Beseler 23C MF neg carriers

[John Gardner]

Dear All:
Do any of the following negative carriers for Beseler 23C allow you to print the black border around an image (the film “rebate”) on all 4 sides of a 6x6 negative?
#8072 6x9 anti-newton glass carrier
#8074 6X9 regular glass carrier
#8097 6x6 / 6x7 negatrans
I know you can “fake” the black border in various ways, but I’d rather just print it straight from the neg. I’m reluctant to file out a glassless 6x6 carrier since I’m worried that there would not be enough left to hold the negative properly, reliably and flat.
If more than one of those will do it, is any better than the others for use with the standard condenser head? If none of those will are there any other solutions I should consider?
Many thanks for your help,
John

[ann]

make one out of mat board, my students do it all the time. two pieces of 4ply board will do the trick.

[Valerie]

I filed out the edges of a 6x6 neg carrier with a dremel tool. Making one from mat board is great way also.

[John Gardner]

I made one from matt board for a different enlarger years ago and still have it. I may adapt it for the 23C-II but I was wondering if any owners of the carriers mentioned in the original post could comment on the characteristics of those carriers for printing the borders. I've never seen any of those carriers and don't know if they mask the edges of the neg or not the way the stock glassless 6x6, 6x7 etc do.

[Tim Gray]

Ok, the 6x9 AN carrier obviously does not mask two of the sides on a 6x6 neg. I think I have mine adjusted wrong, but you can just barely see the rebate on the other two sides. This is something that should be tweakable by adjusting the strips that hold in the glass. It's harder to explain than it is to see. I haven't looked into it too closely, but when I look at the negative in the carrier, I can clearly see the rebate on all four sides, and some glass to boot. I think I just have something adjusted wrong.

If you really want the rebate, I would get a 6x6 carrier and file it.

[Tim Gray]

Ok I lied. I just pulled out my negative carrier again (8072). The bottom glass and opening is larger than a 6x6 frame on all sides. The top is not. The top has just about the same width as the negative frame itself, but its not wide enough to show the rebate too. Hope this helps.

[eli griggs]

In my experience, mat-board is as good as any store-bought carrier for small format and 6x6, 6x7 medium format films, the largest film sizes I've ever used them for, or care to, if you take the time to do it right. Make it a one piece unit with a hinged top and include a guide for the negative strip at least on one edge, made with paper tape or whatever scheme you care to try.

I've always used black board for these and and suggest you do the same, just remember to black the cut edges of the negative window on your mat board with a couple passes of Sharpie, if it isn't black throughout.

Eli