The vacuum frame, or not..

 Rotating vacuum frame, often used by screen printers.

Having a vacuum frame makes things easy, but it is not a necessity. Exposure units often come with a vacuum frame, they are very useful, certainly for the bigger format polymer plates. But there are other, and cheaper solutions.

Exposure unit with vacuum frame.

Small polymer plates can be exposed, fixed between two glass sheets using clamps.

Or you can use  a board, foam backing and a heavy glass sheet.

you can use a contact printing frame.

There a several diy projects out there to make your own vacuum frame. Here are a few:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V22KWUwIn5A
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48428440@N04/sets/72157623645144972/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WJn5YFANxU


The one thing you should accomplish is a very good contact between your positive film and the polymer plate. Otherwise, you will lose the fine detail, and sharp contours. 

exposure units

Polymer plates are sensitive to UV light. The sun could do the trick, but it is not very accurate. Clouds, time of the year, hour of the day..... all will interfere with your exposure time.
So you will need access to a UV light unit.  There are different lighting units, you can buy one or build one. If you have access to different units, and you plan on using more than one, you have to test them all. If you are interested in more technical know how, read this article on the 'unblinking eye' website.

1.HPR lam;p;
The Philips HPR 125W bulb (HPR125 Mercury Discharge Reprographic Source). A lot of screen printers used this source. It delivers a powerful bluish-white light with strong actinic radiation. To operate it you need a transformer for each bulb.before exposure, the lamps needs to be on full power, this will take a couple off minutes. If you switch them off, let them cool down before switching on again

- How to connect a HPR bulb to a Philips BHL 125 L40 ballast.

2.Metal halide exposure units;
I use this one for the moment. The older ones need to heat up and completely cool down if switched off. Heating takes a few minutes.You can find second hand metal halide vacuum exposure units from a printing office. Check the internet for a decent priced one. Replacement bulbs are rather expensive.

3.UV fluorescent exposure units;

This one is easy to make if you like a little DIY.  Make sure to use the right UV fluorescent tubes. (e.g. Sylvania F25 T8 BL350 18)

These units produce less heat and you don't need a lot of distance between your unit and your plates. So it could be a table top unit.
DIY links:
http://www.atm-workshop.com/light-box.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zif0NBOeBc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-q2lkAMbdA

      Sylvania F25 T8 BL350 18. Click to enhance.
     

4. UV LED exposure units;
Low one energy consumption, and the life time of an LED bulb is between 50.000 and 100.000 hours. There is no waiting time, switch on the unit and it's ready to work.
A bit harder to build yourself, but you could.
DIY links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ZlrqMdTm8




DIY a few more;
http://www.screenprinting-aspa.com/how-to-articles/how-to-build-an-exposure-unit
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/184436547216133011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9IyQVFosFQ

You can find a lot of information on the net. Just find the one you would fancy. Print offices, screen printers, polymer plates... All of these units will work for you.

Protect yourself from UV light, and don't look into the UV light. UV exposure is not immediately felt . . . the user may not realize a hazard until after the damage is done.

The polymer plate

As mentioned, you can only use certain polymer plates.

If you want to use the Dan Welden solar plates, there is only one type of plate. You can order five different sizes; 4x5, 6x8, 8x10, 12x16 and 16x20 inches.

Toyobo Makes all kinds of polymer plates, called Printight. This is what's on offer:

The one I use is the KM95R plate, in the yellow section. Steel based. Also the one most intaglio printing shops sell. Comes in standard international paper sizes up, to A1.

Your polymer plates will arrive in a black light-blocking bag. Store your plates in constant humidity, avoid heat and keep them away from light. Exposed, store them in an air-tide plastic ziplock bag. Before storing, clean well. Keep exposed plates away from heat and UV light, the surface might crack.

Polymer plates will not keep forever. Some say one year if well stored, some say less. So it is a good idea to keep your images (film) for future use.

It should be easy enough to find a local supplier or order from the internet.
I mentioned Dan Welden solar plates before, you can buy toyobo and den Welden plates from Polymetaal if you live in Belgium or the Netherlands.

The polymer or solar plate

The polymer plate is also referred to as the solar plate. Polymer plates come in different types and sizes, but only a few can be used in the intaglio process. The two main brands you will come across are Dan Welden's solar plates and Printight from the Toyobo Company.
Both will do the job, I use the Toyobo plates as for me, they are easier to get. The way i work can be applied to both brands.

I will mainly focus on photo polymer printing. Polymer plates are sensitive to UV light, so you need a UV light source. The 'sun' is one, but not very well suited for the photo polymer process. You need to be able to control the amount of light to a precise level. Which source you use is up to you, I will mention them later.

This is a simple view of how a solar plate works: