Ollinger's Guide to Photographic Enlargers: Miscellaneous Make Enlargers

Introduction

A large number of companies made enlargers over the years. Iin cases where I had enough to justify giving a brand its own page, I have done so; these are the rest.

This may be sparse, but in most cases, the information here is all I have to go on, and I'm fortunate I have this much.

Quick Comparison

Make	Model	Country	Era	Format	Baseboard (inches)	Head	Focusing	Autofocus	Column	Ref	Notes
Baco	Precision	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusing condensers	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2
Bogen	Color 69	USA	1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	14 x 17-½"	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Bogen	Mini-35	USA	1960s	35mm	11 x 13	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Singe post	3
Bogen	Salon Special	USA	1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	14 x 17-½"	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Singe post	3
Bogen	Sub II	USA	1960s	35mm	11x13	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	1	Modern Photography Test Feb 1962
Bogen	Super 66 Color	USA	1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"		Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Singe post with parallelogram	3
Compco	620	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusion	Helical	No	Single post	2	Mfg by Compco
Curtis	Enlarging Color Printer	USA	Late 1940s	35mm	n/a	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2	Specially made for color printing. Mfg by Curtis Labs
DeJur	Versatile I	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Mfg by DeJur Amsco
DeJur	Versatile II	USA	Late 1940s	3-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Mfg by DeJur Amsco
DeJur	Versatile Professional	USA	Late 1940s	4x5	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Mfg by DeJur Amsco
Engineered Products	Unicam	USA	Late 1940s	4x5"	n/a	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2	Used owner's camera as the lens stage
Hansa	Prima 35	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	10 x 12	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	1, 3
Hansa	Prima 6 x 6	n/a	mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	14 x 16	Double condenser	Helical	No	Single post with parallelogram	1, 3
Ihagee	Lumimax	n/a	Late 1930s	5x6cm	n/a	n/a	Helical	No	Single post	Link	Comes with wooden case for travel
Keyser	Cold Light	USA	Late 1940s	4x5	n/a	Cold light	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2
Kindermann	Amatofirm III	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	10 x 12	Single condenser	Helical	No	Oblique post	1, 3
Kindermann	Amatofix and Amotfix-Automat	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	16x20	Single condenser	Helical	No	Oblique post	1
Kindermann	Amatograph-Automat	n/a	mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	15-½ x 23-½	Single condenser	Rack & Pinion	Yes	Single post with parallelogram	3
Lewco	Minilite	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusion	Rack & pinion/helical	No	Single post	2
Magnalux	35	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	18 x 24	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Magnalux	120	n/a	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	14 x 19	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Magnalux	Super	n/a	Mid 1960s	4 x 5	18 x 25	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Minori	4 x 5	n/a	Mid 1960s	4 x 5	24 x 30	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Ocean	Ocean	n/a	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	14-½ x 18	Double condenser	Friction	No	Single post	3
Paxomat	IC	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	10 x 12	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	Yes	Single post	1, 3
Paxos	6B	n/a	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	14 x 18	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Paxota	35-S	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	10 x 12	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Oblique post	1
Peco	1A	Canada	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2
Peco	1B	Canada	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	2
Precise	125	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusion	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Optional double-condensers. Mfg by American Photo Labs
Precise	160-A	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Diffusion	Helical	No	Single post	2	Mfg by American Photo Labs
Primos	Autofocus 35 Pro	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	15-½ x 19-½	Double condenser	Helical	Yes	Single post	1
Primos	Autofocus 35 Junior	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	15 x 18-½	Single condenser	Helical	Yes	Single post	1, 3
Primos	Testreflex 35	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	14 x 17-½	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	1, 3, Link	Reflex system for focusing test negative
Primos	Testreflex 2-¼ x 2-¼"	n/a	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	14 x 17-3/4	Single condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3	Reflex system for focusing test negative
Prolarger	Vertical and Horizontal	USA	Late 1940s	35mm	n/a	Triple condenser	Focusing tube	No	n/a	2
Rowi	35	n/a	Mid 1960s	35mm	12-½ x 15	Double condenser	Clamping lever	No	Single post	3
Rowi	66	n/a	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	13-½ x 16-¼	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Saltzman	30-WRC	USA	Late 1940s	5x7	n/a	Cold light	Worm gear	No	n/a	2
Saltzman	MB6A	USA	Late 1940s	8 x 10	n/a	Double condenser	Worm gear	No	n/a	2
Skyview	35	USA	Late 1940s	35mm	n/a	Double condenser	Tube	No	Single post	2	Mfg by Cleveland Instrument Service
Skyview	23 DGE	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Mfg by Cleveland Instrument Service
Skyview	4x5 DGE	USA	Late 1940s	4x5	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2	Mfg by Cleveland Instrument Service
Spiratone	35	USA	Early 1960s	35mm	12x16	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	1,3
Spiratone	4 x 5 Color PA	USA	Mid 1960s	4 x 5	19 x 24	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post with parallelogram	3
Spiratone	4 x 5 Color Pro	USA	Mid 1960s	4 x 5"	19 x 24	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Spiratone	66	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	12 x 16	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Spiratone	D356	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 2-¼"	14 x 20	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Standard	Fixed Focus	USA	Late 1940s	35mm	n/a	Diffusion	Fixed	No	Box	2
Testrite	Fotolarger 100 DC	USA	Mid 1960s	4 x 5	19 x 23	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Parallelogram	3
Testrite	Fotolarger C	USA	Late 1940s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	n/a	Double condenser	Bellows	No	Single post	2
Testrite	Fotolarger E	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	16 x 22	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post with parallelogram	3
Testrite	Fotolarger E2	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	19 x 23	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post with parallelogram	3
Testrite	Fotolarger Junior 1	USA	Mid 1960s	35mm	9 x 12	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	3
Testrite	Fotolarger Junior 2	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	13 x 17	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post with parallelogram	3
Testrite	Fotolarger Merit III	USA	Mid 1960s	2-¼ x 3-¼"	16 x 19	Diffusion	Rack & pinion	No	Single post with parallelogram	3
Thimble	35	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	14x18	Double condenser	Helical	No	Single post	1
Zenith	35	n/a	Early 1960s	35mm	14x19	Double condenser	Rack & pinion	No	Single post	1

Key

Era: It's nearly impossible to get actual production year spans; I've provided this simply to give an idea of when an enlarger was in production.

Focusing:

Bellows means that the lens stage is connected to bellows that expand and collapse, and the bellows are typically moved via a wheel using friction (as opposed to using rack & pinion gears).
Helical focusing means a collar around the lens is turned, and the lens housing is threaded so that the lens moves up and down.
Rack & Pinion means that the lens stage moves up and down via a knob that turns gears.
Tube means that the lens is set into a tube that moves up and down (as opposed to bellows).

Autofocus: not to be confused with what we think of as autofocus today; these enlargers don't focus themselves. What they do is offer a sort of tracking control so that once the image is focussed, it says in focus as you change the elevation of the head for cropping.

Column: all columns are assumed to be vertical unless oblique is noted. Oblique columns (i.e. angled forward) are nice at higher head elevations because the image won't expand back across the column post when the head is at the top of the post. On smaller enlargers this wouldn't be a problem, but at larger magnifications (and with lenses with shorter focal lengths), this can become a concern.

References

Modern Photography magazine, October 1962
Modern Photography magazine, December 1949
Modern Photography magazine, February 1965