Has anyone read Dianne Longley’s book?

fuschia_rose
on 5 Oct 09 (16:00)

Hi there,
I’ve been looking into processing my own photopolymer plates for a little while and I came across a book written by Dianne Longley (http://www.printstudio.com.au/photopolymer.html) called “Printmaking with Photopolymer Plates”. The book details step-by-step how to build your own UV exposure unit and how to process your own plates. It all seems fairly easy but I wanted to know if anyone has tried her technique?

My main reason for writing this however is I was wondering if anyone has built the exposure unit?

My brother build the unit for me but I’m missing the sunlamp. She lists a specific sunlamp (240 volt. 300 watt Oscram Ultra-Vitalux Sunlamp) which I’ve been trying to find an alternative to since it’s 240 volts and I want to find a 110 volt option. Does it exist?

boundstaffpress
on 6 Oct 09 (09:18)

F15T8BL
F40BL BULB -
40W T12 FLUORESCENT BLACKLIGHT LAMP
PHILIPS 391532
GE 10526

Try one of these.

I made an exposure unit last year to expose silk screens. Commercially available units use unfiltered black-light. The black-light you buy at Wal•Mart is filtered, so it will take much longer to expose your plate. Since you will be making your own unit, you will need to buy a Stouffer scale or similar stepped sensitivity exposure guide.

You could also look at the DVD/book Printmaking in the Sun by Dan Welden. He uses steel backed polymer plates.

fuschia_rose
on 6 Oct 09 (11:46)

Thanks! I’ll look into those. And I almost forgot about the Stouffer scale! Any idea where to buy one of these?

winking cat press
on 6 Oct 09 (13:11)

The book “Printmaking in the Sun” is also a good source of info for making your own PP plates. I’ve used both Solar Exposure, and a home-made plate burner with good results. I’ve found that the best bulbs are short tanning bed bulbs, available at many local hardware stores.