Kit30 Traditional Cyanotype

Proceedings:

To prepare 500ml of sensitizing solution:

Ferric Ammonium Citrate                      60gr

Potassium Ferrycianide                          40gr

Paintbrush goat air                                  40mm

Plastic Becher PP 250ml                         1

Amber bottle  PET   250ml                     2

Syringe da 5 ml                                       1

Instructions

Procedure:

Preparation of the solution A. Dissolve 60 g of Ferric Ammonium Citrate in water and lead to level up to 250 ml.

Preparation of the solution B.  Dissolve 40 g of Potassium Ferrycianide in water and lead up to level up to 250 ml. Keep the two solutions separately in amber bottles specifically labeled.

Reproduce a negative.

Combine and mix equal amount of solution A and B using the syringe contained in the kit. Rinse the syringe between a sampling and the other. You can print several sheets of A4 format with 10 ml of each of the two solutions.

The sensitizer solution doesn’t survive for a long time; it must be used as soon as possible.

With the supplied brush roll out the solution on paper with horizontal and vertical strokes. The paper will become yellow.

This operation must be carried out with a lamp that doesn’t emit UV light: for example tungsten lamps.

Avoid neon and energy-saving lamps.

To begin you can use watercolor paper, which can be found in stationery shops.

Let it dry or use a hair dryer with only cold air flow.

Preparation of negative: It’s better to use a large format, as A4-A5, for the negative. You can prepare this size of negative scanning negatives of smaller size, manipulating them with a graphics program and printing on cellulose acetate paper (the ones used for ink-jet printers). The result is acceptable.

Put the negative in contact with the paper prepared, be sure to turn the side of the negative with gelatin towards the paper; place them between two glass plates slightly larger than the print size and expose to sunlight or, for those who have, in a UV bromografo. You can also use the tanning lamps. The print color will change from yellow to green with darker tones. When you see well lights and shadows stops exposure and develops simply washing in running water for 5-10 minutes. To improve the removal of unreacted chemicals you can add 5gr of Citric Acid for Liter of water to the washing/development.

The image becomes blue and it strives slightly towards darken after drying. Let air-dry.

Chemicals used in this procedure are considered toxic and unsuitable for human or animal consumption.

The user must be aware of the risks and make every effort to protect living beings and the environment. Chemical waste should never be emptied into drains or disposed of together with household garbage. For proper disposal, consult your local landfill.