Black toning for cyanotypes?

[Fulvio]

On one of my books it is written than you can actually tone a cyanotype black by putting a developed cyanotype into a strong solution of Kodak Dektol. Then rinse it and put the print in tannic acid. After a while it will become black with a variable range of tones, depending how strong was the dektol bleach, the chemical dilution, the time in the tannic acid, etc.

I've tried and I've found that Dektol actually works as a very strong bleach... It can blow away a cyanotype in a few seconds. The print becomes very yellowish. But then, after placing the print into the tannic acid it doesn't turn black but just violet-lilla-rose... in other words the typical tannic acid toning. No blacks, no other tones. If you're quick and don't fade away the cyanotype in the dektol bleach, you can achieve nice split blue-pink rose tones. But no blacks.

I actually would like to try to tone a cyanotype in a different color than blu, as long as it is dark and mostly neutral. Coffee and tea produce a greyish blu sometimes. But still it's not black and also they stain the paper too much, making prints very flat. Straight tannic acid just turns the print from pink to purple, depending on time, dilution, etc. Using soda or sodium carbonate can lead to other lighter tones and split toning. Combinantion of all the previous might produce interesting results as well. Still no black(ish).

The book I have also mentions the possibility of using Nitric Acid for black toning, which is extremely dangerous and I have no intentions to buy (I don't even know if I can get any).

Have got any alternative suggestions?

 

[John_Brewer]

Have a look at Kai Hamman's site http://tinyurl.com/f64gy

J

 

[Dave Miller]

Is a black cyanotype a cyanotype? :confused:

 

[Fulvio]

Is a black cyanotype a cyanotype? :confused:

ehhe, well, my cyanotypes are rarely completely blu... I don't like monochrome prints, regardeless the process used. Thus I try to split tone or to stain the paper or part of it. Maybe you can't call it anymore "cyan"otype... But still the idea of turning from cyan to another color is attractive... Each print has a different feeling because of the chemistry used...

 

[Dracotype]

Folger's and ammonia turn a cyanotype a nice chocolate color. I starts as eggplant, but drydown turns it to a nice chocolaty brown. Brown is usually more acceptable to most people than stark blue.

Drew

 

[Donald Qualls]

I've toned unbleached cyanotypes in strong black tea (room temperature) for up to an hour, and got tones ranging to a near-neutral black with a faint tea-colored (imagine that!) tint in the highlights.

 

[Fragomeni]

Has anyone made any progress on this in the 5 years since this was originally posted? I'm trying to get black neutral tones out of my cyanotypes but Im running into all of the issues mentioned above. I've seen black cyanotypes before but I cant seem to find anything decisive on how to produce them. Little help?

 

[Matthew Rusbarsky]

Christopher James' Book of Alternative Photographic Processes has a good chapter on cyanotypes and toning. He has also been good enough to provide the cyanotype chapter as a preview on his website. Lots of good info on toning there. I haven't tried Dektol as a bleach, but I have tried chlorine bleach and sodium carbonate. I have then toned with black tea, green tea, or tannic acid. Don't get too aggressive with the bleach (or Dektol, or whatever). Try low dilutions, snatch it after a second or two and back into the water bath. You can repeat the cycle as many times as you want. With a low dilution of sodium carbonate followed by tannic acid I have gotten a smoky eggplant purple that's almost black. I stopped the bleaching when my blue started to convert to lilac and long before it went yellow. I'll try and post it later today.

 

[cfullwood]

I've used Chris James' technique quite successfully with my photography students. It really is not that difficult to get black tones if you just follow the directions.

 

[pdeeh]

I bet there's nothing special about using dektol save that it is quite alkaline, and plain sodium carbonate would do just as well (and be cheaper)