Re: Gum prints with an enlarger (UV loss)

Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Tue, 16 Jan 1996 01:13:20 -0500 (EST)

On Tue, 16 Jan 1996, John Sparks wrote:
> I have a Gravity Works contact printing frame that comes with UV
> transmitting plexiglass. I have used it for making platinum prints and
> found no significant difference in printing times between it and glass.

> make any difference. I never tried it with sunlight where their may be
> more of a printing speed difference.

I posted this about a week ago ....I tested the Gravity Works .... *in
sunlight* against plain glass...The speed was very little different, the
only possible advantage being that if you decided to expose gum in full
sun it would fog (ie, transmit the heat) a little less under the plastic.

> One major problem with it is the plexiglass is not rigid enough to provide
> good contact between the negative and paper. There were bubbles of
> unsharpness in the prints where there wasn't good contact. I wouldn't
> recommend it.

Another major disadvantage is that the plexi scratches very easily. In
fact when I bought mine several years ago it came with a leaflet advising
that you get a piece of glass cut to size and use that for "regular"
exposures to save the plexi.

I don't like those rubber tubes that fasten the thing either....they're
hard to pull tight and if you let one go accidentally it can put your eye
out or raise a major welt .... On the other hand, it should be said that
it gives better contact with *glass* in it than other frames I've tried in
11x14 ... Still, I doubt that it's as good as just plain plate glass on
plate glass...

Judy