Kallitypes, Digital Negatives, and Dust Specs

I am fairly new to alt photo processing of kallitypes. I am using a Nuarc exposure unit consisting of a vacuum frame and mercury vapor lamp, and negatives produced with Pictorico OHP film on an Epson 2200 printer.

My question is this: I've been having a problem with lots of light dust specs appearing on my final prints. I've been very careful with eliminating dust at every possible point....the negatives and the glass are both cleaned prior to exposure, but the dust specs appear none the less. I've even noticed dust specs in the areas of the sensitized paper outside of the negative area.

My suspicion is that these spots might have more to do with the coating and drying of the paper, rather than a problem with dust on the negatives and glass. Perhaps those of you with more experience can share some tips on how to avoid/solve this problem.

Regards,

M. Klemmer
Received on Fri Nov 14 22:40:47 2003