Re: Re: solar plate

Hellena and Gerry,

I have salvaged and , but very usable paper cutter to cut my plates the only
trick is cut one plate then take the one that drops and recut the cut edge
this takes off the rounded edge and keeps the plates flat. I cut a bunch. then
file then store, in an old paper box keeps me from getting filing bits in my
work space.

The other trick is to get some sheet magnet material (SMM) glue it down to a
work surface much easer to work the plate. Also put SMM in a heavy cookie
sheet, glue it down, and use that for wash out.

Just a few tricks
Jan Pietrzak

>From: Barry Kleider <bkleider@sihope.com>
>Date: Mon Oct 24 10:41:50 CDT 2005
>To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
>Subject: Re: solar plate

> Hellena,
>
>Dan Welden is a very good guy to work with. He'll help answer some ofyour
questions.
>
>I've used metal shears to cut the plates, but I find this leaves VERYsharp
edges which is a real nasty thing when doing the water wash-out.(I've cut
myself pretty badly - even though I knew the edges weresharp.)
>You can file the edges with a rasp, but that takes time. The shearsalso
pulled up some of the emulsion along the cut edge, so make sure toleave a bit
of border when you expose the plates.
>I finally decided to take the plates to a die-cutting shop. (It was funtrying
to convince them I wasn't completely crazy... ) In the end, itwas worthwhile,
as I got good clean edges.
>If you go this route, make sure to pack extra filler paper between theplates
as even a good cut can scratch the next plate.
>
>The aqua-tint screen Dan uses is a good thing, but I've had adequateresults
by adding a halftone screen in Photoshop.
>
>I use an 18 inch 15 watt UV fluorescent tube (which fits quite nicelyinto an
old aquarium hood) and my exposures are in the 4 minute range.
>
>Make sure to harden your plates after the wash-out. Easiest way to dothis is
put them back under the UV for a few minutes. I hear from aprinter friend that
it's best to store them flat after you're done, butI don't have the space for
that.
>
>Barry
>
>
>
>Hellena Cleary wrote: I have bought some solar plate herein the U.K.
but all I have for the instructions are a couple of A4sheets. For further
reading they list PRINTMAKING IN THE SUN,PRINTMAKING WITH PHOTOPOLYMER PLATES,
HANDBOOK OF NON-TOXIC INTAGLIOAND THE COMPLETE PRINTMAKER. Can anyone
recommend which of these booksis best for a complete beginner? Do I need a
metal cutter to cut thesheet down&nbsp;so that I can&nbsp;experiment? I have a
step wedge and a UV lightsource. How do I begin? Hellena
Received on Mon Oct 24 10:42:46 2005