At 11:15 AM 8/25/99 -0700, AMC-CAL-DVP Richard Hatano wrote:
>The most excellent photoplotter I had been using for the past couple
>years went belly up :(  Can anybody recommend a good photoplotting
>service in the Silicon Valley area?  The determining factors will be low
>cost and ability to turn film around in 24 hrs or less; you know, the
>usual.

I don't know Richard's situation, so my comments may or may not apply for
him, but very many fabricators now have their own photoplotters (for
example, the small shop I often recommend in Oakland, Boardworks). Most
fabricators would rather receive files than film, and, in addition, there
is little or no delay in fabrication.

If I were a fabricator, I think I would charge *extra* for receiving a job
as film rather than as Gerber, for lots of reasons.

It can be objected that controlling the film will prevent a fabricator from
modifying it; but purchase specifications (such as fabrication drawing
notes) are a better means of accomplishing this, specifications that
control the result, not -- so much -- how it is obtained.

Even if a fabricator does not have a photoplotter, any fabricator will have
developed sources for fast delivery of film, and, since they are the ones
who would have to live with bad film -- if the customer has not provided
the film -- it is really best to leave it to them. I don't have the
equipment or inclination to measure the quality of the film image; some
kinds of defects would not be immediately obvious upon casual examination.

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Abdulrahman Lomax
P.O. Box 690
El Verano, CA 95433