A blended ferrocyanide print process

[jmoche]

Sounds great! Let us know how it goes with the students.

What inkjet paper have you been using?

The stain issue is generally due to the buffer in the paper which needs to be neutralised before coating. Impure Copper Sulphate and high humidity could also be other causes as noted by Andrew.

I will probably be a few more weeks before I get the students involved, so I still have some time to get my own process worked out a little better. So far as I know, there are no buffers in the inkjet paper. I have a huge supply of cheap watercolor papers, and I know that they are buffered. I soaked some tonight in citric acid and the bubbled, so they probably have a pretty high alkaline load. I tried this paper last week and the emulsion had turned blue even before exposure; I'll see if the acidification helps. As for inkjet paper, I've used three. First, Kodak Professional glossy. I bought a ton of it because I had a profile for my printer. That printer died, Kodak stopped supporting the paper, and I'm too lazy to create my own profiles, so I've been using it for cyanotypes. Second, some Red River Metallic gloss. It's not great for every subject, but some landscapes look fantastic on this paper. Finally, there are a lot of half-printed photos at the lab in school, and I take those failed photos and cut off the unused paper. That stuff is Arista Pearl.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

I have a huge supply of cheap watercolor papers, and I know that they are buffered. I soaked some tonight in citric acid and the bubbled, so they probably have a pretty high alkaline load. I tried this paper last week and the emulsion had turned blue even before exposure; I'll see if the acidification helps.

It should, even for the Cyanotype process.

 

[AgY]

I certainly understand the idea behind your "stick to one paper" suggestion. I'm still in the process of finding which paper I prefer. I have not tried ammonium chloride precoating. Can you point me to an explanation of the process? Thanks!

based on what Raghu said, and being easily to me to use Fabriano Bristol I picked that paper. I precoat it with a 1% solution of ammonium chloride. I noticed that I double precoat it I get deeper blacks. the precoating allows you to get clean white but for the deep black is vital to tone the processed print with the ammonia-copper-sulphide toner. to make it you need to add ammonia on a copper sulphide solution until it change it's colour to a vibrant deep blue. you will notice when it's done. you don't need to be precise with it's concentration, the only thing that change by changing it it's how long it will tone. just add some copper and than ammonia by drop.

let me know how it goes!

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

@AgY: good advice but you meant Copper Sulphate I am sure.

@jmoche: I recommend Ammonium Chloride pre-coating when a) the paper is buffered but it can't be acidified e.g. Bristol papers or b) you want more warmth in the tone. Otherwise, buffer neutralisation via acidification works fine for buffered papers and you don't need to buy one more chemical.

Copper-Ammonia toner gives you creative control for producing warmer tones after making the print. As AgY observed, it is also useful in pushing the blue tones towards black.

 

[AgY]

@AgY: good advice but you meant Copper Sulphate I am sure.

@jmoche: I recommend Ammonium Chloride pre-coating when a) the paper is buffered but it can't be acidified e.g. Bristol papers or b) you want more warmth in the tone. Otherwise, buffer neutralisation via acidification works fine for buffered papers and you don't need to buy one more chemical.

Copper-Ammonia toner gives you creative control for producing warmer tones after making the print. As AgY observed, it is also useful in pushing the blue tones towards black.

yeah, ofc. lost in translation

 

[AgY]

@AgY: good advice but you meant Copper Sulphate I am sure.

@jmoche: I recommend Ammonium Chloride pre-coating when a) the paper is buffered but it can't be acidified e.g. Bristol papers or b) you want more warmth in the tone. Otherwise, buffer neutralisation via acidification works fine for buffered papers and you don't need to buy one more chemical.

Copper-Ammonia toner gives you creative control for producing warmer tones after making the print. As AgY observed, it is also useful in pushing the blue tones towards black.

I also have to say, based on my experience, even If use papers with no alkaline buffer I can get warm and deep blacks. ammonium chloride always boost it in my experience

 

[jmoche]

based on what Raghu said, and being easily to me to use Fabriano Bristol I picked that paper. I precoat it with a 1% solution of ammonium chloride. I noticed that I double precoat it I get deeper blacks. the precoating allows you to get clean white but for the deep black is vital to tone the processed print with the ammonia-copper-sulphide toner. to make it you need to add ammonia on a copper sulphide solution until it change it's colour to a vibrant deep blue. you will notice when it's done. you don't need to be precise with it's concentration, the only thing that change by changing it it's how long it will tone. just add some copper and than ammonia by drop.

let me know how it goes!

Thank you! My experimentation this week is pretty filled up, but I will try coating with a 1% solution of ammonium chloride before next week's lab session. I only get to do this once per week for a 9 hour session. Because of limited sink capacity, I can't work with anything larger than 5x7 at home, and we have insanely high water rates, so I try to stick to the lab at school.

 

[MattKing]

Today @Andrew O'Neill kindly provided our Darkroom Group with a demonstration of the Ferroblend process.
His first such demonstration since he began to attend more of the group meetings.
Thanks Andy - it was great to see it happen in real life!
And in case anyone needs proof, some photos of his demonstration, and most of the group watching!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks Matt! That was fun!

 

[PhotoBob]

thank you Andrew and Matt

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

Very nice! Congratulations @Andrew O'Neill.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thank you @Raghu Kuvempunagar for your wonderful process!

 

[koraks]

Today @Andrew O'Neill kindly provided our Darkroom Group with a demonstration of the Ferroblend process.

Cool!
@Andrew O'Neill how does it feel to be one of the youngsters for a change? LOL!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

 

[MattKing]

Cool!
@Andrew O'Neill how does it feel to be one of the youngsters for a change? LOL!

I'd point out that the photographer isn't in the group photo, except even if they were included in the mix, it wouldn't skew the average age significantly ....