what is this Camera or enlarger: I don't know what this is. It goes from one room through the wall into another room. It is at a former working newspaper office. Can someone help me to...

dougbev3 Loc: Pueblo, Colorado

I don't know what this is. It goes from one room through the wall into another room. It is at a former working newspaper office. Can someone help me to determine what it is, can it be safely removed, is there a valve in it.

dougbev3 Loc: Pueblo, Colorado

Now in the other room

dougbev3 Loc: Pueblo, Colorado

Also on the floor of this room, is a motor that does something... I can turn it one, but not knowing what it does, I don't play with it.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

It would appear to be an offset plate camera. Used to photograph a full page of type onto an aluminum plate for offset printing. The medium is a reversal plate the size of a full newspaper sheet. I worked at newspapers in the 1970s and we used these.

Andy

The Watcher

It looks like a copy camera. You have the flat surface and the lights positioned at 45 degrees.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

AndyH wrote:

It would appear to be an offset plate camera. Used to photograph a full page of type onto an aluminum plate for offset printing. The medium is a reversal plate the size of a full newspaper sheet. I worked at newspapers in the 1970s and we used these.

Andy

papagem Loc: Greensboro, NC via Bklyn NY

Architect1776 wrote:

Having been a printer in the Navy during the 70s it appears to be a 24 x 34 consolidated copy camera. And the motor on the floor is the vacuume pump for the back to hold the sheet film in place for exposer

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

papagem wrote:

Having been a printer in the Navy during the 70s it appears to be a 24 x 34 consolidated copy camera. And the motor on the floor is the vacuume pump for the back to hold the sheet film in place for exposer

I was not a printer, but sold printing supplies while in college from the camera/graphics store I worked in. Due to speaking Spanish ability I sold to the Mexican clients who came to the USA to get supplies and visited the facilities of some.
I also had some counterfeiters buying materials. Hilarious, they bought, the feds then came in and asked what was purchased to see where the crooks were at in the process. Tough keeping a straight face when they came in for materials knowing they were so busted. Then it was on the news the bust and I had a good laugh.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

AndyH wrote:

It would appear to be an offset plate camera. Used to photograph a full page of type onto an aluminum plate for offset printing. The medium is a reversal plate the size of a full newspaper sheet. I worked at newspapers in the 1970s and we used these.

Andy

This.
Yes, me too!
Our darkroom was just past the plate camera. Walked by it on the way back.

Best job I ever had was at the newspaper.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

papagem wrote:

And the motor on the floor is the vacuume pump for the back to hold the sheet film in place for exposer

Yes. It was quite noisy at the paper I worked at. That’s a big sheet of film needed to contact print a broadsheet newspaper.

Andy

dougbev3 Loc: Pueblo, Colorado

Can this be taken out ? If sold , what would someone ask for price . Or is it best for a museum ?

papagem Loc: Greensboro, NC via Bklyn NY

Being it was an old camera left over from WWII the bellows use to get cracks in them we would have to turn off all the lights in the dark room and climb into the bellows and patch all the wholes it was truly a pain in the butt. We would use black nail polish

ELNikkor

When I used one of these in the early '80s, I was making 20x24 litho negatives which I then used for making plates for our Chief 17 offset printing press. I knew at the time what I was doing (a very tedious, exacting process!) was from the "stone-age", and that new systems must soon be on the horizon. Sure enough, now, all those old machines are best used as scrap-metal, and publishing is much easier and user-friendly!

ELNikkor

PS - I did read of one fanatic who put a camera like this in the back of his van. Would put in some huge sheet-film, drive to some scenic location, and take awesome landscape photos!

wildweasel

I used one everyday for a couple of years in the early 80's. It's used to shoot newspaper pages into negatives to be turned into plates for a press. the motor on the floor is a vacuum to hold the negative in place.