fusing drawing materials to the polyester plate
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2015
- Toner washes must be fused to the plate or they will not stick. This is how to do that using mineral spirits followed by a heat gun. Other drawing materials (ballpoint pen, drawing ink, markers etc.) also benefit from being fused with a heat gun before printing. Since making this video I have found that using a dry mount press (the kind made for photographs) at around 250F for 3 or 4 minutes will fuse the plate really well and doesn't warp the plate. Get some teflon baking sheet paper and slip the plate between it when it is in the dry mount press. If the plate is fused this way, it is not necessary to add oil or varnish to the ink - print as you would normally for lithography - add a little mag to color inks, black ink straight from the can.
Thank you SO much for these videos, Adele! Very generous of you for sharing your knowledge and experiences. I'm looking forward to giving this whole process a go using my etching press.
Thank you so much! I used to fuse the toner using a one-inch-high box, to which I attached a flannel soaked in thinner, and placed it face down against the Pronto-plate. The method of running the white spirit is simpler and worked very well.
The trick to using these plates is to fuse the toner well to the plate, which requires heat. Since posting these videos my litho class has been using a drymount press set at 200 degrees F for 1-2 minutes to set (fuse) the plate, even if they are printed on a laser printer/copier, they need the extra heat. If not fused well enough, the toner lifts off the plate when you ink it. The drymount press is the perfect solution because it does not warp the plates. I bought some teflon sheets online and place the plates between the teflon - it stays flat, is not affected by the heat, and the toner does not transfer to it.
I wonder... any kind of polyester plate will work? Or just pronto plate?
Hi, thank you for making these videoes. Are pronto plates the same as polyester plates? Also is there a video of you printing these plates and how they come out? Thank you!!
Thanks for the feedback. Pronto plates is a brand of polyester plate. Polyester plates are manufactured by numerous companies, some work better than others, or at least a little differently. To be safe you might want to purchase from a supplier of printmaking materials.
I just start experimenting with polyesterplates. Therefor I watch you on RUclips. You`re talking about dropping mineral spirit on the plate.
In Germany you will find a lot of stuff when you translate "mineral spirit":
Terpentinersatz, Brennspiritus or Mineralöl...
Which one is the right one?
I would just try whatever you have on hand and see if it works. You will know if it works because it will fuse the toner to the plate. So when you touch it it shouldn’t move. It should be stable. The toner is actually plastic, and the solvent is melting the plastic in the toner, which attaches it to the plate
You can also use heat if you have a hot plate make a little shelter for it to keep the heat down and turn it on real low until the toner is fused. The trick is not to warp the plate
Hi, what is a mineral spirit?, does it has another name?
+María Constanza Briceño
it is similar to paint thinner - in an art supply store it would be called mineral spirits. Lithotine or white gas (camp stove fuel) also work. Gamsol is the brand I use - it is safer to breath than most...
Thank you!...I ve achieved a few plates, and also realised that very greassy pastels tend to "dissapear", I should have heated a bit more, perhaps. I just got worryed and tried to avoid burning the plate with the gun.
Hello Maria
Not sure what you mean by greasy pastels. Not everything is going to work well. Try using a material with a shellac base that will dry hard and not be disturbed - like a permanent marker or shellac based drawing ink. Those don't need to be fused. Also, if your images are lifting it could be the ink is too stiff and tacky - try adding a bit more varnish to the ink.