I like the look of a 5x7 print on 8x10 paper. I've been using a regular 8x10 mat with a 5x7 window for pictures. I get what I want but the edges are not sharp. What other way is there to do this or is there a "right" way? Thanks.

-- Steven Gordon (sagjrny@hotmail.com), June 06, 1999

Answers

I'm not sure I 100% understand what you're describing you're doing, but it sounds like you put an 8x10 sheet of paper in an 8x10 easel and set the enlarger head so the image size is about 5x7? That way you will have frame edges, or unsharp edges of your neg carrier.

If you have a 4 blade adjustable easel, you can adjust the blades for a 5x7 opening when you use 8x10 paper. That should give you the edges you want -- and the ability to crop if you want.

-- mike rosenlof (mike_rosenlof@yahoo.com), June 06, 1999.

You can also put a 5x7 piece of board down in the middle of your paper and make an exposure that will give you a black border--then make your normal exposure in the middle after removing the board.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@earthlink.net), June 07, 1999.

Steve:

I know exactly what you are talking about. I tried using a 11x14 mat board to produce a large white border on some 16x20 prints and found that the edges were not sharp and that the blacks bled into the white area. You need a metal bladed easel that makes tight contact with the paper surface to get sharp edges.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@worldnet.att.net), June 07, 1999.

Position the 5x7 paper on the 8x10 paper on the easel exactly where you want it (centered, I reckon) from here you can figure out the rest. I did.

-- John L. Blue (bluescreek@hotmail.com), June 12, 1999.