Digital BW, The Print

Paul, you wrote:
> Yes, I've ordered one.  The local glass shop can only go to 1/4 inch, so
> I'll try that first.  If there are different types/qualities of glass that
> could be flatter than others, the locals don't know about it.  (There are
> limitations to living in a small town.)
>
> I also will replace my crude plywood counter top cover with a
> melamine-coated particle board.  (I lay a piece of solid plywood over my
> darkroom wet sink.)

All glass these days is float glass so its flatness is like the flatness of
the watersurface in your bathtube without anyone in it. It is unlikely that
minor defects in the surface will show, the paper will have more
irregularities. It is better to use a real thick glass plate and a softer
material below it to transfer the weight than using a thin glass plate on a
rigid board and filling up the flatness differences.

> >Using a glass rod will eliminate this, an even
> >bead of coating can be
> >gotten by slightly lifting the rod before pushing forward.
>
> With 8x10s I get totally even coating.  So, I'm hopeful that the
wire-wound
> rod can do it.  I would like to see how these glass tubes/rods work,
> however.

A glassrod will apply less coating than a wire-wound rod (at the same
diameter). I don't think there's much difference between the adhesion force
and the coating split for glass or steel with water soluble polyurethane.

Ernst