Ruby v. Amber-- key differences?

[perkins]

At least one printer has told me that he prefers ruby, better opacity when burned to screen.

[squeegeethree]

Back in the day when ruby was used in the newspaper/ magazine printing business. The guys that spent all day working with Ruby were called "Strippers"

[mono_666]

I havent tried using amber... where is the best/cheapest place to order it from?

[strawberryluna]

hmmm. budai uses ruby for all of his separations, cuts and peels them all by hand with no troubles. not sure of any differences personally but ruby obviously works out well for him.

[HYNES]

Both have advantages or disadvantages over each other - while amberlith is thinner and easier to cut fine detail it tears a lot easier than ruby, even if your scalpel is just slightly blunt.

The main benefit to Amberlith is its also a lot easier to see through than ruby - you can get away with out using a light table sometimes.

[crosshair]

There are different thicknesses of Rubylith, or at least there used to be.
Only significant difference is the ease of seeing through it, as Hynes says.

You'll want a swivel-blade exacto; much much easier to cut curves.

[Iron Canvas Studios]

I did some stripping back in the day, as in the printing industry kind.

[jayryan]

both amber and ruby come in multiple thicknesses, and are the same as far as peeling and detail. it's a question of opacity and ability to react with the emulsion you're using. i use both, though i use ruby most of the time. in a practical sense, for screenprinting, there's no difference.

[HYNES]

Originally Posted by crosshair

You'll want a swivel-blade exacto; much much easier to cut curves.

argghhh i dunno what it is about exactos but I find them very hard to use, those swivel blade contraptions are a nightmare. I use surgical scalpels (swann Morton) I think they have far better control if you learn to use it right.

[crossedfingers]

Thanks everybody for all the helpful comments!

mono, I got mine from McLogan-- $36.56 for a 40x150" roll. I think that was the cheapest I found it.

crosshair, I found that helpful advice somewhere on this forum and snapped up a swivel knife on Sunday. I look forward to using it!

And thanks Andymac for telling me that tip about keeping it sealed-- I probably would've just ruined a whole roll by accident!

OK, this roll of Ruby sounds like it'll be fine to work with, since most people don't seem to mind its cutting ease. Cool!