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TOOLS | PhotoEZ (StencilPro) Silk Screen Film Developing |
Update: Looks like these folks dropped PhotoEz in favor of their better product - StencilPro! Circuit
Bridge introduced a new material called StencilPro. According
to Bill (the manufacturer), StencilPro develops quicker and has a much
longer shelf life. In general, it's the new and improved version of
PhotoEz. The material you can use to make the image on the film needs to be anything flat and needs to be something that can effectively block light from passing through it. Sample items are listed below in supply list (image making material***). However, note the fabulous potential with printouts. Any monochrome image you can printout from a computer can be a candidate for making a silk screened image! You draw your own or you can scan in images such as from Dover books, then resize, refine, etc. to create your own custom images. And with the silk screening technique, you can overlap images, creating wonderful depth. Your light source for developing the film can vary as well. Strong direct sunlight is the quickest and the cheapest. However, cool white, full spectrum or bright daylight fluorescent light sources will work as well. Development time lengthens with the artificial light sources. Details on specific time lengths is provided below. * Thanks to Jenny Patterson for sacrificing some of her precious PhotoEZ film to test it with her Ott light. A while after I wrote this page, Circuit Bridge has updated their website and provided directions: http://www.cbridge.com/howtos/projectguides.shtml Two direction sets are better than one. ;-) |
Film Developing Steps | |
1. |
In a dimly lit room,
remove a sheet of the PhotoEZ film from its black plastic bag. It's a
rich emerald green. It may be necessary to cut the 8" X 11"
sheet into desired size pieces. After cutting, immediately return any
pieces you're not going to use back in the black plastic bag to protect
the film from developing. Keep undeveloped film away from strong fluorescent
sources. |
2. | Assemble
Film Sandwich ** Remove the protective plastic sheet from the film! ** Make the following sandwich, starting at the top:
Clamp the sandwich so nothing slips or moves. |
3. | Develop
Film Orient the sandwich so light hits the top of the sandwich. Develop film for exactly the time required for that image background and light source - no shorter, no longer. If you've opted for sunlight, orient the sandwich so it is as perpendicular to the sun as possible. Example, at noon, the sandwich can lie perfectly flat. Earlier or later in the day, you should angle the sandwich so it directly faces the sun. Also, if you are sun developing, make sure you have a total light blocking container or bag to put the sandwich in before and just after the development period. If you're using artificial
light, the sandwich should be 2"- 4" from and perpendicular
to the lightbulb(s). Note: If the exposure time is too short, more of the film may wash away - if the exposure time is too long, more of the film than you intended will remain. |
Developing Times for PhotoEz | Overhead transparency or flat objects | Tracing paper or vellum | Inkjet or laser white paper |
Sunlight | 30 seconds! | 40 seconds | 4 minutes |
Full spectrum fluorescent light | 4 minutes | 5 minutes | 14 minutes |
Daylight fluorescent light (e.g. Lights of America MegaLite compact lights) | 6 minutes | 8 minutes | 24 minutes |
Cool white fluorescent light | 14 minutes | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
13 watt Ott light* | 20 minutes |
4. | Film
to Stencil Gently shake the film while in the water and gently, gently wipe away the dissolving film with a soft natural sponge or your finger tips. You should be able to view the fine mesh in the areas where the film dissolved away. Blot the stencil between some paper towels and press gently to remove excess water. Remove the stencil from paper towels and allow film to completely air dry. |
5. |
While air drying, re-expose stencil to your light source for 10 minutes to further cure/toughen the film. Now, the stencil is ready to use. |
||
Now that you've got a PhotoEz stencil, click the link below to learn how to use it. |
Using a PhotoEZ Screen |
There's
nothing better than having a great tool when you need it.
Enjoy, |
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Last update to this page: 11 Jan 2015. Send comments, questions or suggestions to Desiree McCrorey. |