More on Crystal Clear OHP

I have been working with the Crystal Clear OHP material for a couple
of weeks in search of a less expensive substitute, especially in long
rolls, for Pictorico. Here are some of my findings.

1. Crystal Clear prints a bit over 1/4 stop faster than Pictorico
and the Epson OHP. This results in a significant saving of time with
UV processes because a 400 unit exposure with Pictorico becomes about
a 280 unit exposure with Crystal Clear.

2. Crystal Clear works perfectly for me with the Epson 2200 using the
printer settings described in Mark Nelson's book, printing a
predominantly green color. With this setting I have not had any
problem with pizza wheels or any kind of coating problem. One of the
keys here may be the fact that printing is very slow with this
set-up, which allows the ink to dry before it touches the pizza
wheels. You should not assume that this material will work with the
Epson 2200 using other printer settings and/or ink color, especially
since others using the 2200 have reported some problems.

3. The best way to dry the material is with a gentle flow of hot air.
I tried the microwave and the oven but both caused some problems with
the surface coating. An ideal dryer is a small ceramic heater. Se it
on medium heat with the fan on and hang the negative about three feet
from the heater. Drying should be complete in about an hour.

4. Even when completely dry Crustal Clear should not be used with a
vacuum frame. The ink is much less firmly embedded in or on the
surface of Crystal Clear than with Pictorico and the pressure of the
vacuum frame has caused some of it to life from the negative, even
with pressure set very low at about 7 psi. I have not experienced
this problem when printing with a contact printing frame.

5. With the caveats mentioned, i.e. long drying time and problems in
the vacuum frame, Crustal Clear OHP is a perfectly acceptable
substitute for Pictorico or the Epson OHP.

Sandy
Received on Sat Nov 6 11:12:24 2004