Topic: Cyanotypes

[irv_b]

Would any of you wise heads on here be able to tell me the useable life of a sheet of paper coated to make a cyanotype.
I was contemplating making lots of sheets up to use over the summer and wondered, do they get less sensitive over time?

[Francois]

I've never self coated cyanotype before, but from the experience I have with sunprint paper, they should stay good for a very long time (as in years).

[Kai-san]

I know nothing about cyanotype, but maybe you could find something on this website: https://www.alternativephotography.com/

[Pete_R]

This won't help, but anyway...

I checked all three books I have on alt methods. For traditional cyanotypes, there's nothing to say how far in advance you can coat the paper, but all seem to suggest using it as soon as it's dry. For the 'new' (Mike Ware) method, one book says to expose within a few hours of coating. Another says you can leave it for days but does say the result won't be the same (they seem to be suggesting the result may be better).

My own personal experience is limited. I've only used the new method and I always coated the paper immediately prior to using. I think the main thing is consistency which you won't get if you coat paper and leave it for varying amounts of time. That might lead to frustration. It took me a while to get the process down so I was getting consistent results.

My suggestion would be to coat paper immediately prior to using but, maybe, keep a couple of sheets and use them later to see if there's any variation in result. Someone else may know better.

[Francois]

But when we consider how easy and fast it is to coat the paper, there's no real reason to stock a 6 month supply ahead of time.
The paper will probably stay good for more than a few days, so coat on Sunday and print on Friday probably won't cause any degradation.
Lets not forget that this is not wet plate, so it should be good.

[irv_b]

I know nothing about cyanotype, but maybe you could find something on this website: https://www.alternativephotography.com/

Yeah I have that site bookmarked and didn't manage to find anything on there relevant to to my query, thanks anyway.

[irv_b]

But when we consider how easy and fast it is to coat the paper, there's no real reason to stock a 6 month supply ahead of time.
The paper will probably stay good for more than a few days, so coat on Sunday and print on Friday probably won't cause any degradation.
Lets not forget that this is not wet plate, so it should be good.

Yeah the coating part is straightforward and easy but it is a bit of a pain getting up into my darkroom (it's in the loft via a step ladder) so I was kind of hoping to coat a dozen maybe 20 sheets for the summer,

[irv_b]

This won't help, but anyway...

My suggestion would be to coat paper immediately prior to using but, maybe, keep a couple of sheets and use them later to see if there's any variation in result. Someone else may know better.

I think this is they way to go, after all we are here for fun - so nothing ventured etc..........

[Francois]

Yeah the coating part is straightforward and easy but it is a bit of a pain getting up into my darkroom (it's in the loft via a step ladder) so I was kind of hoping to coat a dozen maybe 20 sheets for the summer,

The fun thing with cyanotypes is that you don't need to be in the darkroom to coat them. As long as you don't do it in broad daylight or under fluorescent lights, you should be OK. Lets not forget that they are only sensitive to a narrow band of UV radiation, regular light won't affect them the slightest.

[ManuelL]

As Long as the coating has the clear yellow-ish colour, it should be good. When it goes green-ish it is degrading. Often you can still get a print, but the blue will be less intense.
From my experience this happens quite quickly after a couple of days.

[Francois]

As Long as the coating has the clear yellow-ish colour, it should be good. When it goes green-ish it is degrading. Often you can still get a print, but the blue will be less intense.
From my experience this happens quite quickly after a couple of days.

It dawned on me last night before falling asleep that Cyanotypes don't age the same way as other photographic materials do!
Most common materials suffer from fog, which was what I was thinking about. But cyanos being developed in plain water will age differently.
Since development is mostly an oxidation based process, just the ambient air and relative humidity will negatively affect the emulsion.
Since they are a negative process, the print will turn blue when not exposed and developed. The water is mainly there to whisk away the spent emulsion.
The only way to keep them for a long time would be storage in a vacuum bag. Second best would be in a container with plenty of silica gel.

[collodion]

Hi Irv,
My experience has been that coated paper stored in a cool dark place (cigar box taped shut) in my darkroom seems to respond fine within a 6 month period. I have tried to use paper I coated a year prior and found it to still work...just not as well. I suppose this all depends on the paper / cyanotype formula / temp...etc.   

As long as its still green in color,  it seems to respond well, its just when it starts to turn blue...

  Your mileage may vary

Cheers,