Hi Susan,
I agree with others on the minimal dry time for the transparency: 2
hours is fine. Heck, I've burned plates with transparencies directly
off the Epson. However, 24 hours gives the benefit of added time for
the ink to set, making it less subject to moisture, fingerprints, and
scratching if you plan on transporting it before, or preserving it after
making your plate.
For more creative stuff I've played with acrylic varnish sold by
Liquitex, a thin coating of which will actually create texture but allow
the image to come through with about +/- 50% opacity.
Cleaning the plate afterwards can be sketchy though since most solvents
will eat away at the varnish somewhat.
You can also try scratching the plate and dousing it with water (bleh)
and other chemicals to create effects. It's not as clean to carve as
linoleum though.
Best wishes,
Jon
SusanV wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm impatiently waiting for my OHP and aquatint screen to arrive so I
> can start testing exposures and digineg output, etc. (and I just
> realized I'm supposed to wait 24 hours for the neg to dry
> arrrrgggghhhhh ).
>
> So while I'm waiting, I came up with a question for you who work with
> this polymer: Has anyone tried working on the plate after it's
> exposed and hardened? Is the material "carvable", or soft enough
> (meaning softer than the steel tool i'd be using), to inscribe or
> otherwise mess with in the way an intagio copper or zinc plate can be
> done?
>
> susan
>