Tea Staining..??

[RebeccaSC]

Hello

Just seen a fabulous print on the gallery the photographer says that he Tea Stained it/the paper - could someone explain exactly to me what that means have done a word search and nothing comes up. Is it as basic and obvious as using old tea water or is that a funny ole term for something dramatic and chemical?

Many thanks all tips/info very much appreciated

Rebecca

Dead Link Removed

 

[Jerevan]

Just as easy as brewing a pot of tea (take your favorite brand). Brew it strong, let it cool and immerse the print in it. Simple as that.

 

[tim rudman]

Just as easy as brewing a pot of tea (take your favorite brand). Brew it strong, let it cool and immerse the print in it. Simple as that.

And of course no milk or sugar! ;-)
Cheap tea bags usually work better than exotic blends. The depth of colour is controlled by the strength of the brew and the time immersed.
Some RC papers can tone unevenly for some reason.
Be aware that FB prints tend to dry looking darker so pull early rather than late and re-do if required after assessing dry.
Tim

 

[doughowk]

Tim Rudman's Toning Book has chapter on Tea & Coffee toning. Its not archival, though.

 

[rogueish]

Tim is right about the RC paper uneven staining. I have only done a few, but found all but 1 had spots that would not stain (sorry, I can't call it toning:rolleyes: ) They even resisted tea spoting, but regular spotting worked. Found it difficult to match the tone of the paper though.

These spots tended to be around the edges, the worse case was about 3/4" inch in and was 5-6mm in size. Not bad, but they are glaring white on a tan print. Matting did cover them, but some fellow students had some further into the print, and had to redo them.

I found bagged tea (orange pekoe) gave the look I wanted better than Keemun (black tea). Sorry I didn't try any herbal brews (wife won't let me "waste" it). If the tea is warm (tepid?) the stain will happen very quickly, too fast I found, the prints were darker than I wanted. Had the look of very old newspaper.

 

[Steve Smith]

I put in some new skirting boards in a friend's house a few years ago. She decided that she wanted to stain the wood with coffee.
We found that the cheap supermarket 'own brand' coffee stained the best but we had to mix it very strong.

I haven't tried it on a print though.


Steve

 

[roy]

I Googled " toning in tea" and saw some results.

 

[reellis67]

I've only stained cyanotypes, but the process is fairly simple - immerse the print in strong tea for as long as it takes to get the stain where you want it. It will stain the white borders as well, so use caution, and you can get some mottling, especialy if you have touched the print surface with your fingers. The oils deposited can sometimes prevent the tea from staining - it's the whole oil and water thing.

- Randy

 

[catem]

Yes, it's easy and fun, PG Tips/Typhoo rather rather than Twinings Earl Grey... Everything gets stained though, highlights included, unless you mask them, which I've never tried but would quite like to. I wonder, does anyone know how long-lasting it is? I've nothing older than 6 years. Tea stains generally last a long time, so I'm hopeful!
I've never tried coffee, that's a new one on me...

Cate

 

[RebeccaSC]

Thanks so much for this - I'd never heard of it what a great technique/idea.

Running the risk of appearing stupid (please don't say it) but I presume that this is done after the whole process and you've fully fixed etc just before the wash?

Excellent though - what a great effect gonna try the coffee as well - anything else work?

Rebecca

Dead Link Removed

 

[titrisol]

We've had this discussion before, run through the archives and you'll find wonders....
tea
coffee
mint
etc
etc

 

[kb244]

We've had this discussion before, run through the archives and you'll find wonders....
tea
coffee
mint
etc
etc

I'm surprise some of us don't get the urge to devour our prints...

 

[rwyoung]

Thanks so much for this - I'd never heard of it what a great technique/idea.

Running the risk of appearing stupid (please don't say it) but I presume that this is done after the whole process and you've fully fixed etc just before the wash?Dead Link Removed

I'd do it AFTER the wash, followed by a brief second wash. Not sure how much stain you would loose on a fiber print with a 30 to 40 minute wash but I imagine you loose a fair amount. But stain after that wash and then a brief wash to remove any of the "floaters" that might have been in your tea/coffee brew.

Instant coffee works pretty well and easy to make quite strong. Plus you don't have to wait for it to cool. However, per ounce, it would be more expensive than the dregs left from the morning pot.

 

[tim rudman]

Tim Rudman's Toning Book has chapter on Tea & Coffee toning. Its not archival, though.

Unless you get it on your shirt! ;-)
Oh - and for cyanotypes. Tannic acid increases their permanence.
Tim

 

[Mark Layne]

I have some very satisfactory tea toned prints, hovever I found that I could not use as strong a brew as Tim and others do. I suspect it is due to artificial colorants in local blends.
Weak green tea can give a lovely hint of warmth to a paper base.
Mark

 

[titrisol]

Welll some critics have "chewed" on them at least

I'm surprise some of us don't get the urge to devour our prints...