HareHound@aol.com
Mon, 18 Jan 1999 21:25:53 -0500 (EST)
Adam,
I have to admit I do not know the grain size of the toner I am using for
aquatinting. My source is the local Kinkos who have kindly given me a large
plastic canister of waste toner from cleaning their machines. My aquatint box
is quite large ( a wooden packing crate 4'x9' on end and sealed inside with
contact paper) therefore when I activate a cloud of toner dust (with the handy
leaf blower) I can wait several seconds for the heavier(larger) particles to
fall and harvest the smaller, lighter ones for my plates. I do wear a
respirator, though my system is pretty self contained. I have not found any
negative literature about toner per se, but I am not so convinced human lungs
can purge styrene acrylate,copolymer and carbon black effectively. The oven I
use is a large electric kitchen oven and I set the temp at 350 and keep an eye
on it. Once I did forget the copperplate in the oven; it heated to the point
of discoloring quite beautifully. Purples and oranges and blues, but the
aquatint was fine, and the plate etched well, so I surmised that once melted,
the carbon binder does not change it's properties. I was more surprised that
the carbon tissue held up well after such abuse! Like any aquatint, rosin or
asphaltum, the fineness of the grain is more determined by how heavy the dust
film is than by the size of the individual grains of material. This is
because of the melting. If the coating is heavy, the individual grains tend to
melt in clumps resulting in a coarser aquatint. My students have a great time
hand dusting their plates and they do get some amazing textural effects. If
anyone has a mind to try toner, but is reluctant to convert their present
system, a large carboard box with a closeable door (tape) shaken vigorously
and a couple of dowels rammed through to hold the plate will work fine. I've
done it in workshops. Janet Flohr
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