MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Edited by Mike Shand

DRAWING OFFICE Artwork Spray, which excludes CFC propellants. The spray can be used to mount paper, card and bromides. Its light clear formulation prevents lumps and is claimed not to West Design Products have introduced theMaped tech­ yellow with age or wrinkle or soak into the paper. nical which come in 0.18, 0.25, 0.35, 0.50 and 0.70mm sizes and features a transparent barrel which allows the NOBO VISUAL AIDS ink level to be visible at all times. Maped's technical pens A range of solvent free marker pens for creating bright retail at £8.99 each ex VKf. Alternatively, the Maped 3 flip charts has been introduced by Nobo Visual Aids. The Set, consisting of a 0.25, 0.35 and 0.5mm pen, a bottle of water-based pens do not contain xylene and so are user and black ink, an emser, and a 0.5mm technical with 12 ozone friendly. The ink is light resistant and waterproof refill leads can be bought for £22.57 providing good resistance to bleed-through on all types of paper. The packs of four assorted colours - red, green, blue MARSGRAPmC and black, cost £4.45. A range of marker pens for creating The 308 Marsgmphic pigment liner for gmphics artists, messages on drywipe boards and paper are also available comes in 4line widths and contains a special pigmented ink from Nobo Visual Aids. They are available in fine, standard which produces ultra black fadeproof and waterproof lines and jumbo tips of red, black, blue and green with standard suitable for reproduction or drawing on fllm or paper. The size also available in orange and brown, and for extra large 308 Marsgraphic can be purchased singly at £1.45 each in messages there is a black giant marker. The drymarkers 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 widths. come in boxes of 10 single or assorted colours. Auorescent drymarkers are also supplied in boxes of 10 single or assorted colours with standard tips, and individually with Pelikan have introduced the Fineliner Signal which has giant tips. For writing on wet-wipe boards, markers with an acrylic tip designed to keep its shape over 2,000 metres chisel or fme tip in four standard colours are available, in of writing, drawing and sketching. Fitted with a special boxes of 10 single or assorted colours and boxes of four Signal Cap it is said to keep fresh for up to three years and assorted colours. The Drawing PinOut is a handy new is available in black, blue, red and green with line widths of container for removing and storing drawing pins. It has a 0.3mm and 0.5mm. The Pelikan Roller Signal with its special notched plate which slides underneath drawing pins cemmic ball is said to contain enough ink for 1,500 metres to removes them without the user breaking fingernails. A of superfme writing, and it is fitted with the same Signal screw-top end provides access to the container which comes Cap as the Fineliner. supplied with assorted colour drawing pins. The Drawing SWAN STABILO PinOut costs £5.20. Stabilo Sensor, a new fmeliner from Swan Stabilo ROYAL SOVEREIGN incorpomtes a highly sensitive spring tip suspension system The Royal Sovereign Magic Marker twin tip is a to compensate for uneven paper or varying pressure from double-ended marker combining the versatility of both the users hand. Its fine line width of 0.3mm is suitable for chisel tip and fine point. Available in over 148 colours the both writing and detailed studio drawing. Six inks are twin tip marker uses new xylene-free ink and can now be available: blue, red, black, green, pink and lavender. used on photocopies, tracing paper, poorer quality paper and many other materials. Magic Marker Inks are available Part of a collection of three writing instruments, the in a range of 50 colours matched to the Magic Marker range colour Rotring Art Pen joins the Altro and Tikky ranges as and are available in 28ml and 250ml bottles. a pen designed for handwriting or sketching. It comes in a FABER CASTELL choice of four subtle colours -apricot gold, rose blush, dove New from Faber Castell comes a new range of grey and forget-me-not, with prices starting at £3.06 for (in plain and rubber tipped) both made from Californian Tikky, £4.58 for Altro and £6.13 for Art Pen. cedar. The Black Magic is rubber tipped and available in EDDING five gmdes from 2B to 2H and retails at 22p inc VAT. Edding's 1800 Profipens series is now available in Natural is also available in five grades with plain cut end various widths- 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7mm and in six colours: (at 17p), the rubber tipped (at 18p inc VAT) is in HB only. black, blue, red, green, violet and sepia. The pens are well The American pencil costs 14p for rubber tipped in HB or suited to precision line work, illustration and outlining and 13p for 2B to 2H inc VAT. Faber-Castell have also launched need no refilling. Similar to a with a metal the Goldfaber range of water- soluble coloured pencils in framed synthetic tip they give a consistent line and the fmer metal tinsof6, 12 and24 (retailingat£2.08,£3.74 and£7.52 stroke widths come in useful for template and lettering respectively) and a new range of fluorescent pencils with guides. Price is £11.95 each (incl VAn or in a three pen large wooden barrels in a Dry lighter finish containing three wallet at £5.85. Edding have also announced a new 400ml shades - pink, yellow and green.

