Re: polymer plate drying time

[Keith Taylor <taylordow@sprintmail.com>]

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.