Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Photopolymer Plates Part One

Photopolymer plates are one of my favorite ways of translating texture to metal clay. Many of you have asked what is different about my photopolymer plate kit. When I started using photopolymer plates, I had really inconsistent results. Often, my plates were somewhat sticky, or the detail wasn’t as crisp as I hoped it would be. This sent me off into a rather scientific direction to understand how exactly the plates work. What I found was that they were intended to be developed under very strong UV lights – some of them over twelve feet long. Maybe this is why my black light wasn’t working so well.

The manufacturers data for the plates calls for specific lighting levels. My husband Craig, who teaches lighting design at Parson’s, helped me select stronger UV lighting that is safe for human exposure. The standard for testing results from an exposure is the Stouffer gage. For fine detail, the reading should be 18-19. With a standard UV light, it took me 20 hours to get a reading of 11-12. Using a different UV light source, I am able to develop plates reaching an acceptable reading within an hour. I noticed immediately the marked change in the detail that the plates held, and the wash-out was much cleaner. Given that this technology is used for printing, it didn’t make sense to me that half-tone art wouldn’t work. I tried it and had amazing results. Check back for Part Two coming soon. Two Olives Studio Photopolymer Plate Kit

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