SUC BULLETIN Vol25 No 1 47 ROTRING-PAASCHE Pentel have launched the Micro Correct correction pen A number of special promotions have been launched with a metal fine needle tip for precision correction. A new by Rotring, including the Paasche Fl easy-to-use, single-ac­ design of valve system has been developed to ensure trouble tion airbrush offered with the 777 compressor, for £99.97 free performance, together with an advanced fluid formula (a saving of £57 .95). Others are the Paasche V Airbrush Set, for smooth flow through. Micro Correct contains 12mls of for use with dyes or heavy acrylics also including a set of fluid and should retail at a recommended retail price of Rotring ArtistColor, ArtMask film and an airbrush pad for £1.99 including VAT. Pentel also have introduced an all 240.02. The professional Airbrush & Compressor Outfit brass technical automatic pencil with four lead widths. The includes a professional airbrush and compressor for Hi-Polymer leads are made in carbon and graphite. £406.74 and a set of ArtistColor, a roll of ArtMask film an pad A3 airbrush and the Rotring Model E airbrush.£ 20 can be saved on the Rotring Model E airbrush for a limited RapiDesign one of a range of three technical drawing period as the price of this airbrush has been reduced from pencils from Berol which uses leads of 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or £184.25 to £164.23. 0.9mm diameter. Automatic is a self-advancing lead mech­ anism with a rubberised barrel and brushed aluminium SIMAIR AIRBRUSH endpiece, Cassette XL has its own cartridge system with Simair distribute the German AMI range of graphic art leads varying from 2B to 6H in traditional graphite for paper products including the Dia-Dye water-based non-clog air­ and polymer for draughting film. Anew range of erasers has brush colour in either 15ml or super economy 250ml also been launched by Berol for general pencil erasing of bottles, 46 colours are available including seven designated ink or pencil guidelines from drawings. The Type-E-Rase for re-touching photographs. A series of eight tutorial exer­ is a woodcased eraser for removing ink type and most cise books are also available for students and covering ballpen that looks just like a pencil. Blaisdell erasers are everything from basic techniques right up to advanced pencil-styled, and, self-sharpening, to remove inks. The illustration. Speederase is a vinyl pencil eraser in a pen-shaped refillable holder with push button advance, completes the range. DALER ROWNEY The Airbrush Masking Film is available in 4m and 8m GRAPIDC AIR SYSTEMS rolls as matt or gloss finish, the 4m length rolls come in Graphic Air Systems have developed a new range of 305mm (12in)406mm (16in) and610mm (24in) widths and bench-top extraction equipment offering greater flexibility the 8m roll in the 406mm (16in) width. The masking film and versatility. The system is a modular in design with a allows specified areas to be kept clear of colour when basic extraction unit housing the filter and fan. The system airbrushing or carrying out detailed work with a brush. features an efficient filtering system combining the pro­ cesses of dilution, dispersion and absorption to reduce PANTONE contamination. The units are available in two sizes to suit Pantone's 64-page catalogue includes details of all the most desk top requirements. products and services or the Pantone Matching System and the latest art materials available from the Pantone colours. CARIBONUM PELIKAN The catalogue is included with every Color Selector 1000 Roll-fix Cover Up from Caribonum Pelikan is de­ and Color Specifier and contains solid colour and process signed to cover up mistakes. It is solvent-free and easy to colour reference manuals, graphic art materials, computer apply with no mess or waste and it leaves no shadows on graphics, colour control equipment, licensed ink manufac­ photocopies. Cover Up also drys as it is applied so it is turers, and Letraset subsidiaries. possible to rewrite over it immediately. Roll-fix Cover Up WEB DRAFTING UNIT is refillable and available in two widths, 4.2mm for typew­ riting corrections and 8.4mm for handwriting