Drum Mounting Station

[Masterview]

I recently got a Howtek scanner with a mounting station. The roller on the station was gone and I need to replace it. Aztek's newer rollers don't fit so I got a neoprene tube from McMaster, but it is too hard. When I mount film, it does not have enough give to press past the film and squeeze the air out on the sides.

For those of you that have a mounting station, what would you equate the softness of the roller to? The neoprene I got has a Durometer hardness of 70A, which is just softer than a shoe sole.

Would you equate it to a rubber band, a pencil eraser, a tire tread or a shoe sole? Is it softer than any of these? Thanks for any help.

 

[imazursky]

Hi Greg,

So which one did you get? Im a longtime Howtek lover and user. I have a 7500 and I am getting a second for our overflow work.
This is a common occurrence with the original Howtek mounting stations. I searched for months and months to find a replacement.
I never got anywhere. I ended up with a roller that a friend found in one of his machines that he was dismantling. It came from an old Presstek Pearl 74 digital proofer. Its fantastic. It has shoe like rubber surrounding a solid steel core. It is very heavy but perfect for the job. I just realized that my shoe soles might be different from yours. I just checked some of my erasers and that also feels good. They are the staedler white ind that are used for drafting.

I have never found a perfect replacement other than this. I found that the original rollers are not well suited to mounting. They are way too soft. They have a nylon tube in the middle so they deformed and didnt move the air bells. Mine also took on a wavy appearance with serious deviations from a true round surface.

I can send you a picture of mine if you would like. I also have some rollers form a Fuji Celsis drum scanner. They are also good if you can find them.

 

[Masterview]

My scanner is a D4000, and my first test scan went well. I need to fine tune my scanning software, but other than that, I am in business. Something as soft as an eraser would be better than what I have now. It is on a steel core, so I don't expect any deformation. I suspected my roller is too hard since it has no give at all when squeezed, which I believe is the source of the air bubbles on the sides of the film. I looked at McMaster again and found some polyurethane rollers that come in varying degrees of softness. I may try one of these, but they are pricey.

 

[imazursky]

Hi Greg,

Good luck. Let me know what you come up with.

 

[lenny]

I recently got a Howtek scanner with a mounting station. The roller on the station was gone and I need to replace it. Aztek's newer rollers don't fit so I got a neoprene tube from McMaster, but it is too hard. When I mount film, it does not have enough give to press past the film and squeeze the air out on the sides.

My roller is pretty soft. However, the thing that goes on most older mounting stations is the springs that hold the arm with the roller against the drum. My guess is that replacements for those springs would yield a much better result.

I had one of the mounting stations with the black metal sides and I would put my forearm against it while I rolled the drum thru - and that made a difference until I got a new one.

Hope that helps...

Lenny

 

[Masterview]

The roller I have has no give at all. I am considering using stiffer springs, but I still need to find a softer roller or the springs won't matter.