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Equipment and Materials for
Coating and Printing Cyanotypes
Paper: pure cellulose, unbuffered, internally sized with AKD
Glass coating rod or brush
Blotting strips
Syringes or pipettes, Calibrated 2 cc and 5 cc
Glass plate
Spirit level
Drafting tape or clips
Print frame
UVA light source
Timer
Plastic measuring jug 1-2 litre
Stirrer
Processing Dishes (2)
Drying line and pegs or drying screen
Procedure for the ** Cyanotype Process
Choice of Paper
Use only papers that are not alkaline-buffered with chalk (calcium
carbonate). Alkalies are hostile to cyanotype chemistry. The best
results will be obtained on unbuffered papers such as:
• Arches Platine
• Hahnemühle Platinum Rag
• Magnani Revere Platinum
• ‘Buxton’ or 'Herschel' handmade by Ruscombe Mill
• Crane’s Platinotype
• Weston Diploma Parchment
If buffered papers are unavoidable, they should be pre-treated in
a bath of dilute (5% v/v) hydrochloric acid, or 5-10% w/v sulphamic
acid, to destroy the chalk, then washed. The use of oxalic acid is not
recommended because calcium oxalate is as insoluble as calcium
carbonate. For prints up to 10x8 in. or A4 in size, a paper weight of
160 gsm (grams per square meter, g/m2) is adequate. For larger prints
of A3 size, a weight of 240 gsm, or more, will minimise “bellying” of
the wetted area of the coated sheet, which will contact the negative
better and be more robust in wet handling.
Negatives and Control of Contrast
Negatives may have a long density range (in the UV): as much as 2.7,
to produce a full tonal range in a print made with the low contrast
sensitizer. This version particularly commends itself for preparing
digital negatives by the PiezoDN protocols. By making use of the
variable contrast adjustment, sensitizers may be formulated to match
their Exposure Scale to the density range of silver gelatin negatives
prepared for other processes, such as platinotype or palladiotype.
Addition of Su**ctant to the Sensitizer
The success of cyanotype depends on the sensitizer penetrating the
interfibrillar space of the su**ce cellulose fibres, where the pigment
will be trapped, and not simply remaining in the coarse pores of the
paper, from which it washes out. To assist retention and to provide a
more uniformly coated su**ce, a su**ctant (or ‘wetting agent’) is
used. Tween 20™ (a non-ionic su**ctant) is added to the sensitizer
solution just before coating to produce a final concentration of ca.
0.25-0.5%. i.e. one drop (ca. 0.05 cc) of a 5% v/v stock solution of
Tween 20™ is added to each cc of sensitizer and mixed in well. For
larger coating areas, add one drop of a 25% v/v stock solution of
Tween 20™ to each 5 cc of sensitizer. Do not use Tween 80™ which
causes foam. Do not add Tween to the stock sensitizer solution: it
doesn’t last very well when dilute, and the appropriate amount - to be
found by trial - will depend upon the chosen paper.
Coating
Coating by the rod method (ca. 6 ‘passes’) will require ca. 1.5 cc of
sensitizer to coat an area appropriate for a 10”x8" print; brush coating
consumes more. Blot off any excess sensitizer which may crystallize
and damage negatives. Try to “fine tune” your coating volume on the
basis of experience, in order to avoid excess. For instructions see:
http://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/preparations.html
https://www.dropbox.com/s/yf6z1kftk7q2xcf/coating.mov?dl=0
Drying
Let the sensitized paper dry at room temperature in the dark for an
hour or two. Shorter drying times are possible, but very humid paper
may damage silver-gelatin negatives, and not lie flat due to swelling.
Alternatively, allow a few minutes for the sensitizer to soak in,
until the paper su**ce appears non-reflective, then heat-dry it with an
air stream at ca. 40°C for ca. 5 minutes. Heat drying of a cyanotype
paper appears to increase contrast slightly (~1 stop). Prompt drying
can diminish any chemical fogging due to impurities in the paper; but
note that over-rapid drying may diminish penetration and worsen the
loss of image substance during the wet-processing procedure.
The storage life of coated paper depends on the purity of the
paper base, as mentioned above, so use the sensitized paper within a
few hours of coating, if possible. It will keep longer in a cool, dark,
desiccated enclosure. The coated side should remain light yellow: if it
turns green or, worse, blue, the highlights are chemically fogged, so
reject it and find a better paper.
Printing Exposure
Exposure depends on the chosen scale of contrast but is significantly
shorter than that needed for the Classic cyanotype process - probably
about 5 to 10 minutes under an average 365 nm UVA light source (e.g.
a facial tanning unit) should suffice.
Since this is substantially a print-out process, a traditional
hinged-back contact printing frame will enable inspection of the
desired result: the exposure is continued until the high values appear
light green, the mid-tones are firm blue, and the deepest shadow
tones are reversed to a pale blue-grey, giving the image a ‘solarised’
look. If the print is left in the dark for some hours before wet
processing, another stop of highlight detail may become apparent.
Wet Processing
1 Develop in 1% citric acid for half to one minute with agitation –
until Prussian blue starts to runoff, then transfer to the water wash. If
high-lights appear to be unduly blued, use citric acid more dilute than
1%. Omitting this acidic bath and simply processing in water produces
a much shorter Exposure Scale of ~1.3, with higher contrast and no
fogging but a slightly weakened Dmax.
2 Water Wash: immerse face down in gently running water for ~10
minutes. Alkaline water (pH >7) must not be used, nor hard water,
containing calcium salts, which will damage the Prussian blue image.
Alternatively, at least three or four baths of static water may be used.
The reversed shadow tones regain density fairly rapidly by air
reoxidation during wet processing and drying, but if completion of the
regain is required immediately -e.g. for densitometry- then 50 cc of
6% hydrogen peroxide (“20 Volume”) may be added per litre of wash
bath. Blued highlights may be cleared by immersion in a 1% bath of
ammonium oxalate for a few minutes.
Permanence & Stability
The Prussian blue pigment of cyanotypes is destroyed by alkali:
buffered wrappings and mounts (pH > 9) should therefore be avoided.
Cyanotypes can fade somewhat in daylight (2000 lux) or bright gallery
illumination, but this loss is regained on dark storage in the air, and
their full density should return after a few days. Exhibition under low
light levels (50 to 200 lux) should cause no measurable fading. For
conservation information see:
http://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/conservation.html
Summary of ** Cyanotype Procedure
1. Unbuffered paper: choose side, mark up coating area
2. Syringe out sensitizer: add Tween to final strength ~0.25-0.5 %
3. Rod Coat: ~1.5 cc per 10 x 8 in. area: 5-8 ‘passes’ of coating rod
4. Dry in dark: 1-2 hours at room temp, or 40°C air for 10 minutes
5. Negative: density range from 1.8 to a maximum 2.8, in the UVA
6. Expose to UVA: until high values green and deep shadows reversed
7. Develop: ½ minute in ~1% citric acid; or water for more contrast
8. Wash: in non-alkaline, non-hard water for 10 minutes
Typical results for ** Cyanotype: One-bottle version
Three contrast grades 1, 2, 3. Sensitizer pH given.
Buxton paper 160 gsm. Tween20 0.3%. Exposure 8½ minutes.
1-3 developed in 1% citric acid for ½ minute. 4 in water only.
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