I used before.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Speak of the devils.... https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Vacuum+easel&_sacat=0

 

[mklw1954]

Since I like borderless prints I use a Beseler 8x10 and a Saunders 11x14 easel. I just gently bend the paper against its curvature before placing in the easel and it is flat enough to be sharp throughout using f11.

 

[jim10219]

I have a Saunders 4 blade easel, and like it a lot. But I like my Simmon Omega easel better. It's only two blades but it's more solid. I also like the little peep windows to show you how much border you're going to have.

The good thing about the 4 blade easels is you can center the image in the easel. That comes in handy sometimes when you're trying to navigate around the base of the enlarger.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have a Saunders 4 blade easel, and like it a lot. But I like my Simmon Omega easel better. It's only two blades but it's more solid. I also like the little peep windows to show you how much border you're going to have.

The good thing about the 4 blade easels is you can center the image in the easel. That comes in handy sometimes when you're trying to navigate around the base of the enlarger.

The bold part is why I use 4 blade easels.

 

[David Reynolds]

Can't beat Saunders 4 blade easels. Both the 11x14 and 16x20 is all I needed in my 50 years of darkroom work except when I projected larger than 16x20 .