Saunders/LPL 4500II and 4550 XL
Both enlargers are made by LPL in Japan. They ere sold in the USA by Saunders and are no sold by Omega.
Overview:
These enlargers are primarily for medium and large format because the Leitz Focomat V35 can only enlarge 35mm
negatives and is probably the better 35mm enlarger. If the Leitz Focomat is in use, you can use one of the LPL
enlargers.
The LPL 4500II has the standard length column and uses 200 att bulbs. DO NOT put in a 250 att bulb!
The LPL 4550XL enlarger has the XL (extra long) length column and uses up to 250 att bulbs. The XL should be
used for larger enlargements & dense (more opaque) negatives because it uses a 250 att bulb instead of the 200 att
bulb used by the LPL 4500II enlarger.
Both enlargers have Variable Contrast Constant Exposure (VCCE) heads. When using variable contrast paper, this
provides approximately the same exposure time regardless of hat contrast grade is set on the VCCE head. It is
easier to focus ithout the variable contrast filter in the optical path to give maximum brightness by setting the
VCCE's lever to Focus. Do not forget to set this lever to the Enlarge position hen you expose variable contrast
paper! If printing on single contrast grade paper ith a dense negative, you can get more light in the Focus setting
Standard operating procedure
Select which LPL enlarger to use
Raise the dust cover to see hich enlarger has the lens appropriate for your negative size. 35mm should use a 50mm
lens but moderate enlargements can be made ith the 75mm or 80mm lenses. Medium format should use the 75mm,
80mm, 90mm, or 100mm lenses. 4x5" negatives should use the 100mm or 135mm lens.
DO NO change the lens on the enlarger unless you are a Darkroom Docent and have the lights on. Changing the
lens must be done properly or it ill not clamp securely and ill fall out, damaging the lens. Call a darkroom docent
if you must have the lens changed.
Remove the dust cover completely. Unlock the head by loosening the Carriage Lock Knob on the left side. Then
grasp the adjacent Elevation Handle Bar to move the head up or do n so that you can easily see hat you are doing.
Finally tighten the Carriage Lock Knob so the head ill not move on the column.
Put an appropriate size enlarging easel on the enlarger baseboard.
Place negative in negative carrier, then gently slide negative carrier into enlarger
Select the appropriate size negative carrier. This may already be in one of the 4500 enlargers, the plastic rack
bet een the enlargers, or the labeled dra er. If the carrier you need is in one of the 4500 enlargers, rotate the
Negative Carrier Holder Handle on the left side of the enlarger head to point up to ards the Insert/Remove Negative
Carrier position. Then gently slide the negative carrier out. If you ill not be using this enlarger, put another negative
carrier in the enlarger and then rotate the Negative Carrier Holder Handle to the Focus/Print & Storage position and
put the dust cover over the enlarger.
The LPL carriers are labeled for the size negative they fit. We have one 35mm, one 6x6cm, one 6x7cm, t o 6x9cm,
and t o of the 4x5" glass carriers. Al ays return the carrier to the rack or dra er. Regardless of hich carrier you
use, al ays be a are there is glass in the 4x5 carriers. The Omega negative holders ill also ork in the LPL but
should only be used if you need a second 35mm negative carrier or a glassless 4x5" negative carrier. The Omega
negative carriers are stored in the dra er.
Ver 2.41 2017-09-19
