Simple Cyanotype

Mike Ware · May 16, 2019

Critical tests of cyanotype by John Isner, leading exponent of the Piezo Digital Negative system, have inspired me to devise a sensitizer that is much more reliable than the ‘Classic’ cyanotype and more photochemically precise than my ‘New’ version of 1995. To distinguish it from the other two, this novel sensitizer formulation is named ‘Simple’ cyanotype, because it is simple to make up - very cheaply - using simple chemicals, and simply offers control of contrast - an asset that the cyanotype process has hitherto lacked.
Instructions for the preparation and use of the sensitizer may be downloaded gratis from my web pages at:

https://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/downloads.html

see under Workshop Notes for the 3.5 MB file: SimpleCyan.pdf.

https://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/downloads/SimpleCyan.pdf

There’s also a related essay entitled Towards an Unproblematic Cyanotype Chemistry, which explains the background technical history of this development, at:

https://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/technical.html

It’s my hope that this little piece of “enabling chemistry” may prove useful to some alternative photography printers.

BrianShaw · May 16, 2019

I’m looking forward to learning more. Thanks for making this available!

jim10219 · May 16, 2019

Very exciting! And that step wedge looks very impressive! Thank you for sharing this!

Jerevan · May 16, 2019

Great stuff!

One minor point: It would possibly be of use when one is trying to source the ingredients to have CAS numbers alongside the chemical names.

Other than that, I think the ammonia might be the hurdle in there - to source and then correctly handle, at least to a non-chemist.

NedL · May 17, 2019

Jerevan said:
Great stuff!
....Other than that, I think the ammonia might be the hurdle in there - to source and then correctly handle, at least to a non-chemist.

Looks like you could use ammonia even weaker than 10%, since it it topped off with water.

pdeeh · May 20, 2019

While an interesting addition to the literature, and scrupulously researched and documented as with all Dr. Ware's work, I'd have to question the use of "Simple" as an appropriate adjective.
A beginner seeing the word "simple", latching on and then being faced with a document that details a list of lab equipment as long as your arm (let alone all the fully-qualified chemical names & formulae) might wonder how this counts as simple.
It might be worth Dr. Ware writing up an "idiot's guide" on a couple of sides of A4 that mentions where to buy the chemicals (especially in the UK), and straightforward instructions on how to mix them in vessels from a £ shop. More accessible, more likelihood to get taken up and used.

Mike Ware · May 20, 2019

pdeeh said:
It might be worth Dr. Ware writing up an "idiot's guide" .

I confess that respect for the readership precludes my writing anything for idiots.

Ballinderry-Michael · May 20, 2019

Mike, you've advised me well in the past and this development looks really interesting. I'll read it all carefully before trying it out. Early on I discovered that I could coat far more accurately with a squirrel brush rather than a rod (personal failing, probably); but the years spent following your advice and writings have been great fun.

Thank you very much for this thread.

MattKing · May 20, 2019

Mike Ware said:
I confess that respect for the readership precludes my writing anything for idiots.

Thanks for this thread.
I think I see where pdeeh is coming from.
How about an "introductory" guide instead?

Andrew O'Neill · May 20, 2019

Very nice! Whenever I make cyanotypes, I use the traditional recipe. Might give this a go.

koraks · May 20, 2019

pdeeh said:
and straightforward instructions on how to mix them in vessels from a £ shop.

That's essentially what he provided. As to sourcing the chemistry: most of it is available in grocery stores, supermarkets etc with only one or two chemicals requiring online ordering from any of literally thousands of online sellers.

Sure, there are ways to further dumb this down, but that will come at the cost of reduced specificity (in eg nomenclature) which will in fact make errors (eg in purchasing chemistry) far more likely.