corrections. The Web Al extended foldaway unit comes can be They cost £3.99 (refill £1.75) and £4.50 (refill £1.95). either folded flat for easy storage when not in use, or left free standing. It has a single action weight and angle adjust­ GRAPIDC DESIGN ment with a drawing board size of 650 x 950mm. A Trackstar 625 drafting machine incorporates an adjustable MECANORMA JETBRUSH zero facility, matching device and double hinge. Retail price With the Jetbrush a broad stroke and graduated tint for the Al unit is £441 plus VAT. backgrounds can be achieved by holding the can at varying angles to the surface to be covered. Colour consistency is WELLGATE CIRCLEMASTER constant and maintained by means of the shake-and-mix Wellgate Drawing Instruments have introduced the ball bearing on the fine nozzle spray. Pigment rather than a Circlemaster as a more compact and accurate tool than dye formulation is used therefore the Jetbrush adheres well traditional drawing instruments and is designed to accept a to board or paper surfaces without soaking through, and is , pencil or felt tip for drawing circles in incre­ quick drying. Resistant to UV light, water, bleach and other ments of 1mm in lines of given angles. Retail price is£ 2.55. liquids the Jetbrush is said to be easily erasable. A palette FRISK PROJECTOR of 24 strong and pastel colours in cans can be purchased singly (£5.95 +VAn or in a 12-can box (£64.02 +vAn. Frisk has expanded its range of Artograph visualisers with the launch of the DesignMaster projector which can

48 SUC BULLETIN Vol25 No 1 enlarge up to 400% or reduced to 70% onto the table top. models of only 90mm depth - compared to the previous An even greater enlargement can be obtained by simply 120mm. The new slim Quasars have also been fitted with a removing the DesignMaster from the stand and projecting specially-designed internal reflector system which prevents up to 15 times. It is available in black with an easy to attach . the banding and fall-off which are common in some slim­ adjustable stand at £135. bodied light boxes. The Quasar's lightweight body is available in white with a choice of colour body additions in ELITE OPTICS red, black, blue, grey or plain white in standard sizes rang­ Elite Optics have introduced a new light weight port­ ing from A4 up to 60x40in and a comprehensive choice of able overhead projector called the Elite Principal which can option and accessories. be folded away into its own shoulder bag for storage and carrying. The machine retails at£420 and weighs only 7kgs CRESCENT PERFECT MOUNT and can be used in landscape or portrait formaL Perfect Mount is an adhesive mounting board for de­ signers, which can act as a permanent backing for a variety AUTOMASK of materials, from maps and presentation materials to pos­ Static protection and anti-Newton properties have been ters and graphics. Its peel-off top layer exposes an adhesive added to the masking films of Autotype International. Auto­ board onto which the material can be laid and repositioned mask Rubyplus and Amberplus now include as standard a before a permanent bond is achieved by adding light press­ toughened scratch-resistant membrane on an anti-static ure with a roller, squeegee or mounting press, using the base giving the best contact with photographic montage release paper to cover the work. Perfect Mount comes in foils and fast release in vacuum frames. Less dust is at­ two thicknesses of sheets measuring 32"x40", a foam cen­ tracted to membrane so that pin-holing is reduced on tred version is also available in sheets of 32" x 40". negatives and the matted surface reduces reflective glare and eye strain. ESSELTE DYMO Two thermal binders have been produced by Esselte ROTRING DRAWING BOARDS Dymo, one for low volume use and the other for continuous Rotting have introduced a range of A3 drawing boards. use. The binding systems use a ceramic heating plate for The Rotting Rapid A3 is available at £47.96 with a free consistent temperature allowing several thin documents Rapidline three pen set worth £21.80 and the Rotting De­ may be bound in a single operation - the binding cycle is signer A2 is priced at £99.98 with a free Isograph