Both systems need Exposure units work best when they are clean, the film/resist contact is tight and the bulb/s are in good condition. Making sure these aspects are in good order is a smart move by the operator to avoid production problems.
Clean Equipment
Both the bulb and exposure screen should be kept clean.
A dirty lamp can cause weaker exposure resulting in poor washout quality becaues the exposure was hampered. Wipe it down regularly with a clean damp cloth.
A dirty compression screen can cause uneven exposure through diffusion. Keep and eye on the compression screen to make sure it is alway very clean.
Letralite Acrylic Cylinders.
Keep the inside and outside clean. take care when handling the cylinder when in production. Care not to scratch, place on dirty surfaces ect.
- Use a clean soft cloth
- Avoid using amonia based cleaners such as Windex, glass cleaners
- Use specific acrylic cleaning solutions or warm soapy water.
Glass Sheets
The 26-1ks and the 1422 both use glass sheets as the Compression plate.
- Keep them scratch free by being carful not to touch them with hard objects.
- Use glass cleaners regularly to keep them clean.
Compression
Ity is critical that your exposure system has good compression of the art film and the PhotoMask film. This ensures that you get great sharp edges. If the compression is not good you will ghet light seepage causing soft edges to your stencils.
Letralite Blanket
The Letralite Blanket is a replaceable part. It is a stretchable blanket that creates the compressio for your letralite unit. A new blanket is quite tight and hard to strech to the cylinder clip. Eventually the blanket becomes weaker and then does not compress as well. Keep an eye on this and replace the blanket as needed to get back to great compression. It's a subtle change but it can make a big difference.
1422 and 26-1ks exposure units
Both systems use glass compression sheets and vacuum style compression to achive the right compression. Theyare both largely maintenance free, Just make sure you keep the glass and bulbs clean.