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exposure units

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

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Roderick Treece
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exposure units

Post by Roderick Treece »

After 35 years of hand cutting film I now do it with a plotter.So now I'd like to get an exposure unit.After looking online I just got confused.I know that when I go to the sign meets the screens are always done with photo emultion.Any help would be apreciated greatly.
Also can you use green hand cut film as your film art or may be ruby,because I don't mind making my film via the plotter and weeding it.I don't need alot of very fine detail most of the time.When I do I can always get my film done outside the shop.
Thanks

Roderick
www.customglasssigns.com
Robin Sharrard
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Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 10:15 am

Post by Robin Sharrard »

Hey Roderick, There is a product called Cut-Green, sorry I don't remember the manufacturer, I think you can get it from from either Midwest or McLogans. It is specialy designed for plotter cutting. You can build a fairly good light table using the Plant Grow type neon bulbs under glass, or a single quarts halogen light set about 3' from the glass. They do ok but if you realy want to pull some super fine close registration on halftone screens you'll need to go to someone that has a professional exsposure unit.
Robin Sharrard
Sharrard Graphics & Signs
Fallon,Nevada
Danny Baronian
Site Admin
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Post by Danny Baronian »

Ruby would be the film to use since green would allow light to expose the screen emulsion. If you want to hand cut or use the plotter, use 3M series 220 vinyl which has a clear carrier. In the 220 series black and white in 15" rolls is the only stock material most suppliers carry. If you need wider ask, but it has to be the 220 series with the clear carrier. The 220 can be used in place of a film positive.

As far as an exposure unit, size of your screen would dictate the type of unit. I purchased a fluorescent unit made by VNH and have been very pleased with it. Check with your local suppliers for used units, or ask them if they know of screen printers with equipment they want to sell.

As far as emulsion I coat my screens with Ulano FX88, dry, expose and wash out with water. There are also screen films available, but still find the emulsion the best for my needs.
Last edited by Danny Baronian on Fri Jul 15, 2005 2:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Danny Baronian
Baronian Mfg.
CNC Routing & Fabrication
http://www.baronian.com
Sarah King
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Post by Sarah King »

Danny,

I looked for your unit on Google but I'm not sure I found the one you have. Could you give us more detail on it - or a link to their web site?

Thanks
Sarah King
AngelGilding.com
vance galliher
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exposure unit

Post by vance galliher »

My unit is homemade. It"s a 2' x 4' piece of ply with a 2x6 screwed to each 4' side. Between the 2x6's are three 4' -2 bulb fuorescent fixtures with cool white tubes. My screen lays on two moveable 2x2's that rest on the 2x6's; making the screen about 4" from light source. I use Ulano DLX multi-purpose emulsion and expose approx. 5 minutes, then wash out with pressure hose unit. Pretty low tech... but works great.
Roderick Treece
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Post by Roderick Treece »

I like the sound of the home made unit.The commercial ones get pricy when they get big.
I just finished a four panel room devider that is made of 40 antique mirror panels on the inside and the out side border is all reverse back painted glass panels, 88 peices in all for the border.By the time I finished screening the art work the film was showing signs of wear.I think emultion would hold up better.After that panels were screened with translucent ink they were sparyed with tinted 12 hour size and guilded the next day with gold.If only I'd figuire out how to up load photos to me server.

Thanks
Roderick
www.customglasssigns.com
Doug Bernhardt
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Post by Doug Bernhardt »

I have an old unit which is very good and gives me a film of about 42"x60" in just a couple of minutes. The light source is 2000watts and runs on 220. When it was new it was very expensive but there are some real deals right now on this "dated" equipment. The process I use goes something like...1/draw everything on paper and transfer finals to cardboard/sho-card. 2/Letter the card in black one-shot poster paint 3/ take to local company and get transfered to film positive...in reverse (is important to have the emulsion right) 4/ burn film and backscreen glass with mask....and settle into it. ...It goes without saying that this is reserved for complicated stuff and that less involved work is done by hand. This choice was right for "MY" working methods and wish you luck with yours!
(Also must add. The film versions have no saw-tooth problems which are so evident with direct emulsion)
Blumberg, Bill
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Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2005 8:19 pm

Post by Blumberg, Bill »

my exposure unit is a large old quartz flood from an extinct car lot. I use ulano emulsion DLX 2coats print side, 1 coat back side ,32" from surface, expose @ 6 minutes, excellent for up to 65 line halftones.
Carol
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Location: Oregon
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Post by Carol »

It looks like there are two methods being discussed here. One is cutting the film with a plotter. That could then be adhered to the screen. (green)
The other would be a ruby that would be used to expose a screen with emulsion on it. (lights)
Or am I reading this incorrectly?
I've used both methods and both work. The other is to cut vinyl and adhere directly to the screen. That will work too. Shorter run I suppose but is sure is easy to clean up.
C. :wink:
Art is a technique of communication. The image is the most complete technique of all communication.
Claus Oldenburg
You are invited to visit www.carolchapel.com
Roderick Treece
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Post by Roderick Treece »

Carol,
Your reading it right.Coming from the school of "I not sure why I'm still doing it this way" thats why I'm still using handcut film.As for the plotter ,I got one awhile back and it's wonderful for cutting film ( one thing I never liked doing) so I guess I've got one foot in the old world and one in the new.
I learned to my silk screens from my dad,we used to screen all the sports teams tee-shirts when I was a kid.Our kitchen became a screen printing shop for 3 nights a year.
At Knott's berry farm they did sun expose screens but I never got into it.Now I'm thinking that It might be a good time to set up an exposure unit to burn my screens because it seems that the hand adhered film isn't as strong , or Maybe I'm not adhereing it right. One thing is that if i do go to emultion screens I will have to either cut my art by hand using ruby, cut it on the plotter or have film made.
At this point I've just purchased a new screen,it came with the screen already on it ,It's so tight but no rope like I'm used to so now I've got to figuire out where to take it to be restreached.

The learning curve never end!

Roderick
www.customglasssigns.com
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Roderick,
A long time ago, I hand cut the film and adhered it with laquer thinner. They made a water based version, too. I don't know if they make the same films for vinyl plotters, but I suspect someone does. They worked fine, but was messy, fumey, and you had to be careful not to burn the small areas with too much laquer.

There is also a "direct/indirect" film that you adhere to the screen in a similar method, then expose the film after it has been adhered.

Lastly, there are several brands of direct emulsion methods. They are applied wet, let dry, then exposed through a film positive. Ideally, the film is held tight to the screen and glass with a vacuum system, then exposed. I have a very basic system using glass and pressure from behind. We managed to snag our old carbon-arc lamp from the old shop since they didn't use it. (carbon-arc lamps are illegal in some states now) They put our old vacuum frame outside and let it deteriorate. I'd like to have had that, too, but it took up a lot of room.

Image
Some companies make some really nice all-in-one exposure units. They get expensive as they get bigger.

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

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