UV light
RUSSELL GILBERT (rgilbert@aztec.asu.edu)
Sun, 07 Sep 1997 21:22:18 -0700 (MST)
There has been some discussion about what kind of UV bulbs to get and whether to
vent the light source or not. Here is my two cents. I built my light source usi
ng the guidelines that Luis Nadeau describes in his book, History and Practice of
Platinum Printing. I used GTE Sylvania F20/350BL tubes that are 2 feet long. Lui
s also says they come in 4 feet length's as well. I got them from a local light d
istributor called Arizona Wholesale, there phone is 602-258-7901. I paid $26.48 e
a. They were the most expensive part of the project. My exposure time for a norma
l negative is about 10 min.
The important thing about ventilation is letting the ballasts breath. If they get
to hot they will over heat and shut down until they cool enough to restart. Whe
n I use the light source, I turn it on for at least 30 min. before my first expos
ure for the bulbs to stabilize and I keep the unit on until I'm through with the
printing session. I also have the light source in another room other than were I'
m coating and processing the images so ultraviolet exposure to myself is not a pr
oblem.
Russ Gilbert
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