> > >
> >
> > 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.
>
>
> For what it's worth, I bought my nuArc 26-1K mercury vapor platemaker used
> for $450. This includes the exposure unit, integrating timer and a
> vaccuum bed. I've since seen them for slightly less. It too, can handle
> up to 20x24 inch prints.
>
> David
>
Your light unit functions as a point source, doesn't it? This is
probably an important difference as I make masks using layers of
translucent paper cut into different shapes to sort of "dodge and burn"
when I print, and this works because my source is very diffuse. I don't
think this method would work with the nuArc, do you? Have you tried it?
John