Cardboard is not good because it could warp as well as fall apart, shedding tiny little pieces. I use a piece of soft vinyl available from crafts stores. Flexible, easy to keep clean and cheap.
Sam
On Jan 15, 2009, at 8:55 AM, David wrote:
I'm doing photopolymer process with Toyobo plates and also with ImagOn film. And I'm using a NuArc exposure unit for exposing my plates. The person who set up the unit in our studio but a piece of pressboard on the bed of the unit, so it lays under your plate and film. When I say pressboard, I mean a stiff "paper" (like a thin matboard) that they use in stiff mailing envelops or that you might find when you unwrap a new dress shirt--sort of cardboard without the corrugation.
I'm wondering if this is the best material to use on the bed of the unit, or would it be better to use something else like maybe sheets of print paper, or maybe nothing at all?