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Facts, figures and specifications of enLARGE

  • WHAT IS enLARGE? enLARGE is a revolutionary new app designed for use with your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and your traditional optical darkroom enlarger. It lets you conveniently compute the exposure time needed to expose a larger enlargement once you know the exposure time needed to expose a smaller trial enlargement made first from the same negative. Thus using enLARGE you can test small — as small as 1X magnification, thus the trial enlargement can be as small as its source negative or larger — and then print matching enlargements of any larger size or sizes without making preliminary tests or erroneous prints at the larger sizes. This saves time, photo paper and processing chemistry. It also helps you make better looking enlargements by letting you work on your preliminary tests as small whole frame images rather than larger sectional test strips. Similarly enLARGE lets you easily make broad sets of differently sized perfectly matching enlargements from the one negative instead of enlarging to just one size only. In providing this functionality enLARGE also tracks and computes your enlargement’s dodge & burn times, compensates for your print paper’s dry-down, and manages split exposures, in which the larger enlargement’s exposure time is given using a series of shorter exposures. 
  • ENLARGER COMPATIBILITY: enLARGE works with both vertical and horizontal enlargers having negative formats of all sizes, eg. from negative formats of 8x11mm to 11x14” and beyond, and with enlarging lenses of all focal lengths, eg.15mm to 680mm and beyond, including wide-angle enlarging lenses, and with enlargers having condenser, diffusion, cold-light grid, dichroic, multigrade and LED panel lamphouses.
  • CONTRAST & FILTRATION CONTROL COMPATIBILITY: enLARGE is compatible with all kinds of contrast and filtration control, including in-drawer filter gels, below-lens filters, dichroic and multigrade heads. It is compatible with neutral density filtration and enlarging lamp dimmers. It is compatible with split-grade and split-exposure enlarging. However, do not use enLARGE with polarising filters or variable neutral density filters which incorporate polarising filters placed in the projection path, as these will give erroneous results, as polarising filters transmit differing amounts of light under the differing optical geometries which are found in an enlarger at different enlargement sizes.
  • ENLARGEMENT MAGNIFICATION RANGE: enLARGE works at all magnifications above 1X, thus when the projected image is the same size as its source negative or larger. enLARGE does not compute enlargement reductions, thus below 1X. enLARGE does not incorporate or use any preset print sizes, formats or shapes, instead you can use enLARGE at any and all enlargement magnifications above 1X, with no upper limit.
  • OPERATING METHOD: When using enLARGE you never need to measure the size of your film negative or projected image, or compute the magnification of your projected image. Instead you simply measure the enlarger’s negative-to-print distance, thus the straight-line distance between the negative in the enlarger and the print paper at the print easel, using a metric tape measure, or for greater distances or with horizontal enlargers, a laser measure, and enLARGE makes its computations using this value. 
  • EXPOSURE TIME DISPLAY & DATA ENTRY: enLARGE displays its computed forecast exposure times to one decimal place (eg. 2.3 sec, 87.9 sec) for exposures up to 100 seconds, and then in whole seconds over 100 seconds (eg. 110 sec, 347 sec), with no upper exposure time limit. It displays associated dodge & burn exposure times, thus required for each current enlargement, in whole seconds, rounded up to the nearest whole second. Negative-to-Print distances, as measured at the enlarger by the user, must be entered into the enLARGE work screen as either whole millimeters or as millimeters to one or more decimal places.
  • REQUIRED CALIBRATION WITH ENLARGER: Prior to use, enLARGE requires calibration to at least one enlarger in order to work accurately with it. During the calibration process, which you perform in the darkroom using your enlarger, your wet processing line and a few small scraps of photographic print paper, enLARGE records the relative difference in the brightness of your enlarger at two different enlargement magnifications, representing the smallest and largest enlargements you would typically wish to make with the enlarger in its particular configuration of lamphouse, negative format and enlarging lens. It stores this data as an enlarger calibration profile which it then uses to perform accurate predictive exposure computations for the making of enlargements of all sizes with the equipment. enLARGE stores an unlimited number of enlarger calibration profiles so that you can conveniently use it with any number of different enlargers or enlarger assemblies.
  • iPhone, iPod touch and iPad COMPATIBILITY: enLARGE runs on all iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices using iOS 9 and higher. It is not available on any other computing platform. In order to see all input and output data on all screens of enLARGE, your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad must be set to operate in Light mode, not Dark mode. Go to your device’s Settings menu and select Display & Brightness and select Light. Due to the way enLARGE is typically used in the enlarging process, there is typically no need to use it in a ‘lights-out’ darkroom condition in which the lit up screen of a device could accidentally spoil light-sensitive materials. Instead you will typically use enLARGE under white light conditions when planning your enlargement and then later when assessing test and final prints at the wet tray or drying station.
  • ACCURACY: Provided that enLARGE is accurately calibrated to the enlarger in use, according to the instructions explained in this blog, it has no error. Thus variously sized enlargements made using enLARGE, from any one negative, can be made to match each other identically in their tonality, contrast and overall 'look' and appearance, the only visible difference between them being their relative sizes. enLARGE can also be programmed to compute exposure times according to any desired bias, thus, for example, that all enlarged prints dry to look eg. +10% darker than their smaller trial enlargements, or 5% lighter, etc. 
  • PURCHASE PRICE & UPGRADES: The purchase price, payable when purchasing enLARGE on the Apple App Store, supplies the full app for permanent use. There is nothing else to pay, purchase or add. enLARGE does not carry any advertising or promotional content, and it does not ask you to make any further purchases. All future upgrades are provided free of charge, simply download them from the Apple App Store as they become available.
  • DEVELOPMENT: enLARGE has been developed by Andrew G. Wittner, Dip. Art & Design, Photography, PCAE, Melbourne Australia, a Master Darkroom Printer and enlarger operator with over 45 years of darkroom enlarging experience, and Soan K. S. Saini, a university trained professional programmer and specialist in Apple iOS coding, both of Melbourne, Australia. It was launched on the Apple App Store in June 2017 and has users worldwide in over 20 countries.
  • CONTACT & SUPPORT: Contact Andrew G. Wittner directly using email andrew.wittner.photography@gmail.com. On Facebook Messenger contact Andrew Wittner.
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