polymer plate negatives
Hello, I’m looking for better ways to make negatives for the polymer plates that I do.
For a long time, I’ve just been using contact film from Fine Line, used mostly for rubber stamp makers. But it often gets problematic as it’s often difficult to achieve a solid black background without affecting the text/image. One good way is to simply hire a service to make the negatives right. But I’d rather do it myself.
Any ideas?
Richard Meneely
I’ve had good success with making negatives using an Epson desktop printer (ine is an older XP-600) and loading the cartridges with “screenprinting ink” from Ink Owl (www.inkowl.com). The best negatives are produced by replacing all your color cartridges with black, but that requires special software. I just replace the black ink cartridges with the screenprinting black ink, and I get good results using the settings for deluxe glossy stock using Epson’s driver.
I use screen positive film from Fixxons (www.fixxons.com), but there are other providers out there. The capability of the Epson ink jet printer to make a smooth, dense black makes quite good negatives for polymer.
Most of my printing is done from metal type, but when given a file to print, I often choose to go with polymer.
John Henry
Cedar Creek Press
John, what would you consider the lower limits of that method in terms of typographic detail? Years ago, I think it might have been Pat Reagh or Brad Hutchinson saying sans-serif faces just didn’t hold the sharp corners onto paper by a photopolymer workflow. Others might have seen a Bodoni suffer a lot in text sizes.
Since my last plate, my long-term plate material itself was discontinued, my service bureau stopped doing digital film output, and the film stocks I used in my process camera and in contact frames are all long gone. Now the latter two-step process of camera film for detail and contact dupe for density is history.
parallel_imp:
“the film stocks I used in my process camera and in contact frames are all long gone. Now the latter two-step process of camera film for detail and contact dupe for density is history.”
Our litho supplier still stocks film and other conventional darkroom supplies. www.valleylitho.com
Michael Vickey
Nickel Plate Press
Epson inkjet is the way to go. Forget film negatives and try Direct to Plate photopolymer DTP. Save time, money and get better quality and aquity. Check out Cone-Editions and the Green Mountain photopolymer plate. They also sell inks to OEMs and individuals. And if you still want film look into their Digital Negatives. See also Inkjet Mall.
NickelPlate, thanks for the link. I had seen them before, but like most others, today it’s just Rapid Access, which has never given me sufficient density for photopolymer relief plates. Photopolymer offset, yes, but not sufficient for the thicker letterpress emulsion. That’s why I used a contact dupe to get needed density in tray development.
Last decent stock was HD film.