Well, it was too overcast to expose Puretch plates today so I made another try at using PnP Blue.
I had very good success with todays efforts using every trick and tip that has been passed on to me:
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I filed plate edges to remove die cut burrs.
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I rubbed plate on 320 grit sandpaper to level the surface.
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I polished the plate with 0000 steel wool and Purple Power.
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I cleaned plate with alcohol.
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I ran some temperature tests on a Bienfang Sealing Iron to determine the correct temperature setting. I had searched for some temperature sensing “dots” then it dawned on me that the laser toner itself would “tell me” what the correct iron temperature was. I melted the PnP Blue samples onto paper at different settings and found the ideal temperature to ensure melting without smearing.
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I used an anti-stat brush that I found at a photo store to remove pesky dust on the PnP film and plate.
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I found that I had to really be sure to get the edges of the copper plate up to temperature. I had to linger on the edge of the plate with the iron to ensure enough heat in that critical area.
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The smaller area of the iron vs. a laundry iron seems to ensure even heat distribution as their is minimal warping of the heating surface.
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I let the plates air cool on a larger copper “heat sink” plate.
The PnP Blue peeled away nicely and I had zero defects in the transfer.
I ran a quick electro etch cycle at an aggressive settings to check out the erosion problem and to also check for lifting:
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1 amp at 2 volts
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2 inch plate distance.
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4 square inch plate.
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20 minutes
The etching process went very well. There was no lifting of the resist.
So, I will now use this technique for the edition of plates using the inverse twiggy tree design to see if I can gain some confidence.