Which is less expensive?

I have been using magnesium etched plates, but was wondering if there is a less expensive alternative. Is buy a Boxcar base or magnet base and getting polymer plates cheaper?

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Updated. Not in my experience. Maybe if you make the negatives, expose the plates and wash them out yourself. There are some folks who do that successfully, but you’re trading off effort and money. Linocuts or woodcuts might also be cheaper if you cut them yourself. Same trade-off.

I’ve also experimented a bit with using cereal boxes as a printing surface. Works pretty well. You can cut it with a knife or
scissors and paste it up on a block of wood with rubber cement. Shim to type high with the unused portion of the box. I found the printed surface of the box works a bit better as it doesn’t seem to soak up the ink as much. Seems to work best for larger, solid color areas and thick lines.

Mostly, I use copper cuts from Owosso. The price differences between magnesium and copper aren’t that great. Type and cuts have been where I’ve spent the most money and I don’t try to skimp too much. With a little planning you can maximize the cuts per order by just filling up the minimum area with cuts you think might use one day; having them cut apart for the small fee that Owosso charges.

Shouldn’t the question really be what is the better buy for the money? especially in regard to what is the best?

If you are looking for cheap, rubber stamps will fit the bill, over the long run.

Essentially, once you pay for a base, it does not matter if it is a base for photopolymer or for photomechanical engravings, it is simply an ongoing expense. You can buy either mounted on wood, each and every time, but why would you want to? (especially if you are looking for the less expensive).

Despite inflation, photopolymer plate processing is still priced out at what it was a decade and a half ago. Hard to beat that.

Gerald
http://BielerPress.blogspot.com

Gerald:

In an ideal world, where money is of no concern and quality is everything, then, yes, yours is the only appropriate question.

Even though I can afford to spend a bit of money now and then, I’m not able to devote huge sums to what is essentially just a hobby. The trade-offs of cost vs quality must play heavily in my decisions of what to print and how to print it and what to print it on, etc.

Plus, I agree with a friend who said that much of the enjoyment derived from printing is figuring out how to do the best you can with the limited resources at hand.

Luckily, the price differences between photopolymer, magnesium and copper are not overly significant and I can indulge in a new cut occasionally. For a number of reasons, including the fact that Owosso Graphic Arts is practically next door and they’ve treated me royally over the years and saved me from a number of expensive mistakes, I buy wood mounted copper from them when I need to print something I can’t produce out of my patiently acquired collection of new and used type and cuts. I also just like the durability of copper compared to magnesium and photopolymer.

Arie

Quite understood. Hands down on the durability. Plus copper is an excellent printing surface.

You might try to pick up a honeycomb base (and hooks) on eBay. They don’t seem to go for very much. That would allow you to buy unmounted copper photoengravings (cheaper) and have the ability to register precisely and on a very stable and dense base.

Gerald