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by David Kaye

I’ve had a fascination with computers since first encountering the now legendary ZX 81's and Spectrums that Clive Sinclaiir introduced boldly into the Home Computer Market, way back in the early 1980's.

In retrospect, these machines were simple and incredibly crude by today's standards. Yet for me they sowed the seed of a progressive interest in computers.

Ten years or so have gone by and I am now at University studying Fine Art Printmaking. One day my tutor referred to something known as the 'Quadra' - the Quadra is a computer. Well I just had to give it a try.

My first experimentation with the Quadra was rather clumsy. When I transferred the work to the medium of screenprint the results were disappointing. But I wasn't going to be beaten that easily. I had got my the 'foot-in-the-door' and from then on my proficiency grew. I spent the remainder of the course moving between the computer screen and the screenprinting-beds.

There was a basic system I devised, for process my work using the Quadra; firstly after gathering together the images needed for my work, I transferred them through a scanner to form a digital representation on a monitor. Once within a Programme such as Photoshop, I could control and rework these images into what was required, which usually entailed cutting and pasting. After reaching a finishing point, the work was printed out in a standard black and white format.

The black and white printouts were then Photocopied onto either equivalent sized sheets of plain Acetate or Tracing paper (doubling-up photocopies increases the image density, result-ing in a stronger Stencil on the Silk Screen) The next step is to expose a silkscreen coated with Light-Sensitive Emulsion on an Ultra-Violet Light-Box. Once exposed for the correct dura-tion of time the screen is sprayed with water to wash out any undeveloped photo-emulsion.

After drying the silkscreen, brown gum-tape is moistened and placed along where the silk meets the frame. This tightens the silkscreen against the frame and also stops ink from run-ning into any gaps along the edges. Light-holes in the stencil are covered using Blue-Filler. This prevents ink coming through where it's not needed. The screen is now ready to print.

Problems can and do arise. For example the dot size of the computer printout may be too fine for the mesh size of the silkscreen. When photocopying, the acetate heats up and expands sometimes causing slight image distortion. As a result two identical acetates may not align completely when overlaid. It is important to use a good photocopier that gives clear solid contrast and definition and doesn't leave tone lines on the copyprint. Computer printouts usually come in A4 and A3 size. This can limit the size of the final print. Larger images can be achieved using a Copy-Camera and Photographic film known as 'Kodalith'

All-in-all, the fascination for me is, once you have grasped the process, ideas can be manipulated in increasingly complex ways. The computer gives the artist a new and interesting tool to develop his/her vision.

David Kaye can be contacted at:
94 Marlborugh Ave,
Hull HU5 3JT
England
Tel: 01482 346969

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