SusanV wrote:
> So... I handle them only under yellow light before exposure.
Great idea. I need to do that. Of course I'm certain I threw out my
old safelights just last summer. :-P
Maybe I can just paint a 40 watt bulb yellow with enamel paint? Anyone
do that for poor-person's safelights? Again, the sensitivity low on
these plates compared to other processes...maybe on par with Pt/Pd in
terms of ISO/ASA. Not sure exactly...
Printing a test of a real image using spray coating and no baby powder
today. No patches are visible. We'll see what else happens...and will
report back.
>
> As far as plate tone... I don't want much if any plate tone unless I
> choose to achieve it during wiping, so a certain amount of flashing
> isn't a bad thing for me, and I may eventually choose to do a
> pre-exposure flash, once I get my workflow all figured out. In other
> words, I don't want any tone "built in" to my plate... I want the top
> surfaces to be glassy-hard and smooth.
Dan Welden's book has many suggestions on how to mitigate plate tone.
>
> Speaking of that... sometimes I think the surface feels "soft" after
> development and hardening. easily scratched... my fingernail can feel
> a give in the material. is that the nature of a correctly hardened
> poly plate?
Yup. They're definitely more susceptible to scratches than
Solarplates. I only wipe the plates with clean phone book pages,
newsprint, and tissue for that reason.
On the subject of durability, I spoke with a picky client recently who
does lots of editioning and he says they typically don't get more than
30 prints out of a solarplate before the tone and sharpness diminish. I
assume the same or less is true for the KM73s. Most I've done is
editions of 20 with some changes, but not an unacceptable loss of
quality after 20.
Jon
>
> susan
>
> On 3/13/07, Camden Hardy <camden@hardyphotography.net> wrote:
>> > Question: How particular are people about keeping their plates in the
>> > dark when handling/cutting? My newest batch I've been a little picky
>> > about in terms of keeping them out of the light sort of as a test.
>> The
>> > results so far have been greater plate tone, presumably due to their
>> > "fresher" state and greater sensitivity. Used to be, I'd cut them in
>> > all conditions short of being in full direct sunlight -- ambient or
>> > reflected light was OK. Now I'm not so sure that was a good idea.
>> > David Hoptman would recommend only cutting plates in a dark room under
>> > safe lights. Seems like a reasonable precaution to take. What do
>> > others do/think?
>>
>> I think you're on to something, Jon. I've been cutting my plates under
>> fluorescent lights, which I recently discovered significantly fog my
>> pt/pd
>> prints in a matter of 1-2 minutes. Since km73 is faster under UVBL than
>> pt/pd, I wouldn't be surprised if my plates have been "fogging" too.
>> That
>> may account for my utter lack of plate tone... :)
>>
>>
>> Camden Hardy
>>
>> camden[at]hardyphotography[dot]net
>> http://www.hardyphotography.net
>>
>>
>
>