“ The guy (or gal) who invented that thing is right up there on my list of heros alongside the guy who invented rollfilm, possibly as high as the guy who invented beer! It has changed the process of aligning my enlarger from a half-hour white-knuckle ordeal to a two-minute snap. “
Ed Spence

We do not accept purchase orders from schools.

Photographic reproduction equipment is only correctly aligned when the easel, the negative, and the lens mount are all accurately aligned parallel to each other. If they are not, the work will suffer.

There are many ways to verify alignment but only one stands out as the most convenient to use. The PARALLEL is a small, battery powered, very carefully aligned laser beam projector. Used with the supplied reflectors, it becomes a very clear and simple to understand alignment indicating system. Accuracy of alignment is determined by the position of the red reflected laser dot. If everything is parallel, the red dot is reflected back to the center of the target. Misalignment becomes obvious if the dot is anywhere other than the center of the target. The progress of corrective adjustment is easily followed by watching the position of the dot as it moves in response to the changing alignment.

“It's a gem and worth its price…. I have three enlargers for workshops I teach from my studio and with the Versalab I can align them quickly and absolutely on the money. What you'll find is that they give a level of accuracy which probably surpasses the finesse with which you can align the enlarger. With the laser tool registering alignment, for example, just tightening the hold down bolts on my Beseler 45 MX (granted not an alignment friendly enlarger) show me the planes are going out of parallel.”
William Laven

The PARALLEL is fast and easy. Imagine, right in the middle of a printing session in the darkroom you become suspicious that your enlarger is not aligned. Just set the PARALLEL on the easel and turn it on, hold the reflector against the face of the lens (or remove the lens and substitute the reflector for the negative in the negative carrier) and the alignment is instantly verified! No squinting, no fiddling, no fussing!! The PARALLEL itself does not need to be carefully aligned or installed, simply placed close to the middle of the easel then moved around until the red laser dot reflects back onto the target. Your hands are now free to work on the equipment.

The PARALLEL is accurate. The dot reflection system of the PARALLEL magnifies any misalignment. The output beam of the PARALLEL is factory aligned to within .015” over 20”. If a 35mm. negative stage is out of alignment by as little as the thickness of the film, the dot will miss the target aperture by over .04” (1mm.).

“…I just need to express how pleased we are with your PARALLEL laser device. It makes a noticeable difference in our work of capturing artwork for reproduction.”
Ernst Vegt

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The PARALLEL consists of a small phenolic box roughly 3” x 4” x 1.5” with a metal lid and a switch on one end. The bulk of the inside of the box is filled with the rigid solid aluminum laser mount. Also in the box is a holder for the two AA batteries that power the laser (one set included).

Supplied with the unit are several precision glass reflectors 1” x 3” x 1mm. thick and one reflector 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 1mm. The smaller reflectors are for use on the front of lenses (a simple rubber band arrangement is provided to hold the reflector to the front face of the lens barrel) and in negative carriers up to 6 x17cm. The larger reflector fits into 4 x 5 negative carriers. Negative carriers up to 8 x 10 can be accomodated by the inexpensive optional 8 x 10 adapter.

If you want the best product for enlarger alignment, get the PARALLEL.

Laura:
I purchased the Parallel from you in May of this year. Upon receiving it, I expressed my pleasure that this unit was made so well, and it obviously wasn't some kind of inaccurate tool being sold at a high price. I made this comment to you based upon the robust design and construction. You asked me if you could use the statement Im made then on your website, and I held off giving permission because I wanted to put the Parallel through its paces.

I have since used this with a troublesome Omega D5500 enlarger. I have to tell you that you do not extoll the virtues of this fine instrument enough. 

I have discovered not only that my enlarger was substantially out of alignment on both the negative and lens stages, but that also the lens stage drifts in and out of alignment depending on the position of the lens stage as it travels up and down the focus rods. I also discovered that the D5500 standard negative carriers do adequately hold all four corners and the center of the negative perfectly flat. In my case, only a glass carrier can do that with negatives 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" square and larger. I also discovered other annoying parts of my enlarger that needed to be aligned in order to provide the best possible print. "Top to Bottom" alignment is critical in an enlarger, and I never used an enlarger that was "aligned" properly out of the factory. I also shudder from manufacturer's claims that they can make an enlarger that "stays" in alignment forever. But, that's another issue.

The Parallel tool which your company has developed and sold is my most important tool in my darkroom. ANYONE INTERESTED IN A QUALITY ENLARGEMENT NEEDS THIS TOOL. If a photographer has an enlarger, then he or she needs this tool. Without it, even using all the other tools such as levelers, and the old pencil measurement trick will only be a waste of time. I have struggled with enlargement alignment for the past 30 years, and nothing really worked because the tool and/or the methodology simply was not accurate enough. Frankly, yours works.

There are many more points other than the lens stage, negative stage, and the base board needs to align. The Parallel does them all. Period. 
For $200 shipped, it was very small price to invest in a tool that absolutely works!
Thanks so much, and I am happy I made the investment.
Best Regards, 
John F. N

get the PARALLEL user's manual in Acrobat reader form.

“I am also a long time owner of a Parallel alignment tool that I find indispensable - I use it constantly in my home darkroom and it was a hit with the professors at the local community college darkrooms. I feel that your washer and the Parallel should be standard equipment in every darkroom. I greatly enjoy your fine products!”
Danny Spence