> WOW
>
> well, so far the response to my request on UV unit specs has been amazing.
> Keep it coming, i'll have a unit chosen and built in no time!
>
> thank you
> Risa
>
My printing unit consists of 12 four foot unshielded blacklight tubes
spaced 1/8 inch apart. The hardware was obtained by buying six
flourescent shop fixtures from Wal-Mart for about $8 each.. This gets you
the ballasts, wires, and T12 connectors very cheaply (a ballast from an
electrical supply is about $30,) Get the shop lights rated for 40 Watt
flourescents, not the 32 Watt energy savers. All this is mounted on a
sheet of plywood with a layer of galvanized roofing tin (all painted
white) to ground the ballasts (important), the lights munted on one side,
and the ballasts on the other, as the ballasts heat up during use. The
ends of the plywood have "feet" made from a piece of 2X6 to support the
unit and provide space to slide the printing frame under. Will handle
20X24 inch prints, with a minimum exposure time of 3 minutes for
platinum, and costs about $250 to build. Bulbs came from Bulbman in Reno
Nevada.
John