The recipe as outlined in the pdf is well within the capabilities of anyone who has mixed a photographic formula successfully even if only once. Added to that, I have read hundreds of recipes and mixed at least several dozens of them, and I have NEVER come across any recipes as clear, readable and unequivocal as those of Mike Ware. They're written with such attention to detail that even for a complete newcomer to mixing chemistry it's surprisingly hard to mess it up - provided one takes the time to actually read the text, that is.

awty · May 21, 2019

Im pretty dumb, but it looks pretty straight forwards, except I cant seem to find anyone who sells Iron(III) nitrate nonahydrate in Australia, too expensive to get anything from the states.

koraks · May 21, 2019

Have you checked eBay? I see several sellers across the globe, including free shipping Chinese sellers. Anhydrous should be OK too if you apply a conversion factor (ca 1.8) for the much lower molar mass.

awty · May 21, 2019

koraks said:
Have you checked eBay? I see several sellers across the globe, including free shipping Chinese sellers. Anhydrous should be OK too if you apply a conversion factor (ca 1.8) for the much lower molar mass.

Is this the correct substance? Unfortunately my Latin and chemistry is lacking.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/50-g-1-...199557?hash=item5b351e42c5:g:jrsAAOSwax5Yy36P

koraks · May 21, 2019

Yes, that's the one. The CAS number on the label 7782-61-8 shows that this is the nonahydrate.

koraks · May 21, 2019

Here are the CAS numbers for the chemicals in Ware's pdf and weight conversion factors for iron nitrate hexahydrate and nonahydrate:

Citric acid monohydrate 5949-29-1
Citric acid anhydrous 77-92-9

Iron(III) nitrate nonahydrate 7782-61-8
Iron(III) nitrate hexahydrate 13476-08-9 (weight conversion factor 1.19)
Iron(III) nitrate anhydrous 10421-48-4 (weight conversion factor 1.67)

Ammonia 7664-41-7

Potassium ferricyanide 13746-66-2

Tween 20™ (Polyethylene glycol sorbitan monolaurate, Polyoxyethylenesorbitan monolaurate) 9005-64-5

This should help those who want to order the chemistry.

In terms of ordering, I'd look for the citric acid in supermarkets/grocery stores/brewery supplies stores, get the ammonia from the supermarket (used for cleaning and paint layer degreasing). The tween may or may not be replaced with something like Photoflo, but that's just my guess/conjecture. Odds are you don't need it anyway for most papers.

pdeeh · May 22, 2019

Mike Ware said:
I confess that respect for the readership precludes my writing anything for idiots.

as a member of apug for a few years, and a reader of your posts and your site for an equal number of years, I presume that you have equal respect for me?

however it does seem that you, in common with a few others in this thread, feel that any suggestions of improvement or additions are tantamount to an expression of disrespect or stupidity.

its exactly this reactive-defensive rebarbativeness that, as a constant feature of apug, has kept me away for so long.

good luck to you all behind the barricades.

koraks · May 22, 2019

I don't think anyone has a problem with it if someone works this into a different format that would be more welcoming to some users. However, I do wonder what's to be gained apart from shortening the description by leaving out some information. It would result in the loss of details that would be especially relevant to those with more limited experience with mixing chemistry and using alternative printing processes.

awty · May 22, 2019

koraks said:
Yes, that's the one. The CAS number on the label 7782-61-8 shows that this is the nonahydrate.

Thanks for verifying, have ordered some and will give the recipe a whirl sometime in the future.

koraks · May 22, 2019

Nice, I may give it a spin myself once I'm done with the projects I have on hand or feel like revisiting blue prints sometime. Be sure to post your experiences, I'm very interested.

DennyWest · May 31, 2019

Looking forward to seeing some of everyone's prints soon. Took a lot of testing to find out that my printer can't print dark enough to print this (Simple Cy) at 2.8 exposure scale, but it can print negatives just fine with 39cc 10% ammonia medium contrast formula 2.4 exposure scale. I had to lower my standard print time an additional 1/3 stop to accommodate.

SEArtEric · Sep 25, 2019

World Cyanotype Day
Land / Sea / Sky
Saturday, September 28th, Two Thousand and Nineteen

Using Dr. Mike Ware’s newly devised Simple Cyanotype process to celebrate World Cyanotype Day, Land / Sea / Sky, the Special Edition Art Project has produced a series of greeting cards entitled ‘Cards of Blue’. This series captures the essence of daybreak on the Morro Back Bay, Baywood Park, California.