College just 40 seconds, a cooling rack is built-in to transfer docu­ SeL ments immediately for binding. The H520 retails for £115 MYERS CUTTER +VAT and comes with a sample pack of five covers and Myers new 54 "(1370mm) Precision Cutter can cut will accept documents up to 30mn thick (including covers) material up to 0.75mm thick and incorporates a safety sitting on a desk top. The larger model HS2000 retails for self-sharpening rotary action cutter at a retail price of £186 £235 +VAT and is supplied with a starter pack of 25 covers ex. VAT. containing a selection of cover thicknesses and will bind documents up to a total thickness of 40mm. DAHLE CUTTING MATS PLAXFOLIOS Dahle Cutting Mats have unique markings, allowing users to cut a variety of angles and shapes. The outer border The Plax Folios come in a broad range of sizes and is printed with a 5m grid allowing accurate right angles to colours and features crush-proof reinforced corners, a strong handle and press-stud fastener, a name tag and a be cut more acute angles are marked in the centre of the mat, facility to include ring binders for plastic sleeves. Available together with geometric shapes. It is possible to cut 6- or in A4-AO sizes the A4-AI is 100mm deep with ring files, even 8-sided figures by using the angles and moving the compact files and shelf files for A3 and A4 document paper round. Dahle scalpels are also available with the four storage, and planchests. common sizes of blade together with Aluminium Cutting Rules which have a steel insert along one edge for raising REXELJOB BOX the rule fractionally to prevent the cutting knife from de­ The polypropolene Rexel Job Box is tough, wipe clean flecting off the flat surface. and doesn't buckle. The semi rigid fileholder can double as DWVIEWCASE a briefcase and has a 20mm capacity with cut-away front, The DW Viewcase uses the light from an ordinary desk a secure foldover flap and a built-in closure mechanism lamp or similar light source to provide a good level of even designed to house A4 size documents. The 60mm capacity box file, with similar dimensions to its partner, comes with illumination for design graphics, photographic or OHP a removable set ofplastic dividers each with 20mm capacity tasks assisted by back illumination in the studio or class­ room. It can be used to transport pens, paper, photographs, compartments. In black, red or blue The RRP are £2.54 for working material or be used as a portable presenter. An A4 the job file and £4.25 for the job box. or A3 screen is available for each model in a choice of 'kit' ADMEL FILING options which includes a daylight simulation bulb, a set of Admel has improved the styling performance of its quality marker pens, and an acrylic screen cover for scalpel Archivite Multiprong vertical planfile. It has a capacity of or heavy pressure work. Quasar lightbox design has been up to 2,400 AO size or 4,800 AI size drawings and provides improved with a new, slimline body on the A4, A3 and A2 maximum protection, fast access and minimum standing

SUC BULLETIN Vol25 No 1 49 space. The lockable lid includes a handle to protect the key available in AO and AI sizes with plotting speeds of up to when left in the lock and for safety the lid is counterbal­ 113cm/sec, a mechanical resolution of 0.005mm and a pen anced by two gas springs. Four separate drawing response (up/down) time of 35 times/sec. The Mutoh XP compartments are available for referencing, and the 60mm series are HPGL, Calcomp 907, and PCI format compatible pitch multiprongs vertically suspend taped or prepunched and are supplied with 1Mb buffer, an RS232C interface and drawings from A4 to AO. Drawings can be filed, retrieved, a year's on-site warranty, priced at £4,295 (AI) and £5,495 removed and replaced by a push button mechanism. (AO). TYPESETTING TDS NUMONICS The Encad 4800 family of pen plotters from TDS-Nu­ MECANORMA FONT LIBRARY monics is now available for high quality, wide format A collection of fonts for Apple Macintosh and plotting and feature Draft Quality and Extra Quality plot IBM/compatible PC users has been launched by Mecanor­ modes, a variable pen speed and acceleration settings, and ma and