Murakami Photocure TXR/400W MH/Oiled paper positives

[auscreener]

Hi all, looking for some opinions here which may help my problems

I'm using a 3' x 4' yellow 120 mesh (i think this is 305T in inches - in australlia = metric)

For light setup I'm using a high bay warehouse light - 400W metal halide (no UV filter cover)

The diagonal of my image = the light distance from the glass to the bulb (and I'm warming up the bulb before exposing)

I'm coating twice on each side with a scoop coater, always making sure to coat the ink side last. I am coating twice because I always end up with a thicker deposit of emulsion in the middle with one coat - two coats makes an even sheen, although it is thicker than I would prefer.

I'm drying stencil side down.

Now the problem comes in when it comes to washing out - halftone dots become quite fragile and wash out too easy. this would make me think that I've underexposed, but if I expose until the emulsion is a lot firmer I end up with too much light intrusion making the open areas smaller than they are and the positive.

Is this a common problem with using oiled paper positives? I have used the same setup with 2000W MH and dont get a problem at all.

2000w exposure time = 6 minutes
400w seems to be upward of 40 minutes...

Maybe having to expose for a longer period of time means I get more light encroaching around the positive?

I would use transparency but @ $350 for 4 prints (CMYK) i'd rather use the cheaper alternative!

Any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated!

[BigmanJames]

350 for 4 prints? what????

you can get a used plotter for 400 and a roll of vellum for about 50 and be set for a long time!

[auscreener]

350 for 4 prints? what????

you can get a used plotter for 400 and a roll of vellum for about 50 and be set for a long time!

Haha yea definately something to consider for the near future - no money right now :/

There is no cheaper alternative around here other than oiling paper. Sucks to be me!

[BigmanJames]

save up! it is worth it in the long run. i would recommend getting some vellum sheet.
pretty cheap and burn decently. also less messy. save your oil for cooking!

[auscreener]

Well until then... I've fould a solution finally!

Do to my setup of medium strength light + poor positive x long exposure = ruined halftone, I decided to cut back as much as possible on the thickness of the emulsion to lower the time needed. So I only coated one side normally and then scraped the same side again tilting the scoop right back which emptied a load back into the coater, leaving me with a thin coat. I made sure this was coated from the paper side so it would burn near the mesh first.

Unconventional, but it has given me the best halftone stencil I've ever done. I don't imagine it will last for too many prints, but I'm not doing that many anyhow.

Amen