Equal White Borders

[woolwinder]

Why not acquire a used sheet of paper of the size needed, secure it into the correctly set top and left hand side, draw a line along these faces, turn the paper around 180 degs and then set the 2 moveable blades to the lines. This is valid for the standard Paterson or Lucky easels. It works for me.

[fschifano]

I have a Saunders 4 bladed easel. Slide the paper into the channel and to the left. Everything lines up perfectly every time. No guesswork. End of story.

[dslater]

I have a Saunders 4 bladed easel. Slide the paper into the channel and to the left. Everything lines up perfectly every time. No guesswork. End of story.

That's your version of the easel. I also have a Saunders 4 bladed easel and if I slide the paper all the way to the left in the channel, my left and right borders are slightly uneven.

[Monophoto]

When it was new, I believe it came with a small spacer that was inserted into the left-hand side of the slot... and you placed the paper against that "filler" for centered prints.

Ken

Actually, Saunders design has three slots - one for 5x7 paper, one for 8x10 paper, and one for 11x14 paper. The filler was used to center paper for making 4x5" prints using the 5x7" paper slot.

A way of calibrating your process involves using a defective print (don't tell me that all of your prints are perfect!). After it has dried, flip it over to work on the back. Load it into your easel. with the paper moved as far to the left as it will go in the slot. Then, adjust the masks using the scales on the sides, and then use them to draw a line on the back of the print where the border will be. Take the print out of the easel and inspect the border. If it is even, you are golden. But if it is off, you can measure how much you need to shift the borders, and in which direction. Then, you can use shift to bias your border adjustments. You probably need to repeat the process for each of the slots in your easel.

But you also should recognize that the dimensions of paper is not always exact, and if you purchase a new pack of paper, you may find that it is slightly larger or smaller in one dimension, thereby confounding your calibration.

I have a related problem - I routinely cut 11x14 paper into two 7x10" sheets plus a couple of test strips. Then, when I use the 8x10" slot in the easel, I have a centering problem.

I've concluded that the answer is to do the best that I can, and then be prepared to trim the print after it has been processed and dried. The various steps involved in processing frequently cause the edges of the paper to be abused, and trimming has the advantage of also restoring a clean edge.

[PHOTOTONE]

Another thing to consider..Fixed, washed and dried fibre paper may be slightly different in size than fresh, unexposed paper. If you are setting your easel blades, you should use (sacrifice) a fresh unprocessed sheet. You can put the paper in the easel, then use a pen and draw a square with the easel blades as the straight edge, take the paper out and look at the square..if the outside is not even, then adjust the easel blades and draw another line.

[Steve Smith]

Why not acquire a used sheet of paper of the size needed, secure it into the correctly set top and left hand side, draw a line along these faces, turn the paper around 180 degs and then set the 2 moveable blades to the lines.

This is exactly what I do. I also find that I have to tape together the two ends of the blades to ensure that they stay parallel to the edges of the paper.


Steve.

[pentaxuser]

This is exactly what I do. I also find that I have to tape together the two ends of the blades to ensure that they stay parallel to the edges of the paper.


Steve.

Steve I think you are talking about a 2 baded easel here but I'd like to be sure. It's just that the OP started talking about a 4 blade easel and posted a picture. I always thought that one of the reasons for the 4 bladed variety and their cost was that the design prevented any deviation from parallel as well as ensuring enginering type accuracy on borders.

I have often thought of getting a 4 bladed one but even secondhand they are expensive. I certainly won't bother if parallel and accurate borders can't be guaranteed.

Thanks

pentaxuser

[Steve Smith]

Steve I think you are talking about a 2 baded easel here but I'd like to be sure. It's just that the OP started talking about a 4 blade easel and posted a picture.

You are absolutely correct. I didn't notice it was a four blade. Could the same method of marking a sheet and rotating it 180 degrees still be used to line it up though?


Steve.

[jeroldharter]

I have an almost identical Saunders easel and the instructions for mine say to insert the paper in the slot and slide it fully to the left end of the slot.

I do this on my easel and my borders are always even.

hope this helps.

Me too.