Cyanotype workflow

[gr82bart]

Do you guys coat a batch of paper ahead of time, store them, and then expose them?

or

Do you coat/expose one sheet at a time?

Regards, Art.

 

[crispinuk]

Sort of both. I've only been playing with cyanotypes for a couple or three weeks now, but have been coating a small batch, drying them overnight and then exposing them the following day.
I don't think keeping coated sheets for periods of days or weeks is a problem. Some of the paper I coated a couple of weeks ago but didn't use for various reasons worked fine a week later and still looks OK (it's kept in a cool dark cupboard).
The two unmixed solutions of coating potion seem to have kept OK in brown glass bottles in the fridge for a couple of weeks so far too.

There seems to be a lot of interest in cyanotypes recently, must be the spring weather

 

[rwyoung]

Do you guys coat a batch of paper ahead of time, store them, and then expose them?

or

Do you coat/expose one sheet at a time?

Regards, Art.

I've done both. But most recently I coated all the 9x12 sheets in some "pads" of watercolor paper. Bought three kinds (Crains, Arches and "house brand") with some coupons at the local Hobby Lobby so there were CHEAP.

Anyway, I mixed up and coated all, dried and then recoated. No additions to the standard formula so no worries. Then I cut some in to quarters to print a bunch of 4x5 negs. The rest went back into left-over black bags and photopaper boxes. All of this lives in a closet in the basement, cool and dry.

The coating and cutting was back in November. Just used a few last night and after a few test prints, it came out fine.

But remember, your mileage may vary. If you are mixing the traditional formula, you can scale it up or down to fit your immediate needs very easily. Then coat what you think you need (plus a few extras for boo-boos). If there is some left, keep it!

Good luck!

 

[reellis67]

With mine, I coat once, then let it dry for 5-10 minutes (until my patience runs out) then coat a second time. I let it dry for about an hour or two, until it feels dry to the touch, and then I expose to the sun. So for me, all my work is done over the course of the day - coating in the morning and then expsoure around early afternoon. I've never tested coating the night before, but it's on my agenda...

- Randy

 

[BrianShaw]

- Prepare paper (size, sensitize, and dry) early in AM.
- Print from 11 to 2 PM (sun exposure).
- "Develop" immediately after printing.

I only prepare as much paper as I'll be printing that day. If I run out of prepared paper I cuss a little and move onto something else. This system taht I've used is certainly not a production-oriented approach!

 

[Davec101]

Coat wait five mins then expose, do this everytime, Fabriano foggs quite quickly!

 

[Akki14]

I coated quite a bit of paper, let it dry then put it in an old photo paper black plastic bag and box. I feel more comfortable doing this than impatiently waiting around for paper to dry completely so the sensitiser doesn't damage my negatives. I've been printing on paper I coated on friday night and it's been fine. This is with Traditional cyanotype, not type2.

 

[athanasius80]

My paper the first couple times I made it would last for up to a week. I'd wrap it in newspaper after it dried, and it kept well. Now that I'm in a more humid environment, this is not really an option anymore.

 

[reellis67]

If I run out of prepared paper I cuss a little and move onto something else.

Hmm.. Sounds like me!

- Randy

 

[DrPablo]

I mix it up from the 2-solution kit from Photographer's Formulary, and I just coat until I run out of solution. If I make up a total of 6 mL, that ends up being around 5 8x10-sized sheets. So I just store them in a dark closet until I'm ready to use them.

 

[patrickjames]

I try to use the paper within a couple of days. I have had problems with fog otherwise. Granted it depends on what process cyanotype you are using and what paper you are coating it on.

Patrick

 

[gr82bart]

Hey Folks,

Thanks for all the responses. I think for my first round, I'm going to 'jump off the cliff', so to speak, and make a whole batch for drying overnight. I only have 4x5 negatives, so with this kit (old method), I think I'm looking at 100 prints!

Going in this Friday evening folks ... wish me luck ...

Regards, Art. (My bathroom will be maxed out! Hope I don't have to pee.)

 

[athanasius80]

Pee beforehand and don't drink beer.