Solargraphy

I've been reading a lot about this and basically, the image will then burn itself into the paper. Most of the websites I've found say that they then scan the photograph in complete darkness.

If the image is burned into the paper, then why not put it in some fixer to permanently fix the image?

That's where I'm a bit confoozled.

I'm sure there's somewhere online or someone else who has tried this. (In fact, I've seen some of the threads here but no mention about a chemical process.)

Anyway, thanks for any/all advice.

Remembering similar experiments at school, I think that the image appears through the light causing coloring of the silver halides, rather then being actually "burned" into the paper itself. So fixing would presumably remove the image altogether?

In these cases you are using developing out paper as a printing out paper. Fixing can work but it does bleach the image significantly, and also alters the color. Just leave a sheet out in the light for a long time and you'll see it change color. Maybe you've seen it with a scrap in the trash, sometimes the color is pretty cool, but fixing it pretty much wipes it out.

hi pinholedreamer

you haven't found any mention of photochemistry because no chemistry is used.
if developer is used the paper goes black, and if fixer is used, much of the image will be bleached + disappear.
scans of the image fogs / darkens the paper and changes its tonality.
i have fixed sort of solargraphic type images ...
and unless the image is really "burned" onto the paper it fades completely ..
old fashioned hypo ( not speed fixer ) can be used but it also will fade/ vanish the images

it is pretty similar to the problem that nicephore niepce had
with his early photographic experiments ..

you can do similar things for shorter periods of time
( lumen prints ) ... with a camera opened on bulb for a few hours
( or days ) or photograms, or even contact prints with negatives ..

Here's a similar discussion. Toning it would be worth exploring.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I remember someone very knowledgeable mentioning using used up or almost used up fixer for that.
Can't recall any details.

I'm not sure I see the point of scanning in complete darkness. My experience has been that room light will darken the image over a matter of hours, but the more intense light of a scanner causes severe darkening immediately---I would think the effect of the scanner blows away any effect of the room light.

-NT