distributed through Edding U.K. Ltd. The pen re-defmition, allowing any one of the eight pens avail­ Mecanorma font library is fully compatible with Adobe able to be programmed as any other. Type Manager and Type Reunion Postscript software and come as discs in individual blister packs together with a text OCEGRAPIDCS sheet illustrating the size variations for each font The first Oce Graphics has enhanced the performance of their release includes 76 single character fonts, together with a G 1800-C series of pen plotters allowing data transfer series of graphics, borders and ornamentations, free-style, speeds to be increased by up to 30%. The standard 4Mb cartoon and technical artwork illustrations and pictorial and buffer and 1.5Mb buffer accept complete files, and for textured backgrounds. A further 76 single typefaces are due AutoCAD users there is an ADI driver allowing connection to be released soon to all 286, 386 and 486 software versions - for Apple Macintosh users a LocalTalk connection is available. The AGFA IMAGESETTER adapters may be mixed with pens in the Agfa have recently launched the SelectSet 5000, which carousel so that you can plot drawings using both ink and comes complete with Adobe's latest PostScript Emerald lead simultaneously allowing pencil plots to be modified by RIP- the PS Star. The PS Star RIP family is aimed at users hand and replotted in ink. of high volume and high quality colour applications. It is PostScript level2 compatible. with a powerful RISC proces­ AM COMPUTER GRAPIDCS sor and a R3010 floating point processor packaged with 16 AM Computer Graphics have launching a range of Mbytes of RAM, a 200Mbyte hard disk drive, a Toshiba plotters featuring an optical pen sensing system - the Zeta CD-ROM drive and an AgfaType CD-ROM with optional 936IPS (Integrated Plotting Station) and Zeta 936is (ink access to over 1,000 PostScript typefaces. Standard inter­ sensing) models use roll or cutsheets at both AI and AO sizes. faces include Ethemet, SCSI, Apple Talk and Centronics. Both have a 'PenMinder' feature which checks the ink level in the pen being used and automatically changes to another AM VARITYPER pen when the ink gets low this allows the plotter to 'stack AM Varityper has launched a new Series 4000 Post­ up' pens in the 8-pen carriage for uninterrupted plotting of Script Imagesetter - the 5300E, a wide-measure, 80 pica the correct colour or line width selected. The Zeta 936IPS version of the Varityper 5300. Varityper are also the dis­ model also has a PlotDisk built-in floppy disk drive (either tributor for the Apple Macintosh version of the Advent 3B2 3.5 or 5.25 in.), which can read single or multiple plot flies integrated professional publishing system. previously written to a floppy disk using the MS-DOS or compatible operating system. Other features include a plot­ PLOTTERS ting speed up to 107 cm/sec and a resolution of0.025mm. AMADMEL Both models can be connected via RS232C, IEEE488 or IBM 3270 coax connections and also have software inter­ The PD4400 automatic plan printer from AM Admel faces including Zeta GML, HPGL, CalComp 960 and uses the diazo development system to produce high quality, Tektronix 4662 or a AutoCAD ADI driver. dry, flat prints on a variety of diazo material without the need to handle or mix chemicals or dispose of waste. The PD4400 is compact, can be located vertically anywhere and includes features such as automatic feed and synchronised cutting of material, automatic separation of original and Contributions please to :­ copy and improved speed due to a very short paper path. Mike Shand, The PD process does not use heaters so the PD4400 can be Department of Geography & Topo. Science, switched on and off, to suit varying print demands. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ. MUTOH PLOTTER TeL 041-339-8855 ext. 4780 The latest series of Mutoh pen/pencil plotters the XP- Fax. 041-330-4894 500 is now available from SSI Microcad. It is the first plotter JANET: M.Shand@ UKAC.GLASGOW.VME to use FUZZY-Logic to improve vectoroptimisation allow­ ing the plotter to interpret data intelligently. They are

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