screen printing > DIY - From master engineered marvels to cobbled together jury-rigged or Jerry-built junk!
Most UV bang for your buck?
ScreenFoo:
IMHO, an AL-53 in good shape is worth at least ten times what a 1k warehouse light is worth, not only are you looking at the integrator and cell interface as well as the shutter, but they are very efficient in the spectrum you need.
FWIW, if a thousand sounds like a lot, they retail for five...
Inkworks:
--- Quote from: mimosatexas on April 08, 2014, 12:58:44 AM ---Thanks for the link. Finding 1k units for dirt cheap is pretty easy. I was hoping someone might have a source for 3k or 5k bulbs and ballasts.
--- End quote ---
Nuarc Flip-top plate makers, come with 3000 or 6000 watt instant start MH. with built in integrator, I've seen 3K go for a couple of hundred, and 6K go for under $500.
3K
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nuarc-FT26V3UP-KM-Ultra-Plus-Flip-Top-Platemaker-/171283159511?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e14599d7
6K
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nuarc-FT-40V6UP-2-sided-Platemaker-Burner-/271447341545?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3385b9e9
Of course if you buy the 6K, you're better off just modifying the vacuum frame to accept a screen, It should fit a 23 x 31 without any trouble. I have a full write-up on here already.
Inkworks:
ps: I've been using my 3K unit for 12 years with the same bulb, and the bulb was used when we got it, it still smokes my 8K Olec for exposure times due to the light being so close to the screens.
In fact it's exposure times were in line with the fastest times posted for the LED units, and I'm using Diazo emulsion with a med exposure time. (Autotype 8000)
mimosatexas:
Nice finds! I wish I was in Virginia
Nothing similar within Texas though based on my searching.
I am looking for just the light as I plan on using it for exposing huge frames for all over printing and sign printing among other things. Some of the art is a good 4 feet across, so the light will be 6 feet away, and a 1k bulb takes a hell of a long time at that distance, plus the glass will be thicker than my other unit.
My 1k diy MH unit with vacuum top is working like a champ already (at least compared to the tube unit I built before) and I actually had to lower the light almost to the ground to make the exposure slow enough that I can comfortably washout a screen, squeegee it, check it for issues, set it on the dry rack, and walk back to the unit in time to pop the shutter. It was exposing a little too fast at 1.5x the diagonal of my art. I also removed the reflector to see if it cut down on undercutting due to spreading the light, replacing it with matte black instead. So far it does seem to have helped. I can hold every single dot on a 45 lpi film from my 1400, but I still feel like I am losing too much when I try 55 lpi. Not sure what to do about that exactly. Glass is 1/4", film is standard wp inkjet, 1400 is printing without a rip, but I have played with all the settings and it is basically putting down as much ink as the film will accept without it starting to blur and oversaturate. full exposure to a hard 7 at 31" from the glass on a 2/1 coated 160 is just shy of 2 minutes.
Out of curiosity, what exactly makes a bulb instant on vs requiring a warmup time? Is it the ballast, power supply, or the bulb itself or the combination?
Inkworks:
Basically it doesn't have a shutter, it still has a short warm-up time, maybe taking 20 seconds to hit full brightness from dead-cold, subsequent exposures with a warm bulb means even less warm-up.
My 8K Olec is 4.5' away from the surface of the screens. going to 6' would probably double exposure times.
I'm not sure what the electronics or bulb differences are.
I buy used stuff from all over N.A. I'm in BC Canada, so I know shipping expenses all too well. You should be able to get that shipped for ~$300, maybe less, I have a great US freight broker if you need it. A 6K bulb, reflector, ballast, integrator, and vacuum pump for ~$500 landed is a heck of a deal i.m.o. My 8K light source was over $2000 used. My vacuum frame was a good deal though , traded $200 worth of printing for a 4' x 6' wall mount unit in good shape.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version