Photopolymer Plate Water Soluble Solid Polymer Die Resin 20x30cm Home Stamp Sheet Parts Tool sy Use Printing Industry Making Craft Letterpress DIY

I've tried so many different methods for making my own hot foil stamping plates. Acid etch on copper, carved silicone, etc. Either it was too time extensive, didn't work well or too soft of a material.I learned about using photopolymer for uv transferring images from printed negatives and amazingly, it worked perfectly. Just print a negative on a transparency, use a cheap $20 uv nail drying machine to flash cure it, then a toothbrush in a tupperware container filled with water to scrub out all the unexposed photopolymer. Throw it back into the uv light to solidify the cure and you have a nice, hard photo etched plate. Tape it to your heat press with double sided tape, doesn't have to be heat resistant, just the basic scotch tape. At 300 degrees, the plate heats up enough and still stays firm to stamp foil with. I am so glad this worked. I have so many ideas I can finally bring to life now.Edit: After you cure it, it's best to press it between two hard surfaces, like some books to keep it flat when not in use. That way it doesn't warp and stays nice and firm. It's been about 5 months now since I've been using this and I feel like I've pretty much mastered it now. I still use the first stamps I've made and they press with hot foil just as nicely as the first time. It just takes practice to flash a nice negative so your plate comes out crisp.

It appears that this material has already been exposed. Could not get the non exposed portion to clean up. So i cut another piece from the sheet, and just tried to clean up the whole piece…did not work.Another question…why would photo sensitive materal come packaged in clear plastic?

I was able to get parts of the sheet to work, so if your just doing small items it is possible. The overall problem is these plates are UV light sensitive of course and are best stored in a black plastic bag. These are not stored in anything. Mine came in an Amazon bag, no further protection. There is a semi-UV proof clear cover on them but that doesn't stop UV light coming in the edges. Who knows how they are stored in the warehouse or for how long. The end result is parts of the plate seem pre-exposed (not good) and the wash-out step takes a really long time if it is successful at all. By comparison my plates from Boxcar Press wash-out super easy.

no instructions at all. Did get them to work the trick is very warm water with a very soft toothbrush and lots of scrubbing.

After I exposed my film into the plate, I left it for 2 days. When I came back, it was warped/ didn’t lay flat. Also, when I inked the plate to press a print, it rubbed out messy and therefore made a messy print. I was under a deadline so I continued using it. Lining up my paper and plate on my register, I wasn’t able to clearly print where I wanted because of the warp. I would recommend using metal plates for intaglio. I DON’T RECOMMEND.

Tried several ways to develop the plate and nothing worked. Plate does not develop. Total waste of money

Not protected from light exposure. Would not wash out even if we did not expose it. We do photo emulsion screens every day. Totally unusable. One star was the lowest choice.

I tried these plates to see if they were equivalent to Toyobo. They are not, or they are too old. Either way, it's a waste of money.