Camera Obscura

Some more printing frame characteristics

The color of the felt layer on the base is opaque black, to minimize the reflection of light on the bottom. In fact, when printing transparent material such as glass or films, the light that bypasses the clear part of the negative also passes through the transparent support and the bottom of the printing frame spreads it, printing a shady image. This printing frame, thanks to its black base, can be also used to duplicate contact negatives.

Simultaneous opening of a lateral and central panel. Note the T set of the hinges at the bottom that prevents lights infiltrations from behind.

The base is divided into three panels and it is entirely removable for the printing positioning. To control the exposition, the two lateral panels can be independently opened, together or one lateral with the central one. This system allows the contemporary inspection of two third of the image and the access to the entire image, allowing the control of the exposition in every point. Lateral panels are gifted with rings that make taking and opening easy.

Hinges of bottom panels are T milled, so that the base is impenetrable for light. This is an essential characteristic not to obtain exposed lines on the print in correspondence to the junction lines of the three panels, due to infiltrations from the back.

Frame inner borders are made to eliminate shadows of the frame itself from the image area, problem that particularly afflicts the frame layers with a light point source. It gives the possibility to completely use the designated image area and avoid the common exposition irregularities near to the borders.

Glass can be completely removed, to facilitate a complete cleaning or washing, or the substitution if broken. The plate never touches the wood but the felt and a neoprene band interposed between the glass and the frame of the structure. This way, pressure doesn’t concentrate on wood imperfections or on little grains that could intervene between glass and structure, one of the principle causes of negative brake on glass.

Printing frame variants

When printing on exceptionally thin and wrinkly papers, it could be necessary to augment the pressure stronger than the normal levels. Glass must be substituted with a thicker one, to pushes the limits of the pressure knobs and not breaking it. A thick glass can lengthen exposition times and that’s the reason why the printing frame has a standard glass of 3mm that stands pressures able to keep all the used prints supports.

It is possible to ask for personalized printing frames, to print on materials thicker than 2cm. The print area can also vary. Special printing frames that accept even 50×70cm size are available. It is also possible to order printing frames that prints negatives on 40×120cm rolls, with 6 bottom panels and 12 pressure points.

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