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Making a Fashion Statement

The world’s only digital enlarger just became better, and taking full advantage if its added facilities is one of the world’s leading photographic colleges.

The De Vere 504DS digital enlarger, which is has the unique capability to take a digital file and photographically expose the image onto traditional black-and-white or colour paper, has been upgraded with a new LCD image processor giving more than twice the resolving power of its original configuration. In addition, new, user-friendly software has been installed to make the enlarger even easier to handle.

First to take advantage of the new 504DS is the London College of Fashion which has installed eight systems into its darkrooms where up to 400 students on the College’s specialist fashion photography courses have been taking full advantage of the facilities incorporated in the systems. The 17.2-megapixel processors enable extreme levels of fidelity when printing the results of the students’ work from the studio. “This system is really superb,” comments Nigel Tribbett, the College’s chief photographer who runs the courses.

“We also have 11 traditional analogue De Vere enlargers in operation for work completed on film, while the 504DS enables students to step straight across to preparing and printing their digital photography. The system fully lives up to everything we expected of it.

“We teach photography and photographic technique from the ground up, and require our students to understand the fundamentals of the photographic process, as well as those aspects specific to the field of fashion photography. Given which, the 504DS is ideal: it provides the perfect combination of a traditional approach with the high technology required in today’s modern photographic marketplace.”

The total 504DS package offers a fully pre-configured system, all factory-set and ready to use. If preferred, the Digital system can be retro-fitted to existing chassis.

Those operators using the full system, however, will benefit from the world-famous De Vere enlarger chassis, among other advantages. This has always been more flexible, more robust, and easier to configure than other enlargers’ bodies, and the 504DS version utilises that facility to the maximum.

An alternative to the standard bench configuration is a wall-mounted version for exposing larger images, along with a fioor-standing model which can also be used with a roll easel for automatic, continuous exposures.

The new compact LED light source is lightweight, generates no heat or noise, and moves from colour to black-and-white at the touch of a switch. The general preference among professionals for this processing method rather than outputting to digital media is well known, both for the longevity of the prints and for the real photographic finish and texture.

Using the 504DS means that these advantages can still be enjoyed while also utilising the facilities provided by digital photography and image capture as well as digital manipulation and correction. It is the perfect answer for professional photographers, laboratories, bureaux and anyone seeking the highest quality standards of production.