Re: light table

Lawrence Shapiro (leshapiro@worldnet.att.net)
Tue, 26 Nov 1996 16:07:05 +0000

FotoDave@aol.com wrote:
> Could you post more about this. I have been thinking of doing it the way you
> described because I am not really a handy person. I have posted question
> about this before. I was told that one might get unevenness if the tubes are
> not placed close enough. I know that it might be more acceptable in a
> workshop environment, but do you experience unevenness in the print? And what
> do you use it for? I am interested in using it for carbon printing.
>
> Thanks in advance!

The easiest way of using uv bulbs is just putting them into a "shop"
light fixture. These are "drop" light fixtures that normally take 48
inch fluroscent bulbs and hang from a ceiling by chains. They are very
inexpensive (usually costing only $10 / fixture which holds two bulbs)
and can be obtained at any of the large hardware stores such as Home
Depot. The fixtures are plugged into a power strip which in turn is
plugged into a timer. I have used two fixtures (ie with a total of 4
UV BL bulbs) hung under my work table. The print frame is placed about
6-8 inches below the bulbs and I have used paper up to 16x20 inches
without any evidence of uneven exposure. The one problem is that the
farther away the paper is from the UV source the longer the exposure
needed. I built a unit which contains 4 24 inch bulbs, each bulb in a
single bulb fixture. This unit allows the print frame to be very close
to the bulbs and exposure times are shorter.

Larry Shapiro