Just the thermofax, ma’am

I spent a good chunk of today (after a leisurely breakfast, a nap, and a nice walk) playing with the Thermofax.  After a couple hours, I got something fairly passable:

successful Thermofax print!

Along the way, of course, there was plenty of this:

lots of misprints!

and even some of this:

mangled Thermofax screen

I discovered that yes, kiddo, it is possible (and actually quite easy) to overexpose a Thermofax screen, and wasted probably at least $30 worth of screens figuring out what the right exposure was.  I’m still not convinced that I have the exposure exactly correct, but it’s passable now, and I’m tired of fiddling, so I think I’m going to move ahead and burn some more screens so I can try four-color printing using registration marks.

(No, I’m not crazy: I’ve done this with screen printing in the past, so it’s just a matter of transferring the technique to Thermofax printing.  It shouldn’t be too hard – if I can get the screens burned correctly!)

Anyway, I’ve created this Photoshop simulation of what I’m after:

four color dragon

There are four colors here: the copper clouds, the red dragon, the gold tail/crest of the dragon, and the green eyes and pearl.  I’ve separated the colors into different screens, added registration marks (the little + symbols in the corners), so I can line up the screens, and am prepared to try printing tomorrow morning.  I have no real expectation of success, and actually not much interest in the finished product – it’s just an exercise in Thermofax printing!  But I figure it involves most of the technical skills required for Thermofax printing, so it’s a good thing to start with.

But first, it’s off to dinner!  Tonight is date night, and we’re going out for sushi.  Yum!