PDA

View Full Version : Four-blade Easel


Miha
10th October 2009, 03:37 PM
Any recommendation on a good four-blade 12x16 (30x40cm) easel. Those made by Kaiser still go for 500€, LPL is about half the price. I know many would advocate the importance of a good easel for the hassle-free darkroom workflow. But 500€ seems too much, or am I wrong? What is your experience?

Thanks, Miha

Trevor Crone
10th October 2009, 04:13 PM
Hi Miha, I purchased a Dunco 16"x20" 4 blade second hand a while ago. Still cost me £200+ but one of the best darkroom purchases I've ever made. A real joy to use, being rock solid and precise.

Miha
10th October 2009, 04:29 PM
one of the best darkroom purchases I've ever made.

Hi, Trevor. So it is true. I use one of the cheaper Kaiser two-blade easels, not rock-solid at all. It also takes time to aligne the paper properly. And blades won't stay in the open position either.

Thanks for the tip on Dunco.

Bob
11th October 2009, 12:14 AM
I have a four-blade LPL (one with the yellow base) and although it is perfectly fine in use, I doubt it is up to the quality of Dunco and certainly not the now defunct Beard easels. It does not appear to have any way to adjust the square-ness of the blades which is a bit of an omission, but mine do not need it (yet!). It is the easel I use 95% of the time - only when printing too large for it do I reach for the big 2-blade Beard...

On the plus side, if buying second-hand, Dunco (if you can find one) and Beard (ditto) will quite likely have been used (and abused) in a pro lab whereas an LPL will probably have seen gentler use in a serious amateur's darkroom.

Good hunting!

B&W Neil
11th October 2009, 12:04 PM
The Beard 4 blade or 2 blade easels are very good and built to last. I use both the 4 and 2 blade Beard easels, but prefer the 2 blade versions.

Neil.

Miha
11th October 2009, 03:52 PM
Bob, does your LPL look like this: http://www.fotoimpex.de/cgi-bin/shop/de/index.cgi?plugin=imgviewer&wkid=15471716562474415&img=/artikel/15855.jpg

Neil, do you prefer the two-blade version because it's (I presume) easier to center the paper?

Thanks!

Dave miller
11th October 2009, 04:13 PM
I have a Beard 4 blade easel,which is very good but slow to change print sizes. I believe the Dunco unit to be a much better design and although very expensive, worth the money.

Miha
11th October 2009, 04:24 PM
The above link doesn't work :confused: Here is the picture:

http://www.khbphotografix.com/LPL/Images/14x17easel_240w.jpg
Miha

Bob
11th October 2009, 06:25 PM
The above link doesn't work :confused: Here is the picture:

http://www.khbphotografix.com/LPL/Images/14x17easel_240w.jpg
Miha

Yes, that's the bunny - although mine has white blades.

I should have mentioned that, if it is the same size as mine, it is only designed to hold paper up to 11x14 inches. Having said that, 12x16 inch paper will fit under the blades just fine as long as you want a wide border - 11x14 is as wide as the blades will go. You need to mock up some card spacers for 12x16" as the easel has channels to hold the paper centred for the smaller sizes but not for 12x16".

B&W Neil
11th October 2009, 07:06 PM
Bob, does your LPL look like this: http://www.fotoimpex.de/cgi-bin/shop/de/index.cgi?plugin=imgviewer&wkid=15471716562474415&img=/artikel/15855.jpg

Neil, do you prefer the two-blade version because it's (I presume) easier to center the paper?

Thanks!


Like Dave I find the 4 blade Beard slow to adjust so I tend to use my 2 blade Beards as they are much easier to use, they also have a white baseboard which I prefer. The advantage of a 4 blade is does not need to be moved about under the enlarger where 2 blade boards do. But this is not a problem if you are using the correct sized 2 blade board. If you use say a 12x16 2 blade board for 10x8 papers you will find it will overhang the bench occassionally and can be knocked. So I use a 10x12 2 blade for small prints and a 12x16 2 blade for large prints. I used my 4 blade easel more when I was doing colour work and puttling black edge lines around my prints.

Neil.

Miha
11th October 2009, 07:09 PM
I should have mentioned that, if it is the same size as mine, it is only designed to hold paper up to 11x14 inches. Having said that, 12x16 inch paper will fit under the blades just fine as long as you want a wide border - 11x14 is as wide as the blades will go. You need to mock up some card spacers for 12x16" as the easel has channels to hold the paper centred for the smaller sizes but not for 12x16".

Bob, thank you for the additional info on the LPL. I have noticed that fotoimpex describes it as 11x14/(30x40 cm) which is of course not correct. In Continental Europe 30x40 cm is much more common size and also the size I choose when I want to print large. I also want to keep the border as narrow as possible, so I will probably skip this one.

Miha

Bob
11th October 2009, 07:17 PM
Bob, thank you for the additional info on the LPL. I have noticed that fotoimpex describes it as 11x14/(30x40 cm) which is of course not correct. In Continental Europe 30x40 cm is much more common size and also the size I choose when I want to print large. I also want to keep the border as narrow as possible, so I will probably skip this one.

MihaYes indeed, much less than 30x40cm. 11x14 inches is 27.9 x 35.6cm and that is as wide as the opening with the blades fully retracted to the sides.

Miha
11th October 2009, 07:17 PM
Like Dave I find the 4 blade Beard slow to adjust so I tend to use my 2 blade Beards as they are much easier to use, they also have a white baseboard which I prefer. The advantage of a 4 blade is does not need to be moved about under the enlarger where 2 blade boards do. But this is not a problem if you are using the correct sized 2 blade board. If you use say a 12x16 2 blade board for 10x8 papers you will find it will overhang the bench occassionally and can be knocked. So I use a 10x12 2 blade for small prints and a 12x16 2 blade for large prints. I used my 4 blade easel more when I was doing colour work and puttling black edge lines around my prints.

