use 4x5 glass neg carrier for MF film printing?

[TomWB]

I've been shooting 4x5 for 15 years now, so either through luck or sheer stupidity I've acquired a 6x12 and 6x9 rfb for 4x5. I shoot 95% black and white, so I'm looking at options for negative carriers for my beseler 4x5 enlarger for the mf film. I was looking at getting a 6x9 carrier off ebay or somewhere, and getting a second 6x carrier and cutting opening for 6x12. Then got to thinking, (another big mistake), that I could get the beseler 4x5 carrier with glass, either regular glass or anti-newton. This seems like it would cover both formats. I already have a 4x5 negaflat carrier, so would only be used for mf films. Has anyone used the Beseler glass 4x5 carriers for mf film, and do you have any advice, does it work well? Would you recommend the anti-newton carrier over the plain glass one? (I'm not interested in any cost comparisons or analysis between two used carriers vs the glass carriers). Thanks very much. Tom in Seattle

 

[Neal]

Dear Tom,

I have a friend who used to print MF negatives with a glass (anti-Newton) 4x5 carrier. His prints are great but he complained about difficulties with dust. Recently I opened up some glassless (Omega) carriers so that he could print full frame. So far, he likes them. Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with the Beseler models.

Neal Wydra

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, you can do this. Anti-Newton glass is better, unless you are always using a type of film that isn't prone to Newton's rings (i.e., a film with retouching surfaces on both sides). Usually you would have A-N glass on top and plain glass on the bottom. Some A-N glass is textured--this must be on top or it will reduce sharpness. Some A-N glass just has an anti-reflective coating, and some carriers may have this type of glass both on top and on the bottom.

If you don't have masking blades on your enlarger, you should make masks for smaller formats with the 4x5" carrrier to reduce the amount of light overspill, which can lower contrast, take the sparkle out of highlights, and contribute to flare problems and mysterious reflections in the darkroom.

 

[Donald Miller]

While I haven't used the Bessler that you have, I have used a glass 4X5 carrier to print 6X4.5 negatives with it on my Saunders 4450 XLG VCCE

 

[blackmelas]

If you don't have masking blades on your enlarger, you should make masks for smaller formats with the 4x5" carrrier to reduce the amount of light overspill, which can lower contrast, take the sparkle out of highlights, and contribute to flare problems and mysterious reflections in the darkroom.

Thanks for that bit of info, David. I've been using a 4x5 carrier for my 6x6 for some time now wondering if there would be a problem.
Best regards,
James

 

[Nick Zentena]

My Beseler came setup for just this. Some thin black material was taped to the carrier to mask it off. IIRC it was actually setup for 3 35mm frames but same idea.

 

[Ole]

I use my Durst 138S for all sizes from 6x7cm and up. No problem at all.

 

[Tom Stanworth]

I am a big fan of glass carriers. Yes you have to make efffort to get things clean, but they STAY clean and perfectly flat. I use my 5x4 and 5x7 carriers for MF all the time. I never use glassless carriers any more for anything.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I too am a big fan of glass carriers , sometimes difficult to keep clean but as said above keeps the film flat , good when making multiple hits on a print.Focal Point in Florida supplys regular and antinewton glass, their service is great.

 

[TomWB]

Thanks for all the responses, I will be getting a glass carrier. Didn't really think of the masking issue, thanks.

 

[raucousimages]

A glass carrier is great but you have more surfaces to dust.

 

[Maine-iac]

I've used my Beseler 4X5 glass carrier on occasion for MF negs and it works fine, although I have the 645, 6X7, and 6X6 glassless carriers for normal use.

I have sometimes shot a piece of sheet film with a 6X12 format in mind, and then simply masked the 4X5 carrier to crop the sheet to the correct size.

While glass carriers can give problems with dust, I solved it for myself with one of the Kinetronic brushes that have the static-less bristles. Easy and cheap.

Larry