Special Edition Art Project - Cards of Blue
https://specialeditionartproject.co...t/making-of-the-arts/world-cyanotype-day.html
Check out this full link for the complete set of 5 cards and Technical details of our experience with Simple Cyanotype

As always in celebration of the Cyanotype process we have a free eBook and PDF download of 'Photographs of British Algae – Cyanotype Impressions - 1843-1953’, the botanical works of Mrs. Anna Atkins in Cyanotype.
https://specialeditionartproject.co...aking-of-the-arts/photographs-of-british.html

Cards of Blue - Back on the Bay

Happy World Cyanotype Day!

Eric Anderson
Special Edition Art Project

Mike Ware · Sep 25, 2019

Greetings Eric Anderson!

Please accept my warmest thanks for your generous acknowledgement. I’m delighted to see my “Simple” sensitizer being used to such good effect - and particularly for the celebration of World Cyanotype Day - thank you!
You’ve rendered your set of beautiful images very sensitively, to represent a true vindication of the tonal qualities of the process. Your additional detailed experiences - reported on your website by such an accomplished practitioner - are also very valuable, and may encourage more folk to undertake this method.

My previous attempt to improve the cyanotype process - my so-called “New” cyanotype sensitizer of 1994 - seems to have taken about a quarter of a century to diffuse across the Atlantic to your shores, where it is at last gaining some acceptance, tho’ admittedly it can still be a bit challenging in its chemical manipulations, hence the "Simple" process.

A word of explanation about the naming (which has previously been wilfully misunderstood here): “Simple” cyanotype is so-named, not just because it is easy to make up the sensitizer, but also because it uses what chemists call a “simple” salt of iron, ferric nitrate. By contrast, the traditional cyanotype sensitizer uses ammonium ferric citrate, which in chemists’ language is a “complex” salt (and highly variable at that).

The “Simple” formula was developed during my 80th year, and may well prove to be my “alt-proc swansong”: a formula for others, I hope, to produce an abundance of successful cyanotypes.
With every good wish,

Mike Ware

SEArtEric · Sep 26, 2019

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for your kind words Mike. Simple Cyanotype is quite fun, bringing a new bit of energy into strident expressive possibilities.

With the first oder of celebrating World Cyanotype Day completed with my greeting cards series 'Cards of Blue', I've also just completed the second order of fun - Updated our Siderotype Processes User Guide to include a chapter on Simple Cyanotype. We find the Simple Cyanotype formulation so significant that we decided our user guide would be incomplete without it. With this addition we include the working steps to its use as well as a paper survey of its behavior similar to what is found in our Siderotype Paper Survey eBook & PDF formatted books.

The Special Edition At Project's free Processes User Guide can be downloaded here: https://specialeditionartproject.com/the-special-edition-art/special-edition-pressworks-/

Enjoy,

Eric Anderson
Special Edition Art Project 

Mike Ware · Sep 27, 2019

Thank you, Eric, for the accolade of including my Simple Cyanotype in your excellent Process Guide. As a footnote to this, you might like to be aware of a couple of recent addenda to the method.
All authors of instructions will know that however hard they try to make things explicit and comprehensive, there will always be someone 'out there' who finds them unsuitable.
So here are two recently-concocted additions to the text which can be freely downloaded from my public Dropbox:

1) For those who cannot acquire - or object to handling - reagent grade ammonia solution: there is this version I've had to call "Mike's Cyanotype":
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucfk35gp5ydpn51/Mike's_Cyan.pdf?dl=0
Instead of ammonia, this uses the salt triammonium citrate, which is innocuous and inoffensive, but more expensive and harder to find. This version lacks the range of exposure scale control.

2) For those who want their sensitizer to last a long time in storage without refrigeration, there is this "Separated Simple Cyanotype" version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v8bbpyst4en218u/SimpleCyan Separate.pdf?dl=0
This resembles the A+B solution method of the "Classic" cyanotype, by keeping the potassium ferricyanide separate. It should give the same results as the "Simple" sensitizer, but I have not fully tested it.

Good wishes to all!

Mike
https://www.mikeware.co.uk

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