Appreciation post: That moment I realized I burned my screen because of a desk lamp

I was setting up my exposure unit in my garage in Phoenix last summer, using a cheap UV bulb and a desk lamp I found on sale. Halfway through burning a design, the lamp tipped over onto the screen and left a huge scorch mark right through the emulsion. I had to start over from scratch, timing everything around the afternoon heat, but next time I'm clamping that thing down with a bungee cord. Has anyone else had a setup fail just from lighting placement?

2 comments

2 Comments

laura_white9920d ago

I used to think lighting placement was NO BIG DEAL, like just point the bulb and go. But man, reading about your lamp tipping over and torching the emulsion really made me rethink my own setup. I had a similar thing happen with a cheap clamp light that kept slipping off my table edge, and I just ignored it until one day it fell and cooked a whole batch of screens. Now I'm ALL about securing things with zip ties or heavy tape before I even turn the UV bulb on. It's those little oversights that cost you hours of work, especially when you're battling afternoon heat like you mentioned in Phoenix.

lucas_hunt18d ago

Yeah I used to be pretty careless about it too, but not anymore.