Are you using a UV meter?

[filmamigo]

Curious if anyone has or uses a UV meter for alt processes that require UV exposure?

I'm getting into polymer photogravure, and would like to try cyanotype. In Canada the sun is a whimsical beast; plus I work days, limiting access to sunlight. So I have built a UV exposure box. In the interest of quantifying the box versus sunlight, and even different strengths of sunlight, I ordered a UV meter. It's a Solarmeter 5.0, covering 280 - 400 nm UV A/B.

Thoughts or experience to share?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Nope. Never needed one... but I could see how one could use it to check bulb output as they age.

 

[carioca]

Curious if anyone has or uses a UV meter for alt processes that require UV exposure?

I'm getting into polymer photogravure, and would like to try cyanotype. In Canada the sun is a whimsical beast; plus I work days, limiting access to sunlight. So I have built a UV exposure box. In the interest of quantifying the box versus sunlight, and even different strengths of sunlight, I ordered a UV meter. It's a Solarmeter 5.0, covering 280 - 400 nm UV A/B.

Thoughts or experience to share?

I don't have one of those. If you'll be using a fixed UV source, try to calibrate your process to it, period. I have an UV transmission densitometer that actually records what's going through the neg and hitting your photosensitive target.
Look at this like that: Your sitting on a tropical beach with your UV meter, it will tell you how much UV radiation is hitting you, but it won't take into account that you're wearing a T-shirt or if you have put on any sunscreen, etc... - same goes for your process, it can't take into account that you are using a digital negative (with inks x/y/z, substrate super transmissive or rather less...?) or perhaps just an old fashioned silver negative.

 

[Ian Leake]

I use a PPM2 UV meter from lightmeasure.com. I wouldn't say it's essential to making prints, but it is useful. It's helped me to understand the warm-up time of my fluorescent tubes, for example.