Machine Shop, Photography & Images

Homage Tektronix Circuit Computer: Paper Matters

To judge from the dislodged pigment grains, the original Tektronix Circuit Computer probably used then-new laser printing on good-quality paper, laminated between plastic sheets:

Tek CC - OEM
Tek CC – OEM

A Pilot Precise V5RT cartridge on plain paper (20 lb 98 white), also laminated, looks pretty good:

Tek CC - V5RT green - 20 lb plain paper
Tek CC – V5RT green – 20 lb plain paper

But a black V5RT pen on HP Glossy Presentation Paper (44 lb, 160 g/m²), also laminated, is spectacular:

Tek CC - V5RT black - glossy presentation paper
Tek CC – V5RT black – glossy presentation paper

The glossy Presentation paper is hard enough to keep the pen ball from sinking in, producing much finer lines. In round numbers:

  • 0.2 mm – Tek laser-printed (?) original
  • 0.3 mm – green V5RT on plain paper
  • 0.2 mm – black V5RT on glossy Presentation paper

The CNC 3018XL plotted / drew everything at 2400 mm/min = 40 mm/s, with minimal wobbulation in the lines and none worth mentioning in the characters.

The pen ball sometimes pulls a dot of ink off the glossy paper as it rises at the end of a stroke; perhaps matte paper would produce more traction on the ink.

You can see small blobs at the end of some strokes, but the fancy paper prevents most of the bleeding visible in the previous tests. Pilot V5 pens definitely dislike card stock.

The results looks great in person without magnification, so maybe none of that matters.

The pix come from the Pixel 3a camera in its microscope adapter.