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Is this Tabletop unit really only 60 Watt?

1117 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by  NoXid, 
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Hello! I'm new to posting, although I did post an intro a couple of weeks ago. As most newbies do, I'm having trouble with exposure. I purchased a used setup from a guy who closed his home-based business. Included in the purchase was a tabletop exposure unit, but I don't see a brand or manufacturer sticker. It's very similar to this one: https://www.anthemprintingsf.com/Li...fo3mmR_PggCm8BBeV31Yaf-AYA1mkUnYaAgxVEALw_wcB

There are four fixtures, and he gave me a box full of brand new F15T8-BL bulbs. Does this mean my unit is a maximum of 60 watts? I'm using Ryonet Dual Cure emulsion. So far, during my tests the best exposure I've gotten is from 13 minutes, but even then I'm getting ghost images on my screen when I reclaim it. I don't have an exposure gauge, so I've done a test using a cardboard sheet and moving it every minute. For this screen, it's 110 mesh. I don't have the moolah to purchase a different unit, or even make one at this point. I need to make this work for now.

Does 13 minutes seem accurate for a unit like this? I know there are a million variables, but it will help if I understand my equipment better.
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NoXid
Yes, you counted up the watts right. Of course, watts is a measure of power in, not of UV light out, so not useful when comparing to a different type of light source (LED, metal halide, etc).

My first unit was a DIY much like that. I used 40 watt tubes and had times around 7 or 8 minutes with Diazo type emulsion. So yeah, your time seems about what would be expected.

The easiest improvement you can make is to use a fast poly type emulsion, like Saati PHU. However, I do not know how fast the typical dual cure is compared to a pure poly type emulsion, but poly is faster than Diazo. Perhaps someone else can comment on how hast the Ryonet dual cure is compared to a pure poly.


I now have a DIY vacuum-top 1000w metal halide. 25 second exposures with PHU. I do not miss my tube unit :p
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