Hello:

What have you found to be the best way to check dimensional stability in the
silver halide artwork phototools?

I'm working in a large volume production facility.  The artwork design is
sent from a CAM system to the drum laser plotter where it is imaged onto
silver halide film which has been stabilized for at least four hours.  Then
it is sent to a developer unit.  The plotter and developer system is in a
class 1000 cleanroom.

The next step in the process is to AOI the film for "copper splashes" and
"pinholes."  Then the film is touched up.

My major concern is that the film retains its size and shape so that it will
be accurate for imaging manufacturing.  Is it best to put targets in the
artwork design around the peripheral of the image and then measure these
targets at various times?  Or, is it better to punch holes in the film around
the edges after equalization and prior to laser exposure to measure the
development process?
I don't want to overdo it putting too many targets on the artwork or in
collecting insufficient data.  We do have measuring equipment which is
located within the adjacent film inspection area, which is a class 10,000
cleanroom.

I haven't seen much discussion on the artwork or its creation processes in
this forum.  I hope this sparks some discussion.  If this has already been
discussed previously, my apologies.

Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

Process Engineer

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