Judy
In the UV printer I used at my undergraduate U, the first exposures were
generally around 6 minutes, cutting each subsequent exposure down by about
30%, starting with the lightest colors and ending with the darkest, in most
cases (an exception to this was when I added a little white or gold pigment
to an already completed print, to pick it up a bit (white looked atrocious,
gold was a beauty)). In any case, from the longest to the shortest
exposures, again excepting lamp black and a particular blue whose name i
can't remember maybe pthalo, the exposures were never long enough to bake
the prints - meaning that for each layer, manipulation with water, brush,
sponge whatever was never a problem since the times didn't fully harden, nor
did they not penetrate the base at all and then fall off. runonsentenceack.
Of course the degree of penetration varied with each negative and with each
color, but the only huge problems I've had are with underexposed lamp blacks
and overexposed whites.
Oh yes, all of my prints so far have been done with single negatives, and in
some cases with positive cominations, no separation masks or negs of varying
density as of yet.
Don't get me wrong - you or I would see the very faint outline from the tape
on a lighter color gum, we have the eyes for it, but after the final
exposures, darker colors, and of course, the fact that I'm leaving my edges
to muddy up as they will, in the final print it's not a problem.
I am, on the other hand, sure that in a differently calibrated light source,
or the sun, that I'll be coming up against a whole slew of exposure
challenges. I wonder if I too will resort to step tablets, or just shoot
from the hip!
Haha ;)
ok
take care
cheers
Risa