RRB enlarger easel

[dcl]

Hello,

I've now spent a couple of months in the sulphur mine searching for diamonds (VDGG). - But now I'm getting back in touch...

I'm looking for information about RRB easels. They're supposed to be quite good, and I'd like to acquire one (about 70 francs) in the size 30x40 centimetres. My venerable and reliable Durst 10x12 inch easel can't manage 40 centimetres print width. The other easel for 50x60 centimetres isn't suitable for average use. It is simply too big.

Is there anything to be aware of regarding RRB easels? Are there any special tricks? How does one produce a particularly narrow margin of only 2–3 millimetres?

Many regards from Bern!

W.

 

[Ian Grant]

Just checked, the narrowest margin with a Beard is 5mm. I have 3, one is spare 20"x16"

Ian

 

[dcl]

Thank you, Ian,

I had suspected that the RBB easel wouldn’t allow less than 5 mm, because of the two rails at the top left of the slots. I will try to make two new paper stops with thicker heads.

I am always unhappy when I produce an edition of small prints in formats from 13 × 18 to 18 × 24: 7.8% of the image (1 cm on 12.7 cm) is lost to the white margin. When there is too much distance between the print and a readymade passepartout I have to cut them by hand.

The new old easel should arrive soon.

Kind regards

W.

 

[Ian Grant]

In general the convention has been 1½" to 2" (3.8mm to 5.1mm) borders for exhibition or sales, to allow for archival tape etc when framed. When I bought prints from photographers like Fay Godwin, John Blakemore, etc, they had similar borders.

Of course when I printed commercially on RC papers it would be ¼"b(6.3mm), sometimes borderless.

Ian

 

[Nas]

Thank you, Ian,

I had suspected that the RBB easel wouldn’t allow less than 5 mm, because of the two rails at the top left of the slots. I will try to make two new paper stops with thicker heads.

I am always unhappy when I produce an edition of small prints in formats from 13 × 18 to 18 × 24: 7.8% of the image (1 cm on 12.7 cm) is lost to the white margin. When there is too much distance between the print and a readymade passepartout I have to cut them by hand.

The new old easel should arrive soon.

Kind regards

W.

A 4 blade easel should do what you need. Not sure if RRB made them but there are plenty of other brands to choose from. Since I started using a 4 blade easel I've never gone back. I've got at least a couple of big RRB easel's hiding somewhere which haven't seen any use in over a decade.

 

[dcl]

Ian, thanks for the thoughtful advice. It's much appreciated.

A bit of background may be useful: I produce 5-10 prints per edition, from the same negative. Of these prints, approximately 2-3 images are mounted with the Seal onto museum board. From the image edge to the inner edge of the mount, there is always a small gap of a few millimetres.

This approach allows ordinary people to place the image directly and correctly into a suitable frame without having to pay attention to anything. People in the area where the photographs are taken have sometimes never seen anything like this: a large-format photograph on baryta paper, exposed using the zone system, enlarged with splitgrade, mounted with the Seal, behind a passepartout.

I already heard that collectors and exhibitors prefer borders an dislike borderless or mounted prints. I think, that feedback is worth considering, even if no one has collected my works so far ... - With the larger formats, the border does prove advantageous.

Nas, a 4 blade easel is on my wish list. I found this quite affordable RRB easel. It was a no-brainer. The easel arrived today and appears to be very solid. It is not as quick to handle as the small Durst, but the ability to fold it halfway open is much appreciated. It also works well with unruly baryta paper from the roll. Overall, it's a satisfying acquisition.