U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: polymer plate drying time

Re: polymer plate drying time



On Mar 15, 2007, at 11:50 AM, SusanV wrote:
Keith...

you said, "Toyobo even recommend 5-15 minutes at 122-140 degrees

Susan,

I have a sheet from Toyobo that came packed with the plates ages ago. I tried to find it on both Anderson and Vreeland and Toyobo's websites, but the AV link was bad.

I did notice however that Toyobo have a "new" plate out designated Printight DF. It's apparently capable of resolving 200lpi (KM73=150lpi) and detail in the 1-95% range (KM73=3-95%). The Shore D hardness is 55 whereas the KM73s are 67, which means the DF slightly softer.


On Mar 15, 2007, at 1:24 PM, Jon Lybrook wrote:
Wow. This is really good info Keith. Maybe this is why I have issue with scratches, eh? Didn't you say scratches weren't a huge problem for you at one point?
So you dry before post exposing? When post-exposing for 5-10 minutes under my Olec unit, it actually gets quite hot...so maybe that's why I haven't had more major issues. Perhaps the post- exposure also functions as what you and Susan are calling 'dry time'. What do you think? Should I bake my plates in the oven after processing before post-exposure?
Jon,

I'd certainly dry it longer, even if it's just with a hairdryer and no, I've never had a problem with scratches. I can (and usually do) wipe quite hard with tarlatans. I have a 5KW lamp that also gets quite hot but noticed recently that you post expose way longer than I do - this is probably why!

My workflow is to expose the plate, dry with newsprint immediately, then dry for 2-3mins with a hairdryer. Next, I dry it for a further 5-10mins in a drying cabinet on high heat. The post-exposure is normally a little longer than my combined screen+image exposures.

Of all the problems I've had, scratches have never been one of them. So I think you'd only benefit from drying a little longer.

Keith.