[Jewelry making - Article 00070] - Re: [Orchid] [Techniques] Photoetching

[Katherine Palochak]

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>    Katherine, re PnP transfers and uneven heat, etc., you said to
>    turn the iron upside down and place the metal on top. I'm not
>    sure I understand how this would work. I take it you mean you're
>    heating the metal from underneath, and the PnP is on top of the
>    metal. But how are you applying pressure to the PnP to get the
>    image to stick? I like your idea of the waffle iron. I read
>    somewhere else that someone used a dry mount press (used for
>    photos). I wish these weren't so pricey. 

    Rene, all irons have different handle setups, so it will be
    necessary to experiment a little to see which method works best,
    and allows the iron to be stable.  What we've used most
    successfully has been to mount the iron upside-down on a bench
    pin, with the bench pin through the handle, then using a
    graduated wedge from the opposite side.  My iron has a nice flat
    surface, so I use one of those flat bench pins made from a 1" X
    4" (they have a "C" that goes through a hole in the pin for
    adjusting to different thicknesses of work areas).  An associate
    couldn't get her wierd iron handle to work on any bench pins, so
    she started with blocking it upside-down on bricks, then later
    knocked together some scrap wood with an opening in the middle
    for the handle. 

    I've found it doesn't require to much pressure to transfer the
    resist. I found an old playing card for my burnisher. It's
    fairly thick and doesn't have the plastic coating on it to melt.
    Stoke the burnisher in one direction only, preferably from the
    side of the register ("scotch") tape to the opposite side. It
    seems to only require as much pressure as you're able to get from
    a flimsy piece of card. If I can't find my card, I use a piece of
    folded paper, 8-1/2" X 11". 

    I've used this method successfully for transferring a variety of
    patterns. I've never had problems with designs with large areas
    of black. Some of my designs have been based on large ratios of
    black and white, such as Anasazi, Hohokum and Pueblo designs, as
    well as very bold pattern zebra stripe patterns. I think the
    secret lies in getting all of the metal surface a consistent
    temperature at the same time. On my iron, the maximum sheet of
    metal I can use is 4" X 6". I usually set up my patterns on the
    PnP with this size in mind, and do a whole sheet of metal at once
    in this size. Try transferring the designs with the iron
    upside-down, metal next, and PnP on top, and see if you have
    better results. 

    I guess I'm going to have to invest in a laser printer. Your
    experiment with grayscales is intriguing. For others, the reason
    inkjet printers won't work is because their inks aren't
    carbon-based. Laser printers and photocopiers use carbon-based
    toners. If you have a steady hand, you can draw directly on the
    metal with India ink or permanent markers, but it is very
    fragile. The PnP must somehow combine with the toner to
    plasticize the resist a bit, providing a tougher resist. 

Katherine Palochak, Wyoming

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