Beseler 45 Negative Carrier – 3x4

⚠ Please Read the Instructions First

These carriers work like the original Beseler carriers, but they are plastic, not metal, and plastic has to be handled differently. The included PDF walks through printing and assembly step by step. Following it is the surest way to a carrier that works the way it should.

Printable replacement negative carrier for Beseler 45-series enlargers, for 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 (quarter-plate) negatives.

3 1/4 x 4 1/4 sheet film has been out of production from the major makers for decades, so most people shooting it today cut it down from larger sheets. A 5x7 sheet yields two pieces and an 8x10 sheet yields up to five.

Hinged, One-Piece Carrier

Works like the original Beseler carriers. The top plate is joined to the bottom by a print-in-place hinge, so it opens, loads and closes exactly like the OEM part. This is not a two-piece sandwich you have to assemble before it goes into the enlarger. Original Beseler 45 carriers locate with pins; the later 23C carriers use a locating ring. This carrier uses a ring sized for the 45 so both series share one parametric design. The difference is in form only: it seats and centers the carrier in the stage exactly as the pins do.

Only additional items needed: CA (super) glue and a hammer.

Not for Commercial Use

This model is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Print it for yourself, for friends, or for your camera club. Selling prints or files, whether on eBay, Etsy, print-on-demand services or anywhere else, requires a commercial license. Contact me to arrange one.

Specifications

• Enlarger: Fits all Beseler 45-series enlargers (45M, 45MX, 45MCRX, 45MX-II, 45MXT, 45V-XL and variants).

• Film: 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 sheet film, also called quarter-plate

• Used with: 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 press and view cameras, including the Graflex Pacemaker Speed and Crown Graphic and Graflex SLRs, plus 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 sheet film, film pack and roll film holders

Print Settings

• 0.08 mm layer height, 0.4 mm nozzle

• PLA, opaque matte black recommended (pins may be a light color)

• Print on the smoothest plate you have; avoid textured plates

• Do NOT use any XY hole compensation; the pin holes are an interference fit

• Top and bottom usually need separate plates

Files

• Negative_Carrier_Beseler_45_3x4_Bambu.3mf (Bambu Studio)

• Negative_Carrier_Beseler_45_3x4_Generic.3mf (other slicers, tested in PrusaSlicer)

• Negative_Carrier_Beseler_45_3x4_top.stl (top plate with print-in-place hinge)

• Negative_Carrier_Beseler_45_3x4_bottom.stl (bottom plate)

• NegativeCarrier_Aligment_Pins_Undercut_All.stl (4 pins per carrier)

• Beseler_23C_45_Negative_Carrier_Printing_And_Assembly_Instructions.pdf

Assembly

Full steps are in the included PDF: drive the 4 undercut pins, break the print-in-place hinge free, then glue the hinge to the bottom plate with CA glue.

Support This Work

Every carrier here is free and always will be. If one has earned a place in your darkroom and you'd like to say thanks, the tip jar is here: https://www.printables.com/@jschwefel_1261537/collections/3772975 Thank-you plaques at f/5.6 ($5), f/8 ($8) and f/11 ($11).