Health Warning 
Caustic solution: 
1 teaspoon lye to 1 liter of water 
Goggles, apron, & gloves when mixing.
mix the caustic solution outside or in a well ventilated area
Use of Rubber gloves is REQUIRED.
can cause permanent eye damage.


Health WarningGoggles Required. 
If this solution is splashed directly into your eyes flush immediately with water and seek medical advice .

Use of the NuArc Exposure Unit

Each exposure unit has different attributes. Make sure you know how use it safely.

Materials:

  • Plate laminated with ImagOn

 

    Turn on Master Switch 
    Position Artwork and Plate in Vacuum Frame 
  • Pull out vacuum frame drawer
  • Place ImagOn covered plate face up under the glass
  • For Aquatint, place aquatint screen on top of plate  (emulsion side down) 
  • Make sure that the screen does not cover the small vacuum intake hole in the upper left corner)  
  • Place glass down
  • Disengage locking mechanism on the left side of the drawer slide
  • Push vacuum drawer back into unit

Expose ImagOn coated Plate image original

  • Set exposure time
  • This equipment has a light integrator that judges the amount of light that actually is emitted from the mercury halide light source.
  • Check to see that the switches (on the right) for the manual control of the light source and the light integrator switch are both in the OFF position.
  • Set the unit of exposure desired on the circular gauge on the right side of the exposure unit

 

Health Warning
Do not look at the light source as the strong light can do serious eye damage

 

Create Vacuum

  • Check that the Bleed vacuum knob is closed. Turn knob clockwise to close. Lightly but firmly tighten.
  • Press the vacuum frame button to the ON position. The pump will start evacuating air form the vacuum drawer
  • The amount of vacuum recorded on the vacuum gauge should reach 22.

    • If the vacuum does not build, turn the bleed valve clockwise to tighten until pressure building is reflected in the pressure gauge.

Make exposure

  • Press the integrator button to the ON position. 
  • The orange exposure indicator light (orange) will illuminate until the exposure is complete (until the Mercury halide light source is turned off by the integrator.
  • After exposure light goes off:
  • Press integrator switch to the OFF position

Bleed Vacuum 

  • Turn vacuum frame switch to the OFF position.
  • Turn bleed knob counter - clockwise to release vacuum from the vacuum frame drawer
  • Open drawer, lift glass, remove plate, artwork etc. 

Repeat if additional exposures are needed 

Note: you need to wait at least 30 seconds before trying to restrike the bulb.

At the end of class
(or of your work session)

  • Turn off Master switch

 

ImagOn Exposures using
NuArc 750 Mercury Printer Unit


Continuous Tone

    • Expose ImagOn plate to Aquatint screen ( 35 Unit)
    • Expose ImagOn plate to original artwork

      • Apx. times (under refinement - as of current printing): 
      Xerox transparency - 10 unit exposure 
      Frosted Mylar (heavy) - 35 unit exposure

Line Work (Stippling, Hatching, etc)
No grayscales

  • No initial exposure to an aquatint screen
  • Expose ImagOn plate to original artwork.
    Apx times (as of 10/29/97)
  • Xerox transparency - 10 unit exposure
  • Frosted Mylar (heavy) - 35 unit exposure

Images with solid black areas

  • Expose ImagOn plate to Aquatint screen
    ( 35 Unit)
  • Expose ImagOn plate to original artwork
  • Apx times
    (under refinement - as of current printing):
    • Xerox transparency - 10 unit exposure
    • Frosted Mylar (heavy) - 35 unit exposure

 

Determining Exposures

Exposure Units

Testing the Aquatint Screen for your exposure unit