Can anyone tell me anything about a recent garage sale find? I have found a "Kodak Amateur Printer" (says on the Id plate) which appears to be some sort of box for contact printing???. It is a wooden box about 8"X8"x10" with a top that has a glass piece inset about the size of a 4x5 sheet of film which is then covered by a hinged piece of wood. There is also some sliding masks that reduce the size on the glass area even smaller. Inside the box are two lightbulb holders(one still has a red bulb in it (I have not plugged it in yet) and theres a way to slide and move the two bulbs forward and sideward directly under the glass. Im assuming this is some sort of contact printer for formats 4x5 and under but Im not sure. Were contact prints typical for small format? I would like to use it if this is what its for but I have never seen anything like it. Is it for contact printing?

-- bill zelinski (willy226@yahoo.com), May 20, 2000

Answers

Yep, sure is. I use mine all the time. A 25 watt white bulb gives 2-3 second exposures on Azo. It is handy if you want to make a run of multiple prints from the same neg.

Check the red bulb to make sure the coating has not cracked.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), May 21, 2000.

Cool, I'm off to get some Azo, thanks Tony.

-- bill zelinski (willy226@yahoo.com), May 21, 2000.

I was rummaging around in my Dad's old darkroom equipment and found a similar device.It is an "Albert Viceroy" contact printer, basically a large metal box with a small red safelight and a white frosted lightbulb inside. The lights are activated by a plunger switch when the pressure plate/platen? is lowered. There is frosted glass midway up the box and clear glass with masking blades on top It looks like it will accomodate a 4X5 neegative. It still works! I wonder if your device is similar?

-- Robert Orofino (rorofino@iopener.net), May 29, 2000.

Its identical, not sure why there are two bulbs though.

-- bill zelinski (willy226@yahoo.com), May 30, 2000.