Versalab's Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool
 

Good day.

Apparently, some sales people at Calumet are telling customers that
Versalab no longer makes the Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool.

Not True! We still make them and people still love them.

Just wanted to let people know what's going on.

Thank you.

Laura @ versalab.com

Hey Dave:
Is this technique documented somewhere?
-Lew
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
...
On 3/22/2005 11:55 AM laura spake thus:

Apparently, some sales people at Calumet are telling customers that
Versalab no longer makes the Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool.

Not True! We still make them and people still love them.

Just wanted to let people know what's going on.

Thank you.

Laura @ versalab.com

That's nice to know, but you should also know that anybody can do the same
job (accurately aligning their enlarger) with a simple technique requiring
only two ordinary mirrors.


--
"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

laura wrote:
Good day.

Apparently, some sales people at Calumet are telling customers that
Versalab no longer makes the Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool.

Not True! We still make them and people still love them.

Just wanted to let people know what's going on.

Thank you.

Laura @ versalab.com

That's great. I have one and love it.

I have a question, though. I've had the parallel for 5 years, and I
haven't replaced the battery. Should I do this myself, or would it
better be done at the factory?

-Peter De Smidt
www.desmidt.net

On 3/22/2005 1:51 PM Lew spake thus:

Hey Dave:
Is this technique documented somewhere?

Yep; several places, but the only one I can find just at the moment is
http://members.rpa.net/~choffman/beseler01.htm.

The method is actually very simple: One mirror is cut in a narrow strip that
will be held in the enlarger's negative carrier, mirror side down, sticking
out in front. A small clear spot is either drilled or scratched away so you
can see down through it, with a dark circle drawn around the clear spot on the
mirror. The second mirror is simply laid flat on the baseboard.
(Alternatively, you could put a paper reinforcing ring around the clear spot.
Anything that's visible will work.)

To align the enlarger, simply look down through the hole/clear spot in the top
mirror at the bottom mirror. You'll see a repeated pattern of the dark circle
in a "hall of mirrors" effect. When the enlarger is in alignment, the repeated
reflections will merge together into one image (or close to it, anyhow). This
means that the negative stage and baseboard are parallel.

This method is as accurate as it is possible to align any enlarger. No fancy
store-bought equipment is necessary.

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
...

On 3/22/2005 11:55 AM laura spake thus:

Apparently, some sales people at Calumet are telling customers that
Versalab no longer makes the Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool.

Not True! We still make them and people still love them.

Just wanted to let people know what's going on.

Thank you.

Laura @ versalab.com

That's nice to know, but you should also know that anybody can do the same
job (accurately aligning their enlarger) with a simple technique requiring
only two ordinary mirrors.


--
"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 3/22/2005 11:55 AM laura spake thus:

Apparently, some sales people at Calumet are telling customers that
Versalab no longer makes the Parallel laser enlarger alignment tool.

Not True! We still make them and people still love them.

Just wanted to let people know what's going on.

Thank you.

Laura @ versalab.com

That's nice to know, but you should also know that anybody can do the same job
(accurately aligning their enlarger) with a simple technique requiring only
two ordinary mirrors.


That's true. Unfortunately, even with an large enlarger (Durst G139)
this mirror method is a PITA, and the Versalab is a joy to work. I
aligned my enlargers with mirrors for years and bought the Versalab some
time ago, now I never want to align an enlarger without it.

Martin

mar2405 from Lloyd Erlick,

Uh-oh. Have I been silly again? I've been relying on
the hype around my durst enlarger (L1200). Supposedly
they do not fall out of alignment. Not true?

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

"Lloyd Erlick" Lloyd at @the-wire. dot com wrote

Uh-oh. Have I been silly again? I've been relying on
the hype around my durst enlarger (L1200). Supposedly
they do not fall out of alignment. Not true?

I imagine it depends on how far it fell and what it fell on.


--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
psst.. want to buy an f-stop timer? nolindan.com/da/fstop/

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:

I still, however, lust for a Versalab when alignment
time comes around.


I don't lust at all. In my mind the the proof of a good
alignment is an enlarged, distortion free, all corners sharp,
projection. The proof of that is on the easel. So, I still
maintain that the best method of alignment makes use of a
square, a ruler, and of course, the tools needed for
the adjustments.
Secondary surfaces and indirect proofs are by that method
factored out. What you see is what you get. Dan