Neil.

Neil, I have two smaller easels (18x24 cm and 24x30 cm), so i might as well go for the 2 blade in 12x16 inc size (no need to move it under the enlarger) and save some money.

Thanks, Miha

Dave miller
11th October 2009, 07:32 PM
I think you may be missing the most valuable attribute of the 4 blade easel, and that is the ability of printing a small image on a large sheet of paper, and also printing the image with different size borders. The 4 blade easel is much more versatile than any 2 bladed unit; and you only need one of them.

Miha
11th October 2009, 07:44 PM
Dave, but printing a small image on a large paper could also be accomplished wit a 2 blade easel. At least with a Kaiser enlarger as the column is quite far from the optical axis of the lens. You are right about the different size of the borders, but I usually print full-frame.

Thanks, Miha

Ian David
11th October 2009, 09:57 PM
I second Trevor's Dunco recommendation. I bought one of these from Silverprint a few years ago and it is excellent.
One of the issues that I used to have with (some) 2-blade easels was the faint extra density that often appeared along the two edges of the print that sit under the fixed edges of the easel. Although the fixed edges were painted black and beveled away from the printing surface, there was still a slight reflection of light onto the corresponding edges of the print. Many people don't seem to notice/worry about this, and I have seen it present sometimes in otherwise excellent prints in galleries/exhibitions, but it always bothered me personally...
Ian

Trevor Crone
11th October 2009, 10:20 PM
SNIP; One of the issues that I used to have with (some) 2-blade easels was the faint extra density that often appeared along the two edges of the print that sit under the fixed edges of the easel. Although the fixed edges were painted black and beveled away from the printing surface, there was still a slight reflection of light onto the corresponding edges of the print. Many people don't seem to notice/worry about this, and I have seen it present sometimes in otherwise excellent prints in galleries/exhibitions, but it always bothered me personally...
Ian

Ian, that was the very reason why I opted for the four blade. That extra density along the two edges you refer to was just so annoying.

Ian David
12th October 2009, 05:31 AM
What was it they say about great minds and thinking alike...? :D

Dave miller
12th October 2009, 06:24 AM
For those of you now interested, and searching under your beds for you gold hoard, details of these easels may be found HERE (http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ProductByGroup.asp?PrGrp=1021).

B&W Neil
12th October 2009, 08:31 AM
Neil, I have two smaller easels (18x24 cm and 24x30 cm), so i might as well go for the 2 blade in 12x16 inc size (no need to move it under the enlarger) and save some money.

Thanks, Miha

Miha, yes, that would be an option if you are sure you do not want the extra 4 blade functions Dave has mentioned. I seem to do most of my work on the exellent pro quality Beard 2 blade easels and occasionally use the 4 blade when I have something different in mind. It all depends how much you are happy to spend I guess and what you want to do. 12x16 2 blade Beards do come up s/h from time to time at a reasonable price and are a nice piece of kit. Check out the Secondhand Darkroom Shop and other sources.

Neil.

Les McLean
12th October 2009, 07:15 PM
The Beard 4 blade may take a little longer to adjust but they guarantee perfectly adjusted and square images on the paper, unlike many other easels including some 4 blade that are totally unreliable.

Miha
12th October 2009, 07:59 PM
Thank you all for your input. It looks like I'm going for Beard hunting.;)

Martin Aislabie
12th October 2009, 10:09 PM
Any recommendation on a good four-blade 12x16 (30x40cm) easel. Those made by Kaiser still go for 500€, LPL is about half the price. I know many would advocate the importance of a good easel for the hassle-free darkroom workflow. But 500€ seems too much, or am I wrong? What is your experience?

Thanks, Miha

I have a Kaiser 20x16 4 Blade easel

A nice piece of kit & easy to adjust

With my bad back I just wish it wasn't quite so heavy :o

Whether or not you consider high end 4 Blade Easels to be value for money is a very personal choice

Martin

Martin Reed
13th October 2009, 09:52 AM
I second Trevor's Dunco recommendation. I bought one of these from Silverprint a few years ago and it is excellent....
Ian

DUNCO as a manufacturer is still around, we're just ordering up another batch of easels. I hope they manage to carry on, as a dwindling stock of discontinued Beards & Saunders won't last for ever. The best easel (probably) ever made was the SaltHill one, we got 6 of the 16x20" ones in from the US just before Joe Saltser folded the business up.

I've still got an 11x14" SaltHill and am hanging onto it, one day maybe it will be a template for a new professional easel.

Here's a picture - the best bit is the extra blade that locates the paper. But apart from that it's really smooth in the mechanics and very heavily built. If you see one at a good price snap it up, but they're very rare.

RH Designs
18th October 2009, 08:15 AM
I have a Beard 4-blade and wouldn't go back to a two-blade for 99% of my printing. However, when printing portrait format (e.g. from 645 negs) I sometimes need to turn it through 90 degrees, and this means the enlarger column gets in the way when I want to raise the easel blades. Two other minor niggles - the black baseboard means you need a blank sheet of paper on which to focus (some might argue you should do that anyway to ensure accurate focus), and once the blades are lowered there's nothing to hold the paper in position other than the blades, and if you're not careful you can knock the paper out of position as you lower them. I keep a finger pressed on the paper as I lower them, but it's not completely foolproof. I usually place a strip magnet on two blades as well, once lowered, for extra security. But I've had the thing for years and have no thoughts of changing to another brand.

Miha
1st October 2012, 05:59 PM
To my great surprise I found a Kindermann 4-blade 16x12 easel made by Dunco with 50% discount at a local photo store which didn't even list it on-line. They also had a Kaiser 2-blade easel (Topmask?) for about the same price.