Plate burners for Pt/Pd

[Jorge]

Hey Jay, I am sure Clay will pitch in since he also uses a NuArc. In my case, I have both the NuArc and a fluorescent tube one, the tube unit was the first one I obtained and without a doubt the NuArc is a lot easier to use and better to control exposures. The foot print for both will be large, as a matter of fact the box with the fluorescent tubes is bigger and bulkier than the Nu Arc 26-1k. I lost the pic of my darkroom but the NuArc actually takes less room than my Zone VI enlarger. As I said before if you are patient you can find them in E bay really cheap and they are worth the price of shipping, no comercially made tube unit will compare to the Nu Arc.
Check out the article by Sandy King in unblinkingeye.com. You will get a better idea of the type of unit you want, and get great information on why mercury units are a lot better.

Ah men, I guess I should try and answer your question. Yes! the Nu Arc is worth the shipping price, much better than any FL tube unit. Size wise they will both take the same amount of pace if you want to print up to 16x20.
If you only want to do 8x10 then the Fl will be much smaller but I think in photography size does matter.....I rather have the extra capability than further down the road wishing I would have gotten the bigger one. The actual price difference from a new 8x10 unit from edwards engineering and a good used Nu Arc from E bay is nothing, actually I think the Edwards unit would be more expensive and you dont get a vacuum frame.

So, if you are serious about pt, and want to get equipment that will make your life easier then get the Nu Arc, if you want to just try pt and have some measure of control then build yourself an 8x10 unit. In the end you will spend about $250 for the FL box, or about $600 for the Nu Arc.

 

[Jorge]

Here is one for $51 and small enough

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?viewI...&category=26246

 

[Jorge]

LOL...yeah I just posted the link. This one is actually better than a 26-1k because you dont get light spill over. With mine I have to leave the room while exposing, until I build containment walls around it. This one is nice, you get a drawer and you are not exposed to the UV. Before you bid, I would call Nu Arc and ask them about parts, bulbs, etc....you dont want to get stuck with an unit that is too old and no parts for it.

 

[Jorge]

Yeah, and take some nice pics while you are there.....I am sure at most it will get into the $150 range, I have seen them stay this low. With the digital equipment now available these units are going for peanuts, good for us....

 

[clay]

I'll chime in, now that I 'm back from the workroom. I really like the Nuarc unit I have - its a 26-1K. I picked it up used on ebay for a couple of hundred dollars, and since then I've put about $250 dollars in parts into it. I had to replace the vacuum pump, the mat, and the bulb at various times over the last 2 years since I bought it. I have found Nuarc to be VERY responsive to problems, and I always get the parts, even though my machine is probably 15-20 years old. The only downside as I see it is that they are a little slower than a good fluorescent box, but very much more accurate in the exposure because of the built in light integrator. I still have a fluorescent tube box for working with POP processes such as Van Dyke, POP paper and Zia, where you need to examine the print. The vacuum frame is my favorite part, because my prints are always sharp, which is something I cannot say about my 16x20 printing frame. The problem gets worse as the negatives get larger. A printing frame works well up to 8x10. For larger than 8x10 negs, you have to be obsessively careful about ensuring complete contact between the negative and the print when using a printing frame. The vacuum frame on the nuarc unit makes this part mindless. If the pressure gauge reads 12psi, I know I will have a sharp print. If you're serious, get one.

Clay

 

[Jorge]

I second Clay on the Nu Arc customer service, I had to replace the bulb and a little hose for the vacuum pump and they were great!