Cyanotype Process With Photos
Below are photos and notes from some of my experiences with the cyanotype process! I hope this helps you as you experiment with this printing process!
Decide where you want to expose your paper. For the below 5x7 leaf and flower print, I was planned on taking it outside and expose it to direct sunlight.
Gather the materials. I picked fresh leaves and flowers and thought about where I would want to place these items onto the paper. This way, once I take the paper out, I can put the materials on top as quickly as possible to prevent any unnecessary exposure to the sun.
Do you need to put your paper onto another surface for transport? Since I was going to work on this inside then take it outside, I placed my paper onto a large non-bendable envelope (seen in above right photo). This way I could easily move and bring my paper outside.
You can use a piece of cardboard, a hardcover book, board game box, cutting board, scrap piece of wood, foam board, etc. It just needs to be sturdy, bigger than the piece of paper, and not too heavy that it's difficult for you to move.
Place materials onto the cyanotype paper. I did this inside, away from the windows and as quickly as possible (above left photo).
Place your paper into the sunlight. I moved everything outside and laid it in direct sunlight for about 30 minutes (above right photo). The California sunlight was SO bright and strong I didn't need to leave it outside for that long.
Remove materials. I brought the paper back inside and removed the materials from it (you can do this outside as well if it's quick.) The paper turned a dull blue color and the paper underneath the materials changed as well and had some variations. (Above left photo.)
I believe the moisture content of the material affects the coloring of the paper throughout the process. So when you remove your materials, the paper underneath can look more white like in the second example (where I used pressed dried flowers instead of fresh.)
Rinse the paper to set the print. Run the paper under cold water until the entire piece of paper turns a deeper / darker blue and is fairly even across the entire surface. Above left is a photo of when I started rinsing the paper and to the right is when I was done. Gently pat dry with a paper towel and set it on a paper towel to dry.
DON'T RUB THE PAPER WHEN RINSING! I find that it can tear the paper this way. I just let the water run over the paper (and moved it around to make sure all the areas get rinsed) at a medium pressure and it gets the job done!
RINSE YOUR SINK THOROUGHLY AFTERWARDS. Any blue from the paper should not stain standard white porcelain sinks. I had a few light blue water spots that were easily washed away with water in several different sinks. If you are unsure if your sink will stain, I would recommend working elsewhere!
And here's the final dried print:
- The UV wasn't strong that day and it was quite overcast. I ended up leaving my paper in front of the window for over 3 hours.
- The window is right in front of my desk so I just had to slide the small piece of paper over and open up the blinds (that's why I worked on this directly on my desk and don't have a piece of cardboard underneath.)
- I used dried flowers for this piece and once they were removed, the areas covered turned from a yellowish green to white, even before rinsing with water.
