Photoplotter FilmStar-PLUS
Instructions to Use
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Test run
You will need some adhesive tape to mount the film
on the drum. We suggest you use 20mm white paper
tape (painter's utilities), as this white tape can be
best seen in the Dark Room light and it can easily be
cut off the roll by hand.
Enter the Dark Room, turn on the green safe light
and make sure there is no extra light from outside
dropping in. Open Filmstar´s lid. You will see the
drum. Turn it by hand until the white arrow on the
drum faces the white arrow on the left of the drum
housing. Take a sheet of film from its box and tape
the upper end to the drum in a way that the tape sits
about 5 mm on top over the arrow.
Since we only need a small strip for the first test plot,
you can cut the film with a scissor or similar to strips of approx. 7 cm.
The emulsion side of the film must be facing the drum. Films coming on rolls
are already wound accordingly. Under the green light, the emulsion side of the
film normally looks gray, the top side is darker.
It is also possible to place the emulsion side (gray) to the other side (the laser
diode). But be careful, in this case the correction factor for drum circumference
changes, because the picture will now appear on the outer diameter of the film
and not on the inner diameter of the film (= the diameter of the drum). If you
want to plot with emulsion side outside, then you need to correct the drum dia-
meter in Run-Filmstar software according to the film thickness.
There is another white arrow on the lower part of the drum housing that you
should use for lateral positioning of the film. After you fixed the upper edge of
the sheet, turn the drum by hand and sweep over the sheet so it goes tightly
on the drum. It is important that the sheet edges are parallel to the drum axis
and that the upper and the lower sheet corners are facing each other, i. e. the
film is not twisted, else the image will be distorted or the line edges will not be
sharp. (Mounting films correctly will need some practice.)
In that state use adhesive tape to fix also the lower end of the film to the drum.
Finally, it is very important that you turn the drum further to the starting position
with the two white arrows in one line.
Close the lid and re-pack all film material into a safe box (!!). You can now
turn on the plotter. The Laser LED will light up several times very shortly and
you will hear some beeping noise. After that the LED light will be barely vis-
ible. When the exposure process has been started the LEDs will light up per-
manently.
Annotations
:
Films form different film supplier can have a different light sensitivities. In Ad-
dition the developing chemicals may differ. For that reason it is possible and
necessary to adjust the intensity of the laser light depending on your personal
working conditions as and in accordance to the desired resolution. To do so
you can plot a so called
lightbar
either directly from the machine's touch
Bungard Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG, Rilkestraße 1, 51570 Windeck – Germany
Tel.: +49 2292 / 9 28 28-0, Fax: +49 2292 / 9 28 28-29
, E-mail: [email protected]
Resolution
Light intensity