Trouble with Burning the Screen

I purchased my Thermofax about 5 years ago from a technician in Chicago,and sadly, it sat on a shelf for most of the time since. I got it out to play with, and have very dark photocopied designs with which to make my screen. The nice folks at Welsh tell me that there should be no plastic left in the image area, only the base mesh. That is not what is happening; on most of the screens, I would guess that at least 50% of the plastic is left, but they seem to work... Friends who have used my machine tell me that
the screens made on my machine do not differ significantly from those made on other machines. I do have a couple of screens made several years ago, I think in a class, that appear clean in the image area.

When I run the copy/film through, the light comes on; the machine is set for the slowest run-thru speed, and the screen is warm when it exits the machine. Running it through a second time does not seem to make a difference.

I would appreciate comments, suggestions and knowing if your screens burn out completely.

Caryl Hancock, Indianapolis

Caryl, my screens burn all the way through. Is it possible that you are not using a photocopier with carbon toner? If you go to a commercial place like Kinko's or Staples to use their copier, very often they have digital copiers that don't have as much carbon. And the people who work there don't know the difference, so even if you ask, you won't necessarily get the right answer. I would suggest you try to find a different photocopier and experiment with it (older ones are the best). Maybe your public library has an ancient one that would be good for your purposes.

A true laser printer (i.e. - carbon toner, not an all-in-one digital printer) will do the trick and I have been told that believe it or not, the HP ink jet black ink has enough carbon in it to cu a screen - so that's something else you can try.

Good luck hunting and let us know how you make out.

One other thought if it turns out not to be the copier you're using - maybe your lamp just is on its way out and isn't hot enough. But try the other options first.

Rayna