Wire wound rods work well, but also are messy. There is a company in Rochester that makes them. I have posted the URL elsewhere.
The coating blade is designed to keep the paper flat. That is the main purpose of the blade. Another aid is a heated vacuum plate to hold down the film or paper.
In all cases, you have to keep all of the coating equipment hot enough to prevent the gelatin from setting up during the coating operation.
Wire wound rods work well, but also are messy. There is a company in Rochester that makes them. I have posted the URL elsewhere.
The coating blade is designed to keep the paper flat. That is the main purpose of the blade. Another aid is a heated vacuum plate to hold down the film or paper.
In all cases, you have to keep all of the coating equipment hot enough to prevent the gelatin from setting up during the coating operation.
PE
This sounds truly encouraging. Where can I get/how can I make a coating blade? I have no idea of its design. And what about a heated vacuum plate?
The books by Baker and Wall are good starting points, but the books by Baker are far more modern and accurate than those by Wall. Eder was a well respected author at the time of Wall and Baker. I usually don't mention his works as they are harder to get in the English speaking world.
PE
PE,
Can you please tell me what the title(s) and full author's name are for the 'Baker' books?
I was reading some material describing some methods of treating polyester with a corona discharge to enable coating the plastic with a subbing layer. Now, from reading the description of the process, it sounds a lot like what happens inside a copier, or even a laser printer, regarding how the toner is electrostatically stuck to the 'paper' and then (normally) fused to the paper to keep it permanently in place.
So...is it possible to put a piece of clear polyester in a copy machine to subject it to an electrostatic charge (corona discharge?), and then afterwards be able to coat the treated film base with a subbing layer on it manually? What about hacking a laser printer to turn off the fuser, but still allow the electrostatic charge to affect the plastic as it passes through? You might have to modify the printer so it would still operate with an empty toner cartridge.
Conversely, is the clear plastic purposely intended for use in a copy machine or a laser printer (and bought at Staples, Office Depot, etc) usable for making film, assuming it is already treated?
The corona discharge is similar to that used in a copy machine, but I don't know if that discharge is sufficient to allow the film to adhere.
Copy film may be different than the estar or acetate used for photographic film due to the fact that the copy process relies on a high temperature fusion step to facilitate adhesion of the toner to the support.
PE
In another lifetime I worked for a firm in Canada that distributed products made by Arkwright. One of them was a water clear film coated to accept aqueous based media. I am on the other side of the world at the moment, enjoying 110F weather. Perhaps it might be worth checking with them. The product was called clear inking film circa 1980.
The knowledge you are sharing is priceless.
Many thanks
__________________
Richard
Why are there no speaker jacks on a stereo camera?
Last edited by richard ide; 04-09-2007 at 12:25 PM.
Reason: rethought
Linear Mode
