kodatrace

Kodatrace is a special tracing paper made from frosted acetate film and used as part of the exposure process when putting imagery onto silk-screens.
Opaque marks made on the Kodatrace will print as the image.

All marks must be opaque to prevent the ultra-violet light from hitting the light sensitive emulsion applied to the surface of the screen. Where the emulsion remains soft it can be washed away leaving a stencil on the screen.

Opaque paint especially produced for working on kodatrace is called Photo-opaque or Arcapak. This is available in the print workshop.
You can also try:
• Rapidograph or pigment liner for fine lines. (Avoid permanent markers, these often don’t work)
• Chinagraph pencil (available in college shop)
• Torn or cut papers- black or red
• Gouache or acrylic paint- black or red
• Wax crayon and oil pastels- black
• Indian ink-black
• Anything opaque, be inventive! Pieces of lace, feathers etc etc!!
• You can also photocopy onto acetate to make a positive, although you may need to layer up to copies to get a dense enough mark. Use the black and white mode on the photocopier.
• You can print from your computer again using the black and white mode and print onto transparent film via a ink-jet printer.

The silk screen exposes best if there is a good contrast between the transparent background and an opaque image. Grey areas can give inconsistent results as there is no tone in silk screen printing (unless created through texture) either a mark is there or it is not!